Character Creation for Vortigern (OOC)

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: The Heir of Laimunt Valley
50

Yes, a score is 20. :wink:

I think 20 members doesn't make the Hermetic Haruspexes a small tradition. All of House Ex Miscellanea is about 180, so that makes it 10% of the House, which is about average. HoH:S p.108 mentions that traditions typically have 5 to 25 members. The same chapter describes the Hermetic Haruspexes as one of the 8 larger traditions of the House. If 20 is the average size for those, then they account for 160 of the 180 magi ex miscellanea.

Of course, the exact number of Haruspexes could be somewhat higher (say up to 30 magi), since the accuracy of the Ex Miscellanea's census is notoriously hard to perform. :laughing:

Since the Hermetic Haruspexes have Divination & Augury as the mandatory Supernatural virtue, and it is of a mystic nature, it could make sense for them to have a Mystery Cult Lore. This would make them into a minor Mystery Cult.

However, I think it is more likely that the tradition simply teaches its apprentices their signatire virtues when they open their Gift, as part of their normal training. In that case there would be no Mystery Cult Lore, just a normal Organization Lore, or a specialization in a wider Organization Lore. In that case your magus could have any of the following:

  • Organization Lore: Order of Hermes (House Ex Miscellanea);
  • Organization Lore: Order of Hermes (Hermetic Haruspexes);
  • Organization Lore: House Ex Miscellanea (Hermetic Haruspexes); or
  • Organization Lore: Hermetic Haruspexes (Astrological tradition)
51

(Attempt #2 to balance things as it were.)

Year 4, Spring

Vorsutus receives a letter, handed in ceremonious secrecy to him by the long familiar Redcap who calls on Rellantali, from the the ancient high priest of the sacred grove he had previously tried to assist.

It directly expressed approval and gratitude for his previous efforts on the behalf of the cult and grove, and offered him a position in cadre of young Magi that would be serving as active priests in the grove for the next year. The short notice was due to an unexpected vacancy. Vorsutus immediately wrote his acceptance with an eager hand. He knew this was a key step to moving deeper into the Cult itself and would not squander his opportunity.

Amina however was less than pleased. A year away? Just before her own Gauntlet? Their affair took on a somewhat different tone afterwards, with intense feelings and passion and yet a growing sense that they both knew when he left that it would be over.

A mere week of preparation made smooth his departure. He never questioned the decision. Yet still wonders how this confluence that pushed her out of his life could have been avoided or changed.

The travel was uneventful, a ship from Rellantali bore him to the very city containing the grove and its temple. Arriving Vorsutus undertook the ritual initiation and ceremonies of new priests then proceeded to live under the strict rule, almost monastic in structure, that governed the lives of those in residence there.

(Exposure: +2xp Cult of Mercury Lore)

Year 4, Summer

His service continued and so did his fascination and intense desire to understand everything he encountered there. Ritual observances and care for the grounds occupied much of his time. Repainting and dressing the statues to be display the ancient Gods in their proper splendor was arduous and detailed work, yet it was also an opportunity to learn about each God and all of their proper associations that affected how they should be displayed and respected.

Again the mystic birds made their appearance in the grove felt by stealing the magical fruit of the trees. Vorsutus was so distracted with his own inner affairs that he did not realize until after their theft was long concluded once again.

Thoughts of Amina lingered with him. And he had another vision of her as Summer came to an end, her face sweat stained in the same chair he had seen her before. She bore the same babe at her breast. Yet this time he was not there and she was not smiling.

(Exposure: +2xp Cult of Mercury Lore)

Year 4, Autumn

Melancholy crept into the recesses of his mind. In many ways he was already certain of what had happened and what was at least in the immediate future. She had borne his child and now she would leave. At least this time for them to be together had closed. Though he was already certain of all of these things he wrote earnestly to both Amina and to his Pater Chaldeaus.

Chaldeaus answered to inform him that Amina has passed her gauntlet, had indeed borne a child though she had told no one whom was the father, and that now she had already quit Rellantali. Dareth had said only that she wished to be elsewhere and he had made suitable arrangements for her.

In the evenings, around his duties as a priest for the year, Vorsutus let his mind wander up and down the pivotal moments that had led to his unhappy state of affairs. And saw none that he thought he would have changed. Or perhaps even could have changed.

His visions were many and varied, for he spent hours staring into his scrying crystal. Yet none were of her, or of his child. This vexed him most of all.

(Exposure: +2xp Cult of Mercury Lore)

Year 4, Winter

He renewed his dedication to his current role. Vorsutus -enjoyed- being a priest of the temple. The entire situation of it. And the atmosphere, the casual teachings of the elder priests and the majestic grandeur of the temple itself, was like another world from Rellantali. Vorsutus determined that he wished to live in just such an idyllic place in the future. That nothing else would do.

In particular he cultivated a relationship with the high priest who had invited him to fill the vacancy. Vorsutus again expressed his desire to deepen his studies and then return to solve the bird problem for the Cult.

When he returned to Rellantali upon the completion of his year of service it no longer felt like home.

