Character Creation for Plot_Device (OOC)

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: The Heir of Laimunt Valley
64

I appreciate your thoughtful response.

I've always thought it was relatively normal for a magus to have control over the majority of their seasonal activities, meaning if the magus wants a bunch of reading seasons there would be interruptions, but only occasional ones (i.e. once every couple of years).

If that's not the case, is it just because of being a young magus either without a covenant, or the lowest on the totem pole in the covenant (that will go away once we're in our own covenant)? Or is it a universal difference in the way I see the game from the way everyone else does?

I agree with what you say about the span of time and magus power level. (Though I think you are underestimating lifespan, I'd say more like Gauntlet +120 or even +150, but that's not relevant right now, and I know it's been discussed to death elsewhere on these fora.)

I felt attacked because I felt like I was being accused of powergaming. I'm not obsessed with power level, my big problem is this: at the beginning of sagas, particularly ones that start at gauntlet, the average magus doesn't seem able to deal with problems that come up, and that's just not very fun. I feel like young magi have a need to be obsessively focused (in-character) on their advancement in order to be able to do what they want to do, specialty-wise, which means avoiding problems and stories; and if they do go on them they end up being unable to really cope with the challenges. My ideal for post-gauntlet advancement is that it removes the desperate need to achieve minimal competence, allowing the magus to be more relaxed about advancement and able to deal with stories in a fun way.

I should also point out that I'm motivated by my experience with games, which has been that once the game starts, if it stays alive, the passage of time is very slow; so whatever one wants a character to be able to "do", they should be able to do at the start of the saga. Maybe that's mostly because I've had bad luck with games.

Anyway, I feel good about resuming things. I suppose I really should say that Wolfgang is a peregrinator, and dedicate a season a year to covenant service, hopefully that will spread out reading to a level that's more acceptable. Another part of this is that I like to have clear guidelines; someone telling me "you can only read X seasons per year" doesn't bother me that much, but having people reject it after I've already written things out is unpleasant.

I should also say that my rough plan for Wolfgang was a period of focused reading, followed by a long trip to Scandinavia, and a later period of exploring the mountains (and finding a familiar, which we can discuss later on when it comes up, he will be looking for a particular "type" but I'm flexible on the details, and if people really want that sort of thing to wait until after the game starts, I'd be ok with that - though having a big and somewhat unpleasant linnorm familiar will provide part of his motivation to come to this covenant - and to call dibs on the caves... :wink: ). All of which would be interspersed with Flambeau tournaments and lab work. I wasn't planning on ten years of solid reading; it's just that the reading is a front-loaded to the beginning of the advancement period.

65

May I suggest rather a series of shorter forays into Scandinavia? It is doubtful that any group of Hermetic magi would plan several years at a time in a place they know little about (except that it gets really cold in the winter). They're not bringing labs, so can't easily adapt their plans when they meet some unforeseen challenge.

Actually, they may plan on a longer trip, but end up facing such miserable conditions that they have to return early. Or are attacked indirectly in a way that they can't currently counter. Or the contrary -- they find nothing (cold), and nothing (snow), and more nothing (ice). They get tired of it and go home early.

Moving in force and for a long time in a territory that you know little about is probably the mindset that is perfectly period. It has also led to repeated catastrophies throughout history.

I'm good either way. Note that Basel is reknowned for basilisks, so he may move to the covenant hoping something similar to Phillipus' coup d'éclat of binding a salamander as a familiar.

Hopefully you don't plan on claiming all of the caves. Just in case someone else wanted them appealing for their lab.

