Merits or Backgrounds as Features
System
As a possible optional rule, a given Wonder may have a Background or Merit attached to its ownership. The person who has bonded with the Wonder (in whatever form that looks like in your chronicle) gets the benefits of that Trait so long as the Wonder is close at hand. Say, for example, that an enchanted mask allows its wearer to sense things more clearly (the Acute Senses Merit); or that a bank card allows its PIN holder to access funds outside his usual bank account (the Resources Background); or that a holosynaptic ID card represents a selection of fake identities or special permits (the Alternate Identity and Certification Backgrounds). From
the Iron Will instilled into a cowboy hat, to the Blessing laid upon a lucky pair of boxer shorts, such features can be very helpful indeed.
This sort of thing can get out of hand, however; a perpetual flow of money or assistance could easily unbalance your chronicle. And so, such features must be limited to between one and three dots of Backgrounds, or 1 to 5 points of Merits, with Storyteller approval required for each one. We suggest that no more than three features, total, be added to a Wonder unless the Storyteller has added them secretly, and that a player should be limited to only one 3-pt. feature when his mage creates a Wonder.
For obvious reasons, these features disappear if and when the Wonder is stolen, lost, or destroyed. Such favors remain tied to the Wonder, not to the owner, unless they get pur chased – with experience points – for the character himself.
See also 2
Backgrounds
- Resources shared/trait/background/resources
Merits & Flaws
- Acute Senses shared/trait/merit/acute-senses