I really don't like to assume what players are making their characters do[1]. It's the issue of zigging when the character was zagging and so forth. So, I'll always ask for clarification before proceeding. Also, with Intellego spells, it's important to indicate the sense you're trying to affect. Taste is the easiest, it's equivalent to R:touch, then sense of Touch=r:part (+1). Yeah, flinging off a bunch of spells is fun and all, but the devil is in the details.
[1]For example, I had a similar discussion with Hitsumei before he vanished, making him lick the statue of Janus for details. It was an attempt to be humorous, but it resulted from a simiar situation where I was being given an incomplete effect. So now, I'm extra cautions on making sure that players define the effect, Range, Duration and Target.
This is a line from a great movie. Of course, it is performed in English, so something might be lost in the translation, if you watched a dubbed version in French. The movie is Ghostbusters.
So, all the information about the plants in the ring surrounding the tree. Mushrooms, standard mushrooms. There are also a few truffles under the ground, but they aren't the best. Additionally, it's moss on the tree, nothing exciting to get home about. The tree, however is somehow impenetrable, and the only things you can determine are done visually. It's an oak tree. Viscaria does think to herself that she needs to talk to someone about this tree, because of its odd shape.
I'm still figuring out how to present information by taste. What does a TeFo combination taste like? What does active general magic taste like? I can envision powerful magic tasting stronger, and weak magic tasting weaker.
Here's what I've constructed. In 14 + Vi 15 + Int 3 + Aura 1=33. 33/2=16.5 (.5 is rounded to the even number, so it goes up sometimes and down sometimes, see the HR)
Spell 1: you rolled an 8, which makes the total 20.5 or 20, when rounded. Viscaria is unable to determine TeFo combination. This is a 20th level spell, base 5, R:T+1, D:Mom, T:Taste, +2 for complexity to determine TeFo. She tastes nothing.
Spell 2: Base 5, as above, except for complexity makes it 10th level, meaning 5 penetration. Again, Viscaria Tastes nothing. (with a total of 16, there's 1 point of penetration)
Spell 3: Base 10, as above, makes it 15th level, and the powerful magic lights up the salt receptors on your tongue. For a moment it felt like you were licking a salt block.
Spell 4: This spell doesn't appear to work, probably because the powerful magic you detected earlier has overwhelmed the sense, or perhaps there is no weak magic here.
Spell 5: The supplemental guidelines indicate the bases. I'll say you selected a Base 4, sense a supernatural creature of might 15 or above. That is Base 4, and yes, it is above 15 might[1].
The odd thing about spell 5, is that Viscaria shouldn't have received any information. Her spell shouldn't have been able to penetrate sufficiently to detect might. Same with the third spell. It's almost as if Viscaria were allowed to know this information.
She also gets the sense that she needs to talk to someone familiar with the woods. Anything else before you guys hoof it back to Mons Electi?
I need to know what the others are doing while Viscaria and isen are taking up about an hour of time, and then another 90 minutes to hoof it back and meet up.
Wen is going to explore the area to within an inch of its life, talking to Theraphosa if they can find a common tongue. If not, she'll just occasionally yell out "I'm over here now" in Welsh, just to keep the spider abreast of the situation. She'll occasionally climb a tree to get a better look, or lean over the precipice to see what's down there. If there are any other caves in there, she'll yell out to Thera before going in. She may or may not wait for Thera to show up first, depends on if she can keep her Recklessness in check.
Laetitia just roams about, keepig her eyes open, checking the aura magnitude here and there (non-fatiguingly and without penetration). Glaukopis is enjoying flying about and claims to be looking for interesting things, but he's actually just hungry and looking for mice.
Okay, we're having the typical Intellego confusion here. I was attempting to do Touch/Mom/Ind spells, instead of Personal/Mom/Sense spells, limiting all my spell information to a single target, rather than momentarily being able to detect the world around me with magically imbued senses. It is apparently still not clear to me when one is appropriate versus the other.
Thanks for this. Again, I was not actually expecting you to present the complete information, merely stating that Viscaria collected it, though I can now see why the tree's MR may have caused problems.
Ret'conning slightly, after Viscaria, Vin and Isen go through the portal, she would tell the others that she's stuck in the woods, can't get back through the door, and there's no telling how long it'll take her to get back. She encourages the others to go on exploring for sites without her, and she'll catch up when she can.
She then casts the ring ceremonially, and comments to Isen about her discoveries (Isen, you mentioned you got bored? Did you leave without her? We are in fairly safe, well-known territory here.)
"Hey, guys, this is pretty weird. Guys? Sodales? Oh, right, I told them all to leave. Isen, we should talk to somebody who knows something about these trees. There is definitely something interesting going on here. Maybe we should find an Herbam specialist who can actually talk to plants. Anyway, I must remember to discuss this with someone when I get back."
And then they head back.
(Again: what will Viscaria remember about going through the portal and ending up in the woods?)
