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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cryptos" data-source="post: 4566353" data-attributes="member: 58439">Those are nice.  I did something similar, trying to summarize key points to a single page each (with a small but readable font and some formatting errors from cutting and pasting them here):    Some things I'd recommend trying:1) It can be tough to introduce so many concepts at once to a group of new players, and it can be difficult to give them an overarching common goal.  One plot hook that I like to get things started is having the players themselves be Awakened as part of a "rare" and auspicious (or to some, suspicious) event of simultaneous Awakenings across a city or region, with everyone interested in studying, using, exploiting, or channeling that group of new mages toward their goals or what they perceive the character's destiny to be, all while the players try to work out what happened and who to trust.  Give them a mentor figure and have some in-game, in-character magical tutorials.   For instance, I've had a group of mortals awaken as part of a dark ritualistic experiment by a left-handed legacy; a group that was on a city rail car disappear into a verge that was created when a powerful artifact had been transported along the same route earlier, and they wind up Awakened and in the Shadow; and a group awaken because a long-imprisoned foe of the Pentacle mages deep below the city is trying to break free of his cage and is sending out magical shockwaves.2) Mentor characters can be important for newer players.  Consider giving them one as a group by awarding a merit point to each player to be invested in a mentor character.  The mentor should be knowledgeable and helpful, but odd and perhaps seemingly unreliable (in terms of being unavailable at inopportune moments.)  The trick is to test the level of trust the characters have without making the NPC useless as a mentor because no one trusts him.  This keeps the character from just being a "Dumbledore" clone.  3)  Absolutely roleplay some of the more interesting magical lessons, but leave the textbook stuff to 'training montages' rather than fully roleplaying them out.  Tests of resourcefulness are fun little training exercises where you can have a mentor pop up and give advice or explain what they could have done better.  I've had situations where I've had the leader of the Guardians of the Veil insist on testing new mages in an area to make sure they aren't loose cannons that will violate the Lex Magica, do lots of vulgar magic or become crazed killers with such challenges as "get to the top of this office building undetected and without killing any of the guards to retrieve X and pass the test."One formula I like: a) Start with a dramatic Awakening scene, perhaps have some "wild magic" happen before they learn to cast spells themselves (by having them roll for generic improvised magic when stressed or in danger and the ST determines the result and form the magic takes based on the character's path, virtue/vice, nimbus and arcana.)b) Characters survive and a mentor character appears, but there's little time for introduction, enemies of the mentor character, or individuals looking to exploit or eliminate the new mages (Banishers or Seers, etc) have also sensed the mass Awakening and are on their way!c) Escape, and some brief explanations and little lessons about magic.d) "training montage"... give the players an overview of what they can do and how the magical world works.e) On to face the next challenge, stand up to whoever is after them, investigate how they all awakened at once, or to get introduced to the larger mage community in the area.</blockquote>

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