Enduring Twilight: Old World of Darkness

Mage 101

Lesson Five: Finishing the Sheet

Freebies, Merits and Flaws

Freebies -
Ok - seems like you've finished your sheet already, right? Wrong! Here comes what I consider the "fun part" (or the annoying part, if there's a lot you want to do and only have so many points to spread) This section is the "freebies" which you can use to "round out" your character, customizing them as you see fit (yep, for those of you who wanted a 5 in Crafts: Basket Weaving, here's your chance to move from 3 dots to 5!). If you really wanted a higher rating in an Attribute, Ability or Advantage, or one of the Gifts that isn't normally available to your Breed, Auspice or Tribe, now's the time to go back and get it. You've got 15 points, which may seem like a lot, but whoa - don't go thinking they're dots that you can throw anywhere. You have to "buy" dots with the freebie points, and where the dot goes determines how much it costs. (after all, Attributes are much more useful, flexible, and in demand for rolls than individual abilities, and they're priced accordingly) I've included a chart with the cost breakdown. (from page 102, Werewolf: the Apocalpyse, WW3801)

You can combine the dots you buy with freebies any way you wish, so long as the cost doesn't exceed the number you get to start with (15)

Merits & Flaws
Merits and flaws are 'extras' - they tend to be things that can't be quantified easily in a 1-5 (much less 1-10) scale, and are often character 'quirks', whether good or bad. Both merits and flaws have freebie point values - merits cost freebies, while flaws give you extra freebies. Don't go crazy with them though - you're only allowed to get 7 extra points from flaws. You can take more flaws than that if you really want to, but you won't get points for them.
There's tons of merits and flaws scattered in dozens of books, and sometimes you can even take them from other game lines (if the Storytellers say it's okay) but I've included a list of the ones from the Player's Guide to Garou to get you started - if you need more than this you can probably dig up plenty in other sourcebooks.