QUOTE (Sir_Psycho @ Jun 21 2011, 11:58 PM)
I agree that those are all good languages for a academic hermetic to learn. My problem is that no one, no matter how intelligent, is equally talented or dedicated across an area that broad. He might have found Latin rolled better off the tongue than greek, He's good with arabic text and formulae but he can't get the gutteral sounds, etc. I only object to universal fours in every language he's ever tried his hand in.
I dropped his ratings in German and Japanese from 3 to 4, and in Mandarin from 4 to 2 (those tonal languages are hard!). I also exchanged French and Italian for Egyptian and Enochian (the secret tongue of Hermetics; bonus points if you get the reference), respectively.
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I had a look through SR3's Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book and some others to give you some examples of magician characters' knowledge skills.
-Hermetic Academic: Academic Politics, History, Library Research, Magic Esoterica, Magic Theory
-Lorekeeper: Ancient Languages, Archaeology, Anthropology, Magic Background, Magic History, Magic Theory, Metaplanes, Spell Design, Talismongering
-Antiquities and Oddities Dealer: Appraisal, Botany, Greek, Latin, Mythology, Parazoology, talismongering (analysis)
-Artificer/Enchanter: Appraisal, Chemistry, fantasy sims, Magical Theory, Metallurgy, Smithing, Talismongering, Woodworking
-Talislegger: Botany, Law, Lore Shops, Magic Groups, Magical Locations, Magical Talismans, Parazoology, Smugglers, Talismongering
-Paramed Shaman: Anatomy, Herbalism, Medicine, Pilates
-Street Mage p74 SR3: Magic Background, Magical Groups, Magical Threats, Named Spirits, Parapsychology, Sperethiel
Going through some of these reminded me that Etiquette (corporate) would be a suitable choice. The main point is these archetypes are general, designed to be deployed anywhere, and even though many knowledge skills overlap, it sometimes only takes one or two to define them from eachother, or give us an idea to their personal interests. You mentioned Hermeticism as a science, perhaps Arthur Garrett has a wide grounding in scientific disciplines, as i'm sure things like mathematics, chemistry, metallurgy, botany/parabotany, mythology, zoology, biology and more could be useful. A mage in a laboratory is fairly useless without good procedural conduct. Also, some personal interests would help. I noticed a film camera in your gear list. I'm a wet film buff myself, maybe your character could be into photography.
I used the points regained from German, Japanese and Mandarin to give him Astronomy 2 and Mathematics 2 as knowledge skills. You make good points.
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Of course. That's fine. But what about the magic level only being five? Hasn't the initiation changed that?
Nope. Initiation raises
maximum Magic, not current Magic. He has to pay separately to raise the attribute. As a Grade 2 initiate, his Magic is now 5/8 rather than 5/6.
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Maybe you could take an initiative boosting spell and at the very least the Armour spell, so I can rest easier when some-one tries to shoot you? Corvina does balance the lack of IPs, by basically giving you her initiative to kill things. She does scare me a little, I'll need some mechanism to ensure she isn't a solution to every problem. Does she have any sort of magical protection/concealment/movement powers? Because that could really increase Arthur's survivability. And I must say, thank you, thank you for not going for a Possession tradition.
I traded out Stunball and Fling for Combat Sense (more effective than Armor and less Drain) and Increase Reflexes. As for Corvina, she does increase Arthur's survivability quite a bit, and is actually quite fearsome once you think about it. Among her powers, she does have Guard (not really good for combat defense, but it does prevent glitches), Concealment, and Movement. The full list is to the extreme right of the character sheet; scroll over to see it. As for the question of tradition, I'm going for a classic "aged wizard" archetype here. Hermeticism just makes the most sense.
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When it comes to roleplaying Corvina, do you want exclusive access, or can I roleplay her at times as an NPC? You may have to notify me via PM or OOC before you act out as her, as I can't allow her to become a complete extension of your character, if you understand.
I hope you don't mind me picking apart your character, but you are the first one with a working sheet, so I figure we have time to beat out a few versions until we get something we're both happy with.
I'm fine with you using Corvina as a mouthpiece from time to time. In the introductory scene, I'd like to RP her exclusively, to establish the relationship between her and Arthur. I have a pretty specific tone I'm going for with that, you see.
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I was thinking, considering your character has some gear already, perhaps the game can start after or just as Arthur has crafted Corvina. Perhaps he left the office on vacation time to visit a mana-rich site and Initiate/craft an ally, do some field work, and that's why he's got a little armour and a duffel bag with some field gear. Given you're probably going to start out homeless and broke, a bit of survival gear wouldn't go amiss, and on the streets a slap patch or a survival knife could ensure you a whole night of protection in trade.
You could receive a call from a co-worker saying that something big is going down and you have to get back there immediately, so you come back to the research lab straight from the airport, and everything goes to hell from there.
I would really prefer that Corvina already be at least several years "old" (not that chronological age has any real relevance to a spirit) at the start of the campaign. I want her and Arthur to be very close, with shared experiences. The gear I listed is the stuff that Arthur has acquired since fleeing Ares. In the intro scene, he won't have any of that, except the power focus. I'm anticipating a time skip of several days to a couple of weeks between Merlin's flight and meeting up with the other PCs.
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You guys can work this out between you, but maybe the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Thaumaturgy? My US geography isn't great, but I assume the closest city to MIT&T is Boston? That'd be an interesting starting point, considering it's a UCAS city there is probably a decent Ares presence, but the loss of the Stock Exchange to New York may have financially drained the city, leaving a crime wave for Merlin to sink into. Is there a reputable University closer to Seattle?
The real MIT is actually in Boston; whether MIT&T ever moved its campus out of the city, I don't know. As for other options, there are
six state universities and numerous private institutions in Washington State. How many of them are still in operation in 2072 is up to you, I guess.
QUOTE (Aria @ Jun 22 2011, 03:41 AM)
I'll confess my knowledge of the American education system is limited to films & TV but I assume that age 23 (sorry, copy paste error in the 400bp post) she is coming towards the completion of a multi disciplinary masters degree?!?
Assuming Silk entered university at the normal age of 18 or 19, she would have completed a four-year bachelor's degree at 22 or 23. If you want her to start with or close to a master's, you're looking at about another two years, which would make her 24 or 25.
Beside that, concerning the initinal circumstances post, I'm rather open to everything. Whatever you deem good, I'll roll along with.
I think I might just have to scale down on the ammount of things I'm trying to stick inside the poor ol' guy. I mean, that's not even considering that with the current build, he's at 0.06 of essence and about 450 000 
down the hole, before any gear purchase.
...but I don't really see him setting things ablaze willy-nilly.