Character Development: Deborah, maga Ex Misc

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Falling Leaves
21

So,

I was reading the rules more carefully (Ars Magica has so many of them, and it's easy to miss stuff) and realized something about Deborah and the spirit.

I had originally thought that the spirit would have an extremely wide presence; in fact, a standard Boundary is only around 2 acres (100 paces across is a 150ft radius and so on). This is a pleasantly large area, but a lot smaller than people expect from a Boundary. It will not cover an entire town, and will not even cover many baileys. This has larger implications, I suspect, in how people think about Boundary spells in general.

The result here, though, is that the spirit has less influence than I had thought. It cannot cover the entire covenant even if we want it to. It means that Deborah probably has 2 acres that she landscapes to suit herself, and marks its margins with a sanctum marker, in case it wasn't obvious. The presence of so interesting a 2 acres probably exerts an influence over a much larger area, serving as a headquarters for vermin and other animals the way Orthanc might for crows and orcs. :slight_smile: Within this 2 acres, the spirit is aware of everything. It has excellent senses, and can perceive a good distance, but much is hidden from it.

Deborah, on the other hand, has a wider sensory net than I originally expected. Through her Nature Lore, she has a sense for a vast region, is in touch with it, and can naturally communicate with natural and supernatural animals from afar, to know more. When she wants to, she can know a lot about what's going on nearby, like Sauron brooding over Middle Earth, but in a good and natural way. :slight_smile: The idea that comes to my mind is Lord of the Rings written by Ayn Rand, with the Dark Lord being in touch with the natural world, and the good guys are industrialists....

She and the spirit complement each other better than I had realized.

Now, if the spirit manages to become a Daimon, it will be able to cover up to 200 acres instead....

Anyway,

Ken

22

Deborah's Lab and Sanctum

So, the default lab is Size +2, and even though Deborah is going to move into a lab of her own construction (well, the construction of diverse creatures best not contemplated), I will stick with that. That's plenty big, and it makes things even.

I'm also doing something a little different with Aesthetics: I treat any lab trait that affects Aesthetics as a negative. After all, what's Aesthetic for Deborah is not aesthetic for anyone else, and what would normally be Aesthetic for everyone, like, say, a Guard for +1, is not aesthetic here if the guard is a disgusting spider! Similarly, this hillock is completely idyllic for Deborah, whose standards are not quite human, but the Aesthetics of this are -1, rather than +1.

I'm assuming that the Aegis is large enough to cover the two acres about to be landscaped.

I just looked at some nature pictures of the area, and it is beautiful! People imagine marshland to be horrible places--and maybe they are, for people! But there's a lot of wildlife and it's pretty to look at. From a distance. :slight_smile:

The plan: The spirit (Magic Theory 3) will largely oversee the construction and development of the lab while Deborah does what she needs to do, with Deborah consulting and assisting in a more limited way. Deborah will then spend a season Refining, to make the lab her own.

Note that Deborah specializes in vermin, but her power involves all animals. It's mostly about the vermin--but not only.

The final lab, before Refinement:

Outside description--A verdant mound rises gently from the soggy, rolling marshland, culminating in a brutal structure too hideous to be contemplated. It may be best that it is enveloped by insects, clouds of which fly forth with unspeakable purpose, sheets of which throb and pulse upon the surface of the colony, busily at work. An eerie glow can be seen on some nights, like a vast firefly glow deep inside. The mound itself is unnaturally lush and dense with herbs, reeds and thickets of all description, by virtue of unrelenting and inhuman cultivation, with cunning and eldritch purpose. The air nearby is thick and sickly sweet. On some days, it wafts across the countryside. Birds live here too, drawn by the wealth of worms, ants, midges, mosquitoes and other vermin. And other wildlife, drawn by the birds. The fertility and animal density spills out from this small area; plants and animals have become especially abundant for about a mile around, a mixed blessing to be sure. Setting foot on the hillock uninvited leads to a gruesome death. Fortunately, its limit is obvious, and marked by smaller hives with sanctum markers. The best way to approach is to go to a certain tree, in which lives a giant spider, and to wait. It seems that bees predominate, but that isn't true. The greatest powers are secret; there are far more ants and worms than bees, though usually far less noticable.

Inside description--"Inside" applies to the hillock as well as its culminating hive. Here, earthworms, ants and other creatures toil just as busily as the creatures on the surface. In many ways, though not Hermetically, the hillock is like a single structure that culminates in a tower. The hive is larger than just Deborah's lab, containing her living quarters and those of many (but far from most) creatures. It is surprisingly comfortable, its temperature regulated by bees who by turns fan air inside or act as a barrier, as they would in a real beehive. Unless you are Deborah, it is not a pleasant place to be; no one knows for sure though. (I suspect that even a magus would have difficulty choosing to enter such a place, even if it weren't part of a sanctum.) It is crawling and swarming with insects and vermin of every kind, and even some other animals too. The hive does not have an obvious entrance. Even the large laboratory chamber swarms with vermin, wriggling and writhing and scurrying. Spiders weave webs, ants labor, larvae are tended to... It looks like a great, foul mess, and just the sound is enough to unsettle a hardened magus. Yet every creature is governed by a larger purpose and is part of that purpose. From a certain point of view, this is the cleanest and best organized lab of all. Everything that has a place is quickly put into that place. Anything that has no place is immediately removed. But you wouldn't want to live here. Unless you're Deborah. There is so much here to describe! The great wall of honeycomb and the dome, to the stony termite pilings supporting structural webbing thicker than a man's arm and stronger than steel, the great wasp paperworks, the ant and worm catacombs beneath, the webs of suspension and containment.... it's a busy place.

+3 Greater Feature: The great honeycombs. There are two primary kinds, that built by giant bees at the beginning, and that built by normal bees, filling in. The honeycomb is slowly and continually renewed, and is swarming with bees being bred for specific laboratory tasks and subjects. It can incubate a lot more than just bees! It is also a magnificent work of art, meditative focus, and source of wax and honey. -2 Aesthetics, +3 Animal.

-3 Greater Focus: The great honeycombs. -2 General Quality, +4 Animal.

