I like all of your contact writeups. (A lot.)
I will address this in another thread, and thank you for the offer.
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Was this aspect further defined?
Not really, no. I think this depends a bit on how you and Nythin want the beginning of the saga to go.
It made sense to me that he wouldn't necessarily have learned the Parma (since he decided to end his apprenticeship on his own). But this does impose some hurdles to his first stories, so we can just have him learning the Parma as soon as he arrives at the covenant, with no great loss to me or the character.
EDIT: Upon further consideration, I see no real gain for him to start w/o Parma. It will just delay us and unnecessarily muddle the waters.
So I think that before going to Inchmore he went to Circulus Ruber, met quaesitor Visioturpis and said "I'm a magus now, teach me the Parma" and the Guernicus went with it (probably having already gotten Nobutes' go ahead). How does that sound?
I think I feel solid assuming that Henry met with Visioturpis directly, was conducting through an Oath Swearing ceremony, and taught Parma by him. We could also assume something of a direct personal relationship between the two that may or may not go anywhere in the future, but they have spent at least a couple of seasons together during this process and thus are known to one another.
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For a Companion, would you be opposed to a Goblin concept? And would you prefer a bruiser/combatant/agent or a factor to expand/amplify your agency?
By "goblin concept" I imagine you mean more than just having goblin blood?
You had previously mentioned an underworld guy with connections to the goblin market in Athlone. It sounded interesting to me.
Since we are yet to begin proper play with Atheus' agency I think it might be best to wait and see how that will unfold before adding a factor... but if you think it would be more fun than a combatant, no problem on my side. =]
I have been thinking about it. But I believe the Mage sets the tone when it comes to their surrounding cast of characters. So, I want to be sure you feel it meshes well with your concept and how you see playing your Mage.
As that material has developed there is a hybrid Goblin and Dokkalfar city called Forionnag (Under Star, in what is most likely extremely bad Gaelic) that is home to the Court of Goibniu. This is also the home of the Goblin Market. Any of the Goblin concepts I had in mind would be associated with the Court to one degree or another.
So I think I have three basic concepts that I think I could do with such a Goblin base idea, that would all mesh with your concept but bring different things to the table.
- Goblin Agent
A stereotypical sneaky goblin who can fight, steal, spy and otherwise do nefarious things. If you are looking to shore up some direct combativeness in your entourage, this might be the better option. Someone to intimidate, steal ACs, collect on debts, and generally be your one man goon squad.
- Goblin Crime-boss/Factor
Essentially a Factor specializing in criminals and misdeeds, which are also things the Goblins are interested in. If you want more indirect plot power through your agency being expanded and diversified into misdeeds and shenanigans, this may be the better choice.
- Goblin Faerie Merchant/Factor
A merchant of the Goblin Market who buys/sells mystical faerie things, and like you is a Factor through such dealings. This would reinforce your agency with ... more of the same really. Amplify rather than diversify, though with a lean towards Faerie and the connections that the Goblins have in their trade network.
Or I could do something else. Like I said ... this is your Companion and if you have different ideas about what makes sense for being a friend and entourage member for your Mage just let me know what you have in mind and we can work on finding a mutually agreeable concept.
Thinking about Atheus future path and goals:
Atheus is not likely to look for a factor, at least on the beginning. In essence, a factor would mean that part of what he considers to be his strength (the agency) does not actually belongs to him. For a Tytalus this is not acceptable.
Thus the goblin agent would be the one he is most likely to accept as a companion.
His two main objectives (currently) are to marry Marie-Jeane and to @$#& with Athlone.
The first one he will most likely try to accomplish through respectable means.. or at least, means that do not implicate him. He will surely need agents to do that, and he can find the right guys... but it would be so much better if he had someone he can trust with the more delicate missions. Someone not expendable.
For the second he will do his best to put a strain on Ashenrise's existence, and he would in no way be shy of nefarious things for that. Again, someone capable of taking care of things would be great.
I think the Goblin Agent would fit the bill more for these purposes. But I have no idea what he can offer in return, except for a vague promise of future support. Thoughts?
By the way, the reason Gael (Marie-Jeane's father) has no idea (yet) of her infatuation with Atheus (and his with her) is because I didn't want to take the marriage for granted. Essentially Atheus is in a race against time: he needs to become someone before Gael decides to marry Marie-Jeane to someone else.
(Of course, maybe he will fail. Plan B is to elope with her... but he'd rather not need to.)
First, if he is an actual Goblin, vitality through stories is its own reward in some ways. But he wouldn't tell you that.
Second a lot depends on how the two are originally tied together. A Goblin could be hired for the right amount of wealth, or story seed/potential, or vis etc. Or come to a friendly arrangement as regards that with a Magus who happened to do them a good turn in some way as well. Perhaps saved his life, or perhaps helped him get away from a mob or some knights or a jealous husband etc.
I'll ponder building a Goblin Agent and show you a basic spread sometime soon.
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@RafaelB Do you want to tell me about any tweaks you were planning to make to Atheus? If you are ready to, no rush.
Would you still be interested in a Goblin Agent Companion?
I want to shuffle a few Virtues and Flaws around. Drop Weak Parens and Well-Travelled and change both for something else, this is for sure.
