Especially given the Contested Resources, Illusory Resources and Faerie Court hooks.
Okay here are my build points:
100 points for lab upgrades (do be distributed among several labs)
18 points for a Christian scribal team (scribe, binder, illuminator)
12 Muslim Librarian Teacher (Com 3+ Teach 3 + Ability 6)(if I create this character later on, I ask to be allowed to change these bps into library items)
90 The Qu'ran (see RoP:D, p. 110); written in Arabic by God; Summa Theology:Islam L10Q10); Summa Islamic Law and Dominion Lore each L5Q10)
57 Naturalis Historia by Plinius; Summa L5; Q15 on Magic Lore; L4Q15 Philosophy(natural);Latin
Concentration
13 Symphonia Armoniae Celestum revelationum by Hildegard von Bingen Q13 Latin Tractatus on AL (see GoTF)
10 Enneades V by Plotinus; Tractatus on Concentration Q10; Arabic
brought by my character:
34 Codex Hermeticus Hispaniae (Q10, L8) by multiple writers; Latin: A complete collection of case reviews from the tribunal; summa for CoH
30 De Ordo (L5, Q15) by Horst ex Mercere; Latin; a summa on order history (OOHL)
45 The Bible by various authors; Summa Christian Theology L10Q3, Summa Church Lore L3Q3; Latin
12 The City of God by Augustinus Tractatus Q12 church Lore; Latin
10 The Fuero of Teruel by Alfonso II; Latin; Tractatus Civil and Canon Law Q10
Q9 To Hell with Devils by Erwin ex Flambeau; mastery DEO; Latin
10 portable Vis source (2/year): to be determined
For a rook of Vim per year, I almost think we'd have to kill a young dragon every year.
Maybe the original magi could have pulled that off...dunno if we could or not, though.
Viscaria’s Enchanted Items
83=24 (3)Magical Furnaces Creo Ignem 20 = 42 = 8
122=24 (2)Prodigious Plant Pots CrHe 30 = 62= 12
16 IceMetal Tongs MuTe 38 = 8*2 = 16
GL 3 +2 mag (metal or gem) +1 size (10 cubic inches), +1 touch, +1 concentration,+5lvl item maintains, +10 unlimited uses, +3 Restricted: only usable by the bloodlines of Orbhammer Founderson's clan
Effect: Any metal or gemstone becomes icemetal while held in these tongs, and may thus be worked with Craft:Glass.
Viscaria’s Specialists
(All dwarf-blooded with Faerie Upbringing, and thus up for grabs)
5 Furnace Operator (potash maker),
5 Glass worker
5 Mirror Maker
5 Silversmith
13 Faerie Lore Teacher8 + 2 Com + 3 Teacher
Viscaria’s Summa
17, 17 Diary of a Magi Who Might Be My Mother, Merinta Lore Lvl 3, Quality 8, and OoHL lvl 3 Quality 8, Castillian
Viscaria’s Casting Tablets
10 Gleam of the Freshly Polished Glass, PeTe25
Viscaria’s Lab Texts
2 Chamber of Summer Breezes, CrAu 10
3 Reorder the Contents of the Amarius, ReAn 15 (InMe reqs)
2 Ward Against Curious Scuillion, ReCo 10
7 Eternal Repetition in a Bottomless Pool, CrIm 35
- Ravenscroft
- Chicoazian 300
- Peregrine 300
- Fixer 300
- JeanMichelle 300
- Amul
4* 300 = 1200
6* 150 = 900
Okay, we're currently at 2100 BPS, and 6 players, which will push the total to 2700 BPS, which is a pretty far cry from the 1800 I was aiming for originally. This critical math failure is primarily caused by the fact that I forgot to include myself in the point totals.
I'm strongly tempted to take back build points from everybody. I really don't want to play in a Legendary Power Level game as my first alpha storyguiding attempt.
Instead, what I'm going to say is that Ravenscroft and I do not get to add 300 BPs to the covenant, since we haven't submitted yet. Every magi still gets to bring 150 bps with them.
That leaves 300 bps which we need to get rid of. We can either do that as a group, or we can add it to the 250 bps of Illusory Resources and Contested Resources -- meaning that storyguides get to yank carpets out from under everybody with a much greater frequency.
Which way would you prefer to handle it? The first option feels more fair, but the second option gets us playing sooner, at the expense of slightly more housekeeping along the way.
