Andovar, the Eater of Truth

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Andovar, the Eater of Truth

Andovar is an Ex Miscellanea of our custom Eater of Truth tradition. He is the Parens of a player in my first (and second) home Ars Magica sagas. He is an Intellgo based magus in an Intellego-based tradition. He is, however, a very social magus, who loves getting himself into situations and trying to puzzle and riddle out mysteries and answers. A vague guide for Andovar's development is Detective TV shows, and spy movies, like James Bond - get in there, socialize around, find the answers.
Any commentary please put in the main forum's thread to keep this one clean.

Table of Contents:

  1. Andovar, at Gauntlet
  2. The Eaters of Truth
  3. Initial Plot threads
  4. Ease the Cripple's Burden
  5. The Hungry Travelers Repast
  6. Pulse of the Hearth and Home
  7. The Coward's Stave
  8. Andovar at First Tribunal
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Andovar, the Eater of Truth

Andovar is somewhat short and stocky, but still a sizable fellow due to his build. Not at all burly, and with a badly twisted leg, this magus has always thrived on surprising others with his wit and his toughness. As an apprentice, he often spoke for his master, and developed a fondness for a bit of theatrics. Despite his tradition long being viewed as Hedge Wizards, Andovar was taught as well by a Pralican during the apprenticeship, and thus has a much stronger understanding of Hermetic Magic than his kin.
This understanding, and the urge to prove his skill and mettle, has actually gotten Andovar into lots of trouble, feeling driven to find out the truth, and then to tell everyone about it.

Andovar, anEater of Truth, Ex Miscellanea
At Gauntlet

Characteristics: Int +2, Per+2, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -1, Sta +4, Dex -2, Qik -2
Age 27

Personality Traits: Always Hungry +2, Chatty +3, Investigative +2

Virtues: The Gift*, Hermetic Magus*, Puissant Intellego*, Taste of Truth*; Great Stamina, Lesser Immunity (Ingested Poison), Secondary Insight(minor), Self-Confident, Well Traveled, Gentle Gift
Flaws: Rigid Magic*; Compulsive (Oral Fixation), Hedge Wizard, Indiscreet, Lame, Meddler (minor), Waster of Vis

Abilities: Area Lore: Local 1 (taverns), Artes Liberales 1 (rhetoric), Athletics 1 (climbing), Awareness 3 (smells), Bargain 2 (food), Charm 3 (first impressions), Etiquette 2 (merchants), Folk Ken 4 (sensing hostility), Guile 3 (little white lies), Intrigue 3 (conspiracies), Language: Latin 4 (Scholarly Latin), Magic Theory 3 (inventing spells), Stealth 2 (hiding), Taste of Truth 3 (aquam)

Arts: (Casting Sigil: Right angles)
Creo 0, Intellego 10+3, Muto 0, Perdo 0, Rego 5,
Animal 4, Aquam 4, Auram 0, Corpus 4, Herbam, 0,
Ignem 0, Imaginem 0, Mentem 4, Terram 0, Vim 0

Spells:

  • InAn 25 Opening the Tome of the Animal Mind
  • InAq 25 Voice of the Lake
  • InHe 15 Shriek of the Impending Shafts
  • InHe 10 Intuition of the Forest
  • InMe 20 Posing the Silent Question
  • InMe 25 Thoughts Withing Babble
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The Eaters of Truth
The roots of this tradition are in Roman times, in minor deities that go absorbed into the worship of Bacchus. Oracles who taught haruspecy were known, and those who divined by consumption were often found on the outskirts of civlization. As the expansion of the Roman worship of Christianity spred, the old ways became sanitized or reviled, and the Cult of Wild Hunger was one of the latter. Pushed to the fringes of the empire, hunted and hated, the worship became ritual, and the roots much forgotten, and the Gifted spread wide.
In Pictish lands, there was a small group adopted into Ex Miscellanea called the Eaters of Truth, who it was said could tell truth from falsehood by eating at a man's table. Their tradition was one to take in orphans and bastards whom nobody wanted, and through this practice they had found enough Gifted children to continue their practice. It took generations for the Order of Hermes to affect their traditions enough for the practice to move from its more wild roots to the more civilized land, and in the thirteenth century, this small Ex Miscellanea tradition is centered mostly in Brittany. The Eaters have a natural talent for Intellego magic, but their teachings of every object being part of a singular truth has given them a bit of dificulty when trying to devise new magics.
Pralican tradition is trying to decipher the secrets of their art to integrate into Hermetic Theory, and many older Eaters begin seeking out Mystery Cults involved in Augury.

