Character Creation
Character Generation: Just like out of the book, except as follows:
Attributes: 15 points to spread as you like, but no more than 8 can be devoted to any one category (Physical, Social or Mental). Characters start with the first "free" dot in every Attribute, of course.
Abilities: 30 points to spread, but no more than 3 dots can be invested in any one Ability with initial spread.
Backgrounds: Mages receive 7 Background points to spread. Backgrounds cost one Background/freebie point per dot up to three; every dot beyond the third costs two points. (So an Avatar rating of 4 costs a total of five Background/freebie points, and a rating of 5 cost seven points.)
Advantages: Beginning Willpower may be no higher than 8.
Spheres: You may distribute your character's initial five Sphere dots among Spheres as you wish, though no Sphere rating may exceed the character's Arete. Sphere dots may be spent on sorcery path ratings, and paths aren't limited by the player's Arete. All choices should be appropriate for the character's history and paradigm, however; a Storyteller shouldn't allow your monastic Akashic Brother to have enough Path of Hellfire and Forces to level small buildings unless there's a damned good reason for it.
Merits and Flaws: I set a maximum of 7 points' worth of Flaws unless there's a good reason I should allow more. (Be sure to check with me before selecting Merits and Flaws, like those in Balancing the Scales; I don't allow Dark Fate, those Merits and Flaws that can be simulated through roleplaying, or those whose effects can be covered with other traits.)

Basic Systems
The system White Wolf uses for the World of Darkness functions really well for most things, but it runs a little clunky in combat. While some of this is unavoidable, I feel we should try to minimize dice rolling whenever possible. Drawing from a variety of sources (including the Trinity and WoD2 systems), I've eliminated rerolls, made the rules for specializations consistant with the rest of the system, and streamlined initiative.
Die Rolls: In my games, natural results of 10 on all die rolls counts as two successes, except when the difficulty is 10; in this case, each 10 is one success. This isn't over-the-top, in my opinion, as the law of averages means 1s will come up as often as 10s.
1s on damage rolls are simple failures, and don't reduce damage successes. 10s on damage rolls are simple successes, and don't count as two damage successes.
Specialties: While conceptually much the same, I do specialties differently than in the book. There are no Attribute specialties; these rules only apply to Abilities. Specialities cost two freebie points/ three exp, or one dot from the character's initial ability spread. A character can have a specialty in any Ability he has, regardless of rating, and can have as many specialties as he has dots in that trait. So someone with Firearms 1 can have only one Firearms specialty.
A specialty allows you to roll an extra die when taking actions or making rolls involving that specialty. For example, a character with Firearms 1 and the Pistol specialty adds two dice to his Dexterity die pool when using that weapon, but not when using other weapons.
Initiative: A single initiative roll is made at the beginning of combat for each participant (1d10 + Dexterity + Wits). This result is kept for the remainder of the combat, and isn't rolled each turn. However, increases to Dexterity and/or Wits, or initiative bonuses provided through magic, will increase initiative appropriately.
A character may elect to sacrifice her action for the turn to add 3 to her initiative result for the next turn, and for the rest of the fight. Those gaining extra actions through Time effects may sacrifice one (and only one) of those actions to gain this bonus next turn, and still act that turn; otherwise, a player must sacrifice her action for that turn (and may not take multiple actions). Reflexive actions may be taken during "skipped" turns, such as yelling a short warning or spending Quintessence.

Overreaching

Karma finally caught up with Optimus Crime in the form of two Iterators. It was inevitable, really. The Orphan technomancer had made off with some tech from the smoking ruins of one of Technocracy's bases a few weeks back. He hadn't been part of the Traditionalist assault, but they probably don't know that, and they don't take kindly to having their stuff taken regardless. It might have helped if Optimus had checked for and disabled any tracking technology on the stuff he took, but it's too late to worry about that now. The Union was here to take back their stuff... and probably him along with it. Trapped in an alleyway with no possibility of escape, Optimus Crime decides to go for broke and activate the plasma energy discharge function of one the Iteration X weapons he stole. He understands energy theory well enough to have a vague idea of how it might work, and so quickly field-calibrates the device as the agents approach, shoves in a primal energy clip, and then fires... ...and isn't terribly surprised when the damned thing explodes in his hands. His last thought in the agonized split second before losing consciousness was hoping his pursuers were caught in the blast radius. Optimus Crime has Forces ●●, and wants to perform a Forces ●●●●, Prime ●● effect (with the plasma weapon as the focus). The player rolls three dice for Optimus' Arete, while two 1s are assigned to his roll (as the difference between his Forces and the desired effect is two); luckily, he has Prime ●●, and so suffers no automatic 1s on that end. The player rolls Arete, and gets 1 success... but the two 1s reduce this to zero successes, a failure -- and, as this is an overreaching attempt, a botch. Ouch.

