Create an Archmagus: The Once and Future Time Sink

Games Discussion Ars Magica
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I've decided to age at least one character to archmage status to see what a magus at that power level would look like. I've also decided to do some backstory. Looking over the first installment this looks longer, and possibly dryer, than I had intended. Keep in mind that the main reason for doing backstory is to get some idea of how convoluted the secrets and alliances of an archmagus might be. Expect-perhaps-one update a month as I move through this (i.e. long term project).

Working through this does – however show a couple issues with the rules. First, there is a lack of information about characters with abnormal appearances. How should society as a whole reacted to giant blooded magi? What about strong faerie blood? Does somebody with strong Afrite blood look like a horned demon?

Secondly, the idea of Flambeau's going on Crusade just doesn't make sense with the 5th edition rules on the gift. Without the gentle gift magi around large numbers of well armed mundanes is a recipe for disaster.

Sarah of Flambeau – A story told in blood and fire.
(Note: This characters virtues are Major Focus – Damaging Spells; Giant Blood; Strong Faerie Blood ('Afrite), Improved Charateristics and Puissant Creo[House]).

Sarah was born in 1066 of an uncognizant Iberian 'Afrite and a human slave. Her human parent died when she was still a young child. Her apprenticeship began at age 10 when her pater purchased her from her 'Afrite family/masters. Completing her apprenticeship at Val Negra she was Gauntleted in 1091. The young Sarah is driven to prove that she has a soul. Understanding more about the nature of Faeries she seeks to step outside of her obvious role – a firey 'Afrite. To this extent she has developed skill with Creo, not Ignem. She'd probably be unhappy to learn that the name Ifrit derives from the Persian word afritan (“to create”).

Sarah spends the first two years out of apprenticeship studying Parma Magica, copying lab texts and improving her score in Vim.

In 1093 reports arrived of a large serpent terrorizing livestock near the covenant. The covenant dispatched Sarah, along with two shield grogs, a tamed nobleman, the turb's captain, an experienced tracker and a cook. From the start, it seemed clear that the expedition was geared to protecting the new maga while allowing her some combat experience. Unfortunately, it was a trap.

The party was ambushed in route to the last location of the serpent. Heavily armed and armored men rushed the party – as crossbowmen attacked them from the rear. The attack killed the nobleman (the second son of a moderately influential local potentate) and inflicted a light wound on Sarah. In truth the wound would have been nastier has Sarah been less robust or not wearing a half suit of leather scale (13 damage).

After the attack Abraxas of Tytalus “coincidently” happened by. Using his arts to interrogate the dead Abraxas found that the attack had been aimed not at the maga but at the nobleman as part of a dynastic dispute. The groups scout had betrayed them to a rival noble house. The party was unable to catch the defector, but did find the family of the peasant whom had first reported to serpent in their hut with their throats slit.

Abraxas was unable to heal Sarah's injuries due to who unusual size. He duly reported to the tribunal that the actions of the magi of Val Negra in employing a tamed nobleman to legitimize their land holdings had brought ruin upon their soldalis. In response Sarah counterclaimed for libel – the claim that a light wound on a member of house Flambeau represented "ruin" – and breach of privacy for advertising to the entire tribunal that she was immune to standard Corpus spells.

The next several seasons were spent improving her skill with Corpus and locating lab texts for Creo Corpus healing spells that could effect her. Finding the nearest copies at Carta Solis, Sarah made arrangement to spend the next two seasons there inventing the spells. After completing the spells the house Primus offered to sell casting tablets (Conjure the Mystic Tower, Aegis of the Hearth and the Lab of Bonisagus)-as well as some lab texts-to her at a greatly reduced price if she would stay an extra season and write a treatise on the Jinn. Carta Solis would then make an extra copy for her future use.

Then came the Crusade. At the Council of Piacenza in March, representatives of the Byzantine empire made a formal appeal to the Pope to help take back Asia minor. One of the few members of the house outside of Iberia who both spoke and wrote Arabic, Sarah was asked to remain at Carta Solis until after the Grand Tribunal of 1095. Among other things, this allowed for several apprentices in the tribunal to be gauntleted after the rescheduled tribunal of 1094 (held Spring 1095).

Deus Vult – God Wills It. Even before the council of Clermont (November 1095) it became clear that the war in Asia would be different. While House Flambeau are noted for taking part in later crusades, there was little interest among French magi to go to war for Asia Minor. Urban II's tour of France changed that. Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse made it clear that he expected covenants located in Provence to supply troops and magi for the Crusade. The order might have resisted the last had Deus Vult not become the rallying cry of the crusade. Faced with the Pope's call for Crusade and the-apparent-expression of Divine approval, the Great Tribunal in Fall of 1095 voted to allow magi to join the crusade. The Grand Tribunal ruling allowed magi to fight as knights but not to use magic for the cause unless against hostile magicians. To meet the requests of a mundane lord, the Provence Tribunal voted (in an emergency session) payments of 4 pawns of a form to be selected (or two pawns of a technique) per season of service for up to three magi. Sarah was one of the selected volunteers. Sarah's parens, the gently gifted Moratalis of Flambeau, became the magus selected to lead the expedition.

