I've since adjusted a certain owl friend to be might 9. Well, 5 after the reduction in might thanks to inferiorities (and also post size bump), but that's neither here nor there. Going to be moving forward with year four and hopefully five here tomorrow.
Year 4, Spring:
As promised, it was now time for Belsarius to take a nice long trip somewhere far far away from the covenant. Lord only knew that it would take at least a season or two to get the smell of owl excrement out of the library. So once again, Belisarius found himself on a boat, though this time he was headed back to Castra Solis. He had been keeping in close contact with his ersatz pater Garus, the Primus of House Flambeau, and the archmage had suggested the trip. After all, Castra Solis' library was far better suited for the sort of study that Belisarius intended to do than that of Thermakopolis.
Belisarius: +2xp, Profession: Sailor, exposure
Harpasus: +2xp, Awareness, exposure
Year 4, Summer:
Welcomed warmly to Castra Solis, Garus immediately set about rectifying one of the greatest flaws in Belisarius' education. Namely that the young magus had no knowledge of the art of Ignem. While not a Flambeau per se (though there was still plenty of time to correct that matter), as a student of the primus, this was unacceptable. Thus, Belisarius' summer was spent reading a text that covered the basics of the art. While he would never be a great master of the fiery art, he would no longer embarrass himself, and by extension, Garus.
Belisarius: +15xp Ignem, L6Q21 book
Harpasus: +15xp Magic Theory, Magic Theory, L5Q15 book
Year 4, Fall:
Fall saw Belisarius assisting local hoplites in putting down a particularly aggressive group of hedge wizards that were openly defying the Order. While the wizards themselves weren't particularly troublesome thanks to the protection offered by Parma, it was their elemental slaves that proved rather problematic. You can resist all the magic in the world, but when the literal hill itself stands up and is attempting to crush you, things get a bit more difficult to say the least. Despite earning acclaims for his bravery during the fight, Belisarius was forced to grapple with his utter inability to do more than chip away at the creatures. It was a matter he'd have to address, and soon. As for the spoils, and there were quite a few, they went entirely to House Flambeau. Given that Belisarius was allowed to utilize the Domus Magna's library for his studies, it was more than fair. That said, he didn't go entirely unrewarded, as the Primus had arranged for the Jerbiton magus to receive something from the covenant's vaults.
Belisarius: +8xp Parma Magica, Item of Quality (Helmet, +4)
Harpasus: +8xp Magic Lore
Year 4, Winter:
His weaknesses laid bare the previous season, Belisarius began to quickly avail himself of the resources at his fingertips. The Flambeau, amongst the most martial of houses had a plethora of excellent texts that would assist in that regard. While he was nominally an outsider, the fact that Belisarius had spent a number of years during his apprenticeship in study at the domus magna, and the fact that the primus was his mentor went a long way to clearing any potential obstacles. Well that and his recent performance in putting down the rogue hedge wizards.
Belisarius: +15xp Penetration, L4Q15 book
Harpasus: +15xp Magic Theory, L5Q15 book
Note that a primer on Ignem in Castra Solis' library would probably be L6Q21, so you can boost the xp gained during Summer of Year 4.
Random event: The librarian of Castra Solis complains that Harpasus is damaging the books it studies, being careless with its claws/beak when turning the pages.
During Fall, where does that item of quality comes from? I assume all the xp gained is from the story?
During Winter, there are no books on Parma Magica in this saga. (If someone else has used one, that is an oversight from me.)
Very true, I'll adjust here in a few!
He actually has a power that allows him to manipulate things, but I like the idea, and I'll edit it in/incorporate the fallout next year!
I'll be a bit more clear in the writeup and explain. Long story short, the vis gained from the excursion went into Castra's coffers, but Belisarius was given a useful, but relatively minor item (in the grand scheme of things) from the covenant's coffers in exchange.
Tracts allowed, or nothing at all written?
Nothing at all written on Parma.
