You run into Viscaria in the hallway. She's wearing her usual undyed toga, but significantly less silver than usual. Over her shoulder is slung the by-now-familiar bag of Falconballs -- every one of them a violation of Hermetic secrecy by their mere existence. Her other hand is adorned with another one of those comically large cotton gloves -- this one is green and has some yellow lettering cross-stitched on to the back of it, emphatically proclaiming that Mons Electi should go somewhere.
"The tribunal's less than 3 months from now! Want to play a round of Falconball? Best two out of three?"
She waves her comically large glove at you.
(OOC: Seems like Peregrine actually determined a damn sensible system for playing the game when he first came up with it. Fast Cast Initiative, Successful spell (damn easy in our aura), then compare Finesse rolls....unless people get tricky and start using Muto and Perdo or something, which I'm thinking ought to be illegal)
ReAn: Base 1 +2 Voice +1 Part = ReAn 4 ("manipulate")
ReHe: Base 3 +2 Voice +1 Part = ReHe 10 ("control")
ReTe: Base 2 +2 Voice +1 Part = ReTe 5 ("In a Slightly Unnatural Fashion") +1 stone / +2 metal
ReTe: Base 3 +2 Voice +1 Part = ReTe 10 ("In a Very Unnatural Fashion") +1 stone / +2 metal
ReTe(An,He) Base 3 +2 Voice = ReTe(An, He) 5 (possible bonus for not affecting just a Part?)
Let's see. Viscaria's scores:
Fast Cast: QIK -2 + Finesse 4 = 2 + Stress Die
Re 10 + Terram 18 + Rego-Aura 10 + Sta 0 + Talisman 4 = 42/5
Re 10 + Te/An/He 5[*] + Rego-Aura 10 + Sta 0 Talisman 4 = 29/5
Dex -1 + Finesse 4 + Stress Die = 3 + Stress Die
[*] Note that she'd need to be holding four of her spontaneous casting tools. I could actually make a spell so she'd only need one, but then she'd be casting each version stressed AND would need to master it for Fast Casting.....which makes me wonder if Invisible Sling of Vilano would work here....
((Hermetic secrecy? Violation? And just where should M.E. go?))
Fiona looks down at Viscaria, with an amused smile on her face. [color=blue]"Certainly. Might as well give the game a test run. I'll meet you at the courts, as soon as I whip up something to wear."
She heads back to her cottage, where she slips out of her clothes. She ponders for a minute, then sponts a Creo Herbam. ((Base 1, +2 for clothes, R: Touch +1, D: Sun +2, T: Individual, for a final target level of 10. Her CT is Sta 3 + Cr 6 + He 10 + (die rolls of 1and 6) 12 = 31, halved is 16.)) She looks at herself in the mirror and nods approvingly before lacing up her sandals and headed back to the Falconball Court. She is garbed in basically a white skintight leotard.
Fiona's are:
Fast Cast: Qui -1 + Finesse 3 = 2 + Stress Die.
Sta 3 + Re 10 + An/He/Te 5 + Rego Aura 10 = 28 ÷ 5 = 5.6, so she can do it non-fatiguingly.
Isn't Aiming (to get the ball in the net) Per + Finesse + Die Roll? Dex is the same, for Fiona, so it doesn't matter to her. Per 0 + Finesse (Precision) 4 = 4 + die roll.
OOC: Hermetic secrecy/violation meaning that the balls are obviously the work of a Verditus enchanter, each one being impossible to make by any mundane means. And the comically large glove simply says, "Go Mons Electi! Go!"
You are correct. Which means we are dead even on scores! Fiona has a slight advantage for having a Qik of -1 vs Viscaria's -2.
Rules tangent: Should there be a penalty for only affecting part of the ball? Looks like players would need a CT of (Sta + Re + An/He/Te >= 15) to play. That's not too bad.
So, the code on Invisible Castle for the dice roll for both of us will be:
1d10.open(10)+2;1d10.open(10)+4
Okay. Viscaria's Initative roll is 4. That's Fiona's target number for her Fast Casting.
Let's see...iirc, Initiative remains constant throughout an encounter. So, Fiona's Initiative is Qui -1 + die roll of 8 = 7. Which means, I think, that Viscaria has to beat a 7 on her Fast Cast, and Fiona has to beat a 4?