+1 Lesser Feature: The webs of suspension and containment. Best left to the imagination! -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

-1 Lesser Focus: The webs of suspension and containment. -1 General Quality, +2 Animal.

+1 Lesser Horde: There are lots of animals here, helping out. +1 General Quality, +1 Upkeep, +1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

+3 Greater Horde: I said, there are lots of animals helping out! Most but not all of them are vermin. Using Nature Lore, Deborah can easily contact diverse minor supernatural animals, and has invited those suitable to join the new community. Not all of these are vermin. +2 General Quality, +1 Upkeep, +1 Safety, -2 Aesthetics, +2 Animal.)

0 Idyllic Surroundings: Ah, the marsh! A perfect balance of humors, if you're Deborah. And the sweet, sweet nighttime singing of mosquitoes whispering secrets in your ear. What could be nicer? +2 Health, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

0 Guard: A giant spider in a tree. Maybe more than one! Nothing says "class" like a venomous spider doorkeeper. But the tree! That's pretty! That is, if you can avoid contemplating what's wrapped up in those web sacs. -1 Aesthetics

0 Infested: Well, it is! It is continually managed, but... did I say lots of animals? And what about fungi for the ants? (Yeah, medievals don't know about this, but the ants do. :slight_smile: ) -1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

0 Magical Lighting: Banks of fireflies, held in place by web or venom or command. If lots of light is needed, either Deborah or the spirit can trivially to enlarge a firefly to extreme proportions. -1 Aesthetics, +1 Texts, +1 Im.

0 Magical Heating: Honeybees ventilate or insulate the place, by turns. (Honeybees do survive the winter very well!) -1 Aesthetics, +1 Health, +1 Ig.

-1 Inhabitants: All the animals who live in the hive serve the purpose of Deborah's colony, but that colony is more than just a laboratory. -1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

So far, we have: +2 Upkeep, -12 Aesthetics, +0 Safety, +3 Health (if you're Deborah :slight_smile: ), +16 Animal, +1 Ig, +1 Texts, +1 Im.

We're not done yet, because we need outfittings and one more flaw. Also, Spotless and Highly Organized must be earned during Refinement.

Two ways to go, from here!

  1. The even further way out there version, which of course I like best :slight_smile:

0 Inferior Tools: Where possible, Deborah uses crude tools fashioned by her animals, some of which naturally build things. She hopes one day to be able have all her tools fabricated at home. Meanwhile, however, they aren't nearly as good at it as they might be. -1 Upkeep, -1 Safety.

0 Flawless Equipment: However, Deborah's animals are much better suited to this. They themselves are often the equipment, serving as containers and crucibles and whatever. Ants already serve as food containers; they can contain other things too. Insects excel at turning one thing into another, and Warped, mildly supernatural insects are at least as efficient as clunky, fragile glassware. +2 General Quality, -1 Upkeep, +2 Vis Extraction.

-1 Missing Equipment: Deborah and the vermin spirit thinking primarily about living things and spells, which are kind of alive within a magus after a fashion in a way that an enchanted item is not. No items here. -1 Upkeep.

1(0) Spacious: A surprising amount of room here, especially because of the stuff that isn't needed. +2 Safety, -1 Aesthetics.

0 Priceless Ingredients: The extra money goes toward exotic ingredients, perhaps for animal feed, plant fertilizer, rare seeds from afar, gold flakes that perhaps spiders spin into golden webs, powdered gemstones to bring forth an animal's essential but esoteric quality... +2 General Quality, +4 Upkeep, +2 Longevity Rituals.

The even further way out there lab is ready for Deborah to Refine in 6 seasons. It fills Size 2 with no refinement. Its final stats are +4 General Quality, +3 Upkeep, -13 Aesthetics, +1 Safety, +3 Health (if you're Deborah :slight_smile: ), +16 Animal, +1 Ig, +1 Texts, +1 Im, +2 Vis Extraction, +2 Longevity.

  1. The less weird version :slight_smile:

-1 Missing Equipment: Everything must go according to plan! No Experimentation allowed here. This also isn't a great place to Teach a human being. -1 Upkeep.

0 Precious Ingredients: Yeah, the good stuff. +1 General Quality, +2 Upkeep, +1 Longevity Rituals

The more normal lab is ready for Deborah to Refine in 6 seasons. It fills Size 2 with no refinement. +1 General Quality, +3 Upkeep, -12 Aesthetics, +0 Safety, +3 Health (if you're Deborah :slight_smile: ), +16 Animal, +1 Ig, +1 Texts, +1 Im, +1 Longevity Rituals

23

Deborah's Lab and Sanctum

So, the default lab is Size +2, and even though Deborah is going to move into a lab of her own construction (well, the construction of diverse creatures best not contemplated), I will stick with that. That's plenty big, and it makes things even.

I'm also doing something a little different with Aesthetics: I treat any lab trait that affects Aesthetics as a negative. After all, what's Aesthetic for Deborah is not aesthetic for anyone else, and what would normally be Aesthetic for everyone, like, say, a Guard for +1, is not aesthetic here if the guard is a disgusting spider! Similarly, this hillock is completely idyllic for Deborah, whose standards are not quite human, but the Aesthetics of this are -1, rather than +1.

I'm assuming that the Aegis is large enough to cover the two acres about to be landscaped.

I just looked at some nature pictures of the area, and it is beautiful! People imagine marshland to be horrible places--and maybe they are, for people! But there's a lot of wildlife and it's pretty to look at. From a distance. :slight_smile:

The plan: The spirit (Magic Theory 3) will largely oversee the construction and development of the lab while Deborah does what she needs to do, with Deborah consulting and assisting in a more limited way. Deborah will then spend a season Refining, to make the lab her own.

Note that Deborah specializes in vermin, but her power involves all animals. It's mostly about the vermin--but not only.

