"Knowing some is better than none. Your choice. " he shrugs and speaks more short institutions in Gaelic. The change weapons and men pair off three to one.
Lili's Hermetic Latin is good - rather impressively so for her youth - though accented like her mother's. [color=green]"Yes, I'll spend some time looking after my siblings. And Mom will hire me to work on her lab, too. But she wants me to learn to earn for myself, and she has promised to hire me for the work I do for her. That way I can earn my own longevity ritual and buy my own magical items. I expect she'll want me working for her for the first two seasons we're here so she has a functioning lab. But I know she is picky and will want more done, so she may well be flexible on that, too. Let me know when you have some ideas, and I'll put together some plans for you. If you like them, I can implement them."
One of the following days Bea swings by. Her Hermetic Latin is also accented by her native Saxon. [color=blue]"Greetings, Corbin of Merinita," she says a bit formally at first as she settles into a crouch and displays far less formality in her face and body. [color=blue]"Thank you for being so welcoming to my daughter, Lili. She is just starting to step out on her own. I appreciate it. She also said that you are not so disturbing as most magi. That is a great talent." Bea seems to be sizing him up as she speaks, though on what scale is hard to say; she sounds interested, not competitive.
"Lili has a bright future. Well spoken n' brave to seek out the magi by herself. I admired that when we met although I didn't realise that till a while later. She's lucky to have such a sensitivity for magic too." He takes a seat after offering Bea some water and taking a cup for himself, and also moves the seat around a bit before sitting "If you can spare her then I think she can really help now and then, once I decide what I might do. Great child."
"I'm not sure that my gentle gift is too much of a talent, its just the way its been. Perhaps more powerfully gifted people don't have the same interpersonal distractions as I do? I would find it hard to live without a bit of socialising now and then. " Now shifting a wax tablet with miscellaneous scratches away onto the floor. "But studying some things was such a tiring push when I was younger, even when it was magical it was sometimes a push to stay focused. Since traveling away from my old home in the south I'm finding this break from study to be very welcome and a great way to recharge."
"I ponder what I'll do and what I might be doing a decade or so from now. Apprenticeship was all pressure, but it gave focus. My Master was all about her work, and lost touch a bit. I've a thought to fuss about with non-traditional species as a start, but could just as easily get right into build some interesting scrying solutions that are not readily available now." he reaches for an apple from a small basket of them on a side table, "Gawen dropped some off, they're great". He offers the basket to Bea, and then places it down to eat one. "I'd like to do an illusion to have a huge garden vista or scenery from a mountain top too".
"Whats your niche interest in the art Bea?"
She tries to hide it, but there is a chance Corbin will notice her interest in sizing him up wanes when he comments about more powerfully Gifted people. She is still interested in learning about him, though, so it is not a major shift in her demeanor. She takes an apple with an appreciative thanks.
In reply to his later comments she says, [color=blue]"It seems you would be a great artist of illusions then? That is far from my expertise. I would be happy to help turn the whole covenant into a idyllic vista, beyond what it currently is. But that would be for real, and not an illusion. Myself, I am currently working on a new approach to providing Redcaps with enchantments. I will likely end up making longevity rituals for a few local Redcaps as well. My personal talents lie within necromancy, of which you may have heard and which likely explains to you my revenant familiar and the horde of owl corpses scattered outside the covenant."
"Yes, my strength is in illusions, but not limited there. I've found some odd angles to work from which many wizards undervalue. Species almost always ignore magical resistance, so I think they have a strong tactical advantage over more direct spells.Not to be ignored. My fae ancestors gave me an odd trick or two as well. "
"Gunther is something special as an undead dracoform is unique. Was that serendipity?"
Duncan sits watching the conversation of the two magi with utter fascination.
[color=blue]"That is a good point about species and magic resistance. Relatively speaking, it shouldn't be so hard to deafen or blind an opponent even if your opponent is quite resistant to magic."
[color=blue]"Ah, Günther. Well, I guess you might say it was the fine line where serendipity and hopeful perseverance met. Regardless, we are now bound quite tightly to each other. He does eat a rather large portion of my Vis supply, but I am all to happy to provide it. Meanwhile, him having my back in a fight is quite advantageous the other way around. Magic resistance doesn't tend to fare well against a dragon's claws, either."
"Well yes, hulking claws and sharp teeth are wonderfully useful when circumstances turn sour. I'd like to meet him. Scrymgeour and I have not had any more than the odd scuffle to co tend with, thankfully.
OOC: close up the thread?
I'm chuffed with the interactions and enjoyed it.
Corbin can take 5 xp. Everyone else who had a speaking rôle can take 1 xp.
Thank you, my plan is:
Corbin - 5xp in Area Lore: Covenant of Insula Canaria.
Seamus - 1xp in Area Lore: Covenant of Insula Canaria.
Assume we'll advance grogs as a batch every few years?
Pretty much. My plan is to do "Chapters" of a few years each, in which (hopefully) every magus and companion will have a story thread in that span. For example, one Chapter could be from Autumn 1221 to Spring 1227; Corbin could have a story thread in Autumn 1225, Seamus could have one in Autumn 1224, Beatrix could have one in Spring 1226, and so on. This gives everyone a chance to participate at the same time, without having everything hit the covenant at the same time. (I got the idea from Jonathan.Link's sagas, and it's a ruddy good one, I think.)
Isobel will tale 1 xp in Folk Ken.
Arthur will put 1 point into single weapon as he begins his training.
Will you allow seasonal advancement for Grogs where that is the players preference?
The wiki sets forth the two options available:
So it's 15 xp either way. It just depends whether you want to dole it out all at once or in four smaller bits. (Though you get an extra 4 xp in Gaelic if you go with the optional rule.)
So if we have a literate grog who wants to read a book we're just SOL?
It seems a little problematic on a few fronts. Mostly I worry about Companions who don't fit that standard because they have Book Learner or No Fatigue or are Faeries or something else like those. Grogs are grogs, so I'm not as worried about them even though the point you make stands. There is also the question of what happens if a PC devotes a season to teaching grogs, though. Does the PC's effort to be a great teacher mean absolutely nothing compared to the PC who is a terrible teacher because they're teaching grogs?
If they do, it will be with the rules in Grogs: one season of vocational for 7 xp, one of training for 4 xp, and two of exposure for 2 xp each (plus the HR of 2 xp of Gaelic per season for exposure if they don't take exposure for something else). If they take a season of training or practice, that replaces the highest-XP quarters, then the next-highest, and so on. So, if they take two seasons of training in Bows, for example, they would lose the 7xp and 4xp seasons, but could take two seasons of exposure for Gaelic for those, and still take two seasons of exposure in either Gaelic or something else.
I'm thinking of changing this assignment of XP, I'd prefer to place Corbin's the xp into Leadership (5xp), and Teaching for Seamus (1xp).
I had misremembered in which order the seasons are replaced when doing detailed Grog advancement. I've posted the correct rules on the wiki.
That's fine.