(Exposure: +2xp Cult of Mercury Lore)

2 Likes
52

Year 5, Spring

His time in Sacred Grove had renewed his desire to hone his mastery of sympathy in order to be able to overcome the resistance of the mysterious thieving birds. He pursued his program of study with rigor yet in the mornings he continued writing and answering letters.

He sought the whereabouts of Amina more than anything else. Certainly he kept in touch with his new friends, his fellow priests and members of the Cult of Mercury, as well as the more senior members of the Cult. Yet little was he worried about himself and finding a new situation. Instead the mornings were spent thinking of whom to write to in search of her. And for the time being such inquiries were fruitless.

The evenings however he spent deeply gazing into his scrying crystal. Hours spent questing through visions of time and the critical moments he might walk down, searching for the path that would lead him to her. And still he saw her not at all. How could that be?

(Study Penetration Summa: +15xp Penetration)

Year 5, Summer

He gave up on the letters. She must have traveled outside of Rome for him not to be able to locate her at all. Even bribing his now very familiar Redcap at Rellantali had produced no results beyond that he would send the letters to Harco, and there eventually she would be found.

He continued his studes, of course. Yet in an around his work he stalked Dareth through Rellantali. Learning his habits and routine until one day he confidently braved Amina's old room while he was certain Dareth would be nowhere around. It was a risk. Not technically within his Sanctum, but certainly in his of the great houses of the Covenant in Venice and something of a trespass. Yet all went as planned and he was not discovered.

And the prize he sought was his. A small clump of her hair painstakingly harvested and collected together from the various effects left behind in her vanity. It should be all that he needed.

(Study Penetration Summa: +15xp Penetration)

Year 5, Autumn

With determination he paused his studies to spend the fall in the laboratory. He would not let his find go to waste and to spend his time productively in the process. Though inwardly impatient to put his find into immediate action he instead exercised restraint and unwaveringly waited for the lab process of fixing the connection to complete before doing anything further with it.

Vorsutus determined that since, after all, this was the mother of his as yet only child this would not be the last time he might need to even simply divine information about her if nothing else. He purchased a small silver ring, set with a small tiny topaz, and therin fixed the connection concealed under the stone.

(Fix Connection: Amina: -1p vis)
(Invent Spell: Panic Of The Trembling Heart (Mod.) - CrMe 10: Lab Total: 22)
(Exposure: +2xp Magic Theory)

Year 5, Winter

And the laboratories of Rellantali were not his own. In payment for the use of a lab Vorsutus served, not entirely eagerly yet by all means without rancor, as lab assistant for his Pater Chaldeaus once again. Therein he assisted his erstwhile Master in designing a new spell for improving the performance of arcane connections. Vorsutus bargained for his own copy of the laboratory text in exchange for some future additional service to Rellantali.

In the meantime his evenings he began practicing his astrological arts in search of Amina. And his connection and more advanced skills together yielded results. Somehow it was clear she was trying to protect herself from his divinations. Yet he garned enough information to craft her Nativity Horoscope and thereafter was able to determine that she was alive, well, full of conflicting emotions, and in Constantinople.

Constantinople? She had run far away indeed. Yet now he could see her again.

Once again he began having visions of her, like before. It was like she had been cut out of one of his natural senses. The constant flow of possibility and probability that never left his sight. Now she was back before his sight and he would not lose her again.

(Exposure: +2xp Magic Theory)
(Lab Text: Fortify The Ethereal Threads - CrVi30)

Fortify The Ethereal Threads - CrVi 30

Fortify The Ethereal Threads
CrVi 30
R: Touch, D: Ring, T: Circle

Decrease the rate of decay of any Arcane Connection within by three steps though unable to exceed the category of lasting "years" as an AC.
(Base: 15, +1 Touch, +2 Ring)

1 Like
54

A few minor points:

  • Fixing a connection requires a full season. You can't do it and invent a spell at the same time (unless we are adopting a house rule).
  • Year 5 Winter, usually an assistent gains nothing except for exposure, so I assume Chaldeaus gifted the notes to Vorsutus after the work was done?
  • In case you end up going to Constantinople, Regulus was in Thebes from 1201 to 1204, and spent a few weeks in Constantinople after the fall. Feel free to intermingle Vorsutus and Regulus backstories, if you so desire. =]
55

I am planning (and had all typed up before I lost it and rage quit this evening) to have him perform an extra season of service in the following year to pay for the lab text!

I am planning just that! And Nithyn's new concept is from there.

Perhaps we could work in something where all three of them met there?

The plan currently is that Amina has gone to the Covenant of Thermakopolis, which is also where the new concept (Belisarius I am told) is from.

I'm currently toying with idea of staying through the fall myself, so that puts us there together for a few years all three of us! Interesting.

I always saw it as a minor background lab activity, but I'm open to learning I'm wrong? It certainly seems like something that shouldn't take all of your attention to me.

56

That would be nice. =]

Regulus stayed at Polyaigos, and went to Constantinople twice. Once before the fall with other Guernicus and quesitores, to give advice about what is legal under the code and what would count as mundane interference, and once more after the fall as humanitarian aid.