We will be able to write our own? Or is it prohibited by law or just the nature of the Parma cannot be written?
I'm guessing that it is deemed prohibited due to the sensitive nature of Parma. The Order owes its dominance in Mythic Europe at least as much to the Parma Magica as it does to Hermetic Magic. Some SGs see that as making it unrealistic for there to be books on it in circulation as they could be sources in the wrong hands for a research project to reverse engineer it as it were. And integrate it into another tradition.
This would be serious bad news for the Order not just because of enemies who have appreciable Magic Resistance as because the Parma protects Magi from the effects of the Gift. It is this that allows the Order of Hermes to be a more socially cooperative and cohesive. This is a social advantage that the Order has over even other major traditions of magic like Sahirs or Vitkir etc. They all stay in at best small groups if not living in isolation due to not being able to be socially cohesive due to the impact of the Gift. Parma would allow another group to assemble into a second competing magical society, which would not be to the advantage of the Order to say the least.
2 Likes
Edited to reflect the Parma update. I'll get started on Year 5 here in a few.
Oh, and quick note about the helmet IoQ. It has a +4 bonus for "wearer's mind/emotions", so I see it applying its bonus when trying to, say, concentrate on one's spell casting during the heat of battle. Feels rather fitting and all that.
Year 5, Spring
Upon receiving complaints that his familiar was damaging precious books in the Castra Solis library, Belisarius immediately set about making the situation right. Acquiring the services of one of the covenant's scribes, the magus saw to it that his familiar spent the season learning how to atone for his past mistake. For his part, Belisarius continued to read the same tome he'd begun poring over the season prior, determined that the next time he was called upon to
Belisarius: +15xp, Penetration, L4Q15 book
Harpasus: +11xp, Profession: Scribe, teaching
Year 5, Summer:
Summer saw the covenant aflutter, as it was time for another house tournament. Flambeau magi (and more than a few others) from all across the continent were descending upon Castra Solis en masse. For his part, Belisarius performed significantly better in the Certamen tournament this time, making it to the fourth round before being eliminated, a fact that earned him a well crafted suit of armor as a reward. While it was a pittance in comparison to the prizes that would be won by those continuing further in the tournament, Belisarius was still quite pleased.
Harpasus on the other hand, was... less than enthused with his lot in life, as Belisarius had placed his familiar in the service of the covenant's librarian for the next two seasons. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it went a long way to mollifying the feelings brought on by Harpasus' previous damage.
Belisarius: +8xp Parma, Chainmail (Excellent Quality, +3)
Harpasus: +2xp, Profession, Scribe
Year 5, Fall:
Fall saw Belisarius tapped to go out and gather vis from both covenant and personal sources for the magi of Castra Solis. This was good, because if Harpasus spent another season in the library copying books, he was liable to riot. And while it was hardly the most glamorous of duties, it was an important one, and demonstrated the high level of trust that was afforded to the Jerbiton.
His trip was a relatively quiet one, especially as Belisarius lacked the crippling social effect of the Gift that most of his sodales possessed. That, and this close to Castra Solis, there was little to be found in way of threats (both magical and otherwise), as the Flambeau were quick to address that sort of thing. They relished the opportunity even. However that wasn't to say that his journey was entirely uneventful, as the vis sources were still rather tempting targets for hedge wizards, and hungry creatures. Thankfully Belisarius' sword arm, and the protection afforded to him by the Parma Magica were more than sufficient to see him through.
By way of saying thanks, Belisarius was gifted a chunk of alchemical steel, something he planned on making good use of upon his return to Thermakopolis.
Belisarius: +8xp Parma, Alchemical Steel
Harpasus: +8xp Magic Lore
Year 5, Winter:
Compared to the excitement of the past two seasons, winter was a relatively dull affair as both magus and familiar spent it in the covenant library once more. Belisarius was still engrossed in a text that detailed the effective use of sympathetic magic, and Harpasus... well, he was doing what he had done for most of the past year, he was copying texts.
