Question Whateley Academy Tabletop RPG - Character Templates

I'd recommend starting with the basics instead of jumping right to advanced character templates. Sidhe are both rare and complex... they're like dropping a tiefling arcane archer into an old school D&D game (you know, the one where 'elf' was one of the five classes).

To start with, figure out what the Whateley mutant trait ratings translate to in whatever point system you're using. If the Exemplar ratings DO X ... then the point cost to buy the mutant trait at that rating is Y (and for Exemplar, rank 1 is probably going to be a negative point value because it counts as a limitation on core stat advancement). Do that for all your traits.

Recognize that 'some' traits are going to apply skill/ability multipliers - in Universe, being a Mage gives you the ability to cast spells... ANY spell that you have Essence available for. That doesn't mesh with how most point based RPGs handle spells (they tend to handle them more like abilities) as a balance mechanism. Decide whether you want spells (and gadgets and devices) to be locked into your point system for balance purposes... or to leave them 'free' cost to reflect the way the Universe is written.

Once you have the foundation costs of baseline stats (core stats can't be purchased outside of baseline human, only raised through the purchase of traits) and of core traits, then you can more easily look at things like Sidhe and Were... which, while technically not mutants, can be viewed from the perspective of a Package deal (ie, Sidhe is by itself an Exemplar 3 with commonly Mage, Psi or Avatar traits - so, say all Mage/Psi/ESP/AV trait costs at .9 ... in exchange for common mythological flaws - allergy to iron, bound by their word, Sidhe honor and tradition, active Sidhe world magick)... And then work out what the package itself costs.

Things like Brick, Blaster, Speedster, Siren... are roles that people play and can be built in a variety of ways (outside of comic books, these are called tank, dps, mover, and controller roles and their jobs are to take the hit, be the hit, control position on the field, and control the people on the field). You're missing three other common ones - healer and buffer (sometimes the same, in settings where active healing is less common). In fact, at one point we worked out how many different ways you could make a 'brick' or 'tank' character in the WU... and its pretty much 'all the ways'.

I agree, there IS still a skill component and a lore/knowledge component. Also split off from abilities depending on how you are handling the point system. Spellcrafting. Ritual casting. Essence manipulation. Essence Conversion. Imbuing Power, Enchanting, etc. And lore from as broad a topic as "The Magick of the Sidhe Court" to a specific spell "Tranference of Raw Essence to the Adjunct Ev'eleer, 4th Magus of the Realm of Fire, in exchange for Fire aligned Essence at the rate of 1:2.1"

Lore would be checked in connection with preparation phases, Skill / technique would be checked in actively casting a spell. Your power level would cap how strong any given technique could become. or perhaps how many total levels of techniques you could have.

That's "one" way to do it. It's hardly the only one, of course.

1. Previous answers here are pretty accurate. The important thing to remember about the difference between Infernal and GOO/mythos is that Infernal and Angelic sources are 'part' of the multi-dimensional existence... for most measures of understanding, you can view these beings and their magick/Essence the same as you might Elementals, except replace the 'natural' compass (earth, air, fire, water, wood, metal, ... as well as all the overlapping and interwoven 'sub-Elements' like storm, mud, fog, magma, and so on) with a morality/law axis. They are embodiments of a specific sort of Good and Evil, and their realm's Essence reflects that. Their spell crafting naturally does as well... and working those spells requires working with the appropriate sort of Essence and dealing with ANY 'tainted' Essence has an impact on the mortal body if you use enough of it and aren't careful to keep it separate from your own pure Essence (in your Well).

Mythos beings, though, are not part of this universe. They are outsiders. Their understanding of reality doesn't include spacetime in the same nature that ours does. Even trying to comprehend the languages and knowledge of those IN the universe who worship and serve them (or think they do, because you know ... who can really grasp the requirements of the old ones?) is enough to challenge the sanity of the weak willed.

So... what you should take out of this? ANY tainted Essence can corrupt a mortal if used too much or without care. Every Elemental or dimensional variant taints the Essence within its influence... for example: excessive manipulation or influence by Fire Essence can make a Mage reckless, brash, and aggressive. They will seek to consume things. Being influenced by Necromantic Essence will cause a Mage to think without emotion or morals, to take the long view and have a reduced concern about the sanctity of life. This is why the process of ritual and the natural accumulation of Essence in the Well (the process of which purifies / aligns the Essence to the mage) is such an important ability, and why such a 'simple' ability is rated as its own (quite powerful) mutant trait.

