Now, a question that my character is bound to raise sooner or later: does The Eternal Mirror Image counts as scrying? I understand that, the way Eikona uses it, usually not, but it sure could be interpreted in another way by some (specially if used in other situations).
I (myself, not Regulus) would also like to raise the following question: can a mirror image be used as sympathetic connection, as a symbolic representation of the target, for penetration purposes (I don't think this was the original intent of the spell, but i like the possibility)?
Before receiving a flat "no": Rego Craft could produce a simple representation with a Finesse roll of 12 (9+3), and a complex one with a roll of 18 (12 + 3 for using rego craft +3 for month's work). The idea of a photography being used for sympathetic purposes is not weird itself. With a proper Finesse roll to capture a clear, usable image, I don't really see a problem.
It's a grand tribunal. Of course, visitors are given aegis tokens.
This is something I had thought about before creating the spell. "Using magic to scry" means "using magic to discover hidden knowledge". Since she only takes pictures of things she can see, it's not scrying, because by the time she takes the picture, the knowledge is no longer hidden since it has been revealed to her by mundane means (sight). It could be scrying if she took a picture of a secret she hadn't visually preceived before with her eyes closed, but she has no intention of doing that.
No, despite some similarities this isn't photography. The spell "sees" the original species (hence the Imaginem requisite). Then it creates a constant stream of species that look like the original species. None of the original species are conserved, therefore it's not sympathy. In other words: I, the player, have decided that she, the character, has invented a spell that can't be used that way. It may or may not be possible to invent a spell that creates a connection, but this spell doesn't.
Mirabelle's spell had healed Eikona's hangover at the end of Tribunal, but now her friends had packed and left, and the glorious event was over, she felt strangely planless and empty. She had been invited to the gastronomer's next dinner, but what would she do until then? She was tempted to follow Demosthenes to Theben, but was afraid this might be too much too soon.
And so she saddled Unicorn, and travelled through the Rhine tribunal, from covenant to covenant, even straying into the Tremere lands to the east, her mirrors always close to hand. She discovered that animals were hard to record and that they ran away even when she used an invisibility spell, scared off by her human smell and the words she had to speak to cast her magic. After a few weeks, she learned to weave her spell quietly, and was rewarded with a perfect shot of a stag drinking from a forest pond.
At some point, in Cologne, she met a witty young redhead who called herself Renardine. She knew how to party, and to flirt, and for about two weeks, they took the pubs of the city like a storm. Renardine also showed a keen interest in Eikona's mirrors. And then, suddenly, Renardine was gone, and so were two of Eikona's favorite motifs, an Alpine panorama and the picture of the stag.
Using Summoning the Distant Image and a lock of Renaldine's hair, Eikona was able to track the thief easily. Much to her surprise, she discovered that Renaldine wasn't just a woman, but also a fox. When she confronted the strange fox-woman, she learned that Renaldine was a magic fox, and that she had stolen the mirrors in hope they contained magic to help her stave off the magic degradation that was eating away at her substance. Taking pity on the wondrous creature, Eikona offered her a pawn of her Imaginem vis to heal. She also promised to return to Cologne after the cold season with a more permanent solution.
As summer came to an end, and the morning air got fresher, she decided that she needed a covenant to stay for the winters to come, a home away from Valnastium. So she took up an offer by Fengheld to join the covenant as a house guest and directed her horse to the Harz mountains as the days grew colder.
5xp Mastery The Eternal Mirror Image
Not sure if declaring this an adventure to get both the mastery xp and the magic lore xp is being greedy, because usually mastering a spell takes a whole season just by itself.
At this point, I have a few questions:
1.) Can a character simply join a covenant by me writing they do, or is there a cost? I assume, the labs/aura are standard no matter what the coveant descriptions say?
2.) Talking of cost, how much vis does her personal vis source provide? Is that in addition to the vis characters seem to be getting automatically (3 pawns/year?)
3.) My character would like to have a white wolf familiar. Do I spend time to get it? Or vis?
4.) If I gather this correctly, 1 twilight point per year is gained. Do I lump these into twilight episodes? Do I have to write about how she comes by each of those points? If she decided to buy her longevity ritual early to conserve her good looks and as a form of birth control, would these twilight points be on top of the others? What are the time/vis requirements to buy a longevity ritual?
5.) How about teachers: Some mundane skills I want her to have, like better Artes Liberales, or classic Greek so she can go to her sweetheart, could be learned from books or from a teacher. Can I assume she has the money to hire the necessary teachers, or does this require an investment in time or vis?
I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but the answers will hopefully help me speed up character generation.
EDIT: seasonal xp reduced to 5, Triamore replaced with Fengheld.