From the time the crusaders arrived in Constantinople it became clear that they would lack promised support. The mundane army found the Byzantines slow in coming forward with promised supplies. Magi in the crusade found promised vis missing, no ships for use as mobile labs or lab equipment and only a handful of texts among them. The last would prove particularly annoying as the campaign became a war of sieges.

The early stages of the crusade passed with magi tangled and a web of conflicting interests. Crusaders besieged Nicaea, a city holding a Jerbiton covenant. Instead of fight foreign wizards, much of the hermetic contingents times was spent negotiating the cities surrender to the Byzantines-without a sack. The first fighting against non-hermetic wizards would only come several days later at the Battle of Dorylaeum. Accompanying Raymond – the Order Magi helped relieve a crusader force pinned against a marsh by both men and jinn.

The siege of Antioch only furthered Hermetic discomfort. Many gifted magi lived such isolated lives that they could not understand the army's desire for rapine and murder after the city's fall. It quickly became apparent that, during the uncontrolled violence of a sack, gifted magi risked being targeted by Crusaders as well as defenders. Magi of the crusade spent the night of the fall fighting against Jinn defenders while attempting to loot texts and vis, avoid marauding troops, and almost randomly protect the city's residents. In the wake of the fall of Antioch the Hermetic contingent elected to form a specialized looting party made up of Grogs and the gently gifted Moratalis.

Lack of supply led to epidemic sweeping through the army after Antioch. Many of the Magi, Sarah included, found themselves forced to keep up constant Creo Corpus effects – and suffer warping – in order to avoid the plague.

In December relations between Magi and crusaders hit a nadir. After taking Ma'arra, Crusaders were reduced to cannibalism. Described by one chronicler: "in Ma'arrat our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking pots; they impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled." Using a Creo Animal ritual designed to produce a war horse, and sending out parties to hunt for animal vis, the small hermetic contingent was able to feed itself without resorting to such drastic measures. This led to crusaders storming the hermetic encampment in late December searching for food that the magi did not have, nor had the vis to create. One Tytalus magus died before the Crusaders were thrown out of the camp.

With little trust or amicability left the two groups began moving towards Jerusalem early in 1099. The situation hovered on the edge of explosion. Mundane lords threatened to seek reprisals against the order after the Crusade. Moral in the hermetic contingent disintegrated after the fall of Jerusalem. In early August magi discovered that Moratalis had lied to them about the number and quality of texts taken during the various sacks. Further, he held a large supply of vis intended for the crusade for his personal use and was negotiating to secure a prime covenant site as a personal fief.

Disgusted, the magi of the Crusade split the goods of the-then absent-Mortalis among themselves and set out for the coast. These plans were quickly amended as they came across the encampment of Fatimid army, hidden by magic. After directing the Crusader army to the encampment, Sarah was surrounded by Jinn in the following battle and reduced to ash by firey blast, or at least so it seemed.

Faced with overwhelming odds Sarah fast cast a spell to send herself into twilight. The twilight reduced her body to ash. Twilight is unpredictable. Sarah's twilight lasted the remainder of the day (and gave +4xp in her negative sympathy trait now at -1).

Emerging from twilight, Sarah found everything in disarray. Her companions had a head start to the coast. Moratalis and the Grogs had gone off somewhere. Catherine the cook and some other covenfolk remained in camp, but that was it. Obtaining a mule (any horse large enough to carry her having long ago been eaten), Sarah set off for the coast.

At Constantinople Sarah discovered that Mortalis had charged his companions with a number of high crimes, including depriving him of his magical power and interfering with mundanes. Not wanting to wait for a March, Sarah, with Catherine volunteering to follow, took the next ship (that would take an eight and a half foot tall gifted Maga) to the far side of the Black Sea.

Sarah at Gauntlet
Characteristics: Int +3, Per 0, Prs 0, Com +2, Str +2, Sta +3, Dex 0, Qik 0
Size: +3
Age: 25
Decrepitude: 0
Warping: 0
Confidence: 1(3)
Virtues/Flaws: Major Focus (Damaging Spells), Giant Blooded, Improved Characteristics, Strong Faerie Blood ('Afrit), Puissant Creo, Driven, Faerie Upbringing, Black Sheep, Deficient Technique (Muto), Faerie Heritage.
Personality Traits: Brave +3, Hates Bullies +2, Conformist -1
Reputation: none
Soak: +3 (unarmored)

Faerie Sympathy Traits
Power: +1
Conformity (negative): 0

Abilities: Second Sight 4 (Spirits), Brawl 2 (dodging), Guile 2 (lying to authority), Stealth 2 (sneak), Arabic 5, Faerie Lore 2 (Jinn), Awareness 1 (alertness), Folk Ken 1 (nobles), Parma Magica 1 (Ignem), Artes Liberals 2 (Ritual Magic), Latin 5, Magic Theory 3 (Inventing Spells), Profession (scribe) 1, Single Weapon 1 (longsword).