If you find your famaliar before play begins, don't make it too repulsive. Your magus already has the Judged Unfairly flaw, if I remember correctly. If, on top of that, his familiar causes severe problems for the covenant he's joining, he could be shown the door after a while. Not something I'd like to see. :pensive:

That is often a problem with the stories themselves. IMO stories should be build with the characters in mind. The process of building most stories should be:

  1. Who needs a story and who else will participate -- that sets the main protagonist and the secondary cast
  2. What is the nature the story -- that sets the kind of opponents or challenge that will be faced, as well as the duration of the story
  3. What are the expected difficulty and rewards -- just so the expectations are the same for everyone

Together, these should be used to establish the power level of the opponents. They should be beatable by the main protagonist, maybe not alone but certainly with the appropriate helpers (the secondary cast). They may have to be daring or imaginative. But the challenge should be built based on the characters involved, not the reserve. Even the weakest magus right out of Gauntlet should be able to participate in fulfilling stories.

One of the exceptions to this is when everyone (player and SG) agree up front that the goal of the story is for the characters to initially be beaten (in a non-lethal way) so that they can go home, lick their wounds, work the problem, and then come back at it.

Confronting the players with unbeatable challenges without letting them know up front is just plain bad storytelling. No fun to the players. Only fun for a sadistic SG.

That's the philosophy I try to live by in my sagas.

66

re Scandinavia I was thinking of exactly that - a planned few years that turned into a few seasons because things didn't go as expected. Though if that's interesting to an SG it could also get politically delayed until after the Saga starts.

Wolfgang doesn't want a basilisk - Sordus makes his life difficult.

It's not so much the repulsiveness of the familiar as that it would be unsuitable in a place like Durenmar or Fengheld, where he'd just be big and awkward and unsettle the grogs. Living in a cave out of the way is better for all concerned. And I don't have to claim all the caves, it's not hard to make more anyway. But I'm not sure anyone else will want them.

67

Actually, Sordus is a salamander, not a basilisk. I corrected my post about that as soon as I realized my mistake.

But yeah, a worm (as in dradon-kind from RoP:M) could do for a Perdo-focused familiar.

68

He is a basilisk, you were right about that. (GotF 61)

What are some good examples of tasks covenants want young magi to do, that aren't dealing with various mundane issues, or extracting vis? Just need a couple to get my brain working.

69

In the lab:

  • Fixing arcane connections
  • Investigating an enchanted item found in the vault that no one remembers about
  • Creating charged items (for use by the grogs, or a magus outside his specialty) from an existing lab text
  • Set up a lab for someone else (maybe a guest lab)

Outside the lab:

  • Harvesting a vis source that is both time-consuming and requires the use of a spell you know, which is why a grog cannot do it.

Basically anything time-consuming, boring, annoying or unpleasant that isn't really worth the time of older magi, but still require a magus to complete.

70

I'd agree on all of that except setting up the lab, as that, like copying Hermetic texts, can be managed by grogs/companions.

Also, if you're a specialist in an area others aren't, there might be some lesser enchanted device you could make that would be useful.

Additionally, if you know enough uncommon spells, a season writing them out for the covenant library could be useful.

71

Made changes to Summer 1194 and Spring and Winter 1195, and changed the years a bit so I won't be over 10.

1 Like
72

I really liked that story about Sordus! :laughing:

73

thanks.

74

Spring 1196

The tournament is coming up – my first as a magus. Phillipus rarely bothers with it, but I am not he, and I see the value in caring what my house thinks of me. Also, I need to travel to Provence for the Mercuriad anyway. So I travelled to Aedes Mercurii once I'd finished with Phillipus' swedish stone, and found a weapons instructor. The priests of Mars are always happy to promote such combat skills, and as a magus I was able to get a teacher to myself, so I had a fun but strenuous spring. It was nice to visit with Zaldun again.

The Mercuralia was enjoyable, but... strange. I hadn't expected such intense revelry, and it went far beyond the drinking and stories I'm used to. Now I know that the Ash Gild parties are really very tame. I learned a great deal, that had nothing to do with magic or warfare. Among the other festivities, I ended up spending a good part of the evening with an older maga from Thebes, Maria Laskarena. She kept calling me her little Ephebos. I was already quite drunk when I met her, and I don't remember what happened very well, but I didn't wake up in my own bed. It seemed a rather awkward situation, and I snuck out before she woke up. I had to ask a librarian what Ephebos meant, and I understand now... I'm not sure how I feel about that.

