Character Creation for ROFROF (OOC)

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: The Heir of Laimunt Valley
21

Bound to Magic is actually even more severe than I remembered:

So a character who spend even two months ("most of a season") outside a 5+ aura would have to make the Stamina roll.

So reducing the strength of the aura and changing the duration ("must live in a 3+ aura half the year") would be diluting the flaw twice.

I'm not saying it is too much dilution, but I am asking if it is. To you first, but also to the troupe. Does that sound like a malediction sufficiently severe compared to similar (supernatural) minor flaws?

I understand this is something that is part of your character concept.. I'm just looking for the correct balance for a minor flaw.

I like what you've done with the concept so far. :slight_smile:

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22

My wording is bad though - I meant the wording for Bound to Magic with : if it spends most of a season outside such an aura, but for Aura 3+; so the only thing that would be lessened would be Aura strength

23

That's much clearer! Works for me when described that way. :smiley:

24

Cool cool, I will choose another flaw instead of Nocturnal, and choose spells, then start her 10years post -gauntlet.

25

Post the results just out of Gauntlet first, please. That way we can find any problem before you invest a lot of time describing her activities after Gauntlet.

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26

So more like Compulsion (acting courteously)? She may hate someone and want to kill him, but she'll act with courtesy regardless? And if he yields, she won't kill him even though she knows he'll cause problems later on?

27

It could also be Dutybound, if she would like to act otherwise but feels compelled to act that way (protect the honor of her House, and so on).

28

I see it as the first example - a personal code of courteous conduct like the knights and troubadours of Provence.

which I have then called "Courteous" as a minor personality flaw - I think that works ok?

29

Take a look at the Code of Garus (Hermetic chivalry) on p.15 of HoH:S. There that classifies as Dutybound or Higher Purpose if taken seriously as a Personality Flaw.

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30

Read it, and like most of it, though it does seem it is also against deceit and to "always" speak the truth, which is probably too far from a hermetic ambassador that would need to do a bit of wheeling and dealing.

I will read up on Provencal knighthoods and courtly love, as it is that way I want to take "Courteous"

31

Ya, I didn't think you quite wanted the Code of Garus, but it felt pretty close to what you're after and so I figured it could serve as a good model to work from.

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32

Spells

Aquam

Break the Oncoming Wave ReAq10

Cloak of the Duck's Feathers ReAq5

Comfort of the Drenched Traveler PeAq5

Darts of Ice Cr(Re)Aq 15, as Dagger of Ice (HoH:Societates p.35) except it creates several smaller darts that all hit the same target, and Range: Sight

Floor of Slippery Ice CrAq5
R: Touch, D: Concentration, T: Individual
This spell creates a smooth layer of ice across the ground in an area surrounding the caster, about 15 feet diameter.
(Base 3 to create ice, +1 Touch, +1 Diameter)

Mighty Torrent of Water CrAq20

Sculpt the Frozen Statue CrAq20

R: Voice, D: Sun, T: Individual
The target is surrounded in ice, potentially encasing the target. Enveloped targets may attempt to break free, see Shackles of Frozen Ice (ReAq20, HoH:S p.35).
(Base 3 to create ice, +2 Voice, +2 Sun, +1 Individual)

Touch of the Pearls InAq 5

Wall of Winter CrAq20

R: Sight, D: Diameter, T: Individual
This spell creates an ice wall with sharp and pointed barbs along one side. The sides of the wall are 8 feet high, and the wall can be up to 40 feet long, and 2 feet deep (ca. 650cubic feet). The caster may choose the shape of the barrier when cast.
(Base 4 to create ice in an unnatural shape, +3 Sight, +1 Diameter)

Imaginem

Personal Aura of Ennobled Presence MuIm 5, as Aura of Ennobled Presence with R: Personal

White Rose of Deceit MuIm 10

R: Touch, D: Diameter, Target: Individual

Changes the species of a handheld object up to the size of a scroll case, so it appears to be a longstemmed, beautiful white rose in bloom. The object would still be able to fulfill its purpose, such as hold a liquid if it were a cup, stab if it were a knife, though this would look very odd and would immediatedly break the suspense.

(Base 3 [Visual, Tactile and Olfactory], +1 R, +1 D)

33

Interesting spells. :slight_smile:

A few details and questions.

