1227 Tribunal Preparations

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: In the Ruins of Bibracte
101

Several weeks after the first Tribunal Preparations meeting, Viscaria glances at some notes she has made and comments, "If we do commit to adding the Hunt d'Levrier, in addition to Falconball and the traditional five other events, we shall need to determine how many points the winners of the Hunt d'Levrier receive. I suggest we award the same as for The Melee, since there seems to be some suggestion that the points awarded are based on the popularity of the events, rather than their actual value in demonstrating magical prowess. Thus, the winner would receive 6 points, 2nd through 4th place recieve 2 points, and the 5th to receive a single point.

At another point in the conversation, she'll bring up Falconball. "Also, the original suggestion for Falconball included a ball roughly the size of grown man's fist, made of wood, leather, and metal. I think we'd need to retain a metal component to keep the ball sturdy enough to survive, yet, metal is harder to influence than leather or wood. How about if we use a metal ball filled with water as the central core, which is then encased in wood, and added to a leather sack filled with sand? The sand would be easier to influence than the metal, and would also provide padding should any players be hit with it.

I've created* several ball variations for us to try, and I've set up a makeshift court**. Is anyone interested in a game after the meeting?"

She looks quite excited at the prospect.

After everyone reacts, she blushes slightly and adds, "One of my dresses got torn, and while I meant to mend it, I....well, I ended up making this extremely oversized stuffed glove, displaying a gesture of superiority. And then I embroidered our name on it. I think we might be able to sell these at a good profit to the spectators. What do you think?"

She raises her hand, displaying the glove, and waves it with an uncertain smile.

  • Depending on your reading of the rules, the Outer Mystery of Verditus Magic might be able to make these without a particular die roll. It might also be the case that anything inside the leather can't be targeted, though, again, with proper Rego Craft Magic, it should be easy enough to create something out of Animal, Herbam and Terram that does the job. Trying to add Aquam that can be externally sensed would be difficult, I think.

** I'm assuming we'll find a cave or clearing which is inside the regio and suitable for at least a half-court game.

102

Isen nods

Good ideas. We need to make sure no one is advantaged, and your suggestions go a long way towards this.

I'll decline the invitation, though. I don't do games.

103

Note, it's traditional to only have one new game from the hosting covenant. Other games would have to be vetted for fairness by Quaesitores not members of Mons Electi. Further, Mons Electi would all but guarantee itself a low finishing position as it would appear to be bad form if Mons Electi did well at games of its own design.

You can do what you like, but consider the political ramifications of your actions. This will be the last time I mention this, and I'll make plans to respond based on the player's wishes (you're creating your own story hook).

104

Hunt d'Levrier = Scavenger Hunt?

[color=blue]"Don't you need to be able to perceive the substance in order to affect it? If the sand and wood are hidden inside the leather sack, that would reduce a magus's options to solely Animal. ((at least, that's my understanding, and why I had originally envisioned the leather ball with wood and metal bands around it – that would give the magus the option of using ReHe, ReAn, or ReTe to manipulate the ball. If, however, it is enough to know that there's a substance inside the ball, then adding a layer of water would give another Rego option for controlling the thing.))

[color=blue]"I would actually have to do some quick figuring, but I suspect that I would have to invent a spell in order to play Falconball."

[color=blue]"Umm..." Fiona looks at the thing uncertainly. [color=blue]"I think next time you tear your dress, you should come by my cottage and either I or Moire will take a look at it."

105

I actually had several paragraphs in there about the political ramifications (would Masion d'Levrier be offended by the number of points we awarded for their game? What will the conservatives think? Etc, etc), but took them out as out of character. I also plan to later suggest, in character, that we should perhaps reserve ourselves to merely referee'ing the Falconball tournament.

But it seems few of our characters are intent on intrigue, so I think we're all just going to have to play it out that way. At some point, we'll bring up our ideas to a Quaesitor in charge of such stuff, around the time they start using the impending Tribunal as an excuse to snoop around the covenant, and their reactions should be telling.

Frankly, I don't see how any team of PCs could be put in a position like this without creating a ton of story hooks for themselves.

106

I say no to the scavenger hunt. We have a unique event in Falconball. Lets just work with that.

107

Granted. But I threw the hosting onto the players. It is not my intention to be punitive. Flagrantly disregarding traditions will change the color of the story. I also think that these events are enshrined in the Peripheral Code, but I haven't had time to verify that. If there is strong player desire to pursue this course of action, by all means go ahead. :smiley:

108

Well, at this point, it's Laetitia asking for it, Viscaria leaving it in her notes, and the covenant intending to ask a Quaesitor about doing it.

I note from my reading thus far of the Lion and Lily that the Melee is the newest event and has had some conservative/traditionalist grumbling, so it is possible to add events. On the other hand, Mons Electi is a bunch of nouveau riche upstarts, so it isn't going to be very surprising to anyone that we have no sense of honor or tradition.