Arts: Cr 10(+3), In 0, Mu 0, Pe 1, Re 0; An 0, Aq 1, Co 1, He 0, Ig 09, Im 0, Me, 0, Te 1, Vi 1.

Spells: Pilum of Fire CrIg 20 (+34), Arc of Fiery Ribons CrIg 25 (+34), Flash of the Scarlet Flame CrIg 15 (+34), Blade of Virulent Flame CrIg 15 (+34), Unseen Arm ReTe 5 (+4), The Unseen Porter ReTe 10 (+4), Dagger of Ice CrAq 10 (+6), Quench the Raging Conflg PeIg 20 (+14).

Equipment – Partial leather scale, long sword shield.

1091 – Parma Magica 4, +2xp Profession, Scribe. Spr, Sum, Fall, Study from Sound Summa on Parma
Magica (Quality 15, Level 4), Winter Copy Lab Texts +2 Expose XP Profession Scribe.

1092 – Vi 11. Studying a Summa on Vim (Quality 17, Level 11) for all 4 seasons. Season of service waived for spending the year studying Vim (higher vis extraction totals).

1093 - Penetration 2, Concentration 2 (Quality 5, Level 2, Primers). Adventure 5 xp (awareness 1 (Ambushes)(light wound), Invent Ball of Abysmal Flame CrIg35; Corpus 5 (Summa 14/14).

1094 – Corpus 7 (Summa 14/14), Extract 4 Pawns of Vis (CrVi 24 + 3 int + 3 MT+ 5 Aura + 6 Lab) +2 xp Magic Theory, Invent Healing Touch Size +1(+2mt), Invent Purification of the Festering Wound Size +1 (+2 MT).

1095 – Write Tractus Fairy Lore (Jinn) (+2 xp Profession Scribe), Corpus 9 (Summa 18/15), Taught Single Weapon +23xp (+2 Com, +5 Great Teacher, +7 Teaching, +9 Single Student), Taught Single Weapon +23 xp (Single Weapon 4).

Gain Item: Grimoire
Casting Table Conjure the Mystic Tower CrTe 35 (2 Cr, 5 Te)
Casting Tablet Aegis of the Hearth ReVi 20 (4 Vi)
Casting Tablet The Lab of Bonisagus (CrTe(Vi) 45 (2 Cr, 7 Te)
Mighty Torrent of Water CrAq 20
Circling Wind of Protection CrAr 20
The Incantation of Lightning CrAu 35
Invocation of Weariness PeCo 20
Touch of Midas CrTe 20
Demon's Eternal Oblivion PeVi 5
(Build Points 74: 50 Casting Tablet, 24 Lab Texts)

1096 – Ride 2 (+23 xp); Invent Demon's Eternal Oblivion PeVi 5 and Wind of Mundane Silence PeVi 20 (+2 Pe, Pe now 2); Athletics 1 (Marching) (practice 5), French (Langue d'Oc) 3 (Teaching 15 points).

-Gain Full mail armor and horse (bred to accepted a gifted rider).

1097 – Greek 1 (practice 8), Ignem 10 (Tractus 10, siege of Nicea), Adventure 8 xp (+4 xp ride, +4 xp Single Weapon (now level 5)) +2 Xp power, +1 xp negative conformity), Terram 5 (Summa 15/5).

1098 – Rego 5 (Summa 15/5)(Siege of Antioch), Adventure (5xp – 2 Awareness [hunting party]), Intrigue 1 (practice 5), Adventure – 10xp (Brawl +5 xp, Folk Ken (+5 xp) , -1 xp Power) +1 warping (continuous magic effect).

1099 – Intelligo 5 (summa 15/5); training Brawl 3 (+10xp); Adventure (+10xp, Ride 3 +4xp, Order of Hermes Lore 1 (Crusaders) +5xp, +1xp Profession Scribe. + 2 warping points), Exposure Greek 2 (+8 XP).

Gain Items:
Summa Ignem 16/19 (quality 16/level 19) – Exceptional Text Major Boon
Summa Aquam 14/16
Summa Auram 16/14
Summa Terram 15/15
=90 Build Points

50 Pawns of Vis (actually 10 Creo, 20 Terram, 8 Vim, 2 Corpus) – 10 Points

20 pounds +2 build points (Notes: gold Solidius's included, not actually 20lbs of metal).

End of the Crusades Summary:

Age 33 (+8 Years)

Parma 4, Vi 11, Penetration 2, Concentration 2 (Spell Concentration), Awareness 2(Ambushes), Single Weapon 5, French 3, Athletics 1 (marching), Greek 2, Intrigue 1(nobles), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (crusaders), Ride 3.

