Magic

= Magic =

The existence of magic is generally known and accepted in Colonial Bay and most of the civilized world, although there are certainly many who deny it. (There are also those who deny the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence and that the Earth is roughly spherical.) It is a legitimate subject of scholarly research and even scientific investigation. (That said, most magic involves interfacing with chaotic dimensions and is therefore very resistent to scientific analysis.)

Creating a Magical Character
Because magic is such a broad and versatile special effect, it's very easy to abuse, or just to get sloppy about. So before building a magic-based character, please think carefully about the overall style and theme and flavor of your character (PC or NPC), what makes him or her different from other mages.

Some things to think about: Where does your magic come from? Some examples: studying of texts, instinctive talents, gifts from external beings (spirits, gods, demons, etc.), discovered magic items. Also, since most magic involves interfacing with another Dimension, a related question is what dimensions you access. What sorts of phenomena can you affect? Some examples: thoughts and perceptions, plants and animals, the spirits of the dead, alchemical elements (earth, fire, water, etc.), transmutating matter, summoning creatures... the list is endless. Combinations are fine, but a mage who can do anything, or a hodgepodge of things with no common thread, will tend to be flavorless. What sorts of purposes do you seek? Are you primarily a combat mage, throwing around fireballs and forcewalls? A support mage, full of Aids and Healing and Summons? An information-seeker? A killer? Etc.. Tying magical effects to an END Reserve (Mana Pool) is common. Reinforcing your mage's theme by putting restrictions on the associated REC can help with flavor... for example, a necromancer might have to ritually slaughter something to regain power, a priest might have to stay on holy ground, a wizard might have to meditate or use some magical artifact, etc. What sorts of limitations apply? Spellcasters frequently use Incantations and Gestures. Foci (magic items, holy symbols, etc.) and Concentration and Extra Time are also common. Tying effects to a Power skill (Magic, Shamanism, Prayer, etc.) or an activation roll is common, as are side-effects for failure. Generally speaking these limitations apply to all magical powers, if they apply at all. What sorts of advantages apply? Magic is a great opportunity to build in creepy, unexpected behaviors that bypass traditional defenses. Consider advantages like Indirect, AvLD, Invisible effects, etc. What do your powers _look_ and _act_ like? Again, creepy unexpected behaviors are often great for flavor. Instead of firing the same kind of firebolt that the Human Torch might use, maybe yours is a small fiery bird that flies over and drops a flaming egg on your target, or a gout of flame from a sudden crack in the ground, or a fiery whip that appears in your hands, etc. (Consider Physical Manifestation as a Limitation.) Think about related skills/CHA. Priest and shaman types frequently have lots of Interaction skills (persuasion, oratory, etc.), scholarly wizard types generally have high INT and lots of KSes. 

Of course, many of these are the same questions you should ask about any character.

See this list for some inspiration from fiction. More generally, the Internet is full of source material.

Vampires, Werewolves, Centaurs and other Mythological Creatures
Creatures such as vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, centaurs, harpies, etc. do exist in the CM universe. In some cases they really are supernatural creatures, in other cases they are ordinary metahumans who happen to share certain attributes with mythological creatures, or who deliberately adopt those attributes.

Some guidelines for creating a PC of this sort:
 * Decide if you're "really" a supernatural creature.
 * For example, suppose you want a "werewolf" character. This might be a "real" werewolf, with a magical origin (family curse, bitten by a werewolf, cursed by a witch, etc). Or it might be a completely science-based shapeshifter who happens to have a wolf-form, no more supernatural than the super-strong flying guy down the block. For two such examples from comics, compare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf_by_Night to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsbane_(comics).
 * If you're "really" supernatural, put a 0-point Physical Limitation: Supernatural Creature on your character sheet. (Certain Powers are designed to affect supernatural creatures; this makes it easy to work out whether they apply to you.)
 * It's OK for your character not to know: for example, she started turning into a wolf periodically when she turned 13, she doesn't know if she's a supernatural werewolf or a mutant shapeshifter. But you have to decide as a player.


 * Decide if you present yourself as a supernatural creature.
 * This doesn't depend on the first question. For example, even if you gave yourself your "vampiric powers" through surgery and nanotechnology last Tuesday, you might still go around wearing a black cloak and showing off your pointy teeth and talking in weirdly archaic language. You might even believe yourself to be a "real" vampire. Conversely, even if you were bitten by a vampire five hundred years ago and have been living in the darkness feeding on the blood of mortals ever since, you might choose to dress in spandex with a brightly colored cape and call yourself "The Crimson Bat".
 * If you do present as a supernatural creature, you can (but needn't) buy associated Disads (Hunted, Reputation, Distinctive Features, SocLim) to reflect the effects of that. For example, presenting as a vampire is usually good for a negative reaction from your average Colonial Bay citizen, and may get you harassed and hounded by other PCs as well; it may also get you hunted by vampire-slayers, etc.