[Taught Single Weapon +15 xp (Teacher 9 + single student)]

Summer 1196

I traveled to Castra Solis for the tournament. I didn't do especially well, but it was a fun experience. I competed in all events, because I wanted to see how I'd fare, but I did quite poorly in all of them, unfortunately. It was fun to be around so many other Flambeau, better than the boring collection of scholars I'm used to at Durenmar, but I wasn't quite accepted – people seemed to think I was strange, but I know it wasn't the effects of the gift. I'm used to being viewed as strange and scary in Durenmar, because I am associated with Phillipus and with conflict, but I wasn't expecting the same in a group of Flambeau. Perhaps if I perform better the next time I will be accepted. I did make a few friends, we fell into an impromptu group of the youngest present – Cliodna, from Hibernia, Ajax from Thebes, Mariana from Provence, and Karlotta from Rome. We were all young, so we got eliminated quite quickly, and then spectated together. Mariana has children! They were watching, and one of them - Rolando - asked me why I was "so little and white". Nobody has ever asked me that, I don't think Mariana was horrified, but I didn't mind. I just told him I was born that way, leaving out the details of what Phillipus has said I looked like before I was baptized.

[Story: +5 xp Parma Magica, +3 xp Finesse]

Fall 1196

I finally returned to Durenmar, grateful for the portal that made the trip quick. Phillipus was off somewhere, so I had the tower to myself, and I was able to spend a peaceful season reading in my basement. It was such a wonderful luxury to keep the place properly warm, and to be able to keep beer in my laboratory without it being spoiled by Sordus. I was also able to correspond, exchanging letters with Karlotta on our mutual Creo studies.

[Study Genesis Magica by Yannis ex Jerbiton - Creo Summa L14 Q15 – 18 xp after book learner; Correspondence with Karlotta +1 Creo]

Winter 1196

Phillipus returned from wherever he had been. He was wounded quite badly, and spent his winter in bed. For once he kept his laboratory warm, so I was able to keep mine warm as well, without the fear of attracting Sordus to come and ruin my beer. He quizzed me on what I'd been up to, and I told him I was preparing for the expedition; so I spent the winter learning a spell to do just that, the old standby Ball of Abysmal Flame – though I find the affectation of hurling a ball of flame to be a bit silly and happily I managed to find a version without that.

[Learn Ball of Abysmal Flame (Mastery 1: Stalwart) from Lab Text – Lab Total 35 – Int 2, MT 4+1, Aura 3, Creo 8+3, Ignem 14 – Magic Theory exposure +2 xp]

Spring 1197

I had to harvest a vis source. There is a tree, a great spruce, incredibly tall, dwarfing even the great Durenmar spruce. The top of it stays snowy and frozen until the vernal equinox, and a magus must be on hand to watch as the snow melts, and capture it at just the right moment - the hours between the equinox and when the last of ice and snow melts. They contain vis, which must be preserved by keeping it cold, then brought to a laboratory and refined properly. The tip of the tree is in a magic aura, but the rest of it is in faerie, and using magic to preserve the vis this way apparently keeps the vis from turning to faerie vis, and preserves the smidgen of magic aura.

So I had to climb up the damn tree with a sack. Apparently another magus usually does this, and he has spells suitable to the task. Unfortunately for me, I had to cast the spells spontaneously, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. I was casting in a faerie aura, and I had two brushes with twilight. Fortunately I managed not to succumb, climbed the tree with the aid of magic. I had to wait, of course, but at the right moment, I encased the snow and ice in my own ice, and kept it frozen in the little sack I'd brought with me. Then I had to take it back to my laboratory and refine it. It was a good haul, and to my surprise I was allowed to keep a share of what I'd harvested. I rounded out the season assisting Phillipus – His longevity ritual failed, and while he has cultivated a fearsome reputation in the Order, it hasn't made him a lot of friends, so he makes his own. I'm not especially good in the lab, but I suppose my help is better than none.