Sympathy: Conformity (Negative), -1.

In 5, Pe 2, Re 5, Co 9, Ig 10, Te 5, Vi 11

Healing Touch (+ Size), Purification Festering Wnd (+1 size), Demon's Eternal Obliv, Wind of Mundane Silence, BoaF.

+3 points of Warping, +1 xp in both Faerie Sympathies

Reputation
Bound Demon (Crusaders) 2
Crusader (House Flambaeu) 2
Dead (Levant Tribunal) 2

New Personality Trait: Tired of Sieges +1.

Further Note: Simplicity and sanity seem to argue for house ruling that a strong faerie blood character has an apparent age of 35 at age 50.

1 Like
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If you do finish here before the start of March, there are great chances I would just use her as the Flambeau Archmagus/a I need in my game.

I have done some archmagi, but the only "archmagus" which was really super-powered was one bonisagus which spend all his time seasons experimenting, with the luck virtue (which does either add up to +3 to your roll on experimental chart, - meaning that any roll from 7 to 10 result in a discovery in place of nothing special, failur or story event). The discovery process gave him scores like 63 in Creo. I had done it in details for 238 years of breakthroughs and experimentation. The result was impressiv.

Otherwise, I considered the archmagus to be a social recognition of someone' capabilities in any field, and not especially someone who is the best at one thing.

I'm really enjoying your post and will follow it.

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Subscribed!

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Notes:
Catherine the Cook
Int +4, Per 0, Pre +1, Com +4, Str -2, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik -2
Virtues/Flaws: Mythic Herbalism, Great Int, Great Com, Privileged Upbringing, Great Teacher, Pussiant Mythic Herbalism, Linguist, Educated, Optimistic, Soft Hearted, Plagued by Entity (ghost), Visions, Small Frame, Craving for Travel, Covenfolk.

Age: 19

Personality Traits:
Wants to Travel +2
Like learning Languages +1
Loyal +1

Background: Descended from a hereditary group of companions.

Arria Sentina
House Ex Misc
Int +3, Per 0, Com +4, Str -2, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qui 0
Virtues/Flaws: The Gentle Gift, Second Sight, Magic Blood, Gift of Tongues, Minor Magic Focus (travel), Great Com, Book Learner, Puissant Magic Realm Lore, Study Bonus, Travel, Twilight Prone*, Lost Roman (Etruscan)(Story),Driven (Major), Busybody(minor), Hedge Wizard, Visions, Arthritis.

*House Virtues

Age 29 (in 1112)

Personality Traits:
Driven (restore the Roman Republic) +3
Brave +2
Hates having Intelligo spells cast on her +1

Background: Arria is a Etruscan witch born in 136 B.C.E. As a youth she became a political supporter of the Gracchi brothers, whom promised to extend Roman citizenship to the cities Latin allies. In 121 troops under Senate control moved against Gracchi supporters holding a rally. To avoid the bloodshed that followed, Arria stepped into the magic realm from the Aventine Hill and exited the magic realm in 1096. Or maybe not. Its always possible that her Rome was a world within the magic realm. A magus found the disoriented youth, happily already literate in Latin, at the place and time prophecy said she would emerge.

Sentina is appalled with the Roman Empire and the events since it's fall (in the West). She is driven to see a return to Democracy and a reestablishment of the Roman Republic.

Arria Sentina has a large collections of stones and other arcane connections to far away places. Often, she will buy trade goods from distant sources as a way of gaining arcane connections to new places. At any one time, she is likely to have several strings with semiprecious stones on them (arcane connections to a chain of places). She has mastered leap of homecoming. The correct Intelligo magic will show that she is a distant (and indirect) ancestor of the bloodline of Mercere.

Spirit Travel: Major Supernatural Virtue
Gives a score in the art of Travel. Possessors of this virtue can use Travel + Int + Aura + Stress Die to cast spells using the guidelines for magic realm effects found in Realms of Power: Magic. Additionally, add Travel/5 to attempts to understand twilight.

Rules Note: Wounded magi can neither cast fatiguing spontaneous spells nor rituals. This makes become wounded a very bad thing indeed.

Further Note: I've found out how to do random numbers with my spreadsheet. From here on out adventures will cause two dice rolls per XP gained with some percentage (I'm guessing around 1 in 3) being able to give warping if botched. Also, I've realized that, unless engaged in a great deal of combat, Flambaeu magi generate surprisingly little warping. There are just not that many opportunities to cast combat spells in the average adventure.

Story
Fleeing Constantinople Sarah and Catherine crossed through Georgia and then took ship on the Caspian Sea to join with the silk route East. Progress was slowed by Sarah's advancing pregnancy. The duo's luck ran out in Merv. The caravan the two were traveling with fell under attack by Ghuzz nomads on the way to the city. Though suffering a wound in the confrontation, the Flambeau maga was able to drive off the attackers. Unfortunately, this made the wounded woman the talk of the town upon reaching the city.

