Covenants -- starting power levels?

[firth5]

I absolutely fall into fits of drool over the "Covenants" supplement. It's just so wonderful.

However, the one thing that puzzles me is deciding on the basic power level. It seems like such a HUGE range to choose from, and even the guidelines are pretty vague.

As a starting point, has anyone done a conversion of 4th ed. " Nigrasaxa " into 5th ed.? What power level does that winter covenant have, as given?
I played in that covenant, and thought the power level was appropriate for starting players, so I'd like to design something with a similar power level.

atlas-games.com/pdf_storage/nigrasaxa.pdf

Thanks in advance,
Eric

[Timothy_Ferguson]

I absolutely fall into fits of drool over the "Covenants" supplement. It's just so wonderful.

However, the one thing that puzzles me is deciding on the basic power level. It seems like such a HUGE range to choose from, and even the guidelines are pretty vague.
Thanks in advance,
Eric

OK, the question's a bit nebulous, which is why the usual suspects have not just waded in.

What do you -want-?

What stories do you want to tell?

What level of fantasy do you want?

That's the first step. "Like Nigrasaxa" is no good as a tool to help you. Like Nigrasaxa in the sense that its is recently leaderless? In a tribunal with poor enforcement that is now being ramped up so that skeletons come out of closets? Small? Spring/Summer? Low fantasy?

[firth5]

Thanks Timothy. I'll attempt to clarify.

First off, I must admit that when it comes to covenant design, I only did it once. A 4th edition spring covenant. So I'm quite the novice.

In 4th edition, I really liked the hard numbers in covenant design. You picked the season, which then basically gave you the power level. In 5th edition, it seems that you could have a 300pt Spring covenant or a 300pt Autumn covenant ... just depends on the desires of the troupe. This seems a little too vague to me. But maybe I'm missing something.

I'm about to design a winter covenant, and before wasting time doing it by trial and error, I thought I'd get some feedback.

Boons and Hooks I've got under control. It's just the library/magic items/etc. that doesn't seem to have any hard and fast rule. But maybe I'm missing something.

Winter covenant, with a similar library to that in Nigra Saxa. Is there a recommended power level?

(I think I might have answered my own question here. Add up the power level in the Nigra Saxa handout, and apply the same power level to this new winter covenant. Yes?)

Well. Please let me know if I'm wrong....

[Timothy_Ferguson]

In 5th edition, it seems that you could have a 300pt Spring covenant or a 300pt Autumn covenant ... just depends on the desires of the troupe. This seems a little too vague to me. But maybe I'm missing something.

The idea here is that in the previous edition if you were in, say Ceoris, you'd buy all of this wonderful stuff for ther covenants, and then sink heaps of flaws into the idea that your seniors would never ,ever let you play with it. Most Autumn covenants turned out that way: you had to define what your GM could suprise you with, then be suprised later.

In the new version, you only define the resources you get to play with. This is why you can get a 300 point Autumn covenant: it's not that the covenant is 300 points, its that the things that the Masters let you touch are worth 300 points.

I'm about to design a winter covenant, and before wasting time doing it by trial and error, I thought I'd get some feedback.

Boons and Hooks I've got under control. It's just the library/magic items/etc. that doesn't seem to have any hard and fast rule. But maybe I'm missing something.

Winter covenant, with a similar library to that in Nigra Saxa. Is there a recommended power level?

That level which your troupe thinks suits its stories is the recommended power level.

Me, I'd recommned 300 points: you can always add more from the secret stashes opf the magi if you want to. If you are introducing people to the game, you want them to have enough points to see how the cool toys work. 8)

(I think I might have answered my own question here. Add up the power level in the Nigra Saxa handout, and apply the same power level to this new winter covenant. Yes?)

Not quite, because the spell lavels for your magic items and books will have changed, but, sure, if that works for you, go for it. Personally, I'd want more of the cool toys, but I tend to run a higher fantasy game than David's troupe does.

[firth5]

it's not that the covenant is 300 points, its that the things that the Masters let you touch are worth 300 points.

This clears it up greatly for me Timothy. Thanks for the reply.

Good luck with your protential PbP.

eric