He could teach 55 at a time with a SQ of 22. GIve a grog two seasons of that and they'll have 44 xp in Latin. Another season of practice (assuming everyone is speaking Latin) and that should get them to 50 (I'm not sure I'd give them the whole SQ of 8, but 6 is reasonable). Of course, that's a fairly rough teaching schedule if Barclay is your only teacher. You'll have over 200 people in the covenant. That's what comes from having nearly 50 soldiers and an overabundance of dependents and laborers. (It seemed reasonable that covenfoilk would bring their dependents and lots of people to do odd jobs given that you were going far away from anywhere.)
In any case, that's 8-10 seasons of straight teaching for him with no break. (Duncan and Sophia might be able to pitch in to help.) That's sustainable for the covenant. But you'll need to get more teachers if you want to cover the residents of the island in general (assuming you get people to come move to the island, that is. ).
And there's no saying that you have to join a Tribunal right away. They might have something to say about it when they find out about you. But that's another story.
Quick update, as I'm reading but not able to create a lot at present:
Language - Agree that we should adopt Latin as the common language, and educate the people. "Let us build our island into something wondrous and let the tribunals come begging..." ... Indeed!
Tribunal - Stay outside for now. I'd like us to push to be our own tribunal, and setup smaller covenants (chapter houses/outposts/whatever they are called) on the other sites/areas. And to eventually recruit younger Magi to run them for us.
I'm with Iron on both, Latin seems like the smart choice. Plus I'm imagining the Tremere provided folks already speak it decently enough (it would give the House a common language for communication). And again, the Tribunal idea seems best, we're really too far removed from anywhere else to justify joining another.
Unless the grogs are bought with a Virtue such as Educated that allows Academic Abilities, the people provided by House Tremere likely just speak Magyar.
Tell that to the other Tribunals. They might have different ideas.
A good deal of exploration of the island takes place in the first year that New Atlantis is raised. Duncan spends several months looking around for ruins before teaching duties take over his time; Sophia and Glimfeather, a couple of interested owls, spend most of the year flying overhead poking their beaks into anything that looks interesting; Meliai travels a good part of the island planting her seeds; and Andor does a proper survey of the Auras he can find. What they discover is interesting.
On the subject of ruins, the temple district is not the only place with remnants of the Atlantean civilization. No fewer than seven other sets of ruins are found, the largest being the former city on the bay, which Magnus has started to call Bonisagus Bay; the most interesting being a set of structures in the mountains that looks almost like an elaborate monastery. The rest are of varying sizes from a mere handful of buildings just south of the mountains to a sizable town just west of the monastery.
Nor is Andor disappointed in his search for Auras. During his six month survey, the magus finds nine different Auras of varying sizes, seven Magical and two Faerie. The most powerful one is a small level 7 Magical Aura on the site of the ruined monastery in the mountains, surrounded by a slightly larger level 4 Aura. Three more of the sets of ruins are built on Magical Auras as well, indicating that the Atlanteans were clearly aware of their significance. Overwhelmingly the Auras are located along the ley lines that focus at the New Atlantis covenant.
Also of interest, Sophia and Glimfeather, both with the second sight, identify two regios, a Magical one in the north of the island, and a Faerie one in the south of the island, though neither explores them beyond superficial observation.
Artemis is a fan of a new tribunal and a fan of Latin. She also has several options for spells to help set up:
Spring of pure water - It gives us water sources perfectly placed. Those are really nice. We should probably make at least one.
Blessing of Bounty - Can't go wrong with this. It might cause warping if used excessively on say a forest, but you could certainly make sure it does well for a few years while the eco system gets established.
Sanctum of Stone - Its a good sanctum if you want a big lab.
Field of wheat - Food. The staple crop. Combined with Blessing of bounty it ensures we have food.
Ping+ghost writing - Artemis can text people
Artemis at least wants to conjure up her own sanctum. All the pre-game work getting her lab perfect? She invented the spell with that in mind. Otherwise she'll try and spend the first season writing a summary of magic theory. The best summary with the best words. Specifically Level 8, Q15. She reduces it one level from her max of 9. The bookish wolf horror writer, book learner deal sort of exploded.
Just let me know how many rituals of what sort you're casting so that I can deduct the vis from vis stores.
On a related note, you might want to spend your BPs since we have no Aquam vis in the vis stores.
You'll have to fit the sanctum in with the other temples if you want the level 10 Aura. Magnus will also insist that the style of the temples be mimicked so that the look of the setting is not destroyed. (Be prepared for that Finesse roll!)
Also, Ambulatory Laboratory will allow you to move the lab with likely the only issue being losing Highly Organized.
I've added them. Can I assume that she can get a season of work in during the first season? There is still enough time?
Also Artemis would prefer to keep her lab in 5 or less aura. In large part because she doesn't want the items of her lab warped. What with all that work refining. Looking at the map she'd need to be pretty far away from everyone...
