Character Development

amul · February 6, 2012, 4:59pm

There's a profound difference in the way PCs interact with prophecy versus fiction writers. One of my local friends is a writer who runs tabletop games, but he treats them as if he's writing a story for our characters to live out, rather than as a game that involves moves, counter-moves, actions and reactions. I don't play with him anymore.

Personally, one of my favorite movies of all time is Ladyhawk which is entirely about a death prophecy during the middle ages.

While on the subject of Invulnerability, has anyone here ever seen 3x3 Eyes? For most of the series, Yakumo's ONLY power is that he cannot die. He just keeps getting back up. His arm just keeps reattaching itself. For as long as she's in trouble, he gets back up. Step on him, smash him flat, rip him apart, blow him up, it doesn't matter. If she needs him, he'll keep coming for her.

Jonathan.Link · February 6, 2012, 5:26pm

I had a GM like that, for a Twilight 2000 game. Man, it felt like we were being railroaded into situations, as if we had no choice. It became not fun, and we mutinied. My character deliberately killed an important NPC. We knew he was important. When that happened that particular campaign dissolved and we moved onto other things. He never really played again. I'm very mindful of this when I do things in my games. I invite players to choose their stories to a large degree. And then I make sure that they know what they're choosing.

Arya · February 6, 2012, 5:59pm

I tried linear plots when I first GM'd. Unfortunately the players never did what I thought they would do, and I would have to wrack my brain coming up with the people and personalities of every npc in places they'd randomly go, on the fly. That was way too hard, because my notes are nowhere near organized enough to sustain that kind of thing. Now I just populate a world entirely with characters I already know, and they all plot away at their own devices. If the PCs choose to get involved in their world, great. If they don't, give up.

I've seen many Ars Magica sagas devolve into nothing more than tracking character advancement, and that isn't interesting to me. But I've found that Major Story Flaws don't take a whole lot of work to tie into overarcing plots, so in that regard, I do like 5E better than 4th.

Speaking of which, some timing may end up wonky this year-- whenever chico gets back, Aequi is about to get sucked into some Mercere business, and if callen ever returns, his girlfriend is in trouble.

amul · February 6, 2012, 6:28pm

Yeah, I have a really funny story about a D&D GM finally realizing that the monsters from the Random Encounter Chart have to come from somewhere. The punchline involved him calling me up at 4am, incoherently jabbering things like, "That's why they have stats for kobold babies even though they're barely worth a single XP a piece! Kobold babies grow up to become kobolds!"

The friend I mentioned above is slightly different, in that you can sit around with him and kibitz and your character, his goals, what you'd like to see happen in the plot, and he'll incorporate it. But the actual game day feels more like he's reading a short story than you playing a game. It's weird. So close and yet so far...

amul · February 6, 2012, 6:37pm

Luminus de Libris fillius Caprican ex Merinitae ab Oleran

Voting Sigil - A golden paintbrush
Casting Sigil - vivid saturation

Virtues
The Gift, Hermetic Magus. Faerie Magic
3 Faerie-Raised Magic, hermetic
Spend Exposure, Adventure, Practice XP on spells
T+F++Int+MT => SpLvl-10, Costs Magnitude+4 XP
Spell Improv - +Mag(SimSpell) to Spont CT
1 Alluring to Faeries
1 Good Teacher, general
1 mMF- creating memories
1 Free Expression, general
1 Intuition, general
1 Deft Form - Mentem
1 Affinity with Creo

Flaws
1 Faerie Upbringing, personality
3 Favors (brother of the 9 muses, Like Close Family Ties, only supernatural), story
3 Vulnerable Magic, hermetic - Dispelled when the “Act” ends (uncommon circumstance)
1 Higher Purpose, personality: Books can hold more knowledge!
1 Obsession: see life as a heroic tales, minor personality
1 Deficient Form: Terram, hermetic

Art of Memory
Luminus’s Memory Palace is a parody of Oleran, the covenant/faerie regio of his upbringing. It appears to be a painting that you are walking through. The “rooms” are:

(The Road to) Apple Mile Orchard
Five distinctive yet unimportant travelers met along the way
(The Road to) The Stone Couches
The stories of five sleepers
The Harbor
Information on how to get to five covenants
Town (events only)
Five events that I’m currently painting/drawing
Castle (magical additions only)
empty

Personality Traits : Illustrative +2, Brave +3, Inquisitive +2, Trusts Tytalus magi -1

Characteristics: (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3335248/) Int +4 Per +3 Age: 23 Pre +3 Com +4 Size: 0 Str +0 Sta +2 Confidence: 1 Dex -3 Qik -2 Afflictions: None

