30 days of Apprentices

The young Ewald was never liked in his village. He was big, slow, and (everyone assumed) stupid. He was very helpful, however, easily convinced to help the other children in their tasks while he was trying to make friends. Ewald, however, was much smarter than he pretended, and often got out of trouble because the other children 'bullied him' into it. He grew older, stronger, and more useful to his village, even though he was never too popular, and at the age of six, he was taken in by the town's Blacksmith as an apprentice.

In brief thoughts for Ewald; He'd make a fair Flambeaux or militant wizard, could be a good Verditius, and I would love to see him going an artistic route in his crafts.

Minor quibble: Deft can only be paired with a Form, not a Technique; the Virtue is actually named Deft Form.

Maybe I will steal one or two of these concepts for the new Apprentice/s for Andros in the Praesidium Saga! :slight_smile:

You're correct, and I just wasn't translating from my paper properly while I was typing.

As long as they're not me! :wink:

The little girl named Zofia grew up in Poland. Her father was a game warden who watched over a noble's hunting grounds. The noble never bothered to hunt, but enjoyed the prestige of having the area under control, and most of her father's business was chasing off poachers and other hunters. The young girl was born with bright, bright blonde hair, almost like pale sunshine, and often was teased and tormented around town for it. Nobody ever had met her mother, and often accused her of being the spawn of a witch, though her father was respected enough that it never came out in more than whispers. Zofia often explored the areas near her home, and for some reason the animals never bothered her, never attacked her, and never ran from her. When she was six, Zofia was with her father while he was checking the edges of the forest, and she found a wounded fox, white of pelt, and begged her father to help her care for it. Reluctantly, but inevitably, the father agreed, and a few months later, the white vixen gave birth to a litter of fox kits. The vixen whispered into Zofia's dreams that night, thanking her for her kindness, and granting her a boon: as long as she cared for these foxes, they would lend her their magic. The vixen was gone the next morning, but Zofia soon found her ability to transform into a fox; She promised the fox kits she would care for them, and their kits, forever. And now, she's recently started having dreams about a wounded deer out in the woods....

I would totally give her subtle and Quiet Magic, and Ways of the Forest. Animal Companion could easily Magical Animal Companion. The vixen could have been a Bjornaer, or a folk witch, or a magic animal, or an totemic spirit. One way or another, factual or not, Zofia believes that she can only keep her shapeshifting as long as she keeps her family of foxes alive.

Isabel was born to a stone-cutter's family who lived in the lowlands of the Swiss mountains. Her father was convinced she was not born of his seed, certain of it due to ...sensitive... wounds he had suffered a few years before she was born. Still, the disapproving stonecutter was a good and pious man, and did not punish the girl for her birth, even when she began to display strange tendencies. Her skin gained a strange pallor as she grew older, and she grew very large for her age, and bent twisted. As if sensing the disapproval in her existence, Isabel tried to help her father and mother whenever she could. This developed into a tendency for the big girl Isabel to offer her help to everyone she felt needed help, much to her parent's chagrin. This situation only got worse as she grew older, and her developing Gift started to cause people to fear her and revile her, when paired with her unhealthy appearance - and the people in the town unfortunately learned to politely accept her aid, since turning her down her assistance repeatedly often caused the troll-blooded girl to fly into an unholesome rage - and her embarrassment at her actions causes her to apologize and offer more assistance...
Her father is now looking for some way to get rid of her without being a bad Christian and abandoning her in the woods.

Suggestions to expand Isabel include Giant blood or Large, affinity with Perdo or Terram, possibly a Lesser or Greater Malediction that activates in the sunlight. Also, giving her Second Sight or Special Circumstances (when barefoot on the earth) would be fun...
I'm not certain if this Mythic Blood quite fits, since they tend to be for great wizards, but I don't know that many great wizards who haven't been mentioned already, so instead I made one up while listening to classical music.

