I was wondering, being terribly knew at Ars and knowing only what I have read in core books, is it possible to have mages that are siblings?
Say you wanted to run a game where there were say three sisters and two brothers (or any other assorted grouping) and they all had the Gift. Perhaps from a large family or perhaps the parents simply made mage babies.
They are all separated to apprentice and then return to join a single covenant or form one of their own.
Is this even possible?
You think you got politics in your covenant? Hah! Try brothers and sisters.
Sure! It would be extremely unusual (in fact, virtually unheard of) but nothing in the rules says it can't happen. It's actually a pretty neat idea, and an excellent motivation for characters to be in the same covenant, as well as a source for many interesting stories. E.g. what mystical connections tie the magic of the siblings? At the very least, if the fact becomes well known, the siblings will be subject to intense scrutiny - if there's a way to reliably get Gifted babies, most magi of the Order would want to know it.
I know it would be such a easy way to make the entire story about the characters rather than the characters be in a story, but still the possibilities are so bountiful.
I had magi who were twins turn up in a game recently and kill two of the PCs' allies. The PCs themselves were very lucky one of them botched on a multiple-cast Pilum of Fire...
Given that Faerie magic can be cast on family lines, and that family is probably an arcane connection to you, Merinita is a much stronger house then currently thought of......
You could also check out the chapter on Fertility Magic in the supplement Ancient Magic (Chapter 4); in particular, assuming that someone in your game has integrated Fertility Magic into Hermetic Theory, there are existing rules for Fertility Rituals by which an unborn child can be intentionally given The Gift (see page 57). The Twelve Foundlings, anyone?
There's also a gent mentioned in GotF, I believe, with vis-bearing semen who, if I remember correctly, also has the benefit of having any children he bears be Gifted. (The expectation is he'll never be allowed to take a longevity potion, since sterility would kill one of his big uses.) So he certainly has created a bunch of gifted half-siblings, and if they had him impregnate the same woman twice, gifted full-siblings.
Do you think Magi go through a "midlife crisis" of sorts before they do their longevety ritual?
Knowing that you are most likely going to live 100 years or more, double or triple the average mundane's lifetime. You have "forever" to learn magic and become powerful, but have only a few years out of apprenticeship to have children and further your line.
Males have already past their sexual peak when they pass the guantlet but have had few too many encounters and may need to sew wild oats. Females are going to hit it around 30... with the increased want to have children.
Considering the gift has such a negative impact on meeting non-magi to marry or have children with, i start to think there would be many stories of intrigue all revolving around finding someone to have a child with.