[4 warping, 3 Perdo vis, Magic Theory exposure +2 xp]

Summer 1197

I need to start thinking about defense. I can rely on my new flames as a weapon, and there is always my trusty armor and shield, but I need to prepare more mystical defenses. The most useful method seems to be Wards, so I've started with a study of Rego, just a basic primer I was able to find available in the stacks.

[Read Rego root 6/21]

1 Like
75

Only little detail is that Perdo vis source. A source providing 20 pawns a year? That is an enormous amount from a single source.

It's not about how much vis your magus collected. Only about what is considered a small/normal/big source.

To me that would be less than 5, 5 to 9, and 10+, respectively. At 20 pawns per year that would be one of the largest source in all of the Order.

So perhaps say that he harvested more than a single source, even if he was rewarded all in Perdo?

76

Fair enough, I thought it might be a bit high. I think I'll just reduce it, honestly if I get any more interesting ideas for vis sources I'd rather save them for our own covenant. I'll say it was 15, if that sounds reasonable. Or it could be 10.

77

You don't even have to specify how large the harvest was.

78

Fall 1197

Still focused on defense, and wards, I made up my mind to study Vim. I was fortunate to find a great summa, Ancient Magics by Thoth. It's a wonderful read, but I'm a bit confused by the author – is it some ancient magus? Writings channeled from an ancient god? Anyway, it's a great book, that's not often available, but I got lucky. I corresponded with Cliodna. She is a member of a very interesting combat school, Raghallach, focused on breaking down the defenses of enemies before attacking. I'm not quite sure if it's more effective than simply improving attacks directly and eliminating the need for an extra step, but our debate of that very subject has been quite interesting.

[Read Vim Summa 15/16 - 28.5 after book learner + affinity, correspond with Cliodna an Flámbó re Vim +1 Vim]

Winter 1197

I wanted to continue my reading on Vim this season, but unfortunately the book was demanded by a senior magus. I had no choice but to give it up, better that than demand Certamen and lose anyway, but make an enemy in the process. In the interests of branching out to learn the basics of all the Arts, I found a primer on Intellego to read. I continued my correspondence with Cliodna, though I am no longer studying Vim we still have an enjoyable discussion about the finer points of combat, and life in general.

[Read Intellego Root 6/21]

Spring 1198

I avoided Aedes Mercurii this year. Phillippus was in a twilight, and I had to stay to keep an eye on Sordus. Phillippus told me that in the past, when the tower was unoccupied, the basilisk wandered the covenant and caused all sorts of mayhem.

I was still unable to get my hands on Thoth's book, so I continued studying the basics. Animal, this time. I suppose it's good to know a bit about everything. I did have a thought about a spell to call serpents, as I thought they might be Worms, spontaneously generated from matter, but it seems they aren't. So they could be created instantly, but would remain magical, which is not so useful as a weapon.

[Read Animal Root 5/15]

Summer 1198

There was some talk around the covenant about hunting – apparently there is going to be more focus on it, as a source for food. In anticipation of being asked to do that, I looked for a spell to aid magi in finding animals. The first one I came across was too difficult, so I dug through the books until I found a simplified version. Now the only question remaining is, when they inevitably send me on a hunt, do they prefer their meat frozen solid or burnt to a crisp? I'll just have to ask them, I suppose.