There is a faerie in Provence, near Avignon, who is oft told of, and is quite a monster. He is known by many names, but the Lord of Winter is his most common name - people do not whisper his proper name, and the Faerie Lord enjoys this respect. The Lord of Winter is known to have his servants seduce and kidnap young virgins and take them as wife, until they displease him. The children of these stolen wives often are raised amid the faerie, and become deeply bound into the Lord's story. Jacque, however, was uniquely gifted, and instead of disappearing into Faerie, was taken in by a courtier of the Lord of Winter at the machinations of his doomed mother. He was taught courtesy and romance, as the faeries understood it, and was intended to help find more wives for his father, though he did not understand the implications. Of course, one of his faerie 'brothers' would often take him out to meet the nobles and rich merchants around the area, finding the young Jacque a boon to his gathering of vitality. It was on one of these journeys that he was found by a magus, and taken away to apprentice.

A relatively simple character today: Jacque is based on a Companion character of my friend's. Obviously, the Lord of Winter is based on the information given on Lord Marsyne in the Ars Magica core book. Suggestions for more virtues and flaws include a minor magical focus in ice or snow, cyclical magic either benefitting from winter or hindered by summer and spring. The 'brother' who was wandering with him could be a paternal sort of Faerie friend, or he could get a Plagued by Supernatural Entities for the Lord of Winter wanting his 'son' back.

In the southern Germanic states, a small township on the edge of the forest was destroyed to defend the Magical Aura of the forests from encroaching Dominion. When the town was eventually resettled, the village's church was never rebuilt. A demon infested the village, trying to coax the villages towards infernal worship, and trying to taint the forest's Magical aura towards demonic uses.
Like these things go, the situation was noticed by magi of the Order, who decided to fix the problem. The Flambeaux got involved, the Tytalus got involved, the Quesitors got involved... Konrad was found, a young child who was gifted, though the demon at the head of the cult was trying to hide him from the magi. He had been raised amid the cult, with a dark purpose in mind. But he was Gifted and clever, so he was taken from the village, and the demons and cultists were purged.. brutally, and efficiently. The darkness of his past was revealed to Konrad, and he strives to become greater than his history.

A nice, simple infernal rescue here: Nothing too complicated, he seeks redemption but has frightening powers. Cthonic Magic is a good fit here, and you could probably give him bonuses from a divine source, but I like the concept of his Second Sight being from the Infernal. He could use another personality trait, but redemption is this character's goal. You can bet he's going to start studying Dominion Lore as soon as he can.

The child Horatio was born on the eastern coast of Italy, under good star-signs and prosperous seasons. The people in his village did not like the child; but they respected him, and more importantly, they respected the wise-woman who took him in to raise him after his mother died in childbirth. Horatio grew up not understanding why everyone avoided him, but he loved his 'grandmother' and he helped her around the village whenever he could. He tended her garden, and helped her gather herbs in the nearby forest.
Despite being born frail and weak, Horatio was bright and interested in Grandomther's work, and begun learning from Grandmother, and the soft-hearted old woman could not say no to her adopted child. She was a member of a circle of wise-women in the nearby villages, folk-healers who brought prosperity to their communities; Many of the folk healers did not like a man being shown some of their womanly secrets, but Horatio's grandmother did not care, and when she discovered that when Horatio aided her in the tending of wounds, the people came healthier faster, she was more insistent on the child learning some of the trade, and he earned some measure of appreciation from the wise-women who spoke with his grandmother - until a Magus of the Order heard about the gifted child.
Horatio is a weak and fragile boy, raised by a kindly old woman who loved him very much. She begun to teach him a few aspects of her healing arts, which helped shape his gift into what it is. His Lesser Purifying Touch can banish infections from wounds, and in his brief time as a folk-healer apprentice, he earned some respect from his grandmother's circle of wisewomen. He can never be one of them, but he's proven he is worth their attention, if not their secrets.

