Character Creation for StephenFleetwood (OOC)

Year 6

Spring

I am going to travel back to the Rhine. I should, honestly, never have left. So it is time to charter a ship, and begin to travel back across the world. I hate travelling, and I feel like I should make some sort of item to make it more convenient, quicker and cheaper. However, the list of things I wish to enchant is getting longer and longer, but these labs I hire are usually so disappointing that I find myself waiting again. I must eventually find myself a covenant, where I can build a lab and specialise it to my own needs. So, I travel to the shore, hire a boat back to Lubeck, which is fortunately enough of a common destination to make it much easier, and then take myself down river.

I am heading to Triamore, as it is close to the where I am, close to the river and has a reputation of being thoroughly welcoming to visitors, and in need of new members. Perhaps here I will find a home in which I am comfortable, so I have sent a letter ahead of me and been accepted, but they have asked I bring a book which I can contribute to their library in exchange for my time in the covenant. As such I am in negotiation to buy a book from my current hosts to give away when I arrive.

The boat is uncomfortable, and unsurprisingly neither the crew not the other passengers really want to speak to me. I settle down and read an honestly solid tractatus that I purchased from my previous hosts. Now I am reading it, I can see why they were charging a surcharge to part with it. Still, I am cooped up below deck, so I might as well do what I can. I now am the proud owner, albeit briefly, of “the four realms, six interactions”.

Read quality 10 tractatus on magic theory while travelling on boats.

Gain 10+5 magic theory xp

Gain a quality 10 tractatus on magic theory

Lose 1 pawn of perdo vis and 2 pawns of animal vis as a quick sale

Summer

I have arrived in Triamore, and they have been extremely welcoming to me. Almost suspiciously so, but I am certainly not going to complain. I have asked for my right as a peregenetor, and they have accepted. In lieu of usual payment in vis, I have offered to pay with the book I recently purchased. It was at best a fleeting part of my life, but I have learned its lessons, so the loss is minimal.

I was greeted by the most interesting magus I believe I have ever met, Remi, follower of Jerbiton. He seems to be a polymath that is at least a journeyman of nearly every area I have imagined. I wonder how he finds time to learn magic! The only area where we ended up in a fierce debate was on the matter of the Faerie realm. He seems to despise the faerie for being faerie, and was visibly disappointed when he found out that I was part faeirie and had a faerie friend. Thinking back on it, it seems like this is a position of the Jerbiton house as a whole.

I notice, however, that the actual leader of the covenant is not speaking much to me. I suspect there is a chance that she has put the most interesting member of the covenant in my path to make me feel more welcome. I must confess, it is working.

But enough of my charming companion, I have work to attend to. A lifetime of work to attend to! I think it is time to use the famously excellent library here. I am entirely tired of being in danger whenever I go seeking for new lore. So I want to be able to enchant an item to cast something akin to the pilium of fire. I know I have survived thus far by sending arrows at my foes, but that will not be sufficient if I face a real opponent. However, as potent as the ignem art is in fighting foes, I know literally nothing of the art at all. Fortunately, the covenant has a primer on the art of ignem, and I have been able to convince Sicero to allow me access for this season. So, I am settling down with “the fundaments of ignition” a function but slightly uninspiring primer on ignem. While this is happening, I am negotiating to use some books for next year, where I can learn from more than a simple primer. The covenant is asking what I am provided to provide for exchange, and I have come to the conclusion that I think I could write a book on behalf of the covenant.

Read a primer on ignem l5, q15

Autumn

Remi has asked something of me and whilst I would normally be loathe to accept a duty given to my hosts after I had paid them for my presence, but since it is something that I would benefit from, and they have asked me in such a kindly tone. I know I should probably resist more, but the covenant has a tutor they have teach some basic latin and literacy for their custos. Remi claims that they can find the time for him to teach me to teach. I suspect there is some ulterior motives in this, in that I suspect I am going to be asked to teach some members of the covenant later. This may be a way of paying for my time here though, so it could help with my current vis poverty. On this matter, the covenant has said the cost for this tuition would be a pawn of vis, but that they would generously hold this in abeyance against future earnings.

