Once the game has begin, there is one magus (as part of a deal regarding build points) who can simply join the covenant. Aside from this there are 2 ways for a character to join: story, and birth.
If a new character is being added by story they should be documented and a beginning hook suggested in the thread for the "wait list". Once that is done they will be incorporated into a story or may be the entire point of a story to introduce them to the covenant.
Female characters who are 'active' in an ongoing manner- either in a marriage (official or unofficial) or who have the lecherous trait, will roll a stress die + simple die after giving birth to see how many months it will be until they conceive again. Exceptions to this may occur as story events involving faerie seduction, an encounter with a significant personage etc. where the player (in the case of grogs the player at the time of the encounter) wishes for pregnancy to ensue.
Most children will be grogs at age 5, but may be raised to companions by any character who wishes to play them as such so long as this is done before age 14. All will have the covenant raised skillset from apprentices at age 5. I will post lists of children here.
regarding apprentices- if you take your starting companion as the apprentice of your starting magus this is fine, but once game play begins the apprentice will always be played by a different player than the magus- this helps to reinforce the idea that what the apprentice learns is not of direct benefit to the magus except in terms of what aid an apprentice can give and the reputation of the magus. Anyone starting the game with a magus able to take an apprentice may work with another player that they can take that apprentice as a free companion character...
What is required to take an apprentice?
I was always planning on taking a apprentice as my starting companion. Is there another player interested in being my parens? It would require at least one season per year of direct teaching.
all arts at 5 or higher
Silveroak -
I'm working on Tartessos, and as he is a lab rat, I would like a familiar that is focused in that area. His best arts at the time he finds his familiar look like Rego and Terram, so I was thinking a silver fox, with might zero, or as close to it as I can get (so he can actually learn stuff). If I can get might zero, is there any reason Vulpus (yeah, I know, creative name...) could not use correspondence if he was both literate and physically able to write? Also, could he start reading books at Latin 3/Artes Liberales 1 if he had an applicable specialty, or does reading require non-specialized Latin 4?
Edit - now that I've thought about it more, I think Intellego is probably more appropriate for this concept. I just love the idea of a fox so thirsty for knowledge that he reads more than most human scholars, and exchanges correspondence with the leading thinkers of the day, challenging their concepts.
The only limitation to that (assuming he can turn pages etc. the same way he is able to write) is the penalty for his might. You can recruit a mundane fox with no might. Though getting a mundane fox to read and write could be challenging...
yah, I was going to instill a power to speak, and another to change paws to hands. I think that would fit Vulpus better than transforming to human whenever he wanted to do something. So, a season to find him, another to instill the bond, and two seasons for powers. Then he has to learn latin and artes liberales. Sounds like maybe a two year investment. Does the caravan have a latin tutor with a SQ better than practice?
A season spent in "self study" in a covenant situation (including the caracven) will allow an 8 point SQ in Latin. Other than that the caravan did not employ general tutors- if people did use them hey hired them wherever they were at.