109

Laetitia makes some rounds, asking various people in the Tribunal (Aristarchus, Eloi, Tauron, Runild Tremeris of Montverte, Amelie Merinita of Oleron, and Calvinus Jerbitonis of Florum, and someone from Maison du Levrier, asking them what sorts of things they expect in a Tribunal and what they would like to see, to get a feel for what kinds of repercussions there would be for the various ideas we've been throwing around.

Intrigue: 222+6=14.

She will also go to Confluensis (with Bitter Taste of Betrayal active), to consult the Guernicus archives and try to figure out what is required and what cannot be required of a hosting covenant for Tribunal here.
Lex Hermei: 2+7=9.

110

Tribunal and/or the Tournament? Exactly how are the rounds being made?

111

Viscaria barely makes it to the meeting on time, as she's been out in the field, and her beloved bridge is nowhere near completion. "It occurs to me that there are going to be a great many people from a great many places coming to this Tribunal, and we'd do well to make sure that we all, including possibly even the servants, can understand them all."

112

Fiona: [color=blue]"Yes, that was one thing that surprised me when I came here, was how few of the mortals spoke Latin. My maidservant and her husband both speak the language, passably, but the covenant is also some 75 years old, too.

"Do we think that it would be worthwhile to have a good portion of the servants learn Latin? Especially those that can be expected to have some kind of interaction with the guests, and any newcomers we may have to take on for the Tribunal?"

113

"I would think that it is simply an efficient practice for any covenant to teach their servants enough Latin to at least understand the orders barked at them by unpleasant guests, just as it is wise for magi to learn the language of those they dwell with, the better to comprehend the portent of comments made under one's breath.

"Now that I've had a chance to assess your on-hand stocks of vis, I must say that I am troubled by the lack of any Terram. The chess pieces are amazingly valuable, and I've tried to take that into account in my plans, but I strongly advise you to never put yourself in a position where you might be forced to use the chess pieces when you need any normal Terram Vis.

"There is a very common spell known as The Stone Cutting Knife, a ReTe device which would be of inestimable value for our quarrying efforts, given our current plans for the Tribunal Field. Most variants that I have seen are dependent on the Finesse and familiarity of spell-slingers like ourselves. It occurs to me, however, that a handful of such devices in the hands of our military men would give enable them to use a much greater variety of weapons that I could make with more of your singular fortune.

"Another very common device, The Enchanted Porter, is also a ReTe device which would let us use untrained labor to very quickly move the stones from the quarry sites we've located, to the Field.

"My third and final proposal for this meeting, I arrived at from personal experience. I spent quite a decent amount of time casting a ReTe spell to create A Smooth and Even Path for me to walk across many parts of our mountain retreat. I suspect this will be needed further still in creating the road network between the various buildings which will make up our faux city.

"Each of these would take but a single Pawn from your chess game to create, and with a Lab Text found beforehand, I could easily make 4 of them in a single season. In fact, if we don't wish to trade for the items, I could probably invent the first two in a single season."

114

With Rego Terram, generally, doesn't the stone and/or rock tend to stay where you put it, barring outside interference? So that if you used ReTe to smooth a path, it would stay smooth until the weeds pop up, the stones get kicked around, what have you?

115

Are you leaving it unsaid that such a spell doesn't need vis?

Honestly, there's only a few uses for ReTe vis, Mercre (the permanent kind) Portals and Hermes Portals (the renew once a year kind). Also, there is the item creation/enchantment possibilities...

116

Yep. I'm pretty sure doing it the way I think it works doesn't need vis. Not a "permanent" enchantment, don't need an item, not a Ritual.

Base 2 to move dirt in a slightly unnatural fashion to smooth or move the stuff out of the path. R: Touch (+1), D: Conc (+1), T: Part (+1), and +1 for stone/glass, is a Level 10 spell, which Viscaria can spont easily. As can Alexei and Isen.

117

Average magi intelligence > +2. Yes, I think the implication of "trivial yet useful, I could toss it into an item for your grogs or I could work out the formula as a sideproject nearly any season" doesn't need to be spoken aloud. Think of it as implied by her tone.

At this point, Viscaria is a In/Re Te/Vi specialist. I can think of many, many uses for the stuff. They often begin with "build a..." but they still count as mutiple uses.

(Mind you, these Guernicus events are going to have an impact on her priorities)

118

tangent: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Architectura

"Once we start the quarrying in good stead, I can begin work on a bridge connecting the two peaks."

119

Viscaria then pulls out a collection of architectural sketches and distributes them around the table.

"I have several bridge designs for you to consider. These are mere sketches, you understand.

"What do you think, sodales?"

120

Well, Isen couldn't care less. So long as it works and isn't a security risk...

(OTOH: can't access it from work, it's labelled as "porn" :laughing: )