At the moment, we have magi from 0 to 10 years post-Gauntlet, so you're not mistaken. It's just a good idea to be specific as to what the hermetic age of the character is. Makes it easier to check the math. Particularly since post-Gauntlet years are 30 xp per year, which is why my calculations didn't jive with your maga's age. 
So, my feral Companion character ("Boy") just keeps scratching at my door. And I've got some ideas for him.
First and foremost is that he was abandoned in the forest by his human parents for whatever reason (because they couldn't afford another mouth to feed, or because there was something "wrong" with him...I've got an idea or two for why, but it would be pure background fluff and he would probably never find out), and was found and raised by wolves. He's a teen now, and has absolutely zilch human contact, probably lived his whole life in the forest in the area. He would be found by either the covenfolk or the magi and "rescued". (I think that would be a story in and of itself).
He would have Animal Ken with a score of 4 or 5. So he can talk to any animal fluently. (Think Fluttershy). Probably Ways of the Forest, Feral Scent, Inoffensive to Animals and Pack Mentality.
One idea that I'd like to explore is that he has The Gift, which has gone totally untapped due to his circumstances, but it's one that I'm not entirely sure is doable.
Ideas, suggestions?
I've been a bit unsatisfied by how basic Rufus' make-up was for some time now. This was partially due to my lack of understanding in how the character creation rule of RoP:M work, so after seeing how such characters were designed in different sagas on these boards, I've redesigned him. The end result is a bit more feral than the previous version, and better reflects how I pictured him originally.
I'll run down my design process here, with comments at each step. Outside input would be greatly appreciated.
Magic Might: 6
- Start with a Might of 5 for a grog-level character in a high-power saga
- Adjusted upwards by 3 for Size
- Adjusted downwards by 2 for Reduced Might x2 (Magic Inferiority, see below)
Notes: This means that he will be able to slowly learn languages through exposure.
Size: -3
- Standard size for a mundane cat
Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Pre -2, Com -4, Str -6, Sta +2, Dex +3, Qik +5
- Mundane Cat (base values): Cun 0, Per +1, Pre –2, Com –4, Str –7, Sta 0, Dex +3, Qik +4
- Magical Cat modifications: Int 0 (Intelligence is a free choice for magical animals)
- Individual Adjustments: Int +1, Per +1, Pre 0, Com 0, Str +1, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik +1
Notes: Everything is added together to get the actual stats of the character.
Confidence Score: 1(3) (This is the default score for magical beings)
- I was unsure whether he would need to have Ferocity in order to have Confidence, but because of his predatorial nature and the fact that he has Int (instead of Cun) I've decided it was not required.
Virtues and Flaws: Magic Animal, Perfect Balance, Puissant Awareness, Sharp Ears, Unaffected by the Gift, Magical Friend, Nocturnal (requires 2 Flaws to balance Virtues).
- Mundane Cat: Perfect Balance +1, Puissant Awareness +1, Sharp Ears +1, Nocturnal -1 -- needs 2 additional points of Flaws to balance him
- Magical Cat Modifications: Magical Animal (No Hands, Mute) +0, Magical Friend -1 -- still need 1 additional point of Flaws to balance him
- Individual Adjustments: Wilderness Sense +1, Unaffected by the Gift +1 (RoP:M p.47), Feral Upbringing -1, Poor Concentration -1 (RoP:M p.50), Terram Monstrosity -1 (RoP:M p.48) -- balanced
Note 1: Poor Concentration reflects Rufus' feral nature, in that he is not much interested in delayed gratification and long involved discussions. That does not mean he is not patient at all, but his patience is limited to things he consider fun or useful, such as hunting.
Note 2: Terram Monstrosity is reflected by metallic teeth and claws that are razor-sharp (see Magic Qualities below). This is not always obvious at first glance, so he can still usually pass off as a mundane cat in most short-term situations.
Qualities and Inferiorities:
- Mundane Qualities (free): Ambush Predator, Crafty, Good Jumper, Skilled Climber, Thick Fur -- all are from the cat statistics in the Book of Mundane Beasts
- Magical Inferiorities: Reduced Might (x2) -2, Susceptible to Deprivation -1 -- this gives him 8 points with which to purchase Magic Qualities
- Magical Qualities: Improved Damage (+3 to damage) +1, Improved Defense (+2 to defense) +1, Improved Soak (+2 to soak) +1, Minor Virtue (Premonitions) +1, Minor Virtue (Second Sight) +1, Personal Power x2 (50 levels of personal effects) +2, Puissant Brawl +1
Notes: Improved Damage reflects his "razor-sharp" claws and teeth and Improved Soak reflects a metallic bone structure (both are linked to Terram Monstrosity), while the Improved Defense is from unpredictable movements and slightly magical shifting (a minor version of his Crossing Between the Shadows power below).