I think we should make it part of the 250 Illusory and Contested Build. I went overboard on the Vis Sources with that expectation in mind. Things the Founding Legendary Magi could gather or acquire are not the same things newly-Gauntleted Magi may be able to access. Also, my idea for them choosing this location as a Vis heavy location - more than likely a "contested" resource may even be Jamie Lannister himself, who has already laid a personal sigil on some sources perhaps.
I"m just throwing out ideas, but I think it makes more sense for the magi to gather, sign the charter, review the "Vis Resources Known" sheet, and exclaim in awe and shock until they actually go try and collect those sources, when reality comes crashing down.
A very good example is one of the suggestions in the Book for one of the Perdo Vis Sources. A Winter fae court kidnaps a family and throws a wild lavish party for them - full of drinks, food, and every luxury. Then each member is invited to dance - the husband by the Queen, the wife by the King, and children by the Prince and Princesses, etc. However, once they begin to dance, they cannot stop - toes and soles bleed and the ground grows ice thorns that suck it all up. The Faerie royalty slowly and surely laps up all of the human's tears, their ice-cold tongues burning blistering paths across the faces and skin, until finally, at the moment of the family's death, a beautiful ice-rose dyed blood red blooms and an impassable ice bramble stands guard. Okay, so I embellished and improvised a bit, but you see what I'm getting at.
I like that the Bible was written by various authors but the Qu'ran was written by God, and is a much better copy to boot. That plays a very nice chord in the melody of the original founders.
Oh, so 100 years ago, they were basically naive little rich kids who got brainwashed by David Koresh? I like that!
Who is Piotr Byrlaesh? Have we seen him appear in the storyline yet?
As my backstory currently stands, the schism was created by two factors: 1st, Rafus was growing more and more militant, pushing for direct and violent conflict against the Reconquistas (both magi and mortal). 2nd, Cersei Lannister was sleeping with Rafus and Jamie, and probably a bunch of other people. She managed to keep it a secret for decades, but when it was finally revealed, everything went kind of Helen of Troy. Rafus's cult, which had been powerful enough to keep the Reconquista magi in check, splintered into individual covenants, each with their own agenda. And he did indeed get his revenge on them at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, and all it cost him was his soul.
Hold on to that idea. It won't happen before game start, but might work into the plot of the first couple of seasons.
Don't forget to pick these. I'll resist the urge to make suggestions.
I'm fine with not using the 300 BP.
My health has not been great the past few weeks due to the heat here.
40 degree celsius temperatures may be ok for regular folks , but not me.
If i can still use 150 BP for stuff to bring , that would be great.
Yep. All incoming magi get 150 bps worth of stuff to bring with.
In some future game, I would probably go with a smaller amount. Maybe 50, or....10*(years post-gauntlet), but that would totally play havoc on game balance. Hrm....what about letting magi spend post-apprenticeship XP on build points? That seems like it would wreak less havoc on the system.
Don't worry about the number of points too much. I've put a lot of points into books that do not really increase our power - like the Bible (the levels and quality and authorship are from RoP:D). All these law/lore skills are normally cheaply bought by having specialists (a good teacher costs less then 20 bp and can teach these skills faster then any book).
I reduce my lab improvement points by up to 100bp though. After all because it is fum to build your own lab.
I also suggest reducing the number of vis source bp.
BP for Serrano
Enchanted Items: 02 per five levels of effects.
Lesser Enchanted Devices , pages 51 thru 53:
Magical Oven (CrIg 20) , 08 points
The Enchanted Chef (ReHe(An,Aq,Ig) 45) , 18 points
Stone-Cutting Knife (ReTe 15) , 06 points
The Enchanted Porter (ReTe 15) , 06 points
The Motivated Plough (ReTe 15) , 06 points
The Vitalizer of Provisions (CrAn(He) 19) x02 , 08 points (16 points)
The Death of Vermin (ReAn 20) x08 , 08 points (64 points)
One each for: Rats , Mice , Bedbugs , Lice , Fleas , Ticks , Flies and Tapeworms.
Incendior Hommes (CrIg 40) , 16 points
08 +18 +06 +06 +06 +16 +64 +16 = 140
Money , page 05
Stocks: 01 per 10 pounds
100 pounds , 10 points.
140 +10 = 150 points.