Belisarius: +15xp, Penetration, L4Q15 book
Harpasus: +2xp, Profession: Scribe
*I know I don't have an exposure season in this year, but don't worry, I'm keeping track, and it will show up later. I'll get my 10 seasons in, I promise.
I'm not comfortable with the acquisition of lab texts and spell mastery books for custom-designed spells during pre-play narrative. These should be reserved for actual play.
@Arthur would you be fine with using the rules presented in GotF for the library of Durenmar? Within the scope of Creo Ignem, Castra Solis is likely to be as good as the great library.
Quoting from GotF p.56-57:
To determine if a desired spell is available in the library, roll a stress die. (...) The storyguide should assign an Ease Factor of between 6 and 21 for non-standard spells.
For non-standard spells (...) a failure indicates that the spell does not exist in the library; a botch indicates that a spell exists, but is discovered to have a significant flaw or deviation from the desired effect. For all spells, for every full six points by which the roll exceeds the Ease Factor, there is also one tractatus dedicated to Mastery of the spell, with a Quality of a simple die plus 2.
We'll just have to agree to disagree here then! But it's your saga, so your rules. I'll just change it to him receiving enough alchemical steel for a sword. Man has a talisman to make once he gets back to Constantinople after all!
Year 6, Spring:
With the excitement of the last year having settled down, Castra Solis fell into something of a stupor. Chomping at the bit to get out and moving again, Belisarius took the advice of Garus and made for Hibernia, and the magi of Lámbaird. While initially skeptical of yet another continental magus, once Belisarius had made it crystal clear that he had no designs on Hibernia's riches, and had simply come at the behest of the primus, who had thought the covenant a natural place for Belisarius to continue his training, the magi of Lámbaird were quick to welcome Belisarius as one of their own.
To say that the covenant was unique amongst the Order would be something of an understatement. The magi did not act much like scholars or wizards, instead they seemed much more at home in the wooded mountains surrounding their covenant, and spent their free time on horseback either hawking or hunting with hounds. And everyone (especially the magi) was expected to pull their own weight.
Despite the initial teasing, Belisarius quickly proved himself to be no effete city boy, and soon settled in nicely.
Belisarius: +1xp Profession: Sailor, +1xp Profession: Soldier, exposure
Harpasus: +2xp Awareness, exposure
Year 6, Summer:
Given the martial nature of his new sodales, Belisarius opted to spend the summer in the lab, putting a pair of long held ideas into practice. Harpasus proved extremely useful in this endeavor, the owl serving as a sounding board of sorts for the magus' ideas. When his work wasn't keeping him busy, Belisarius continued to get to know the inhabitants of Lámbaird, becoming rather close with a young woman by the name of Órlaith, the pair raising more than a few eyebrows and becoming the subject of quite a bit of gossip. Ireland was known for it's rather... liberal attitudes regarding marriage (and divorce) after all.
Belisarius: Invent ReTe 10 Gaia's Grasp and ReTe 5 Deflect the Sword's Bite**, +2xp Rego, exposure
Harpasus: +2xp Magic Theory, exposure
Year 6, Fall:
Having endeared himself to the magi of Lámbaird, Belisarius quickly became a fixture on the covenant's many hunts. While most of the time their targets were mundane and meant to put meat on the tables of the covenant, on other occasions, creatures of a magical nature found themselves in the sights of the hunters. It was these challenges that Belisarius relished the most, and the magi of Lámbaird proved most excellent partners in pursuing those quarry.
Belisarius: +5xp Wizard's Leap Spell Mastery (Fast Casting), +3xp Gaia's Grasp Spell Mastery, +A pair of the covenant's wolfhounds
Harpasus: +8xp Magic Lore
Year 6, Winter:
The effectiveness of the Raghallach school of combat having been made plain to him, Belisarius spent the winter availing himself of the covenant's resources. While the lab texts of the covenant's library (though to call the assortment of texts scattered about the magi's sanctum a library was something of a misnomer) were helpful, none did precisely what he wanted, and thus, Belisarius was forced to invent the spell from scratch. But at least he had reference material, and the magi of the covenant were always willing to offer their advice and critiques. Often too willing.