The final lab, before Refinement:

Outside description--A verdant mound rises gently from the soggy, rolling marshland, culminating in a brutal structure too hideous to be contemplated. It may be best that it is enveloped by insects, clouds of which fly forth with unspeakable purpose, sheets of which throb and pulse upon the surface of the colony, busily at work. An eerie glow can be seen on some nights, like a vast firefly glow deep inside. The mound itself is unnaturally lush and dense with herbs, reeds and thickets of all description, by virtue of unrelenting and inhuman cultivation, with cunning and eldritch purpose. The air nearby is thick and sickly sweet. On some days, it wafts across the countryside. Birds live here too, drawn by the wealth of worms, ants, midges, mosquitoes and other vermin. And other wildlife, drawn by the birds. The fertility and animal density spills out from this small area; plants and animals have become especially abundant for about a mile around, a mixed blessing to be sure. Setting foot on the hillock uninvited leads to a gruesome death. Fortunately, its limit is obvious, and marked by smaller hives with sanctum markers. The best way to approach is to go to a certain tree, in which lives a giant spider, and to wait. It seems that bees predominate, but that isn't true. The greatest powers are secret; there are far more ants and worms than bees, though usually far less noticable.

Inside description--"Inside" applies to the hillock as well as its culminating hive. Here, earthworms, ants and other creatures toil just as busily as the creatures on the surface. In many ways, though not Hermetically, the hillock is like a single structure that culminates in a tower. The hive is larger than just Deborah's lab, containing her living quarters and those of many (but far from most) creatures. It is surprisingly comfortable, its temperature regulated by bees who by turns fan air inside or act as a barrier, as they would in a real beehive. Unless you are Deborah, it is not a pleasant place to be; no one knows for sure though. (I suspect that even a magus would have difficulty choosing to enter such a place, even if it weren't part of a sanctum.) It is crawling and swarming with insects and vermin of every kind, and even some other animals too. The hive does not have an obvious entrance. Even the large laboratory chamber swarms with vermin, wriggling and writhing and scurrying. Spiders weave webs, ants labor, larvae are tended to... It looks like a great, foul mess, and just the sound is enough to unsettle a hardened magus. Yet every creature is governed by a larger purpose and is part of that purpose. From a certain point of view, this is the cleanest and best organized lab of all. Everything that has a place is quickly put into that place. Anything that has no place is immediately removed. But you wouldn't want to live here. Unless you're Deborah. There is so much here to describe! The great wall of honeycomb and the dome, to the stony termite pilings supporting structural webbing thicker than a man's arm and stronger than steel, the great wasp paperworks, the ant and worm catacombs beneath, the webs of suspension and containment.... it's a busy place.

+3 Greater Feature: The great honeycombs. There are two primary kinds, that built by giant bees at the beginning, and that built by normal bees, filling in. The honeycomb is slowly and continually renewed, and is swarming with bees being bred for specific laboratory tasks and subjects. It can incubate a lot more than just bees! It is also a magnificent work of art, meditative focus, and source of wax and honey. -2 Aesthetics, +3 Animal.

-3 Greater Focus: The great honeycombs. -2 General Quality, +4 Animal.

+1 Lesser Feature: The webs of suspension and containment. Best left to the imagination! -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

-1 Lesser Focus: The webs of suspension and containment. -1 General Quality, +2 Animal.

+1 Lesser Horde: There are lots of animals here, helping out. +1 General Quality, +1 Upkeep, +1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

+3 Greater Horde: I said, there are lots of animals helping out! Most but not all of them are vermin. Using Nature Lore, Deborah can easily contact diverse minor supernatural animals, and has invited those suitable to join the new community. Not all of these are vermin. +2 General Quality, +1 Upkeep, +1 Safety, -2 Aesthetics, +2 Animal.)

0 Idyllic Surroundings: Ah, the marsh! A perfect balance of humors, if you're Deborah. And the sweet, sweet nighttime singing of mosquitoes whispering secrets in your ear. What could be nicer? +2 Health, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

0 Guard: A giant spider in a tree. Maybe more than one! Nothing says "class" like a venomous spider doorkeeper. But the tree! That's pretty! That is, if you can avoid contemplating what's wrapped up in those web sacs. -1 Aesthetics

0 Infested: Well, it is! It is continually managed, but... did I say lots of animals? And what about fungi for the ants? (Yeah, medievals don't know about this, but the ants do. :slight_smile: ) -1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

0 Magical Lighting: Banks of fireflies, held in place by web or venom or command. If lots of light is needed, either Deborah or the spirit can trivially to enlarge a firefly to extreme proportions. -1 Aesthetics, +1 Texts, +1 Im.

0 Magical Heating: Honeybees ventilate or insulate the place, by turns. (Honeybees do survive the winter very well!) -1 Aesthetics, +1 Health, +1 Ig.

-1 Inhabitants: All the animals who live in the hive serve the purpose of Deborah's colony, but that colony is more than just a laboratory. -1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Animal.

So far, we have: +2 Upkeep, -12 Aesthetics, +0 Safety, +3 Health (if you're Deborah :slight_smile: ), +16 Animal, +1 Ig, +1 Texts, +1 Im.

We're not done yet, because we need outfittings and one more flaw. Also, Spotless and Highly Organized must be earned during Refinement.

Two ways to go, from here!

  1. The even further way out there version, which of course I like best :slight_smile:

0 Inferior Tools: Where possible, Deborah uses crude tools fashioned by her animals, some of which naturally build things. She hopes one day to be able have all her tools fabricated at home. Meanwhile, however, they aren't nearly as good at it as they might be. -1 Upkeep, -1 Safety.

0 Flawless Equipment: However, Deborah's animals are much better suited to this. They themselves are often the equipment, serving as containers and crucibles and whatever. Ants already serve as food containers; they can contain other things too. Insects excel at turning one thing into another, and Warped, mildly supernatural insects are at least as efficient as clunky, fragile glassware. +2 General Quality, -1 Upkeep, +2 Vis Extraction.

-1 Missing Equipment: Deborah and the vermin spirit thinking primarily about living things and spells, which are kind of alive within a magus after a fashion in a way that an enchanted item is not. No items here. -1 Upkeep.

1(0) Spacious: A surprising amount of room here, especially because of the stuff that isn't needed. +2 Safety, -1 Aesthetics.

0 Priceless Ingredients: The extra money goes toward exotic ingredients, perhaps for animal feed, plant fertilizer, rare seeds from afar, gold flakes that perhaps spiders spin into golden webs, powdered gemstones to bring forth an animal's essential but esoteric quality... +2 General Quality, +4 Upkeep, +2 Longevity Rituals.

