Chapter IV (1234-1240)

Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Light of Andorra
434

Shortly after she gets her laboratory set up and her Quarter mostly completed (say, Summer of 1237 sometime), Guiverna will seek out Lucas's familiar Horus.

"Hi, handsome," she says as she feeds him a piece of meat (carefully) and strokes his head. "I have a proposition for you.

"My regio is a pretty fair size. I was wondering if you would help me explore it for a couple of months or so, identify any other entrances or any places that may be a risk to us. Whenever you have some free time, and Lucas can spare your invaluable assistance."

(I was thinking Winter of 1238, Winter or Autumn of 1240, or the Summer or Autumn of 1241. The sooner the better, in our mind.)

435

What? A Sa Draganna enterance in a region that could take months to explore? I mean Fleur has a region in her garden but her whole sanctum isn't a regio... did I miss something here?

436

Isn't each magus's particular Quarter located in a Regio? That's pretty much what I based my whole dealio on. And for some reason, I assumed that the regio was pretty big. Maybe it is "just" as far as the eye can see, I don't know. If not, never mind.

437

To the extend that there is a significant portion of the regio to explore:

"I'll see if Lucas can spare me," Horus replies, greedily gobbling down the offerings. "But I'm sure that we can find some time that I'll be free."

Winter 1240 would work for me.

438

No, the description given to me is that each quarter connects to a common region, essentially each set of quarters is one entrance to the regio.

439

The Chapter House building guidelines say that "Each location must include Regio as a Minor Boon or Minor or Free Hook."

The Minor Boon (Covenants, p. 8 ), which I took for Guiverna's Quarter, says: "The covenant is located in a magical regio that can be entered in many ways. The covenant may take measures to limit entry into the regio, but these are never perfect." The Minor Hook (ibid, p. 10) says: "There is a regio on the covenant site, although the covenant does not lie within it. The magi do not know everything that is in the regio." I couldn't find a Free Hook for Regio in the book. The labs must also take Regio (ibid. p 119) which says: "The interior of the lab is in a regio, and there is another regio level, which the owner can navigate easily." Which, I guess, means that by definition the regio itself must have an Aura at least 1 less than the Lab (in Guiverna's case, her Lab has an Aura of 3, so the Regio would have an Aura of 2).

The guidelines also say that "All points are linked by a regio network."

My understanding, interpretation, what have you, is that each Quarter is a Regio. And that each Regio is connected by a Network, the "hub" of which is the vis-producing fountain at Sa Dragonera. Neither the rules or guidelines seem to say that the Regio has to be small (the size of a house) or huge (the size of the Nile Valley)

I was picturing Guiverna's regio as being a few miles across, at most (probably three or four, maybe five). Under normal circumstances, it probably wouldn't take more than a few days to thoroughly explore, but since it would probably take time away from any other seasonal activites (i.e. lab work), it would have to be a seasonal task. Unless she were studying that season, spent a month exploring, and took the -1/3 hit on her SQ, which is an option that just now occurred to me.

Tl; dr: seems like we read the same passages and had two different interpretations of it.

440

Okay, here is how I understand it, and I think I've been given the green light from Marko to be the "Keeper of Sa Dragonera" although I am absolutely open to other interpretations.

  1. Each quarter "has" it's own Magic regio, that without any boons spent has "a Weak & Small Aura, with a strength of 1 and large enough to cover their Lab and Sanctum". Admittedly, this requires a bit of an assumption that when we're discussing auras as related to the quarters, we're really meaning the regio.

  2. You can spend boon points to increase the size and power of the aura (I read regio) such that for 3 boon points it "increases the Aura to 3 and increases the size to Medium, enough to cover your entire Quarter." So in my mind, you could now have your entire quarter reside within the regio, should you choose to do so.

  3. The only real dimensions provided anywhere are that with the Regio lab virtue you get +3 size which would make the lab 1000 square feet. That would equate to a "Tiny Aura" from the Chapter House boon list.