I'm surprised you didn't go for the Abluere Magica! You get glee points for buying all those Death Of Vermin traps, though.
Thought about it , but i figured Vermin-free trumps laundry anyday.
Plus i have a formulaic spell with Target: Structure , to do laundry.
Don't forget , the vermin traps will get the mass equivalent of a size +01 animal.
(the core rules say pony on page 117)
- = Affinity
Finesse* 03: 30xp (20)
Rego* 14: 105xp (70)
Herbam* 13: 99xp (66)
(dropped Puissant (Finesse) , reluctantly , to take Skilled Parens , because i need the points and spell levels)
Post Gauntlet:
Year 01: +45xp (30) Finesse 05 75xp
Year 02: +45xp (30) Finesse 06 120xp
Year 03: +45xp (30) Finesse 07 165xp
Year 04: +45xp (30) Finesse 08 210xp
Year 05: +15xp (10) Finesse 09 225xp
Year 05: +15xp (10) Rego 15 120xp
Year 05: +15xp (10) Herbam 14 114xp
So, I reworked my build points taking into account some of the suggestions.
I've also lessened it to 250 points instead of 300, and will likewise diminish Hiems build points to 100 too.
Overall, I think this is better than the first draft:
- A lot of points were spend to secure the parma book, which is fine and appropriate given the place
- I supressed an item (the gate of the Dead) that could potentially ease too much things
- The pool works better that way, and the wand of warning more RAW
- The wand is best that way
EDIT: Clarified that the DEO tractatus is on Mastery of the spell
I still have to design an item that yields 2p/vis year
My items are two crystal lenses
The first is etched with a rose, the second with nightshade. If one looks through it on the day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Dec 8th), one can see a single red rose through the lense blossoming in front of a house in which a girl was properly married that year and is now with her husbnad's child. If the rose, which is invisible and intangible to the naked eye, is cut, it becomes a physical rose that contains one pawn of intellego vis.
Similarly, if one looks through the other lense on All Soul's Day (Nov 2nd) at a house in which someone has died in the state of grace that year, they can see an invisible nightshade blossoming in front of the house, which assumes physical substance when cut and contains 1p of intellego vis.
Like all the grogs at Duresca, the grogs that come with Servus believe that cutting the rose bestows luck in questions of love and that cutting the nightshade bestows good health for the year to come. The magi of Duresca have found no evidence of this being more than a rumor - but allowing a grog to cut one of the flowers has become a sort of symbolic reward.
The 150 points of things Hiems will bring, downgraded to 100 as I said:
BOOKS (61 points):
-
To Rule over the Mortal Realm (30 points) Yes, it makes its comeback here
Summa; Q: 10; L: 20; Topic: Rego; Language: Latin; Author: The now-famous Herman Ex Tremere -
On Wizard's Marches (11 points)
Tractatus; Q: 11; Topic: Code of Hermes; Language: Latin; Author: Gwissifath ex Guernicus -
The Face of Clay (10 points)
Tractatus; Q: 10; Topic: Muto; Language: Latin; Author: Julian Ex Miscellanea -
The Schism War (10 points)
Tractatus; Q: 10; Topic: Order of Hermes Lore; Language: Latin; Author: Norbert Gunthar ex Verditus
ITEMS (14 points)
- Ikaros Swift Ring of Flight
Creator: Nicolas Jerbitonis; Created: Spring 1210
Vis Capacity: 10
Effect Name: Swift Wings of Ikaros ReCo 25
Effect Details: Move a target quickly in any direction you please: This allows the target to fly at great speeds.
Design: Base 15, +1 Conc, +1 Touch, +5 lvl items maintains concentration, +5 lvl for 24 uses per day, final level 35
This delicate ring of gold was a gift of Nicolas to Hiems just before his departure.
SPECIALISTS (25 points)
Like I said, although I designed these 2 as grogs, I felt I had to include them as specialists, due to their high level of skill and usefulness.
Cecilia, Cook and Spy 12
Com: 3; Teaching: 0; Highest Ability Score: 9
Esteban, Doctor grog 13
Com: 2; Teaching: 2; Highest Ability Score: 9
I agree that it has become a bit convoluted. Post discussion about covenant design here. Post character sheets, locations from your backstory, and other story information in the wiki. Enter the story by starting a "2.1 Prelude - Serrano" thread or by arriving at Cijara / Phoenix Covenant in that prelude thread. For anything else, start a new thread.
