This thread is for building characters, from concept onwards. I will start other threads later to post finished characters by type (magi, companions, grogs). Keep in mind that flaws which are dependent on being in contact with certain people from your past are inappropriate for initial characters (no blackmail, heir, etc.)
The ship has left from the Theban Tribunal, wherever it has wound up, so keep that in mind as well.
Questions:
- Do we only play adventures, or do you want to play a saga spanning decades?
- You want us to create grogs: Do you mean by that armed warriors/sailors, or can they also be people like the ship's cook or craftspeople.
Warriors, sailors, cook, anything that is part of the ship's crew can be a grog.
I am expecting this to be an enduring saga spanning potentially over a century. Obviously there will be a high density of adventures early on as we get the covenant established.
Okay, so my ideas:
Grog 1: The ship's physician. Most ships aren't that wealthy to hire a whole physician, but this is the Order of Hermes. They do stuff like that for their magi.
Grog 2: The ship's woodworker. Works wood, fixes stuff is generally cool.
Companion 1: Magi's twin sister, the expert. Magi should concern themselves with doing magic. Let mundanes handle the arcane lore, lab set up and that sort of stuff. Basic comparative advantage. Mundanes have a massive comparative advantage to anything non-magical.
Magi: House Merinita magi. Heavily into the mysteries already, her paren's opinion on The Becoming is similar to voting in Chicago. Do it early and often. It shows having already been initiated into that mystery. (Although the various lab projects remain undone.) Magic wise she grows stuff. We need people to grow stuff.
I'd like to create the ship's captain.
I'm assuming you want ship's captain as a companion?
As for Lamech's companion, what sort of background are you thinking of? Failed apprentice? Also why was the person on the ship?
Everything else is sounding good so far.
First draft, animal forms will be calculated/written later
Alexander ex Miscellanea
Alexis is a sturdy young man of average height with curly black hair and a mellow voice. His dark eyes sparkle with constant amazement.
His ancestors have all been shape-shifters living on the Aegean isles.
A few years before he was born, his mother, a Pralician, came to the island where his father lived to bring him into the order. They fell in love and she decided to stay with him. Alexander is the child of their union.
Alexander grew upon the island in the knowledge that, some day, he’d be a shape-shifter and a magus. His father taught him his first shape when he was just three years old and his mother apprenticed him when he was 7 doing her best to carefully further his talents.
On his 22nd birthday, he left his parents to travel to the Tribunal’s ceremony of Acceptance. At the same time, his parents use their new-found freedom and set out to explore Africa.
Apart from a few visitors to his father’s island, Alexander has yet to meet all those order mages his parents have been telling him about. He knows that he belongs to a tradition that is not exactly held in the highest regards, and he has been warned by his father to watch out for Bjornaer magi who in the past, have attacked and killed shape-shifters from his tradition. Anyway, he hopes to prove the order that he is a worthy magus.
Characteristics: Int +2, Per +0, Pre 0, Com 1, Str 0, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik 0
Size: 0
Age: 22(22)
Decreptitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus; Flawless Magic; Affinity with Vim, Inventive Genius, Life Boost, Mastered Spells, Quiet Magic, Skilled Parens, *Shapeshifer, *Subtle Magic; *Deficient Muto, Driven (Major): Show the order that you are a worthy member, Enemies (House Bjornaer); Hedge Wizard, Optimistic (minor), Unimaginative Learner
Personality Traits: Brave+1, Optimistic +2, Conformist +1
Reputations: Hedge Wizard (magi) 3
Combat:
Dodging: Init +0, Attack n/a, Defense +0, Damage n/a
Soak: +2
Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20)
Abilities: Artes Liberales 2 (ceremonial magic), Athletics 1 (lifting), Awareness 2 (searching), Code of Hermes (Wizard’s Marches) 1, Fairie Lore 1 (water fairies), Folk Ken 1 (magi), Greek 5 (poetry), Guile 2 (concealing magic powers), Latin 4 (hermetic), Magic Lore 2 (creatures), Magic Theory 3 (Vim), Order of Hermes Lore (magi) 1, Parma Magica (Mentem) 1, Penetration (Perdo) 1, Philosophy (Ceremonial casting) 1, Profession Scribe (carefully) 1, Shapeshifting 5 (eagle), Swim (diving) 1
Arts: Cr 0, In 5, Mu 0, Pe 5, Re 0; An 0, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 0, He 6, Ig 0, Im 6, Me 6, Vi 12
Twilight Scars: None
Spell Sigil: Perfection
Voting Sigil: None yet
Equipment: Unassuming brown robes
Encumbrance: 0(0)
Spells known:
Wizard’s Sidestep ReIm10
Naked Man Weaving CrHe15; Mastery 1: quiet; +9
Loss of But a Moment's Memory PeMe15; Mastery 1: quiet; +14
Call to Slumber ReMe10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +9
Piercing the Magical Veil InVi 20; Mastery 1: quiet; +20
Piercing theFairie Veil InVi 20; Mastery 1: quiet; +20
Demon’s Demise From Afar PeVi10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +22
Gryffin’s Demise From Afar PeVi10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +22
Fairie’s Demise From Afar PeVi10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +22
Notes:
Alexander can shape-shift into an eagle, a dolphin, a bear, a cat, or an adder.
