Most public schools aren't qualified to teach magic, the average teacher in a run-down z-area school school wouldn't be qualified to recognize an Awakened child. Even if a kid's magic talent is discovered, most families can't afford private tutors. It seems reasonable to assume that some potential Magicians or Adepts simply slip through the cracks and never have a chance cultivate their talents.

It seems to me that a character who is Awakened but not Magicaly Active would be interesting to play. However, I'm finding character generation balance issues to be somewhat of a problem. Such a character would either be drasticly underpowered, or a slightly sub-standard mundane with the potential to learn magic.

My current idea is to require such a character take magic as priority B or spend the BP cost for an Aspected Magician. Then, allow up to 25 spell points to be traded for nuyen or BP at 1:1. No spells can be bought at this time, of course.
It is important to keep track of the number of spell points conveted in this manor.

During the course of the game, the undiscovered magician's talent may be discovered, depending on his contacts and RPing. This character can be taught the Hermetic Way or the Somantic Way, or can be discovered by a totem and taught the Shamantic Way. Creating a usable mechanism for the last is a problem.
He can be a Full Magician, Aspected, or an Adept but must spend time learning and training.
A Full Magician gets (25 - spent SP - magic loss) spell points to spend learning initial spells, but must spend the time required to learn a Force 15 spell in order to master Astral Projection.
An Aspacted Magician gets (35 - spent - magic Loss) SP.
An Adept gets [(36-spent SP)/6 - magic loss] Power Points

Of course, everything is still limited by magic loss.

one problem:

Sphynx's Alternate BP System for Magic

I've used these to some success to represent undiscovered mages or people who's magical power is still growing.

I like Sphynx's system, because I think that magical power should be more than 6+ points or nothing - there should be a wide variety of power, and not all of it should neatly fall into "shamanic", "hermetic", or "adept". I don't know if it's quite what hyzmarka wanted, but one of the options there would probably actually work better.

The problem with an "unaware" awakened character is that it takes so much Karma to catch up to a normal starting character. For a full mage, buying Conjuring: 6, Sorcery: 6, and 25 spell points costs 85 Karma. For a sorcerer, buying Sorcery: 6 and 35 spell points costs 65 Karma. While you are playing catch-up, everyone else is busy improving their character's skills which started at 6.

This is not practical for a normal game. It might be practical is a low-powered campaign, where you are discovering your magical powers while the "sammies" are trying to find a grubby street doc who will implant a used smartlink into one of them.

One way to make it work would be to play an adept, with non-flashy powers such as improved ability, maybe increased reflexes: 1, and so on. He could just think "Damn, I'm good" without knowing he's really an adept. Another idea would be to create a sorcerer, conjurer, or mage, then work with the GM on giving him the amnesia Flaw at somewhere between the 2 and 5 point version - where you start out not remembering your magical skills, until you react instinctively to danger - but where you still have some say in putting the character together.

It's as practical as you let it be. If that means a player is consciously willing to disadvantage themselves for a RP experience... more power to them.

I like Sphynx's system. 5 BP isn't a severe cost for the potential to learn magic. It would still alow the unaware magician to keep keep up with mundane character's. That's the point, having a basicly mundane character with the potential to learn magic just like any magician can learn mundane skills or install absurd amounts of cyberware.
It is just another potential path for character growth.

remember, though, if someone wants to raise their magic attribute in game the only way to do so is via initiation. So, if someone pays for the potential for magical growth and get a magic rating of 1, they'll have to initiate to grade 5 just to become equivalent to a starting mage (ignoring metamagics for a moment, just comparing magic ratings) who didn't use this system. Make sure your players are aware of this difference at the get go before they get angry about it.

Not to mention that any cyber at all would kill any chance of _using_ that 1 magic for ever and ever. (Essence loss = magic loss)

In general, it's better to start out with a mage, cash in all your spell points, don't buy any magical skills, and deal with the fact that you may not be numerically optimized.

You still ain't gonna be totally useless.

Edit: I think essense loss _does_ equal magic loss. You have it, you just ain't using it. Also keeps near-cyberzombies from suddenly 'discovering' their mystic powers and intiating from there.

Edit #2: Hmm, nifty character idea - a character who's a near-burnout before he figures out he's a mage. Five essence of cyber, 1 magic point left on 'awakening'. He'd certainly have a different loadout than your standard vanilla mage.

Good point. I don't believe that cannon, allows a character with 0 magic to gain magic points through initiation.

Make them awakened but untrained- they don't know about it or they see, assense, stuff which others don't and either doin't know they see stuff others don't or are afraid to tell.

Corps look for untrained kids, good social programs- gee Mrs. Brown, you have a special child and I know you can't afford special schools, but we at Wuxing feel it's important such children get development and if you'll just sign this, we'll be happy to see little 'becca gets the training she needs to have a great future.
18years later little 'becca is Rebecca Brown a happy loyal little corp wage mage for Wuxing.

It might be better if the untrained one comes form a restrictive group that doesn't support magic- "devil's work" or "It's not normal dam,n it, you don't want to be different!"