Former Wage Mage Archetype Options

[druchii]

Hi all,

I'm playing a Mage for the first time in SR and I'd like to go with a former company man archetype. In 2nd Edition there was I think a "Former Wage Mage". Has anyone got this archetype or know where I might find it? I can't really find what I'm looking for in my SR books and I need a jump-start to charcter creation. Thing is I'm not sure what a former wage mage should have in terms of gear, spells and training (skills & attributes).

Cheers

[Siege]

There was the "Former Wage Mage" in both 1st and 2nd editions.

The skill set tended to be more refined than his street-level brothers.

You might do a google search for "former corp character" and see if anyone has posted their characters online for details.

-Siege

[Glyph]

Most former wage mages are hermetic, and <1 point of cyberware would not be nearly as uncommon as it would be with most other awakened characters. Their spells would be likelier to fit a specialty (healer, scout, etc.) rather than the eclectic selection of, for example, the street mage. They would have Sorcery, Conjuring, possibly specialize in Corporate on their Etiquette skill, Stealth, a firearm such as pistols or SMG, and a Computer skill of 1 or 2. Other good skills are Car, Electronics, and Negotiation. Their knowledge skills would be a mix of corporate and academic. Their resources would tend to be high (which is a good idea for hermetics in general), but if they were recently let go (and lost their pension, condo, etc.), then they could be starting out with low resources. For gear, I see some elemental summoning materials and magical libraries, possibly some spell formulas to make learning spells later easier, some basic communications gear, a medkit, a decent data reader, a telecom with a good Matrix service, some suits, some good armor (either secure long coat or Mortimer greatcoat, along with FFBA full suit), and a pistol or SMG as a reliable backup weapon.

All of this is for a generic former company wage mage. There are all kinds of other possibilities for such a character - trickster shaman who couldn't handle all of the rules and restrictions, burned out HTR healer mage, etc.

[druchii]

Thanks, they are all good ideas. It certainly gives me somewhere to start!

[druchii]

For those who are interested I found a Red Samurai mage writeup in "First Run". While impossible to make as a starting character it gave me an idea of what a wage mage might be like.