---

2. Sidhe magick is unique in the sense that Sidhe are actually physically 'made' of Essence. While most mortals have the ability to draw Essence out of their life force or add to it for the benefit of regeneration and recovery... the Sidhe are 'literally' Essence as flesh. This gives them vastly greater capacity to interface with sources of Essence, something that they enhance by creating environments in which there are vast available sources of Essence and Essence flows available for use (World Trees and the Ley Lines). Sidhe mages, thus, have far more ability to use naturally existing Essence from their surroundings for their purposes instead of having to cast from their own private sources of Essence. Of course, this comes at a cost... they cannot survive without the presence of Essence. They are also far more easily affected by 'tainted' Essence because they don't have the same degree of isolation and purification that human mages do. They ARE their Essence... and if that's surrounded by tainted stuff... they can't really get away from it.

Most of the rest of what makes Sidhe magick different in the WU is simply 'time'. The Sidhe pre-Sundering were an extremely long lived, dynamic people. They took both magick and science to degrees humanity has yet to match. Or even approach.

---

3. Conjuration creates something from nothing. Evocation brings something into this place that was elsewhere. Invocation brings something and embodies it in some way.

Conjuration is 'making'. Like Manifesting, it taps into the between places and brings forth ectoplasm and uses power to give it shape. A knife, a meal. With enough power, a conjuration can be real. Most conjurations are more illusion than reality, though. The knife might take a couple hits and then return to mist. The meal might taste alright but have no sustenance.

An Evocation is how you would bring fire... or a fire elemental... to come into our world from elsewhere for the purpose of lighting your way... or your bonfire. Some of the things that can seem to be done with Evocation and Conjuration 'overlap'... the difference being whether that item was 'made' in your will or whether it was 'brought' to you by your will. Also, some overlap might be seen with Summoning... but Summoning involves calling specific entities, usually working with existing or implied contracts... an evocation is abstract and very temporary.

An Invocation would be how you ask the Lord of Flames to protect you from a fire elemental on a battlefield, filling your veins with his nature and allowing you to melee with the elemental.

---

4. Just look at the stories with Hades in them. Former God of the Underworld and he's basically suicidal from dealing with the vocal dead.

There really are a number of ways you can go with this. The main issues would involve two things: the character's ability to keep from over-exposing to Death Essence. And where the mage got their spells. The down side of the 'nature' of Necromancy is that the bulk of the work down in the field has been done by those who don't mind dabbling in the Infernal or even Mythos.

But really? You COULD have a Necromancy inclined mage that was an amazingly effective complement to a healing facility. Take the critically wounded, shunt their spirit into a comfortable holding container so they aren't traumatized by all the physical damage... lock the body in a sort of stasis of undeath so it doesn't need to be kept living while it is repaired. That would allow healers to completely open up, repair, clean, and carefully exit out of the body without any worry about blood loss, pressure, and so on. Then, once things are repaired, release the stasis, make sure everything is regenerating well and then re-insert the spirit. You could even allow for visits with the spirit while they are injured by family members.

Or you could play it as a tragic fall into madness and evil villainy.

Remember, its the characters that make things interesting stories... not the powers.

---

5. Wicca has no speciality. Wicca is a religion, not a type of magick. The work... or the craft... or any of the dozen different ways a Wiccan follower or priestess/priest might refer to the magick side of things isn't very specialized. Charms and potions (simples) ... and use of the Sight... are fairly common among singletons and solitaries. Invocations of spirits and pagan deities are done in ritual with groups and covens. The full scope of the Wiccan spell caster though, really depends on the 'era' you are talking about. There aren't many 'pure' casters in contemporary witchcraft... too much BS published out there that mixes Kabbalic high magick (Jewish esoteric traditions), Hindu traditions of kundalini and chakras, and so on with purely fiction filler to sell books.

---

6. You can consider physical 'charms' as seen in the Universe in the same way you do devises, gadgets, or pieces of technology of any sort. They are an object created and used for a specific purpose. Yes, in this particular case, the item was made and powered by Essence... but in practice, its origin only really matters if someone is trying to destroy/counter it. You can say "an EMP can break this electronic device but not this charm" but you can also say "a magical suppression field can break this charm but not this iPad". How complex you want to make this depends, mostly, on the needs of the story.