The tutor is a man named Samuel, and it appears he has been cast out of the general community of scholars because he is a heretic. I must confess, when he explained the nature of his disagreement with the church I found it extremely difficult to parse out the differences from his position and heterodoxy. It was, however enough for him to have to flee the prince-archbishopric of Cologne.

Still, while he tried to convince me of the importance of the divisibility of Christ’s physical body and his divine soul, and how his ability to weep separates the two, I was a little baffled. Fortunately, I was eventually able to get him to the topic of how to teach. Since he had intended to make a living teaching Latin to the sons of aristocracy and the like, it is an area has had some talent and experience in.

While this is going on, I am spending some of my evenings writing so that when the redcaps arrive, I can start to look for paying work as a verditious. My magical power is growing to the point where I am not ashamed to offer my services as an enchanter, and it would mean I could afford to pay for the access to the master’s library or other services.

Gain 15 xp in teaching from a teacher.

Winter

It is time to attend again upon the spider court. I prepared myself to travel to the entry port, which is going to be moving through the deep forests of the Rhine. I am lead, again, by Spinnerbienne who seems to know the path at all times. I would be more suspicious of this, but I suppose the spider knowing the way to the spider court does make sense.

The arrival to the spider court is more impressive the second time. Partly this is because, as Spinnerbienne informed me entirely too late, because it is hosted in a different, larger, regio this time. Apparently this is part of the travelling courts of the spiders. The spider queen and wiollow-covered-in-webs have learned from the mortal monarchs around them to progress their court around the land that they are controlling, as is the want of the fae queen. It does mean, that I am welcomed to an entirely new location. There is a ritual here, of different sizes and splendour of courts. I am told my first meeting was a relatively small one, and that the power and grandeur wax and wane over the years of meeting.

The court this time is under the boughs of an enormous tree. The tree was awakened, but did not speak during the court. Despite this it was to be always addressed as a high and honoured noble. This was particularly strange, as I am not sure if it was the queen’s sense of etiquette as she apes the ways of human courts or the pride of the tree itself which demanded this. However, upon arriving, I was introduced officially to my “host” and then the spell to turn me into a spider was woven over me once more. This time at least it required the lowering of my parma magica, so some progress at least.

Having been transformed into my spider “self”, I find I am at least more able to handle the strange form this time. However, I have apparently gained some extra significance in the spider court, which means I must be able to claim a title of some sort. I understand now why Heinrich has claimed he is a baron of the spider court. It seems that the court likes to give humans titles, probably in an attempt to gain some sort of sustenance. In a moment’s notice, I asked for the title of Weaver. That seems to have gone down well, as weaver is an important part of the lore of spiders, so I chose well. Before I could take the part, however, I was required to prove that I deserved the title.

So, in an example of history repeating itself, I was set to weave something against a fae. Sometimes I worry that I am under some sort of curse that these things seem to happen to me. Then I remember that the story of a weaver is to be challenged in weaving. With a heavy heart, it was time to take to the weaving again. I found that I was able to weave something of greater beauty than approximately half of the weavers of the court. Losing to a fae is a humiliation that I am not happy with, but it did at least gain me the title of Journeyman Weaver of the court of spiders. I was adorned with a whsp of intricately woven spider web that I could immediately tell was laden with vis and then proclaimed to the court.

Once I had found my place in the court, Spinnerbienne was overjoyed. Apparently, this is what he has been “training” me for, for all these years and he has gained some status by my close association. He is now urging me to learn that I may gain a rank of master in later courts. I am happy to have so delighted my friend and tolerate his claims that I learned all I know from him, though I suspect my Pater would be less than happy to have seen me nod and agree. Indeed though it prickled my pride I managed to largely stop myself correcting the small faerie who has been my companion.