Inspiration came from an Anime. There are lots of ways to go here, I probably would take a second Weak Characteristics, and might take Plagued by Supernatural Entity (angel of mercy), have an angel who distrusts the Order of Hermes trying to turn him to the Church to be a holy magus healer. ANd maybe Noncombatant. He's so gentle....
Would make a good Jerbiton if he was Gently Gifted, but he can't be - Still could be a good Jerbiton though. A Bonisagus, Trianoma maybe. He's pretty much designed to become an Ex Misc healer.

Core book lists 'Healing' as a Minor Magical Focus, not a Major one? Or is there a Major version that does more?

Nope, this is just a typo when I was building the character in notepad, MMF instead of mMF. I'll fix my numbers.

Born in a small town in Sicily, the young lad named Giro never knew his family. He grew up amid street urchins and thugs, and survived by being useful, and finding the right people to serve. He always was good at stealth and sneaking, and become quite an accomplished pickpocket in the local markets. He was well-appreciated (if not liked) by the thug running his gang, except for the regular trouble he got into when he adopted stray kittens, lost puppies, and baby rats. Something about the helpless creatures just struck a chord in the young boy, and he had a tendency to pick up pets - they never stayed around long (the gang's head kept killing them when Giro wasn't around), but the boy was always happy to share his meager food rations with a rat or cat. Everything changed when Giro found himself witnessing a murder, killing a wedded couple, and the squalling baby child was left to die in the gutter. Bringing that stray home got Giro a rather savage beating, and he had to flee with the child to find a church orphanage that would take the child in. He isn't welcome back in his gang, and his Gift make sit hard for him to find welcome in most places.

I suggest Secondary Insight to give him a broad base of arts to use his utterly stealthy magic fore. He'd be a great Tytalus, especially with that weakness making him take in foundlings.

Born in Thessaloniki, Ikario and his brothers were talented, though Ikario was the most talented of them all. Unlike his older brothers, however, Ikario was truly Gifted. His family was part of a cult of titan-worshippers, some of who even had supernatural abilities from the cult. The brothers each had been taught their magical arts, each 'blessed' by a titan power. Ikario, however, knew he was the strongest of his brothers, though he was the youngest. He heard the whispers of the titans, coaxing him to greater things.
Thus it was that he found his brothers while they were performing their cult rituals, and each one he killed to steal their power. Each one, he stole a bit of the Titan's magic for his own, aided by one of the priests. Then he framed the priest for the murders and had him killed. His abilities as the sole heir to the magical legacy brought him attention from certain mystical circles, but the betrayals had his original titan masters abandon him.

Paul, young Paul, was a very bright and precocious boy. He was smarter than his peers, and he knew it. All his peers knew it too. He was talking before any of them, and could solve problems faster than any of them. Everyone knew how smart he was, that was why none of them like Paul - Jealousy. That must be the case, he couldn't think of any other reason why they didn't like him. But he had to prove himself to them, to make them admit he was able to best them at anything. Young Paul found himself suceeding even when he thought he shouldn't - clearly Paul was greater than he himself had anticipated. The bright, brazen young lad is starting to draw attention from people.

Paul's a prodigy. As he gets older, Deft Intelligence (as a child only virtue) should be replaced by Great Intelligence. His plagued by Supernatural Entity is a demon of Pride who has been helping Paul succeed when he shouldn't have, feeding his pride and overconfidence. Jack of all Trades is a good virtue to throw in if you're looking for more. Probably want to find a fun hermetic flaw for him, but that'll turn into taste based on how he's trained from here. He's well set-up to be a Bonisagus, but obviously he would succeed as any House, because Paul is just amazing!