An Arcane Connection and Sympathetic Connection are not the same thing; an AC either was part of the target or has a close and personal connection to the target (for example, clothes), while the SC is usually something that represents the target (horoscope, painting resembling the target, target's name, target's signature). The biggest difference in rules is that an AC can be used to target someone at distance (beyond giving penetration bonuses), while the SC can only be used to improve penetration effects if you already have an AC to the target (and cannot be used for purposes of AC range).
One possible SC is "a symbolic representation to the target". The description says this is "an illustration or model of some sort". If it can be a painting (that also has no original species of the target) I see no reason, rules wise, for a captured/reproduced image to be invalid. Even more so since Rego Craft could do the same, using exactly the same rules (a finesse roll).
Also, note that a symbolic representation can only be used by the one who made it (no risk or people stealing Eikona's mirrors).
This is a totally valid reason. But for the sake of having common grounds (and because I'm curious), I'd like to hear the opinion of the troupe about this. It's more about knowing how people understand hermetic magic should work (I'm fine if everyone agrees it shouldn't/won't work).
I think Arthur's post above with the guidelines help with some of these. I will comment on my thoughts based on what I have seen on the others' Character Creation topics, but take these with a grain of salt.
Labs/aura are standard no matter where you are (explicitly stated on the agreed guidelines). As for joining, I think only minimum reasoning is necessary, and the base setting shouldn't be contradicted (for example, usually the Alps don't accept newly gauntleted magi, and the Rhine gives only temporary membership on the first 3 years, while expecting the guest to pay 3 pawns a year (or services)). Comment about Eikona joining Triamore: if she is going to stay only a couple of seasons i think 1 pawn/season (or equivalent work) would be a fair payment, but this is personal opinion.
I remember it being agreed to be 3 pawns/year in another topic, but I'm not sure.
All standard rules apply (you must befriend the wolf, spend the season an vis to bind him, etc). Storywise I'd ask why the wolf accepts you as his master, and what arts are being used to bind him (meaning, what is the nature of this magical wolf?).
As I understand, it's your choice. It must fit narrative. Speaking for myself, I'm not thinking of giving Regulus any more warping points, both because he already has a few from apprenticeship and because he has Cautious Sorcerer, but if it end up being reasonable storywise that he should gain some I'll woven it into the narrative. For LR, I've no idea. I've a few rules I apply in my games when magi are looking for other magi to work on a contract basis, but that's basically a house rule. I'd prefer to see what is the standard here.
My understanding for resources in general: highly demanded. For teachers, they will not always be available. Eg., why would a teacher in Triamore teach you Greek instead of teaching Latin to the covenfolk, since that would benefit the covenant more (in Tugurium I will surely expect the teachers to follow the covenant's schedule and to not be immediately available for guests). On the other side, I can see a guest convincing the covenant to postpone Latin and teach Artes Liberales that season (so that you could join class).
Arthur, I'm giving some replies and sticking my nose in several topics and posts... If you would like me to refrain from this and only give more general comments (some story guides don't like) please, tell me.
The same for you Julia, if I overstep any boundary, please let me know.
At first glance, this seems a low-intensity story, which would usually earn someone 5 xp. Pratice also works. It is a bit of a stretch to gain 10 xp in that season, but the narrative approach is flexible so if you want those xp, then feel free to do that. In the end, things should average out, so gaining 10 xp in that season means you have less xp available if you wanted to read a high-quality summa later that year.
The same is true with your later question about Twilight Points gained. Less intense stories can be used to justify gaining fewer Twilight points, but that should also mean less xp gained on average. For example, my path during Clusius narrative resulted in an average xp/year that was significantly lower than 45 (even accounting for lab seasons), so I decided it made sense for him to have gained fewer Twilight Points than average.
Joining a covenant or not is a narrative choice. It should make sense in the setting, so as Rafael mentioned the Alps would not accept your maga because she is too young, for example.
Whether you join a covenant or not, you should integrate a season of unproductive endeavours pretty much every year. This often represent services provided to your hosting covenant, either as a member or a visitor. You can sometimes substitute that with raw vis, but that would come out of any vis you accumulate during those years (or from a personal vis source).
This is a slightly higher-powered saga that usual, so a Personal Vis Source would yield up to 6 pawns/year for most Forms (though Corpus or Vim should probably be a bit lower) or 3 pawns/year for a Technique.
The 3 pawns/year from the guidelines is really not "automatic", but rather represents what can be gained from stories, for some specific services rendered to covenants, vis hunts, etc. This is the currency you can use if you want to pay for a longevity ritual (either created yourself or from someone else), enchanting items, binding a familiar, etc. Much like xp, higher/lower average vis collected over the years should mean more/less Twilight Points gained as well.
At least one season to find and befriend the potential familiar. That season is less productive than a regular story, so a maximum of 5 xp can be gained. If your narrative would indicate an unsuccessful search for that season, than regular story xp can be gained.
