No, Fiona didn't really notice what was going on until he was almost complete. I rolled a 3, total of 6 for the Awareness, and a 7, total of 13 for the Magic Theory. I placed the ease factor for both as Hard. It could be argued that the Awareness roll might be Average, but even still that wouldn't have been enough with a 0+3+3=6.
Fiona noted that the Arts warded were Animal, Corpus and Vim. Her Talisman can likely get through. Is that what she wants to do? Let me take the opportunity to state that a botch will likely put herTalisman in his hands. Given that I have a history of rolling poorly when a player asks me to do it on their behalf, I want to be very clear that you want to take that risk. Consider other ways the Talisman might be useful to Fiona.
After completing the circle, he begins chanting, and it doesn't sound like a language you've ever heard before, and it sounds most foul.
Point. hrrmm...I assume that the wards that Ion and Drystan did were simply drawn on the floor? Can I try to scuff or break the Corpus circle with the Talisman while Faileas is distracted?
I am really not liking the sound of this. While not panicky, Fiona is getting pretty nervous, and is thinking that she must have pissed him off a lot more than even his covenmates suspected.
The summoning circle appears to be carved into the rock floor, the ward was placed along the inner band of the circle, leaving Fiona unable to break the circle, unless she can penetrate the magic, or cancel it.
This behavior doesn't seem at all consistent with Faileas previous behavior in all the time she's known him. She does manage to catch a look at his face, and his eyes have gone completely black. Fiona begins to feel a sense of dread pushing on her...
[color=blue]"Ivor!" she yells, then touches the warding circle with her talisman. Assuming that the wards were drawn with chalk or some such, she will try a Spontaneous ReTe spell to move the chalk dust. Pe 5 + Te 5 + Sta 3 + Aura 3 = 16, ÷5 = 3. Guideline for Level 1 is "Control or move dirt in a natural fashion," while Level 2 is "Control or move dirt in a slightly unnatural fashion." I'm thinking Level 2, since I want the dirt (chalk dust) to move in a way reminiscent of being blown or shifting to break the circle. +1 for Range: Touch, no change for D: Momentary or T: Individual (as it's a dirt/chalk circle), for a final target of Level 3. [color=blue]"Vade claustra vos carcerem calcis!"
The shout of "Ivor" is reflected back at Fiona like an echo, but the sound is twisted, sounding like a plaintive call for help, then a morose shriek of someone who has lost all hope of being rescued, each echo sounding worse than the one before. No chalk was used, as I indicated that they used the carved circle for the circle boundary of the wards, above. Fiona's talisman does go outside the ward and does touch the exterior ring of the summoning circle, but the spell to move dirt/dust is insufficient to damage[1] the stone, there was no botch, I rolled a 6, but the effect was clearly designed to move or destroy dirt, when there is none to be moved.
When Fiona's Talisman touches the exterior of the circle on the summoning circle she hears Faileas shriek with a voice not his own, and where he was standing not stands his apprentice. He continues chanting from where he left off, and the area between the summoning circle and the outer circle begins to shift in color, some of the cracks seem to be turning black, and yes, Fiona does smell brimstone now.
Fiona has an urge to reinstate her Parma, but no idea if she can get it up, at all or in time. Oh, and the moon has risen, and she not changed, although she has a ravenous hunger for raw meat.
[1] You kind of mixed up your effects with your Arts (move and Pe), but your totals are the same for ReTe or PeTe, so it doesn't make a difference, and the guideline was incorrect.
Yeah, I was originally going to go with Rego, then changed it to Perdo, then did the math and realized that Perdo wouldn't work so changed it back to Rego, but forgot to change the abbreviation in the formula. And I don't think there's a die roll involved in non-fatiguing Spontaneous spells, which are all that Fiona can do.
Interesting. Duncan, eh? That puts a different twist on things. As an apprentice, he shouldn't have any Parma. Unless Faileas broke the Peripheral Code by teaching him early. Can I tell how much longer he has to go on his Summoning? (Int 1 + Magic Theory 6, if necessary)
If she's got more than a round or two, she will go ahead and try to raise her Parma again.
If not...thinks Can she reach him with her talisman? Not for damage, just for a Touch spell.
[color=blue]"Boy! What are you doing? Where's your master?" in case he can hear her.
You roll to check for botch, because you're in a stressful situation, the roll does not add to your CT, see page 61 for the description of the Flaw. And, you even pointed this out to me in the ewe thread.
The Parma ritual takes about two minutes to perform, not just a round or two. The order in which Fiona does things is important. And, lemme swing the clue by four here, there's more than one way to destroy a stone summoning circle here... While Faileas may not have taught him Parma, it should be immediately obvious that he's working some really dark magic, and has been pretending to be Faileas...for who knows how long. Whether he knows Parma or not, other forms of magic resistance are known to exist (say overcoming might), so Fiona thinks whatever she does better have good penetration.
true...if he's now Infernal, he probably does have some Might on his side. May not be much, but it might be enough. Maybe Curse of Circe when I get out of the circle.