I partially agree that it's a minor activity and shouldn't take that much daily time... but the rules don't support that. =/

There has been some discussion regarding this in the forums, and a common houserules are to fix a number of ACs equal to your magic theory score, or to allow fixing together with other activities (kinda like attuning a talisman).

Going RAW, fixing an arcane connection is better left to apprentices since magi usually have better/nobler tasks (which is the reason I didn't suggest it earlier as a potential unproductive season). But hey, if it fits the story for a magus...

We could also adopt a houserule. Personally I'm satisfied with RAW (fixing AC's being slow, tedious work that sometimes must be done nonetheless) but that's me. Maybe raising this in the OOC discussion or Saga discussion topics?

57

Year 6, Spring

Another season of service to Rellantali found Vorsutus once again managing, and sometimes assisting, the criminal affairs of its unacknowledged retainers. Long accustomed to such affairs Vorsutus none the less enjoys the intricate and clandestine dealings that make such business work, and pay.

His particular skills were put to use in a variety of ways. Divining the location of a pair of kidnapping victims. (One that it was desired to retrieve, another to kidnap.) And the whereabouts of the hidden stash of silver belonging to a recalcitrant and proud merchant who refused to pay his "taxes" to the gang lords of the city. Rellantali existed on such affairs and Vorsutus had always taken the lessons of how the world "really" worked to heart. Another season of soaking up such lessons was not a heavy burden for him.

And when all of this work was done a few minutes with his scrying crystal and his lady and child were there to see once again. It was coming, they would be together again, he could feel it in the skein.

Surprise however came when the retainers reported an altercation with a savage creature of some kind lurking in the canals. It had already slain a man, dragging him overboard before any were aware of danger. He surfaced again only some time later, well drowned and less well feasted upon. Vorsutus used the wounded man as a connection to creature with which to divine its nature and whereabouts. A dark mermaid, a carnivorous and predatory creature of entropy, that prowled the darkest recesses of the canals. How had such a being escaped notice until now? Or from whence had it come?

Such questions could be answered later. He methodically took his time to build up his ceremony and then poured it through the connection to the creature, reaching out and firmly suppressing the mind of the predator into a state of sleep. Letting his men know where the beast could be found, with it rendered inert, he cautioned them to be wary yet to retrieve it. It was brought forth in nets and kept in the shallows alongside their boat in the canals as they had caught it.

Chaldeaus he was certain could find a use for such a creature. Perhaps he would more than repay his debt after all?

(Adventure: +8xp Intrigue, + ?Reward?)
(Reward: Astrolabe of Quality (Minor Item))

Year 6, Summer

His debt paid, and then some, Vorsutus set to making his own arrangements. A few welcome bribes to his now well familiar Redcap friends and he was able to narrow down her location in Constantinople to the Covenant of Thermakopolis. He began exchanging letters with the Archmagus Mathieus who presided there. Making discreet arrangements to come, see the city, and study with the Covenant took several letters yet it was no great feat. As these passed back and forth he negotiated passage from Venice to Harco and onward to Constantinople itself.

Within a month all was arranged and Vorsutus found himself discreetly escorted through the city to the waiting doors of one of Thermakopolis' great houses. The city reminded him of his past homes. Wexford, Venice, now Constantinople? All port cities. All thriving places of trade and bustling life. Though life he could only ever partake of in limited ways. It was impressive still, even compared to Venice, and that was saying something.

Being brought in to Thermakopolis as a guest he smiled broadly, his friendliness in earnest as he grasped hands and went through the introductions with his hosts. This was all as he expected and he grew more and more certain as he was brought through to join several other Magi for dinner, including their other Roman guest. He was seated across from Amina whose wide eyes betrayed, if only to him, how very little she had expected to see him here.

A wry smile formed on his lips as he raised his glass to her. "To Roman Beauty."

(Exposure: +2xp Intrigue)

Year 6, Autumn

Amina didn't stay shocked for long. Or cold to him. Soon it was as if he never left for the Grove. They settled into love and their studies. And he met his child, who was a babe no longer really. She informed him, seemingly shy for a change, that she had called him Eadric. Of course she had?

Their association did not escape the notice of their hosts, but clearly they were more than casually together with a young child in tow. The only gentle admonition they received was the suggestion that perhaps the services of a discreet and magus friendly priest were a bit overdue? It was agreed upon that they would wed soon and arrangements began to be made.

Vorsuts renewed his studies on sympathy and connections and finding the library of Thermakopolis a wonder. There he spent hours just poring through the variety of books available, as much as reading anything. This was not the idyllic scene of a Temple in a Grove, yet ... there was a majesty here all the same. And luxury to rival Venice. A man could grow accustomed to such a place.

(Study Penetration Summa: +15xp Penetration)

Year 6, Winter

Vorsutus shifted his program of study. Instead he began to focus more strongly on the Art of Rego. He needed to advance his general abilities. He had focused on the foundations of his areas of interest for too long perhaps. Yet even as he planned his way forward, mystically, he found much to distract him in his daily life.

