Autumn 1289:
Read/Study Magic Theory 6q16
XP: 16 to Magic Theory
Magic Theory: 46 xp (30 + 16)
No change to MT score.
I'm thinking about Argentius bonding a familiar and was thinking about Creo Terram as the focal Te/Fo but am open to other possibilities as well:
Here are a few possibilities in preference order:
Fennec Fox: Fennec fox - Wikipedia
(Cerastes vipera - Wikipedia)
Sand Cat: Sand cat - Wikipedia
Sand Viper: [Cerastes vipera - Wikipedia]
Argentius is feeling troubled by the loss/absence of a familiar (Fingers), and I think this is escalating his interest in bonding a familiar. I could see him doing this sooner rather than later because of how he feels.
He will need to go seeking a familiar as an adventure (or possibly more than one) to do this.
Is that an adventure that can be done during a study season or over a series of seasons? Or is that an entire season's effort? In other words, can one spend a week of a season searching for a familiar without losing the whole season to the study of a tome or other lab activity?
If it's a season's effort, then I'll work that into the plan like this:
Season 1: Find the familiar.
Season 2: Bond the familiar
Season 3: Empower the Bond.
Note: Empowering doesn't have to be a sequential season. Verditius Mysteries don't help the lab totals.
It will be one or more adventures, each of them taking a variable amount of time. You can do a lab or study during the same season, subject to the normal limitations of being interrupted or having reduced time. Getting a familiar is not a cookie cutter activity.
Understand. Most things of value take effort, strain, and risk to achieve.
I'll make note in the row below the seasonal focus. Argentius will start the search during this Winter season.
Argentius continues his studies for winter 1289.
Winter 1289
Read/Study Parma 5q20
XP: 20 to Parma Magica
PM to Level 2 (5 + 20 = 25 xp)
Confidence: 1 (7 = 3 + 4 from adventure)
Updated 1290 seasonal plan.
Spring: Focus on Finding Familiar. Secondary focus, Study MT6q16. (Understand that depending on how the finding goes, the XP from the text study maybe negligible, non-existent, or partial).
Summer: Enchant Familiar, assuming familiar is found. If not, continue hunting. New study topic will be determined at before season start as secondary effort (if any).
Autumn: Vigil from Lab Text
Winter: Study either MT 6q16 or other summae.
Updated 1290 seasonal plan. (6/29/22)
Spring: Focus on Finding Familiar. Secondary focus, Study Hungry Desert Q12. (Understand that depending on how the finding goes, the XP from the text study maybe negligible, non-existent, or partial).
Summer: Enchant Familiar, assuming familiar is found. If not, continue hunting. New study topic will be determined at before season start as secondary effort (if any).
Autumn: Vigil from Lab Text
Winter: Study either MT 6q16 or other summae.
What assistance are you seeking or has been offered in seeking your familiar?
Argentius assists himself in this first season. He is leveraging his INT 3 and Magic Lore 1 as he seeks to find a familiar.
If there are covenant desert scouts, desert experts, or desert animal experts in the covenant, Argentius solicits their assistance in his search as well, not excluding teenagers or youth who might be familiar with animals beyond the covenant aegis.
He hears legends of many fantastic beasts to the south of the covenant, but nothing concrete. Does he want to venture forth or stay home and read?
He will venture forth, speaking to Lares beforehand, and gathering up a contingent of appropriate grogs to aid him in his search.
Lares will hand him a pebble, too. "In case I need to check in with or find you."
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Argentius transformation- gains major virtue- Transformed human, magical human (spcl)- I don't see that there would be an immediate change in social status though you would gain a monstrous appearance (looking like a bloodied corpse or something in the vein of the nature of the transformation itself), and of course a flaw or flaws that will balance transformed human- likely servant of the desert(major)
Here are some initial thoughts after reading in Between Sand and Sea and RoP:M. These are early thoughts with still lots of details to work out. Am I on the right track?
Concept of Transformation: Because of Gift and Strong Faerie Blood, the Red did not transform him all the way to a Desiccated Man. The Red forged a pact with Argentius to become a Servant of the Red in order to live. (RoP:M p 115)
Virtues:
Transformed Being (RoP:M p 47)
1 Increased Characteristic: Stamina.
Remove Strong Faerie Blood, Replaced with Greater Power (from example on p. 47)
Might Score: 0
Greater Power (Major, Supernatural) (RoP:M p 44)
Cost: Fatigue Levels = Might Point Cost / 5 (rounded up)
50 Spell levels to design power.
Might Point Cost: Magnitude of the Effect/2
Initiative Score: Quickness/2
Levels used to increase penetration, Mastery, Fatigue reduction, etc.
Power Concept: TBD. Thinking about building the Greater Power aligned to the examples given related to Desiccated Man descriptions: "…exhibiting powers over creating thirst and evaporation of water. Some possess additional powers and can control heat, create sandstorms, or summon swarms of desert creatures to do their bidding." (RoP:M p 115)
Flaws:
Servant of the Red (Major, Story)
Task: TBD
1 Season a year dedicated to the task.
Curse for failure to give season: TBD
Monstrous Blood (Minor, Supernatural)
Pre -1
Concept: Skin has wrinkled and darkened. Argentius's "beauty" remains but it's if he has dried up, "desiccated" as it were. He also has spear wounds on his body that are open but not bleeding.
Yes, this is looking good so far- I will note that sta+1 would cost you 2 characteristic points while reducing your presence by 1 would regain 3. Maybe increase both str and sta...
I'll follow your recommendation on the reduce Presence and increase str and sta.
I need some validation on my understanding of how the greater power piece works:
I'm considering an effect that is akin to Curse of the Desert or Parching Wind (ArM 5e p. 123)
RoP:M p 38 says that the Might Point cost is equal to the magnitude of the effect/2. So a level 25 spell has a magnitude of 25 / 5 = 5. The Might Point cost is 5/2 = 2.5 rounded up to 3.
Greater Power (p. 44) says it costs the transformed supernatural character the Might point cost / 5 rounded up.
Might cost 3 / 5 = 0.6 so it would cost 1 fatigue level to use Curse of the Desert. Do I have that right?
That would also leave 25 levels of the 50 for Greater Power to improve the power.
I could spend 15 of those points to gain 3 Mastery Points (5 pts = 1 pt of Mastery) and use those mastery points to reduce the fatigue cost of the power to 0.
I could use the remaining 10 points on Penetration, raising the Penetration of the power to 1 with 5 points invested toward the next level of penetration.
Am I understanding this right?
The effects from those two spells seem fitting with the Dessicated Man theme (p. 114 Sea and Sand). I've thought about the other ideas there, but I'm not really sure what spell would do the equivalent of "create sandstorm" or "summon swarms of animals to do their bidding."
I'm wide open to suggestions. I believe the greater power can also be an effect that has a sun duration and might be something that would have a physical impact like a shape change.
My sense is that the greater power should/could have some association to the task agreed on in the pact with the Red.
Have you thought much about what that task might be?
Check Magi of Hermes 12 for spells dealing with Sandstorm and swarms.
I didn't check the specifics of the math, but I think the gist of it looks right.
The main question I have is whether it is sensible to take the virtue that requires fatigue expenditure to use powers - I think you should rather design him as a magical creature and take a quality, meaning that activating the power costs might points instead.
I don't know how that would work if he starts at Might 0. Silveroak should answer this, I may be completely wrong.