Spell notes:
Naked Man Weaving taken from spells wiki
Piercing the Magical Veil like Pericing the Fairie Veil (InVi), but for magical regiones
Demon's/Fairie's/Gryffin's Demise from Afar Like Demon's Eternal Oblivion (PeVi), but at range Sight and only doing 5 points of might damage; used for infernal, fairie, magic beings respectively
xp log:
Early: Childhood 0-5:
00 Greek 5 (poetry)
00 Shapeshifting 1 (Eagle)
05 Athletics 1 (lifting)
15 Awareness 2 (searching)
05 Folk Ken 1 (magi)
15 Guile 2 (concealing magic powers)
05 Swim (diving)
Childhood (6-7):
25 Shapeshifting 3 (Eagle)
05 Profession Scribe (carefully) 1
Apprenticeship (185xp abilities):
45 Shapeshifting 5 (Eagle)
30 Magic theory 3 (Vim)
50 Latin 4 (Hermetic)
15 Artes Liberales 2 (ceremonial magic)
15 Order of Hermes Lore (magi) 1
05 Code of Hermes (Wizard’s Marches) 1
05 Magic Lore 2 (creatures)
05 Fairie Lore 1 (water fairies)
05 Parma Magica (Mentem) 1
05 Penetration (Perdo) 1
05 Philosophy (Ceremonial casting) 1
Arts: 145xp
He 6 21xp
In 5 15xp
Pe 5 15xp
Vi 12 52xp (+26xp affinity)
Me 6 21xp
Im 6 21xp
Still missing:
- Animal forms: All forms but the dolphin (and the eagle, which is a plus sized falcon, I guess) are described in free the Book of Mundane Beasts
- Companion: captain
- grogs: One bodyguard, one sailor
Aqua
Enemy is generally more specific and more involved than a general feeling of being threatened by another house, and also would not be appropriate to the campaign since any actual enemies would have been left behind when the ship was lost at sea.
I'm also having some difficulty figuring out which abilities fit into your childhood, I can only find 40 points that seem appropriate, unless you are trying to pull some from Apprentices and the covenant bred background, but since I can't find any rule beyond the example of covenant bred as to what abilities have been added to the list as learnable in early childhood or under what conditions...
IIRC, swim, guile, folk ken, atheletics and awareness all work. I might be totally wrong since this is memory not checking the book.
Actually I was thinking of gentle gifted, inseparable twin. She just never got taught Hermetic Magic. No one noticed her Gift and well... still not known to her. She has followed her sister around since they are too close together.
Maybe someone will discover she's gifted and she can be apprenticed.
So she is gifted, has spent extensive time in a covenant, has skill in magic theory and arcane lore enough to be able to establish a lab and help out, but nobody ever noticed she was gifted, despite people having spells which would reveal any gifted person within their field of vision?
What age are we looking at here?
There are spells like that? Hmm... time to find a new major virtue. 
from Apprentices, Sight of the Lazy Parens, InVi 40.
[strike]Also on Aqua's character those do qualify but he only has 40 points in those.[/strike]
Okay, missed folk ken the first time through
I am however getting 330 points during apprenticeship, instead of the 300 that comes with skilled parens.
Enemy: I'll change that.
I'll remove:
enemies, hedge wizard (both seems to be social flaws and getting something for being a hedge wizard seems rather pointless if they are lost at sea anyway)
Major hermetic Vulnerable magic (HoH:MC, 87): when shifting shape; minor story magic animal companion (either a magic eagle, or the wise owl of the forest from RoP: M, 65).
