I'd like to get a few periods in on my long abandoned contribution. In Annulus Connectens we had a theme for each 15 year period, some sort of event or concern that all of the magi would touch upon at least briefly. Is that something that we did here? Did I just miss it ?
I really donât remember. Corvusâ development hasnât been overly affected by themes, he had enough to do with his core thing about spying, and now he is more offensive.
A few ideas were thrown around earlier:
- Exploration (skills and spells for safe travels)
- Building (or do we want wooden structures forever)
- First contact with the Magical/Faerie/Infernal denizens and hedge wizards (violent, peaceful or otherwise).
Gaudius has focused on moneymaking for the first 15 years...
Here's a set of possible themes going forward, based on our hooks:
Gauntlet
+15 years: [already completed for most, but I suppose 'establishing a new covenant']
+30 years: Exploration and first contact with the Order of Suleiman
+45 years: Mundane conflict (The Third Crusade)
+60 years: Open conflict with the Order of Suleiman
+75 years: Nemeses and the Infernal (we are cursed by Jesus, after all)
Open to other suggestions too. I don't think we should feel bound by the themes, in any case, if we have better ideas for the characters, but I do like the idea of having a collection of contributions from each of the characters to the problem/issue.
We didnât quite agree to anything. I like the list proposed by Hroppa. Can we agree with it or to any other variation of it?
The themes mentioned sound good
We're cursed by Jesus? Is there another thread that I've missed?
The list looks ok. How are people thinking about the to +45 year period? Is it going to be clandestine support for the crusade or open support? Do you want to mess with history?
We're cursed by Jesus? Is there another thread that I've missed?
Matthew 11:23: Jesus formally cursed Capernaum, along with Bethsaida and Chorazin, saying "you will be thrown down to Hades!" because of their lack of faith in him as the Messiah. It's therefore one of the covenant's hooks.
Caepernum has already been destroyed by earthquake in the 8th century, and abandoned in the 11th, before we've resettled it... so perhaps there's something to the curse! It might be interesting if it was actually a Divine threat in the +75 period. Religious magi might choose to accept God's judgement and leave; demons might propose to help us. I'm sure our monotheistic enemies in the Order of Suleiman would see it as a righteous judgement upon us. It might be a suitably dynamic way to end - SGs looking to use the covenant/characters would be able to decide the result, and it would provide a good reason for the characters to have fled elsewhere.
How are people thinking about the to +45 year period? Is it going to be clandestine support for the crusade or open support? Do you want to mess with history?
We do have the benefit of being unconstrained by any tribunal, so interference with mundanes is relatively easy to get away with. I'm imagining we might fight something of a proxy war against the Order of Suleiman, supporting our crusader allies fairly openly (but perhaps not going so far as fighting with them at major battles).
My personal preference would be to be fairly consistent with the historical outcome, as it makes using these characters easier in a setting that follows history.
Which rules do we use for advancing familiars? How many xp they receive per year?
I am looking to bind a familiar in the next 15 years of Aeric, and I would like to advance it also.
I'd be inclined to say 15 xp per year as a default.
Technically Eleutherius has already had a fair amount of contact with the Sahir in the first 15 years, but I'm fine with the second period being the first open contact.
Did we establish a time period we were set in clearly enough to say the third crusade falls in the middle of it? I thought we'd discussed it but were leaning towards leaving it vague to allow people to use the covenant in their sagas more easily.
He's also got a higher purpose of preventing the fall of the Middle East to infernal corruption*, so that would tie in with his goals.
*He thinks the Suhhar's use of infernal jinn means this is probably inevitable if something major doesn't change.
There was a clarification that familiars do not suffer any penalty to quality scores on account of their might.
If the familiars are literate and capable of handling books I don't see why they wouldn't be as free or perhaps even more free than their magi.
Is it because they're are animals and expected to be less interested in study than humans? That's a pretty solid rationale. I could buy 15 xp per year just because they are alien.
There is a practical consideration. In my saga, I followed your same reasoning and gave them 30 px per year.
Their Magic Theory scores rapidly surpass those of the magi. They get ridiculously high scores in other skills too. Mages put grogs to pass the pages of the books for them if they are, letâs say, magic horses or salamanders.
I have found myself inventing new limits for a progression system that should have been simpler. Like reducing in 5px for each season they help in the laboratory, or not allowing more than 5px per year in skills in which they donât have any book or dedicated trainer (the only way to avoid that every familiar ends with Magic Theory 10 in the first decades).
If I had to do it again, I probably grant them only the same that to a grog and forget about additional considerations.
We did full experience progression for Annulus Connectens. We did see the familiars get really high scores. It worked, I had no complaints but I can see your point that it doesn't fit expectations.
I'm ok with 15 xp per year to represent familiars taking more seasons of exposure - justified by the rationale that the sort of work that humans do to learn is not the way that animals act, even if they've been granted human intelligence.
I suppose flexibility considerations are a good reason not to specify the Third Crusade specifically (although this will take place in the +45 years period, if gauntlet +75 ends in 1220). "The Crusades" should be fine - there are plenty of them over the course of this period.
That works for me.
I wouldnât call it a problem, but Lab Rat Janus was surprised to see his Magic Theory - albeit neglected for a period- surpassed by a horse. 
I feel 15 exp per year for Familiars sounds reasonable