Abilities 0-point skills are ones I mean to pick up post-apprenticeship
AL Greece 2 (vistas)
AL Oleran 2 (sleepers)
Athletics 1 (climb)
Awareness 1 (search)
Charm 1 (children)
Craft: Painting 3 (illumination)

N Lang: Greek 5 (stories)
Latin 4 (written)

Artes Liberales 2 (ceremony)
Art of Memory 3 (events)
Philosophae 0
Prof:Scribe 0

CoH 0
Faerie Magic 1 (spells)
Finesse 0
Merinita Lore 0
Magic Theory 3 (spells)
Parma Magica 1 (mentem)
Penetration 0

Arts
Creo* 9(54) Intellego 7.1 Muto Perdo Rego 5

Animal Auram Aquam Corpus Herbam
Ignem Imaginem 5 Mentem 5 Terram-- Vim

Spells:
Invisible Sling of Vilano +7
ReTe 10 Touch, Mom, Ind
+5 Dmg, 20 paces

Fae Phantasm of the Talking Head (mod) +16
CrIm 10 ROAD, Diam, Ind

Prying Eyes +14
InIm 5 Touch, Conc, Room

Wizard’s Sidestep +12
ReIm 10 Per, Sun, Ind

Fae Illusion of the Shifted Image + 12
ReIm 10 ROAD, Sun, Ind

Heart of the Lion +16
CrMe 15, Eye Sun Ind (HoH:S 37)
Makes target Brave+3

Memory of the Distant Dream +21
CrMe 20 Eye, Sun, Ind

Enhance the Memory Palace +21
CrMe 20, R: Per, D: Moon, T: Ind (TMRE 26)
...magically constructs an extremely detailed locus in the
caster’s memory palace.(base 5, +3 Moon)

Posing the Silent Question +14
InMe 20 Eye, Mom, Ind

BIOGRAPHY

Luminus de Libris is the son of Mnemosyne, mother of the 9 muses, and a wandering Greek warrior-poet named Alexander. The sell-sword was struck by the view from atop a mountain, and composed a poem about it on the spot. Mnemosyne was nearby, and favored the poem so much that when he wrote it down, the words leapt from the page and turned into the treasure he had always wanted -- a son he named Vellum.

Alexander and his son Vellum traveled the world for but a few short years together before Alexander started running out of money -- for there are fewer jobs for a sell-sword holding a babe in his arms than one might think. Desperate for food, they left the main road to cross the forest more directly, hoping to hunt down something to fill their meager cooking pot.

Deep in the heart of the woods, Vellum had his first encounter with one of his sisters, Terpsichore, muse of the dance. Terpsichore introduce herself and requested his help -- an infant Siren in a nearby fishing village was about to be drowned by the terrified villagers. Vellum convinced his father to aid the child, when the babe had been saved, Terpischore brought the pair to a local Faerie Court and sought their assistance to aid the family.

It so happened that Caprican was there, and noticed the boy’s potential. He intervened from the faerie queen’s well-meaning mischief -- for she had invited them to sup at her table. It was too late for his father -- the man had been so hungry that he had dived into the feast. Vellum, however, had been too busy drawing shapes with the juices and skins of the fruit they’d been served.

Caprican brought the boy and his father back to Oleran, where his father now serves in the turb (growing ever more fantastical), and took the child as an apprentice. Vellum grew up ami romanticized stories and spent much of his time painting them. He loves stories, like a father loves his children: watching them grow in capacity and wishing to teach them more.

Lysette, Caprican’s wife, taught him the trick of holding fast an image with the Art of Memory, the better that he could paint it. Lysette knows many tricks that involve treating the mind as a house you can dance through, and Vellum discovered that he could mimic one of these tricks as if they were hermetic spells. He soon grew fascinated with memories as well as paintings, and loves to blend the two together.

After that, his magical family started showing up far too frequently for anyone's comfort, always with some errand for the apprentice which happened to coincide with his pater's plans. The fair folk, both at home and abroad, greet the boy with a warm welcome. His knowledge of stories and fairy tales proves an unusually useful boon to his ability to navigate unfamiliar social waters. And yet, in some ways his love of a good tale is a hindrance, for his magic is so in tune with his sense of narrative that his magic can be dispelled by a dramatic plot twist, or the end of one of the Three Acts.

His interest in pushing the boundaries of modern book-making techniques, particularly in terms of illuminations and illustrations, does little to dispel the rumors among the covenfolk of Oleran that he is destined to become the Muse of Books.

Shortly after his Gauntlet, his other sisters began visiting him more often, sometimes asking him for favors, and at other times merely causing chaos by their simple presence. Though he was dearly beloved by the people of Oleran, he began to think of his home as the repository of stories, and grew hungry to see such stories born. Most recently, his pater Caprican suggested he travel to Gallus Florensis, a Merinita covenant that had recently returned to Spring.