I see the wisdom of Sphere rankings as a measure of a mage's understanding and potential, but having potential effects divided linearly (even if said effects are open-ended) smacks just a bit too much of sorcery and other linear magics: you can achieve such-and-such effect at this level, but not until.
To address this issue, I present an optional system to give mages access to the entire range of Sphere effects from levels 1-5, if they have any rating in that Sphere at all -- so it's possible to pull off Sphere effects above your current rating. The justification for this is that even novice aptitude in a Sphere offers the understanding of any effect possible with that Sphere (below Oracle level, in any case), though only effects associated with the character's Sphere rating and below are fully understood. This is very difficult and risky, however.
Systems: If a mage wants to use an effect associated with a Sphere she has, but that is assigned to a Sphere rating above her current rating, she may still roll her Arete to create that effect. This is known as overreaching. However, this automatically assigns a 1 to the Arete roll for each level of difference between her Sphere rating and the level of the effect. These botches compound if he desired effect involve two Spheres the character has insufficient rating in to cast the effect normally. There's no way to avoid or mitigate this effect, even with advanced Entropy; it reflects the difficulty of creating an effect the mage doesn't fully understand. Note for extended casting, these ones are applied to every roll made.
There are several restrictions on overreaching.

♦ Of course, as if needs to be said, the mage's paradigm must support the effect. If there's no way to justify the attempt thus, it can't even be made.
♦ A Willpower point must be spent whenever an overreaching attempt is made, before the Arete dice are rolled.
♦ Any failure on the effect roll is treated as a botch (remember to apply the automatic 1s for overreaching).
♦ Overreaching effects are never treated as rotes, no matter how often they're cast successfully.
♦ Overreaching attempts can be never be made for effects associated with Sphere rankings ●●●●● ● or above.

Stormgates
The events of the Reckoning bode ill for all the world's supernatural entities, but it has hit mages hard. One of the most noticeable aspects of this downturn in fortunes is the Avatar Storm, which often flays the souls of those mages that attempt to step into the Umbra or Shadowlands. Now access to the mirror worlds has been drastically cut, while support from allies beyond the Barrier has been all but cut off.
However, not long after the storm first happened, the Dreamspeaker Master Serene Deeps noticed anomalies in the Gauntlet while attempting to find a way back into the physical world, where less astute students of Spirit had missed them altogether. In certain areas that seemed to occur randomly, the psychic winds didn't blow quite as hard; as she put it, "the spirit-razors were replaced by fists". Serene noticed that she could Step Sideways through these areas and suffer only severe pain and fatigue, rather than life-threatening spiritual wounds. While on earth, the Dreamspeaker spread the news to all the Tradition mages that she could find, and taught them to perceive these anomalies, which came to be known as Stormgates. She even learned to create temporary Stormgates herself, though very few mages on earth are capable of such a feat. (See the Serene's Sight and Keys of the Gatekeeper rotes in Rounding Out the Spheres.) Serene Deeps slipped back into the Umbra close to two years ago, and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Yet, her remarkable discovery has given those Tradition mages who know of them a spiritual edge over their opponents.
However, this advantage may prove short-lived. There are dubious tales of ranking Void Engineer Explorers recently applying subdimensional energy-dampening technologies to assist them in their application of Dimensional Science. While this possibility is only a nasty rumor so far (only the Void Engineers would know), several Technocratic groups have proven adept at sniffing out Stormgates and eliminating them as part of their efforts to protect the earth from reality deviants.
What Are Stormgates? Stormgates are transient breaks in the Avatar Storm, lulls in the winds where the damaging, lethal energies of the Reckoning are reduced somewhat. They occupy small areas, never larger than a small group of people can stand in. They occur randomly, without respect to the strength of the Gauntlet or Shroud in that area; a shopping mall is as likely to host a Stormgate as a node or haunted house. Stormgates are temporary phenomena, and often disappear after a week; some last less than a day. While a permanent Stormgate is possible, in theory, none have been yet found.
Using Stormgates: Basically, the Storyteller is free to place Stormgates where she wants, when she wants, as it serves the needs of her story. They can appear as frequently as the Storyteller wants them to, though making them commonplace makes Umbral travel a great deal easier; Stormgate that occur with increasing frequency may hail the eventual abatement of the storm, and the reintroduction of masters from the Deep Umbra to the metaplot. The degree that Stormgates are used (if they're used at all) should reflect how much of a role the narrator wants the mirror realms and its denizens to play in her game.
Systems: When mages using Spirit ●●● to Step Sideways at a Stormgate, they suffer Avatar + Paradox in bashing, rather than aggravated, damage. This damage can't be soaked, however; no amount of physical health or protection will buffer the Avatar Storm's psychic winds, reduced though they may be at a Stormgate. Stormgates affect an area, rather than either the Gauntlet or Shroud specifically, and allow safer travel to and from both the Umbra and Shadowlands.