Round 1: Fiona's Fast Cast is 11, so she is able to grab the ball? But she rolls a 0 on her Finesse (no botch), for a total of 4.
((Want to call it an Ease Factor of 9 to get the ball into the net? Make it something of a challenge? And, if both of us make our Fast Cast rolls, say whoever wins by the most has control of the ball?))
Round 2: Fiona's Fast Cast is 6 (winning by 2), and her Finesse roll is 7.
With Fiona's Fast Cast of 11 vs Viscaria's Init of 4, she can actually spont the spell twice (on 11 and 5).
What about making this more like Certamen? I'm envision a spectrum between (Fiona 9..0..Viscaria 9)
(Fast Cast - Opponent's Initiative) determines who is attacking and who is defending.
Advantage = Current Advantage - (Attacker's Aiming roll - Defender's Aiming roll)
For example:
Round 1: Fast Casts:
Fiona's 11-4=7,
Viscaria's 11-7=4.
Fiona has the ball.
((No, only thing I want to change is, instead of keeping track of fractions to a point, say that if you win the Fast-Cast roll and get an Ease Factor of 9 with your Finesse, then you get a point. Tournament games can be first to five or whatever, which looks like it would take two or three minutes of Falconball play, if you score a point every three or four rounds, or twenty seconds (roughly). At least for ease of determining pbp. If it were "real", I would say 21 (3 x 7, two "magically powerful" numbers), just like volleyball or table tennis or something.))
Between rounds, Viscaria pulls skin of water from off her mound of extraneous belongings, takes a drink, and then offers the skin to Fiona. "Big day is nearly here. You had any responses yet to your post-game party invites? Be nice to know who I was designing for."
((That is a very good question. How many rsvp's has Fiona received for her Giant Summit? I know we've discussed Atlas of Tremere, maybe Great William from Albion, she's invited her mater (who isn't a giant, but would still be a good voice to have), possibly Sinmore that I can think of off the top of my head, but I don't think we've decided who and how many will be coming.))
[color=blue]"Thank you," Fiona says, and drinks politely.
[color=blue]"It appears that I misjudged the amount of physical activity this game would require. I feel like I dressed rather inappropriately." Fiona gestures to the white outfit she had Creo'd for herself, almost skin-tight thin white linen that doesn't hide near as much as polite society would expect. [color=blue]"I thought I would need something that wouldn't hinder my movements." (She doesn't look nearly as embarrassed as her words would indicate.)
Neither I nor Viscaria know anything about these people, AND I suspect that players will be running them, so this is a good excuse to give a short description of who all you've "invited."
"Hey, the Romans would play in their skins. They felt clothing just got in the way. Of course, they felt the same way about women, so...
"I've been doing a lot of research into Roman culture, in order to get the designs right for the villas. And do you know what I found out? Part of the reason the wall outside is so piecemeal -- it's because it never did ring the city! At least, not with stone. The Romans actually grew a thick hedge around the city instead of using stone!"
((Basically, it's anybody in the Order who has Giant blood.I think JL and I had thrown out the idea of qcipher bringing in Sinmore for a guest appearance, and JL had mentioned (whether it was here or in pm I can't recall) having the troupe play a giant-blooded mage for the meeting. Beyond that, everything is pretty much up in the air.))
[color=blue]"Hunh. There are a lot of games I enjoy playing in my skin, but I'm not convinced this would be my favourite," Fiona deadpans while watching for Viscaria's reaction out of the corner of her eye.
[color=blue]"Really? That's interesting." Fiona stares into the distance, thinking for a couple of minutes. She finally shakes her head in annoyance. [color=blue]"No, it would take too long. Damn."
Fiona tries to fast-cast to grab control of the ball: FC 2 + die roll of 6 = 8. Not sure what her Target is, since we've taken a break.
[color=blue]"It's possible to force a plant to maturity in a remarkably short period of time, from a single day to almost instantaneously. I was figuring how difficult such a spell it would be. If I do it at Voice range, instead of having to touch the seed when I cast the spell, and have the plant reach maturity over the course of a day or overnight (which is easier than the shorter periods), I'd be looking at about a 7th magnitude spell. Beyond my ability to cast spontaneously. And to invent such a spell, with both Paul and Sheelagh's help, would take almost two years, based on my current understanding of the relevant topics.
"And I was thinking how nice it would be to have such a hedge around the villa, or parts of the covenant, or wherever we would like."