The even further way out there lab is ready for Deborah to Refine in 6 seasons. It fills Size 2 with no refinement. Its final stats are +4 General Quality, +3 Upkeep, -13 Aesthetics, +1 Safety, +3 Health (if you're Deborah :slight_smile: ), +16 Animal, +1 Ig, +1 Texts, +1 Im, +2 Vis Extraction, +2 Longevity.

  1. The less weird version :slight_smile:

-1 Missing Equipment: Everything must go according to plan! No Experimentation allowed here. This also isn't a great place to Teach a human being. -1 Upkeep.

0 Precious Ingredients: Yeah, the good stuff. +1 General Quality, +2 Upkeep, +1 Longevity Rituals

The more normal lab is ready for Deborah to Refine in 6 seasons. It fills Size 2 with no refinement. +1 General Quality, +3 Upkeep, -12 Aesthetics, +0 Safety, +3 Health (if you're Deborah :slight_smile: ), +16 Animal, +1 Ig, +1 Texts, +1 Im, +1 Longevity Rituals

24

I think you need to cover ALL entrances of a sanctum with a marking, if you wish to avoid legal problems in the future...

(more when I finish reading stuff)

25

Hi,

"Fortunately, its limit is obvious, and marked by smaller hives with sanctum markers. The best way to approach is to go to a certain tree, in which lives a giant spider, and to wait."

There's more than one marker, and there is one visible from any approach.

Anyway,

Ken

26

I'm taking your posts piece by piece.

I like this idea. It fits with the character and also gives way for you to eventually initiate FFM (walking the path). Although the virtue is normally associate with the mysteries, we can assume it is a unique enlightenment as Deborah understands it.

27

This is the only part I have questions about. This ability can only be raised by practice, exposure and adventure. The maximum source quality is the aura, which unless you were trained at a covenant with a really unusual aura is no more than 5. So this represents 4-5 full years of working on this ability. I will allow it based on your back story of an apprenticeship spent figuring out how to be "Deborah" as this is very, very Deborah.

Also, your welcome to have a Leadership score, but its practically worthless with your social penalties.

28

Thanks. I also see it as representing Exposure over a much longer period of time during her development, punctuated by a few surprises in higher Auras.

Yeah, that's true. I was hooked by the "Intimidation" specialty but it might not be appropriate, since she does not consciously intimidate people, and leads animals in a different way. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Anyway,

Ken

29

Onto the Lab!

Unfortunately, you can only have one lab focus. Covenants p 120 ("A lab may only have one Focus.").

Other than that, I like the more extreme lab better, although I'm a bit skeptical of the "flawless equipment" virtue. But, I'm going to allow it because I think it fits in with her character and her magic. When you replace the Lesser focus flaw, may i suggest the "Living" flaw, that I was surprised not to see already?

30

Hi,

The lesser focus balances a lesser feature; I will simply remove both and things remain even.

I thought about Living.

From a background perspective, the hive swarms with creatures but is not itself alive, in the same way that a honeycomb swarms with bees but isn't alive. The mound is made of dirt and the structure on top of it is made from stuff, so it's different from the examples of living in a tree or beast.

From a personal perspective, I really dislike the Warping lab attribute. Some people love random stuff like that, but I'm not one of them. Random goodie and bogey tables, surprise experimentation charts and so on aren't fun for me. (That I'm a fan of Nobilis, and that the best game I ever GMed was a homebrew diceless game should come as no surprise.) So I avoid the stuff I don't enjoy. That cuts down on some potential goodies and a very few character concepts--but there are lots of good character ideas.

Anyway,

Ken

31

I totally respect avoiding choices because they involve mechanics you don't like. So, the mound is "inhabited," but not alive: thats cool!

32

Hi,

I appreciate that!

In a similar way, I totally respect your desire for a random adventure table, even taking adventures for Deborah when it's necessary for the character background. (I just hope your table is kinder than a Traveler table. :slight_smile: )

Speaking of which, I notice that you skipped over her first five seasons and went straight for the lab! I have a explicit question pending for you about that, regarding her attempt to get a better Magic Theory book, and an implicit question about how many xps she gets from a season spent being taught Enigmatic Wisdom by the genius locus of the Cave of Twisted Shadows.

Anyway,

Ken

33

Hi,

The magic theory isn't an issue. So, ok. Onward!

Anyway,

Ken

34

Year 1: The Year of Living Dangerously

(When you describe it like a Traveler table, I hesitate to adventure at all! I remember Traveler, and the characters who died during character creation or who emerged... scathed. But here goes. I'll assign xp later.)

It is said that a Flambeau apprentice Gauntlets by traveling to a known place, wreaking havoc along the way. He is judged by the quality of the havoc he wreaks. The same is not said of Criamon magi, but it can happen.

Deborah, having completed 15 years of study, is now sent to the Cave of Twisting Shadows where she may kill the Primus, whose time has come, just like it did 90,000 years ago.

Winter
"Aren't you coming with me?"
"I can point you toward your Way, but choose not to walk it with you. Go in peace."
"We'll see."
Deborah takes the prescribed route, and the Criamon have a surprise for her along the way. A nasty adulteration has been terrorizing a mountain hamlet. It attacks Deborah. Deborah barely holds her own and is forced to withdraw and take stock of the situation. She realizes that this is a Criamon test of some kind and observes everything that is going on. The peasants are terrified of her. Most of them hide but a few run to the local lord for assistance. Deborah resolves the situation by allowing the adulteration to live and haunt the area, but kills off all the peasants in the hamlet, the lord, and everyone else in the vicinity.

Then she continued until she reached the Cave of Twisting Shadows.

"Your spirit is stained with the blood of innocents."
"You would have had me kill the adulteration."
"It is a monster."
"My world has room for monsters."

