1271.3d Looking for Mr. Goodbody (Catrina)

Averell listens intently to the discussion taking place regarding the positioning of the fingers, and what it all means in casting. He tries to take effective notes, but it seems Catrina speaks a bit too fast, and he consistently has to ask her to slow down so he can continue and finish with his note-taking. And when she mentions the bones in the arm, and then turning to the skeleton, he raises his hand to ask a question. And when he is given the attention, he asks.

"I'm sorry, and maybe I'm wrong about this, but aren't the bones in the arm part of the skeleton? If we are reviewing them, haven't we already turned our attention to the bones in the arm?"

He waits patiently for an answer, flipping to the appropriate page in his textbook so he can study the answer using both Catrina's words and the written text.

"Alas," Catrina replies. "I'm afraid you are wrong. But such misunderstandings are to be expected at this stage of your training."

"We are currently reviewing the parts of the hand and arm," Catrina replies, "and their magical properties, as set forth by Andronicus ex Bonisagus in his masterpiece, Humanum Corpus in Operibus. This knowledge was augmented some decades later by Justinian ex Bjornear in his work entitled Magicis Substantia Hominis Osseus, in which Justinian observed secondary magical characteristics in the human skeleton. But the observations of these two masters is quite distinct."

"I fear that you may have missed the point of today's lesson, which was directed to the work of Andronicus. Today we have been focusing on the general parts of the body, not the bones in the skeleton. That there is some correspondence between the two is true. In fact, this correspondence is a necessary predicate to Justinian's theories. However, the correspondence is not perfect. You will note, for example, that there is no palm bone, though Andronicus identifies the palm as an important part of the hand. This difference will become abundantly clear when we get to the head, as the human skeleton clearly has no ear bones or nose bone, yet the ears and the nose are critical parts of the body for many aspects of magic."

((Is there something else you want to do here? The last post doesn't seem to have hooks for the other players to latch onto.))

Some weeks later, Catrina has reached the point where she's ready for her students to try a little practical work. They've spent more than enough time memorizing various aspects of Corpus magic. Now it was time to see what they had learned.

"Okay," she says once everyone is seated in her class. "I want each of you to show me a demonstration of Muto Corpus. We've discussed what is necessary to change your appearance, and I think all of you have the necessary tools to effect such a change, if briefly. So please line up here and show me what you've learned by modifying your face in some way.[sup]1[/sup]" She points at Ambrose and adds, "you may sit out this practice session. I understand that Professor Fabricus has withdrawn the Aegis from you, and I don't want to run the risk of what might happen if you attempted this experiment under such conditions. While the others are demonstrating their skills, you can take out your wax tablet and list the bones in the hand and arm."

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[sup]1[/sup] This should be a Base 3 MuCo effect, +0 for Personal, +1 for Concentration, for a total target value of 4.

People can go in whatever order they post in.

Margerethe steps up with a smile, concentrates, and tries a MuCo with loud booming gestures to give herself long pointed ears and a Pinocchio-esque nose. Target is base 3, Range is Personal, Duration is Concentration (+1), and Target is Part (+1), for a Spell Level of 5. Her CT is Sta -1 + Mu 1 + Co 2 + Loud Words 1 + Exaggerated Gestures 1 + Aura 4 + die roll of 7 = 15, halved is 8. Success!

Averell attempts to generate the necessary magics being requested[sup]1[/sup], but he ends up really messing things up[sup]2[/sup]. He once again hangs his head in shame, unable to produce any effects.

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[sup]1[/sup]Muto 0 + Corpus 0 + Stamina - 2 + Aura 4 + my third consecutive stress die roll of 0.
[sup]2[/sup]Botch check results in a 9 and a 4, which indicates no botch. Weird magic, which is why I roll 2 dice off the bat. Let me know if I need to roll more.

Ambrose does attempt it, but the power of the Aegis shuts him down. For a moment Catrina thinks he might actually get the spell to go off, and in a minimal Aegis, she's sure it would have gone off (rolled several exploders). Still, it was a good practice for him. After the attempt and while the others are practicing, Ambrose returns to his book, diligently reading ahead and taking notes. Catrina's experience with Ambrose has been rather the opposite of Fabricus's. She's never had any real problems with him, nor has any other professor. His primary negative attribute is his general know-it-allness, and in this class it manifests by throwing himself into the material and reading ahead, often times being lost for a moment when the question comes back to him. In those situations, he quickly reorients and provides mostly correct answers.

Babette comes forward, looking very intimidated at the prospect and begins forming the hand gestures and gesticulating wildly and practically screams in her shrill voice the words for her spell.

Sta -1, Mu 1, Co 2, Gestures/Voice +2, Aura 4 = 8
Base 3 R: Per D: Diam +1 T: Part +1 Target Spell 5

Spell Casting roll:
1d10+8 → [9,8] = (17) Success!
invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4548514/

A moment after she stops, a miniature version of Professor Fiona stands where Babette once did. She looks about her wondering if it works. "Did I do it? Did it work?"

Julius tries to chance his skin jet black and succeeds. MuCo4
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Mu 1 + Co 2 + Stam 0 + Aura 4 + MuCo4 (1d10=8) = 15/2 (round up) 8

Imric shyly steps up for his attempt. For some reason he seems more shy and introverted when in this class. He closes his eyes and concentrates, speaking words of magic and making the gestures that Catrina had taught. As he does so, his skin takes on a greenish tint and his hair transforms into small leaves. Soon Imric stands before the class like a woods faerie. He remains this way for a few moments before he lets his concentration lapse and returns to normal.

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[sup]1[/sup] MuCo casting roll = [1d10 + 1 (Mu) + 2 (Co) + 1 (Sta) + 4 (Aura)]/2 = [1d10+8=13]/2 = 7; success

"Well done, well done," Catrina says as each of the students displays their change. When she reaches Averell, she pats the boy on the shoulder and adds, "not to worry. Some of the best magi had a slow start. Give yourself a moment to rest and try again. And maybe as an aid, you could try using louder incantations and broader gestures as Margerethe did. That can help in the very beginning. I remember needing help like that with my Perdo magic." She shakes her head. "I was always a little weak in magic that destroys things."

Then she walks over to Ambrose. "That was a noble effort," she says. It shows your skill and innate power. But please, in the future it's best to hold off on such attempts until you've gained a bit more skill. The danger of a spell botch in your early years is greater than it will be as you learn more. And its never good to have your magic go awry." When she sees him take out his books instead of his wax tablet, she sighs and rolls her eyes. "Well, I suppose you know your bones well enough by now. If you'd rather read ahead, that's fine with me. You might take a peek at the chapters on Mentam. I hear that the class may be starting on Mentam magic next week." This last is said loud enough for anyone in the class to hear.

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Catrina is more than willing to let Averell try again.

[color=purple]"Ja, it worked perfectly! I can hardly tell the difference!" Margerethe beams.