[Blackwatch]

I keep seeing references in posts where folks say it's easy enough to get willpower up to 9 or 12 (in reference to it being a drain stat for magic)...

How is this being accomplished?  I can't see anything I would call 'easy' in any book I've read

[ShinigamiWolf]

I see only three real viable ways of doing it from chargen..but I think you're misreading Willpower for drain pool...but playing off the idea that you are not...Exceptional Attribute Willpower plus maxing out willpower on one of the following will get you Willpower 9: Eagle Shapeshifter, Pixie, or Sasobonsam (A variant of an infected ghoul). That is the only real way I know of getting such a high Willpower. If they were talking about drain pool...it's easy enough to get a good drain pool form an Elf Shaman. Charisma 7, Magic 5 will get you a good drain pool. And of course you can twink it out however you feel to make it higher I think the max is...15 really at chargen for any drain pool combination.d

[Critias]

The Increase Attribute spell, in a Sustaining Focus, is pretty popular/common/effective.

[Eye Eternal]

Playing a dwarf with improved attribute quality and maxing wil? That would get you an 8 off the go. (With a 12 max cap via augment or whatever)

[Thrass]

dwarf willpower 7
improved attribute 8
surge class 2 metagenetic improvement 9

I don't know if it is ok to use at chargen but
genetic improvement can raise your willpower once again for a essence cost (which reduces your magic rating so be carefull)
and you are at 10

pain editor raises your willpower by 1 so you are at 11

adrenalin pump raises willpower which is another 1-3 points but is imho very unpracticable for mages

daradrenalin adds +1 to all willpower tests (including spell resistance) note this is not the same as raising willpower but in many circumstances is quite as good

then there are drugs which I will not list here because I don't think I'll get a complete list together

and then of course there are infected qualities that can raise your willpower maximum by 1 or 2

and of course there is the al famous pixie which starts with willpower 3/8(12) and can be brought to 12 with 1 raise attribute spell

[ShinigamiWolf]

But just forewarning...this setup would leave you rather heavily in the hole as far as BP and would limit you pretty badly in a lot of ways. Soft maxing is a common practice as far as trying to keep bp friendly. (Meaning one below max stat so you don't pay an extra 15 bp for a stat). I've run only soft max characters and never run into an issue where I've reflected back and wished I had hard maxed.

[Blackwatch]

the dwarf/quality combo was the only one I knew about off the top of my head. 

Our table plays with a rule of no extended optional twink races (pixies, centaurs, and vitas'ed metavariants are included in this) and sometimes even no trolls (too easy to twink). As a result, pixie and shifter options actually hadn't crossed my barren wasteland of a mind.

Daradrenalin was something I hadn't noticed either, though.

Likely what I've been seeing reference to in posts here and on dumpshock is either pixie or shifter and increased [attribute].

Thanks for the info, I just wasn't sure if there was something I was missing.