10xp plus stuff
5xp Parma --> 8xp; 16xp
2xp Nature Lore; 77xp
1xp Folk Ken; 16xp
1xp Creo --> 2xp; 80xp
1xp Stealth; 16xp

Spring
"Aren't you coming with me?"
"I can point you toward your Way, but choose not to walk it with you. Go in peace."
"We'll see."
Deborah takes the prescribed route, and the Criamon have a surprise for her along the way. The route goes through a city, and Deborah knows enough about Criamon ways that going around the city will not take her to the same place as going through it. Through the city she goes, but takes the sewers, for the city was originally Roman and actually has them. The people of the sewers mostly flee from her in terror, though the rats get along with her just fine. A coven of diabolists mistake her for a demon and seek to worship and help her in exchange for her favor. This is their last mistake. This draws the wrath of real demons, who by turns contend with her and her vermin spirit for control of the rats, seek to destroy her, and seek to corrupt her for isn't she so very like them? It is touch and go for a while due to mutual incompetence: The demons were intended to corrupt the outcasts of the city, and their best powers largely don't work on Deborah, but Deborah's magics are not well-suited to fighting demons. As collateral violence rose in the city above, and the demons brought in more suitable reinforcements, it looked as though Deborah would lose. But she reached out beyond the sewers, and discovered the natural world within the city. She made contact with supernatural animals in the world above, and the animals found and played charades with a young man studying for the priesthood who finally realized what they wanted; he followed them to the sewers and the demons fled before his faith. Deborah hid in the shadows and watched. The night before she left the city, the young man was murdered under circumstances where the animals could not help her discover the murderer, and her other magics are poorly suited to that. Deborah left the city, her victory bittersweet.

Then she continued until she reached the Cave of Twisting Shadows

10xp + stuff
5xp Parma --> 8xp; 24xp
1xp Nature Lore; 78xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 82xp
1xp Infernal Lore; 1xp
1xp Dominion Lore; 1xp
1xp Finesse; 16xp

Summer
"So you have been planning my journeys."
"Yes."
"Which one was real?"
"Both of them." "You could have let the diabolists be."
"No I couldn't."
"If you had let them be, your son would have lived."
The senior Criamon wizard could easily have defeated her had he been truly prepared for her. He had Warded himself against animals and thought himself prepared, but of the myriad vermin surrounding Deborah, a few had a smidgeon of Might and passed through the ward. Just being with her set him on edge. He failed to concentrate on a proper counter, and Deborah webbed him and killed him with her knife. Or perhaps the Criamon wizard knew exactly what Deborah would do. Who can tell?

"He created her tests, and was himself tested. He slew the innocent as surely as she. Let it rest."
"It will be a long time before we see him again. I am going to miss him."
"Both of them."
The Criamon deliberated and consulted and decided that Deborah was not yet officially a magus, and therefore did not violate the Code. There was only one thing left to do. Well, two things. First, officially confirm that she is a maga. As for the second....

"Thank you for coming. We really ought to stop meeting like this!"

10xp + stuff
5xp Parma-->8xp; 32xp
5xp Enigmatic Wisdom; 5xp

Winter
Having slain the Primus, Deborah is at last able to learn Enigmatic Wisdom. She spends the season being taught by the dead primi of House Criamon.

How many xp would you like her to get for this?

X xp Enigmatic Wisdom; X+5xp

As a side effect of all this, Deborah now has a Reputation.

Years 2 and 3: The Years of Settling In

Deborah returns home aboard a giant dragonfly. The vermin spirit exerts some power to speed it on its way, because it is anxious to start building; the journey takes less than a day.

She officially becomes a member of the covenant as a maga Ex Misc.

Note that William Josephus Robertus remains alive and well. If he is a senior member of this covenant we now have a Criamon! I'll leave his initiatory Path open, because it's less essential than other aspects. He has a Gentle Gift and is popular among other Criamon, especially since his return from Saracen lands with new insights and especially new herbs to promote enlightened well-being. He has this radical idea that the solution to the Enigma might be found through something he calls Total Acceptance; a few Criamon think this is just an excuse for slacking. He is especially adept with Intellego and Vim, but has solid scores in most Arts. He has become more interested in Herbam lately, and thinks that Deborah and her bugs might promote more intensive cultivation of his special herbs and spices.

Meanwhile, the plan is for Deborah to read Magic Theory while the spirit builds a suitable home. The materials for this can be found in nature, yet the costs of creating a +3 upkeep lab might go toward exotic materials.

Deborah has been bearing children regularly, and I elide these.

Every season, Deborah spends two or three days in the wild and uses her Nature Lore to find some vis (level 3 ability), probably Animal. Normandy being what it is, I assume 1 pawn. I did not give this to her for her first year, nor did she get to correspond.

Winter: She reads and corresponds about Magic Theory. 13xp; 43xp

Meanwhile, at a suitable location on covenant grounds, the vermin spirit asserts its Presence. Vermin of all kinds, magic and mundane, have begun digging and piling earthworks, tunneling, weaving thick strands of web as strong as steel, excreting hard accretions, creating vast sheets of honeycomb.... Yuck! Other animals come too, especially birds. Sanctum markers surround the horrific place. There will be 5 seasons of changes.

Spring: Deborah reads Concerning Living Beasts and corresponds Animal. 18xp-->27xp; 105xp

Summer: Deborah reads Ars Magica and corresponds Vim. 22Xp; 22xp

Autumn: The spirit builds. Deborah reads Magical Control and corresponds Rego. 18Xp; 18xp

Over the past year, the spirit has produced for Deborah 2 pawns of Animal and 2 pawns of Vim vis, in her sanctum.

Vis stores: 6An + 2Vi
Children: Many

Winter: Deborah expects to read, but adventure beckons! Through her network of animals, she gets hints of a potential vis source. She offers to find it as her service to the covenant; the senior magi agree, and she tracks it down. Sure enough, there is a small vis source, hitherto undiscovered because it it is in a tiny pocket regio, in which lairs a magical trap spider that grabs passing prey from the mundane world. The dessicated husks of its victims provide X pawns of Perdo vis per year. Coopting the spider is the easy part, but what about the Bjornaer heron magus, who wants to eat the spider and destroy the site as a Quest and Sacrifice of a great initiation, and the Tytalus magus who says that the site has been his all along? And how is it that all these magi converged on the same place?