There was a swordsman named Adolphe living on Corsica, in service to the magi there. French by birth, he left his home to seek greater challenges. He was a superb swordsman, and he trained himself to be even better. He was, in a word, obsessed. He had trouble finding people who could challenge him, and eventually, this caused his depression before falling into silent, morose service to the magi. Not the most sociable person, so everyone was rather surprised when they found out he had a daughter.
She was generally called Adolfille, or Fille, by the Corsican covenant folk who she interacted with. Adolfille was a cheerful, charming young girl who loved to help out around the village - she grew up amid the farms surrounding the covenant, rather than inside the covenant itself. It took quite a long time for the farmers, merchants, and covenant folk to warm up to her presence, but she was such a cheerful and precocious girl that everyone eventually came to like her. It came as a great surprise when they found out her father, obsessive as he was, had taught his daughter how to fight. Little Adolfille got a hold of one of her father's swords, and slew three bandits who had threatened a young farmer's boy she had a crush on.
The villagers, living near a covenant and used to strange things, had no knowledge that little Adolfille was Gifted, and only the unexpected show of her martial prowess drew her attention of nearby Magi - who had thought she might make a good grog.

Something more extreme and unrealistic than my usual, at the prodding of my friends. This is the daughter of our old covenant's favorite swordsgrog, Adolphe, who descended into drinking because he couldn't find anyone to challenge his obsessive level of sword skill. I mean, sure she can defeat most full-grown men in a fight if you give her a short sword, but obviously she'd rather be flirting with the handsome farmer boys nearby.
I kind of suggest giving her a bunch of Improved Characteristics and Covenant Upbringing. Venus's Blessing might be appropriate, and she has no real Hermetic virtues yet. Is 'can't stop talking' a 'Social Handicap' flaw?
Also, BOYS.

There are many lost magical traditions, possibly the oldest known coming from ancient Egypt. When the Kingdom of the Nile was joined to the Greek Empire of Alexander, their ways spread, and sometimes, those lost magical traditions can spring up again. This family line went from Egypt, to Greece, to Malta, to Tunisia, and to Sicily, with a hidden power sleeping within them. It is only in this generation that the Gift finally came to manifest, and the hidden power could awaken again.
Twice.
Diego and Damiano were born to immigrants to Sicily. Their family was poor, but loyal. Even though the children were causing trouble, time and again (the Gift can make life for the parents very hard) their parents worked hard, migrating from farm town to farm town. And the Gift manifested - first in younger Damiano, then in Diego. The two twin brothers often and always fought, but banded together when something threatened their family. While they do not have the control of their powers, they are obviously magical by their existence, and can do great things - Diego and Damiano can both see the future, to some degree. However, Diego's visions were less powerful, and often times helped the family avoid trouble, but Damiano's visions lead them through strife and often to greater wealth and success. Still, the brothers Everything went wrong when their visions finally clashed against each other; Diego claimed death would stalk them come from the sea, and Damiano believed that wealth would flow from death on the sea. The father followed Damiano's visions to help a shipwreck on the Sicilian coast, and he drowned. Diego blamed his younger brother for the death of their father, and they fought with almost murderous intent, their mother finally separating them - Diego's eyes damaged and Damiano's legs scarred brutally. Diego ran away that night, staggering through the darkness, and leaving his younger brother and his mother.

If you want the brothers working together, you can get rid of Enemies for some sort of mystical problem; I like Deficient Perdo because of their creation-god heritage. I selected Wrathful rather than Proud for the bloodline flaw, because it worked better for their backstory.

Perhaps a bit lazy, but I wanted to provide a different view the Diego/Damiano story. This other version has them working together, as brothers, who are still in conflict. These brothers are descended from the Egyptian Priesthood, but as the nobles and priests intermingled, their two bloodlines merged, and the twins both bear a different divine gift. This was my original idea, the dichotomy of opposing forces in a family, but the idea I posted yesterday, with the same blood, seemed a better story.

Klaus is a child born cursed. His birth killed his mother, and the rumors of his evil nature haunted him as a child. Little Klaus did not stay little for long - his giant blooded nature became very evident, as did his gentle heart. The child Klaus was large, bullied by other children, and they quickly figured out he would not fight back, which meant even the younger, smaller children could bully him. He began to run and hide, but his size meant he could not hide near town. He began to explore the beaches and rivers. One day, he didn't come home, and... nobody worried. The rumors of a massive, dangerous child stalking the shores have only begun to grow. It is made even worse by the rumors that his hometown's fishing boats are plagued by a frightening water-beast every full moon.

