All of Trogdor's character creation discussions will take place here. Once a character has been finalized, it will be moved to a separate thread for evolution during play.
I've modified this character slightly to fit this saga. I've marked the differences in red.
Current through: Winter 1199
[size=150]Konrad ex Bonisagus[/size]
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex -2, Qik +1
Size: 0
Age: 25 (25)
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 158 lbs
Gender: Male
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0 (0)
Confidence: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Book Learner, Cautious Sorcerer, Gentle Gift, The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Minor Magical Focus: Self-transformation, Personal Vis Source (Corpus), Puissant Magic Theory*, Puissant Corpus, Puissant Muto, Skilled Parens, Ability Block (Martial), Dependent (nephew), Compassionate (major), Flawed Parma Magic (Mentem), Incompatible Arts (PeAn, PeMe), Unimaginative Learner
Combat:
Dodge: Init: +1, Attack --, Defense +2, Damage --
Fist: Init: +1, Attack -1, Defense +2, Damage -2
Kick: Init: +0, Attack -1, Defense +1, Damage +1
Soak: +2
Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
[size=150]Abilities[/size]
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Ability[/left][/th] [th][left]Specialization[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th] [th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Area Lore: Negrisaxa Covenant[/td] [td]nearby towns and villages[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Artes Liberales[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]Latin alphabet[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Athletics[/td] [td]climbing[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Awareness[/td][td]alertness[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bargain[/td] [td]books[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Brawl[/td] [td]dodge[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Charm[/td] [td]reassuring people[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Chirurgery[/td] [td]binding wounds[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Code of Hermes[/td] [td]Tribunal procedures[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Concentration[/td] [td]maintaining spells[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Etiquette[/td] [td]townsfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td] [td]Corpus[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Folk Ken[/td] [td]townsfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Latin[/td] [td]hermetic usage[/td] [td][center]4[/center][/td] [td][center]50[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Low German[/td] [td]extensive vocabulary[/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td][center]0 (+75)[/center][/td] [td]Native[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Lore[/td] [td]creatures[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Theory[/td] [td]inventing spells[/td] [td][center]3+2[/center][/td] [td][center]30[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Medicine[/td] [td]treating disease[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Order of Hermes Lore[/td] [td]House Bonisagus[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Parma Magica[/td] [td]Mentem[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Philosophiae[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Profession: Scribe[/td] [td]copying books[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Stealth[/td] [td]sneaking[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Swim[/td] [td]underwater maneuvering[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Teach[/td] [td]Medicine[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]
[size=150]Arts[/size]
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Art[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Cr[/td] [td][center]7[/center][/td] [td][center]28[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]In[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mu[/td] [td][center]8+3[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Pe[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Re[/td] [td][center]7[/center][/td] [td][center]28[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]An[/td] [td][center]8[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Aq[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Au[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Co[/td] [td][center]8+3[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]He[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ig[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Im[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Me[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Te[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Vi[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr][/tableborder]
[size=150]Spells Known[/size]
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Spell[/left][/th] [th]Type/Level[/th] [th]CT*[/th] [th]Mastery[/th][th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Call to Slumber[/td] [td][center]ReMe 10[/center][/td][td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Cloak of Black Feathers[/td] [td][center]Mu(An)Co 30[/center][/td][td][center]+29[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]The Crystal Dart[/td] [td][center]Mu(Re)Te 10[/center][/td] [td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Doublet of Impenetrable Silk[/td] [td][center]MuAn 15[/center][/td] [td][center]+21[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Extended Lamp Without Flame[/td] [td][center]CrIg 15[/center][/td] [td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Eyes of the Cat[/td] [td][center]Mu(An)Co 5[/center][/td][td][center]+29[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Purification of the Festering Wounds[/td] [td][center]CrCo 20[/center][/td] [td][center]+20[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Revealed Flaws of the Mortal Flesh[/td] [td][center]InCo 10[/center][/td][td][center]+14[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Unravelling the Fabric of Ignem[/td] [td][center]PeVi 5[/center][/td][td][center]+5[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Unseen Arm[/td] [td][center]ReTe 5[/center][/td][td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Voice of the Bjornaer Magus[/td] [td][center]MuAn 15[/center][/td][td][center]+21[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Wizard's Sidestep[/td] [td][center]ReIm10[/center][/td][td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]
Equipment
- Clothes made entirely of animal products (wool, bone buttons, etc.)
- Causa et Cura by Hildegard of Bingen -- summa on both Medicine (L3) and Philosophiae (L2) of excellent quality (Q13).
- A basic summa scribed by a former apprentice of Nigrasaxa on Ignem (L7 Q9).
Bio: Konrad was born in the city of Lubeck in the Rhine, and spent his first ten years living there. But as he approached the age of ten, he started to show signs that he might be special. Things started to happen around him that couldn’t be explained. Thankfully, there was a covenant of magi living in Lubeck. They kept a low profile, mostly. But the locals knew that when strange things happened, the people of the covenant were the ones to go to. They brought Konrad there to be examined by the learned men there, who declared that the boy had magical ability. They offered to train him, and after some negotiation, the family agreed.