 * Decide if you have the traditional properties ascribed by myth.
 * This doesn't depend on the first question. For example, not all "real" werewolves are necessarily vulnerable to silver, not all "real" vampires can turn into bats. Conversely, a mutant shapeshifter might be vulnerable to silver.
 * This isn't all or nothing. Your "vampire" character might be vulnerable to silver and sunlight but enjoy garlic and ignore holy symbols, or the other way around, or any combination. In fact, the myths themselves are inconsistent.
 * If your character has enough of the traditional weaknesses ascribed by myth that students of myth can correctly guess your weaknesses, Reputation is an appropriate Disad.


 * Decide if you belong to some kind of supernatural group.
 * Check Organizations for existing groups you might belong to.
 * If you want to create a group as part of your application, you can do that, just as with non-supernatural characters. However, note that this will slow down your approval, and the group may well be rejected.
 * In particular, very large scale supernatural organizations will be rejected. There may be ancient vampire clans or whatever in the world, but they do not secretly run everything, and not all vampires belong to them. It's OK for your character to believe there's a Master Vampire who controls all the vampires in the world, but your character is wrong.

Interacting with Society
Colonial Bay (and to a lesser extent the world) of the 21st century is much less parochial than the real world. Aliens, wizards, extradimensional visitors, animal/human hybrids, sentient robots, etc. etc. etc. are, if not exactly _commonplace_, at least not outrageous.

As a matter of law, supernatural creatures are treated just like anybody else. If they perform criminal acts, they are criminals. Otherwise, they aren't. The legal presumption is that each individual is unique. "Being a vampire" is not illegal, nor is exchanging vital fluids among consenting adults. A werewolf who goes berserk in a shopping mall and kills people is no different, legally, from a red-blooded American human who goes berserk in a shopping mall and kills people.

Socially, the same convention applies... at least in civilized parts of the world like Colonial Bay. Of course, there are individual bigots in any society, however civilized, but as a rule it's just not that big a deal. Consequently, simply being a supernatural creature won't particularly raise any eyebrows... it doesn't even rate a "noticed and recognized" in many cases.

Undead and other Icky Things
Specifically, some people think that "undead" creatures, because they aren't "alive", aren't covered by things like Code vs. Killing. They are simply incorrect.
 * A special case of supernatural creature is "undead" creatures, like vampires and zombies.
 * Actually, it's not a special case at all: undead creatures have certain properties that derive from their undead status (for example, they are undetectable by a "Detect Life" sense, just like a robot is), but otherwise work as described above.
 * It sometimes seems like a special case, though.

On this MUSH, sentient nonliving creatures are just as "killable" as sentient robots, sentient humans, sentient aliens, etc. and therefore CvKs and all similar things apply. In particular, the Everyman Disad (CvK, moderate) applies, even to insectoid aliens, world-conquering supervillains, and the undead.

To reiterate all of that more entertainingly: "Vampires" are just as much people as any other superhuman. And they are as "alive" as any other superhuman (though depending on Physical Lims, may not be able to do everything a normal could, but that doesn't make them less "alive".)
 * Vampires aren't people are they? I can kill them right?

to be able to kill them, for the greater good! Well, duh. That could be said about any superhuman from Bob the Vampire to Mechanon to Doctor Destroyer. You are the (mostly) good guys. You find another way, or accept that the law and prison, while imperfect are the tools that society has to deal with such menaces.
 * But immortal mindcontrolling bloodsuckers could take over the world! I need

Sure. Non-sentient robots, zombies, golems, giant monsters named Mike, bunny rabbits, etc. Basically if its sentient, you no kill'em (well, within the limits of Moderate/Strong/Total CvK).
 * Well darnit, isn't there anyone I can kill?

wild claims about Master Vampires and Vampire Clans and Vampire Credit Unions? He's deluded, mistaken, or lying, or all of the above. ICly, people can believe whatever they like.
 * Ok, fine. But what about that Vampire Dude PC who's making all sorts of

goth hindquarters? Because the world is full of weird people, from, aliens to robots to "vampires", so anyone that has a CvK (and everyone has at least CvK: Moderate) has an expansive enough definition of "alive" to include anyone that's sentient.
 * Well, if I can believe whatever I like, why can't I put a cap in his skinny

Well, yes. That's what theme and world rules do. If this was a WoD MUSH and you wanted to play a Vampire who was really an alien from the planet Yogurtia, you'd get told you couldn't play that too. We're a superhero MUSH, so by definition, you have to play a superhero (or neutral), as defined by the MUSH setting.
 * *pout* Aren't you telling me how to play my character?