Abilities: Athletics 4 (jumping), Awareness 4+2 (at night), Brawl 4+2 (claws), Hunt 4 (mice), Premonitions (predators) 4, Second Sight (invisible things) 3, Stealth 4 (stalking), Swim (rivers) 2, Wilderness Sense 3 (hazards)
- Mundane Cat (195 points from mundane cat template): Athletics 3 (jumping), Awareness 4+2 (at night), Brawl 2+2 (claws), Hunt 4 (mice), Stealth 4 (stalking)
- Virtues and Qualities (free): Premonitions 1, Second Sight 1, Wilderness Sense 1
- Individual Adjustments (165 points to complete Summer character): Athletics 4 (from 3), Brawl 4 (from 2), Premonitions 4 (from 1), Second Sight 3 (from 1), Swim 2, Wilderness Sense 3 (from 1)
Notes: The list of possible Abilities was limited by the Feral Upbringing flaw.
Natural Weapons:
- Claws: Init –1, Attack +2, Defense +3, Damage +2.
- Teeth: Init 0, Attack +3, Defense +1, Damage +1.
Combat:
- Claws: Init +4*, Attack +12, Defense +17*, Damage -1*.
- Teeth: Init +5*, Attack +12, Defense +14*, Damage -2*.
- Soak: +5* (+1 for Thick Fur, +2 for Stamina, +2 for Improved Soak)
*When under the effects of The Primal Cat power below, increase Soak by 2 and Damage by 4 while reducing Init and Defense by 2.
Powers:
-
Crossing Between the Shadows (0 point, Init: Qik-3, Animal, Terram)
R: Pers, D: Mom, T: Ind
By moving into a patch of shadow, or through a small opening, Rufus can come out of another similar location within 50 paces from his point of origin. Any inanimate item carried or worn is transported along with him.
(30 personal power levels: Base 15, +1 for items carried along, -2 Might cost) -
The Primal Cat (2 points, Init: Qik-2, Animal)
R: Pers, D: Sun, T: Ind
Transforms Rufus into a bigger and more primal version of a wild cat, increasing his monstrous appearance with a coarser and harder coat of fur (slightly metallic) and a generally more threathening appearance. This increases his Soak by 2 and his Size by 2 (which also increases his Str by 4 and reduces his Qik by 2). Rufus can end this effect at any time.
(20 personal power levels: Base 4, +2 Sun, +1 for additional Size, +1 for also increasing Soak)
Notes: I've combined the Soak-boosting effect with the size increase because it seemed to make sense to combine the two, it is a more effective use of the levels, and it is usually all needed at once. I also increased the duration to Sun and stated that he can end the effect at any time (since it is a Personal power). The resulting power, however, costs more Might points to activate and is a bit slower.
Vis: 2 pawns of Animal in his fur and 1 pawn of Terram vis in his claws. (Might divided by 5, rounded up, plus 1 pawn for Terram Monstrosity)
I might be wrong, but I think you're mixing systems here.
If you're using the base Might 5 etc from RoP: M, I don't think you're getting the size based modifier from the corebook's description of the virtue.
I do however believe you could choose to start out with Might 13 (as calculated via the virtue and size) and then use the RoP:M system from there.
I might be wrong though.
Hmmm... No, I think I'm doing this part correctly.
At first I wondered what you meant by "mixing systems", then I remembered that the Size of the familiar has an effect on the Bonding Level. That's not what's going on here. RoP:M (on pp. 34-35) makes it clear that the steps for determining Might are: 1. Select the role of the creature and power level of the saga, 2. Adjust for Size.
There are many examples of the process in RoP:M. There's the example of the magical horse on p.35: base might of 10 for companion character in a medium-level saga, then adjusted by the Size for a final Might of 8. Then there is the example of cats on p.70 -- the "Cat Character Template" mentions "Magic Might: 13 (Animal) (assuming a companion role in medium-power saga and adjusted by Size)"
The rules may be different for non-character magic creatures, but for those who are used to play it seems clear enough.