Kui · February 6, 2012, 6:49pm

Hehehee.

amul · February 6, 2012, 6:59pm

Notes on this version:

I really like the concept of Intuition, representing his life being a fairy book tale. Though, I wonder if it might make more sense for him to have Inventive Genius....except that he doesn't need a lab to make spells, and I'm not playing an enchanter lab rat. Except that he can't experiment when inventing spells through Adventure XP, so how is he supposed to make this prophecized breakthrough regarding the capacity of books to carry knowledge? Maybe he isn't going to actually affect Hermetic Theory at ALL!
I really like the notion of Vulnerable Magic based on the Aristolean narrative breaks, or interaction with the Unities. This might be a bit hard on Arya as SG, though. It's meant to be an uncommon occurrence, though, and I think the end of Acts I, II and III qualify in real life.
I'd really like to delve into the Art of Memory, and the construct of using people's heads as places you can walk through, although this could just be flavor description. I imagine Luminus eventually developing a technique that allows him to paint a Memory Palace painting or book that anyone can walk into.
I note that Luminus has absolutely no weapon skills. He'll want to change that shortly after experiencing life outside the regio

Okay, so I need source values for his next 8 years PG, possibly including some page references for Faeries whose spells I might try to copy. He picks up Folk Mystery or Arcadian Travel during that period, too. Arya can tell me if she has a preference.

Jonathan.Link · February 6, 2012, 7:23pm

So, you're watching me root around in the minds of mundanes with Deft Mentem and want to copy me?

Honestly, I see your tendency to generalize yourself coming through here. Go all in with Creating Memories. Do what Sophronia could never do. Also, if you go deep on CrMe spells, you may not need Deft Mentem.

And weapon skills? Isn't that what grogs are for? Otherwise you have spells and you master them for combat purposes (this is what Sophronia would say).

amul · February 6, 2012, 8:48pm

Somebody else suggested Deft Mentem, but having put those two words together and watched Sophronia do it, I wonder why anyone would play without it

This character is experiencing concept drift. The original idea was "a non-Bonisagus magus who wants to make a breakthrough on illustration resonances for books." I like where it has gone, but as I work on a Mac, and therefore do not have access to MetaCreator, I am pretty tired of crunching numbers. Plus, you seem to be suggesting that I am STILL not specializing enough, which makes my generalist-brain throw a gasket.

If you'd like to tweak the math to specialize even further, then please feel free to make such suggestions, particularly to make sure I'm not stepping on your character's toes -- I somehow missed her character sheet. I'm pretty spent. Like you, JL, I'm in the middle of home reconstruction and other impending deadlines that have me very frustrated.

Jonathan.Link · February 6, 2012, 10:01pm

My commentary wasn't about stepping on Sophronia's toes. There's sufficient room here for everyone. And Deft Mentem is awesome for a Gently Gifted magus. They won't dislike Sophronia like they will Luminus. However, she can do something that Sophronia can't even comprehend. Create memories. Have you noticed that Sophronia has a Deficient Creo? It's a truly brutal flaw. I'm thinking Difficult Longevity ritual is a nicer one. Halving all Creo total is just awful.

No, I was thinking about the fact that if he's a specialist in creating memories, you should doubel down, as it were and go deep into that focus. A focus isn't valuable if it isn't being exploited. So Affinities and puissance in one or both of the arts are important. I'm not seeing how Good Teacher or Free Expression help in those areas. Tonight is my off night. My hands hurt from tearing stuff up. Demo is almost done (we're doing this piecemeal, which is a huge PItA). So far our flooring has been delayed until at least 2/21. Who knows when the cabinets will show up. Once those arrive, I'll be REALLY busy. I'm actually about to run out of stuff for me to do. I've hired a plumber and will be hiring an electrictian.

And for those Mac users, let me suggest VMWare Fusion. It's da bomb (former Mac user, who mostly booted into Bootcamp, but had VMware Fusion for a couple of other reasons.)

amul · February 7, 2012, 1:58am

Free expression is valuable cuz he's a Merinita, so his Craft:Painting totals are used to create charms, which give bonuses to Penetration and are used in the Mysteries (it's the skill he uses to Arcadian Travel or use Folk Magics).

As for Good Teacher, I admit it is mundane way of creating memories, but its still in theme. I agree that it isn't very number-crunchy.

I do wish that I could have figured out a mMF that covers both Imaginem and Mentem, and has a painting theme.

Deft Mentem + Art of Memory is an amazing tool for spies! Especially with Prying eyes! No one notices me making an exact magical replica of your secret conversation, which I can then transcribe later at my leisure.

Wow, man. My friends in Michigan rebuilt their entire house pretty much in 6 weeks. Of course, Thomas is a mastermind when it comes to getting secondhand building material.