He did prove his use and loyalty again by managing my introduction to many different spiders, both faerie and magical in the court. Of particular interest is another weaver of the court who is a magical spider. She is one of the intelligent creatures, who spoke to me at length of her plans and ambitions for her time in the court. I was surprised to find a beast of virtue with such schemes, but it seems the influence of the queen has gathered many unusual creatures.

Over my time in the court I found myself spending more and more time with this creature, who assures me she has a name, just she is unwilling to give it to a magician without knowing me better. This small distrust aside, I find her fascinating. She is sly and ambitious and seems to be interested in my ambitions and plans for my life as a magus. She was especially interested when I spoke about how my family were seeking to find immortality, and I may have revealed more than I intended.

It is flattering to have someone so willing to listen to one’s own dreams, I confess, so I was more than willing to seek out her company at court and Her, Spinnerbienne and I formed a trio for much of the winter. When the time of the court was coming to an end, she asked if she could accompany me to experience the life of a magus I had described, and to see what I was like when I was returned to my natural form. I agreed, being loathe to end a friendship which I had so recently made. Eventually, I took my leave of the court, having negotiated its intricacies for another five years.

Low adventure xp = 5xp faerie sympathy “weaver” 0->1

Gain a magical animal who is suitable to be a familiar

Gain 3 warping for the transformation into a spider power

Gain 2 creo vis and 1 animal vis in the tokens of the court

Year summary

Lost 3 pawns of vis
gained a q10 summa on magic theory
lost a q10 summa on magic theory
Gained 15 xp in teaching taking it from 0->2
Gained 5 xp in faerie sympathy "weaving" 0->1
Gained 2 pawns creo 1 pawn animal vis
Gained a familiar grade magic creature spider companion
Gain 15 xp in ignem, taking it from 0->5

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A minor detail, but Triamore's leader at the time would be Ulesterius of Jerbiton, an older magus. Daria la Gris only becomes the leader of the covenant a few years after the start date of this saga (which is 1205).

You forgot the 10 xp gained from reading the Magic Theory tractatus (+5 xp from affinity).

I will add the seasons xp. Thanks. As to the wrong leader of the covenant, it just changes who I am casting as the villain :slight_smile:

Crossing paths with Placidus:
This could happen at the tribunal of 1200, or in one of the summer seasons 1201, or 1202.
my character might even spend his last three peregrinator labs at Triamore.

I appear to have missed the tribunal, so maybe the last few years instead?

I am planning to be on the outs with trianmores leadership by then so maybe we could decide to join the covenant together?

Note that the magus whose legacy is used to create the covenant, Leonardus of Jerbiton, was a member of Triamore until 1196 when he disappeared into Twilight.

Clusius also lived in Triamore for a few years. He arrived in the Spring of 1201 and left to establish the covenant in Fall 1204. You can take a look at what he was doing while in Triamore (and see a few seasons when he was elsewhere) in his Personal Journals.

That would be a good opportunity to establish a link to the covenant, which would explain the attraction of joining it.

Great! I will have a look.

Sorry for the delay, but I am trying to stay my familiar.

What season should a grog familiar be?

Should they be magic might 9- size

Can I have a size -3 ish spider familiar? If they are size -9 or -10, that's a lot of magic might

Grog-level familiars should be either Spring or Summer season, with the most likely being Spring.

You can find a familiar of whatever Size you wish. Magic Might of 9 - Size is the maximum for a grog-level familiar. You can choose a lower Might.

Why would you select a lower Might? Because the Might of your familiar will determine how easy it is for it to gain experience (RoP:M p.52):

Magic characters can accumulate and spend experience points just like normal human characters, save for one important limitation: the character’s Might Score is always subtracted from its Advancement Total.

Thanks! Shes a spring level character then :slight_smile:

Year 7

I have returned “home” to Triamore, with my friends in tow. The first thing I noticed when I returned to my human self was that my new spider friend is, at the size of a cat, rather larger than I would usually expect a spider to be! I commented about this to her, and she seemed to preen and take it as a compliment. I think I will be alarming some of the more squeamish of my sodales and covenant folk. I also reckon upon gaining a reputation as a spider magus that I am not sure I am going to be able to support.