Required V&F: Puissant Intellego, Taste of Truth; Rigid Magic
Common V&F: Piercing Gaze, Clear Thinker; Hedge Wizard, Disjointed Magic

Taste of Truth
The character has a unique ability to decipher something's true form by ingesting it. A skilled Eater can tell the grapes a wine was made from, can tell if a cooked bird was pheasant or chicken or squab; They can eat a shard of pottery and tell you the shape of its original form, and they can consume ashes and tell you what it was before it burned. A unique trait of this tradition, they teach that truth comes from within, and other senses can be lied to: Unlike Hermetic magic, they can decipher truth of things they have eaten even when infernal powers are involved - though this has more than once lead to an Eater of Truth becoming violently ill and dying. This tradition tends to have a cast-iron stomach.
For simple things, no roll is needed, and even complex shapes and forms are easy enough to decipher. The truly difficult part of this tradition is filtering out one truth from many. Identifying one type of grape from a blend of wines would require a roll of Perception + Taste of Truthagainst ease factor 6; Identifying a single spice from a complex stew would require and ease factor 9. To identify all parts of something consumed raises the ease factor by 6, or more for truly complicated blendings or magical mixtures. Although similarity to Arcane Connections is obvious, this is exclusively tied to a 'whole from the part' magic, so familiars, talismans, and frequently worn clothing would not show the link. If they consume part of something with Magic Resistance, they must roll to defeat its Magic Resistance to get the vision of it.

Taste of Truth, Alternate
An alternate concept for Taste of Truth as a Major Supernatural Virtue, is an ability strongly tied to the level (Similar to Shapeshift). Every point of ability gives the Eater of Truth an additional Form that they can decipher when eating. This is the version my game used. Rolls were only required when something had Magic Resistance.

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Plot Seeds, First Seven Years
Andovar is excited to explore the tribunal, now that he is free of his masters. The young magus has decided to visit a number of covenants. He's happy to talk to you and your fellow magi, and he's happy to chat with all of your covenfolk!

Summary
  1. Chatting with all of your covenfolk means that Andovar has picked up ALL of the local gossip. What terrible things have you done? Which grogs are mistreated? Who do you keep mind-controlling? If none of the covenant's magi have spent time gathering allies amongst the common servants, a large number of their secrets might get revealed.
  2. Andovar, of course, wants to meet your local nobles as well. Are you going to let this new, odd magus hobble his way in to the homes of your noble allies (or rivals?) unaccompanied? Or are you going to go babysit the chatty magus as he goes digging for mundane gossip?
  3. Andovar enjoyed his visit, and is now travelling to another covenant. Unfortunately, he has asked for assistance in his travels, either a grog to help protect him, or one of your magi if they're going in that direction and can accompany him. But Andovar travels... very slow. And he can't easily travel by horse, with his bad leg.
  4. Andovar actually would love to hire away one of your older grogs, perhaps one with a lingering wound from the past battles. Someone who can protect him, and travel with him, and keep him company in the grog's quieter years.
  5. Andovar's visit has created a lot of chatter amongs the covenfolk. He discovered a lot of badly-kept covenfolk secrets. He sparked a huge rumor-mill amonst the kitchen staff and maids. If you have a blatantly gifted magus or none gently gifted, a few covenfolk are whispering about running away to find the socialy adept magus and join him.
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By far, the biggest problem Andovar runs in to his his bad leg. Even with a good walking staff, he can't get anywhere in a hurry if something risky is going on. While some might say that he can easily cast the spell spontaneously, Andovar always likes having a Formulaic spell when available. Rather than trying to spontaneous something in a risky situation, he's decided a simple spell to make him move quickly is best.