The_Fixer · February 7, 2012, 11:14am

@amul: Gotta go, so a quick glance, but with it, I love him!!!
A priori, don't change anything!

So, if he's reckless and stupid, he gets punished either way: Without it, his character dies. With it, he's bed-ridden.

This does not protect you from your own stupidity, not unless you consider having a few Incapaciting wounds is something to be shrugged at.
This is a virtue for those who fear random twist of fate, like a botch killing their characters. Those willing to be stupid will rather invest in a greater immunity to Iron.

Also, as Arya wrote, the prophecy may actually accomplish himself in an unknown way. So maybe this little text of no consequence he just wrote become well-known as a universal masterpiece after his death.

Knew a guy like that.
Thing is, he was also a poor writer, with a lot of psychological issues. And it showed in his games (such as every male character being eventually castrated...)

amul · February 7, 2012, 9:31pm

Luminus de Libris fillius Caprican ex Merinitae ab Oleran

Voting Sigil - A golden paintbrush
Casting Sigil - vivid saturation

Virtues
The Gift, Hermetic Magus. Faerie Magic
3 Faerie-Raised Magic, hermetic
1 Alluring to Faeries
1 Good Teacher, general
1 mMF- creating memories
1 Free Expression, general
1 Intuition, general
1 Deft Form - Mentem
1 Affinity with Creo
Arcadian Travel

Flaws
1 Faerie Upbringing, personality
3 Favors (brother of the 9 muses, Like Close Family Ties, only supernatural), story
3 Vulnerable Magic, hermetic - Dispelled when the “Act” ends (uncommon circumstance)
1 Higher Purpose, personality: Books can hold more knowledge!
1 Obsession: see life as a heroic tales, minor personality
1 Deficient Form: Terram, hermetic
???? - gained for Arcadian Travel

Art of Memory
Luminus’s Memory Palace is a parody of Oleran, the covenant/faerie regio of his upbringing. It appears to be a painting that you are walking through. The “rooms” are:
(The Road to) Apple Mile Orchard
Five distinctive yet unimportant travelers met along the way
(The Road to) The Stone Couches
The stories of five sleepers
The Harbor
Information on how to get to five covenants
Town (events only)
Five events that I’m currently painting/drawing
Castle (magical additions only)
empty

Personality Traits : Illustrative +2, Brave +3, Inquisitive +2, Trusts Tytalus magi -1
Characteristics: (invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3335248/)
Int +4 Per +3 Age: 31
Pre +3 Com +4 Size: 0
Str +0 Sta +2 Confidence: 1
Dex -3 Qik -2 Afflictions: None

Abilities 0-point skills are ones I mean to pick up post-apprenticeship
AL Greece 2 (vistas)
AL Oleran 2 (sleepers)
Athletics 1 (climb)
Awareness 1 (search)
Charm 1 (children)
Craft: Painting 3 (illumination)

N Lang: Greek 5 (stories)
Latin 4 (written)
Norman French 4 (stories)
Langue d’oil 1.(14) (directions)

Artes Liberales 2 (ceremony)
Art of Memory 3 (events)
Philosophae 0
Prof:Scribe 0

CoH 0.1
Faerie Magic 3 (spells)
Finesse 3 (imaginem)
Merinita Lore 2 (members)
Magic Theory 3 (spells)
Parma Magica 4 (mentem)
Penetration 3 (mentem)
Arthurian Lore 3 (locations)

Arts
Creo** 15
Intellego 12.(85)
Muto
Perdo
Rego 5

Animal Auram Aquam Corpus Herbam
Ignem
Imaginem 5
Mentem 12
Terram-- Vim

Spells:
Dagger of Ice +7
Cr(Re)Aq 10 Voice, Mom, Ind
+5 Dmg, 20 paces

Fae Phantasm of the Talking Head (mod) +22
CrIm 10 ROAD, Diam, Ind

Prying Eyes +19
InIm 5 Touch, Conc, Room

Wizard’s Sidestep +12
ReIm 10 Per, Sun, Ind

Fae Illusion of the Shifted Image + 12
ReIm 10 ROAD, Sun, Ind

Heart of the Lion +29
CrMe 15, Eye Sun Ind (HoH:S 37)
Makes target Brave+3

Memory of the Distant Dream +41
CrMe 20 Eye, Sun, Ind

Enhance the Memory Palace +41
CrMe 20, R: Per, D: Moon, T: Ind (TMRE 26)
...magically constructs an extremely detailed locus in the
caster’s memory palace.(base 5, +3 Moon)

Weight of the Broken Bargain +41
CrMe 40, R Touch, D Bargain/Moon, Ind
As “Weight of a Thousand Hells,” MRB 148, only with Bargain duration.

Posing the Silent Question +26
InMe 20 Eye, Mom, Ind