Resolution is up to you. No one wants to resolve this with Certamen, because the third magus will immediately challenge the weakened victor of the first round, and win. Deborah knows that she can yield the site if she gets something good in return for it that she can show for it. She is ruthless enough to kill the spider (which cannot harm her, nor can the Bjornaer in animal form) and let everyone lose, or simply make the spider too big for the others to deal with, and have the spider walk away with her. The Bjornaer is probably more desparate and willing to offer more, but the Tytalus is more aware of the possibility of negotiating. Deborah probably sides with the Bjornaer, but she wants him to pay her some vis and a copy of a decent tractatus. Unless the Tytalus offers more? And maybe Deborah does destroy the whole ball of wax? Or does the Tytalus do something clever? Or maybe the Tytalus outclevers himself, and the Bjornaer attacks him, and Deborah takes all? Whatever the other magi do, Deborah will give them little time for chit chat, unless they're bidding against each other for her support.

Whatever she gets from this adventure goes to the covenant.

She has enough time to correspond.

11xp + stuff
5xp Parma --> 8xp; 40xp
1xp Folk Ken; 17xp
1xp Magic Theory; 34xp
1xp Peripheral Code of Normandy; 1xp
3xp Nature Lore; 81xp

Spring: At last, the lab is ready for Deborah! (5 seasons, rather than 6 because a lesser focus and feature were removed.)

Deborah refines the Lab, to make it her own. She needs rolls for Highly Organized and Spotless.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 42xp
2xp Magic Theory; 46xp

Summer: Deborah refines the Lab to +1. She needs rolls for Highly Organized and Spotless.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 44xp
2xp Magic Theory; 48xp

Autumn: The spirit is getting antsy about the delays! Deborah refines the Lab to +2. She needs rolls for Highly Organized and Spotless.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 46xp
2xp Magic Theory; 50xp

Over the past year, the spirit has produced for Deborah 2 pawns of Animal and 2 pawns of Vim vis, in her sanctum.

Vis stores: 12 pawns of Animal, 5 pawns Vim. She also gets one pawn of any Form from the covenant. She chooses Vim because it is the most valuable, already included.
Children: Many

Year 4: The Year of Familiar and Familial Ties

Winter: Deborah binds the spirit as familiar, at last. It is an especially prosperous year for the covenant. It has also become a less pleasant place, and if that hasn't been obvious before, it is now.

She uses a CrAn vermin Lab Total for this: 3+7+17+15+15+9+20+Aura = 92 or 93 (for Aura 6 or 7, leaving out any Spotless or Highly Organized.) She needs 65. She can only use up to 14 pawns of vis, and chooses to bind with 13 pawns. She gets a Golden Cord 3, a Silver Cord of 1 and a Bronze Cord of 3. She is very happy with her new home!

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 48xp
1xp Nature Lore; 82xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 84xp

Spring: Deborah starts to refine her lab to +3, her limit, but has a nightmare about her children. She spends the season finding out what they are doing. In some cases, she does not even know who they are. She challenges William to certamen when he refuses to tell her the whereabouts of the some of the ones he placed while she was an apprentice. She loses. She has various minor adventures pertaining to her children, mostly trying to stay hidden. She corresponds with various social magi.

5xp Parma -->8xp; 56xp
1xp Stealth; 17xp
1xp Folk Ken; 18xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 88xp
2xp Nature Lore; 84xp

Summer: Deborah refines her lab to +3, her limit. Need rolls for Highly Organized and Spotless. By now she probably has them.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 58xp
1xp Nature Lore; 86xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 90xp

Autumn: Deborah begins to reorganize her lab and sanctum to better partake of the natural environment, now that she and the spirit have a better feel for where they are. -2 Aesthetics, +3 Animal.

Lab Stats excluding refinement: +6 General Quality, +3 Upkeep, -17 Aesthetics, +1 Safety, +4 Health (if you're Deborah ), +16 Animal, +1 Cr, +1 Ig, +1 Im, +2 Vis Extraction, +2 Longevity.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 60xp
1xp Nature Lore; 87xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 92xp

Vis Stores: 3An + 5Vi.
Children: Many.

Year 5: Childhood's End

Winter: Deborah finishes reorganizing the lab to better feature the webs.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 62xp
1xp Nature Lore; 88xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 94xp

Spring: Deborah reads Subtle Improvements and Corresponds in Creo. 14-->21xp; 115xp.

Summer: Deborah is feeling restless and offers to assist the covenant's pirates as her service to the covenant. Naturally, that doesn't work out because, well, because they're people. So Deborah decides to fulfill her covenant service by finding out just how effectively she and her vermin can maraud. Whether the pirates or Deborah win this contest, it is going to be a lean and hungry year for the covenant's enemies.

5xp Parma-->8xp; 70xp
3xp Nature Lore; 91xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 117xp
1xp Animal-->2xp;107xp
1xp Finesse; 17xp

Autumn: Deborah bears her last children for fosterage. She also researches her longevity ritual. She uses CrAn but does not get her focus: 3+7+17+17+9+28+Aura = 87 or 88. This will provide her a -18 bonus to aging rolls starting next season. It costs her 7 pawns of vis.

She gets Exposure and correspondence xps:
1xp Parma --> 2xp; 72xp
1xp Nature Lore; 92xp
1xp Creo-->2xp; 119xp

Vis Stores: 0An +8Vi.
Children: All finished. Nu, so when am I going to have grandchildren?

35

Deborah's Familiar Spirit

This spirit of verminous swarming either does not reveal its name for secrecy, or does not think in terms of names as humans understand them. It likes to inhabit a place in the mundane world, make that place its own and swarm. It differs from genii loci in that it acts as the spirit of its territory rather than of a specific place: Like mundane bees and ants and other swarmers, this spirit likes to affect its environment. It is not itself the spirit of that environment.

Places in the magic realm are more comfortable due to Aura, but are already perfect in their own way and therefore not as good. The spirit might also seek to become a Daimon through some unknown wormy ways that require swarming in the real world. The spirit needs a symbiotic relationship to stay in the world indefinitely, per the rules in RoP:M, and satisfying relationships are virtually impossible to find.