Works mechanically, but I would note that the icicle from Dagger of Ice is only 1 foot long. Should several smaller pieces of ice be able to do as much damage? Usually, in Ars, a smaller attack medium results in less damage. I know that this probably just aesthetics.

How thick is the ice? Is there ice created under the caster or is there a hole in which she stands?

Why is this T:Part? You are essentially creating the ice around a specific person or object, so this should be T:Ind.

If the (small-t) target is larger than Size +1, then only a part of the target will be covered.

I'm not sure how much volume an Individual amount of ice represents, so you may need an added magnitude for size.

Base 3 is for creating ice in a natural shape. A wall is not a natural shape, so you need another magnitude added.

Again, how large is an Individual amount of ice? This spell creates 240 cubic feet of ice, so is +1 magnitude for size enough?

D:Sun should be +2, not +1.

34

I would say the darts are purely aesthetical, and I merely changed the description for a visual result I prefer more.

Floor of Slippery Ice: with a size +1 and a 15feet diameter I would about 3 inches thick? And yes I imagined a hole for the maga's position.

Sculpt the Frozen Statue: yes T: should be individual – I think up to size+1 is adequate for now.

Wall of Winter: I would argue there are similarities here and with Wall of Protecting Stone (core p153). : Makes a wall of granite up to 25 paces wide, 4 paces high, and 1 pace thick

Now a pace is 30inches or 76cm, whereas I used Feet. 1 pace = 2,5 feet, meaning the Stone wall is 60 feet wide, 10 feet high and 2,5feet thick; the base individual for Terram with stone is 1 cubic pace or 2,5 cubic feet; maybe more than the base 3 for creating ice with Aquam – though I don't see Ice as being a more sophisticated medium than stone?

Anyway – I would say that the +2 size for the wall of stone is adequate for that size, but my +1 is adequate for my Wall of Winter with its measurements.

Also the stone wall from core does not add +1 for complexity or unnaturalness in terms of creating stone in a wall shape, so I would also argue that creating ice in a wall shape is not unnatural and does not need added magnitudes.

Also the wall of stone does not add +1 for flexibility of size, so I should probably drop that (or add it to size to make a wall of ice comparable in size to the wall of stone).

Though I will contend that the jagged side of the ice wall should probably be "normal" if I don't want to add magnitudes for that.

White Rose: Yes true – contemplating just having it diameter duration.

35

I'm not sure it works mechanically. You'd need Group for lots of smaller darts. You could create a huge number with Group, though. But the mechanics are the same for Individual, so it doesn't really matter in the end.

Arthur is correct. You need Individual or Group for such creation of ice or anything else.

I don't know if this would be "water" or a naturally occurring variant of water:

A base Individual for Aquam is a pool of water about five paces (fifteen feet) across, and two paces deep at the center. Naturally occurring liquids, such as fruit juice or olive oil, have a base Individual one-tenth the size, about two paces across and about one deep.

36

If we go with an Individual of ice being the same volume as an Individual of water, Base 3 is basically the same for water and ice. However, Base 3 is for water/ice in a natural shape. Base 4 would be needed for water/ice in an unnatural shape (like a wall), but there would be no need for an additional magnitude for size.

The shaping may require a Finesse roll for fancy positioning or shape.

37

Read up on cubic feet of pools with the pace sizes given as size: individual for Aquam, I will readjust tomorrow.

38

Checked earlier. An individual of Aquam is a pond about 5 paces in diameter and 2 paces deep. I use 1 pace = 3 feet, so the volune is: pi * 15 feet * 6 feet, which is roughly 282 cubic feet.

It might actually be a bit less, is we see a pond as a bowl shape instead of a straight cylinder.

39

When I used half an oblate spheroid (2π a^2b/3) for the first and a hemisphere for the rest it worked out reasonably. Well, all except the corrosive one, for which an erratum was issued after I pointed it out.

water: 26 cubic paces
natural liquid: 2.1 cubic paces
processed liquid: 0.26 cubic paces

I'd ballpark them as 25, 2.5, and 0.25 cubic paces; or 650, 65, and 6.5 cubic feet.

40

You're calculating the surface area of a cylinder, leaving off the end caps. That's not what you want.