And one more idea...I'm thinking MuTe(Au) to turn the ground in and around the casting circle to air, long enough to consider the circle "broken" and for her to just go Mike Tyson upside his head. By my reckoning, that would make her Casting Total Mu 16 + Te(Au) 5(5) + Sta 3 + Aura 3 = 27 ÷ 5 = 5. Base 3 to change dirt into a liquid or gas, +1 for Touch, +1 for Diameter duration, and...crap. +1 to change to/from stone, so 10. Unless she thinks Momentary would be enough to Break the Circle, I'm going to have to think about it for a little bit.
FIona is currently well Warded, effectly trapped within the casting/summoning circle by Corpus, Animal, and Vim Wards,and can't move beyond that circle, nor affect anything outside it.
There is a Cone of Silence over the circle, preventing anyone outside the circle from hearing her.
However, the mere act of touching the outer circle that Duncan was drawing was able to dispel his disguise/illusion/metamorphosis, although the boy has shown no signs that he's aware that he stands revealed. I have a feeling that this is Very Important, but I can't figure out why yet, which annoys the living daylights out of me.
She doesn't have time to restore her Parma before the ritual is completed, which leaves her magically defenceless before It.
She only has about a round or two, I think, before she turns into Purina Cthulhu Chow.
I think she's boned.
I'm really leaning toward MuTe(Aq) to turn the stone floor into water and destroying the circle that way, which would be Mu 16 + Te(Aq) 5(5) + Sta 3 + Aura 3 = 27 ÷ 5 = 5, vs. a Target Level of Base 3, +1 for Touch, and either + 0 for Individual or +1 for Part, which is either 4 or 5, well doable unless she botches.
But we're about to head to town...if I can't think of anything better by the time I get back, that's what I'll go with.
Dang...now I'm thinking I shoulda just been happy being a werewolf.
[]Right, although raising your Parma, if you want to gamble for time might give you the freedom to move, if the Corpus ward isn't strong enough!
[]Correct
[]Or these could be coincidental, the concentration of his new ritual, and sensing that something escaped the ward...
[]This is a gamble...
[*]Or 15 minutes, or an hour, who knows how long the infernal ritual will take?
No, she's not boned. I wouldn't have done that.
Some elements of this story would've been the same, wheter the botch during the Certamen contest happened or not. You, as a player are focused on the current circumstances. Don't forget why Fiona is here...
Also, playing to Fiona's strengths with Muto is probably the best idea. I'd consider a more subtle effect, minimizing the consequences of a botch. Why turn it to water, when you can turn it to clay and smush up the circle?
Keeping an eye on Duncan, she will restore her Parma. When she's done, or if he looks like he's about to finish , she will go on to the next thing.
The next thing is to cast a spont Muto Terram on the floor. Mu 16 + Te 5 + Sta 3 + Aura 3 = 27 ÷ 5 = 5. Changing dirt to another type of earth is Level 2, changing to and/or from stone is +1, R: Touch is +1, D: Diameter is +1, and I really hope that this would count as "Individual." Invisible Castle is still down (really?), so I can't check for botch. Once the floor is clay (to break it up) or soft dirt/loam/mud (that she can eradicate the circle with), whichever she thinks is more doable, then she will break the circle and deal with what comes next, next. [color=blue]"Solum saxo, convertam ad limum!"
As soon as you've completed the Parma Magica ritual, you detect a spell being bounced away from you "Thank you, Fiona. I shall call you Mater, for you've completed my necessary education."
He blinks away while you smush the circle, saying those words.
You can name your new enemy...
We can also roll initiative if you want to try and get a parting shot off.
But first, she probably only has a few minutes before she starts to change (if she isn't already), and except for the whole diabolic betrayal thing it was a good plan. So she's going to go to Drystan or Ion's sanctum, whichever she thinks has a better chance of being occupied at the moment, and bang on the door.
Fiona doesn't feel like she's changing, but she does hunger for some raw meat. Some of her features seem more wolfish, and her canines may be a bit longer, but that's about it.
She makes her way to Drystan's sanctum, and he opens it. Suprised he says, "Fiona, what's wrong, why aren't you warded?" His suprise seems completely natural, and as a way of ensuring that the SG is delivering this clearly does not in anyway appear to be suprise that she is still alive, just that she is in his presence now, given his understanding of the events.
[color=blue]"In a nutshell, the magus we thought was Faileas was actually his apprentice, who tried to summon something (I'm assuming Infernal). I had to destroy the warding circles. So, it looks like we're going to have to try to re-ward me, but without Faileas's help this time. You don't happen to have any mutton lying around, do you? Or lamb? Or something? I'm getting hungry." She runs her tongue along her teeth, and occasionally feels her face with her hand as she speaks trying to gauge how far along the change she's expecting and dreading is.
"What? Where is Faileas? Fiona, if you haven't changed yet, it is unlikely you will change." Drystan calls for someone to bring some mutton to Faileas sanctum and he drags her there. He also sends someone to fetch Ion as the pair makes their way. Once back inside the smell of brimstone is nearly overpowering, but no magics appear to be active, the floor appears to have gone back to normal, although the summoning circle is damaged, and the second circle scribed around it is still there.
I'd consider a more subtle effect, minimizing the consequences of a botch. Why turn it to water, when you can turn it to clay and smush up the circle?