All of Emelric's character creation discussions will take place here. Once a character has been finalized, it will be moved to a separate thread for evolution during play.
I will likely play a Vim-based magus of House Bonisagus, with a bit of Mentem thrown in. I saw that Bearlord played a Frisian/Friesian character in a different pbp saga, so I will ax that origin and go with Scotland instead. Specifically the Outer Hebrides. Hope that origin is more original.
His long-term goal will be to figure out what's causing the depletion of vis sources, and try to stop or reverse it.
I'm leaning toward going with Feud for a story flaw, and the family with which he is feuding will also count Hermetic magi among their numbers. Might be interesting, politically.
I'll post a fleshed-out background in the next day or two.
I don't have a problem with him coming from Frisia, I just didn't want all of the magi originating from the Rhine.
Feud is usually more appropriate for companions, as it mostly pertains to your blood family (and another family). It's not so much about Hermetic politics as mundane one, and relies on the fact that your magus is still in contact with his mundane family. If combined with your magus being originated from Scotland, it will be hard to interweave this flaw into the saga.
Of course, it could be about your Hermetic family, thus moving its focus to the Order of Hermes. But it is a bit harder to craft a suitable reason for this feud. Not impossible, mind you, but you will have to craft some solid background here.
I'll be interested in seeing what you come up with! 
Things started to get implausibly convoluted, first with Feud, then with Enemies, so I changed direction with the story flaw; it's now Tormenting Master. I hope it fits better.
Here is the background:
Þorviðr Auðunson was born the third son of a moderately wealthy farmer on the Isle of Lewis. His ancestors were Vikings who settled on the Isle generations ago. Over time and through inter-marriage with the local Gaels, they assumed a hybrid, bi-lingual mixture of the two cultures. Þorviðr's name was a relic of a past that was more adventurous than the sedate, pastoral life the family led. But as a child, he did what he could to live up to his Norse heritage, causing trouble for his family and neighbors alike.
That trouble intensified when his Gift manifested. Unable to reign him in, his parents shipped him off to be someone else’s problem. That someone else was his great-aunt Bergdis ex Miscellanea, who they figured would know what to do with him. She did; she opened his Gift and began to teach him the Arts, Vim in particular, since he had the most talent in it. Bergdis was nominally a member of a covenant, but preferred to live apart from her sodales and close to the standing stones that had become her life’s study. She would bring Þorviðr to these stones, before magical animals, and into magic regios, for he needed the presence of these magical influences, among others, to learn. He grew to love the wilderness, associating it with his expanding Arts, and developed a knack for studying there and for magically detecting elusive supernatural creatures and the regios in which they lived. Þorviðr was free to follow his whims, and life was idyllic.
Then things changed for the worse. A message came, delivered by a foreboding, heavily-armed troupe of grogs. It was written by Machmalius ex Bonisagus, who resided in a covenant of the Rome Tribunal, near Venice. He demanded that Þorviðr’s apprenticeship be transferred under his more able tutelage, as was his right as a magus of House Bonisagus. Machmalius had never had an apprentice before. He never considered it to be worth his time. But now, with his ambitions to become an Archmagus in full swing, he was facing pressure from his peers to find one. He didn’t want to make the effort required to find an undiscovered apprentice himself, so he picked a politically benign region from which to commandeer one, and then picked unlucky Þorviðr at random.
So at age 15, Þorviðr packed up, left his homeland, and made his way to Italy. His apprenticeship with Machmalius did not go well. When Þorviðr used his flexible formulaic magic, his master interpreted it as a willful refusal to cast the spell he was told to cast, and punished him. When Þorviðr asked to study his favored Form of Vim, Machmalius scoffed and would only teach the five Techniques and Corpus, for those were the Arts that he knew best and were therefore easier to teach. Worst of all, Machmalius refused to account for Þorviðr’s study requirements, so the only way that Þorviðr was able to learn was to devise ways to orchestrate the right environment or to sneak out after dark and find it on his own. Student and master developed a mutual hatred. Þorviðr worked hard to finish his apprenticeship, despite the adversity he faced. The one thing he gained through Machmalius’ rigor was the ability to cast Corpus spells covertly. Finally it was time for his gauntlet, which he passed according to the impartial masters who judged him. But Machmalius would not accept the verdict and continues, from a distance now, to harass his former apprentice. By all rights a magus, Þorviðr now goes by the name Ludovicus.
Here are Virtues and Flaws:
(0) Puissant Magic Theory, (3) Flexible Formulaic Magic, (1) Affinity with Vim, (1) Cautious Sorcerer, (1) Deft Corpus, (1) Study Bonus, (1) Minor Magical Focus (sensing supernatural beings and regios), (1) Puissant Vim, (1) Improved Characteristics
(-3) Tormenting Master (Machmalius ex Bonisagus), (-3) Driven (reverse decay of vis sources), (-1) Compassionate, (-3) Study Requirement
I'll draft up the rest of the character pending their approval.
Nice backstory Emelric!
Thanks Bearlord. Our troupe is shaping up nicely - you've all made interesting characters. I'm still wrestling with an Arts-related decision (any thoughts on Corpus vs. Mentem?), but once that is decided, I'll be done.
I agree, I think we all have characters with exciting goals and backgrounds. It will be interesting to see them meet and develop together.