Belisarius: Invent PeVi 10 Revoke the Protection of Magic, and PeVi 5 Sapping the Strength of the Beast**
Harpasus: +2xp Magic Theory, exposure
**Spell descriptions are as follows:
Deflect the Sword's Bite
ReTe 5
R: Per, D: Con, T: Ind
This spell wards the target from being struck by weapons made of/containing notable amounts of metal, provided that the caster is aware of their presence.
(Base 2, +1 Concentration, +2 Affect Metal)
Gaia's Grasp
ReTe 10
R: Touch, D: Con, T: Ind
This spell allows the caster to shape and control a large amount of earthen material as they see fit. Attempts to form complex shapes or forms may require a finesse roll.
(Base 3, +1 Touch, +1 Concentration, +1 Size)
Revoke the Protection of Magic
PeVi 10
R: Touch, D: Con, T: Ind
As per the spell on Contested Isles pg 62. Affects a creature up to Might 20 + a Stress Dice.
(Base 4, +1 Touch, +1 Concentration)
Sapping the Strength of the Beast
PeVi 5
R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind
Magic Realm might destruction, 10 points.
(Base 4, +1 Touch)
For anyone wondering about why his lab total is higher than his sheet might seemingly reflect, his familiar has, at this point, a Magic Theory of 5, with a specialty in Inventing Spells. And an Intelligence of 2. Speaking of, I need to go add him to my character sheet thread and advance him accordingly.
You can't get a blanket warding spell like that with such a low-level spell.
First, I believe the range should be Touch. Second, a ward-like effect would provide a bonus to Soak, not total immunity. If we use Ward Against Heat and Flames as a base for such an effect, the spell would only provide a +5 bonus to Soak. Each additional magnitude would add another +5.
Should this be T:Part, since you are not targeting a discrete object but rather a part of the ground?
Note that as designed the spell cannot move stones, although some may be moved around with the dirt, mud, sand and clay. With the Size modifier, the amount moved will be up to 100 cubic paces.
Not commenting on the other two spells yet, since I need to consult some books I don't have with me at the moment.
I find that folks often have a gut reaction about what is or isn't possible with low level magic, and I honestly feel like this is the case. But let's go through this and double check everything and make sure we're on the same page!
The guideline for ReTe 2 is "Keep dirt away from you, under your conscious control (that is, you
must be aware of its presence)." Let's say I concede the Touch point to you (I'm not convinced, but it's not the hill I want to die on), that only bumps it up a magnitude. So 10.
That said, there are some upsides and downsides to this method versus a pure soak ward. One, he needs to know it's coming. While this isn't particularly hard, it is important to note. And second, and arguably far more importantly, this needs to penetrate any magic resistance present on a weapon. And I'm not sure how you run MR in your saga, but I've always been one to assume that any magic resistance on a target extends to their kit. Otherwise you're lighting folk's clothes on fire to get around their MR, etc.
So yes, it means he can walk through mundane weapons without worry, but let's face it, any self respecting combat oriented magus can do that fairly easily. And that's ok. Mages are on an order significantly more powerful than anything mere mortals could hope to be.
I want to say that there are a number of spells that don't need part, but I'm without books at present, and can see the argument for part. Would certainly make it far more flexible, so I'm not opposed? But let's put a pin in it for now.
Well the might stripper is literally just any of the canon examples made at touch, not voice, so I can't imagine that it would need anything beyond the core book, but hey, go for it!
And the magic resistance suppression is a guideline straight out of Hibernia. And again, a spell just changed from voice to touch. But I get that it's not something folks are particularly familiar with, so by all means, look away!
If it's not a ward, then it essentially works like Repel the Wooden Shafts. Rego Herbam has a Level 4 guideline to "Deflect a single attack by a wooden weapon." As you say, Rego Terram has a Level 2 guideline to "Keep dirt away from you", plus the extra 2 magnitudes to affect metal, so we have something equivalent.