  4. So, as I extrapolate things, every quarter has a regio, whose size is dependent on boons/hooks. With the "Tiny Aura" hook, the regio is roughly 1000 square feet. With the standard "Weak & Small Aura". the regio is 1000 square feet, plus the size of the magus' sanctum. With the "Strong Aura" boon, the regio is (or can be) the size of the entire quarter (whose dimensions are not clear).

  5. All of the "independent" regios have one of their "entrances/exits" at the vis-producing pool on Sa Dragonera which acts as a hub; somehow connecting all of these disparate regios (to be learned once I get the adventure up and running).

441

As I read it every lab has the regio virtue which includes a regio inside the lab and gives it +3 size bonus, which means the regio reflection is about 500 sq ft. I believe the boon you took from covenants is not on the approved list for Sa Dragonnerra.

442

I'm feeling a little brain-foggy today, so I'm sorry for not understanding as well as I should. I'm doing my best to make sense of this.

Right. I bought "Strong Aura", which increases the Aura to +3 and covers the whole area. Not just her lab and sanctum, but the entire regio.

Which makes me wonder if the question we're discussing (at least, part of it) is whether the regio consists of only the lab and sanctum, or does it cover more? I believe it does, otherwise Outbuildings wouldn't be a part of everyone's Regio.

As above...this (in my mind) increases the Aura size for the entire regio, not just the Lab & Sanctum.

Yep. So...new question. Since the Lab has a separate, sub-regio (as I understand it), the outside building may only be, say, 20 feet by 25 feet, but the interior may be 35' by 28½'. Since regiones, by definition, have a different Aura from the levels to either side, would I be correct in thinking that the Lab either has an Aura of 4 (if the Quarter has an Aura of 3), or that the Quarter has an Aura of 2 (if the Lab has an Aura of 3)?

Pretty much. I don't really want a gynormous regio (like, the size of a country), really. I'm thinking roughly 950m by 700m, with a very irregularly shaped boundary and probably a few hidden regio entrances and exits, beyond the one to the basement and the one to Vestigehenge.

Yep.

So...should I redo my description of Guiverna's Regio? I'm already picturing the river forming one "boundary" and the bluff that the basement tunnel comes into as an opposite one, I think.

Actually, the Regio Virtue for the lab is required for all labs, as is the Thoroughfare Flaw.

443

The Prince of Boredo does have the authority, and afik his interpretation is correct. If I understand correctly, and Peregrine chose the right combination for Guiverna's Quarters, the size of the regio can be expanded and will have layers. The tp layer, where the aura is strongest, is where her lab is nd connects to the network.

444

So, it looks like Guiverna doesn't need to spend a few months exploring her Regio, after all. However, he is welcome to come over any time and wander around for a while, spend some time with Guiverna discussing religion, magic, the weather, and whatever strikes their fancy. And I'm sure Guiverna can even arrange crash space for him.

Did I choose the right Virtue/Flaw/Boon/Hook combo for what I described, PoB?

445

I think so. So my understanding is that you're NOT counting the house owned by Ramon as part of her "quarter", correct? Assuming that is the case, her quarter resides completely within the regio (much like Acutus'). One thing to note, the entire regio has a Magic aura of at least 1 by definition (you can't have a regio without an aura). Now, you can choose to have all of the regio at aura 3 (essentially meaning there is only one layer to the regio), or have the outermost area be a 1 or a 2, with the lab sitting in another, "deeper" regio at aura 3. And it's in this deeper regio that the connection to the Sa Dragonera "hub" is.

One note, I think you took the Regio boon from covenants, but that's not the one you should take. You need to take one of these from the Sa Dragonera House Rules:

From your description, the Partially Controlled Regio option sounds correct. If you go with that, by my count you still have 2 more boon points to spend.

446

the lab virtue and the covenant virtue are not the same. She seems to have been taking the covenant virtue instead of the lab virtue.

447

(moving this conversation to the Guiverna Development Thread, as there seems the more appropriate venue.)

448

She's from the worst part of the rusticani :wink:

So guiverna and her are from the same "house"

(And all your regio talk made me cry :wink: )

449

Arachné needs help.

Since she likes Lucas and his family, she'll open up to Cecilia.