The Sahir's of the city where not happy to find a Frankish wizard in their midst. Especially, one who had made a name for herself in the Crusade.

As one Jinn put it:

“She is the Afrite. A fire witch, half Afrite, half human. She is burning death itself. Nearly killed me at Dorylaeum. All of her order carry doom with them. We cornered one of the fire wizards once. Fire all around. The wizard took a dozen men and Jinn with him. The Afrite could burn down half the city if she decided to. Find somebody else to die for you.”

A tense situation, emerged as Cathrine searched the market place for a means to heal Sarah's (medium) wound. In the end, playing for time, Sarah allowed herself to be made a “guest” at the university buyut until a ransom could be paid. As part of the terms of her surrender, she was able to retain her baggage. Worried that she would soon face Jinn immune to fire, Sarah began studying Aquam in earnest.

For the Sahirs the slow process of realization began. While you can kill a Hermetic Magus, holding one against her will is a bit more difficult.

On the one hand their guest seemed nice enough (at least for someone with the gift). After purchasing some casting props for PeIg the antechamber to her rooms became one of the most comfortable places to spend time during the summer. Without difficult she could freeze small bits of water to ice drinks. Of course those chambers were also a magical fortress (Aegis of the Hearth). Oh, and she could also kill everyone if she so desired. Several months after the birth (non-gifted child) word came back from the King of Jerusalem that he would not negotiate for her release. The local Sahir's decided to release her on condition that she carry out her intention to leave Persia for the East. When representatives of the order inquired about ransoming Sarah they were told that she was no longer available for ransom.

Plans changed slightly in Kabul. There Luke Al-Yad, a Nestorian Christian doctor (unGifted), who had not yet heard of her, decided that she was a Jinn and attempted to summon Sarah. Notes on some dialog:

“Come forth oh great one!”
Sarah knocks on the door and enters, “um interesting spell.”
“Oh great Jinn I ask you to guard my journey to the land of the Hindus.”
Rubbing out the circle around Luke, “the problem with that is that I am not a Jinn (under breath, at least not a full blooded one).
Hearing this Al-Yad goes a bit pale.
Looking around and whistles “that's a lot of vis (15 pawns Ignem) were you going to use that in the ritual? So this land of the Hindus, is it outside of Persia?”

The next two seasons were taken up in a journal to Surat (Gujarat province). During the journey both Catherine and Sarah are taught Parsi by Luke whom uses it as an excuse to flirt with Catherine.

(Note: The English language literature on medieval North-Eastern India prior to the Mongol invasion is a bit sparse. It is possible that Surat was not a major city in this period.)

At Surat Luke and Catherine decide to convince Sarah to stay with them in the city. Luke plans to join a Buyut in a part of the city catering heavily to Persian and Arab merchants. Of this population, Mazdean Persians searching for greater religious freedom make up the bulk of the residents.
Its current membership comprises Layla Al-Qalbiyya (unGifted Solomonic Storyteller and teacher, muslim) and Sher al-Sakhr (Gently Gifted Solomonic Alchemist, Mazdean and somewhat hostile toward Sarah). The need to secure a third member provided a bit of leverage.

Negotiations became easier after Luke explained to the other two Sahirs that Sarah possessed a ritual (Parma Magica) which allowed her to block the effect of the gift on a limited number of people. Sarah was, however, under an oath to her order not to teach the ritual to non-members and in any event only a gifted person could learn it. Since leaving Merv, Sarah had regularly been extending her Parma to Sedrick (her son) as well as the other members of her traveling party.

Ultimately, Sarah agreed to sublease a townhouse within the buyut's aura from an elementalist moving to Dehli. Sarah also gained access to the buyut's library and a portion of its vis income in exchange for a season of service a year. As Sarah does not qualify to join the Suhar (cannot summon a spirit) the agreement expressly states that she is not bound to give the Suhar a season of service.

Two years later Catherine marries Luke whom also takes her as an apprentice. Sarah is more than a bit shocked to learn that Sahir's can teach powerful arts to the nonGifted. After the wedding Sarah began talking with Layla about taking her son as an apprentice.

Throughout this period, Sarah did very little high level magic. Spontaneous magic, often small effects of moon duration cast ceremonially or casting that did not cause fatigue, made up the bulk of her magic. Her fellows certainly new that she could create gold-and that when it came to investing it Sahir's were better bargainers. They had seen, at times, the unseen arm and unseen porter. Using a 70 year expiry Sarah created lesser enchanted items to both keep the buyut cool and dehumidify it.