The joys of a young family. And a wedding to bring it together in the eyes of the world and the gods. They were wed discreetly before many of the Magi of the city. The mystical society of Constantinople celebrated the union of two of their own with enthusiasm that partially shocked Vorsutus, yet warmed his heart none the less.

This was his "society" he reminded himself. Not the one out there in the world. Magical society was where he had always belonged. Perhaps he should ask himself why being embraced by it in turn was something he did not expect?

Even more discreetly they were wed again by the local priests of the Cult of Mercury. And an even smaller grouping of magical society likewise celebrated.

Joys which could never last.

(Study Rego Summa: +15xp Rego)

58

What is Vorsutus' score in Penetration by now? Is it realistic for him to have access to a Q15 summa of the required level? I know his initial score at Gauntlet was 2, and I've noticed several seasons spent studying that Ability, so I'm wondering what the book is like to support this.

The best high-level summa on Penetration is probably the one presented on HoH:S p.9, Ultor ("The Avenger"), by Elaine of Flambeau, which is L5Q11.

59

Here is the previous discussion of book levels before I started allotting xp/seasons.

The last season would be enough that he now has raised his Penetration 2 from apprenticeship to a 5, and thus any further progression would need tracts or instruction etc. But regardless 5 was my goal for him and I wasn't planning on trying to go higher during character creation.

60

I could see Vorsutus visiting there perhaps over his few years in the Tribunal. Perhaps aiding with divinations if called upon? Perhaps during the visit for legal matters he could have been asked to determine the facts of a specific case. Or something else. What year/season did this visit happen if, if I want to make an entry in my history match it?

I currently plan on him (unintentionally) staying through the fall/sack of the city and so those events and Regulus showing up afterward would be another opportunity for them to interact.

I'm currently trying to decide on how/why Amina and children are either mysteriously vanished or absconded with before/during/after the events in the fall/sack of the city. I am kind of aiming for their fates, and him trying to find them, being something lingering over his head as a plot hook.

Not that a Tytalus Girl needs a reason to go missing. :wink:

61

Spring 1203 - Regulus and a group of quesitores visits Thermakopolis around June and advices them to leave Constantinople (at the time the Crusader army was just a few miles away). Regulus left the meeting with the impression that Thermakopolis is comprised of a bunch of reckless fools who believed, against all evidence, that no evil would befall them (but hey, maybe Vorsutus will give us the other side of the story?).

Spring of 1204 - de facto fall of Constantinople (before that the city was besieged, in Summer of 1203 IIRC, new emperors were crowned, etc).

Summer of 1204 - letters arrive asking all covenants from Thebes for help in relocating surviving magi and covenfolk, and asking cooperation from Quesitores with investigations and legal matters (I don't recall if this is canon or something I wrote).

Regulus rescued a boy (12yo) who lost his family and ended up bringing him back to Tugurium. I wrote him as a little rascal with fast hands and a compulsion for stealing. Regulus was going to try and reform the boy, finding a noble use for his innate abilities... but maybe upon arriving at the covenant Vorsutus would think that the boy is fine as he is and put him to good use? Infiltrating places and stealing ACs?

62

Year 7, Spring

Vorsutus came to befriend one Belisarius, of Jerbiton, the former apprentice of the Archmagus who presided over Thermakopolis. The two had long talks on hermetic affairs and the structure and politics of the Theban Tribunal. And the theology surrounding The City in various shapes and forms. Frequently over games of chess and glasses of wine.

Vorsutus was glad to have made a new friend in a place where he had none. Though he did not press overmuch on matters of theology given his "very" different ideas about such.

His studied during this time continued to focus on Rego in the library of Thermakopolis. He felt fortunate that the library had such a tome in Latin and that all the books therein were not in Greek. Perhaps, if he intended to stay here with Amina, he should make time to learn the language soon?

And Amina began showing again.

(Study Rego Summa: +15xp Rego)

Year 7, Summer

A new child. A daughter this time.

And this time his vision of Amina holding the baby and smiling at him came true down to the last detail.

Vorsutus was overjoyed and determined to make all of this happiness last. He began speaking with the Archmagus about joining Thermakopolis itself. It seemed like a good match for him given his predisposition and magical interests. Perhaps he and Amina could make a home here in the greatest city in the world?

Why not? A wife and family, a prosperous city and Covenant to live in, and friends at hand? A welcoming hermetic society?

A man could do much worse.

(Study Rego Summa: +15xp Rego)

Year 7, Autumn

Vorsutus was called upon to assist the some Verditius Magi who were members of the League of The Children of Olympos, and also members of the Cult of Mercury. He had to forsake his studies of Rego entirely and take ship with them to the isle of Lemnos and the Covenant of Ingasia where a tense standoff was taking place between several Magi.

A strange situation confronted the young Magus wherein several warlike Frankish Flambeau were demanding that a missing Sodale and his property be returned to them in good condition or they would declare war upon all and sundry and return in a month. Apparently this confrontation had already been underway for days. Vorsutus seemed to arrive just in time to attempt to mediate and assist in the matter before all dialogue broke down.