It was expected that Konrad would be apprenticed at the local covenant. But sometimes things don’t work out as expected. The magi who was assigned to train Konrad turned out to be a very poor instructor, and not a particularly diligent parens. By the end of his first year, Konrad had not advanced nearly as far as he should have in his studies. And it was not from lack of skill, determination, or industry on his part. This was noticed by a Bonisagus magus from Negrisaxa in the Stonehenge Tribunal who was visiting the covenant. He challenged the right of Konrad’s parens to train the boy, and claimed the apprentice for his own. There was some debate about the matter. But once a Guernicus arbitrator was brought in, Konrad was handed over to the Bonisagus magus.
This was both good and bad news for Konrad. It was good because his new parens was both knowledgeable and generous. In fact, within the first two years, he’d brought Konrad up to grade, and more. It was bad in that he had to move to the Stonehenge Tribunal and away from his family. But such is the life of an apprentice, and Konrad quickly became used to his new life and his new home at Negrisaxa.
Thankfully for Konrad, his life was not entirely isolated from his family. His father was a prosperous merchant who managed to arrange to visit Konrad every year or two. Once he even brought the rest of the family with him. And on that trip, Konrad’s sister fell in love with a grog at the covenant and was married to him. So, when Konrad’s family departed, they were one short. But the result was that Konrad had his sister living in the covenant.
Everything went well until near the end of Konrad’s apprenticeship when his sister and her family were struck by disease. His nephew, Thomas, had come through okay. But both his sister and brother-in-law were near death. Konrad approached his parens about having them healed. But the policy of the covenant was not to spend vis on grogs. They offered the use of the covenant’s resident healer, but were adamant that no vis be spent. Alas, within a few weeks, both patients were dead, and young Tom was an orphan.
Konrad was angry about the deaths of his sister and brother-in-law, knowing that the covenant could have saved them. But he also realized that there were many more people suffering in such a way, and that there would never be enough vis to go around. It was then that he determined that he would study in the ways of healing, both magical and mundane, and some day build a [strike]hospital where people could come to get[/strike] facility where grogs could be given proper care.
In the meanwhile, Tom was cared for in the covenant until Konrad was past his gauntlet. Konrad studied hard, focusing on Corpus magic, even learning a bit of mundane healing from the covenant’s resident healer. And within a year-and-a-half, he had completed his gauntlet and was ready to move on to life as a full magus.
But he hadn't forgotten his dream. Moreover, having spoken about it to others over the last year, he know that it would be impossible to pursue this dream within the covenant. The power given to a junior magus was just too slim. It would be decades before he was in a position to truly make progress on his dream. And until then, the powers that be, at least at his current covenant, cared little enough about the grogs that a facility run by a magus to treat them was out of the question. Things changed when he grumbled about this to a visiting Redcap. After listening intently, the stuttering Mercere said that there might be another way. In a very circuitous way, the Redcap implied that there might be a new covenant forming around a newly discovered source of vis. And if it was, those founding it might be interested in a magus such as him.
Konrad immediately said that he would be interested, and penned a letter to the new covenant that he gave to the Redcap for delivery. Then he arranged for a trip back home. For one thing, he wanted to visit his family. For another, while the Redcap had been very cagey about the location of this new covenant, he had revealed, at least, that it was in the Rhine Tribunal. And Konrad felt that if the new magi wanted to meet with him, better that he was closer than all the way in England.
So it was that the newly gauntleted magus, along with his nephew Tom, took a trip to the covenant in Lubeck, and the merchant family that lived nearby. There he waited for word from the new covenant that he would consider joining. It was a great throw of the dice, he knew. But it meant a chance to pursue his dream decades early, so it was a chance he was willing to take.
Alas, that dream ended too. After a time trying to make it work with a new covenant, Konrad and his sodales had to admit that it was a bust. As much as he wished he could speed up the process, he now realized that the only way to make it as a magus in the world today was with an established covenant. So, he applied to Lubek for a position there and, much to his relief, was accepted.
[hr][/hr]
[size=150]Spell Book[/size]
Extended Lamp Without Flame
CrIg 15
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell creates a steady light as bright as daylight on a cloudy day. The light has no apparent source, but illuminates an area about ten paces across, centered on a point indicated by the caster. This point may be a mobile item.
(Base 4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun)
[hr][/hr]
[size=150]CHANGES[/size]
Virtues and Flaws
Lost: Affinity for Creo, Affinity for Corpus, Deft Corpus, Harnessed Magic, Deficient Perdo
Gained: Book Learner, Cautious Sorcerer, Minor Magical Focus (self-transformation), Puissant Muto, Flawed Parma Magic (Mentem), Incompatible Arts (PeAn, PeMe), Unimaginative Learner
Abilities
Awareness from 1 to 2
Bargain from 2 to 1
Swim change specialization to underwater maneuvering
Dropped Survival 1
Added Profession: Scribe 1
Arts
Moved around points in Arts. The total is still 180.
Spells
Spells Lost: Seven-League Stride (30), Circle of Animal Warding (5), Aura of Ennobled Presence (10), Personal Veil of Invisibility (15)
Spells Gained: Cloak of the Black Feathers (30), Eyes of the Cat (5), Unravelling the Fabric of Ignem (5), Unseen Arm (5), Voice of the Bjornaer Magus (15)
I'd likely not have taken a Gentle Gifted magus had I been starting afresh for this saga, nor would I have taken the Dependent Flaw. But I'm not sure how to drop those from Konrad without serious rewrites of his background.
