Character Creation for Red-Shadow-Claws

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: The Heir of Laimunt Valley
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Autumn 1199
After being cooped up in Irencilla for two seasons, Celeste started loosing her mind. Her dead mother's ghost was urging her to leave, but her sense of gratitude for the Magi of Irencilla for teaching her to use magic told her she needs to listen, if only because she couldn't afford to be thrown out of the House. She heard the tales of some Magi acting against their House and getting kicked out, and it frankly scared her.
But she was growing desperate, and so, with great trepidation, she turned to talk to Vinaria, to see if there's anything she can do that will grant her the chance to leave, and track down her mother's killer.
She has been warned by Lambert that Vinaria was an accomplished social schemer, but she had no idea how well of a schemer she was, and frankly, she's still not sure.
She left that meeting with the promise that she will be allowed to leave Irencilla, if she did but 'one tiny service'... But that task proved to stretch her skill and talents. She was sworn to secrecy by Vinaria, to not speak about it, and even consented to have a spell cast on her to prevent such an action, at least until 10 years have passed.
And then she was told to go explore a small regio near the border of the covenant.
Eager to complete this 'minor' task, Celeste gathered up some things, and went to notify Lencor that she will be gone for a bit, acting on orders from high up. The caricature then pestered her with questions, but she was unable to answer them, partly since she didn't know the answers, and partly since Vinaria's spell prevented her from doing so.
Admant not to let her go into an unknown regio by herself, Lencor made it clear that he's coming with her. And so they set out to the regio after night fell. Vinaria has given her an enchanted rope that would allow her to travel to and from the regio, but warned her that it only has two charges left, so she should be careful.
In some ways, Celeste was happy that she couldn't talk about it, because it was a harrowing experience. While it seemed to be a Faerie regio, she couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't true. Inside it she encountered quite a few ghosts of people who were murdered in various gruesome ways, but no Faerie seemed to reside there, and at one point, defending her from an angry ghost, Lencor was scarred by the ghost, and seemed to have lost some of his Might.
After some further investigation, and a judicious use of her spells, she was able to set some of the ghosts to rest, but some seemed to resist her spells. Deep in the regio she found what looked like a sacrificial altar, with a blood-stained dagger on it. But once she approached it, her mother's ghost started screaming warnings at her, and from the maddening panic, she barely managed to grab the dagger before she left the regio, sobbing, with Lencor in tow.
After coming out, she curled up sobbing, with Lencor wrapping himself around her to comfort her.
When she awoke, an unknown time later, she was still clutching the dagger, her mother's ghost was calm once more, but Lencor's appearance changed drastically. He has become her caricature, and was now in the shape of a massive mastiff.
She made her way to report to Vinaria what she found out, her faithful Lencor by her side, and in return was given a Corpus Root to read for the Winter, and a promise that after she has read it, she will be given a lab text for a spell that will allow her to leave.

Adventure Experience: 8 (4 Perdo, 4 Penetration)

Winter 1199
After her ordeal in the regio, Celeste spent most of her time with Lencor by her side, an ever companion, but it also made her determined to leave this covenant, and so she poured herself into reading the Corpus Root that she received.
Halfway through reading it, she found hidden inside it's pages a dried hibiscus, which she kept, finding it a strange memento to leave in a book, but it did look beautiful.

Study Experience: 18 (L6Q21 Corpus Root)

22

For a brief moment I thought that she was going to use one charge for herself and one for Lenor, getting trapped in the regio.

Curious about the regio and the dagger!

23

Some of the things I'll be writing about will not get resolved, partly to leave story hooks for future stories, and partly because we don't always get to close every loose end in life, and why should our characters be different?

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Spring 1200
After deepening her knowledge of the art of Corpus, Celeste finally opens up the lab text she got from Vinaria, and discovered a spell that would allow her to change her location, up to 50 paces away, as long as she can see it.
While a part of her had hoped for a spell that allowed greater range, it was adequate enough to allow her to travel outside, and that was enough. Besides, she knew that while she learned a lot on Corpus, it still wasnā€™t much, and she would eventually be able to make a similar spell with greater range. And so, she set out to research the spell, using the lab text as a guide, making faster progress than she could otherwise.
And as she was working on it, Lencor was always by her side. He couldnā€™t do much to help her in the lab, but whenever she took a break, he was there to tell her stories, and to show her some nooks in the covenant, that even as a child, she didnā€™t find.