Better appreciation for her skills came after living if Surat for about five years. While on a trip to the marketplace-Surat being more accepting of unusual person such as Sarah than other places-Sarah and Sher notices four men following them as they rounded into an alley on their way back home. Breaking off their usual bickering the two turned to face the men now pulling daggers.

Sher pulls out a short sword, holding it before him in a trained but unfamiliar manner (Single Weapon: 2) and releases the spell turning his clothing into armor.
Stepping forward Sarah states: “I can handle this.”
“No time to spend an hour on magic now get behind me.”
(Sarah has a Quik of 0, Sher or -3; Sher will be going last).
One attacker quickly succumbs to a BoAF cast by Sarah, the next gets blasted into a wall by a fast cast Mighty Torrent of Water. Those in the alley can hear his bones breaking (takes +16 damage for a serious wound). Sarah then parries the attacks of the next two assassins. At this point Sher has managed to summon a Jinn.
Taking Sher's sword out of his hand “thank you, this will be helpful” Sarah runs the third attacker through. The fourth turns and runs away as her blade burst into flame.

At this point both Sher and the Jinn are standing, gaping open mouthed at Sarah. Noticing the chain mail (jerkin) showing under her shirt Sher asks “do you always go around wearing armor?”
“Do you always go around wearing transformed armor.”

After questioning the wounded assailant the magicians learned that they faced a demon out of Rajasthan. The next couple weeks could best be described as bloody chaos as almost all the regions magical population became drawn into the crisis. It took an alliance of supernatural casters and entities from different traditions to finally destroy the threat. With the addition of an Aegis, able to keep out dangerou minor demons that roamed the streets, the buyut became a central staging area during the crisis.

After the crisis everyone in the buyut began a crash course in basic Sanskrit with an emphasis on expressing danger. Sarah and Sher agreed to show each other how they did things in the laboratory. As an example, Sarah created a charged device against demons.
“So, you could use water as a medium, but it wouldn't be the same things as when I talk about alchemy.”
“Or an amulet or really anything that I could hang a spell on.”
“Seems like a lot of work for little reward [1 charge]”
Sarah taps her lab text.
Sher, with dawning comprehension, “and now that you know how to make one you can make more next time.”
“Exactly.”

The two found that a hermetic magus could not help a Sahir in the lab. Instead Sher showed Sarah the process for refining a gem (in this case a ruby).
“Do you think this would work better in your magic?”
“I don't know, enchanting gems is really hard. Its a better gem, but that makes it even harder to enchant.”

(Notes: While Sahir's can increase the form and effect bonuses for gemstone, this would likely move the gem up a value category. Not many magi can enchant precious or priceless stones.).

Several years later Sher and Sarah found themselves headed into Rajasthan. All of the Sahir's at the buyut decided that it might be best not to have a worried mother, with the ability to cause mass devastation, around while her son gained the Sahir's arts in the magic realm. Sarah and Sher spent time learning Sanskrit and meditation (concentration) at a Buddhist monastery, before repaying the hospitality by escorting one of the monks on search for lost texts. During the adventure Sarah befriended a tiger which she named Avyappan.

With the help of Sher, Sarah bound Avyappan as a familiar. Sher and Sarah announced their engagement soon afterwards and were married in a Mazdean ceremony in the fall.

Almost all of the magic practitioners in the city, and many from the surrounding provinces as well as Sahirs and Jinn from Persia and Arabia, attended the wedding feast. Arria Sentina, a hermetic appeared at the wedding. Sentina knew that Sarah held several valuable books when she disappeared and had-presumably-been killed in Persia, if not earlier. Sentina hoped to secure the texts to found a covenant.

Sarah at first reacted with some fear towards Arria, thinking that she had been marched by the order. This fear was tempered by the presence of very powerful allies nearby. Arria then informed her of the unhappy news that her Pater fell off a horse while passing by a church in Asia Minor in 1101. He then and choked to death on a hunk of burnt flesh that had somehow appeared in his throat. His will gave her ownership of any of his property that might currently be in her possession. Though not interested in returning to Europe, Sarah indicated some willingness to help establish a covenant in India.

Arria reappeared several months later to follow up the offer. While discussing details a message arrived that a group of heavily armed strangers had appeared in Merv looking for Sarah. Included was a sketch of the symbol of House Tremere. Traveling through a Solomonic portal, Sarah and Arria arrived in Merv to find a group investigating possible aid Sarah may have given to enemies of the order. In order to keep a Tremere strike team away from her home, Sarah announced her intention to return to Europe and found a covenant with Arria in the Roman tribunal.

While gathering her things Sher insisted on going with his wife and swore the Oath of Hermes, being accepted into house Ex Misc on the spot by Arria Sentina. The three then travelled through Europe through the magic realm, with a detour through several magic worlds dealing with ancient Rome.

(Sarah gains fast caster from magic realm experience. Additional her deficiency shifts from Muto to Intelligo, mainly because I forgot about MuVi spells when I chose it.)

Note: Sarah in 1112 (+21 Years).