The crux of the conflict revolved around one of the Frankish Magi who had commissioned a powerful enchantment from the Verdi of the isle. The enchantment itself was seemingly straightforward. A mystic ballista, intended for mounting on a ship, that was capable of dispatching fiery bolts that after striking dissolved into something akin to Greek Fire. And yet the Magus himself and the ballista were vanished. He had stepped up to inspect the work before his friends and seemingly all had watched both he and the engine disappear without explanation. The Verdi were similarly perturbed by this situation. Both due to the warlike Franks and because the engine had not yet been completely paid for.

Vorsutus was able to convince those involved to cooperate to determine the fate of the missing Magus and enchantment both, to the benefit of all interested parties. Being methodical and careful to be clearly observed in all undertakings by both parties he gathered suitable connections both from the friends of the Frankish Magus and from the Verditius relating to the Engine and investigated the scene thoroughly. After hours of investigation he retired to perform in depth astrological calculations and divinations.

The strange part of the affair was that the Magus simply seemed "gone". There was no connection to either him or the engine in either case. Not even a connection that was resisted, it was as if there was nothing to connect to. As Vorsutus emerged, showing his astrological evidence, and explained this strange lack of findings at first neither Franks nor Verdi were receptive. Both accused him of taking a bribe from the other to clear them of their obvious debt. Until a wizened Criamon spoke, and declared the Frank to have crossed into Twilight, and to have taken his engine with him.

Not all mysteries it appears have satisfactory conclusions.

(Adventure +8xp (+5xp Intrigue, +3xp Cult of Mercury Lore) Reward: Lab Text (Invisible Arbalest of Vilano - ReTe 20)

Year 7, Winter

Vorsutus returned to Thermakopolis and reflected on feeling somewhat powerless before the angry Frankish Flambeau. It was not a feeling he would care to repeat he decided. His studies shifted after that experience. He began to take an interest in being able to defend himself directly, and to that end he began to design and follow a different program of study.

Amina was glad that he had returned safely, yet seemed preoccupied with matters of her own interest more and more. There was something afoot there yet it was something he failed to sufficiently notice.

(Learn Spell: Invisible Arbalest of Vilano - ReTe 20: LT: 28 + Lab Text)
(Exposure: +2xp Magic Theory)

63

While L5Q15 is fine for a Magic Theory summa, as this is a very popular topic for all magi, it is IMO too high for Penetration. That is why I mentione Ultor above. That would probably be the pinacle book on the subject. 'Cause how many magi raise their Penetration ability to 10 or more? How many of those would be high-quality writers? Even a Q11 writer means accumulating 5 from Com, Good Teacher, or a higher ability score.

I'm raising the same question here. How high was Vorsutus' Rego score at the beginning of that season? We need to know how high a summa level we are talking about here. We don't want to have to track and calculate what his score is before we can evaluate whether the summa quality is fine or not. You already have that info, so help us out here! :wink:

64

This last season would put his Rego score at a 10 with partial experience.

That doesn't seem like an unreasonable score at all.

Please clarify what the conclusion here is? I'm not sure what you want me to take away from this.

That said ... I've reworked and invested effort already to adhere to both the yearly xp guideline and mandate for wasted/non-productive seasons while generating narrative etc. I think now criticizing source quality levels despite the these standards being adhered to is getting entirely too subjective. Any topic of study could easily be learned from a different type of source (tracts/teachers/whatever) that abstract to the same overall xp values that would still meet the same xp/rate per year standard.

If the issue is dislike or concern over end scores then I would prefer that you discuss that directly as your concern? Yet I don't think I see what would be really concerning here. Or deviating from my concept as described.

If there is some other standard under consideration here I think it is a bit late to be informing me.

65

Year 8, Spring

He continued to socialize with the Magi of Thermakopolis, drawing closer to them and putting his best foot forward as it were. There was no dissembling on either side as all of the Magi weighed whether Thermakopolis would be a good home for him and his wife. Vorsutus found more and more, as he continued the process, that he was surprised at himself at how much he had come to desire this to work.

In the interim he shifted his studies by day to the Art of Vim and discussed with Amina how he was enjoying the change and what further uses he might put these new skills to in the future. She seemed well amused with him, yet her own affairs kept her busy much of the time. "You already seem to have put aside the lesson from Lemnos. It made you stronger, but it was only a small test. Sometimes I wish you had actually been a Tytalus, though I do love you as you are." Sometimes a Tytalus can be a real chore.

(Study Vim Summa: +15xp)

Year 8, Summer

Vorsutus served as lab assistant, in a non-Sanctum lab, to the Archmagus Mathieus. It served both the purpose of paying his way for continuing to be hosted by, and permitted to study at, this Covenant of which he was not a member ... and to bring him and the Archmagus into close and prolonged contact as his suit for that very membership was under consideration. Vorsutus found he enjoyed the older Magus' company. He was intelligent, wry, and perceptive.

The project was also an interesting one. A crystalline sphere the size of a pomegranate housed in an arcane apparatus the size of small chest. This curious device Mathieus confided in him was meant to form the heart of their new strategy for any potential defense of the city. A device capable of affecting the minds of an entire enemy army at once and thoroughly and completely destroying their ability to work in cohesion or even amity with one another. The single greatest advantage of any mundane force, completely eliminated.