The big change here is that I decided that Rufus was a grog-level character instead of companion-level -- I will use him more as "a direct extension of another character" (RoP:M p.34). Deciding whether we were a medium- or high-power saga was a bit difficult, but I think we're closer to high than medium -- and it's only a 2-point difference in Might. So Rufus might be a slightly more more powerful grog than standard, but he's not companion-level. And these are guidelines.
But yes, I could have chosen to create Rufus as a companion and he would have started with Might 13 (before Magical Qualities and Inferiorities). But if I did, he would become more powerful than I envisioned him. And he would not even had been capable of learning anything from being exposed to humans before he becomes a familiar -- not even languages.
With a Magic Might of 6, he can pick up a little understanding of human languages (and Area Lore) as time goes by, making him more responsive to other characters in the saga. Provided, of course that the troupe agrees with the assumption that "Practice" experience can be picked up in languages even though he cannot speak at all. That would still only gives him 2 xp per season (and only 1 xp in Area Lore), so progress will be very slow. And knowledge of these languages will become mostly moot once he becomes a familiar, as he will then get Petronius' higher knowledge of the languages.
Overall, I think the final result is a magical creature that can be a fearsome fighter against medium-level mundane threats, but is pretty vulnerable against big mundane or medium-powered magical threats. He's also got some useful abilities (Premonitions, Second Sight and Wilderness Sense) that he didn't have in my first version, thus giving him more depth -- he was a bit unidimensional before.
Here's the first draft of my feral boy companion character. Elevator pitch is a boy, abandoned in the woods by his parents, is found and raised by wolves.
Boy
Characteristics: Int 0, Per +2, Pre 0, Com 0, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qik +2
Size: 0
Age: 16 (16), Height: 5'5'', Weight: 133 lbs, Gender: Male
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0 (0)
Confidence: 0 (0)
Virtues and Flaws: Animal Ken, Wanderer, Ways of the Forest, Long-Winded (Fatigue Rolls: +3), Keen Sense of Smell (Smell: +3), Keen Vision (Sight: +3), Sharp Ears (Hearing: +3), Improved Characteristics (×2), Feral Upbringing (120/120), Offensive to Mundane Humans (Penalty: -3 to social interactions with Mundane Humans), Pack Mentality / Follower, Poor, Magic Animal Companion, Low Self-Esteem
Combat:
Dodge: Init: +2, Attack --, Defense +5, Damage --
Fist: Init: +2, Attack +4, Defense +5, Damage +2
Kick: Init: +1, Attack +4, Defense +4, Damage +5
Soak: +2
Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities: Awareness 3, Athletics 3, Hunt 4, Brawl 3, Area Lore: Area 2, Survival 3, Animal Ken 4
Equipment:
Encumbrance: 0 (0)
The Magical Animal Companion, I picture as one of his "siblings". It's probable that the wolves that raised him were magical in nature (echoing Lupa)...or possibly even faerie (in which case, Magical Animal Companion would be replaced by Faerie Friend).
I picture him living in the woods surrounding or near the covenant, and being found and "rescued" either by the magi, companions, or covenfolk out in the woods.
You're absoluely right, it's even in the Magic Animal special virtue, RoP: M, p. 45
My mistake, sorries.
No problem at all. The magic character creation rules are vague enough, and RoP:M contains enough ambiguities, that one can never be sure he's got everything right.
What's your thoughts about the rest of Rufus' new stats? Do they seem reasonable to you, considering that he's a grog-level character?
Susceptible to Deprivation -1 feels a tad cheap as it will become irrelevant once he is bound as a familiar (IIRC, noble's Parma), but completely technically correct.
It should perhaps also be noted that I come from a table where the unspoken (well, only occasionally spoken) agreement is "Familiars are cool, let's have more of 'em" and so do not make big difficulties out of finding or persuading suitable animals.
If we expect Rufus to spend any significant amount of time unbound, this is fine. If binding him (as a familiar) is trivial and expected to occur in this year or the next, it's a bit more debatable.
Still, I see nothing I'd really want to complain about.
Suseptible to Deprivation (RoP:M p.42): "Unlike other magical beings, the character cannot survive without air, food, or water, and suffers all the normal consequences when going without them. The character is still immune to aging, unless it has the Age Quickly Flaw."
I don't think that becomes moot once he becomes a familiar. You were probably thinking about Age Quickly, which for magical characters mean they will die of old age. I considered Age Quickly for Rufus, but discarded it for exactly the reason you state.
Thanks!
I need to sleep more before I reply.
I was reading Deprivation as Acclimation for some odd reason - which would become irrelevant
No you're quite right.
I need to sleep more.