But Repel the Wooden Shaft also has R:Voice, from which I infer that the spell needs to deflect the attack before it hits you. Meaning your spell would also need R:Voice, not just R:Touch.
Furthermore, the spell description should be clear that the caster can deflect 1 attack per round. The text from Repel the wooden shaft can probably used with a few minor adjustments.
Still, you end up with a level 15 spell, instead of level 5. That a significant difference.
I mean, it is a ward, just not in the Ward Against Heat and Flames sense.
Those are wildly different guidelines though. Repel the Wooden Shafts is the Herbam counterpart to Wizard's Parry out of MoH. A spell that might I add, uses the ReTe level 2 guideline, not the level 3. There's a huge difference between keep all dirt you're aware of away from you, and deflecting a single attack (ReTe vs ReHe guidelines). The aforementioned spells are ones that must be fast cast in response to an incoming attack. This isn't.
Now if you want to argue that there are limits to just how many attacks he can deflect in a round due to simply not being able to be aware/able to focus on all of them, yeah, by all means, let's talk about it and come to compromise. Because I'm not saying he should be able to stand there as ten blokes wail on him. That would most certainly need the level 5 guideline. But as written, it's very much inside the scope of what can be done.
Now if you just say, hey, you're right, but I don't like that for (insert reason here), it's another conversation entirely. But I'm just trying to work with the rules that I've got in front of me until told otherwise.
Moving this here, since I didn't want to clutter up the stats thread with talk. He was built, mechanically speaking, as a might 9 creature as per our previous conversation. So, grog level. Size -4 meant he went to 13 Might, and I simply dropped him down to 5. If that's going to be a problem, please just let me know.
So it's a personal ward against [insert matter]? That's exactly what Ward Against Heat and Flames is.
Personal wards provide a Soak bonus, not complete immunity. The Base provides a +5 Soak, and each magnitude provide an additional +5. They must be R:Touch, because the Form being warded against much come into contact with the warded target in order to be affected.
Complete immunity can only be achieved actively, by deflecting the attack before it comes into contact with the target of the attack. Thus such a spell needs R:Voice, and can only protect against a single attack the caster is aware of. To protect against mutiple attacks, you would need T:Group.
I can't say that you're right, because I believe that you're wrong. 
I can see a lot was already discussed while I was writing, but I'll post anyway. =9
I agree with the first, but not the second. A personal ward is very standard.
Regarding the spell itself, would base 5 manage complete defense? Then, 5, +2 metal, +1 conc, level 20.
Ward Against Heat and Flame wards against a fire, and I understand the base fire causes +5 damage. The spell has +2 mag explicitely to ward against a stronger fire. There is not, however, a "stronger metal". Metal is metal. Dirt is dirt. Keeping dirt away is keeping dirt away.
Still, I can see the reasoning (from balance perspective) for a bonus to Soak instead of full defense.
This is only valid if there are tons of enemies with MR (which is uncertain). And MR explicitly extends only to things "very close" of the one with MR. Clothes, yes. But for a magus holding a spear, the spearhead is likely always outside of his MR, and his sword is likely outside at the moment it strikes true.
No extra magnitude for flexibility (since you can freely change/define the shape)? What's the intent of the spell? The design and name reminds me of Hands of Grasping Earth.
Magical Wards on p.114
Rego spells can create wards which protect the target from things of the appropriate Form. These use the normal targets, but the target is the thing protected, rather than the things warded against, and the range is the range to the target, not to the things warded against.
(...)
The spell guidelines for wards against magical things are listed with a base range of Touch, base duration of Ring, and base target of Circle, because a ward with these parameters wards against creatures with a Might equal to or less than its level. The parameters of the spell can be changed in the normal way, so that a ward which only protected the magus (Range Personal, Target Individual) for a duration of Moon would have the same final level.