@MTKnife, have you got any major comments on Chryse before I finalise her?
It would also be useful to to know what Viola's had her doing over the year between Tribunal and the Halia story (although I know one season has been having her Arts opened) so I've got a better idea of her capabilities (especially as regards Latin and faeries).
Night terrors and turbulence are disturbingly reminiscent of my 4-year-old son, but she looks really good--not exactly what magic theorist Viola would have picked, but very suitable as a Merinita.
Viola's advancement log is somewhere in this thread, but I know browsing on this thing is a miserable experience, so here's the relevant section:
Winter: Uses a lab text borrowed by Gregorius from the Tremere to “invent” a level 40 version of Aegis of the Hearth
Spring: Studies Vim from Analyzing Vis while sitting in the main (magic) aura rather than in her lab
Summer: Studies Intellego Insights into Insight while sitting in the library
During that first winter, Viola will bring Chryse into the lab from time to time, but since Chryse is still just learning Latin, and Viola never got around to learning Greek, doing more than that is pointless. Therefore, though she'll check in Chryse frequently, and make space for her in her sanctum, she'll devote those three seasons to having her taught Latin, then move on to Artes Liberales and/or Philosophiae once she's ready.
Scott
Autumn: Opens Chryse’s Arts; because of Chryse’s Strong Faerie Blood, this requires a lab total of 40 (In 8 + Vi 8 +4 Int + 8 + lab 8 + aura 5 = 41). Exp.: Magic Theory, +2=209
Who do you want teaching her Latin?
Historically, the covenfolk teaching Latin have been Theodoric, Petrus, Sophia and Miklos, the grog captain.
Gregorius is going to want Miklos focussed on military matters. The initial draft of the relevant seasons (excluding Autumn 1229 as that's when she's having her Arts opened) for the other three is as follows:
Theodoric
Winter 1229: Practice Teaching 4xp -> 2 (4)
Spring 1229: Teach Latin 2 xp Teaching -> 2 (6) . SQ 9 (2 students - Bogdan, Godzimir)
Summer 1229: Practice Single Weapon 4xp -> 5 (12)
Petrus
Winter 1229: Teach Latin. 2xp Teaching -> 4 (10) SQ 9 (2 students - Aison and Damianos)
Spring 1229: Train apprentice in Profession: Apothecary, 2 xp P:A -> 6 (10) SQ 9
Summer 1229: Train wise-woman's apprentice in Profession: Apothecary, 2 xp P:A -> 6 (12) SQ 9
Sophia
Winter 1229: Practice Carouse, 4 xp -> 5 (4)
Spring 1229: Practice Profession: Steward, 4xp -> 5 (16)
Summer 1229: Teach Latin, 2xp Teaching -> 3 (8) SQ 8 (Up to 20 students - includes Niketas, Simon)
This is an initial draft (and indeed, Chryse is part of why I've held off finalising it), so things can be changed around as necessary. Note that Chryse will impose a -3 penalty on any learning that gets done in a classroom due to her Gift (although if she's a single student that will be at least offset by the bonus for that).
Edit: Or, well, there's Ipek I suppose...
Which of these covenfolk have produced the best results in the past? As for Ipek, Viola is sure her communication talents are impeccable, but would she really sit still long enough to provide a season of training?
Scott
There doesn't seem to be a huge amount in it, although Sophia's probably a bit ahead, which is why she was originally slated to teach mass classes.
Sophia: Comm + Teaching + languages speciality = 1 + 3 + 1 =5
Theodoric: Comm + Teaching = 0 + 2 = 2
Petrus: Com -1 + Teaching 4 = 3
Obviously there will be the Base +3, number of student bonuses and the "being Gifted" penalty to add on top of that.
One other thing that does occur to Viola is that due to the effects of her Gift there's a significant chance that a mundane teacher will interpret the effects of Chryse's trauma on her demeanor in a negative fashion.
I can't remember who's got the most experience around magi, other than Theodoric, obviously.
Scott
Theodoric has just had a decade or so as a hermit, so possibly doesn't top the list.
Both Sophia and Petrus were covenfolk at other Theban covenants prior to coming to Nova Castra - Sophia at Epidauros. I don't think I defined it for Petrus. Sophia probably hadn't been at Epidarous massively long prior to coming to B
One other thing that I just remembered is that Petrus currently has his own apprentice who is probably roughly Chryse's age (and is doing some work with the wise-woman's apprentice as well, although there's a good chance she's slightly older).
Why the mention of Petrus's apprentice?
Scott
Partly as it's relevant to his original plans for the season, but also because I'd forgotten that it meant that Chryse isn't actually the only child around the covenant (which probably isn't directly relevant to her classes unless you choose to make it so, but will be to her life more generally).
Yes, it definitely does change the experience, probably for the better.
Scott
So who's teaching Chryse what when?
Let's see, with Sophia, that would be 11 XP per season -- 5 + 3 + 6 for a single student, -3 for the Gift. We're going to have to do that Winter 1229 through Summer 1229 to get 33 XP, giving her a score of 3, enough to open up her Arts. Anyone who argues about monopolizing Sophia's time for 3 seasons is going to get a dirty look from Viola.
Scott
Gregorius will want it to avoid becoming a habit.
Note that I don't think Chryse needs any particular language skills for her Arts to be opened - it's more relevant for when proper lessons start.
I'm not even sure what opening the Arts entails. I don't recall ever seeing any color text describing it.
Scott
I think about all the books say is that it's a season-long lab process, and that it involves training your apprentice in the basics of Hermetic Magic. I tend to think of it as working on the apprentice's Gift to reshape it into specific Hermetic channels (which is harder if it's already trying to run a different way, e.g. they have Supernatural abilities). I don't think there's any material input from the character who's having their Gift opened, beyond being present and not actively trying to sabotage you.
Even if there's no mechanical effect, I can't imagine it would be a good experience for the child if the two couldn't communicate.
Scott
True enough - and how Chryse is treated is going to play into how she develops over the years, whether that's positively or less so.
Draft stats for her at the time of the Reuniting Halia with her Children Adventure:
Notes:
The fact that an apprentice learns nothing else when having her Arts opened would seem to suggest that she's an active participant in the process....
Having the Virtues come out when they're used seems fine--not sure when she's going to do anything with flowers, but maybe she's interested in them enough that she'll play around with them when learning Herbam?
Presumably Viola has a script she already used to initiate her filius.
Scott
The wording does definitely imply there's some actual learning involved, doesn't it, so I might adjust my understanding of exactly what's going on a bit.
Viola doesn't have a script listed on her character sheet, whereas she does have them for the Bright Ones initiations. Possibly she borrowed one previously, or something? As a Merinita in good standing it shouldn't be massively hard to get hold of one.
She took him as an apprentice just as the saga collapsed, so it never occurred to me to think out his development--and anyway that was in ArM4, where no script was required for Faerie Magic. I'd think she'd have on on hand (it's technically a Mystery, but it's not exactly a big secret), but yes, it doesn't matter a whole lot.
Scott