I've been mulling it over in my mind today, and here's one way I could alter Konrad's background, while keeping him pretty much to the same general life story. Here, instead of having to care for his nephew, he's haunted by the ghosts of his sister and brother-in-law. (Changes to background in red)
[hr][/hr]
Background
Konrad was born in the city of Lubeck in the Rhine, and spent his first ten years living there. But as he approached the age of ten, he started to show signs that he might be special. Things started to happen around him that couldn’t be explained. Thankfully, there was a covenant of magi living in Lubeck. They kept a low profile, mostly. But the locals knew that when strange things happened, the people of the covenant were the ones to go to. They brought Konrad there to be examined by the learned men there, who declared that the boy had magical ability. They offered to train him, and after some negotiation, the family agreed.
It was expected that Konrad would be apprenticed at the local covenant. But sometimes things don’t work out as expected. The magi who was assigned to train Konrad turned out to be a very poor instructor, and not a particularly diligent parens. By the end of his first year, Konrad had not advanced nearly as far as he should have in his studies. And it was not from lack of skill, determination, or industry on his part. This was noticed by a Bonisagus magus from Negrisaxa in the Stonehenge Tribunal who was visiting the covenant. He challenged the right of Konrad’s parens to train the boy, and claimed the apprentice for his own. There was some debate about the matter. But once a Guernicus arbitrator was brought in, Konrad was handed over to the Bonisagus magus.
This was both good and bad news for Konrad. It was good because his new parens was both knowledgeable and generous. In fact, within the first two years, he’d brought Konrad up to grade, and more. It was bad in that he had to move to the Stonehenge Tribunal and away from his family. But such is the life of an apprentice, and Konrad quickly became used to his new life and his new home at Negrisaxa.
Thankfully for Konrad, his life was not entirely isolated from his family. His father was a prosperous merchant who managed to arrange to visit Konrad every year or two. Once he even brought the rest of the family with him. And on that trip, Konrad’s sister fell in love with a grog at the covenant and was married to him. So, when Konrad’s family departed, they were one short. But the result was that Konrad had his sister living in the covenant.
Everything went well until near the end of Konrad’s apprenticeship when his sister and her family were struck by disease. When both his sister and brother-in-law were near death. Konrad approached his parens about having them healed. But the policy of the covenant was not to spend vis on grogs. They offered the use of the covenant’s resident healer, but were adamant that no vis be spent. Alas, within a few weeks, both patients were dead.
Konrad was angry about the deaths of his sister and brother-in-law, knowing that the covenant could have saved them. But he also realized that there were many more people suffering in such a way, and that there would never be enough vis to go around. It was then that he determined that he would study in the ways of healing, both magical and mundane, and some day build a facility where grogs and magi alike could be given proper care.
And he was not alone in this desire. For he found that his sister and brother-in-law still felt the same way. Their spirits had not gone to the great beyond as they ought to have, but remained behind to help remind Konrad of his dream and the consequences of not achieving it.
Konrad studied hard, focusing on Corpus magic, even learning a bit of mundane healing from the covenant’s resident healer. And within a year-and-a-half, he had completed his gauntlet and was ready to move on to life as a full magus.
But he hadn't forgotten his dream. Moreover, having spoken about it to others over the last year, he know that it would be impossible to pursue this dream within the covenant. The power given to a junior magus was just too slim. It would be decades before he was in a position to truly make progress on his dream. And until then, the powers that be, at least at his current covenant, cared little enough about the grogs that a facility run by a magus to treat them was out of the question. Things changed when he grumbled about this to a visiting Redcap. After listening intently, the stuttering Mercere said that there might be another way. In a very circuitous way, the Redcap implied that there might be a new covenant forming around a newly discovered source of vis. And if it was, those founding it might be interested in a magus such as him.
Konrad immediately said that he would be interested, and penned a letter to the new covenant that he gave to the Redcap for delivery. Then he arranged for a trip back home. For one thing, he wanted to visit his family. For another, while the Redcap had been very cagey about the location of this new covenant, he had revealed, at least, that it was in the Rhine Tribunal. And Konrad felt that if the new magi wanted to meet with him, better that he was closer than all the way in England.
So it was that the newly gauntleted magus took a trip to the covenant in Lubeck, and his merchant family that lived nearby. There he waited for word from the new covenant that he would consider joining. It was a great throw of the dice, he knew. But it meant a chance to pursue his dream decades early, so it was a chance he was willing to take.
Alas, that dream ended too. After a time trying to make it work with a new covenant, Konrad and his sodales had to admit that it was a bust. As much as he wished he could speed up the process, he now realized that the only way to make it as a magus in the world today was with an established covenant. So, he applied to Fengheld for a position there and, much to his relief, was accepted.
Virtues
Lost: Affinity for Creo, Affinity for Corpus, Deft Corpus, Gentle Gift, Harnessed Magic
Gained: Book Learner, Cautious Sorcerer, Inventive Genius, Minor Magical Focus (self-transformation), Puissant Muto, Second Sight (gained from contact with his sister's ghost), Subtle Magic, Unimaginative Learner
Flaws
Lost: Deficient Perdo, Dependent
Gained: Flawed Parma Magic (Mentem), Incompatible Arts (PeAn, PeMe), Supernatural Nuissance (haunted by sister and brother-in-law), Unimaginative Learner
Abilities
Bargain from 2 to 1
Second Sight (seeing invisible things) from 1 to 2
Swim change specialization to underwater maneuvering
Dropped Survival 1
Added Profession: Scribe 1
Arts
Moved around points in Arts. The total is still 180.
Spells
Spells Lost: Seven-League Stride (30), Circle of Animal Warding (5), Aura of Ennobled Presence (10), Personal Veil of Invisibility (15)
Spells Gained: Cloak of the Black Feathers (30), Eyes of the Cat (5), Unravelling the Fabric of Ignem (5), Unseen Arm (5), Voice of the Bjornaer Magus (15)
[hr][/hr]
Just let me know how you want me to proceed with the character.
Some comments and questions. 
I'm good with the changes in the background. His father probably got in touch with the covenant of Oculus Septentrionalis through his merchant contacts in Lubeck, although the approach was probably a bit less direct than stated as they keep a low profile. One thing that is strange is that they would train the apprentice themselves, considering that he didn't have a Gentle Gift (something that is required for a magus to join that covenant).
We can expand a little on what happened at his first covenant (in the the other saga) once the version of the magus at Gauntlet is completed. The same applies on whether he will be called to join Fengheld as a member, or if he will be simply a visiting peregrinator.
From which of his master did he pick up his focus in self-transformation? Or was that some sort of innate virtue that is part of his Gift?
I have a bit of a question about Supernatural Nuisance. How are the two ghosts interacting with him? Do they blame him? Do they pester him only when he is outside of the Aegis? What if another magus was to banish or destroy them?
Most of these I don't have a problem with. I'm a bit on the fence abour Voice of the Bjornaer Magus -- this is usually something that is learned by Bjornaer magi, and they don't tend to share this spell with the other Houses.
HoH:MC states: "There are some spells known to House Bjornaer that are not widely disseminated in the Order, but are often found in the personal libraries of members of House Bjornaer." As I am not allowing many spells that are non-standards at saga start, I would lean towards disallowing this spell at Gauntlet. You can try to convince me (and the troupe) to allow it. 
It would either be from his second master (his first wasn't that good and wouldn't have made the effort), or innate. I can go either way. I sort of like that it was innate. It gives him somewhere he can shine that explains why he caught his second master's eye (so much potential going to waste). It also explains what he was doing before he got focused on healing. And it gives a push-pull as to whether he spends time learning healing or self-transformation.
Hmm, I hadn't thought of the Aegis issue. I just thought it would be interesting to be haunted. Surely there's some way we can work through that issue. Perhaps their strong connection to Konrad allows them to share his participation in the Aegis ceremony. (They'll probably be there with him whenever he's participating.)
My thought was that they're generally understanding and more of the pestering type. But on dark days they're certainly capable of asking why he didn't do more to help them. (Did he really do all he could to help them? That's a question that must prey upon Konrad.) On those dark days they might even throw tantrums that shake things up a bit. It's the sort of thing that would get Konrad a reputation for being haunted, and would raise potential problems with the grogs who may not be so understanding of ghosts.
I tried to keep to the Core book for almost all my spells. This (and the CrIg 5 Touch of Warmth) are the only non-standard spells I picked. I figure these could easily be spells he developed on his own. Touch of Warmth is just the sort of small spell that an apprentice might be given to develop on his own. And with his stats of 11 Mu, 8 An, and 6 Magic Theory (with specialty), and IG (+3) he could get to a 30 LT for developing a MuAn 15 spell in one season (I'm not sure what the Aura at Negrisaxa is, but I'm sure it's at least 3.) This could easily be a spell he developed on his own toward the end of his apprenticeship. (Certainly he would have a few seasons available for his own activities.) It would certainly be the sort of spell he'd want to develop. In that case, it really ought to be renamed Voice of the Bonisagus Magus or something like Voice for a Transformed Magus
I think you're right, he would not have been likely to have learned the spell developed by House Bjornaer. But as I note above, it could easily have been a new spell he developed himself.
That all having been said, it's a spell he could develop on his own later if you really feel that it's something you'd rather not have him start with. In fact, if I were smart, I'd pick a level 15 spell that would be harder for him to learn as a starting spell.
I could certainly see them as being linked to him so tightly that they would share in his participation in the Aegis. In fact, what if that is because he tried to use magic to heal them, and something went wrong? Perhaps he stole vis to try to heal them and botched? Just throwing an idea there. This would explain how he ended up with their ghosts being anchored on him. He might even feel their pain whenever they suffer damage (though if they are even completely destroyed, you may have to replace the flaw with another).
Oh, I certainly agree that he would be able to invent the spell on his own at the end of his apprenticeship. However, the need for this spell would have surfaced only after he's learned Cloak of the Black Feathers, something he cannot have invented on his own. Furthermore, most apprentices learn their spells directly from their master, using the teaching rules. So in general they learn spells that their masters know. This is much more efficient than spending several seasons learning or inventing spells in their master's lab (also considering that a Bonisagus has use for his lab most seasons).
So I'm not challenging that he could have learned the spell, but whether he would have had the opportunity to do so during his apprenticeship. As you say, it would be much more efficient for his master to have taught him a different spell -- while he may have been given a season to learn Cloak of the Black Feathers on his own from a lab text. Also consider that with Cloak of the Black Feathers, he can end the spell at any time he needs to. Speaking and casting spells while in animal form tend to be a Bjornaer thing. A Bonisagus would consider it somewhat... undignified.
All that being said, I'll leave the final decision to you. I don't object with your choice of spells; I simply wanted to discuss it with you.
BTW, a few comments on the abilities:
- Typo: Negrisaxa --> Nigrasaxa
- Typo: Chirurgery --> Chirurgy
- Spent many years in England and didn't pick up any knowledge of the local language?
I'm also a bit confused as to what his final stats are. I see the original stats and then the modification being listed, but it is sometimes unclear what has been applied to the first post and what hasn't. Could you post a final version?
That's a great idea. I like the idea of the botch having linked him to the ghosts. That makes for a great explanation for why they stuck around, and it would make perfect sense that an apprentice would botch a spell like that. Perhaps at that point he was using a spell tablet and wasn't quite up to the task.
Clearly. Likewise if he (theoretically) ever satisfied the reason for them haunting him.
Not a problem. I'll pick a different spell from the Core Book. If it proves to be something that he needs, that can always motivate him to action.
I always mess those spellings up. Spelling was always my worst subject in elementary school.
As for English, that was an oversight in character creation that I didn't notice until he was in play. I could always drop Bargain and lower Concentration to 1 to free up 15 points to get English 2. That's at least something.
I'll post a final one as soon as I pick the 15 points of spells.
Current through: Winter 1199
[size=150]Konrad ex Bonisagus[/size]
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex -2, Qik +1
Size: 0
Age: 25 (25)
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 158 lbs
Gender: Male
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0 (0)
Confidence: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Book Learner, Cautious Sorcerer, The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Inventive Genius, Minor Magical Focus: Self-transformation, Personal Vis Source (Corpus), Puissant Magic Theory*, Puissant Corpus, Puissant Muto, Second Sight, Skilled Parens, Subtle Magic, Ability Block (Martial), Compassionate (major), Flawed Parma Magic (Mentem), Incompatible Arts (PeAn, PeMe), Supernatural Nuisance (haunted by dead sister and brother-in-law), Unimaginative Learner
Combat:
Dodge: Init: +1, Attack --, Defense +2, Damage --
Fist: Init: +1, Attack -1, Defense +2, Damage -2
Kick: Init: +0, Attack -1, Defense +1, Damage +1
Soak: +2
Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
[size=150]Abilities[/size]
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Ability[/left][/th] [th][left]Specialization[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th] [th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Area Lore: Negrisaxa Covenant[/td] [td]nearby towns and villages[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Artes Liberales[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]Latin alphabet[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Athletics[/td] [td]climbing[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Awareness[/td][td]alertness[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bargain[/td] [td]books[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Brawl[/td] [td]dodge[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Charm[/td] [td]overcoming a bad first impression[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Chirurgery[/td] [td]binding wounds[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Code of Hermes[/td] [td]Tribunal procedures[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Concentration[/td] [td]maintaining spells[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dead Language: Latin[/td] [td]hermetic usage[/td] [td][center]4[/center][/td] [td][center]50[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Etiquette[/td] [td]magi[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td] [td]precision[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Folk Ken[/td] [td]covenfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Living Language: English[/td] [td]conversational[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Living Language: Low German[/td] [td]extensive vocabulary[/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td][center]0 (+75)[/center][/td] [td]Native[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Lore[/td] [td]creatures[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Theory[/td] [td]inventing spells[/td] [td][center]3+2[/center][/td] [td][center]30[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Medicine[/td] [td]treating disease[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Order of Hermes Lore[/td] [td]House Bonisagus[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Parma Magica[/td] [td]Mentem[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Philosophiae[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Profession: Scribe[/td] [td]copying books[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Second Sight[/td] [td]seeing invisible things[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Swim[/td] [td]underwater maneuvering[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Teach[/td] [td]one-on-one[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]
[size=150]Arts[/size]
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Art[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Cr[/td] [td][center]7[/center][/td] [td][center]28[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]In[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mu[/td] [td][center]8+3[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Pe[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Re[/td] [td][center]7[/center][/td] [td][center]28[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]An[/td] [td][center]8[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Aq[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Au[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Co[/td] [td][center]8+3[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]He[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ig[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Im[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Me[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Te[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Vi[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr][/tableborder]
[size=150]Spells Known[/size]
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Spell[/left][/th] [th]Type/Level[/th] [th]CT*[/th] [th]Mastery[/th][th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Call to Slumber[/td] [td][center]ReMe 10[/center][/td][td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Chamber of Spring Breezes[/td] [td][center]CrAu 5[/center][/td][td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Cloak of Black Feathers[/td] [td][center]Mu(An)Co 30[/center][/td][td][center]+29[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Cloak of the Duck's Feathers[/td] [td][center]ReAq 5[/center][/td][td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Comfort of the Drenched Traveller[/td] [td][center]PeAq 5[/center][/td][td][center]+5[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]The Crystal Dart[/td] [td][center]Mu(Re)Te 10[/center][/td] [td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Doublet of Impenetrable Silk[/td] [td][center]MuAn 15[/center][/td] [td][center]+21[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Extended Lamp Without Flame[/td] [td][center]CrIg 15[/center][/td] [td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Eyes of the Cat[/td] [td][center]Mu(An)Co 5[/center][/td][td][center]+29[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Purification of the Festering Wounds[/td] [td][center]CrCo 20[/center][/td] [td][center]+20[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Revealed Flaws of the Mortal Flesh[/td] [td][center]InCo 10[/center][/td][td][center]+14[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Unravelling the Fabric of Ignem[/td] [td][center]PeVi 5[/center][/td][td][center]+5[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Unseen Arm[/td] [td][center]ReTe 5[/center][/td][td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Wizard's Sidestep[/td] [td][center]ReIm10[/center][/td][td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]
Equipment
- Clothes made entirely of animal products (wool, bone buttons, etc.)
- Causa et Cura by Hildegard of Bingen -- summa on both Medicine (L3) and Philosophiae (L2) of excellent quality (Q13).
- A basic summa scribed by a former apprentice of Nigrasaxa on Ignem (L7 Q9).
- A small cloak of raven's feathers (a gift from his parens)
Bio: Konrad was born in the city of Lubeck in the Rhine, and spent his first ten years living there. But as he approached the age of ten, he started to show signs that he might be special. Things started to happen around him that couldn’t be explained. Thankfully, there was a covenant of magi living in Lubeck. They kept a low profile, mostly. But the locals knew that when strange things happened, the people of the covenant were the ones to go to. They brought Konrad there to be examined by the learned men there, who declared that the boy had magical ability. They offered to train him, and after some negotiation, the family agreed.
It was expected that Konrad would be apprenticed at the local covenant. But sometimes things don’t work out as expected. The magi who was assigned to train Konrad turned out to be a very poor instructor, and not a particularly diligent parens. By the end of his first year, Konrad had not advanced nearly as far as he should have in his studies. And it was not from lack of skill, determination, or industry on his part. This was noticed by a Bonisagus magus from Negrisaxa in the Stonehenge Tribunal who was visiting the covenant. He challenged the right of Konrad’s parens to train the boy, and claimed the apprentice for his own. There was some debate about the matter. But once a Guernicus arbitrator was brought in, Konrad was handed over to the Bonisagus magus.
This was both good and bad news for Konrad. It was good because his new parens was both knowledgeable and generous. In fact, within the first two years, he’d brought Konrad up to grade, and more. It was bad in that he had to move to the Stonehenge Tribunal and away from his family. But such is the life of an apprentice, and Konrad quickly became used to his new life and his new home at Negrisaxa.
Thankfully for Konrad, his life was not entirely isolated from his family. His father was a prosperous merchant who managed to arrange to visit Konrad every year or two. Once he even brought the rest of the family with him. And on that trip, Konrad’s sister fell in love with a grog at the covenant and was married to him. So, when Konrad’s family departed, they were one short. But the result was that Konrad had his sister living in the covenant.
Everything went well until near the end of Konrad’s apprenticeship when his sister and her family were struck by disease. His nephew, Thomas, had come through okay. But both his sister and brother-in-law were near death. Konrad approached his parens about having them healed. But the policy of the covenant was not to spend vis on grogs. They offered the use of the covenant’s resident healer, but were adamant that no vis be spent. Alas, within a few weeks, both patients were dead, and young Tom was an orphan.
Konrad was angry about the deaths of his sister and brother-in-law, knowing that the covenant could have saved them. But he also realized that there were many more people suffering in such a way, and that there would never be enough vis to go around. It was then that he determined that he would study in the ways of healing, both magical and mundane, and some day build a facility where grogs could be given proper care.
In the meanwhile, Tom was cared for in the covenant until Konrad was past his gauntlet. Konrad studied hard, focusing on Corpus magic, even learning a bit of mundane healing from the covenant’s resident healer. And within a year-and-a-half, he had completed his gauntlet and was ready to move on to life as a full magus.
But he hadn't forgotten his dream. Moreover, having spoken about it to others over the last year, he know that it would be impossible to pursue this dream within the covenant. The power given to a junior magus was just too slim. It would be decades before he was in a position to truly make progress on his dream. And until then, the powers that be, at least at his current covenant, cared little enough about the grogs that a facility run by a magus to treat them was out of the question. Things changed when he grumbled about this to a visiting Redcap. After listening intently, the stuttering Mercere said that there might be another way. In a very circuitous way, the Redcap implied that there might be a new covenant forming around a newly discovered source of vis. And if it was, those founding it might be interested in a magus such as him.
Konrad immediately said that he would be interested, and penned a letter to the new covenant that he gave to the Redcap for delivery. Then he arranged for a trip back home. For one thing, he wanted to visit his family. For another, while the Redcap had been very cagey about the location of this new covenant, he had revealed, at least, that it was in the Rhine Tribunal. And Konrad felt that if the new magi wanted to meet with him, better that he was closer than all the way in England.
So it was that the newly gauntleted magus, along with his nephew Tom, took a trip to the covenant in Lubeck, and the merchant family that lived nearby. There he waited for word from the new covenant that he would consider joining. It was a great throw of the dice, he knew. But it meant a chance to pursue his dream decades early, so it was a chance he was willing to take.
Alas, that dream ended too. After a time trying to make it work with a new covenant, Konrad and his sodales had to admit that it was a bust. As much as he wished he could speed up the process, he now realized that the only way to make it as a magus in the world today was with an established covenant. So, he applied to Lubek for a position there and, much to his relief, was accepted.
[hr][/hr]
[size=150]Spell Book[/size]
Extended Lamp Without Flame
CrIg 15
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell creates a steady light as bright as daylight on a cloudy day. The light has no apparent source, but illuminates an area about ten paces across, centered on a point indicated by the caster. This point may be a mobile item.
(Base 4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun)
[hr][/hr]
In the end, I decided to go for three small utility/comfort spells. Yea, it's not the most efficient way to go. But I always think that magi never take enough of those spells that make your life easier and more pleasant.
I also dropped Stealth instead of Bargain, as that seemed the less Bonisagusy ability of the two.
Missed this before:
We could always adjust his starting covenant to a different covenant in the Rhine if that's easier. Perhaps his gift was identified at the Lubek covenant, but he was sent elsewhere because of his ungentle Gift.