[color=blue]
"...If I do it at Voice range, instead of having to touch the seed when I cast the spell, and have the plant reach maturity over the course of a day or overnight (which is easier than the shorter periods), I'd be looking at about a 7th magnitude spell. Beyond my ability to cast spontaneously. And to invent such a spell, with both Paul and Sheelagh's help, would take almost two years, based on my current understanding of the relevant topics.
"And I was thinking how nice it would be to have such a hedge around the villa, or parts of the covenant, or wherever we would like."
[/quote]
"Why Voice? Do it touch-circle-ring. That'd save you at least a magnitude, and you wouldn't even need to worry about it, because eventually the roots would break the circle. Would it help if we were all doing a Wizard's Communion with you?"
Fiona thinks for a moment. [color=blue]"That would work*. Wizard's Communion wouldn't help with the invention of the spell, though. But with myself, Paul, and Sheelagh, we can safely invent the spell in two seasons. If we push things, and push it beyond safe limits**, or I could get more help, we might be able to invent it in one."
I don't know why I keep forgetting that you can use Wizard's Communion on non-Ritual spells.
** Basically, the spell is level 30. Fiona's current CrHe LT is 45, with Paul and Sheelagh. Experimenting adds 6 + simple die + risk modifier, up to 3. So, if she really pushes it, that would be 54 + a simple die. She does have Leadership 3, so she can have two other people besides Sheelagh in the lab, if anyone would be interested in such a project. Doubtful she can get +15 from other people, but she might be able to get +9 if they're not afraid of experimenting.
I'll have to check, but IIRC, Goliath (Hiems's Parens) is Size +2, although he is troll-blooded... Would he get invited?
Although I'm not as gifted than you, I can create a few other characters, if it can help. Do it while walking to the work, write them at home, put them on the wiki once I get the time. I'm thinking young magus (less than 05 years pg), matured (30-50), and old (80+)
Do you think you'll need stats? Aside from characteristics and v/f, I don't think I'll be able to, not in such a short time (Although, with Magi packages... I may be able to)
((Probably...he's likely to have had to face the same problems as the rest of them in life.))
((I'd honestly be surprised if we need more than thumbnail sketches: age, general personality/interests/likes & dislikes, stuff like that. If we get into combat or something, we can probably wing it.))
Berchtold, male, 34 years old (6 years pg), german, bjornaer, Bull heartbeast, Rhine Tribunal
Terram Magus, with FFM. He's searching for lab texts of terram spells, or spells with T: Part that he might use with FFM. He's also interested in being taught in bjornaer cult lore.
Lecherous (major) and overconfident (minor), he thinks fiona's meeting will be the perfect place to meet lonely giantesses and seduces them. He's not a charmer, not a jerk either, but, well, he can't resist temptation, nor can he think temptation can resist him
Middle-aged
Golnar Merinitae,female, 64 years, 37 years pg, occitan, Hiberian tribunal
An elementalist specializing in Muto. She sucks big time at Creo, but hides it through clever use of Muto and Rego, as she is quite Proud and refuses to publicly acknoledge her weaknesses and failings.
She comes with her husband, an old (normal) man now despite the longevity ritual she bought for him. She'll try to bargain for a better one if she can. Their love was never understood by her husband's family, and they suffered mockery for him being smaller (she used MuCo on him when making love, but that's not the point), so she is quite sympathetic to Fiona's cause.
Old:
Sikander Ex Miscellanea, of the Olympians tradition. Male, 108 years old, 85pg, Greek, from the Theban tribunal.
A tradition who focuses exclusively to the mastery of lighting, teaching secrets supposedly going back to a mortal that stole zeus thunder from hephaistos.
He discovered 12 years ago that his best friend was of Diedne legacy. He told nothing, but they grew distant. He has lived with the knowledge ever since, but it gnaws at him (Dark Secret).
He is Ambitious (minor) politically, and intends to represent the Olympians and to give them weight amongst the giants. If he could become one of their representatives, this could give him a good political weight. He thinks that, with him in charge, things would be get along better (Meddler) and will do his best for this.
Also, he is in search of a giant-blooded apprentice.
Brave and kind, he is not very cheerful (his secret weights on him), but will try to have everyone refer to him for advise. He'll thus try to wrestle control of the gathering from Fiona or, barring that, to become one of its leaders.
