General Backgrounds

A measure of resources both internal (Avatar, Arcane, Dream, etc.) and external (Allies, Mentor, Resources, and so on), the Background Trait tells you plenty about a mage’s position in life. A charismatic wizard, for instance, would have Allies, Contacts, Influence, and the like, whereas a solitary hermit would possess a strong Avatar, lots of Arcane, and maybe a Familiar or Node. As with other Traits, Backgrounds come from essential elements of that character’s history and often play significant roles in the chronicle at hand. When you pick your Backgrounds, then, make sure there are good reasons for the things you choose. Who are your Allies, and why do they aid you? Where’s your Node, what’s it like, and how did you acquire such a potent treasure? A high Avatar rating reflects an entity with a strong personality and goals of its own; what, then, is your relationship with that internal spirit, and how does that affect your life? Each Trait should have origins, conditions, and a story of its own… at least in regards to its place in your life.

## Backgrounds for Baleful Big Easy

**Restricted Backgrounds:** No background may start play at 5 or more (for backgrounds that can go above 5) without very heavy backstory justification. And even then STs reserve the right to tell you no if it doesn't make sense.

**Banned Backgrounds:** Any not listed here.

## Allies

In times of need, you’ve got folks who’ve got your back. These allies might be badass friends, helpful animals, people with connections they can work in your favor, errand-runners, or maybe even minor spirits who’ll lend you the occasional favor if and when they feel like doing so. Generally, this Background refers to unAwakened humans or fairly intelligent animals (like a wolf pack or a troupe of apes). They’re probably aware of the weirder side of your life, but they don’t know the details of mage society or your true powers unless you choose to endanger them by sharing those secrets. Whatever their nature, or their relationship to you, these allies are characters in their own right, with needs, fears, motivations, and agendas that might coincide with your mage’s goals but also may occasionally clash with them.

Each dot in this Background gives you one ally with some moderately useful abilities, or two allies who essentially run errands and do busywork. At two dots and above, you can increase the ability of your moderate allies or buy a larger number of lesser and moderate allies. If you get two dots, for example, you could select two moderate allies, get four sidekicks, or make a single major ally who’s more capable than those lesser ones. Magick-using Allies count as major ones. If your allies get killed or wind up quitting your company some other way, this Background loses the dots that represented those characters until you recruit new allies to replace the departed ones.

## Certification

In an age when you need permits for every damn thing imaginable, the right certifications can save you a world of aggravation. With this Background, your character has official papers that allow her to pursue some regulated activity: hunting, driving, operating heavy machinery, practicing medicine, owning certain weapons, and so on. Generally, such activities involve risk, demand special training, affect society at large, or a combination of the three. Simple certifications, like a fishing permit, are easy to obtain, whereas really hazardous or complex activities demand higher levels of certification.

Without the proper training, you’ll need at least one dot in a related Ability for each dot in this Background; a medical license, for example, would demand at least four dots in Medicine. Assuming that your character has the appropriate skills (or has paid the appropriate bribes), you can get certifications for alternate identities (see Alternate Identity, above) to reflect a character with the right papers under various names.

Official certifications carry a degree of visibility. Certifications can be checked by the authorities, and although a heavy-weapons permit might let you own some serious hardware, it also assures that you’ll be one of the first people the cops look for when someone commits a crime with such weaponry.

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## Contacts

You know people who know things. Although such contacts aren’t as helpful or reliable as Allies, they can help you dig up information, spread messages, pull strings, and call in small favors (scoring tickets to a sold-out concert, locating a low-rent apartment, getting a meeting with the police chief, and so on). Naturally, these folks will want occasional help from you as well. So long as one hand washes the other, though, these folks can prove remarkably helpful.

The nature of your Contacts Background depends upon your character’s concept and backstory. The runaway Jinx, for example, would have contacts among the street-folk community, whereas executive Malcolm has contacts in the business world. Within their area of experience, contacts can usually find or pass on appropriate sorts of information; Jinx might learn how to hotwire a car, and Malcolm might secure data about automotive stocks, but Neither Jinx nor Malcolm is likely to know someone who could trace a car’s license plate number. If you’re looking for contacts outside your area of expertise, you could always nurture some new ones, or else you could use your existing contacts to find out what you need. (In game terms, this second option raises the difficulty of your roll by +2 or more.)

When calling on your contacts, roll an appropriate Social Attribute + Contacts. The difficulty depends on the nature of the information you’re trying to circulate or the favor you’re trying to get. Success gets you what you needed, but failure reflects flawed data, a mangled message, or no benefit at all. A botch means you’ve pissed somebody off; either your contact sells you out or else tells you to go to hell and then removes herself from your network for a while.