Spell Research: Step Sideways (ReCo15)

Summer 1200
Finally able to leave the covenant, Celeste packs her bags, and her lab texts, and goes off, able to finally see the world beyond the walls of Irencilla. Unsure of what she will find, but knowing that in order to discover more about the dagger, and what happened to her mother, she decides that itā€™s time to go meet Ferra, in the hopes that she can learn more spells from her, and to fulfill her previous bargain.
It is a strange world outside, and she is shocked at how different it is than life at Irencilla, and there are times when she regrets seeing how life is outside, but she has Lencor to keep her company, and to provide comfort.
The road to Collen Leonis is long, and treacherous, for a lone Maga, but thankfully, between her charm, her ability to change into a male form, Mentem magic, and Lencor, she is able to evade or avoid most problems.
But itā€™s only when she reaches Frankfurt, that she meets a redcap by the name of Beatrix. Happy to finally see someone from the Order, they had a good dine at the best place in Frankfurt, and then she learned that Ferra has gone into Twilight. Devastated by these news, she asked Beatrix if she knew of any other Magi that has a reputation of dealing with the dead, or one skilled in Corpus.
Beatrix tells her the names of several Magi she knows with some measure of skill in Corpus, but tell her that she doesnā€™t know what spells they know, so cannot be sure they can be of use, but itā€™s more of a direction than she had, and Celeste convinces her to send her a message when Ferra returns from Twilight.
And so, the closest covenant is Durenmar, where a magi named Lamberto resides, but one of the bigger appeals, to Celeste, is the Durenmar library, though she is well aware that itā€™s unlikely she will be given free access to it.
And so, she goes into the wilds, looking for Vis sources, or anything else she might find that might grant her access to Durebnat, and the ability to stay there for at least a year.

Adventure Experience: 5 xp in Area Lore: Rhine Tribunal, 2 xp in Mentem

Autumn 1200
Shortly before Autumn 1200, Celeste finds herself at the entrance to Durenmar. It is her first time in another Domus Magna, and the differences between it and irencilla are striking. She presents herself, and is allowed to stay at a guest house, for a while, so that she hass time to settle her Peregrinatores status. She sends word to Lamberto, that she is looking for him, and when he responds at the eve of Autumn, she finds a dwarf magi, who is quite suspicious of her, and is reluctant to hear her out. But her natural charm, and her words finally convince him to hear her out.
Understanding that he cannot grant her a guest status, with the full access to the library it entails, she strikes a deal with him, that she will perform a service to him, and he will teach her a spell that will help her.
Initially she wanted to learn two spells, but since one is an InCo and the other an InMe, and it would take two seasons to be taught them, which means two seasons of service, she settles on just being taught The Inexorable Search.
And so, he sends her to a haunted cave, about 30 miles north, to retrieve an arcane connection to the ghost that haunts it. The cave is indeed haunted, but the ghost there isnā€™t powerful enough to be a match to her magic, and she retrieves a piece of the corpse of the ghost, that will serve as an Arcane Connection to it, and hands it to Lamberto. But since their agreement was for her to be taught in Winter, she roams the countryside, so as not to wear her welcome at Durenmar.

Exposure Experience: 2 xp in Mentem

Winter 1200
True to his word, Lamberto teaches her the spell The Inexorable Search. But while heā€™s teaching her, his demeanor changes a bit, and from the cautious and reluctant man, he seems more cheerful, though she has a hard time studying under him since he is adamant that the night serves a better teacher, and seems to be more active at night.
In the time they spend together, he drops hints of greater secrets that can be learnt from the dead, but at the time she is almost oblivious to them.

Spell Research: The Inexorable Search (InCo20)

25

Just wondering why you called your teleportation spell Step Sideways instead of the standard Wizard's Leap.

26

That was the name of one version of it in the Grimoire.

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Spring 1201
But with Durenmar not open to her, Celeste decides that maybe itā€™s time to find another covenant, one more suited to her interests, where she can be a Peregrinatore, with less problems, and one where she may be more free to pursue things.
And so, after consulting with Lamberto, and Lencor, she heads north to Oculus, in Lubeck. Growing up in Irencilla, she is fascinated to see a covenant in a town. Now with a bit of experience under her, the journey is less arduous.
Boris, the redcap, greets her warmly, and offers her lodging at the inn, and she sets up an appointment with Henri de Tours. She presents herself, and her quest to find her motherā€™s murderer, which Henri seems to be indifferent to. Her offers of giving service, or finding vis to pay for a stay in the covenant, and usage of one of their labs seem to amount to nothing, when suddenly, a blond woman enters, and whispers something in his ears, and his demeanor changes, as he seems to regard her differently. The Woman introduces herself as Brunhilda, Henriā€™s wife, and after she leaves, Henri offers her a deal. There has been an increase in the activity of ghosts in Schwerin, about 40 miles to the south-east.
Taking a couple of shield grogs provided by Henri, and Lencor, Celeste makes her wy there to see about the ghost problem. Once there, she finds that for the past year, more and more of those interred in the cemetery, seem to rise as ghosts, despite getting a Christian burial.
After a brief investigation, she discovers that the priest has failed to perform the last rites, not giving some of the people their final rest.
This angers her, because while sheā€™s not Christian, the man was robbing his congregation of his duty, and that was abhorrent to her. And so, she dons her male form, and denounces the priest. This causes a stir in Schwerin, and when news of this travel further, to reach the Bishop, the priest of Schwerin is stripped of his position.
Meanwhile, she does her best to lay to rest many of those ghosts, and manages to acquire a bit of Mentem Vis in the process.
Unbeknownst to her, the local priest, before being stripped of his duties, discovers her secret as a woman, and maga.

