The towers mentioned previously were I think 3 floors, and I was positing one sub-floor. But that also includes Vorsutus, wife and three children, two grogs, and lab etc. So I didn't think it was very squandering of space as it were.
Regardless it doesn't seem like the designs/plans I was working up are coherent with the mental image of others at this point.
The issue still wouldnt be how many floors, but the diameter 
A lab with size +2 would need a 10m diameter tower (if it circular) or 8.5m side if its a square. And thats the max... its not a building so big at all.
If you add the sanctum (storage, personal room, pantry, study...) he already filled the 3 floors.
I had to check to make sure if you were talking about Amina (discovered you weren't).
I don't think they are incoherent. I just wasn't getting the right picture. For example, I was assuming Vorsutus indeed wanted the floor + basement + courtyard for himself, and picturing a 6-floor tower. 3/4 floors for lab + 3 bedrooms for himself and... 5/6 other people is very different.
Humm... I'll wait for Arthur's position on the height of the towers, it's also relevant to me (Regulus himself has taken the top two floors of one, one for lab, 1/2 for his room, 1/2 for his servants).
You are correct, sorry for my mistake. There is indeed a possibility that one of such entrances would be located in a tower where Vorsutus would have his sanctum.
It is impossible to completely eliminate it, by design. Due to the magical nature of the covenant and its aura, any improvement on an area that is not constantly in use will "migrate" to another part of the covenant.
But your characters may try anyway. 
During the early stages of covenant design, one of the players suggested that the covenant could be in the spirit of Gormenghast. Everyone loved the idea and we went that way. That part of the discussion starts there.
Think this (if somewhat smaller):
The confused nature of the buildings, some linked to each others and some not, mean that the whole covenant cannot be affected by a single T:Structure spell. Even affecting most of the primary structure, with all its wings and associated constructions, would probably require two or three additional magnitudes in Size. And it would probably still leave a few pockets of unaffected areas.
If you look at the covenant map here, you'll notice two larger round structures, ont towards the top of the smanor and a second one standing alone slightly to the left. Both of these may very well be squat towers that might be suitable. The one near the top would be more likely to have an entrance to the caves.
I've never read Gormenghast (been tempted) but I've watched a show of it once, so that is interesting and amusing.
Perhaps either Craft Magic or Creo repairs could be done periodically to limit the deterioration/disruption caused by the shifting and limited repair capacity. Not to completely eliminate it (the cost and frequency given the shifting nature of the place would be prohibitive/warping I would think) but done every so often to make sure it doesn't become a serious problem in and of itself.
Since he seems somewhat fitting and apt in particular for Vorsutus (as a fellow pagan, Ex Misc, and practitioner of ways of hurting people from afar) perhaps Igor Rastvan (Rhine pg 109, in Roznov) would be a good candidate for this role. I could see an argument either way, since he seems quite motivated about deities that are not Greco-Roman. But ... there those among the Mercurians (like Vorsutus) that are syncretic enough that he could still find a home there perhaps. And/or be modified slightly.
He could be combining an attempt to build up the Cult with his other ambitions and/or using both to benefit one another etc.
If there are any other suggestions I'm amiable to them.
Otherwise I think perhaps the assumption that there are a few (undetermined) other members and sites would largely suit our purposes and leave room for growing things further through play.
I think Igor makes sense as the local head of the cult. There might also be someone from house Mercere in Basel, or close to it.
Is there anyone already set on running mercurian stories (as I mentioned in the character creation discussions topic, I'm not really of much help with it because I don't have a lot of love for the cult of mercury...)? That person's input would be fundamental, I think.
I do have a couple of ideas involving old mercurian ruins, but I'd rather not be the one to set the tone of something I don't intend to delve too deep into.
(Also, I'm shooting in every direction already. I need to leave some room for other people to run stories. =P)
Skepsi
Might 15 (Animal)
Virtues and Flaws:
V: Gift of Tongues (1), Independent Study (1), Regio Network: Auram (1), Second Sight (1)
True Friend: Vorsutus (Familiar)
F: Busybody (1), Avaricious (Shinies!)(3)
Characteristics:
Int +2
Per +2
Pre +1
Com +1
Str -6
Sta +2
Dex +1
Qik +5
Size:-4
Season: Summer
Confidence: 1 (3)
Personality Traits:
Loyal: +3
Brave: -2
Loquacious +6
Inquisitive +3
Shinies! +6
Magic Qualities and Inferiorities:
Gift of Speech (1)
Improved Abilities (x2)(2)
Improved Characteristics (x1)(1)
Lesser Power (x3)(3)
Personal Power (x9)(9)
Improved Powers (x3)(3)
Unaffected by the Gift (1)
Susceptible to Deprivation (1)
Reduced Might (x4)(4)
Abilities:
Athletics: (Spc: Flying) 4 (50xp)
Awareness: (Spc: Shiny Objects) 4 (50xp)
Brawl: (Spc: Dodging) 3 (30xp)
Faerie Lore: (Spc: Regiones) 4 (50xp)
Hunt: (Spc: Tracking) 3 (30xp)
Magic Lore: (Spc: Regiones) 4 (50xp)
Second Sight: (Spc: Illusions) 5 (75xp)
Stealth: (Spc: In Flight) 4 (50xp)
Survival: (Spc: Forests) 3 (30xp)
Area Lore: European Magical Sites: (Spc: Regiones) 4 (50xp)
Dodge: (Init: +5)(Atk: -)(Def: +4)(Dmg: -)
Beak: (Init: +5)(Atk: -)(Def: +4)(Dmg: -)
Note: Unsure on some math here, will revisit later.
Fatigue Levels: (Fresh)(Winded)(Weary: -1)(Tired: -3)(Dazed: -5)(Unconscious)
Wound Penalties: L(-1/1), M(-2/2), H(-3/3), I(4)
Powers:
Hands of the Magical Animal
ReTe 15
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
As RoP:M pg 39.
(Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Constant)
(Personal Power)
Invisible Hand of the Thief
ReTe 20
R: Sight, D: Mom, T: Ind
As MoH pg 93.
(Base 4, +3 Sight, +1 affect restrained objects, +1 50 paces of transportation)
(Lesser Power, -2 Might)
Sight of the Boundaries & Treasures
InVi 20
R: Per, D: Conc, T: Vision
Provides sight which detects the mystical Auras and Vis of both Magic and Faerie Realms.
(Base: 1, +1 Conc, +4 Vision, +2 Additional Effects (+Realm, +Vis))
(Personal Power, -2 Might)
Piercing the Boundaries of Magic & Faerie
InVi 25
R: Per, D: Conc, T: Vision
As "Piercing The Faerie Veil" (ArM5 pg 158), applying to both Magic and Faerie Regiones.
(Base: 3, +1 Conc, +4 Vision)
(Personal Power, -3 Might)
Crossing All Boundaries
ReAn(Vi) 20
R: Per, D: Mom, T: Ind
Teleports the user up to 50 paces to place that is visible or to which they have an Arcane Connection. The Vim Requisite allows the teleportation to cross through the Boundaries of Regiones as long as the Regio layers can be perceived through by other spells/powers or a suitable Arcane Connection is possessed.
(Base: 15, +1 Vim Requisite)
(Personal Power, -2 Might)
Wings of Shadowed Silence
PeIm 20
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Ind
Completely eliminates images/sensory output of target causing it generate sensory impressions of sight, sound, smell, or touch.
(Base 5 (Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch), +2 Sun, +1 Moving/Adaptive Images)
(Personal Power, -1 Might)
Always A Favorable Wind
Cr(Re)Au 35
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
While active this effect provides a powerful wing to support and augment the natural flying of the target. This wind adjusts and turns with the target to always be favorable to their aerial manuevers, providing a +X bonus to any rolls related to flying or dodging while airborne. Sustained flight under the benefit of this effect is boosted to approximately 40 mph, and is significantly less tiring. The target can end the effect at any time.
(Base 5, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Complexity (able to end), +1 Slightly Unnatural, +1 Rego requisite)
(Lesser Power, -4 Might)
Eyes of the Allfather
InIm 30
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Vision
As ArM5 pg 145, with the additional effect that Hearing can be employed similarly as if 1 foot away from any point observed.
(Base 3, +2 Sun, +4 Vision, +1 Second Effect (Hearing))
(Personal Power, -3 Might)
Sense of the Watcher
InMe(An) 40
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Hearing
As Hunter's Sense (ArM5 pg 118), adjusted up to Base 5 (from Mentem), and applying to both Humans and Animals.
(Base 5, +2 Sun, +3 Hearing, +1 for shape and primary motivation, +1 Animal Requisite)
(Personal Power, -4 Might)
Sight of the Active Magics
InVi 45
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Vision
As ArM5 pg 159, adjusted to Sun.
(Base 5, +2 Sun, +4 Vision, +2 Techniques and Forms)
(Personal Power, -5 Might)
Advancement Log:
(Placeholder)
Since this is the character creation thread, I'd like to see the process of creating Skepsi. What Might did you start from? Is this a grog-level magical animal, or companion-level? For that matter, what kind of animal is it? (You may have mentionned it in a previous post, but I can't remember and don't want to search for it.)
Is it for your familiar? Someone else's familiar? If so, whom?
The original build is several posts up in the thread. I am just doing final formatting etc. for inclusion in the Vorsutus thread. It is Nithyn's build to play as the companion tier familiar of Vorsutus. To my understanding it is built against a Might 15 base, modified by size/inferiorities, but I'll let him speak for himself regarding the design.
Yup yup!
So he's a raven, which felt fitting for our Norse friend. And yeah, I had the bulk of this posted about a week or so ago just to solicit feedback from folks. But I was feeling lazy and asked Vort to do the formatting for me, hence the post.
And yeah, Might 15 base, +4 due to his size, and then the -4 due to the inferiorities. Wanted to keep him right at 15 as that's what I had seen some other folks spitballing for their familiars.
I find the labelling of the Area Lores a bit strange. Tribunals are political entities of the Order of Hermes, not really geographical areas. Would a magical animal be concerned with that? Maybe something a bit closer to geographical areas would be more likely? I understand that the point is to give it a familiarity with regiones covering a very wide area. But are these well-defined areas from its viewpoint?
BTW, why is it so interested in regiones? What was its goals before it became a familiar? Was it interested in humans in any way? If not, than why was it able to talk? If it was, then why doesn't it have some sort of social skills? 
(I'm assuming those are its stats before it is bound as a familiar.)
The bird as I described it in my background was responsible for sneaking/breaking into the regione containing the Cult Temple of Cumae and eating (undefined but implied, a lot) their vis. In general I see that as something it has done quite a bit of before becoming a familiar. It has Regio Network, InVi sight, and ReAn(Vi) teleport especially to facilitate this sort of ability to ingress/egress magical places. And yes the intent was to give it lore covering the areas that it knows, especially as regards Regiones.
My intent with the "Tribunal" labelling is just using it as the geographic area, roughly. (I took the xp allocated in general to area lores in the original build and specifically allocated them, which is ... more or less the total of my involvement with the build beyond giving discussing a concept with Nithyn) I mean ... over time I won't say I wouldn't like it to build up area lores that are also genuinely hermetic as well as geographic and would prefer xp spent now not be wasted in later duplication. But it isn't a hard facet of the build by any means. If you would prefer I could change them to something else? Is there a functional difference in your opinion? Would you recommend alternatives you would find valid?
I think before becoming a familiar I see it as operating very much as the aforementioned magical thief/vis eater, and compulsively spying and studying people/things. Especially magical things, but not only magical things. I think it both travelled a lot/widely, studying people/things, and stole/ate a lot of vis to grow and prevent degradation etc. Mentally I have it categorized as a bird descended from a flock sacred to Apollo kept by the ancient Cults in Italy. Possibly the Temple at Cumae, but possibly from somewhere else. I certainly haven't specified anything. I've kind of syncretized it with concepts of ravens being sacred to Apollo and to Odin, and blended the ideas together a bit in in my conception. So I have a mental image of the sacred oracle/psychopomp bird flying out to be the eyes/ears of Apollo/Odin (ahem, perhaps someone a bit less illustrious than those). (Described a bit in previous posts.)
The build aspects beyond that I'll leave to the designer/player!
If the rest of the Troupe is in agreement on this point (that we are making Igor Rastvan from Roznov is the senior priest of the Cult of Mercury in the Rhine) then that would give Vorsutus, and thus the Covenant, a contact in Roznov re: Tribunal Sponsorship.
I'll update the sponsorship tracker.
Sounds good to me. Also, having a more senior magus give him the occasional task, to help the Cult, would be a nice way to give him stories. More stories.
As an aside, don't forget that we're showing up at the covenant in the summer, so you should advance through Spring. Not sure what your travel plans were mind you, but hey, figured I'd mention it.
I thought of some possibilities, but couldn't find ones that would cover such a wide territory, since the three tribunals combined cover a large swath of medieval Europe.
Which may actually be a possibility. Consolidate them all into a single Area Lore: Europe with a score of 5, with a specialty in magical regiones.
One of the issues with covering wide territories with an Aera Lore is that the knowledge ends up much more shallow. If Skepsi was mostly focused on the regiones, there might be a way around that -- define it as Area Lore: European Magical Sites (regiones). That would provide much more depth of knowledge of such sites, while leaving things mundane in the region out. Would make sense for the character, I think.
What do you think?
As the chap playing the character, I think it's a great solution. How about you Vort?