Age 46(38)

Int 3, Per 0, Pre 0, Com 2, Str 2, Sta 3, Dex 0, Qik 0

Virtues/Flaws: Major Focus (Damaging Spells), Giant Blooded, Improved Characteristics, Strong Faerie Blood ('Afrit), Puissant Creo, Driven, Faerie Upbringing, Black Sheep, Deficient Technique (Intelligo), Faerie Heritage, Fast Caster

*From adventuring in Magic Realm

Size +2

Personality: Drop tired of sieges and add loves husband and child +2.

Decrepitude: 0

Warping: 0(4)

Sympathy Traits: Power 1, Conformity (negative) -1

Second Sight 4, Brawl 3, Guile 2, Stealth 2, Arabic 5, Faerie Lore (Jinn) 2, Awareness (Ambushes) 2, Folk Ken 2, Parma Magica 4, Artes Liberals (Ritual Magic) 3, Latin 5, Magic Theory 4, Profession (scribe) 1, Single Weapon (longsword) 5, Penetration 2, Concentration 4, French (Langue d'Oc) 3, Athletics (Marching) 1, Greek 2, Ride 3, Intrigue 1, Order of Hermes Lore (Crusaders) 1, Philosophea (alchemy) 2, Speak Parsi 3, Area Lore Silk Route 1, Profession (merchant) 1, Magic Lore 2, Finesse 2, Teaching 3, Speak Sanskrit (Danger) 4, Theology (Comparative) 1, Dominion Lore (souls) 2, Infernal Lore (Non-Western Demons) 2, Lore (Suhar) 2.

Cre 13, In 5, Mu 0, Pe 5,Re 6, An 0, Aq 10, Au 9, Co 9, He 0, Ig 14, Im 0, Me 0, Te 5, Vi 11

Pilum of Fire CrIg 20 (+43), Arc of Fiery Ribbons CrIg 25 (+43), Flash of the Scarlet Flame CrIg 15 (+43), Blade of Virulent Flame CrIg 15 (+43), Unseen Arm ReTe 5 (+14), The Unseen Porter ReTe 10 (+14),Dagger of Ice CrAq 10 (+25), Quench the Raging Conflg PeIg 20 (+14), Healing Touch (+ Size) CrCo 25 (+25), Purification Festering Wnd CrCo 25 (+25), Demon's Eternal Obliv PeVi 5 (+19), Wind of Mundane Silence PeVi 20 (+19), Touch of Midas CrTe 20 (+21), Ball of Abysmal Flame CrIg 35 (+43), Mighty Torrent of Water CrAq 20 (+37).

Reputation: Not Actually A Demon (Surat Magical Community) 4
Frankish Fire Witch that Lived in India (Suhar) 2
Killed a Powerful Jinn with Magic While Standing in a Divine Aura (Jinn) 4

Stat Progression
1100: Exposure Greek 8; Adventure 7 xp +2 XP awareness, Fok Ken 2 (+5XP)(medium wound); Aquam 5 (Gain two medium casting props), Aquam 8 (summa).

Notes: “This is the Afrite.”

1101: Auram 5 (Summa)(gain Mail Jerkin), 1 Speak Parsi (Teaching Com +1, +3, +3 [two students]+Teaching 5), 2 Speak Parsi (+12xp), Adventure +7xp (1 Area Lore (Silk Route) 5 xp, Parma Magica +2 Xp.

Teaching Scores, Doctor (+6), Storyteller (+15), Alchemist (+7)

1102: Set up lab (+2 mt XP), Invent Touch of Midas (+2 MT) -4Terram vis; Invent Mighty Torrent of Water (+2MT), Speak Parsi 3 (Practice 8), Gain casting props (medium) Cr, Re.

1103: 13 Ignem (Summa * 2 seasons), Profession Merchant 1 (Training +10xp), 2 Magic Lore (Middle East + Indian magicians) Summa 15/3.

1104: Study from Vis (Perdo), Perdo 5 (8+5=13), Enchant Comfort For Our Span +2mt (minor adventure); Aquam (Summa), Aquam (Summa)(Aq now 10), gain casting prop Aq.

1105: Tame the Meddlesome Monsoon +2 Mt; Auram (summa)(Ar: 7), Taught Concentration (3+6+5+2), Finesse 2 (Summa 15/2).

1106: Taught Teaching (7skill +5 bonus +3 comm +3 +6=24), +2xp teaching (son Arabic), taught Artes Liberales 3 (15+3), Practice Mighty Torrent of Water.

1107: Adventure (8 points, Brawl +5xp, Awareness +3xp), Teaching +2 xp (Magic Theory), Teaching +2xp (Son Arabic), Taught Philosophy (+16 xp).

1108: Teaching +2xp (Son Artes Liberales), Red Coral Amulet (+2xp mt)(1 charge), Taught Sanskrit (expression of danger) 2 (+15), Treatise +8 xp Theology (Comparative).