Adventure: 5 xp in Mentem. 3 pawns of Mentem Vis.

Summer 1201
After getting a place in Oculus, with a room in Borisā€™ Inn, and the use of a lab one season a year, Celeste finally decides that itā€™s time to get on with her search. She approaches Boris, and gets maps of the area from him. She holds little hope, but she casts the spell on a piece of clothing Lencor tore off a person in town, just to be sure that the spell works.
But what happens next takes her by surprise. She decides to use the spell on the blood on the knife, thinking that even if the person still lives, then heā€™s unlikely to be here in the area, only to find him in an area north of Schwerin, where she was just last season, and he seems to be on the move.
She grabs some things, and Lencor, and heads out to find this person, hoping he might be able to shed some light on what happened at the regio, and who stabbed him.
But when she finally reaches him, he acts erratically, like heā€™s not in full control of his own body, and he nearly overpowers her physically before Lencor manages to tear him off her, suffering a gaping wound himself.
She leaves the man, and with Lencor flees back to Lubeck, to nurse Lencor back to health, her own wounds being superficial.

Adventure: 5 xp in Survival, 3 xp in Corpus

Autumn 1201
Celsete finds it amazing that Oculus has great books on the art of Mentem, which suits her well, but is disappointed when Henri tells her that their books are in use this season, and so she will have to wait for Winter to get a chance to read one of them.
At first Celeste was concerned for Lencor's health, but it seems he heals faster.
And so, she spend the season helping Oculus cultivate it's relations with the mundanes there. Due to her Gentle Gift, it helps, and she spends the season talking to townfolk, to bargain for services the Covenant needs.

Exposure: 2 xp in Charm

Winter 1201
With Winter settling in, Celeste finds her way back to Henri, and this time, he allows her to take one of their Mentem summae books to study for a season. She takes the one titled ā€˜The Ghostly Artā€™, and with Lencor by her side, she studies it, and spends long hours discussing it with him.

Study experience: Mentem Summa L16Q13

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Wait, I'm confused. Can she bind Lencor with her Arts? I was assuming he has the size of a regular human (+0). Can you break down the math for us? Also, with a lab total of 22, what is the vis cost to bind? 4 pawns or 5 pawns?

Humm... If you are going to bind Lencor, maybe it' time to work on his stats?

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You're right, I should do his writeup, and see if she can actually bind him with that Lab Total.

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Lencor
Faerie Might: 5 (Mentem)
Size: +1
Personality: Loyal +3, Reckless +3, Driven +3
Soak: +2
Combat: Bite, Ini +2, Attack +10, Defense +8, Damage +3

Characteristic Score
Intelligence +2
Perception +2
Presence -4
Communication +0
Strength +1
Stamina +0
Dexterity +1
Quickness +2
Virtues Level Type Points Notes
Faerie Beast Minor Supernatural 1
Faerie Sight Minor Supernatural 1
Narrowly Cognizant Free Supernatural 0
Keen Hearing Minor General 1 +3 to hearing
Large Minor General 1 +1 Size
Greater Power (Guide) Major Supernatural 3
Greater Power (Terrifying Howl) Major Supernatural 3
Total 10
Flaws Level Type Points Notes
Poor Presence Minor General 1
Reckless Minor Personality 1
Traditional Wards Minor Supernatural 1 Salt
Susceptible to Deprivation Minor Supernatural 1 Must eat, drink, and breathe
Monstrous Appearance Major Social Reaction 3 -6 to social rolls
Driven Major Personality 3 Seeks to drive humans to adventures
Total 10

General Abilities

Ability Specialty Score XP
High German Storytelling 5 75
Athletics Distance Running 5 75
Awareness Keeping Watch 6 105
Brawl Bite 5 75
Hunt Track by Scent 6 105

Academic Abilities

Ability Specialty Score XP
Artes Liberales Logic 2 15
Power Might Cost Initiative Range Duration Target Level Notes
Guide 3 +3 Voice Conc Group ReMe30 Subtly affect the targets' actions
Terrifying Howl 1 +1 Personal Diamter Hearing ReMe30 Cause overwhelming fear
31

If Lencor is approved, it means the Lab Total to bind him is 40, which means, she's gonna have to wait to bind him as her Familiar, and her Lab Total is actually 25, in Rego Mentem, unless she can add her Faerie Magic, in which case it's 26, So still lots to improve before she can bind him.