[Learn spell from Lab Text – Hearkening Hunter – As Hunter's Sense (ArM 118) but Concentration instead of Sun and doesn't give motivation or shape. InAn 20 – Lab Total 21 (Int 2, Magic Theory 5, Aura 3, Intellego 6, Animal 5)]

Fall 1198

I was right! They did indeed ask me to hunt. Ice was the answer, it turns out. I had some grogs along to carry the animals I'd frozen to death, and it wasn't so bad. I think they expected to have to do more work, but we had a fairly easy time of it, just walking through the woods looking for prey. I mostly hunted by myself, so I could suppress my sounds and smells, then when I managed to kill game I called the grogs to come and collect it. I think it might have taken me a lot longer if I hadn't found that spell, but as it was, just a couple of weeks and I got a good haul of deer. They paid me a few pawns for my trouble, for which I was surprised and grateful. I heard the stewards talking and I think they were actually very pleased that the animals were frozen – it will help them preserve the corpses without salt, so there can be fresh meat this winter. I wonder if we had permission from a lord, or if we're so remote it doesn't matter? But I don't think we're quite that remote. It's not my problem anyway, I just did as I was told.

I started work on a protective item to take to Scandinavia with me – a ring, that I will enchant with wards. I made it myself, crafting it magically. It took several tries to get it right, but fortunately it didn't involve anything too expensive. I did have another close call with Twilight, though. It's just a simple silver ring, with a band of lead.

[Earned 6 vim vis, opened Silver and Lead ring to enchantment for 6 pawns vim vis - Finesse Exposure +2 xp, 2 warping]

Winter 1198

I think I have become the unofficial hunter of the covenant. This winter, a pack of wolves was lurking around, and I learned something interesting – mundane beasts can be more of a threat than magical ones. The Aegis doesn't keep them out, and they frequently left tracks all over the covenant at night. The wolves were ignored until a young grog disappeared, late in the winter when the wolves were truly hungry. I had been working on the first ward for my ring, and I was able to test it, going out in the frigid February to hunt down the wolfpack. They'd stopped coming around so much after the grog disappeared, so I had to track them down, and the ring stood me in good stead, even with armor I think I might have been overwhelmed otherwise, when I confronted them. The smell of burnt fur was ghastly, but the feeling of victory was nice, even if they were just ordinary wolves.

[Enchanted ring – Level 9 enchantment – Beast Ward Base 2, Touch +1, Sun +2, Ind – Wards the wearer against the touch of mundane animals - when animals are affected their repelled motions rebound in a precise reversal. +3 env trigger Sunrise/Sunset, +1 2 uses/day – ReAn lab total 25 Int 3, MT 4, Aura 3, Re 6, An 5, Lead (ward) +4
(only 70% of season to enchant ring, the rest spent hunting) Ball of Abysmal Flame Mastery Exposure +2 xp]

1 Like
79

2 uses/day is +1, not +0

How is your sigil manifested in this enchantment? This should be part of the effect description.

80

My bad on the +0.

Not sure how my sigil should manifest generally on less visible effects, I described it as Orderliness, so for instance a BoAF looks like a perfect sphere of fire, a spell to cause wounds would make cuts in a straight line or matrix of right angles.

Might not be the best sigil but I'm open to feedback, I'm not the best at sigils. I thought it should be something either about logic and order or about snakiness, but wasn't sure even how to do the latter.

81

I added some sigil details, will finish up as I am able to think of them. Will resume progression.

82

Spring 1199

Went to Aedes Mercurii again, to train with the priests of Mars, and for the Mercuralia. This time I had a better understanding of what Ephebos meant, and I realized there were a few elder magi who saw fit to label me as such, and pursue me, despite the fact that my thirtieth birthday is approaching. I'm still not sure how to feel about this. Mine is a lonely life, people always seem to find me strange, even magi under the protection of Parma. It's nice to be the center of attention and the target of affection. In the moment, it's hard to resist, and I don't. But is it just because I'm small, and don't have much hair? I want to be liked, but not just because of that. I enjoyed it in the moment, but now I don't feel very good about it. But it might be the only way I can have such acceptance, so maybe I should force myself to enjoy it.

I was moping about, feeling out of sorts and sorry for myself in the aftermath of the festivities, when I ran into Mariana, she seemed pretty down too. I didn't see her children around, I asked after them and she told me they were all off being apprenticed to Redcaps. I felt bad about bringing it up, and we did some sparring to let off steam and take our minds off our troubles.