Checked the character more thouroughly and I come up with a small problem with the abilities. Because of the specialties indicated in some of them (oe because they are Academic and cannot have been learned before that), they can only have been learned during apprenticeship. That means you end up with 55 xp being spent during apprenticeship and not enough during the earlier stages of life.
Here are those that I come up as being put into apprenticeship: Bargain (books), Etiquette (magi), Folk Ken (covenfolk), Medicine, Order of Hermes Lore, Profession: Scribe, Teach.
Check it out. 8)
Bargain, Etiquette, Folk Ken, Profession, and Teach are all General skills and could have been learned in general background. Technically Organization Lore is as well, but I can see not learning OL: Order of Hermes until apprenticeship
But perhaps you find fault with his specializations. If that's the case, I can adjust those to be more appropriate.
But as far as Bargain, Folk Ken, Etiquette, Profession Scribe, and Teach are concerned, it seems that all of those would be appropriate skills for a merchant's son to have learned.
In any case, I'll go over the build and break it down.
Ah, I do see some problems. What gets him is that some skills you're allowed to take as background skills are problematic given his history. For example, if his Second Sight came when his sister died, he couldn't put points into it until his apprenticeship.
Some can be gotten around. We've already established that Konrad's father traded with England. It's not unreasonable that the boy would be taught a smattering of English to help him in his presumed future profession.
Let me modify a few things and post a new Attributes list.
Here's a revised list.
[tableborder][tr][th][left]Ability[/left][/th] [th][left]Specialization[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th] [th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Area Lore: Negrisaxa Covenant[/td] [td]personalities[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Artes Liberales[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]Latin alphabet[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Athletics[/td] [td]climbing[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Awareness[/td][td]alertness[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bargain[/td] [td]dry goods[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Brawl[/td] [td]dodge[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Charm[/td] [td]overcoming a bad first impression[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Chirurgery[/td] [td]binding wounds[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Code of Hermes[/td] [td]Tribunal procedures[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Concentration[/td] [td]not falling asleep[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dead Language: Latin[/td] [td]hermetic usage[/td] [td][center]4[/center][/td] [td][center]50[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Etiquette[/td] [td]townsfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td] [td]precision[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Folk Ken[/td] [td]townsfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Intrigue[/td] [td]gossip[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Leadership[/td] [td]grogs[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Living Language: English[/td] [td]conversational[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Living Language: Low German[/td] [td]extensive vocabulary[/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td][center]0 (+75)[/center][/td] [td]Native[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Lore[/td] [td]creatures[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Theory[/td] [td]inventing spells[/td] [td][center]3+2[/center][/td] [td][center]30[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Order of Hermes Lore[/td] [td]House Bonisagus[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Parma Magica[/td] [td]Mentem[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Philosophiae[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Profession: Scribe[/td] [td]copying[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Second Sight[/td] [td]seeing invisible things[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0 (+5)[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Swim[/td] [td]underwater maneuvering[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Teach[/td] [td]one-on-one[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]
Childhood
Athletics 1, 5 pts
Awareness 2, 15 pts
Brawl 1, 5 pts
Charm 1, 5 pts
Folk Ken 1, 5 pts
Stealth 1, 5 pts
Swim 1, 5 pts
45 total points
Youth
Bargain 1, 5 pts [Essential for a merchant]
Chirurgy 2, 15 pts [Useful for anyone, really. This is a pretty basic level.]
Concentration 2, 15 pts [Useful for a going over pages of numbers]
Etiquette 1, 5 pts [Useful for a merchant]
Intrigue 1, 5 pts [Useful for a merchant]
Leadership 1, 5 pts [Useful for a merchant]
Living Language: English 2, 15 pts [Useful for a merchant that travels to England]
Profession: Scribe 1, 5 pts [There is a lot of writing involved in merchanting, and Scribe 1 is a pretty basic level]
Teaching 1, 5 pts [He could have learned Teaching at this level simply by being taught for a number of years. ]
75 total points
Apprenticeship
Area Lore: Nigrasaxa 1, 5 pts
Artes Liberales 1, 5 pts
Code of Hermes 1, 5 pts
Dead Language: Latin 4, 50 pts
Finesse 1, 5 pts
Magic Lore 1, 5 pts
Magic Theory 3+2, 30 pts
Order of Hermes Lore 1, 5 pts
Parma Magica 1, 5 pts
Philosophiae 1, 5 pts
120 total points
Presumably you can change your specialty for an ability at some point. I'd imagine when you go up a level.
Glad you understood what I meant -- I did my revision over lunch and had a meeting right after, so I was a bit rushed.
Only two small comments left on that:
- The specialty for Leadership (grogs) is a bit slanted towards covenant life. Something like guards or sailors might be more appropriate for something learned under his father's care.
- Profession: Scribe is a borderline, as what would have been a skill more useful after he's learned to read (through Artes Liberales). Here, he's learned to make copies before knowing how to count or write. Not unheard of, and I understand the quandary, so I can let it slide. Just thought I'd mention it.
I think the version right after Gauntlet will be good after that. Now we will try to simulate him spending a few years in Helglund before moving to Fengheld. We'll go through that year by year and season by season. Let's start with the time that happened during the other saga and move from there. Could you recap the seasons for Konrad in the Price of Freedom saga?