I might also drop Life-Boost, Inventive Thinker and/or Quiet Magic. I will need some time to work out the specifics.
Yes, I am still interested in a Goblin Agent. But I changed my idea about the Goblin Faerie Merchant: I think he would be a very good option for Atheus, he has a lot of potential with other magi, and he opens up a lot of interesting things with the Goblin Market.
I think any of the two would be interesting to see in play.
I'm giving this some thought and struggling to pick one. 
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Very curious to see where your head is at regarding virtues and flaws. Itâs an incredibly fun idea, so Iâm very much a fan!
@RafaelB since you were considering Gentle Gift (which seems a good move to me for most any socially aimed Magus), you might consider that this would also open up the possibility of Alluring selections without having to take Innoffensive. Doubling up on Alluring for Fae and Magic would be very empowering socially and make him almost de facto the mystical ambassador of the Covenant. Just an idea!
Iâd definitely say you want Gentle. In fact it feels mandatory at this point. And yeah, I personally love Alluring. Given our stated role as ambassadors, it would give us a very natural PC to act on that front as it were.
This could also be a place for companions. Companions could easily pick up Alluring and do some of the negotiation. (Multiple would need a house rule, but a pretty trivial one.)
I thought the restriction was only for Inoffensive? I could be wrong?
Yep, I don't think there's any restriction to mundanes having Alluring.
I'm not too keen on going the Alluring route, partially to clear up space to other magi and companions (or even grogs, for that matter).
I think this might be a good idea to revisit how I see this character concept and make sure it works.
I see Atheus operating in two ways:
- first, through his agency. He just requests something, rolls to see if his contact agrees to do it, and waits. Going by the table at HoH:S pg. 144 and considering the things I envision him asking his agents, most of the times the EF would be 6 to 9. This will mostly be occurring in the background of whatever other plot is ongoing. Eg:
- Season 1: request detailed information on Ashenrise economic situation to a particular contact, uncovers that Ashenrise sells wine
- Season 2: request general information on the wine, grapes, and beverages market to all of his contacts
- Season 3: suggests/requests to his contacts that they buy/sell/refrain from buying/refrain from selling certain products so that this reduces Ashenrise's gains
- Personally. He will need to roll up his sleeves to recruit new agents, solve problems when his agents can't, act on stories to marry his True Love, and be the face for the covenant when required.
- Also Season 3: goes personally to major merchant of the wine market and convinces him to enter competition with Ashenrise.
Now, the Gift has a deleterious effect on people, but for his contacts only, his reputation helps mitigate the effects of the Gift. So, I'm so far accepting that anything involving people that aren't part of his agency (yet) is going to suffer from the -3 penalty AND that the interaction will leave a bad aftertaste (eg. it will be harder to convince the major wine merchant above, and he might feel like he was duped, despite becoming richer following Atheus' suggestions). But that otherwise, as long as his network is already familiar with him, he should be able to order them around just fine.
And for anything Hermetic the Gift's penalty won't apply, because of Parma (and I think it's basic courtesy to extend the Parma over Coil Tri's guests when they enter Inchmore).
Itâs for all repeats on Virtues if the Virtue doesnât say otherwise. Sure, you could say Alluring to Faerie is different than Alluring to Animals, but thatâs not the intent of that rule. Anyway, it could be house ruled, so itâs not an issue.
Oh, I think I misunderstood what restrictions you were referring to.
Now, on Virtues to make Atheus concept work.
The only one really required is Social Contacts (+1), so that he can have an agency from the beginning.
Persona (+1) seems natural for a Tytalan agency, and brings some benefit. First, it creates some distance from his hermetic personality (reduced risk of getting caught for dealing with mundanes). Second, helps him acquire a suitable reputation faster. Third and most important, Persona seems fun. =P
Now, Sanguine Humor's Blessing (+3) also seems fun. I want to explore it more than I want to explore a Gentle Gifted magus (which being honest, I feel like is a bit of a cop out). SHB is also useful, leveraging his True Love flaw in a way that adds to the agency concept: +3 on Ability rolls and +5 to spellcasting rolls to impress or persuade.
It is on the worse side for a Major Virtue, but it is what it is.
He will use Intrigue to manage his agency, so Puissant Intrigue is a good choice.
Acting through the Agency, with Com +3, Intrigue 3+2 (Puissant), SHB +3, Agent Bond strength +1 (or more) he is at 12. Even if the Gift -3 is not offset by any reputation, that's still a 9 before rolling to see if he convinces his agent to do whatever he needs. The chance of the agent refusing is low to none.
For situations in which he is acting directly, with social abilities generally at 2 or above and Presence and Communication both at 3, after accounting for SHB and the Gift he will in general have a 5 before rolling. If he is trying to persuade he won't fail at EF 6 unless he botches, can generally succeed EF 9, and has close to 50% chance with EF 12.
If he is trying to do something other than persuade he will be at 2 before rolling. But it's important to mention: that's not what the character is being designed to do. He was designed to run his agency.
So, at this point I'm pretty much settled on SHB, Persona, Social Contacts and Puissant Intrigue, totaling 6 points of Virtue. Getting the Gentle Gift would lock 9 points, leaving only 1 point for something else.That's a very big investment, but it stops me from exploring anything else with the character. I don't think it's worth it.