Which companion would you prefer? If it's the eagle, I'll have to build it using HoH:MC.
Early: Childhood 0-5:
00 Greek 5 (poetry)
00 Shapeshifting 1 (Eagle)
05 Athletics 1 (lifting)
15 Awareness 2 (searching)
05 Folk Ken 1 (magi)
15 Guile 2 (concealing magic powers)
05 Swim (diving)
All the skills are from the early childhood list. Some specilaties are "magic", but both of her parents are mages.
Childhood (years 6+7):
25 Shapeshifting 3 (Eagle)
05 Profession Scribe (carefully) 1
I'll replace scribe by some more shapeshifting.
My fault. I'll reduce shapeshifting from 5 to 4 (minus adder form, -25xp) and learn about how to be a scribe some other day (-5xp).
second draft
Alexander ex Miscellanea
Alexis is a sturdy young man of average height with curly black hair and a mellow voice. His dark eyes sparkle with constant amazement.
His ancestors have all been shape-shifters living on the Aegean isles.
A few years before he was born, his mother, a Pralician, came to the island where his father lived to bring him into the order. They fell in love and she decided to stay with him. Alexander is the child of their union.
Alexander grew upon the island in the knowledge that, some day, he’d be a shape-shifter and a magus. His father taught him his first shape when he was just three years old and his mother apprenticed him when he was 7 doing her best to carefully further his talents.
On his 22nd birthday, he left his parents to travel to the Tribunal’s ceremony of Acceptance. At the same time, his parents use their new-found freedom and set out to explore Africa.
Apart from a few visitors to his father’s island, Alexander has yet to meet all those order mages his parents have been telling him about. He knows that he belongs to a tradition that is not exactly held in the highest regards, and he has been warned by his father to watch out for Bjornaer magi who in the past, have attacked and killed shape-shifters from his tradition. Anyway, he hopes to prove the order that he is a worthy magus.
Characteristics: Int +2, Per +0, Pre 0, Com 1, Str 0, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik 0
Size: 0
Age: 22(22)
Decreptitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus; Flawless Magic; Affinity with Vim, Inventive Genius, Life Boost, Mastered Spells, Quiet Magic, Skilled Parens, *Shapeshifer, *Subtle Magic; *Deficient Muto, Driven (Major): Show the order that you are a worthy member, Vulnerbable Magic (shapechanging); Magic animal companion, Optimistic (minor), Unimaginative Learner
Personality Traits: Brave+1, Optimistic +2, Conformist +1
Reputations: none
Combat:
Dodging: Init +0, Attack n/a, Defense +0, Damage n/a
Soak: +2
Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20)
Abilities: Artes Liberales 2 (ceremonial magic), Athletics 1 (lifting), Awareness 2 (searching), Code of Hermes (Wizard’s Marches) 1, Fairie Lore 1 (water fairies), Folk Ken 1 (magi), Greek 5 (poetry), Guile 2 (concealing magic powers), Latin 4 (hermetic), Magic Lore 2 (creatures), Magic Theory 3 (Vim), Order of Hermes Lore (magi) 1, Parma Magica (Mentem) 1, Penetration (Perdo) 1, Philosophy (Ceremonial casting) 1,Shapeshifting 4 (eagle), Swim (diving) 1
Arts: Cr 0, In 5, Mu 0, Pe 5, Re 0; An 0, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 0, He 6, Ig 0, Im 6, Me 6, Vi 12
Twilight Scars: None
Spell Sigil: Perfection
Voting Sigil: None yet
Equipment: Unassuming brown robes
Encumbrance: 0(0)
Spells known:
Wizard’s Sidestep ReIm10
Naked Man Weaving CrHe15; Mastery 1: quiet; +9
Loss of But a Moment's Memory PeMe15; Mastery 1: quiet; +14
Call to Slumber ReMe10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +9
Piercing the Magical Veil InVi 20; Mastery 1: quiet; +20
Piercing theFairie Veil InVi 20; Mastery 1: quiet; +20
Demon’s Demise From Afar PeVi10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +22
Gryffin’s Demise From Afar PeVi10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +22
Fairie’s Demise From Afar PeVi10; Mastery 3; quite, penetration, multiple; +22
Notes:
Alexander can shape-shift into an eagle, a dolphin, a bear, or a cat.
