If I understand Jonathan aright, he's only talking about tweaking the contributions of those who are no longer with us. As far as I know, you're still here 
Listen, do you smell something?
Just making sure...
I noticed. I saw that and I was like, "Dude, what? Wait, that's not...I didn't...what? How? But... ah well."
Sleep dep. is a brutal drug.
I was supposed to bake a cheescake for my office's holiday party last night. It didn't happen. My gift in the gift exchange will be a coupon for a cheesecake...
By the way, that's my notice that I won't be doing any posting tonight, or likely much tomorrow...
Now you know Dominic can't let that rest, right? Lol - sorry, hope he won't get us all in too much trouble. I may be playing him a little too hard-edge, and I'll try to make his stance a little bit clearer in the next post. Unfortunately, also very busy this weekend - will probably not be able to post it until late Sunday evening/Monday afternoon.
From the Turb thread:
My thoughts:
The council should be in charge of the turb as a whole but the Princeps will be able to use it to react to any threat or work that needs done that season. The council should set broad goals ( we approve of mercenary work for Sir Loin of Beef or we would like them to guard the caravan of sheep goods to Flanders).
Fine. Give them uniforms and they will not "appear" to be bandits. You can have flogging for unseemly acts.
First split them up into 3 squads. Figure out sergeants (Decanus) to command each one. Make the trainer the Master Sergeant. Each sergeant gets two corporals to help. They all have training in single weapons. I would keep them mounted unless it makes a undue hardship on the Covenant. There is historical precedence for crossbowmen that use mounts to increase their mobility.
If we figure that Baudouin is the best of them with a single weapon of 6 then I would bet that average would be 3-4. According to L&L, they operate as mercenaries but switch to banditry when there is no work.
Shearing seasons typically happens in early to mid June, so it is a timely mission...
Even though Fiona is not a martial maga, as occasional princeps it behooves her to know (or at least have a vague idea) of what's going on with the turb, its size and capabilities, so she will be there. Doubtful she will offer much, but she will ask (ignorant) questions and offer suggestions if something arises that she feels strongly about.
It should only get confusing if the Princeps du Jour is the commanding officer of the turb. If the turb has their standing orders/duties (e.g. guard the roads in and out of Bibracte, provide an escort to any visitors/travelers passing through our demesnes, etc) and the Princeps only calls on them when something comes up, I think they should be fine. Unless two of the Princeps have conflicting ideas/orders for them, in which case things could get interesting.
A livable wage and freedom from prosecution for whatever they've done in their past lives should be reward enough. If anyone comes looking for a particular grog, Fiona would be able to cast Disguise of the New Visage or Gift of the New Body on him. If they step out of line...Fiona's used Curse of Circe before and would do so again if needed. If that's not enough...give her a season and she can brew up a couple of potions that could turn someone into something pretty icky. Although if seeing their squad-mate spending a day wallowing around in the mud as a pig doesn't deter future misconduct,then we may need to ramp things up a little.
Left to the discretion of the Captain of the Guard, I would think.
Agree.
This works, but I prefer the idea of an Imperator in charge of the turb, who then answers to the Princeps and the Council, and individual magi (in that order). The Imperator is the face that the turb recognizes as in charge of them, it allows respect to build and efficiency. It wouldn't be secret that the Imperator answers to others though so they know the relationship with the magi. There might be issues of trust regarding the Imperator, as in he could have too much power by having the whole turb under his control, but such things can be mitigated. The Imperator could see this as an act of service to the Covenant, a burden even, to enforce this and ensure trust the Imperator could surrender something valuable, or perhaps give an Arcane Connection to the Council, to be held in trust by whoever is Princeps as a check on his power.
Making them not appear to be bandits is key, plus it can engender an esprit de corps and help build professionalism and dignity among them. Flogging...might actually be done. The men need to know the consequences for their actions, and such corporal measures are not new or mysterious to them, in fact they might even expect it. The rod, the lash, the stripe are time tested and provide results.
I like this idea, but think 4 squads would be better. We could train them, divide them into their duties easier, and keep a Seasonal approach to their duties and training. Plus when needed to accompany a magus in the field it will likely be in small groups anyway.
We need to check the viability and maintenance of their mounts and weaponry. The mounts present an additional challenge for wizards with a normal Gift. In such a situation the wizard will likely have to find alternate means or use magic to ride a horse and keep pace with the grogs. This is a minor issue though, I believe the cost is more of a concern. The crossbows are a fine addition, but I want them to be able to fight better on foot and in close quarters.
I would hesitate to use magic to disguise the grogs. If we truly need to hide certain members we can merely bring them through the regio. And I do not object to turning over unruly grogs to local authorities, such is the price sometimes for their actions. I would however severely counsel against using magic to punish and warp the grogs. Magic is frightening enough to them, to build loyalty they should see magic as their ally. The lash is crude but they understand it. Magic used to punish is utterly terrifying and we could likely lose grogs as well as have uprisings. [Also game mechanics wise, punishing with magic tends to cause huge hits to their loyalty]. The magic that we cast upon them should be subtle and seen as a benefit. My own Gift is gentle, my spells require no words or gestures, and the effect is pleasant to them...grogs actually will seek me out to have spells cast on them, and they will come to trust us more. But that will be shattered in an instant when a grog is transformed into a toad or ass as punishment. Should we need to use magic on them let it to be a reward or to enhance. Let them see the danger of magic on our enemies only.
Some problems I see with this. #1 The Imperator would have to be available to the turb at any time. Might mess up study if it is a mage. #2 The Imperator could not be the Princeps, ever. Otherwise the Arcane Connection would be useless. If the Imperator were a companion then it would work. Then they could give full time to the turb. I would rather have it that way than a mage as Imperator.
Excellent points and some worthy alternatives. Should the Imperator be the Princeps the Arcane Connection could be surrendered to someone on the council. I would prefer the Imperator be a Magus though, and no doubt there might be impositions on time, the Imperator would be enjoined to find ways to run it efficiently, much as Appollodorus has Reynault. Perhaps it is a similar thing to make the Imperator a Custo, but I think for the sake of the chain of command it should be a magus.
There is the Vice Princeps position, which is the Princeps from the previous season.
One thing to remember is that it is a violation of church and civil law to use a crossbow against a Christian. In the 13th century they are used almost exclusively on Crusades.
I've heard this for the longest time, but as I've studied here and there a bit more I find that of things like this are kind of like myths. Is this actually true? Can it be verified? Just out of curiosity. Is it mentioned anywhere in Ars also?
Pope Innocent II made a pronouncement. It was widely ignored.
By the way, I think all the threads are stalled, but not from my lack of attention. If you disagree, let me know, and I'll blast them open...
Yeah, holidays and stuff have been slowing me down a bit.
Yeah, I figured. I just didn't want anyone to think I was neglecting a story or something. A pause in the action isn't a bad thing.