Vorsutus was impressed and overawed at a level of power, and ability to resist the ultimate mundane assault, that he could only hope to wield such greatness himself one day. He wanted to join this Covenant now more than ever. Amina listened to everything with wide interested eyes and an amused smile.

(Exposure: +2xp Magic Theory)

Year 8, Autumn

Vorsutus resumed his studies of Vim, attempting to regulate his program of study once again now that he was free from the lab. He dreamed of working on another similarly grand project of his own one day. It gave him deeper motivation for his own studies.

In the mean time Amina was becoming more active with visitors to the city. Magi not from Thebes, many of them. Vorsutus was distracted though he noticed a haze of vaguely dark possibility about some of them when he met a few of them. He caught a brief reference of one of them telling another he was the husband of their "ally" and this seemed to garner him immediate acceptance in their group.

(Study Vim Summa: +15xp)

Year 8, Winter

Continuing his studies Vorsutus, despite his usual isolation from the mundane world, was none the less disturbed by news of building conflict. Conflict enough that it threated even the great city itself. Intrigued and concerned both he spent his free hours speaking with the others of Thermakopolis (as he thought of them now) about the state of the city and whether it would need to be defended.

The Archmagus assured him that there was nothing to fear. Thermakopolis was well prepared and all would be well. He felt the certainty of the older Magus and it was indeed reassuring. His visions showed a triumphant Covenant celebrating a great victory. Taken together the outcome of any dispute seemed all too clear to him.

Amina was often traveling for her own interests during this time. The nanny that tended their children had her hands full much of the time. Vorsutus made time in his own evenings to spend with the children and wondered what project had so absorbed her that she had not yet shared. Yet one does not generally do well to pry into the affairs of a Tytalus. His visions once again contained her less and less, a fact which slowly began to bother him the back of his mind.

(Study Vim Summa: +15xp)

66

Year 9, Spring

The news continued to grow worse regarding impending conflict. Vorsutus shifted his studies to match, abandoning the topics he was most interested in seeking instead to better prepare himself for any approaching violence amongst Magi themselves. This was not to his liking. He preferred to think that Magi, in their world apart, should bolster one another against a hostile mundane world. Yet clearly there was always the possibility of conflict amongst your very own. And he did not wish to be defenseless.

During this time a group of Quaesitors from Polyaigos arrived in the city and visited Thermakopolis itself. They were very direct in urging everyone present to leave the city. Vorsutus had some conversation with one Magus among them called Regulus after the official meeting had concluded. He saw a haze of possibility around this man that he did not see around the others. Some future entanglement that was not yet clear. He did his best to be friendly and try to draw him into conversation as he tried to unravel what the nature of this future entanglement might be. They concluded their conversation with him having come to no firm conclusion yet perhaps one friend richer. And perhaps that was the matter itself?

Of course the Magi of Thermakopolis would not abandon the city. Their stated purpose as a Covenant of Thebes was defending it! Vorsutus could see no alternative for himself either, though he was no warrior Magus. And where was Amina?

(Learn Parma Magica: +15xp Parma Magica)
(Regulus Interaction1)

Year 9, Summer

The Crusaders, and their Hermetic Allies, arrived and besieged the greatest city in the world. Archmagus Mathieus and Vorsutus stood on the wall together looking out more than once. It disappointed the elderly Magus that such a great army was composed of would-be allies and on the wrong side of the city. For centuries they had resisted barbarian forces from outside Christendom. And here was Christendom come to repay them.

Even in the early days of the Siege there came to be exchanges in secret places of the magical world between the Magi of the city and those of the army attempting to breach and establish a metaphorical beachhead within. Vorsutus felt ill prepared for such however he participated in several defensive actions none the less. He isn't certain if he killed anyone, or if so how many. But he is certain on more than one occasion his Arbalest spell hit home. His friend Belisarius and he were frequently fighting together in these exchanges. His sodales of Thermakopolis rewarded him with a gift they thought suitable to his talents.

How could the Pax Hermetica come to this? Wasn't preventing such things why the Order even existed?

Amina however had returned and this was a welcome joy.

(Adventure: +8xp (+8xp Parma Magica) + Reward: Scrying Crystal of Quality)
(Initial Siege of Constantinople)

Year 9, Autumn

The army and the city settled into the siege. The Hermetic conflict also simmered down to a quiet state with building tension, much like the mundane conflict. Vorsutus found himself pressed, with his rarer divinatory skills, into constant service to Thermakopolis and the defense. Connections gathered after battles, or from prisoners, or from scouts sent outside the city were constantly brought to him for him to exploit and determine if they were useful for information.

In what free time he had not gathering information for the defense he attended the councils of the defenders and lended what advice he could. Yet he was still young compared to many of the Magi defending the city and could lend little of substantive might to their efforts, despite yearning to desperately.

The factions amongst those Magi still residing in the city began to squabble among themselves over management of their resources and how best to defend the city. Vorsutus repeatedly attended gatherings the purpose of which was to try to sway Magi to one or another faction devoted to a certain strategy ... or to abandoning the city altogether. He did his utmost to sway his fellow Magi to sustain the defense and to support Archmagus Mathieus. He had every confidence in the ancient Jerbiton.

Amina did not seem so confident. She did not quit the city however she did have every bit of their household goods and affairs prepared for doing so given the sparest moment of notice. Vorsutus was too absorbed in his maneuvering among the defenders to pay close attention to his lack of visions of her. Yet looking back the lack of her in his Sight is striking to him.

(Exposure: +2xp Intrigue)

Year 9, Winter

The tense "peace" of a siege did not last on the Hermetic front. Vorsutus again found himself constantly absorbed in skirmishes to defend the city and even more than once the grounds of the Covenant itself. It was dismaying to him that such open warfare could occur, hermetic on hermetic.

Belisarius and he were constantly together in such unsavory contests whenever Vorsutus was not occupied with divining on behalf of the defenders. His fingers ached constantly either from casting his Arbalest spell or from the constant writing of astrological calculations and inceptions. There was little in the way of rest or time to think beyond the needs of the moment. His visions kept him on a path forward that he felt certain would lead him out of this nightmare alive though not perhaps as well as he would hope for. Yet he could not bring himself to walk away from the nightmare and leave Thermakopolis and the city seemingly to destruction and rapine. The ancient Malthieus spoke of him almost as if he were already a member of the Covenant, indeed he said he likely would already be one if this affair had not so disrupted things. Beyond the personal thanks and encouragement of the Archmagus himself, he was gifted with a lab text from his own collection.

(Adventure: +8xp (+8xp Parma Magica) + Reward: Lab Text)
(Lab Text: To Be Defined)

1 Like
67

Year 10, Spring

Vorsutus was sure until the end that the city would hold. That Mathieus and the grand power of the defenders would prevail. And he would do his part as well as he could, for one so young in Hermetic terms. Yet he had failed already without knowing it.

The clashes leading up to the final battle were much the same, though the intensity built up as all appeared to know the conclusion in any case was drawing nearer. Vorsutus had such a wide collection of Connections with which to divine by this point that he couldn't make beneficial use of them all in a day. He fed constant information to his allies, thwarting attempted breaches repeatedly if indirectly.

And yet in the end it was all for naught. Returning to the now fortress-like atmosphere of Thermakopolis one evening Vorsutus fell into a haze of prescience. A vision of the possibility and such a pivotal moment that he felt almost compelled to follow it. In an almost trance state he let the vision lead him down into the treasury of Thermakopolis to find Amina there, the doors wide and the protections disarmed.

He stood silently watching as she looted from the treasures of his friends and would-be Covenant-mates until she suddenly appeared to notice him. Then she laughed as if a child caught stealing from the kitchen. He walked forward as she began to speak, looking down at a fractured and clearly no longer functional device ... a crystalline orb set into a fine apparatus the had helped enchant not so long ago. He held up a hand interrupting her. "It is clear this is more than theft." he said, his anger palpable. "I can't believe-"

And then he was motionless. Not insensate, but locked in place somehow.

"My dear husband. You've grown so much these past few years. But I think you need so much more. I have plans for us both. You were wasting your life away like a Jerbiton until all of this. Now look at you! Trust me, my love, this will only make us both stronger. You will suffer, I know, but I am not sorry for it. For I can not wait to meet the new you when all of this is concluded. For I have faith you will stand the test of the fire and emerge rarefied." she said. After that a kiss, and then the next thing he remembered was waking in a distant townhouse for the city.

A townhouse occupied nominally by the Crusaders. But really by the Hermetic allies amongst them. The siege was over and he recognized some of those Latins now as being among those who knew him as the "husband of their ally" from not so long ago. All was as it had been arranged to be. By Amina.

He felt if anything a fool. Yet he was alive.

(Adventure: +8xp (+8xp Parma Magica) + Reward: ???)
(Fall/Sack of Constantinople)

Year 10, Summer

As the city settled into a state of occupation the magical world reeled with the great destruction of longstanding Covenants. Including Thermakopolis. Vorsutus was grateful in some ways to have survived yet he could not stomach the deeds or how readily his wife profited from them. How she had shattered so many lives, including the one he was building with her here, with purpose and foresight. She seemed convinced that eventually he would understand what she had done. He was less certain.

Going amongst the others, the survivors of the defense, he did what little he could to give aid and try to help arrange especially for those of the Cult and the League to which he was so friendly were able to exit the city unharmed. In these interactions he again encountered the Quaesitor Regulus doing similar work. Again he paused to converse with the man, the sense of growing entanglement surrounding him again. Vorsutus was perhaps too much still stunned by how these affairs had transpired to be a pleasant conversationalist.

It was during these days that he came to become acutely aware that his visions no longer included Amina, and that he had been so distracted with affairs that he had not noticed. Prying open the ring he had made he detected that the Connection to her was gone. She had planned this so far ahead it would seem. And blocked herself from his Sight to achieve it.

He gathered his things and made a silent departure with the next group of Cult members that he assisted instead joining them in their relocation via magical means to a distant Sacred Grove of the Cult in Rome. One he knew well.

(Exposure: +2xp Cult of Mercury Lore)
(+1 Warping)
(Regulus Interaction2)

Year 10, Autumn

The idyllic temple was perhaps just what he needed, deep in his heart, to recover from the lengthy ordeal of such sustained conflict and violence. To say little of such a close betrayal. The ancient High Priest seemed to read everything in even just his bearing and, hugging him close, welcomed him "home" in a way that made him feel utterly and completely welcomed and accepted. It was difficult to keep his composure after that.

At first he simply partook of the usual rights and functioning of the temple, striving to see it all done "right" as he had learned when he had done his year of service. Yet the high priest would have none of it. That was work for those doing "their" year of service, not for him.

This freed him from constant demands. It was then that he turned his mind, and considerably more developed skills, to an old problem he had not thought about in entirely too long. The birds stealing the sacred fruits of the trees of the grove. He spent several days wandering the grove itself after that, searching and letting his visions play out in his mind. And eventually he discovered a single new, significant and possibility laden it seemed to his eye, almost blue-black feather.

Unlike before this time his skills were up to the test. He was shocked at what he learned over several hours of divinations and calculations. There was in fact only one bird. But it was a bird of significant power, able to fly through some unknown means in and out of places like the regio of the grove.

As he sat in the grove itself and considered what to do about it he heard very Raven-like caw. Looking up a bird to match the feather in his hand was looking back at him. "I was just thinking about you." he said after a moment. "You seem to like eating things that don't belong to you. Yet perhaps we could make a deal?"

And the bird answered.

(Adventure: +8xp (+5xp Cult of Mercury Lore, +3xp Intrigue) + Reward: Find Familiar)

Year 10, Winter

The high priest was overjoyed to hear that there was a solution to his bird problem. He volunteered the use of a laboratory on the temple grounds immediately and Vorsutus set to work sealing the bargain with his new friend. Formerly thieving the fruit to keep up its considerable magical strength the mystical raven seemed naturally compatible with Vorsutus and had been slowly persuaded as the two came to know one another over a span of several weeks that life, a longer life at that, as a familiar without such needs was a compelling offer. An offer too good to refuse.

As Vorsutus forged his connection with his new familiar the high priest undertook at work of his own. Noting the young Magus was in need and of an age for it to be relevant he had determined to perform a longevity ritual for him. He named a price low enough that it raised the eyebrows on Vorsutus in surprise. "Believe me young man, if your bird isn't eating the fruit anymore this arrangement will all pay for itself!" the older man cackled.

(Bind Familiar)(+LP)
(Exposure: +2xp Magic Theory)

68

You misunderstand my inquiry. I just want to know what the score of the ability or Art is when each season begins. It just makes it easier for everyone to assess whether the level of the summa is realistic, because the quality is just a part of the information. For some subjects more than others. So by not giving us all the information, you are forcing us to either search for it (current score) or make a guess (summa level). That's more work for us.

Note that narrative advancement is subjective. The guidelines are just that -- guidelines. Not hard rules. What is more important is having a narrative that fits into the setting and which simulates actual play.

During actual play, things often do not evolve exactly as we planned it to. Seasons get disturbed by unforeseen events. Books which we were planning on studying are unavailable because someone else is studying them. The library of our covenant is incomplete or sub-optimal. So narrative advancement should also introduce those kinds of sub-optimal conditions.

As for other types of advancement providing the same overall amount of xp, that isn't quite true. You may be able to find a few Q15 tractatus, but they are very rare. So you wouldn't be able to study the same subject for a year on those. The season of a teacher who can tutor you in Penetration (for example) means a senior magus, whose time is valuable and must be compensated. And for summae, it is easy to find L10Q15, but impossible to find a L25Q15 (and if such a book existed, the price to access it would be steep). So not all things are equal.

69

So ... this seems like subjective post hoc revision which I have zero ability to predict or plan for. After asking explicitly for guidance. Which is both annoying/cumbersome and more or less makes it impossible to plan out a build for starting play with. I've spent a fair bit of time trying to do exactly that, and I think that effort invested should already be clear and given some due mileage.

I'm pretty ok with my assertions about the nature of all of this abstraction/total xp per year for the purposes of getting an initial build done. I don't think I've been inaccurate anywhere there. Perhaps just operating off of different assumptions. But I'm trying to be accommodating regardless.

Again, I need a clear conclusion/guidance. You haven't asserted specifically what you want here. I need this clearly stated to proceed.

I'm trying to interpret based on your opinion re: sources/materials that you think that Penetration as a subject is just harder to find materials for, and thus should be generally of lower quality. That this should mean overall a lower rate of progression for Penetration? And that thus purely by studying Penetration the seasonal/yearly rate of xp gain would be lower?

So how much lower if this is the overall point? Please set a number and I will look at things afterward and evaluate what it means for the build/concept.

70

I think I overlooked the baseline of 1 Warping per year. So I'll factor that in when I do my totals. I'm working on those now using an assumption of a source quality of 10 for Penetration sources.