You need to spend the normal time in the lab to bind it and the vis comes out of what you accumulated from stories, services and such (as stated above). If what you collected isn't of the right Arts, you can make trades in the narrative. The trade can be with a host covenant or individual, thus not subject to the Mercere exchange rate, or you can work the narrative so that you found more vis but "wasted" some of it doing the exchange (it is the net quantity of vis that is considered in the guidelines).
These Twilight Points can represent spell botches that didn't lead to a Twilight experience, an actual Twilight experience, or being subjected to a powerful magical effect (which can you no long-term benefit, like being teleported somewhere).
Anything else, such as having a longevity ritual or getting someone to cast a stats-raising ritual on you, should be added on top of the guidelines.
Making your own longevity ritual is simply a season in the lab and spending the corresponding vis.
Getting someone to create a longevity ritual for you is expensive -- at least 1 pawn for 5 points of the lab total, plus the cost of casting the ritual itself. So for example, getting someone to create a level 50 longevity ritual (giving +10 bonus) when she is 29 years old would cost her 50 pawns, plus 6 pawns to cast the ritual itself.
No actual spending needed. This is simply part of the narrative. The actual xp gained comes out of the what is allowed by the guidelines (45 xp per year).
I had a similar though to Rafael's. Will a magus raise your picture-taking as a form of scrying? Seems like a story hook to be used at some point.
Even if it isn't deemed to be scrying (which is not a certain thing), would this lead a Tribunal to establish the equivalent to a "rights to image" similar to what we know in modern society? Consent forms?
Although your argument that since it is something one may see without magic is a valid one, a counter-argument could be made that capturing the image may allow you to discern something that wasn't so obvious initially.
It also doesn't prevent a magus or maga to be offended if you take a picture without their consent. They could challenge you to certamen to force you to destroy the picture and forbid you from taking more pitcure of him or her.
Thanks for the detailed replies. I think I'm starting to get it.
I believe that 6p per year is too much for a personal vis source - it's only a minor virtue after all: That would be 60p form vis by the time the game starts (or a longevity potion plus buying 3!? magical items). I'd like her vis source to produce only 4p of Imaginem vis per annum.
So, the character is currently at 25xp for the year. If she reads a primer (+21xp), she'll end up with a total of 46xp for this year, no season worked for a covenant (only a member in season 4), no game vis gained, 4p of personal vis gained.
Ideally, she'd get slightly fewer xp next year, and a warping point. Seasons of service for a covenant sound fun anyway!
I hope that she will become involved in stories that deal with how the order likes her signature spell. I'm not someone who enjoys law questions too much, but I fully expect magi to be opposed to having their picture taken, and arguments, certamen, theft, blackmail, wizard's war are all fair game, although for her wizard's war would probably mean hiring a hoplite or running. She's no fighter so far, but the sack of Constantinople will make her a bit more martial (a bit like Germany suddenly waking up from its pacifist dreams in 2022)
That is certainly up to you (that is why I wrote "up to 6 pawns/year"). But Imaginem vis is probably less sought after, so you could always "waste" some of it through trades. I is also not the best Art to trade for a longevity ritual, so this may cost her more than she "standard" rate.
Going for less than the maximum possible is always nice to see.
I give some leeway when studying with sub-optimal primers (like L5Q15 instead of L6Q21), for overall you get the picture.
Feel free to start setting up the table for such stories in your narrative. If she establishes a network of interested parties, it makes it easier for Beta SGs to pursue such stories with already-familiar characters.
I don't see things degenerating into WW for pictures, but who knows where the stories will lead us?
Stories could also happen because a picture she takes just happen to capture something unusual in the background, which proves to be of interest at a later time.
EDITED: Smileys removed. I just remembered you were French, and the I realized that youmay have been thinking of something different than I was (I was just thinking about all the little everyday tragedies that happen if you give teenagers smartphones).
Christmas 1195
Eikona looked at her own picture. The black dress, cut simply yet made off epensive fabrics, was truly showing off her figure and her golden curls in a most advantageous way. She had added a touch of magic to look even better. The covenant had a number of suitable men to spend cold winter nights with, not only among the covenfolk, but also a charming young Verditius named Peter, and a Redcap, a fascinating fellow she had spent a few evenings with since her arrival. For a moment, she wondered what the elder magi would think of her outfit, then realized she didn't care since she wanted to bed none of them.
This was the first time since she had accepted a research stay at Fengheld that she was going to meet a sizable number of magi. That wasn't surprising: Fengheld had a great library, and even she had been unable to resist borrowing a book: An Applied Awakening to the Art of Animal for Amateurs by Flavius ex Tremere a book equally famous for its quality and its art, so many of them were busying themselves in their labs or were living in one of the many chapterhouses. She knew that Peter was researching the art of growing grapes and that Horst was a polymath. She herself of course knew that she would have to become more proficient in the Bestial Art before she had a chance to find a familiar.