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I like a lot the general idea, but i will point a few purely numeric things:

  • He has 485 exp used on abilities. Summer magical creatures have 360 and im not sure if faeries are different than magical creatures here. Are the abilities from the Animal origin free? I just ask here because i dont know ^^! If thats the case, you've used 345 exp points, so you still have 15 exp points free to use.
  • Having a familiar with a base might of 10 will need to search some other player here to play it. Alternatively you can reduce his Might in 1 point.
  • The +1 size from Large doesn't get substracted from the final Might? Im not sure if the important size is the original or the modified one.

On the other hand, apart from the numbers. Was he a caricature from a previous magus right? I would like to know more about his description and in which points had shared features with the other magus :slight_smile:

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Thanks, I must have missed the 360 on Abilities, will have to refigure it, thanks for pointing it out.

I don't mind another player playing him, if anyone is willing to.

As far as i could understand, from the little we have on Caricatures, they change completely, except maybe the caricature of the Primus, between magi, since they are attached to that magi. That said, I don't mind having his Guide power limited in some way to steering people to read books, and go on adventures based on the books they've read, as a power he might have somewhat retained from his previous role.

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Looking at it in RoP:Faerie, it seems that the rule for the starting pretense points (exp points for faeries) is:

The character has a number of Pretense points figured as follows:

Pretense Points: 15* x (average age of magus player characters ā€“ 5) + 120 points

*This multiplier may be changed by the Pretentious or Ostentatious Virtues, or Aloof Flaw, described in the section on Pretenses at this chapterā€™s end.

If the characterā€™s physical form has any inherent Abilities, you must purchase Pretenses for those first. For example, a human being typically begins with Living Language 5 and 45 points in specific Abilities associated with early childhood.
Animals often have a set of required Abilities that represent instinctive behavior for the species.
In Chapter 4: Faerie Bestiary, faeries designed for use as player characters assume that the magi in the campaign are 21 years old, which gives 360 points of Pretences.

So it seems than regular animal skills aren't free :frowning: On the other hand... whats our magi age in this saga? xD I'd say than more than 21 years old for sure, so surely you will have more points to work with.

Sorry, you don't need to change his powers.
I just meant physically. If i understood it correctly, caricatures have some resemblance with the related magus. So i supposed that it should be something visual that you can tell easily.
The Primus has the Queen (leader and leader), Glesig has a troll (underground related maga with a faerie that traditionally cannot see the sun), etc.

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Celeste
Celeste500Ɨ800 63.5 KB

Lencor
Lencor1600Ɨ1066 160 KB

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...
They... they clearly share a beautiful smile and gentle eyes.

Btw, you should read the faerie creation at RoP:Faerie, pg.45 since im seeing some virtues that Lencor should have... for example:

Faerie Beast
Minor Virtue, Supernatural
The character appears to be an animal.
It has all of the advantages of being a faerie, and having a faerie body. The innate limitations of an animal form, such as having no hands and being unable to pronounce human words, may not be taken as Flaws. Faerie beasts that wish to speak like humans may take Language Pretenses, or the Faerie Speech Virtue.

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He does have Faerie Beast

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Im sorry xD I forgot completely when i was looking at it and i gave you a bad example ^^! There are some other virtues/flaws that a faerie needs. In pg.52 you must pick one level of cognizance.

Besides, there are some other things appropiate to him:

Monstrous Appearance
Major Flaw, Social Interaction
Something about the character looks strange and frightening to others, giving the character a ā€“6 penalty in all social situations where its appearance is a factor.

Negative Reaction
Minor Flaw, Social Interaction
People find something about the character disturbing. This causes a ā€“3 on all social rolls. In many communities, all obvious faeries suffer this reaction.

If he has that appearance, i find that one of those (or both) could be good flaws for him.

And you still have a lot of virtues/flaws to pick if you want too (btw, i dont undestand why you have some virtues with 0 points and others with 1... whats the difference?).

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Thanks, i forgot to give him Negative Reaction.

The 2 virtues listed as 0, are because he got them from his Qualities.

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Fairies have Qualities?