The travel through the forest back to the covenant was relatively uneventful, thankfully. The main thing which is interesting in the circumstances is we did come across some pilgrims walking along a road and all was well. It was not long after that they saw my new friend and declared it a “demon spider” and began to abjure me. I left before I could cause any more distress or they could cause me issues. I must confess though it did lead to some merriment around my hastily constructed campfire that evening, and the conversation between a man and two spiders would probably have scared the poor pilgrims even more.

Spring:

Now I have returned to Triamore, it is time for me to pay my dues to the covenant. I have decided this year to pay in time of service. While the covenant would like me to teach them about magic theory some day, the covenant's magi would not have been available to learn this season, apparently. As such it is spring and it is time for the growth of many things, including the vis of the covenant. I have been asked to go and help the grogs to harvest some vis sources on behalf of the covenant.

Things began reasonably well, with the first source being a quite easy to find source collecting gems at a perfect site of exposed quartz at the edge of a river. A small bit of mining on behalf of the grogs and some terram vis went into my bag.

The next site however was more challenging. The vis was particular virtuous rabbits which were born in a certain vale which had a strong magical aura. The plan was simple, we would go there and I would identify the rabbits, the grogs would hunt it and all would be well. Unfortunately, however, there seemed to be a great faerie boar who had come into the area to prey on said fecund rabbits.

Again, my sodales, I am no war mage. I was unsure I would succeed in a battle between myself and the ravening beast. I thought there was every chance that if I sought to contend with it I would be consumed. Fortunately, I know how faeries work, and sought out local stories. It seems the porcine ravager was unreasonably hungry and would eat whatever was put before it.

I learned something today, oh my brothers. If you have few other ideas, you can cast a spell to summon a pile of appples which will disappear at nightfall with only some skill in creo and herbam. If you are desperate and short of other ideas, then you can do it over and over again, resting between each spell for a spell to allow the pain and weariness to pass. You can, and I know this because I did. Over and over again, until you have a huge pile of them, and you have also had some spells go vastly wrong.

The boar ate the apples, and promptly fell asleep. We gathered the rabbits, though I confess that was more the skill of the grogs than mine and fled before night fell and the apples disappeared, making the beast wake from its sudden hunger. We heard it raging as we fled, but were by then long gone.

When I told the tale, the covenant made a plan to move the faerie out of the covenant vis source before next year, and thanked me for my service. Since it seemed dangerous, I was also given some of the vis from the last few sources to compensate me for my troubles.

Gained 6xp in creo

Gained 4 xp in faerie lore

Gained 2 warping

Gained 2 creo and 1 animal vis

Summer:

My dues are paid and my time is once again my own. My spider companion seems to think that she will consent to becoming my familiar, and so it is time for me to prepare for the binding of the familiar bond. I think as a spider, she will bind with creo and animal. I think I should do some more work before the binding, however. I am going to learn more creo magic, and have secured the access I require to a fund summa. While it as not a good as the one I read before, “platonic forms and perfection” is a serviceable book, and one which close to my own interests. I settle down to read, and my companion tells me that while she is willing to wait for a more perfect union, she is not willing to wait forever. Somehow I feel like a suitor whose love is setting ultimatums.

Read L12 q 15 book

Gain 15 xp in creo

Autumn:

It is time for me to perform the binding. I think I know enough to make a bond which is good enough for myself and my friend. I have never performed such a complex act of magic in my life, and I find that I am eager to try spells of similar complexity in future. During the process, my familiar told me her true name, and we agreed Spindra as the name that we would use to refer to her in public.

I have also received a letter from our pater, my brothers and sisters, which commanded me as the patron of our cult to be ready to attend upon him as he has found some sort of discovery. Has he also told you to meet him in Wien in spring?

He has also told me to source two rooks of vis in mentem or creo and work towards as much mentem magic as I can learn in a few years. I wonder where in Christendom he expects me to find such an incredible amount of vis, and what he has planned. Has he demanded such things of you?

Perform the familiar bond on the magic spider found last year.