She had been surprised how mild the conditions of her stay were: Unlike the Alpine covenants who would have allowed her to stay only if she had bought a seat with her hair, Stentorius and Eule hadn't even mentioned vis. They had offered her a free trial season, a finished lab, and library access. The only stipulation had been an annual season of service and a few promises, recorded by the charming young redcap, that she all found perfectly reasonable.
21XP reading Animal
February 1196 (year 2, season 1)
The cold season seemed to last forever, and so Eikona borrowed a second book with just a promising title to read: The Mirror - Illusion and Distance by Fellgwyhic ex Merinita that turned out to be less instructive than she had hoped.
She kept dividing her attentions between the two magi, both open-minded enough not to mind an arrangement that knew only winners.
13xp Intellego
Mai 1196
True to her word, Eikona returned to Cologne to seek out Renaldine. The solution she was going to propose had been Horst's idea: Binding Renaldine as a familiar would save her from losing herself to a world of waning magic. She wasn't sure, if the fox was going to accept, but she needn't have worried. She found Renaldine, pale and weak, in one of the poorer parts of town. The fox gladly took up her offer, and they returned to Fengheld quickly, for Renaldine to recuperate in a magic aura and to get to know each other better before joining their fates in a magic ritual.
Adventure: Magic Lore (creatures) 5xp, 1 point of warping from casting too many spells in a Dominion aura
Does the wolf have standard values from Houses of Hermes True Lineages p. 129?
Is it played by me or another player?
If the wolf is too powerful to be a familiar, we could remove one of her Powers, some Magic might, and/or nerf some abilities.
The wolf from True Lineage is slightly more powerful than the limit we set for a grog-level familiar (on which you have completed control). You would need to reduce its Might to 8 and reallocate some of the Abilities (I doubt it would have Latin and Folk Ken). Nothing major.
If you want to have the wolf be more powerful, than one of the other players (or several) would have to agree to play the wolf as if he were a companion (though it wouldn't count as their companion slot), because more powerful familiars have more independence. It would also need to be designed pretty much from scratch using the magical character rules from Realm of Power: Magic.
Your nerfed version sounds fine to me. Losing Latin isn't really important anyway, since Aurora gets it back once bound. Those magic creature generation rules are rather scary - I better leave creating a creature from scratch to people who know what they are doing!
I just reread the rules on binding a familiar and realized that she will never be able to do it!
Magic might 8 + 5 for size 1 + 25 is a lab total of 38.
Even in her best TeFo combination, InIm, which seems completely inappropriate, she only has a lab total of 26.
It would mean that she'd have to spend years in the lab to raise her Intellego (now at 7) and Mentem (now at 6) to 15 each.
120xp - 21xp = 99xp
120- 28xp = 92xp
So it would take about 14 seasons to learn enough magic from books to pull this off. I don't want to write a post that says that she spends the next 5 years in her lab reading (including seasons of service).
I realize that a size -2 animal like a bird would be easier to turn into a familiar (She could use her InAn lab total for that without further learning, or even her InAn if the Animal was appropriate. Maybe an eagle: because of its eagle eyes, but then I would have to rewrite the last season, and I would have to create a magic bird using the convoluted rules in Realms of Power Magic and the Bjornaer chapter in Houses of Hermes. And those are scary.
Is binding a familar a commercial service that is offered in this setting, with her as a lab assistant? If yes, where and how much would that cost?
Or how hoe about turning the wolf into a fox? I found Felix the Fox in a book called Magi of Hermes (p. 123). He'd be smaller, and he'd be Imaginem, but again, he'd need to be nerfed (and probably a wanderlust of +5 wouldn't fit a familiar).
Indeed, binding a familiar is something many magi cannot do right out of Gauntlet. The bigger and stronger the creature, the harder it is.
Which is why many magi select relatively small and weak magical creatures that are aligned with their strongest Technique and Form. And why so many Jerbiton go for magical cats (Size -3).
Making your wolf the same size as a normal wolf (-1 instead of +1) while keeping the same Might would solve the problem, bringing down the required Familiar Bonding Level to 28 instead of 38. You'd be able to raise your Intellego score to 9 in a season or two.
Changing the animal to a fox (Size -2) is certainly an option.
We don't have stats for a fox, but we could just start with the stats of a dog (Realms of Power: Magic p.143) and adjust it to Size -2, add a few magical powers (some of those for cats on pp.71-73 can be used). Or start from the cat template on p.70 and make a few adjustments.
Yes, the design rules for magical characters are quirky. It takes a while to get used to them.
Note, however, that directly translating a mundane animal's stats to a magical animal is not always perfectly balanced with the magical character design rules.
