Because Bjornaer can only have a noble heartbeast , not domestic fowl.
We need a breakthrough to allow more useful ones , such as cows and sheep as well.
Is there anything more noble than saving your starving sodales through your own flesh and blood? I find that rule discriminatory and offensive to all these noble cows wich provides us our daily milk and butter :mrgreen:
Im still trying to decide if Serrano should revert to his Feral Upbringing and eschew speech and clothing.
Errr... What about not? 
I can imagine the look of his sodales :mrgreen:
The Baroque Peasant Hut, CrTe 25 Ritual, Creo 4 + Terram 8(+3) + Sta 0 + Aura 5 + Artes Liberales 1 + Philosophiae 4 + Spell Mastery 1 = 26 + stress die. Spirit of Terram's exact wording is "reduces the vis requirement by one" for each Long Term Fatigue level lost. So that's 5 LTFatigue and 1 Short Term for the ritual itself, and 6 fewer botch dice, if I understand correctly.
Slapstick comedy has its place, but shouldn't affect the overarching plot of the game, IMHO. Serrano still has human company, and humans are pack animals. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but Serrano hasn't done a lot yet to encourage us to stop him, so that would pretty much be a choice to drop out of the campaign, whether intentionally or not.
Not intended for comic relief , but the background of the character from his formative years in the wilds.
You dont get civilised completely despite years of human company and learning.
This is still a group of complete strangers , all we have in common is being Hermetic Magi.
If we were in a normal covenant environment , that most were trained in , then in-character relations would be simpler.
Being put in Ars Magica: Survivor , with no preparedness , grogs or even vis , will be a challenge.
As i have had little experience as an Ars player and this is my first ever pbp ,
i am still unsure as to how much independent input to include ,
other than responding to ST stuff or player interaction.
I had originally read Ravenscroft's comment as humour. But I'm also thinking that it would an interesting form of Final Twilight - when he enters Final Twilight, he turns into Tarzan and roams the jungle doing whatever...but then I check the book and find that Final Twilight doesn't work that way, so shrug whatever.
But as far as Cygna's take on Serrano...his grasp of Latin appears to be weak (at best), so she doesn't think very highly of his intelligence. And after he ran up the tunnel yelling "Philistines!", she's of the opinion that he may be a loon as well. But if/when she finds out about his feral upbringing, she will be very impressed that he not only learned to speak Latin (not an easy language) but became a Magus to boot...so he must be exceptionally intelligent.
/ramble
Survivor: Mythic Europe. Outwit. Outplay. Out-cast.
As with any character, there are some choices which would make sense from the character's perspective but would still make poor choices for the larger narrative. Having him disappear into the woods would probably be one. I'd suggest finding a way for his feral background to show through while still clinging to his "new pack."
Personally, I have a hard time imagining myself giving up human company, after being without it for so long. There is the allure of childhood naivety and freedom, but also the basic social urges of humanity.
Besides, who would get to see his fancy clothes?
I'm having the same sort of questions about Viscaria's fae upbringing, and how often to bring it into play.
As far as pbp ettiquette, why not take some risks and see what happens? Alternately, you might check some of the other (longer) game threads and see what happens there.
Oh, you can decide to become wild creatures altogether - though I think the challenge of turning this into "An Outpost of Progress" is still there.
Cygna's flight tells her that you are on an island, surrounded by deep blue sea.
For simplicity's sake, let us assume the island has the shape of Rodrigues, including the little islands next to it.
Note: This does not necessarily mean that you are on Rodrigues. It could just as well be Martinique, or Tahiti (or somewhere else altogether). There may be people, monsters, animals on this island that are not found on Rorigues.
But it makes planning a covenant easier. Feel free to take advantage of any natural features you find there (that Cygna could reasonably find flying around). Right now you are at the "Caverne Patate" (google it!).
I assume that Cygna saw no signs of habitation, no buildings, wells, anything to indicate that our esteemed sodales had set up a covenant on the island? (if I need to roll a new Awareness roll to have seen something, it would be Per 0 + Awareness 3 (including the specialization for Sight) + 1d10=6 = 9)
Primordial wilderness - no signs of human habitation (you see no savages)-
I want to reiterate that you could include loads more independent input than you have been so far, without coming close to my tolerances for such. I say you should run wild with it, and we'll interject if/when we want to pull the reigns in.
In other news, it is amazingly difficult for me to restrain myself from directing all the other characters actions.
Feel free to give suggestions , either as to use of Magic or Abilities , because i sometimes lack inspiration.
Well, if I was playing Serrano, right now I would either be ramaging through the woods, sponting that InHe spell, and getting into Plot/trouble, or using you ReHe to fashion some trees into cover. His skill set means he has also probably sniffed out the rain.
Serrano can spont "Conjure the sturdy vine" with little chance of botch. That'll be very useful while exploring the caves
As for a final site:
You tell me how many people will spend how much time exploring/trying to find a site. Also tell me what you are looking for.
I'll then offer you three sites to choose from. The quality of the site will be influenced by how much effort you put into finding it.
The tunnels? It'll depend on wether or not that looks promising. But at most 2-3 hours, since we'll have to come back to eat and meet with our sodales.
Serrano will spend an entire Season exploring if necessary.
Modified by help/input from his Sod_Ales and vice versa.
Perception: +02 , Awareness(Alertness): 05 , Hunt(Birds): 01 , Stealth(Forest): 01 , Survival(Forest): 01
Spont: Intuition of the Forest for +03 to all nature-oriented rolls.
As all the plants/animals are probably unfamiliar to us , then i assume ease factors will be higher.
Short term , fresh water is crucial , then determining which plants/animals are edible.
Unless someone has/finds vis and enough CrAq to create a spring.
Lots of InHe sponts , as Arts for InAn are too low.
If there are fruit bats on the island , we can probably eat whatever they eat.
Also try to find which plants have usable fibre for rope/cloth.
Subject to ST fiat , most trees in a magic aura are awakened.
They have human level consciousness and perception.
Wholesale destruction of trees for building may not be advisable.
Magic Theory(Herbam) roll if needed , to remember this fact.
Serrano has no Arts high enough to communicate with plants.
Can spont enough CrHe to create a year duration size +03 tree.
At the end of the year we have a wholly mundane , dead tree to use.
If there are any rats on the island , this will tell us that people have been here at some stage.
If there is a native rat species , hopefully we can tell the difference.
So , a site with nearby fresh water , somewhere to plant crops , keep animals/birds and shelter from the elements.
We can do landscaping as needed , create terraced garden plots (move dirt/stack rocks).
Being on an island , we can get salt from seawater , and fish (i hope).
We have dried lentils with us , which we should be able to grow.
I will have to do a lot of sponts , so JM can tell me roughly how many i need to attempt
after the group reaches a decision on exploration time.
If people decide to set up in the caves , Serrano will still explore for a season on the surface.
Helping as needed.
It may be that one of the high points on the island has a higher aura
and be preferred as a Covenant site.
Those with better Artes Liberales (Astronomy) may be able to determine where we are.
If someone makes a design of an astrolabe , it will be easier for Serrano to craft one.
Or for someone to CrTe it.
As magi we are all familiar with horoscopes , so stellar plotting should not be outrageously hard.
Do we find any large , flightless , ground-dwelling birds on the island?
With or without colourful plumage.
If need be, Hiems should be able to spont any lvl 05-15 spell, althouth he'll be loathe to do so (all the more as magnitude increases), as it drains his life energy and will leave him devoid of strength for quite some time.
Also, don't forget we can use ceremonial casting and benefit from the Aura, hopefully gaining a spell magnitude for free.