Abe's Ideas

Now this is a clever idea. I tend to agree with Fishy that it should be a Minor Virtue: being perceived as laughingstock lies between perceived as a "normal" person (Gentle Gift) and a creepy treacherous bastard (normal Gift). Mechanically, I'd say you get a -3 penalty (only) to those interactions with people or animals where you'd benefit from being perceived as powerful, capable, etc.

The beauty of this is that it can be readily changed changed into similar "variants" of the Gift that keep just as powerful an emotional effect, but one that's not so bad overall - so you get a -3 to a wide range, but not the totality, of social interactions. For example ...

Boring Gift (Minor Virtue, Hermetic)
Instead of inspiring envy and hostility, your Gift makes others feel that interaction with you is exceedingly boring. The intensity of these feelings is the same as those engendered by a normal Gift, but they are not as universally problematic. You do suffer a -3 penalty to a wide range of social interaction rolls and totals, including those to charm other people or bargain with them, or to bait or train animals.

3 Likes

Similar to wacky gift is the virtue/flaw of the wacky sigal, same effect as the gift version but it only works if someone sees the sigal.

New flaw:stinky pits
Minor flaw?
Basically you smell BAD!

It is covered by Social Handicap flaw. In the example is mentioned: "an unpleasant odor".
This flaw is a catch-all for everything that makes a character unpleasant to be around, with penalty to social interaction.

1 Like

Any thoughts on my wacky sigil flaw/virtue?

Cryptozoology as a skill?
What would the skill set be?

[Realm] Lore.
Those cover all the non-mundane creatures.

Oh.

Would a weird accent be considered a virtue or a flaw? Would it be considered a minor or a major version of either?

If it's extreme enough, it's a Social Handicap flaw.
I'm not sure how it would be a virtue in any context, to be honest.

1 Like

A book flaw: ahead of its time.
Basically itā€™s written in a form that is yet to be accepted by grogs in this time.(aka braille for example)
Would this be a major or a minor flaw for books?

No takers on my book flaw huh?

If nobody except the writer is able to read it, then it is pretty useless. It could contain critical information or be just gibberish, if nobody but one person can read it, it is just useless. Not even worth a flaw. And considering how expensive it is to write properly a book, a waste of money & resources.

Braille as a flaw/virtue: would it work?

I would just allow Braille as an Ability, allowing anyone to read/write in a "tactile" way anything one could otherwise read or write, with an effective Language score equal to the lesser of one's Language score and one's Braille score. So, for example, a character with Artes Liberales 1, Latin 5, and Braille 4, would be able to read and write "tactile" Latin as if his Latin score were 4.

I would not really ask for a particular Virtue or Flaw to know Braille (a bit like having the Art of Memory), just a reasonable background to maintain suspension of disbelief. The reason is that knowing Braille does not really boost a character's capabilities by that much unless a whole lot of other people know it too, and it does "eat up" some precious xp.

1 Like

Wristwatches:I know that they didnā€™t exist during the Middle Ages, but would magi use them? They would have to be calibrated with the church clock tower of course, but otherwise what do you think?

Any tools that can accurately track accurately time would be useful: duration of spell (diameter), more precise horoscope, any lab activity would be improved.

Obviously, because such tool did not exist, they are no rules to describe the benefit of such technology, so everything will have to be built from scratch (= house rules). In chemistry, like in cooking, time control ensure consistent quality and is one key element for repeatability, so it would equally apply in any lab activity.

How about a coo coo clock?

Wristwatches exist in (my) Mythic Europe! In fact, they are a recent fad among many noblemen.

A Verditius silversmith creates the basic clockworks in a heartbeat via Rego Craft Magic. The clockwork does not keep the time on its own (that's sophisticated technology centuries in the future!), but is powered by an Intellego Vim Level 20 effect - a D:Ring variant of Sense the Hour (TMRE p.51) that keeps the watch showing the Astrological time, cast over a Ring delicately inscribed around the watch's circumference (Base effect 5 "Discern and Measure the Astrological Time", +1 Touch, +2 Ring).

A well-kept "magic" wristwatch can keep working for generations, but most eventually break down due to some mishap breaking the Ring powering the magic, thus satisfying the requirement that items given to mundanes should eventually lose their power. Many Redcaps and a few young magi have received such wristwatches as gifts, though more senior magi scoff at them, as any magus worthy of his name (i.e. with an Intellego+Vim+Sta+bonuses total of 25+) should be able to cast a R:Per variant of Sense the Hour spontaneously and without Fatigue. Wearing a watch is a way of saying that you are too weak to know the time via your own magic.

According to TMRE p.51, "Knowing the hour exactly subtracts 3 from the Ease Factor of the Astronomy roll for an Astrological Duration spell.". I would also allow a magical item enchanted with similar effects to provide bonuses to a Laboratory according to the rules in Covenants.

New target:dinner
Basically itā€™s a meal thatā€™s either a duration or a target. Which would work best?