Ease the Cripple's Burden (Rego Corpus 5)

R: Pers, D: Conc, T: Ind
This spell lets the caster move easily in any direction at the speed of a walk. With a bit of focus, the caster can change the direction of travel. This spell is designed to ease the strain for someone with bad legs or paraplegia, allowing them to move about as a normal person might, and with practice they can even pretend to be walking.
Base 3, +1 concentration, +1 variable direction

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All magi have their own problems. Andovar's problem is that he really wants a snack. As an apprentice, one of the first things he learned how to do was to conjure a fresh apple (CrHe 3 Base 1, Touch +1, Diameter +1) but now that he's a more experienced magus, he wants to do it better! Plus, it's great and delicious practice for Finesse.
Andovar's curiousity in his youth meant that after learning his Traditions secrets, he started trying to decipher everything he could, which means he started licking, tasting, and chewing on things whenever he was bored. This spell he designed to try and curb that habit. Merchants get mad when you lick their fine expensive plates and comment on the inferior quality of the metal.

A Hungry Traveller's Repast (Creo Herbam 10)

R: Touch, D: Diam, T:Ind
A simple spell, this creates a hand-sized breadroll pastry with a fruit jam. As a conjured product, it doesn't make one full or provide nutrition, but it really hits the cravings, and is great for giving to meddlesome children for their best gossip. A failed Intelligenge + Finesse (EF 9) roll makes the resultant baked good messy, but still technically safe to eat.
(Base 3 for treated and processed, +1 Touch, +1 Diam, +1 complexity)

Design Notes: Edited in later. As a Creo-conjured item, it uses Int+Finesse instead of Per+Finesse for craft magic. Conjuring natural items (like an apple) don't generally require those rolls.

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Since Andovar is interested in information, he likes to know how many people are around. This spell helps him know when he's actually gotten a chance to talk to everyone.

Pulse of the Hearth and Home (Intellego Mentem 15)

R: Touch, D: Concentration, T: Structure
The caster can detect the number of minds in the building. The minds each have a unique sense - usually dictated by the caster's sigil - but they are not actually identifiable as individuals.
(Base 2, +1 Touch, +1 Conc, +3 Structure)

Design notes: Base from TMRE p93. Useful for figuring out how many people are around. One could instead consider a Room target with a +1 size so you could check a room for hidden individuals.

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Utility and self defense for the lamed wizard in need.

The Coward's Stave (Rego Herbam 10 enchantment)

This traveler's staff bears an enchantment causes it to make aggressive and violent movements when commanded. If the power's activated with its command, the staff will follow the activator's command to lunge, bound, stab, or swing at the user's direction. To give an order requires touching the staff, to which it will follow at its best ability - using Perception + Finesse for any complex actions or attacks. The active staff has no ability for judgement, so the commands must be direct - 'Dance in this space for 15 seconds' is fine, 'dance until they viewers applause' will not work; 'beat upon that man for 18 seconds' will be accepted (with a Finesse attack), but 'beat all those people until they stop moving' will fail. After any command is completed, the staff will bound back to the initial user and wait for more commands. Andovar uses this for defense - "deflect anything incoming", since if he sends it to attack someone it will take a bit of time for the staff to return to him.
(Base 3, +1 Diameter, +1 complexity for return; +5L 24/day)

Design Notes

This is an attempt at a controlled staff or weapon, limited low level self-defense enchantment. I judged that accepting any commands does require being touched by the item's user, so if it's sent to attack or act at range, it will take a round to return to him. The goal was for him to use Finesse as a defense, since he's a bit of a cripple, being crippled.
Looking forwards to seeing what people think.

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Andovar's first tribunal is going to be a social delight for him. A young magus who holds his own sigil, he's curious as to everyone's plans and wants to delve into why the known tribunal cases are coming up. He also just wants to meet everyone.