Yes, you can get a season of work, But if you want the Adventure xp you'll have to forego the xp for that activity.
Easily done. And she could set up shop fairly close to the others. How does this look for the covenant? Building may not have gone quite this far, but it's something to shoot for in the near future.
In the winter season of planting Meliai will put near the covenant:
Peaches
Plums
Apricots
Dates
Figs
nectarines
Bananas
Walnut
pecan
cashews
blueberries
raspberries
strawberries
blackberries
peanuts
watermellons
pumpkins
summer quash
cucumber
Oak
Holly
8 of each except oak and holly which will be 14 of each.
I assume the plants would be in winter mode (i.e., not blooming) or else they'd die off in the winter cold.
And I'm not sure about bananas thriving in New Atlantis. It is in the Gulf Stream, but it's still only temperate.
BTW, would Meliai be wiling to cast her spell on a few potted citrus seeds for Magnus? He'd love some orange, lemon, and lime trees in his lab. (Not for any numbers purpose, just to have the yummy fruit.)
I was thinking they'd do fine in pots in his climate-controlled lab. People in temperate climes do occasionally have citrus trees indoors in conservatories. Come to think of it, you might be able to do bananas if you had them indoors too.
I'm assuming that the Order has a batch of officious protocols for new covenants, and as the Quaesitor Constantine will write to the House to advise them officially of the covenant and the island.
His goal is to remain respectful of the traditions of the Order so that their activity is not regarded as a secret; now that the magi are sharing the fact this has occurred to the tribunals.
He will also try to fit in a trip back to his old covenant and pack his lab, and also spend time discussing his next steps with them.
And then a visit to the presiding Quaesitor of Loch Leglean as a friendly visit.
The real tricky part is that you really ought to be in a Tribunal. The rules don't account for covenants outside of the tribunals. In fact, if you were in some tribunals you'd need to get permission before you founded a tribunal. You can just barely stretch the issue out by claiming that you're "on a tribunal border" and so can't tell what tribunal you ought to be in. But always there is the assumption that you'll eventually fit into one of the thirteen tribunals. It's hard to get away from that.
What would happen in most cases is that the two tribunals that bordered the covenant would meet to discuss the matter, some deals would get made, and the covenant would be absorbed into one or the other. You guys sort of don't border anyone and sort of border a bunch of tribunals (Loch Leglean, Hibernia, Stonehenge, Normandy, and Iberia.) It's hard to tell what will happen.
One thing is sure, the Traditionalists will say you should be in a Tribunal. Period. End of sentence. The Transitionalists will cut you a bit more slack, but still may be somewhat strict about it. No two ways about it, House Guernicus is conservative. They like things to fit together neatly. And they're suspicious when people say the normal rules shouldn't apply to them.
Constantine's starting view is that Magi frequently operate outside the tribunal boundaries; and the code assists making them stay true. This is an opportunity for the Order to expand its reach, akin to what would happen if a covenant was setup in the far north lands of Odin; yet this circumstance is even more unique in that we don't have a tribunal border for many miles.
He's open to haggle, but also knows that only a grand tribunal can make a permanent ruling, and the other tribunals don't have a precedent for this.
The Order probably does not want Atlantis to thrive and hate their home tribunal either.
This is also why establishing the outposts is very important, get them while others cannot.
To the other Magi at an early point; "I think we need to claim sites as separate outposts now. Otherwise others will arrive and try to do the same, and we cannot really argue against it. "
"I suggest we each take superficial responsibility for a few of the important sites of the ruins and aura, and watch them. Placing a contingent of grogs or a presence will go a long way. "
That's a good argument to make. It'll do well with the Transitionalists.
Very true that it would technically have to go to a Grand Tribunal. The Order prefers these things to get settled below that level. But you can always demand that it go all the way to the top. Of course, then you have to accept what they say. That's why most court cases settle. No one wants to risk going before the judge or jury. You never know what they'll do.
Andor couldn't agree more. He's already scouted a potential site that he'd like to expand to (the level 7 Aura in the mountains) when time permits. Also, the faster we get the requisite number of Covenants for a Tribunal, the better our claim will be. For now, we could even just call them Chapter Houses and grant them full rights later.
In the mean time, if any Tribunal tries to force our hand we have an immediate solution, we simply refuse to acknowledge their right to claim us. As you say, they have no precedent for it. If anyone gets too pushy, there's always Certamen to make them back off until an official ruling.
Speaking of claiming, since we have a Redcap here sometime this year, we should register our Vis sources immediately. Stave off potential poachers.
Also, he's quite worried about Atlantis (the other one), as it could very much hinder their ability to conduct trade (crucial to the survival of this covenant, re: income source). He suggests that they represent an immediate threat and need to be dealt with, either by force or through diplomacy.
).