Klaus is a giant-blooded were-orca. PLOT ACQUIRED. It feels weird to have someone at age 8 be a were-beast, but that's a persistent problem with all of the apprentices- a lot of the plots don't quite make sense for young age. Also, I can't find anywhere where they actually describe what Lycanthropy is and where it comes from. But back to Klaus, he is a gentle kind soul who can't bear to hurt anyone - but when he changes his Soft-Hearted goes out the window, and the monstrous beast wrecks the fishing fleet of the town who tortured him a few years before. Side note: Technically, Orcas are much too large to be were-creatures, but I'm just ignoring that because of the Giant-blood, and I like it. Hah!

Michael, named after his father, is the fourth son of a small nobleman by his second wife. Michael was never considered for anything great, but he was a bright and eager child. If he was any higher in the succession, his older brothers may have worked against him. As it was, his older brothers just hated having him around, and chased him away. Michael instead spent time with the priests and the servants, and exploring his home. He always travelled with his mother and father when they went between their home near York to visit London, and enjoyed exploring both cities. He often snuck out of his family buildings to go venturing, and somehow managed to always avoid trouble - it turns out something was watching over him, and he was one of the few children who never ran afoul of faeries. Michael begun to call his friendly ghost (actually a Guardian Angel) 'Michael' as well, giving people the impression that he was talking to himself.
Michael is slated in the next year or two to begin studies in a church school, but hasn't yet, so it may be possible to drag him away for apprenticeship. His family has good reputation, and he can use that. He also sometimes finds translucent feathers laying around, which are Divine Intellego vis. And though he's not immediately in succession, he's enough of a threat once one or two people die that he may be set to inherit.

For fun and entertainment, you could add True Faith. It'll cause problems of course. His lack of any weak stats means he can slide into any future role. He is going to be rather weak in cities, but can work well outside of them. You could trade Heir for Close Family Ties if you don't want to play the game where he risks inheritance.

Richard was born on the southern coast of Provence. His father was a soldier, and his mother was a hedge witch. He never knew his father, who left for a Crusade, but has seen a few letters from him. Richard's parents are truly in love, guided by God to be together, though his duty to the church caused him to leave once again with a promise to return. His mother taught him many things, mundane and mystic, and he helped keep their home when she went out to do her witchcraft for the local village. His mother, however, is getting weaker and weaker, withering away in absence of her true love, who has died in Thessaloniki; So his mother is looking for someone to help raise the child when she finally dies of sadness.
Richard believes a faerie curse is the cause of his mother's withering, though in truth it was love of her father that was keeping her from withering for so long.

My suggestions for Richard include Self-Confident, Affinity with Vim.. I'd enjoy Gentle Gift, and he'd be a good Jerbiton. True Love would be a very... appropriate virtue/flaw for Richard, however. Perhaps a way to slow his aging to be with his love forever. Maybe someday he'll forgive the faeries for killing his mom, since they actually had nothing to do with it.

Like many children with special births, Flora was born in a small village on the edge of a magical forest. Flora's mother was a farmer's wife, who's husband had died. The mother was getting older in years, and her first two daughters had married off, and the young boys from the neighboring farms visited the widow to help her tend the farm as a kindness. When the older widow began to show signs of a pregnancy, the few young lads who were helping her retreated for fear of being blamed for it, even if the Widow assured everyone it was not theirs. She never explained to any of the other villagers what she later told Flora - while gathering rare flowers in the nearby magical forest, she had been briefly possessed by a local spirit of the plants. This story seemed quite likely, considering Flora was born with lovely blonde hair that deepened into a green as she grew older, and her pale skin began to grow a bark-like texture and stiffen - and she could often glean information from whispering to the trees nearby.

A pretty self-explanatory character here. Ways of the Forest would be a fun add. A deficiency for ignem may be more appropriate than Aquam but I decided for something different. Her Magical Blood is of a forest spirit. You could add a vulnerability to fire or to dehydration. She needs to sleep in rich wet soil to rest (as her Lesser Malediction)