Tribunal Plans:

  1. His specific interest is in meeting Jerbiton, since he is hoping the more socially active Magi with more established contacts can introduce him to a lot of people, and help him gather gossip and secrets.
  2. He's also delighted to introduce himself to any Ex Miscellanea - few of his House have social-focused abilities. He's interested in meeting anyone from a tradition of Entrancement or other social powers. For any of his house who aren't socially adept, he's happy to offer his assistance for a small concession.
  3. Andovar's base of operations is a small extant magical aura (aura 2) near a populous village. He has an interest in finding himself a location with more nobles and tradesfolk to interact with, and with a stronger aura. Do you know a place?
  4. VOTING! He has a vote, and is hoping people will come try and win his vote. This will let him get ahead on the gossip so he can start digging for the truth! That will let him share more secrets!
  5. Also he's really interested in any magi specializing in food or drink or hosting parties. Can he taste that?
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Andovar, at his first Tribunal

Andovar, Ex Miscellanea

Characteristics: Int +2, Per+2, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -1, Sta +4, Dex -2, Qik -2
Age 39
Virtues: The Gift*, Hermetic Magus*, Puissant Intellego*, Taste of Truth*; Great Stamina, Lesser Immunity (Ingested Poison), Secondary Insight(minor), Self-Confident, Well Traveled, Gentle Gift
Flaws: Rigid Magic*; Compulsive (Oral Fixation), Hedge Wizard, Indiscreet, Lame, Meddler (minor), Waster of Vis
Personality Traits: Always Hungry +2, Chatty +3, Investigative +2

Abilities: Area Lore: Local 1 (taverns), Artes Liberales 1 (rhetoric), Athletics 1 (climbing), Awareness 3 (smells), Bargain 2 (food), Charm 3 (first impressions), Concentration 1 (Spellcasting), Etiquette 2 (merchants), Finesse 2 (magical instructions), Folk Ken 4 (sensing hostility), Guile 3 (little white lies), Intrigue 3 (conspiracies), Language: Latin 4 (Scholarly Latin), Magic Theory 4 (inventing spells), Ride 1 (staying on horseback), Stealth 2 (hiding), Taste of Truth 3 (aquam)

Arts: (Casting Sigil: Right angles)
Creo 5, Intellego 13+3, Muto 5, Perdo 0, Rego 6,
Animal 5, Aquam 4, Auram 0, Corpus 5, Herbam 5,
Ignem 0, Imaginem 0, Mentem 5, Terram 0, Vim 5

Spells: (120)

  • InAn 25 Opening the Tome of the Animal Mind
  • InAq 25 Voice of the Lake
  • ReCo 5 Ease the Cripple's Burden
  • CrHe 10 A Hungry Travelers Repast
  • InHe 15 Shriek of the Impending Shafts
  • InHe 10 Intuition of the Forest
  • Mu[Re]He 10 Piercing Shaft of Wood
  • MuIm 10 Aura of Ennobled Presence
  • InMe 15 Pulse of the Hearth and Home
  • InMe 20 Posing the Silent Question
  • InMe 25 Thoughts Withing Babble
  • InTe 30 Stone Tell of the Mind that Sits
  • InVi 30 Sense the Lingering Magic
Advancement

5 Years of XP (150xp)

  • 15xp Creo 1-5
  • 5xp Mentem 5
  • 20xp Magic Theory 4
  • 15xp Herbam 1-5
  • 15xp Muto 1-5
  • 5xp Animal 5
  • 5xp Corpus 5
  • 24/36 xp Intellego 11-13
  • 5xp Concentration 1
  • 15xp Vim 1-5
  • 6xp Rego 6
  • 5xp Ride 1
  • 15xp Finesse 2

2 years of labwork

  • Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10) from text
  • Piercing Shaft of Wood (MuReHe 10) from text
  • Sense the Lingering Magic (InVi 30) from lab text
  • Stone Tell of the Mind that Sits (InTe 30) from lab text
  • Ease the Cripple's Burden (ReCo 5)
  • A Hungry Travelers Repast (CrHe 10)
  • Pulse of the Hearth and Home (InMe 15)
  • Enchant the Coward's Stave (ReHe 10)
11

Andovar has been around for a while now, and has started to meet people. He is a friendly folk, but unfortunately that makes people suspicious. Perhaps unfairly, a number of magi in the tribunal are suspecting him of scrying, but don't have a strong enough case to bring it to tribunal yet. Andovar himself is now going to a number of important nobles households.