Each dot in this Trait reflects one major Contact, a fleshed out character like an Ally. You could also establish casual contacts with a successful Social or Mental Trait + Contacts roll, but these sources will be harder to work with (that is, the roll has a higher difficulty) and they’re not reliable with sensitive information.

This Background can go above five dots. For information networks that deal in sensitive or secret information, see the Background: Spies below

## Fame

For some story-based reason, you’re famous within the Sleeper world. Maybe you’re a hip-hop star, a politician, an athlete, or one of the boom/ bust stardom circle generated by YouTube and reality TV. Among folks in the know, you’re considered a celebrity; the higher your rating, the greater your fame.

A decidedly mixed blessing, this Trait gives you a fairly high profile. The authorities will be less likely to mess with you (unless they want to make an example of you…), fans will give you a certain amount of deference, and folks will believe things of you that they would not accept from a normal person. Sure, that kung-fu superstar can kick a hole through a brick wall – didn’t you see her last movie? And hey, if that guy looked at me that way, I’d pass out too! Fame confers status at the cost of visibility and lets you get away with coincidences few other folks could manage.

This Background also complements Social Traits when you’re trying to get things done. A successful Charisma, Manipulation, or Appearance + Fame roll can open lots of doors. Of course, folks will recognize you, too, so don’t expect to scam those free airline tickets or get past that security detail without someone remembering that you did it. In the age of cell phone cameras, YouTube, and CCTV, a famous person has a hard time getting away with stuff. Cast a spell in public, and there’ll be videos of the event online in no time.

Fame is fleeting, too, especially in this age of disposable celebrities. In story terms, you’ll have to keep doing big things in order to be remembered. And just as there are folks who’ll love you for what you do, there’ll be folks who hate your guts for it as well. Fame brings stalkers, haters, critics, and thieves… and if you don’t want them in your life, then why’d you choose to become FAMOUS…?

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## Influence

For details on the Influence Background see Influences

## Mentor

For details on the Mentor Background see Mentor Background

## Pure Breed

Garou take great stock in ancestry, and the werewolf who is descended from renowned forbears has a definite advantage in Garou society. This Background represents your lineage, markings, bearing and other features of birth. Other Garou revere werewolves with high ranks in Pure Breed as heroes of yore come to life — and such werewolves are expected to act the part. The higher your Pure Breed score is, the more likely you are to impress elder councils or receive hospitality from foreign tribes. Each point of Pure Breed adds an extra die to formal challenges (such as Rank challenges) and to Social rolls involving other Garou (even Ronin or Black Spiral Dancers).

Pure Breed is a nebulous combination of bloodline and spiritual inheritance. A character with high Pure Breed looks and carries himself like an archetypal member of his tribe — however, if he does not join that tribe, any benefits of Pure Breed are removed by the tribe’s totem. Many werewolves with Pure Breed can trace their ancestry directly, while others resemble distant ancestors who cannot be connected without a degree of genealogical exactitude that is lost to the Garou.

Some tribes place more value on good breeding than others, but Pure Breed is almost universally respected. It’s a mystical trait, and werewolves can tell instinctively whose blood is particularly pure. Of course, Garou expect those of pure blood to live up to the standards set by their noble ancestors. They frown on those who can’t or won’t accept the challenge.

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## Resources

For details on the Resources background see Resources Backgrounds

## Sept Standing

For details on the Sept Standing Background see Sept Positions, Benefits, and the Sept Standing Background

## Spies

A collection of little birds in various nests keeps you well informed. These informants aren’t necessarily your friends – they may, in fact, hate you with the burning intensity of a thousand fiery suns. For the moment, though, you have something they want: money, sex, drugs, magick, whatever. In return for that indulgence, they’ll tell you what they know.

Spies come in many different forms: disgruntled associates, dismayed staff, jaded groupies, desperate addicts, loyal acolytes of your cause, folks who owe you favors, people who’d be in very deep trouble without you, opportunists who like the color of your money, lovers who want to stay on your good side… Certain mad scientists and Technocrats even have special critters or tiny robots who report back to them. Whatever your relationship to these spies might be, however, they could turn against you if you’re not careful. Money, magick, better drugs, the threat of torture – all these things and more might flip your spies into someone else’s service. And even if they do remain loyal to you, your spies can be misled with false data or mistaken impressions of what’s really going on. They know only what they’re able to see.

Systems-wise, this Trait lets you ferret out information (Intelligence + Spies); circulate misinformation, diversions, and lies (Manipulation + Spies); impress people from a distance (Charisma + Spies); or note potential threats before they solidify (Perception + Spies). A true spymaster can command well above five dots in this Trait, which explains the frightening influence of certain Hermetics, Technocrats, vigilantes, and criminal minds.