It seems a very long time since I did thirty Saints, and I can't remember what I did the first year. 
I see there is now a whole subfora dedicated to them, so what are people considering this year?
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I'm using it as a scourge to force me to write my back catalog of monsters for GFF.
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I have to admit that November has snuck up on me this year, so I hadn't given it any thought until I saw this post. Working from home since March has ruined my sense of time and dates...
I'm thinking I might do 30 magic spirits. At least in my group players seem to find magical beings (besides magic animals) to be less intuitive than Faeries, Demons, and Angels/Saints and RoP:M doesn't really have as many examples as the other Realm books.
I started but never finished a project a while ago to flesh out some magical spirits you might find in a hermetic covenant. After all, magi spend almost their whole lives living in often quite strong magic auras where there might be a spirit for every rock and blade of grass. Mostly very minor spirits, but that doesn't mean they can't be interesting.
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I know it's just days away, and this would be a great time to pick up my grog creation, but on the other hand, I am low on inspiration and kept busy by the game I run.
So, not sure...
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I might do my threatened "packets of rumours from redcaps" for storyguides to give a background of a bustling order. By default not story hook as too minor, but could be expanded. However due to work I wont start until at least the 9th.
Also I need to finally finish off the Folio ones I started a couple of years ago.
bob
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I never finished my wealth creation scheme on from January, so I could finish that - but then I might accidentally repeat stuff from the magical industry thread.
I think I could do a vis source a day instead, if that would be helpful.
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I am (loosely) planning on doing a collection of Faerie Bargains from my covenant's travelling Faerie Merchant vis source.
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I might do 30 Sihr's if my life permits it
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Let's revive this thread as it's October, and in under 30 days it's November, that traditional month for post-a-day. Why NaNoRiMo a novel when you can create 30 posts to enrich Ars Magica fandom?
I'm wondering whether to go with a spell a day, a curious place a day, or whether to push myself and do a shapechanger a day. Ones with lots of characters tend to fail for me, but in between creating a bunch of skinchanger grogs for covenants or adventures and some hedge witches and a couple of Bjornaer, shapechangers is a theme that might work for me.
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I'm thinking (no promises!) of doing thirty Hermetic Virtues and Flaws.
And I-oh-so-much-miss the thirty Hermetic-Law cases from years ago! (hint hint)
I'd like shapechangers best, and curious places second best.
However, what I'd really really like in a 30-shapechangers thread is not complex stories about three-dimensional human beings, but constructions that are interesting in terms of mechanics. Characters who, thanks to the interplay of their Virtues, Flaws, Abilities (and perhaps Arts) can do something surprising, or can achieve a lot at the cost of some non-trivial limitations.
For example, I've always found interesting the idea of playing a grog with the Astrologically Mutable Shapeshifter Virtue (see TMRE): so he has the full powers of the Major Virtue Shapeshifter (multiple shapes, non-magical except when changing) ... but he can Shapeshift only during the mutable signs, one month every season - at the end of such a month he's non-magically stuck in his current shape for two months.
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I am very tempted, as I will run a one shot of Ars Magica at the end of November for a group who haven't played before, and it could help keep me in the mood. Considering 30 spells based on fantasy novels I love - e.g. "how high a score must Gilbert Norrell have in Rego Terram to make a cathedral full of statues talk?"
I also might do "30 plot hooks for the Mythic Midlands", as my home area is basically a big empty patch on the map in Heirs to Merlin...
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Fun as it was, I don't think that I will be able to do it again. I did recently add one to my big grog list based ona discussion on the discord, but that's it.
Updating my idle thought: in my lunch break I started writing ideas and I can easily do 30 from Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell alone (though I might throw some others in for fun and variety). So this has gone from "maybe" to "definite" and I will get a lot of needed practice adjudicating spell levels as a side benefit.
I see no reason to stick to strict fantasy either - any work of fiction including "miraculous" effects due to secret knowledge is fair game. I say this mostly so I can wrangle Star Trek and Doctor Who into the frame of Hermetic magic.
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I am probably going to be doing another Magus Advancement through tribunals, though probably much less dense than before. Not going to try and force 5 new spells per tribunal, heh.
Looking at Verditius necromancer or a venomous Bjornaer, or a weird Ex Misc.
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I was thinking of doing 30 Tribunal Cases. No investigation involved, pure hermetic legalese. The description of the case, the legal basis, how many magi are supporters of each side and how many are neutral.
The idea is for the players to either:
- use the debate rules on HoH:S to change votes; AND/OR
- target key characters to tamper with the result and leaving the SG adjudicate the result of that as he sees fit (for example, stopping a key witness from attending Tribunal, bribing magi for votes, convincing the Praeco to change the order the cases will be presented, convincing a famous quesitor to be the defendants advocate, things like that).
About six months ago I started to write 1 case per week, so that when November arrives I will have 30 cases ready to be posted. So far I have... 1/2 case (yeah, my planning didn't go very well).
But I'm still trying to fit the 30 cases into my schedule, so I might be able to do it in the end.
Knowing at least one person might be interested might be just the incentive I need, by the way. Haha.
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I'm planning a "spells for overcoming the effects of the Gift" theme.
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Am still doing the write-up for the Theban Tribunal covenant for the 30 days in November. Hit a bit of a snag, but hope to get back to it soon.
Will you be posting that hedge tradition you had me look over?
Yes, it will be tied to that covenant. I did some cleaning up, but need to look at it again.
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I have begun (a day late) my 30 days of Hermetic Spells inspired by Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I welcome feedback - designing spells is not my strong suit, and in-play I usually take the 3rd ed approach of "judge it roughly based on a similar spell"
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