Creo (spider makes webs, is a creo creature) 11

Animal (she is an animal) 5

Magic theory 8+2

Int 3

Aura 3

Inventive genius 3

Total = 35

Cost = 7 animal vis

Bonds:

Gold +2

Silver+1

Bronze +2

Gained 2+1 experience in magic theory

Winter:

It is wonderful to have Spindra as my familiar! I would never have expected how different it felt! Along with spinnerbienne, I am now never lonely, as I am always surrounded by friends who feel close to a family to me. I know you all have your own familars, so almost certainly this comes as no news to you, but just like every callow youth who falls in love for the first time and declares he has experienced it as no other person has, I am enjoying the effect of the familiar bond.

Spindra is, however, openly wondering what other mighty magics I could perform on her behalf. She has been asking me about what I can do with hermetic magic and how it could benefit her. I admit I am shamelessly encouraging her, because it is casing her to ask me for a basic introduction into magic theory, a topic I find of enormous interest and also one which it will be helpful in future if she knows.

Realising I am working towards a season of teaching her magic theory, I remember my promise to the covenant and offer to take an additional student to pay off my pawn’s debt and for forgiveness of some of next year’s cost of being a guest of the covenant. They seem happy enough with this arrangement.

So, my first personal experience of teaching is myself, a master magus and my familiar in a room for a season. It goes well enough and (magus) says I am an acceptable teacher. I think, however (she) was restrained from being more vocal in my skills because she resents being taught by a mere journeyman less than a decade in from their apprenticeship. I was able to command enough vis from her to send off to purchase a good tractatus on magic theory to allow me to pay for my way as a visitor next year.

Gained 2 xp in practice teaching

Gained 4 pawns of vis,

paid one off for last years teacher immediately

paid 3 pawns for a quality 13 tractatus

Teaching quality

3(basic) +2(teaching) +1(speciality in magic theory)+ 2(communication)+6 (good teacher) +3 (two students)

=quality 17 source for my students.

Xp gain for familiar = 17 – (12 (magic might)) = 5 xp

I have charged 4 pawns for this as

  • you said 4-10 pawns for us to pay for similar
  • I am towards the higher end of the range of teaching quality you included
  • They are getting the bonus for 2 students (as you said with combining with the season they teach their apprentice)

Totals:

Gained 6xp in creo

Gained 4 xp in faerie lore

Gain 15 xp in creo

Gained 2 xp in practice teaching

Gained 2+1 experience in magic theory

Gained 1+0.5 xp magic theory correspondence

Gained 2 creo and 1 animal vis

Gained 4 pawns of vim vis,

Gained 2 warping

paid one off one pawn for last year’s teacher

paid 3 pawns for a quality 13 tractatus on magic theory (not arrived yet)

Paid 7 pawns of animal vis

Gained a familiar with Bonds:

Gold +2

Silver+1

Bronze +2

I think a senior magus or maga would find it unacceptable to pay 4 pawns of vis for a teacher and not be the only student. This should be considered a season of service in place of the yearly payment in vis.

You appear to be trying to work around the guidelines here, and gain multiples advantages from a single season (vis, book, xp for your familiar). :frowning:

EDIT:

You did not have two seasons during which you gained xp in Magic Theory, so you cannot gain 2 xp from correspondence (it is 1 xp per season).

You did not have two seasons during which you gained xp in Magic Theory, so you cannot gain 2 xp from correspondence (it is 1 xp per season).

Perfectly correct, I will edit it down.

I think a senior magus or maga would find it unacceptable to pay 4 pawns of vis for a teacher and not be the only student. This should be considered a season of service in place of the yearly payment in vis.
You appear to be trying to work around the guidelines here, and gain multiples advantages from a single season (vis, book, xp for your familiar). :frowning:

This however, I would like to make a small push back on.
First of all, the vis immediately paid for a book, which in turn was going to be a covenant service for next year, so it is essentially me doing my covenant service for a year, just made a tiny bit more thematic and admittedly getting some xp on my familiar. But also you said:

  • . Teachers have a Teaching Source Quality of 6 to 12, plus the bonus for single-student teaching. Magi charge a very high price for teaching another magus for a season (the equivalent of 4 to 10 pawns of vis).