This is technically a violation of the 9-person party limit I had set up, but since the kids and grandmother count as "dependants" I'm going to allow it.
Latin is a scholarly language, so it feels unlikely that so many entertainers in your party would have it without a backstory reason. In other words, if/when they get full character sheets, they need to have a merit which explicitly permits them to learn Latin. Please pick these now, and a flaw to balance them, but you don't need to finish writing out their characters until it seems necessary.
If your teacher know Latin, then we can say he spent the last season teaching them the rudiments (Latin 1) while you traveled to Phoenix.
Only because I'm tired of doing prep-work for the game and want to start, I'd prefer you to wiggle your numbers so that you can pay points for him as a specialist. My suggestion would be to drop the The Motivated Plow (unlikely gift for an entertaining troupe) and either the Magical Oven or the Enchanted Chef (redundant). However, if you haven't selected a companion yet, then you can ask someone to take him as your companion (and I just realized that I still haven't selected a companion yet). I just don't want it to delay the game any longer.
Doesn't Pious +3 mean extremely pious? It's a personality trait, right?
That all sounds good. I'm still really curious as to where you're going with all of this, and not entirely sure what sort of stories to make up for you. I'm really interested though. I find Serrano's concept fascinating, and he's proving to be exactly the sort of conceptual challenge that I want in a game I run. I encourage you to suggest story seeds for Serrano whenever you think of any, either in a separate thread or by PM.
This reminds to me post a new thread on population questions I have about the covenant. Finding homes for all the incoming grogs and companions will probably be a significant part of Chapter 1.
Sounds good to me! Why two lenses instead of one? I love the flavor you add to all your mechanics. Just give 'em a name.
Oh, I do love it when people work in pre-existing characters!
Cecilia, with no teaching score, only costs 9 points.
Awesome! Our very own Legion Flight Ring! 
The wand feels super expensive. Why CrIg and not CrIm? Does the heat serve a purpose? I found this somewhere a while ago. For the same points you could equip several patrol grogs with these wands:
Alarm Bell Pendant
CrIm 5 (Base 1, +1 Diam, +3 size?, 1 use/day)
S/M Glass Bell Pendant on a chain
When activated by passphrase, the bell rings a distinct ring for 2 minutes. This sound is a thousand times louder than a single man’s shout, an can be heard for a vast distance. While extremely loud, it does not cause damage or cause any other mechanical effects.
Total: 5, 1 pawn
The above changes have been noted and will be added to the Final Design Thread in a bit.
Awesome indeed! Viscaria is going to want to get copies of that made....maybe she'll make 7 silver copies in her dwarven halls, since she had a silversmith....And then yours can be the One Ring....
I have added the three specialists. It also ended up being 30 points in specialists - I had misread the rules for enchanted items bps points and didn't realize it was 2 points per 5 levels. I also stole 5 points from Vis Sources (5 Ignem now instead of 6 Ignem) since... well, they're supposed to be "specialists", not random covenfolk with only 2 or 3 rankings.
Following Fixer's lead and advice, I have cut the BPS points I used on Vis Sources by 50, so total contributing is also only 250.
Also added names and authors to the Summae and Tractactii. I have started describing the Vis sources. I think I'm still expounding too much; should I shorten the descriptions? The description I gave for the Rook of Vim Vis throws it into the category of "Illusory Resources", but that can be easily remedied with a suitable description in Cersei's stuff.
Oh, and Piotr Byrlaesh - I completely forgot Salamandrus was already determined to be the fourth covenant mate. I thought I'd follow along the "Song of Fire and Ice" theme and add in the conniving Peter Baelish, whom I've decided is a old personal friend of the Lannisters prior to joining with Rafas. He chose to stay with the cult, but continued to visit with the Lannisters after the schism. They never spoke of politics or the schism, but hung out like old friends. The extra EXTRA guest lab was practically used by him exclusively and had many stone implements and focuses. It was he that warned them of Rafas's building of forces which led them to gather and march for Las Navas de Tolosa. It is questionable whether he was a true friend of the Lannisters, spying on the Lannisters for Rafas, or truly neutral in the whole affair and merely loath to lose any contacts/friends he had made. Jamie believes he betrayed them and has "sterilized" the guest lab with fire. LOTS of it.