Plot Seeds:

  • There's a young Tytalus who is now sniffing around, starting to investigate. His subject of interest is Andovar, and he's gathering information, perhaps suspiciously. His ulterior motives are to see if Andovar would be a good rival, because he believes the Ex Miscellanea magus is trying to manipulate politics in his domain.
  • Andovar's come to the tribunal because of positive interactions in the past. He's looking for support, and friendship. And if there's a Guernicus in the covenant it's even more important. Andovar's heard rumors he may be in trouble at the Tribunal for scrying. He definitely wants to quietly rally support.
  • Andovar has an interest in trading or buying Lab texts. His magic has been a bit slow to develop in his mind, and he feels useful spells for manipulating a social situation will help his goals.
  • Without meaning to, Andovar has been the focus of a few rumors, where a group of nobles have been talking about a wise magus who has been visiting their houses and offering aid. Andovar's been helpful to the commonfolk of a few villages, but rumors can get blown out of proportion, and the Code of Hermes is... strict sometimes.
12

Andovar has some social skills, unlike many magi. Still, his best sources of information are people who are already talkative or gossips. With a bit of study, he's seeking a spell that can make a recalcitrant conversationalist into a chatty companion.

Hunger for Conversational Wisdom

Intellego Mentem 25
R: Eye, D: Conc, T: Ind
This spell drags the thoughts and secrets out of a target. As long as the magus can keep the target engaged in conversation, the magus will see and hear the surface thoughts of their target. This can be quite distracting for those not used to it, which will give a -3 to any social rolls the magus makes due to the split attention. As this spell is designed to be done in a conversation, the caster doesn't need to make rolls to continue talking to the target, but anyone else joining in will require an Intelligence + Concentration roll.
(Base 15, +1 Eye, +1 Conc)

Design Notes

I took the spell level for giving someone Fear or Brave, and decided a conversation spell would be fun. It's made for talking to someone so there's no Concentration roll for conversation with the target, but anyone else will cause distraction, because conversation IS a pretty big distraction roll. If you feel that is too easy, you can rule there's a roll for normal conversation, but give it a -6 ease factor.

13

Andovar can be... very inquisitive.

Eyes of the Ungrateful Guest

Intellego Imaginem 15
R: Touch, D: Conc, T: Structure
Similar to the Prying Eyes spell, this allows the caster to change their perceptions to a new location. The caster can change their view to any any location of the building their in. They can change their viewpoint with a bit of effort, allowing them to explore the entire structure. While they cannot just decide to view unknown locations (such as a hidden room under a trapdoor), if they become aware of the room's existence they can look inside. Similar to Prying Eyes, you do not gain any ability to see in dark or obscured rooms.
(Base 1, +1 Touch, +1 Concentration, +3 Structure, +1 Size)

Design Notes

When snooping a single room isn't enough. Theoretically the same level spell could be used for Sight+Hearing instead of a large building.

14

One of the best ways to get on someone's good side is a common interest. Andovar uses this spell to examine his host's belongings to find conversation topics before guiding the chat to his desired direction.

The Expert's Hand (Intellego Terram 15)

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind
This spell grants the caster knowledge of how an item was constructed, including an estimation of how long ago it was created. This can, for example, allow a magus to analyze a chair and notice the woods and glues used in construction, identify any weaknesses or hidden secrets, and pick out stylistic marks that would mark it as being made by a particular artist. This does not grant knowledge of the crafter - though it can help - or the name of any artistic styles. It can merely identify what those styles are (such as wide-sweeping backs on a chair).
(Base 10, +1 Touch)

Design Notes

This spell is similar to one I gave Josephine, but a more general one. 'Learn all the natural properties of an object' seemed like it was the base I wanted, but I wanted to focus on its construction, as that's the easiest to identify and talk about - especially since Hermetic Magic cannot transfer knowledge, such as the name of a particular art style.

15

The Second Tribunal:

NOTES: Some of my math was using a different verison of Andovar from before, and I have corrected it in this print.

Andovar has made a number of advancements in the last few years. His goals have broadened, and Andovar is starting to delve into the chaos of mundane politics. While he is skirting the Code of Hermes, his goal isn't actually as selfish or manipulative as one might think. Andovar is, at his core, curious, and is just seeking out more fun secrets and trouble.

