I am concerned that this companion is less bellicose than might fit the needs of an intended hoplite character. That said it does seem rather authentically medieval to me, and I like that.
What would you say to making this companion a member of the Priory that is on Inchmore Island and therefore a local, who has taken an interest in the Covenant that is now founded on the island?
Perhaps he thinks these Magi need spiritual guidance, whether they are his designated flock or not?
The idea is to leave the spotlight to the magus when it comes to fighting and to help her in areas where she might need help (talking, city life,...). We can always take a grog or two along if muscle is needed. The relic means that the character has some defense against the supernatural and his animal friends might defend him if anybody saw a monk as a priority target, which I doubt.
I am not opposed to this Franscican to be associated with the priory. After all the order is brand new and Ireland probably doesn't even have a proper structure locally yet - but how does changing that make the character more warlike?
I would never worry about outshining a mage in their chosen area with a companion because that will never happen. The gap in power level between the two is... extremely large, especially if you're not playing a companion with might.
I think the concern is that a hoplite is going to regularly engage in a number of dangerous stories (hunting down threats to the Order, dealing with rogue wizards, etc), and a character like this has the distinct possibility of being squished. Fast. As for grogs, while they're great for helping ward off relatively moderate mundane threats, once you start tossing the supernatural into the mix, they too can quickly become a liability.
I think you missed the point here? At least by my read of things. @Vortigern (and please correct me if I'm wrong), seemed to be trying to separate the two characters a bit, without rejecting the concept. Because as stated, it feels like there are a large number of stories that Leah would be involved in where he just won't fit in particularly well? And by particularly well, I mean in eminent mortal peril.
Now ultimately it's a decision that @Pendry has to make, I (and @Vortigern I suspect, though I don't want to speak for him) just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of the risks involved.
A few thoughts (and I realize both numbers and history are currently unavailable for wide consumption):
-As otherwise discussed, starting five years earlier in Leah’s life will mean she is far from Hoplite-power so I expect solo wizard hunting is years away
-She is Bjornaer which means a fair level of obligation to the land and it’s creatures. The proposed companion fits in very well there.
-In addition to her eventual hunting of bad wizzies, I expect her to engage in many other types of hunts. Some will be physically dangerous, some will not.
Compared to most companion characters, this one has a better protection against the supernatural than a starting mage, namely a relic. He is also protected by his reputation and by being a member of the church, which will also make him a decent arbitrator when killing isn't the only option on the table. He won't lift a weapon himself, but can ask any number of animals to defend him (Animal training equals all social skills when used with animals, and he is going to excel at that, plus puissant, plus alluring to animals).
Many of his "lab" seasons will go into recruiting animals to his cause, so he will eventually have inconspicuous eyes and ears everywhere, and be surrounded by animal bodyguards. This one is not as easy a kill as you seem to suspect.
I may be wrong, but maybe the perceived issue was the contrast between a pacifist priest and a belicose hoplite-in-the-making?
But if I recall correctly, Franciscans are not necessarily pacifists. Peaceful, usually. But pacifism implies against violence. I think they can not pursue violence, but not oppose it when it's justly delivered (the same opinion as the Church at the time, I suppose). And while he can avoid being the one delivering the punishment, he could reasonably leave that to a hoplite (I imagine he won't want his animals hurting/killing no one either, if he can avoid)?
But even if he is indeed a pacifist, that conflict between the characters would also be interesting.
Perhaps somewhat. But also with the nature of sandbox as an approach there is something of a concern with wondering what sort of situations are people going to place themselves in.
In the sandbox approach encounters are attempted to be based on a nominally objective fictional world, and not scaled against the characters that may be involved. A classic explanatory example is 1st level D&D characters that head off into "The Troll Bogs" and then the players are shocked and angry about running into trolls which they are ill prepared to fight.
Which I'm not saying we have anything here on that level of absurdity if you will, but Nithyn and I were discussing and sought to head off a potentially disparity in combativeness and preparation for "bad situations" before it might be an issue in play.
That said ... given the sentiments expressed if the players are not concerned and prepared to make their own decisions, then that is also the nature of sandbox. As long as risk is forecast and meaningful decisions are facilitated as being informed decisions that is fine. Just realize that risk is intended to be real but reasonable/realistic and informed.
Atheus spent about 12 years on Circulus Ruber (apprenticeship ended a bit earlier, by his decision), and the last 2 travelling (on his macgnimartha) mostly through Leinster and Meath, I think.
Vorsutus was trained at Circulus Ruber as well, so I think Atheus and he would be almost forced to know each other.
I think it is likely, given their mutual alliance in my pre-history concerning the hermetic conflicts of the Tribunal, that Lambaird and Circulus Ruber are in relatively frequent contact. Vorsutus and his Pater likely went to Lambaird, and I intend to pursue a mix of more "normal" Apromorian spells/techniques with the Raghallach school of combat practiced by Lambaird. So Vorsutus is interested in the Irish Flambeau and their magic.
I've thought about it, although I am still not worried about the Franciscan's safety. The character doesn't use 10 virtues and flaws yet. I can easily add another flaw (ability block: martial), and another virtue (skinchanger, maybe it's given by the relic?).
That way, the character could have the offensive capabilities of a bear, OR the almost untouchability of a bird.
@Vortigern@Nithyn Any comments on the current version of my character? Or is the prior one two posts before fine despite Vortigern's worries? It's been a while without comments since I posted the current version.
Hey @RafaelB I'm thinking about a companion for you and I'm really leaning towards a Redcap focused on vis trading. Feels like it would be a good fit for a merchant trying to engage in economic warfare of sorts...
Obviously light on the details, but I wanted to just toss the premise out there for approval (or not!) before I did any real work.
I've started to think of Atheus as less of a merchant and more of a broker, facilitating (or obstructing, as required) the deals of others. This is in part so that we can focus less on mercantille stories and more on intrigue.
Several flavors of Redcaps would fit well with that, and one focused on vis trade seems very nice!
Yeah, I'm basically angling to make him the Redcap version of Gordon Gekko?
Anyhow, I'll get around to playing with things in a bit, but I don't think it's too hard to explain how their paths crossed? That, and let's face it, having a Redcap call the covenant home goes a long way towards preventing Praesis 2.0, because nobody wants to piss off the Redcaps by killing one. For his part, as a vis trader, being right next to all those wonderful hedgies, a lot of whom don't know what vis is/how to use it means that there's plenty of opportunity...