Marcus has a teaching source of 14 for magic theory, two higher than the maximum total possible in the rules, and he is charging the absolute minimum it is possible to charge, by the economy you proposed. That deal is honestly excellent. You also said

And they might combine that teaching with the season when they teach their own apprentice.

Which is similar if not identical to combining with a apprentice. So marcus is giving the rock bottom price for near top service and using the caveat that you included and pointed out people should not assume 1:1 tuition consistantly, especially not with high end tutors (in plot device's thread, I think, though not certain).

If I am able to insist on 1:1 tuition with a source quality of 14 for 4 pawns of vis, then I know what some of my future seasons will be spent in, because that is 20 xp a season!

Source Quality is an out-of-character artifice for the benefice of the players; npcs cannot guess what your talent as a teacher is, except based on your reputation or past experience. You have no such fame at the moment. You are also teaching a more senoir maga of your hosting covenant, after said covenant provided you a teacher at a reduced rate. The maga would percieve your decision of sharing that season's teaching between her and your familiar as 1) an insult to her, and 2) cheating her out of part of the agreed upon season of teaching. Would Marcus risk that with Daria La Gris of House Tremere, the leader of the covenant (since you didn't name the maga, I just do so now)? And if you did, what do you think the consequences would be? That's the in-character part of the issue.

From an out-of-character balance perspective, you are trying to achieve too many things at once for a single season. If you want to teach your familiar, do so. If you want to pay your peregrinator fee to Triamore, do so. If you want to fulfill your agreement to teach a magus, do so. If you want to earn vis, do so. But trying to do all of those things in the same season looks like trying to "game" the narrative advancement guidelines to get the maximum benefits out of a season. Don't do that, please!

I'd also like to see stats for Spindra.

Okay, I will do it as a season's work, then, meaning I am a year ahead on my payments for work in the covenant.

Can I also get a cost 2 vis tutor for my familiar like @Pralix did?

Yes, a tutor for Spindra is possible, although the availability of someone who knows Magic Theory is much lower at Triamore than Fengheld.

I am still working on character sheet, as I am learning to design powers.

@Arthur can I ask for some help with Spindra in a moment, I am extremely unsure I have done her right. Please give me the benefit of the doubt here, and do not jump to the assumption I am trying to game the system, or cheat, I am flagging this as probably not done correctly and an area where I am weak, mechanically.

Characteristics
Intelligence +2
Perception +1
Strength -6 (0)
Stamina -1
Presence 0
Communication 0
Dexterity +2
Quickness 4 (1)
Size -3

I think I build the stats as if they were a human and then do the size adjustment?

Virtues
Magic animal (free)
Essential nature (Precise) (minor)
Rhine Regio network (minor)
Apt student (minor)
Flaws
Magical friend (minor)
Ambitious (minor)
Slow power (grant puissance) (minor)
Magic qualities
Personal power (minor)
Focus power (spider webs)(Major)
Improved abilities (minor)
Improved abilities (minor)
Improved powers(Minor)
Gift of speech (minor)
Minor power (minor)

Thinking behind these: Magic might 9 before size gives 9 points of powers to spend.

Major focus power on spider webs:
To allow her to use rego animal powers to weave spiderweb into things and use it as a resource. The improved power will probably be spent here.

Using it as Crafter of Animal

Personal power
To allow her to climb everything. I think I can make a minor power stretch far enough on a rego animal power to let her climb anywhere, though I still have to make this.

Minor power:

Using the example from the book again, I think grant puissance in weaving is not unreasonable for a spider weaver. I know it relates to my character pretty strongly, but isn't that natural in a familiar?

Gift of speech
She canonically could speak to Marcus in the times they met.

Improved abilities (minor) x2
Partly filling out and partly so I can buy more skills. I don't think there is a super strong argument for this here.