It may be that this spirit exists simply to bind with Deborah, and has been waiting unsatisfied since the beginning, and will never find a suitable partner again. The spirit also gains human inspiration from the partnership; vermin swarm and create as humans do (from its perspective), but human beings bring something extra. This isn't vitality in the Faerie sense, just something that a suitable partner can bring to the table.

A human partner also brings understanding of the real world that a spirit, however intelligent, lacks the scope to appreciate. Just as a demon benefits from human flexibility to cover for the demon's lack of virtue, so does the vermin spirit benefit from the ability of a human being to see the larger picture. For example, the vermin spirit might see the perfect vermin environment as nothing but vermin and food to grow more vermin. Its vermin instinct would send a swarm against any predator, where Deborah's larger vision holds space for an entire ecology and a wider range of possibilities. Oddly enough, the spirit has better social abilities than Deborah herself, though these are only likely to work on magical beings and oddities like Deborah.

This spirit is protective, procreative, industrious and surprisingly knowledgeable, but with the wisdom of the simple. It also keeps its secrets.

It seemingly subordinates itself to the needs of the larger swarm and especially Deborah, whose personality apparently dominates, yet she has much evolved toward its ideal over the course of their relationship, while it is not clear that the spirit has changed at all. Of course, Deborah was probably already going in this direction, deepening her strangeness, and it may be that Deborah has a more fundamental relationship with this spirit than what most magi think of as usual for a familiar bond. (And it may be that few magi really understand what it is to bind a familiar or what the dangers are in linking a foreign spirit to one's own as though it weren't enough, even that an ordinary animal; there may be reasons why House Bjornaer arranged to be unable to bind a familiar--but that's a tangent and completely irrelevant. :smiley:)

Note that unlike many spirits, this one cannot manifest a body of its own.

Might 40 (Animal)
Season: Summer

+0 Str
+2 Stm
+5 Int
+5 Per
+0 Com
+1 Pre
+2 Qik
+0 Dex

Personality Traits: +3 Be Fruitful and Multiply! +3 Protect the Hive! +3 Be Vigilant! +3 Loyal to Deborah!

Virtues:
Puissant Finesse, Puissant Awareness, Affinity with Finesse, Affinity with Awareness, Magic Spirit.

Flaws:
Blatant Magical Air, Secretive

Qualities:
Improved Characteristics *4, Great Intelligence *2, Great Perception *2, Greater Power *2, Focus Power *4, Personal Power *2, Variable Power *2, Improved Powers *3, Gift of Speech, Gift of Tongues, Improved Recovery, Unaffected by the Gift, Increased Abilities, Puissant Penetration, Cautious with Finesse.

Abilities
180 08+2 Awareness(potential hostiles)
030 03 Magic Theory(Animal)
180 08+2 Finesse(Animal)
105 06+2 Penetration(Animal)
075 05 Animal Handling (Vermin)
075 05 Magic Lore (Animal)
030 03 Faerie Lore (Animal)
015 02 Dominion Lore (Animal)
015 02 Infernal Lore (Animal)
075 05 Area Lore (Magic Realm)
075 05 Folk Ken (potential friends and allies)
030 03 Etiquette (among spirits)
015 02 Bargain (spirits)
075 05 Craft: Builder (verminous structures)
015 02 Intrigue(among spirits)

Powers

Presence 0pts--constant (RoP:M pg 103)
Within range up to a Boundary (spirit is not a Daimon), adds a strength 5 preternatural tether (which raises the local Aura by up to 5; an increase of 3 is most likely), and provides Deborah with 2 pawns of Vim vis and 2 pawns of Animal vis per year. The spirit is aware of everything within its domain, and can affect everything at range Touch.
(Greater Power *1)

Control Vermin--0pts, init 0
The spirit has effortless control over vermin.
The spirit can command and coordinate any swarm of vermin it perceives.
(ReAn base 15, R: Sight, D: Sun, T: Group)
It can also do this for any single vermin up to size +7.
(ReAn base 15, R: Sight, D: Sun, T: Ind, size +2)
It has far greater control over vermin in contact with it, able to control all within a Boundary such as its home, or especially vast swarms or especially large vermin.
(ReAn base 15, R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Boundary)
(ReAn base 15, R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind, size +4)
(ReAn base 15, R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Group, size+2)
Finally, it can place vermin anywhere it has an Arcane Connection.
(ReAn base 35, R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Group)
(ReAn base 35, R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind, size+2)
(Greater Power * 1, Improved Powers *1, Variable Power *1)

Grant Minor Virtue--5pts, init -8
At a cost of 5 points of Might Score, Confidence Points or pawns of vis, the spirit can permanently grant any of the following 9 minor virtues, related to aspects of the spirit's nature:
Magical Mount (grow and attune big vermin!), Improved Characteristics (limited to the spirit's), Second Sight (see like a spirit), Puissant Awareness (see all, hear all), Magical Blood(gain vermin-like abilities and features), Great Perception (like it has), Tough (like a bug), Unaging (like a spirit or hive), Puissant Finesse (how the spirit directly manipulates the physical world).
It will not expend its own Might to do this, and won't do this for just anybody.
(Ritual Power * 1, Variable Power * 1)

Master of Vermin--magnitude pts, init 3-magnitude
Can perform any non-ritual magical effect related to vermin, up to level 50.
(Focus Power * 2, Improved Powers * 1 (3/5))

Master of the Hive- -magnitude pts, init 2-magnitude
The spirit has control over the natural environment of its home and surrounding area. It can do things like play with the weather, alter temperature, increase or decrease fertility and the like, all up to level 50, non-ritual. These effects can be somewhat unnatural, like creating a sudden storm or increasing fertility and recovery, but not wholly unnatural, such as growing a tree to maturity over the course of a day or creating lighting from a clear sky. Targets must either be partially or wholly within the area of the spirit's Presence. A gentle rain that effects the entire countryside including the hive is possible, but blighting a tree wholly outside the hive is not.
(Focus Power * 2, Improved Powers * 0 (2/5))

Sight Beyond Sight- -0 pts, constant
All five of the spirit's senses extend all around it as far the greatest of how far it can see, hear or smell. This lets the spirit see “around” or “through” things. It can see inside a distant kitchen through the barest scent of food carried on the wind, taste the pollen on a distant flower, and so on. The spirit cannot turn this power off, which represents the way its senses simply are.
(InIm base 5, +2 Sun, +1 constant,+4 Vision, +1 extra effect Hearing, + 1 extra effect Smell)
(Personal Power * 2, Improved Powers *1.