[Taught Single Weapon +15 xp (Teacher 9 + single student)]

Summer 1199

I returned to Durenmar. I found that Flora and Florimel had returned, but our studies have diverged. The covenant was quiet this season, and I found that I could keep quiet company with them, as most of the magi who remain here are the studious sort who are loners, and boring to chat with anyway. I fell in love with Flora all over again, but I said nothing. I'd rather be around her and suffer than take a chance, fail, and not be able to even see her anymore. Her brother is a decent man, and I think we are becoming friends. He's less prickly and protective when it's just us than he was when we first met at a gathering of the elders of the Ash Gild, which makes sense, I suppose. I resumed my correspondence with Cliodna, also, which I had dropped. She was annoyed that it had been so long between letters, but it made me feel good, knowing that she cared. I think if she was truly angry she just wouldn't have written me back.

[Read Vim Summa 15/16, 28.5 xp after book learner + affinity, correspond on Vim with Cliodna an Flámbó +1 Vim]

Fall 1199

The covenant was quiet again this season, so I was able to keep the book I wanted. Cliodna told me more about her personal life, which was depressing to read about. Dalton, an older Flambeau in her covenant, is madly in love with her, and has been taking her on whirlwind adventures, teleporting to distant lands, to impress her and woo her. I'm not entirely sure why she's telling me, I suppose that's what friends do? But I'm not sure why she thinks of me as the sort of friend who wants to hear about that kind of thing. Why am I madly in love with three different magae? All of whom think I'm weird and creepy? I visited the Flors one night and I spotted a tractatus on a shelf about the nature and origin of albinos. I didn't say anything, but I claimed a stomachache and left quite abruptly. I laid awake that night wondering if there's anyone that doesn't just see me as a curiousity? Except Phillipus, of course. For all his prickliness, he's never treated me as anything other than a normal magus, and loyal apprentice. I love him for that.

[Read Vim Summa 15/16, 28.5 xp after book learner + affinity, correspond on Vim with Cliodna an Flámbó +1 Vim]

Winter 1199

Well, Cliodna stopped writing. I think she decided to accept the advances of Dalton, and so correspondence with me became unseemly. Does that mean she saw me as something other than a purely platonic friend? I don't know. It doesn't really make sense either way. Maybe Dalton is jealous and commanded her not to, though I can't imagine her meekly giving in to such a demand.

I had to give up the great Vim book again. It's time to attend more seriously to my preparations, anyway. I made a ward against magic creatures. I fear it's too weak to do much good, but anything is better than nothing, I suppose. I strengthened the magic by making it temporary, I expect that when it runs out I will be able to replace it with something better.

[Enchant Ward into ring: Level 28 enchantment – ReVi 16 (Touch +1, Sun +2, Ind) – Ward against touch and powers of Magic creature of Might 16 or less; when beings are affected their repelled motions rebound in a precise reversal. +3 env trigger Sunrise/Sunset, +1 2 uses/day, +8 Penetration 16 – ReVi lab total 34 Int 3, MT 4, Aura 3, Re 6, Vi 13, Lead 4, Previous Rego 1 - Effect Expiry in 7 years, 34-28=6; 6x5=30]

Spring 1200

I travelled to Aedes Mercurii again. I've decided, for now, to just live with being treated as ephebos. It's the only time of the year when I don't feel lonely, so I'll just accept it for what it is and not think too much about it. I do feel bad afterward, but not so much worse than I feel most of the time anyway.

I realized that I might be expected to lead grogs into combat, in Scandinavia, so I asked to learn tactics, this time, instead of fighting. The priests were quite satisfied with that. Word has gotten around about the upcoming expedition, and I think they were glad to be part of it, even if only by training a participant.

[Taught Leadership +15 xp (Teacher 9 + single student)]

83

Don't forget to deduce the raw vis from your store.

So far you have always taken the +6 bonus to Source Quality for single student. Further seasons of teaching should vary this. :wink: