Oops.
And yes, it does mean another harvest--you think, given when pollen is usually created.
Any ideas on a standard for Confidence points?
Scott
I think it depends a lot on how ready you want us to be to spend them - up to this point, I'm been pretty miserly about spending them, because I wasn't at all sure I'd ever get them back. Making them more available will boost the saga power slightly, although it probably won't have a massive impact.
I'd be inclined to say measure it on a per story basis, and give one for the story being at least a moderate success, plus one per notably successful incident in the story (so, fishing slightly, in this case taking down the rabbit without a scratch might count). That's possibly slightly on the low side? But easier to give us more in future if you decide it was indeed low.
That sounds reasonable. Honestly, it's just one of those rules that I can never remember when I should, and so I end up never using it.
So why don't you guys take 2 points each for this adventure?
Scott
I often needed to be reminded about them to. 1-2 depending on story scope seems ok.
And while you're at it, give yourself 2 points for any stories I missed giving them out in.
Scott
So that alters the current confidence value by +2, but does it also increase the max value? e.g. characters have 1(3), do they become 3(3) or 3(5)?
I thought the bracketed value was their max value at any time, and the other number is the current? (My rulebook is on loan atm).
The first value is how many you can spend at any one time. The value in parenthesis is how many you have. So if you have 1(3) and you gain 2, you'd go to 1(5). That means you have 5 Confidence points, and can spend one of them on any given roll.
It usually takes something really special to up the first number.
For the Still Caverns Run Deep thread I'd like to spend the 6xp as: Covenant Lore - Nova Castra and Magic Lore, for the encounter with the large beasts and exposure to the covenant. Was also thinking about chipping away slowly at a mastery of a spell as a third option. Appropriate?
(edit - Oh and thank you Trogdor!)
Yes, that's fine.
Scott
If I'm playing Calliope as a PC rather than just an NPC (which had been my original intention), I should probably post her stats - will try to do so tomorrow. (She has had some, even if they do basically consist of "Music, music, Imaginem, Imaginem.")
She's welcome to bow out on the grounds of needing to finish the song, if you prefer.
Scott
By the time we get to Summer, the song's probably finished (although I suppose she could bow out on the grounds of going home - I don't really want to establish when she heads off yet, though).
Draft stats for Calliope at gauntlet. Some of them are mandated by the descriptions of her on Viola's character sheet, or by the requirements of the Bright Ones. There's also a few things I've deliberately left blank.
At gauntlet:
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +2, Com +3, Str -3, Sta -2, Dex +2, Qik -2
Size: 0
Age: 25 (Theban apprenticeship taking 14 years)
Decreptitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Confidence: 1(3)
Sigil: Sound of Music
Faerie Sympathy:
Virtues:
The Gift (F)
Social Status: Magus (F)
Faerie Magic (F)
Strong Faerie God Blood (MSu 3)
Second Sight (mSu 1) (from SFGB)
Innate Spontaneous Magic (MH 3) (as per Bright Ones write-up - can divide by 2 without spending fatigue when casting spontaneous magic, as per half of Diedne magic).
Free Expression (mG 1)
Performance Magic: Music (mSu 1)
Enchanting Music (mSu 1)
Skilled Parens (mH 1)
Flaws:
Faerie Upbringing (mP 1)
Unnatural Magic (MH 3) (pg 87 of HoH: MC - momentary Creo rituals only have an instanteous effect).
Enemies (MSt 3)
Difficult Longevity Ritual (MH)
Brawl (dodge): Init -2, Attack N/A, Defense +0, Damage N/A
Brawl (fist): Init -2, Attack +3, Defense -1, Damage -3
Soak: -2
Fatigue Levels: 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: 0, -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities:
Native Language (Classical Greek): 5 0
Folk Ken (magi): 2 15
Brawl (dodge): 1 5
Awareness (faeries): 1 5
Charm (audience): 2 15
Atheletics (grace): 1 5
Second Sight (faeries) 1 5
Music (lyre): 4 50
Profession: Musician (composition): 4 50
Enchanting Music (faeries): 3 30
Faerie Lore (Olympus): 3 30
Latin (poetry): 5 75
Magic Theory (Imaginem) 3 30
Order of Hermes Lore (Theban Tribunal) 1 5
Code of Hermes (Theban Tribunal) 1 5
Finesse (Imaginem) 1 5
Concentration (Imaginem) 1 5
House Merinita Lore (Initiating Self) 1 5
Faerie Magic (Charms) 1 5
Art of Memory (poems) 3 30
Parma Magica (Imaginem) 1 5
Etiquette (magi) 1 5
Arts:
Cr: 1 In: 0 Mu: 5 Pe: 1 Re: 2
An: 0 Aq: 0 Au: 0 Co: 0 He: 0 Ig: 0 Im: 9 Me: 0 Te: 0 Vi: 0
Equipment:
Excellent quality Lyre.
Spells Known:
Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20) +8
Aura of Enobled Presence (MuIm10) +12
Notes of a Delightful Sound (MuIm 10) +12
Tune of a Delightful Sound (MuIm 3) +12 (As Notes of a Delightful Sound, but Ind target and Performance duration).
Discern Own Illusions (InIm 15) +7
Hear Own Illusions (InIm 10) +7 (As Discern Own Illusions, but with Hearing target)
Silence of the Smothered Sound (PeIm 20) +8
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10) +9
The Formless Friend (MuIm 15) +12
The Formless Enemy (MuIm 20) +12
The Crystal Dart (MuTe 10) +0
Scales of the Magical Weight (InVi 5) -2
Sense of Faerie Power (InVi 2) -2
Appearance: Calliope is a moderately pretty young maga - tall, poised and elegant, with an almost regal bearing; black haired but with strange golden eyes.
New Spells:
The Formless Friend
Based on the Anamorphic spells section on pages 65 - 66 of HoH: S. Casts a shapeless illusion which tricks people looking at it to fill in the details themselves (given a suitable impeteus). The victim(s) make a Per + Aw roll against an ease factor of die + dominant active personality trait + caster's perception + caster's finesse. If the roll meets the ease factor, the target sees the thing as something that fits in with his current mental state, but isn't sufficient to investigate. Exceeding the ease factor will cause the illusion to look first mundanely, then obviously magically false. Falling under the ease factor will cause the victim to fill in an increasing amount of detail on the spell (more exact details are in HoH:S).
The Formless Friend causes the victim(s) to see and hear the target of the spell as a friend who could plausibly appear in their situation, providing the target is acting in a manner that implies an established friendly relationship between the two. Relevant active personality traits will tend to be those which imply friendliness or loyalty.
MuIm 15 (Base 2 (change two sensations of an object) + 2 Voice + 2 Sun + 1 changing image)
The Formless Enemy
Similar to the Formless Friend, the Formless Enemy makes the target appear to its victims as a known enemy who could plausibly appear in their situation, providing the target is acting in a manner that could imply hostility. Relevant active personality traits will tend to be those which imply hatred, fear or caution.
MuIm 20 (Base 2 (change two sensations of an object) + 3 Sight + 2 Sun + 1 changing image)
OK, that looks good.
Scott
Draft advancement for Calliope (apologies, it doesn't look like I'm going to get her Shield Grog up over the weekend after all. His key characteristic is Second Sight, because that's a really useful thing to have when you're guarding an Illusionist.)
One place I've deviated slightly from the published guidelines is I've used the "Pieces of Art as Advancement Sources" rules on page 126 of Art & Academe, assuming she has access to 2 bits of Art per 5 year period and that they have an Artistic Score of 11-12 (=creator's (Comm + Profession Musician + Free Expression +possibly a few other minor bonuses)/2, giving 6xp.
Calliope was gauntleted in 1221 (the same tribunal that it was agreed to found Nova Castra at).
1221
Summer: Tribunal: 5xp OoH Lore, 5xp Etiquette.
Autumn: Study Imaginem tractatus, 10xp.
1222
Winter: Practice Music: 4xp
Spring: Adventure: 5xp Profession Musician, 5xp Music.
Summer: Study Imaginem tractatus, 10xp.
Autumn: Covenant service, 2xp Magic Theory
1223
Winter: Study Muto Summa, 10xp Muto.
Spring: Study Creo Summa, 14xp Creo
Summer: Study Perdo Summa, 14xp Perdo.
Autumn: Covenant service, 2xp Magic Theory
1224
Winter: Adventure: 5xp Order of Hermes Lore, 5xp Music
Spring: Study Artwork, 6xp Profession: Musician
Summer: Study Intellego Summa, 14xp Intellego
Autumn: Study Rego Summa: 14xp capped to 12xp Rego.
1225
Winter: Practice Music. 4xp Music
Spring: Study Artwork, 6xp Profession: Musician
Summer: Study 'The Long Meandering Path' (Viola's Merinita Lore Summa). 11xp Merinita Lore
Autumn: Self-initiates Arcadian Travel. 3xp Faerie Lore, 2xp Merinita Lore. Gains Arcadian Travel virtue, Overconfident minor flaw.
1226
Winter: Initiated by Viola into Potent Spontaneous Magic. 3xp Faerie Lore, 2xp Merinita Lore. Gains Potent Spontaneous Magic (can spend fatigue to double lowest Art when casting spontaneous magic divided by 2, i.e. other half of Diedne Magic), Minor flaws Deleterious Circumstances (iron) and lesser malediction: discomfort from iron.
Spring: Practice Music: 4xp Music.
Summer: Study Artwork, 6xp Profession: Musician
Autumn: Study covenant's Parma Magica book (previously defined to have SQ 11): 11xp Parma Magica
1227
Winter: Compose song. 2xp Profession Musician.
Spring: Practice Music: 4xp Music.
Summer: Study Imaginem tractatus.
Autumn: Journeys to Aegea with Viola. 2xp faerie lore, 5xp Order of Hermes Lore
1228
Winter: Composes song. 2xp Profession: Musician.
Spring: Studies "The Nature of Species" from Nova Castra's library?
Great. I haven't read the A&A rules, but they're canonical, so that's fine.
I wouldn't worry that much about shield grog, unless you're doing it just for fun--if there's ever a need for full stats, you can always use generic ones.
Scott
Stats for Calliope at the end of Winter 1228 (I decided to leave out Spring 1228 in case she ends up doing something else, on the grounds it's safer to underplay her stats).
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +2, Com +3, Str -3, Sta -2, Dex +2, Qik -2
Size: 0
Age: 32 (Theban apprenticeship taking 14 years)
Decreptitude: 0
Warping Score: 1 (9) 14
Confidence: 1(4)
Sigil: Sound of Music
Faerie Sympathy:
Virtues:
The Gift (F)
Social Status: Magus (F)
Faerie Magic (F)
Strong Faerie God Blood (MSu 3)
Second Sight (mSu 1) (from SFGB)
Innate Spontaneous Magic (MH 3) (as per Bright Ones write-up - can divide by 2 without spending fatigue when casting spontaneous magic, as per half of Diedne magic).
Free Expression (mG 1)
Performance Magic: Music (mH 1)
Enchanting Music (mSu 1)
Skilled Parens (mH 1)
*Potent Spontaneous Magic (MH 3)
*Arcadian Travel (mH)
Flaws:
Faerie Upbringing (mP 1)
Unnatural Magic (MH 3) (pg 87 of HoH: MC - momentary Creo rituals only have an instanteous effect).
Enemies (MSt 3)
Difficult Longevity Ritual (MH)
*Overconfident (mP)
*Deleterious Circumstances (Iron) (mH)
*Discomfort from Iron (mG)
*Virtues and flaws are from initiations into the Bright Ones.
Brawl (dodge): Init -2, Attack N/A, Defense +0, Damage N/A
Brawl (fist): Init -2, Attack +3, Defense -1, Damage -3
Soak: -2
Fatigue Levels: 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: 0, -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities:
Native Language (Classical Greek): 5 0
Folk Ken (magi): 2 15
Brawl (dodge): 1 5
Awareness (faeries): 1 5
Charm (audience): 2 15
Atheletics (grace): 1 5
Second Sight (faeries) 1 5
Music (lyre): 5 (1) 76
Profession: Musician (composition): 5 (2) 77
Enchanting Music (faeries): 3 30
Faerie Lore (Olympus): 3 (8) 38
Latin (poetry): 5 75
Magic Theory (Imaginem) 3 (4) 34
Order of Hermes Lore (Theban Tribunal) 2 (5) 20
Code of Hermes (Theban Tribunal) 1 5
Finesse (Imaginem) 1 5
Concentration (Imaginem) 1 5
House Merinita Lore (Initiating Self) 2 (5) 20
Faerie Magic (Charms) 1 5
Art of Memory (poems) 3 30
Parma Magica (Imaginem) 2 (1) 16
Etiquette (magi) 1 (5) 10
Arts:
Cr: 5 In: 4 (4) Mu: 6 (4) Pe: 5 Re: 5
An: 0 Aq: 0 Au: 0 Co: 0 He: 0 Ig: 0 Im: 11 (9) Me: 0 Te: 0 Vi: 0
Equipment:
Excellent quality Lyre.
Spells Known:
Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20) +14
Aura of Enobled Presence (MuIm10) +15
Notes of a Delightful Sound (MuIm 10) +15
Tune of a Delightful Sound (MuIm 3) +15 (As Notes of a Delightful Sound, but Ind target and Performance duration).
Discern Own Illusions (InIm 15) +13
Hear Own Illusions (InIm 10) +13 (As Discern Own Illusions, but with Hearing target)
Silence of the Smothered Sound (PeIm 20) +14
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10) +14
The Formless Friend (MuIm 15) +15
The Formless Enemy (MuIm 20) +15
The Crystal Dart (MuTe 10) +4
Scales of the Magical Weight (InVi 5) +2
Sense of Faerie Power (InVi 2) +2
Appearance: Calliope is a moderately pretty young maga - tall, poised and elegant, with an almost regal bearing; black haired but with strange golden eyes.
New Spells:
The Formless Friend
Based on the Anamorphic spells section on pages 65 - 66 of HoH: S. Casts a shapeless illusion which tricks people looking at it to fill in the details themselves (given a suitable impeteus). The victim(s) make a Per + Aw roll against an ease factor of die + dominant active personality trait + caster's perception + caster's finesse. If the roll meets the ease factor, the target sees the thing as something that fits in with his current mental state, but isn't sufficient to investigate. Exceeding the ease factor will cause the illusion to look first mundanely, then obviously magically false. Falling under the ease factor will cause the victim to fill in an increasing amount of detail on the spell (more exact details are in HoH:S).
The Formless Friend causes the victim(s) to see and hear the target of the spell as a friend who could plausibly appear in their situation, providing the target is acting in a manner that implies an established friendly relationship between the two. Relevant active personality traits will tend to be those which imply friendliness or loyalty.
MuIm 15 (Base 2 (change two sensations of an object) + 2 Voice + 2 Sun + 1 changing image)
The Formless Enemy
Similar to the Formless Friend, the Formless Enemy makes the target appear to its victims as a known enemy who could plausibly appear in their situation, providing the target is acting in a manner that could imply hostility. Relevant active personality traits will tend to be those which imply hatred, fear or caution.
MuIm 20 (Base 2 (change two sensations of an object) + 3 Sight + 2 Sun + 1 changing image)
Gregorius will spend his 6xp as follows:
5xp: Nova Castra Lore (regio).
1xp: Concentration
I'll edit his character sheet accordingly.
Are we ready to begin the searching for Tasia thread? (I'm assuming you'll start it).
Editted to add: +1xp Magic Lore from correspondence.
Sure, I can start it.
Scott
Draft background, virtues and flaws for Psellos, Calliope's Shield Grog. I'll do the xp once I know people are happy with the basic set-up.
Psellos was assigned as Calliope's shield grog when she was but an apprentice, and has served her since. Whilst he's beginning to show signs of age now, it's yet to seriously impede him. During one of her earlier adventures, Calliope stole something from a powerful fae, but Psellos ended up having to buy her time to escape at the cost of his own capture. By the time Calliope was able to arrange his rescue (probably at least as much from a feeling that leaving her man in the villain's hands was not the appropriate course of action as out of any care for him in his own right), he had undergone sufficient faerie warping for him and theft to have a very bad relationship from then on.
Virtues:
Second Sight (mSu)
Custos (mSS)
Improved Characteristics (mG)
Flaws
Unspecialised (Grogs pg 85 - has no ability specialisations)
Busybody (mP)
Warped by Faerie (Grogs pg 85, variant of Warped by Magic. 5 faerie warping points plus a free flaw, but can take Faerie Lore)
Faerie Antipathy: Theft (RoP: F pg 114. Strength -2. -2 to Abilities when doing anything related to theft; +2 botch dice to stress rolls in all situations - botches caused will tend to be ironically related to theft in some way).