I need an assistant. I have too many things to keep track of, and can't possibly learn all that I have to learn.

So I'll need someone young, around 10 I figure, which I can mold however I fit, and trust on important issues, to do all the things I must do, but haven't the time to, and ensure that periodic tasks, like updating my Blood Maps or changing the Arcane Connections to our future Stone Guardians is done.
She'll also have to study, in order to provide me with information on subjects I won't have the time to master. Arcane lores, mostly.

I've thought about picking some young girl, but there are better things than trial and error. So I thought I'd come and see you. You're good with people*, and you travel a lot, so I figured you'd be able to help me on this.

This won't be easy. She'll have to dedicate her life to me and my duties, which may include gruesome tasks, and be at my beck and call. But I shall treat her well, if she deserves it. Hum... Find me an arab or jew if you can. These are outsiders here, so it won't be as difficult for her than it'd be for a christian girl. And if she's more isolated, she'll more easily bond with me, I figure.

I could have created a grog, but I figure it's better that way.
She wants a young girl, that she can essentially push through our classes and teachers to become a loremistress, a secretary and a spokesperson. Not unlike an apprentice, but without the lab totals, and for life. She'll have to be intelligent, perceptive, brave, and loyal.
She doesn't fully realise it, but Cecilia probably will: she wants as much a companion and a child than a assistant. A boy might do, but she's biaised, and thinks women are more trustworthy and able to support this life.

  • Good Per + Folk Ken, which make her a good judge of character.
450

Cecelia is more than willing to have Arachne come over to chat, and even arranges for some light refreshments to be brought in. As Archne talks, Cecilia sits and listens, nodding in agreement.

"I can understand completely," she replies. "Lucas often says he'd be lost without Andre. He says a good non-Gifted lab assistant is worth his -or her- weight in silver. And Andre does so much more than just helping in the lab. He keeps Lucas in order from start to finish, and even serves as a sounding board for some of Lucas's ideas. He's quite intelligent, and such a dear. Why he would even watch the children for us when they were younger and their nurse was ill." Cecilia smiles apologetically. "But I digress. I'm sorry Arachne."

"I should be able to help," she says, returning to the subject at hand. "I've been delivering messages through the Iberian Tribunal lately, and that seems a good place to find a Jew or a Moor. It'll be nice to have an excuse to stop and smell the flowers this trip. I usually tend to move at a brisk pace. But it won't be any hardship to stop at some promising places and make a few inquiries. There are a number of locations along my normal travel paths where a smart young girl who's poor or has no family might have her potential wasted - especially if she's an outsider, as you say. Though even a Christian girl with no future might be incredibly isolated." She shakes her head at the thought of all the girls out there in such bad situations. "It'll be nice to be able to save at least one young girl from a bad future." She grins. "It'll almost be like looking for an apprentice, only I'll have a much greater pool of potential assistants to look through."

"You might also consider someone covenant-raised. It's generally considered bad form for one covenant to poach the grogs from another. But it would be another thing altogether for you to give a grog an opportunity that they'd never get at their home covenant. After all, the chance to be a maga's personal assistant is quite an honor. And someone covenant-raised would have a better understanding about the Gift. It's not an easy thing learning to ignore the effect of the Gift. I've been trained since I was a little girl, and I still have trouble sometimes. But then, you're looking to start someone young as well, so that should work out."

"Also, if I might suggest, once I find her, perhaps we could get Lucas to talk to her first, explain a few things and then extend his Parma to protect her. Then she'll be able to meet you for the first time without the Gift getting in the way. First impressions are so important."

451

(Ugh, I thought I had replied to this and realized I never did)

Acutus shakes his head, "While many of my fellow Bjornaer do in fact have a spell that does just that, I never learned it myself, as the ability to speak while underwater isn't exactly that helpful."

452

((I realized, just a couple of days ago, that he didn't. Handy spell, though I can see why he didn't see a need for it.))

"Pity. I guess we'll have to come up with another excuse to spend time together, then." Guiverna says with a wicked grin.

453

One afternoon Arachne receives a message (via covenant errand boy) from Carmen, inviting her to a private dinner.