That was my thought as well. But then it begs the question, how do you handle someone having unbelievably loud sounds constantly assault them as it were?
Creating 'real' light is Ignem, sure. But is there any reason why you can't make illusory light with Imaginem? Genuinely curious. That said, even if you can't, you could certainly muto the specie put out by some other sort of light source and intensify them, no? Different than creating, but still.
Well, let's say you surround someone in illusory flames that also affect touch. It should then feel hot to them, even if it won't actually burn them.
Yeah, not gonna lie, the idea came to me this morning when I asked my kiddo why he had stripped stark arse naked and was running around the house. When asked why, he said clothes were itchy and he didn't want to wear them. So imagine targeting someone's clothing/armor etc and making it itch like crazy. Or hell take it up a notch and just make it feel razer sharp. Just an amusing notion that came about thanks to a naked child at 0500 was all.
I think we'd need to rely on the SG to adjudicate. I could see a loud noise being used to do a lot of things, but personaly I think I'd give the target a Con roll to resist the effect (just like Flash of the Scarlet Flames can blind someone by using CrIg).
Humm... interestingly, such Imaginem spells would bypass Parma, wouldn't they?
Because light is Ignem? Under the medieval paradigm, species and light are distinct things. Imaginem can change the way something appears to be illuminated, but not create a source of light.
By the same token, a source of light emits no species, so there's nothing to Muto.
Yep, I think that's it. Compare with Illusion of Cool Flames on ArM5 p.146, where a flame is made to seem cooler than what it actually is, while still being able to burn and cause damage.
Please, invent this spell. Name it in a flavorful way. The Complaint of the Naked Child or something like that. XD
But seriously, make them itchy enough and the clothes should apply a penalty for actions and concentration.
Not sure if Imaginem alone can make it into pain, however (I think you'd need PeCo requisites?). Razor-sharp clothes that seem to cut, but without pain?
Also now I'm bouncing around the idea of a PeIm spell to destroy all specie before they get to a target to effectively blind them. Seems nominally possible, but I've got a bit of reading to do to figure out how precisely to go about it.
Edit: After reading, it's possible, but hard. Lots of finesse.
That said, looking at a few ideas, like one to make objects feel incredibly heavily, or the ground to feel slippery... Yeah, ok Imaginem is super weird, and kinda fun.
I think I've got a solid start on the two companions.
The Faerie-raised warrior has the obvious attachment already noted. As he's coming along, it is extremely reasonable for him to end up attached to Ronan.
I'm not sure who the Failed Apprentice of Criamon would pair best with. I was going back and forth between oriented toward Path of the Body and Path of Seeming. I've leaned into Path of Seeming, someone whose Stigmata provide understanding. That's going to mean really good and knowledge and understanding, but not great socially with mundanes. Is there someone for whom it would be handy to have an expert in lore?
Atheus may end up interacting with the Coill Tri under one of his personas, he would surely appreciate a tattoo artist/lore master. That wouldnāt be his focus at the beginning, however.
Maybe he would be helpful to Leah in hunting/dealing with Realm creatures and hedge wizards?
Minor thing with the criamon paths: Iām away from my books, but I seem to recall a mention on HM:RE that unGifted canāt benefit from flaws from previous ordeals, neither self-initiate. I donāt recall if thereās something else.
Point being, assuming the standard Criamon initiations are only suitable for the Gifted, he will need someone (former master?) to experiment with the scripts for him.
Correct: unGifted need an Ordeal and donāt benefit from prior ones. Fortunately, most scripts already have Ordeals and the script bonuses are really high.
I actually like what Iāve been working on enough Iāve started wondering if I should swap the mage and companion.
It's not that I don't love your concept as it is, rather, it's more that I think this would be really interesting to see (and I've literally never seen a Criamon make it to play)? But hey, don't let my opinion sway you one way or the other, play whatever you think is cool/would make ya happy!
I think a big key is to find how a Criamon can be involved well while still being aligned with their Path. Sure, you could just go with the Winding Path, but then that may well mean you didn't want a Criamon in the first place. I think this is a big part of why the Path of Strife is so popular; you can get away with so much it's easy to be involved. Of course, another thing to realize is that enjoying something or accumulating things of value is not the same as the pursuit of those; you could accumulate wealth for a purpose without being greedy, for instance. This is akin to not worshiping gods, but worshiping God being OK.
One idea was Path of the Body and healing. But we already have a healer, so even if they would be different, that's too much jumping into another character's niche for me.
Another idea I had is to try to reform the Paths: living aptly is living aptly, and the Paths are part of the same Enigma (probably excluding the Path of Strife). But creating your own Path or making significant alterations to exiting paths requires Int/Pre + Cult Lore getting near 20 since everything for the Criamon magi counts as a Major Virtue. Even being as efficient as possible, getting close to that would probably mean spending huge amounts of time at the Cave of Twisting Shadows rather than being involved with the covenant. That could be a problem.
The Path of Seeming aligns well with knowledge. So I'm looking at things in that direction. I just have to make sure I come up with a reason for a pacifist to work with the covenant. We already have some negotiators, after all.
Now, there is a huge temptation to grab Twilight Mastery. The Warping-Point and time-lost costs are akin to what happens in Initiations. Even so, the flexibility makes it probably too powerful.
One of my ideas for a magus was to make a Criamon pacifist dealing with his anger issues, and my avenue would likely have been to invest on (Realm) Lores to direct him to the supernatural things, and to direct my arts and spells to subdue instead of injuring enemies (mundane and supernatural alike), so I'd very much like to see your take on that.
On paths, the book details 4, but states that there are 9 currently, each centered on a different clutch and tribunal. Maybe one of them is in Ireland, and we have an excuse to flesh it out? Is there anything that interests you and seems either tematic (for Criamon), Irish, or both, and suitable for the character and the saga?
Also 4 paths not currently pursued by anyone alive, so there's room for a path initiated by one of the ghosts in the Cave of Twisting Shadows, which might only require brief forays into the covenant to learn, and then you are back to Ireland.
On the Gentle Gift, I think we do not, unless Leah has it.
The book actually has 5 (The Winding Path is one of those 9) and gives little details about another 2. There are still 2 more followed and not described, and then the 4 with no current followers.
I hadnāt realized there was another mage. Oops.
Edit: Oh! This was a different idea than your Tytalus. So it wouldnāt be a huge overlap with another Criamon.
Well, I think your character will handle a lot of Fae stuff. And I believe Rafael's will be doing a ton of behind-the-scenes manipulation. But that still leaves a lot of room.
I won't be changing Leah's background all that much, so you have the broad strokes. (Just chop off the last five years from the previous one.) I think I've figured out most of the specifics at this point, too.
Reading emotions, memories, and thoughts would be related for similar spells, right? Of course, you'd need the same R/T/D for different effects to be similar.
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I think I have the useful pacifist coming together. In addition to the focus on knowledge that led me to the Path of Seeming, I'm also leaning into
Criamon magi on the Path of Seeming are those most able to communicate with outsiders, because they are lucid conversationalists schooled in a fierce logic.
I see a goal of bringing peace to Ireland by working amidst treaties with the different supernatural groups to make sure Ireland belongs to its residents. Probably from among the Cruithnigh in Ulster; though not leaning into tattoos as much as I would have with Touched by (Realm), but maybe for a Talisman.
As opposed to the Flambeau idea, this character would be able to work well with companions. I could see a defensive warrior (nothing like Fury, Wrathful) being quite useful, and the character would get along well with a Learned Magician (I think someone mentioned that.) or a healer of some sort. This would also sidestep the double-hoplite scenario, though I don't think the Flambeau and the Bjornaer would step on each other's toes; but one might have notably outshined the other.
Hopefully creation-discussion threads can be opened for these two. Here are the V&F for a couple. The V&F certainly might change a little; the companion has room for 1 more of each, and the mage has a bunch of extra Flaws.
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The warrior companion's basics:
Name: LorcƔn
Affinity with Single Weapon [1]
Cautious with Single Weapon [1]
FƔenchless [1]
Flight [1]
Puissant Flight [1]
Puissant Single Weapon [1]
Strong Faerie Blood: God (Lugh) (Faerie Sympathy: Weapons, Second Sight [3]
Faerie Upbringing [-1]
Optimistic [-3]
No Sense of Direction [-1]
Prohibition [-1]
Supernatural Nuisance (Faerie challengers) [-3]
.
Criamon to replace Flambeau basics:
Name: Aislinn cultas CriĢothamon
Affinity with Enigmatic Wisdom [1]
All According to Plan [1]
The Enigma [free]
Font of Knowledge [1]
Gentle Gift [3]
The Gift [free]
Good Teacher [1]
Hermetic Maga [free]
Puissant Enigmatic Wisdom [1]
Skilled Parens [1]
Unaging [1]
Thanks @Nithyn . I've finished the steps so you and @Vortigern might want to take a look. Now I have to get the companion written up more fully and write out the (fewer) steps for him.