Spell notes:
Naked Man Weaving taken from spells wiki
Piercing the Magical Veil like Pericing the Fairie Veil (InVi), but for magical regiones
Demon's/Fairie's/Gryffin's Demise from Afar Like Demon's Eternal Oblivion (PeVi), but at range Sight and only doing 5 points of might damage; used for infernal, fairie, magic beings respectively
xp log:
Early: Childhood 0-5:
00 Greek 5 (poetry)
00 Shapeshifting 1 (Eagle)
05 Athletics 1 (lifting)
15 Awareness 2 (searching)
05 Folk Ken 1 (magi)
15 Guile 2 (concealing magic powers)
05 Swim (diving)
Childhood (6-7):
30 Shapeshifting 3(5) (Eagle)
Apprenticeship (155xp abilities):
15 Shapeshifting 4 (Eagle)
30 Magic theory 3 (Vim)
50 Latin 4 (Hermetic)
15 Artes Liberales 2 (ceremonial magic)
15 Order of Hermes Lore (magi) 1
05 Code of Hermes (Wizard’s Marches) 1
05 Magic Lore 2 (creatures)
05 Fairie Lore 1 (water fairies)
05 Parma Magica (Mentem) 1
05 Penetration (Perdo) 1
05 Philosophy (Ceremonial casting) 1
Arts: 145xp
He 6 21xp
In 5 15xp
Pe 5 15xp
Vi 12 52xp (+26xp affinity)
Me 6 21xp
Im 6 21xp
First draft. I wanted a captain without a pegleg.
Ginger, Captain of the Swan
Ginger is the daughter of the turb admiral of the covenant Ingasia on the island of Lemnos. She is a stunning beauty who has inherited her long red hair from her mother’s side. She has spent most of her childhood at the covenant or onboard her father’s ship, but has seen enough to know that it is not the normal world. At the covenant, she has seen women wield power, and has started to question woman’s role in medieval society. She still believes that women shouldn’t carry swords.
She has worked very hard to become a captain. Taking the apprentices to the ceremony is one of her first missions. She’s eager to show that she’s more than a daughter.
Int +2, Per+0, Pre+3, Str +0, Sta +1, Dex+0, Qik+0
Ways of the Sea+3
Perfect Balance +1
Venus Blessing +1
Puissant Leadership +1
Puissant Profession sailor+1
Educated +1
Improved Characteristics+1
Custos +1
Story: Curse of Venus-3
Major: Ambitious-3
Oversensitive to disrespect -1
Social handicap -1 (female: anyone but the crew)
Small Frame -1
Ability Block: Martial-1
Early Childhood:
Greek (sailors) 5
Athletics (climbing) 2
Awareness (horizon) 3
Later life(years 6-22: 240xp)
05 Charm (sailors) 1
05 Folk Ken (sailors) 1
05 Swim (dive) 1
50 Leadership 4+2
50 Profession Sailor 4+2
30 Bargain (ports) 3
30 Carousing (sailors) 3
30 Brawl (dagger) 3
05 Order of Hermes Lore (magi) 1
15 Survival (island) 2
30 Area Lore (Aegean) 3
Educated:
Artes Liberales 4 (Astronomy)
Since your access to martial skills is minimal at best, non-combatant would probably be a better fit than an ability block. EIther way she can be posted as a finished companion.
It would also be helpful to have page numbers with spells.
As to the magical animal companion, I think it would be better to make it with ROP:M, if you don't have the book I can make a draft and we can work it out... I think it does use HOH:MC as a foundation...
Companion:
I prefer ability block, because she can use a dagger.
Magus:
As for RoP:M, Two ideas for Magical animal companions are straight from RoP:M, p. 65. I'm not sure if the Wise Owl of the forest (p. 65) is too powerful a companion. The alternative would be a Raven of Virtue (RoP:M, 62), which I think is pretty cool as well. Only if you dislike both I suggest making an Eagle of Virtue. I'd combine HoH:MC and RoP:M to create it. I'd much prefer taking a finished creature straight from the book - because it is so much less work.
Owl is too powerfull, Raven too weak- either should have a might of 14 as a magical animal companion, either could be easily adapted to modify it's magic score.
Oh, can I just take Raven unmodified?
You can, though at minimum we should add 5 magic might points even if we don't use them for magical qualities- though I would think adding the gift of speech, and perhaps vis mastery and improved confidence...
Wow, feels like Christmas! I love it!