36

The Horror

So, I notice that Deborah gets 5xp in a reputation for each positive or negative point of Aesthetics of her lab. At the cusp of her Longevity Ritual, her lab gives her 85xp for some appropriate Reputation that probably stacks with the reputation she got whist leaving House Criamon and killing two magi. We have transcended the merely Famous or Infamous! In the immortal words of HP Lovecraft, "Mwahahahaha!"

If places have reputations, hers has a +5. :slight_smile:

37

[size=55]

[/size]
Goodness, this is one hell of a familiar...

38

Hi,

And Deborah will eclipse it in a surprisingly short time.

Anyway,

Ke

39

Deborah, Maga Ex Misc
(at 35, at the end of Autumn, on the verge of her first aging roll)

This excludes any "stuff" that might have happened during her six stories.

Note that I made the change to Leadership, agreeing that it doesn't make sense.

In a real way, this bloc of 5 years is about Deborah settling into a home.

Deborah has spent only 5 seasons reading out of the past 20. She spent one season being taught by dead Criamon Masters. She spent 3 seasons in stories before becoming an official member of the Covenant, and 3 seasons in stories involving covenant service and her children. She has spent 8 seasons doing lab work, mostly improving her home. Her Arts scores are lower than they might be, because of this, and refining her lab as much as she has is overkill, but she has a lot to show for it, and it's what she'd do.

Str +0
Sta +2
Int +3
Per +2
Pre -5
Com +1
Dex +0
Qik +0

Personality Traits: *Monstrous Appearance +6, Think of the Children +1, Ruthless +3, Protective +3, Spiritual -2

Personal reputation among magi in the Tribunal: 110xp +6 The Horror, the Horror
“They only sting if you go near their nest.”
“Those crazy Criamon should have killed her when they had a chance. They were probably too gutless, even then.”
“Someone (else) ought to do something.”
“She has some fresh ideas about Creo. Read her correspondence. If my back were up against a wall, I'd rather have her on my side than you. No, I've never met her in person.”ey
“Carnacis is not what it used to be. Just a glimpse of her sanctum, from a distance, was enough to make you queasy. I don't have words.”
“They say no one has ever seen her, because she's covered in bugs and eels and worms.”
“Our Redcap says he saw her, and that her maggots are prettier than she is.”
“She's powerful and she doesn't cause trouble. More magi should be like her.”

Flaws (-15):
-3 Essential Trait: Monstrous Appearance(Presence)6
-3 Blatant Gift
-2 Poor Presence*2
-1 Ability Block (Charm, Carouse, Etiquette, Guile, Intrigue)
-3 Story Flaw: Dependents
-3 Greater Malediction: Continual Generation of Worms

Virtues(+16):
3 Greater Immunity to Animals
3 Major Magical Focus: Everything 'Worm'
1 Puissant Animal
1 Puissant Creo
1 Affinity with Animal
1 Affinity with Creo
1 Puissant Magic Theory
1 Affinity with Parma Magica
1 Nature Lore: Animals
1 Puissant Nature Lore
1 Minor Benediction: Affected by Animal instead of Corpus or Mentem
1 Spirit Familiar

Abilities
050 04 French
015 02 Athletics
005 01 Swim
030 03 Awareness
005 01 Survival (scrounge)
018 02 Folk Ken (authority)
015 02 Brawl(dodge)
017 02 Stealth (hide)
005 01 Area Lore: Some Convent (avoid people)
092 05+2 Animal Lore [Nature Lore] (Brittany)
015 02 Concentration
005 01 Church Lore
005 01 Ride
015 02 Animal Handling

050 04 Latin
005 01 Artes Liberales
050 04+2 Magic Theory (Animal)
072 04 *Parma Magica (Ignem)
017 02 Finesse (Animal)
005 01 House Criamon Lore
005 01 Code of Hermes
001 00 Peripheral Code of Normandy
025 02 Enigmatic Wisdom (as a weapon)
001 00 Dominion Lore
001 00 Infernal Lore

Arts
119 14+3 *Creo
021 06 Muto
018 05 Rego
107 14+3 *Animal
022 06 Vim

Spells (always within focus; #other spell)
35 CrAn Weaver's Trap of Webs
20 CrAn True Rest of the Injured Brute
15 MuAn Doublet of Impenetrable Silk*
15 CrMe Panic of the Trembling Heart
05 InVi Sense the Nature of Vis
05 InVi Sense of Realm Power#
25 MuAn Calling The Insignificant Worm to Greatness#*

Lab Stats: +6 General Quality, +3 Upkeep, -16 Aesthetics, +1 Safety, +4 Health (if you're Deborah ), +16 Animal, +1 Cr, +1 Ig, +1 Im, +2 Vis Extraction, +2 Longevity.

Longevity Ritual: -17 (I made an error in the season by season reckoning and need to go back)
Aging rolls are at -22 before accounting for her age.

What's up next for Deborah: The plan is to read books and learn and invent spells. Stuff will happen though.

40

Hi,

I just figured out years, based on Deborah's starting the saga at 43 years past Gauntlet. Her first year is 1178. She misses the Tribunal of 1179, being anxious to get to work. She gives her sigil to William or some other suitable magus from the covenant, if William is not here.

She will reluctantly attend the Tribunal of 1186, but she really would rather not. The spirit, having set up its colony, wouldn't be going with her. She isn't interested in Hermetic society. And... she's even afraid. She is enjoying her life the way it is, the wide open spaces outside, the thrum of life inside. Not one word of idle chit chat. She can reach far and wide, tapping into the web of life. Her ally spirit--I will start using the shamanic term to represent Deborah's thinking--can also see beyond sight. They are greater together than their sum, yet connect with something still greater. In what way can Tribunal tawdriness compare to that?

I think the Summer of 1186 shall be a hard season for her.

Anyway,

Ken