Meanwhile, I believe the rest of the party has had plenty of time to check out Ioseph's sanctum while Thera and Wen climb to the top to take a survey for potential Tribunal spots.
Thera comes back down to the caves, and explores them to see if there is another cavern in here suitably large enough for another laboratory (preferably in a part of the cave with the same supernatural elements as Ioseph's Magic Lighting, etc).
About 30 minutes before Viscaria would be returning, Thera heads down the mountain, looking for Tribunal sites again.
(Thera speaks Castillian, Latin and Arabic, same as Viscaria. She does, however, also have Enchanting Music, and will quickly become tempted to use it to reign in the girl's excesses.)
The next step would be to identify techniques and forms by... well, taste.
For exemple, Muto might be changing, Perdo sour, Creo vivid, Ignem spicy, Terram like dirt...
Of course, unless the character has experience with these effects, just tell him the taste, although a Magic Theory roll might help.
As told in the other thread, Isen wouldn't have put up with this waste of time ("Casting intellego spells on the first tree you meet... There are thousands of trees around us!").
IF it is clear they are in known and safe territory, he'll return to Bibracte.
If not, he'll grumble, explore the surroundings, grumble, and get bored, throwing Ice daggers at the trees in order to practice his finesse.
When Viscaria speaks, she discovers that either he's gone, or he a little too far to hear her, completely oblivious and uninterested by her magical (to him) waste of time.
So, Isen departs, but doesn't get very far. Before traveling more than 30 minutes towards the southern road that leads up Mont Beuvray, he hears the sound of woodcutters, or maybe a solitary woodcutter. Following the sound he comes into a small clearing, and sees a young man doing his best to prepare logs for what appears to be a small cabin...
I've scanned the sheets, but I might've missed something.
Back on the mountain/magical side of Mons Electi, the remaining party looking for a site should have something along the following.
Artes Liberales >=5 (or a 4 with a specialty in Geometry)
Terram >=10
Architecture, any score
Surveying, any score
Or some skill associated with building, any score
The extent of the cave is that it is rather large, and has plenty of room for a lab. A terram expert could easily restructure the entrance to add a door to the front of it and protect the sanctum from further damage by the elements.
Wen climbs up the mountain, goes up through a cave and reaches the summit rather easily. At the summit she finds a bird's nest in one of the few trees there are on this mountain, in fact it is the only tree at the summit, so it naturally drew her attention. It doesn't appear that there are any birds in or near the nest, and as its spring there should be birds nesting in it.
Okay.... Who's this guy?
It doesn't look as if he belongs to the covenant, or else he'd live there. It's probably a mundane, but looks can be deceiving. And even then, he might have precious informations on the mountain.
Isen approaches, without hiding or being menacing, but doesn't get too close to the man, so has to have some distance should a problem arises. If need be, he should be able to rise in the air, and teleport to bibracte from here, so long as he can see it. He knows the gift's effects, so he'll try to be really non-offensive in his attitude.
Wow, and here I was, thinking these slopes to be devoid of human activity... And here you are, quite a surprise to a wanderer like me.
Looks ostensibly at the logs
Excuse me, are you settling here? Do you know these woods?
Now, isn't this interesting? the girl thinks to herself. She will look around for a minute to be sure that she didn't just miss the birds that should be nesting here. Can she tell if this is an old nest or a new one? Int or Per 1 + die roll of 1 (followed by a 4, for a total roll of 8.) = 9; don't think she has any relevant Abilities, except for the remote possibility of Survival (Mountains) 2.
Regardless, she will call out to anyone in the area (in French) to "come check this out!"
Jacques know that an auram Vis source is collected up here. It would be early, as it normally happens after a summer storm. nothing has been mentioned about a nest.
Thera dutifully follows Wen up the mountain top. It takes her little time, and she understands little of the marked interest in the tall shrub, or the lack of food in it. Tapping into her exquisitely delicate link to her soul-sister's mind, she brings broadcasting images of the view through her Mental Communication bond to Viscaria.
This task done, she hangs about for a bit, making sure Wen doesn't fall off a ledge or anything.
Viscaria, upon discovering that there is no one to hear her exciting news, is more than a little uncomfortable to discover she's alone in the woods. She walks as directly toward Mont Beuvray as she can manage, even if this means going off the trails (she has no Survival skills. City is That Way, I walk That Way).
Isen indicated he was heading south to find the main road, there is a very sparsely marked trail in that direction. It should intersect the road between Autun and Mons Electi's southern gate. ((In other words, not going to let Viscaria get lost by trying to head straight towards Mont Beuvray, and then attempt to climb up the massif))
When Jacques reaches Wen, she will go all Vanna White as she shows him the bird's nest. "What do you think of this?" she asks in French. "Is this interesting?" She lowers her voice. "Magical, even. A bird's nest that drives birds away?"
This is a spot where we collect magic but I think the bird's nest is new. I will have my friend take a look as he has far more experience in bird's nests than I do.
Pecess gives Jacques a look then flies up into the tree to look at the nest.