  • Andovar's looking to trade for books on Corpus. He's looking for lab texts on Corpus. He's trying to get a better handle on how people work, physically. He's also interested in any Tractati with interesting topics (Not just interesting abilities - Magic Theory - but interesting TOPICS - "A Treatise on Experimentation and the Effects of Aligned Magical Auras".
  • Andovar wants to talk with different magi about techniques in the lab. This will develop into correspondence for those who he finds good discussions with.
  • Do... any magi have spells involving... food?
  • Andovar's managed to get a surprising amount of information on the upcoming trials and votes happening this Tribunal. What's it worth for people to know what's happening and a number of 'surprises' in advance?
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Andovar, Ex Miscellanea

Characteristics: Int +2, Per+2, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -1, Sta +4, Dex -2, Qik -2
Age 41
Warping 1(2)
Personality Traits: Always Hungry +2, Chatty +3, Investigative +2

Virtues: The Gift*, Hermetic Magus*, Puissant Intellego*, Taste of Truth*; Great Stamina, Lesser Immunity (Ingested Poison), Secondary Insight(minor), Self-Confident, Well Traveled, Gentle Gift
Flaws: Rigid Magic*; Compulsive (Oral Fixation), Hedge Wizard, Indiscreet, Lame, Meddler (minor), Waster of Vis

Abilities: Area Lore: Local 1 (taverns), Artes Liberales 1 (rhetoric), Athletics 1 (climbing), Awareness 3 (smells), Bargain 2 (food), Charm 3 (first impressions), Concentration 1 (Spellcasting), Etiquette 2 (merchants), Finesse 2 (magical instructions), Folk Ken 4 (sensing hostility), Guile 3 (little white lies), Intrigue 3 (conspiracies), Language: Latin 4 (Scholarly Latin), Magic Theory 5 (inventing spells), Ride 1 (staying on horseback), Stealth 2 (hiding), Taste of Truth 3 (aquam)

Arts: (Casting Sigil: Right angles)
Creo 5, Intellego 15+3, Muto 5, Perdo 0, Rego 6,
Animal 5, Aquam 4, Auram 0, Corpus 5, Herbam 5,
Ignem 0, Imaginem 2, Mentem 8, Terram 2, Vim 5

Equipment: Robes, Enchanted Walking Staff, bag of jerky from a Stag of Virtue.

SPELLS
Spells: (120)

  • InAn 25 Opening the Tome of the Animal Mind
  • InAq 25 Voice of the Lake
  • ReCo 5 Ease the Cripple's Burden
  • CrHe 10 A Hungry Travelers Repast
  • InHe 15 Shriek of the Impending Shafts
  • InHe 10 Intuition of the Forest
  • Mu[Re]He 10 Piercing Shaft of Wood
  • InIm 5 Prying Eyes
  • InIm 15 Eyes of the Ungrateful Guest
  • InIm 25 Summoning the Distant Image
  • MuIm 10 Aura of Ennobled Presence
  • CrMe 15 Subtle Influence of Chattering Magus
  • InMe 15 Pulse of the Hearth and Home
  • InMe 20 Posing the Silent Question
  • InMe 25 Hunger for Conversational Wisdom
  • InMe 25 Thoughts Withing Babble
  • InTe 15 The Expert's Hand
  • InTe 30 Stone Tell of the Mind that Sits
  • InVi 30 Sense the Lingering Magic
  • ReVi 10 Circular Ward Against Demons
  • ReVi 10 Circular Ward Against Faeries
Advancement

5 Years Advancement* 25xp Magic Theory 5

  • 29xp Intellego 14-15
  • 5xp Ride 1
  • 10xp Finesse 2
  • 30xp Mentem 6-9
  • 5xp Code of Hermes 1
  • 20xp Intrigue 4
  • 20xp Charm 4
  • 3xp Imaginem 1-2
  • 3xp Terram 1-2

Lab work and others: 2 years

  1. Begin Hunger for Conversational Wisdom (InMe 25) Lab Total 38
  2. Finish Hunger for Conversational Wisdom (InMe 25) Lab Total 38
  3. Begin Subtle Influence of Chattering Magus (CrMe 15) Lab total 24
  4. Finish Subtle Influence of Chattering Magus (CrMe 15) Lab total 24
  5. Create Eyes of the Ungrateful Guest (InIm 15) Lab Total 31
  6. Create The Expert's Hand (InTe 15) Lab Total 31
  7. Lab Texts for Summoning the Distant Image and Prying Eyes, Lab total 30
  8. Lab Texts for Circular Ward Against Demons (ReVi 10) and Circular Ward against Faeries (ReVi 10), Lab Total 21
17

Plot Seeds
Andovar has a few goals for this next seven years. He's looking to get himself a talisman, and he's searching fun magical resources he can utilize or trade.

  • Andovar is looking for particularly skilled artisans who can do delicate work. He needs some interestingly shaped blown glass, and someone who can carve amber into a particular shape.
  • Though he's focused on social investigations, the curious Andovar hears a lot of fun rumors, and he is an intellego specialist. He's found a really good lead on a potential magical creature that might be a good familiar for your magi...
  • ... or a trophy. Something with a good amount of vis, and a lovely head to mount on your wall. In fact, Andovar may be able to study the creature and learn more about it.
  • I'm not sure why you keep letting Andovar visit you, but this time he's asking permission to marry a widow in your covenant, the head cook. If you say no, the cook will be upset, and if you say yes, you need a new cook. Either way, the cook's young son is very upset at Andovar and may be trying to get the magus in trouble.
18

Andovar is very much not a fighter, and any time he runs into a magical danger, his goal is to get out of the way. Quickly. But if he can spy an interesting creature, in particular something magical, he wants to gather the information he can. While he doesn't hunt beasts, he knows magi who would be interested in what he can discover.

Eyes of the Inquisitive Hunter
Intellego Animal 25

R: Sight, D: Mom, T: Ind
With but a glance, the caster can analyze the physical properties of a beast. Most simply, you can determine an animal's natural weapons, the toughness of its hide, and an approximation of its physical characteristics. It can be used on a magical animals as well, and can determine any active physical enhancements, like steely hide or poisons, but not the magnitude of the enhancements; This doesn't give any quiescent powers or magical abilities, such as summoning lightning or rusting iron.
(Base 10, +3 Sight)

19

Andovar is finally working on his Talisman! Although he does enjoy his enchanted walking stick, a really well-crafted walking staff is his goal. He's starting by enchanting it with a small number of useful enchantments he doesn't want to bother casting himself.

Andovar's Personal Pride
This staff was designed to be Andovar's talisman, and he did throw a number of vis at making sure he had it crafted by a good Verditius crafter. It's made out of walnut wood, as tall as the Ex Miscellanea's shoulder. The foot of the staff has a solid iron rod to help it find purchase, and three leaden rings about it's middle. The crown of the walking staff holds two spheres, one of amber and one of glass. It was originally opened for 12 pawns of vis, and has had 4 pawns used. It's been attuned for +3 to Corpus and +4 Control at a distance.

Wanderer's Mystical Sense (InVi 15)

The staff is enchanted to sense Magical auras. The trigger for this enchantment is a change in the local aura bonus or penalty.
(Base 1, +1 Touch, Unlimited, environmental trigger)

Wanderer's Mystical Thoughts (CrMe 16)

This spell creates the words 'Magical Aura' when the Wanderer's Mystical Sense detects a Magical aura.
(Base 3, Unlimited, Linked Trigger)

20

Another Tribunal, this time with some trouble Andovar has gotten himself into. And some book plans.

Third Tribunal

  • Being the clever and curious magus he is, Andovar has heard a lot about what's coming up in the Tribunal. Who's betraying who, what's going to be on the docket. Something important to your magi is coming up, and Andovar is willing to tell them about it. Maybe for a price. He definitely wasn't scrying.
  • As an Intellego focused magus who chats with gossipy kitchen staff all the time, being accused of scrying was inevitable. He had a good relationship with your magi, so he's garnering support for an upcoming accusation. As a Hedge Wizard, he's not very well regarded by most of the Tribunal.
  • Andovar is looking for laboratory texts for Leap of Homecoming as well as a number of Intellego Vim spells. He has a number of faerie vis to trade, as well as a single dragon's scale. He won't share where he got the vis.
  • Andovar has 3 Tractati to trade, and is looking for tractati focused on Animal.