I was using grogs as a stand-in for generic people. I figured a grog is mostly the same as a generic guard. But if you'd rather I change that, I can go with guards as a specialty.
AS for Scribe, you're right. I wasn't thinking that he wasn't literate when he would have had to have learned that. That does seem a bit odd. I can drop that and just up something like Bargain by 5 points.
As for activities, all that Konrad did was set up his lab:
Winter 1211:
- Konrad: Set up lab (1st season)
Spring 1212:
- Konrad: Set up lab (2nd season)
That would be 4 xp in Magical Theory.
Potential things that Konrad would want to do
Study Causa et Cura -- Medicine Summa L3 Q13
Study A Comparative Exploration of the Four Realms and How They Interact With Our Arts -- Vim Summa (L11 Q9)
Develop a shape-shifting spell (I'm thinking that since he was on Helgoland and needed to do a lot of sea investigation, a seal would be a logical form for him to choose). He could certainly get a sealskin quite easily.
Shape of the Sea Swimmer
MuCo(An) 20
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Ind
Req: Animal
The caster places a sealskin over himself and changes into a seal. The caster may change back at will, ending the spell. Before casting this spell, you must first, of course, acquire the skin of a seal.
(Base 10, +2 Sun)
I'm guessing there are other things that he'd have to do as well for covenant maintenance. I'm not certain what you had in mind. But I'm sure you can give me some guidance.
Personally, I see the term grog being used only for a very specific kind of guard/soldier, as used in covenant of the Order of Hermes. They perform quite a few unusual duties and develop some tolerence for magi's strangeness. Meanwhile, guards pretty much perform mundane tasks like guarding merchant convoys, city walls, important people, etc. Soldiers wage war, battling as groups, setting up camps during campaigns, etc. Thus, I see them as different group for the purpose of specialties for Leadership.
That works for me if you are good with that.
Going through the activities in the other saga, here's what I found:
- Year 1, End of Summer: Arrives at the covenant and makes a trip (story Chasing a Tale)
- Year 1, Fall and winter: Setting up a lab (seasons were planned but never played)
So let's resolve the Summer of Year 1. As we were playing things out, Konrad was travelling from one village to another on the island, trying to find the person who'd once climbed one of the pillars as a youth. The cahse takes quite a bit longer than he expected, but eventually he catches up with him living in a monastery. After much convincing, the man tells his tale -- how the climb was a far more difficult ordeal than he expected at the time, but that pride and fear of falling had driven him on until he'd reached the summit. How, by the time he finally reached it, his hands were bloddy and he felt dizzy. Of visions he'd had of a huge flaming bird circling over the pillar, of waves after waves of invaders landing on the island and being pushed back by those living there. Of how, after waking up and finding his hands healed, he'd climbed down and found his friends gone. He had hitched up a ride from a fisherman the next morning. How he'd felt out of place ever since in his life as a simple fisherman. Thus he'd moved on, eventually joining the monastery years later. At the time, Konrad had felt that perhaps the dissatisfaction of the man wasn't completely gone.
This story would have yielded 5 xp in appropriate abilities.
For the next two seasons, he did indeed set up his lab, with the 4 xp of exposure.
Things started going badly for the covenant after that. The small merchant ship that was its main source of income disappeared in the Spring. It didn't impact Konrad immediately, so he was able to complete his season of studying Causa et Cura (for 13 xp). Some of the magi decided to mount an expedition to find out what had happened to their ship. Did Konrad participate in that?
How about 5 xp in Folk Ken?
16 xp because of Book Learner.
Given his ability to turn into a raven, he probably would have joined that expedition. That would give us two fliers and expand the area we could search.
Works for me. 
nods
The expedition turns into a disaster. One of the magi, Japik of Bjornaer, simply disappears while chasing a lead in his dolphin shape early on. Pushing on in hopes that he would return directly to the island, Konrad and Prochorus eventually find some of the bodies of their missing sailors, rotting on a beach. Their ship, the Baltrum, is nowhere to be found. While investigating the bodies, they notice that some may have been killed using magic. Using his Life-Linked Spontaneous Magic, Prochorus is able to point them towards where the Baltrum may be. That brings them to one of the western-most Friesian islands -- the covenant of Terschelling. The Baltrum has been captured by their pirate-grogs. What did the magi of your covenant do?
That's s tough one. We've probably already lost Japik to them, showing that they're willing and able to kill. They're a full-blown covenant with trained magi and we're a bunch of kids, relatively, speaking. We've also lost all of our sailors.
I know the adventurous thing to do is to mount a cutting out expedition, sneak in and sail the ship out of their harbor, laughing all the way. But that just seems totally unreasonable given the circumstances. (I don't hold to the idea that just because we're PCs, everything is possible.) They outnumber us, they outgun us, and they have the home field advantage. The only possible result I can see from trying to get the ship back is another dead magus or two. Besides, even if we did overpower the grog guards, who would sail the ship? Not Konrad, that's for sure. And I doubt Prochorus was holding out on us with some mad skills in sailing.
Realistically, the only thing to do would be to cut our losses, try and find a path forward, and remember that Terschelling is our enemy. We know what happened now (at the cost of Japik's life), and it's way beyond our pay grade. None of us are combat magi, and you can bet that some of the magi at a pirate covenant are. It's a huge hit to the covenant finances. (We may have to actually sell vis to stay afloat.) But I really don't see any path forward that has two magi confronting a covenant. It may be the death knell for the covenant, but at least it won't end up with Procorus and Konrad dead.