I have no problem with that. Of course it leaves us with 200ish vis as the covenant reserve. Some might consider that too large for what the covenant is likely to need.
Jebrick's suggestion of borrowing against reserves sounds reasonable, too. Sizable reserves make this very easy and can thus grant a lot of flexibility of available vis so each magus can adjust as needed within the year instead of having to have planned perfectly for several years in advance.
I was thinking about that. Do we want to set a cap on the number of pawns in the stocks and if it goes over then we add it to the vis salary pool. We could set one overall or limit each type to ( pulling a number out of the air) 15 which would give us a grand total of 225. sounds high but we have 7 forms and techniques which are over 15. We could take the overage and build another pool in which everyone gets an equal share ( if they want it).
I think I would also put a floor in place and allow no vis to be taken if the stock total ( for the form or technique) falls below 5.
Another use for the overage ( if we set the ceiling at 15) is to trade for vis we have less of or that magi might want tin the future.
We might also allocate vis for purchases, such as books or for covenant enchantments from Verditui that our own members may not be able to enchant...
A store of 200 vis isn't that large considering 15x types, I'm happy for each magus to take less per year to keep a higher store.
I like the idea of trading cov vis to get a good stock of each type.
Also suggest we do the surplus distribution in larger batches, to at least match to the times when we plan character progression. At least a few years apart. Otherwise we're having this discussion every year.
I like the idea of balanced stocks, but I would suggest that Co and Vi be maintained at slightly higher reserves than others. Co is useful for healing and LRs, while Vim is useful for Aegis and LRs. I can see us needing more of those than others.
I would further suggest that when we get our vis in for the year, we distribute it starting with the vis that's already maxed out for storage, and only distribute from Arts that aren't maxed out if there is no surplus vis remaining in Arts that are maxed out. That would prevent us from never filling up on some Arts because they're popular with magi.
And I have a question. Will the covenant vis reserves be open to covenant members for trading at 1:1 for Te:Te and Fo:Fo, 2:1 for Te:Fo, and 1:2 for Fo:Te? In other words, if I have An vis and I want Ig vis, can I trade 1:1 with the covenant if it has Ig vis? Or do we just want to say that I should ask for Ig vis when I get my vis distribution?
Proposal:
(1) The covenant will only distribute 90% of the vis it takes in each year and will keep the rest as a vis reserve.
(2) The vis reserves will be set at a maximum of 15 vis per Art, 25 vis for Corpus and Vim (that makes for a maximum of 245 vis as a reserve).
(3) Once the vis reserve is full, the covenant will distribute 100% of the vis it takes in each year.
(4) Vis will be distributed first from vis for Arts in excess of the maximum in the reserve.
(5) The vis reserve is available for any use that is agreed to by the Council of Magi.
I've put this down in clear terms so that we can make sure we're all on the same page. This is meant to be a proposal only. If people want to modify it, please say so. Once we have some significant buy-in for the proposal, we can then vote on it.
Creo is also as useful with healing and longevity as Corpus, more so if we include plants and animals. And it can be used for making new structures and the like. I think its reserve should be as high as Corpus and Vim. I'm not sure we need 15 in all the others. 10 might be reasonable. Regardless of the specifics, I like the suggestion from Trogdor.
Based on what we currently have, this much would already be over the 15/25 suggested reserves:
-
- Creo
- 7 Intellego
- 2 Muto
- 0 Perdo
- 10 Rego
- 5 Animal
-
- Aquam
-
- Auram
- 8 Corpus
-
- Herbam
-
- Ignem
-
- Imaginem
-
- Mentem
- 7 Terram
- 6 Vim
Sounds good, as long as it doesn't pull reserves below their max. However, this only works if we measure income and distribution similarly. Otherwise you take lots of Techniques for distribution and trade them for Forms later to essentially get a bigger distribution.
I like Trogdors model too.
If we want to keep the reserve at 200, how about 20 for Cr, Co, and Vi, 15 for all other Techniques, and 10 for all other Forms?
Sound good and keeps the numbers nice.
Here's the revised proposal:
(1) The covenant will only distribute 90% of the vis it takes in each year and will keep the rest as a vis reb]serve.
(2) The vis reserves will be set at a maximum of 20 Cr, Co, and Vi, 15 In, Mu, Pe, and Re, and 10 An, Aq, Au, He, Ig, Im, Me, and Te (that makes for a maximum of 200 vis as a reserve).
(3) Once the vis reserve is full, the covenant will distribute 100% of the vis it takes in each year.
(4) Vis will be distributed first from vis for Arts in excess of the maximum in the reserve.
(5) The vis reserve is available for any use that is agreed to by the Council of Magi.
Currently we have:
FOR: Beatrix, Gavin
AGAINST: No one
UNDECIDED: Angus, Boudica, Corbin, Corvus, Eilid, Hope, Laerleggr
(IBT had indicated he was in favor, but I changed the proposal slightly, so I'll let him chime in on the revised proposal.)
Five magi should carry the proposal.
BTW, this would leave 90 vis for distribution, or 10 vis/person.
GIven what we have right now, 67 of the distributed vis under this proposal would be:
2 Mu
10 Re
10 An
2 Aq
2 Au
13 Co
3 Ig
2 Im
12 Te
11 Vi
With the balance of 23 vis coming from anywhere.
To be fair, under this proposal, everyone should take at least 67/9 = 7 or 8 vis from the overflow stocks and 2 or 3 from wherever they like.
Corvus is fine with the proposal.
We still need to decide a order on picking the vis.
We should also consider the relative value of Techniques vs Forms for distribution. Either that or keep it balanced, so the ratio matches the excess ratio: 12/67 are Techniques or roughly 1/5, so limit Techniques to 2 vis per magus. The latter is probably easier, especially since the 2:1 valuation in HoH:TL is wonky, simply but messed up.
Beatrix won't be very picky. She can take 10 of any Arts from the overflow. That should make things a little easier for everyone else.
Certamen! And since we're moving vis about, clearly it should be ReVi certamen! 
As a rule of thumb, I normally have Eilid and Boudicca cast their votes after all the PC magi have voted, and even then only if it's a close vote.
For distribution of surplus vis purposes, I think it should all be 1:1.
That's fine. But then we should really not allow trading freely between Forms and Techniques if a magus is can do so with the covenant stores.
I still suggest we limit Technique vis by the excess ratio. Otherwise we're all just best off fighting for Technique vis since we can change it (trading with the Redcaps) for no loss for whatever Form vis we happen to want at some later date.
If the magus is making enchanted items for the covenant, that would probably come out of the covenant stores before calculating the surplus. Likewise any vis consumed for the covenant's benefit (and I could make a case that, as callen mentioned, Longevity Rituals would count).
That would be something the magus would want to bring up at the next Council meeting for reimbursement.
Corbin will take whatever. A spread of vis is fine, a few Re, Cr, Co would be handy.