Looking at the Arts specifically, the only Art that no one has put any score in is Corpus. We have no Mentem expert but three of us has put some ranks in it or picked virtues that favours it.
In short we have these expertises:
Muto/Aquam
Rego/Terram
Perdo/Ignem
Vim (Haven't seen your ranks yet Emelric, I'm sure you will bring more expertise)
Ok, Corpus it is. Here are the rest of my character's attributes.
Ludovicus ex Bonisagus
Characteristics
Int +2, Per +2, Pre +1, Com 0, Str 0, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik 0
Appearance
Tall and lanky, Ludovicus moves with noticeable grace. His brow furrows and thin mouth grimaces when lost in his own thoughts, but when interacting with others, he often breaks into a wide, creepy smile. His cropped hair is sandy blonde, and his eyes are cool grey. His clothing is unassuming and forgettable; Lots of browns and grays.
Sigil
The targets of Ludovicus' spells briefly fade and shimmer iridescently, as if they spend an instant passing into a regio and then snap back to the mundane world again.
Age: 25 (25)
Size: 0
Confidence: 1 (3)
Decrepitude: 0
Warping: 0
Personality traits
Compassionate +1, Driven +3, Goofy +1
Virtues
Hermetic Magus, The Gift, Puissant Magic Theory, Flexible Formulaic Magic, Affinity with Vim, Puissant Vim, Cautious Sorcerer, Deft Corpus, Study Bonus, Minor Magical Focus (sensing supernatural beings and regios), Improved Characteristics
Flaws
Tormenting Master (Machmalius ex Bonisagus of a covenant near Venice), Driven (major) (reverse decay of vis sources), Compassionate (minor), Study Requirement
Abilities
Norse-gaelic 5 (poetry), Latin 4 (hermetic), Italian 1 (slang), Isle of Lewis Area Lore 3 (geography), Artes Liberales 1 (astronomy), Athletics 2 (climbing), Awareness 2 (noises), Brawl 1 (punches), Charm 1 (being witty), Concentration 1 (spellcasting), Code of Hermes 1 (Tribunal procedures), Etiquette 1 (magi), Faerie Lore 1 (water fae), Finesse 1 (Corpus), Folk Ken 1 (farmers), Guile 1 (lying to authority), Intrigue 1 (alliances), Magic Lore 1 (magical animals), Magic Theory 3+2 (Vim), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (history), Parma Magica 1 (Corpus), Penetration 1 (Vim), Stealth 1 (natural areas), Survival 3 (forests), Swim 1 (ocean)
Arts
Cr 3, In 5, Mu 5, Pe 2, Re 5, An 2, Co 7(1), Vi 6+3
Spells
Piercing the Magical Veil InVi 20 (+21)
Piercing the Faerie Veil InVi 20 (+21)
Bind Wound CrCo 10 (+12)
Eyes of the Cat MuCo 5 (+14)
Disguise of the New Visage MuCo 15 (+14)
Preternatural Growth and Shrinking MuCo 15 (+14)
Spasms of the Uncontrollable Hand ReCo 5 (+14)
Rise of the Feathery Body ReCo 10 (+14)
Wizard's Misstep ReCo 15 (+14)
Transports a target instantly up to 5 paces in any direction, provided that the destination can be seen.
(Base 10, +1 Touch)
Arthur, I hope this spell is ok to include. If so, does the teleportation of clothing along with the target require a requisite? And would a targeting roll be necessary to teleport the target to a particular spot?
Disguise of the Putrid Aroma ReAn 5 (+9)
Looks good overall, only a few détails to be fixed.
XP allocation is a bit off. Some of the Abilities have specialties that mean they could only have been learned during apprenticeship, but that would leave some of the Early Life xp unused (Concentration, Etiquette, Folk Ken). You may want to change the specialty. Same is true for Venice Lore, as according to your background that would have been learned after he was taken by Machmalius.
Also, xp allocated to the Arts totals up to 89 points, an odd number.
As for the spell, it would indeed need casting requisites for clothing and other Equipment. No targeting roll necessary, but you'd need to be able to see the destination. Is the intent a utility spell, or were you thinking of using it in combat?
Ok, the only ability that I assigned early life xp to that had an inappropriate specialty was Folk Ken, so I switched it to farmers. And regarding Venice Lore, I was exercising the Area Lore transmutation House Rule, but I can wait to do so until we are situated at our new place.
I left out a (1) after the Corpus score; added it in above.
A bit of both, really. Right now, he doesn't have the Art scores to incorporate the requisite. So he'll use it as a combat spell until he does; transporting someone out of their armor and away from their weapons could be useful. And if circumstances are dire, he'll just have to face some embarrassment.
I'm coming up short on the xp: 260 in Abilities, 90 in the Arts. Total of 350.
At 25 he should have 360 (45 for childhood, 75 for early years, 240 for apprenticeship).
Just be warned that trying to use a Touch-ranged spell in combat is a good way to end up with a sword stuck in your guts (or to have you fingers bitten off), unless you have a very very good Soak and/or Initiative. Right now your magus has neither of those things. So it's really a poor combat spell.
Thanks for double-checking. I'll distribute those xp among his Arts (I'm positive I used 45+75 for the first two categories).
But he does have Flexible Formulaic Magic!
Quite right you are!