1109: Dominion Lore (souls) (Summa +15xp), Infernal Lore (Non-Western Demons) (Summa +15xp), Auram 9 (summa +16xp), Teaching +2x (Son Arabic).

1110: Taught Sanskrit (+25xp), Taught Concentration (+25xp) (-20 pawns 15 Terram, 5 vim), Summa Ignem (Monsoon season), Adventure 8 (+2mt, +2 Ignem, +4 Magic Lore).

1111: Bind Familiar (Ayyappan, the Tiger), Extract Vis (+2mt)(married), Lore (Suhar) 2 (Summa +15 xp), Create Amulets (6) +2mt.

1112: Study Rego 6 Vis (+9xp), Taught Sanskrit (+17), Adventure (+10xp in Magic Realm, Gain Cautious Sorcerer), Setup Lab (+2mt XP).

5

Forgot to include the info on magi items:

Comfort for Our Span
Keeps ambient temperature in a structure from rising above 76F. Lesser enchanted slab of marble +3 cool. PeIg 19(1 base, + 1 touch, +2 Sun, +3 Structure, +4 constant effect = 19. 70 year expiry.

Tame the Meddlesome Monsoon
Keeps ambient humdity within reasonable levels. Lesser enchanted jade lion +4 Aquam. PeAq(1 base, + 1 touch, +2 Sun, +3 Structure, +4 constant effect = 19. 70 year expiry.

Red Coral Amulet
Demon's Eternal Oblivion 15th level. +30 Penetration
Charged item
+15 spell, +15 penetration

Binding Avyappan Tiger Magic Might 10 (Ignem) Size +1 (need total of 40) (Done with lab help)
Gold +1, Silver +0, Bronze +3

6

I like this a lot so far.

The suma she has a very high quality that will mean that she'll advance a bit faster than the 30 xp per year standard for quite some time (I'm not judging that as either good nor bad just making a note of it). I like how many seasons get put in to exposure, adventure and practice.

I would have liked to hear more about the specially bread horse that doesn't suffer from the gift. An animal can get used to the gift of one magus but not to the gift in general. Your horse should have some sort of virtue/flaw to not be affected (or a spell or an enchanted device or something) that's a story that's worth being told (of course the horse is most likely long dead by the time the character is an archmaga so perhaps it isn't so important).

I was disappointed to see the deficiency in intellego. I've done a school of the founder flambeau magus to 120 years out of apprenticeship who has a deficiency with intelligo (https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/ranulf-from-moh-now-150-years-post-apprentice/5637/1). I'd prefer to see someone take a crack at showing what is cool about intellego ignem, The character I made was dripping with muto ignem (and muto vim).

For what its worth, I think that a deficiency in intellego is about as brutal a flaw as exists in the game. Invisibility and muto imaginem spells are comparatively easy to pull off your archmaga will not typically be able to engage any magus who doesn't want to show her/him self to them. Also any other technique can in some ways be covered for by some other sorts of magi. You can destroy things without perdo, you can create things with rego craft magic or clever muto spells and so on. It is, in my opinion, more difficult to get the other techniques to do intellego than any of the other techniques.

7

Do you need rules for this kind of stuff? Surely, that is matter for in-play decisions of the troupe.

Presumably call him "little" and ask him to get things off the top shelf. As ever, it depends on context.

Maybe. Up to you.

8

I agree with this.

However, in-play, being bad at Intellego is easy to compensate for. You just need to have a friend who is good at it, and is willing to tell you the answer.

Also, in-play the effectiveness of Intellego is the most dependent on storyguide / troupe attitude. When a character tries to use Intellego to gather information, for example, it is very easy for the storyguide to consider this "cheating" and frustrate the effect (which is not to make a value judgement about this). The outcome of Intellego effects is frequently what the storyguide says it is, whereas the effect of something like Perdo is a little less open to interpretation.

1 Like
9

This is debatable, but I'd give your idea at least even odds of winning the debate (I've found that muto also spawns debates quite frequently, perhaps that's just how I use it).

Sdelear is making an NPC, so your point (regardless of its veracity) is not strictly relevant to my blatant attempt to manipulate him or her into making a character more to my liking.

1 Like
10

Certainly, "creative" use of any Art is open to the vagaries of storyguide fiat.

True.

11

I had the horse as simply an Cr(Re)An effect to generate a trained warhorse that is immune to the gift. I figure such a spell should be fairly common among martial magi. The more interesting issue is the effect of the gift on allied and hostile horses. I get the feeling it would resemble the long lived legend that horses fear camels. Second sight allows her to see invisible opponents. Not perfect, but being invisible will do just about as much good as lurking behind a bush. Actually, looking at her awareness score, I think you'd be better off lurking behind a bush. Strong faerie blood means she can also see in low light and darkness, I suspect that some evenings she gets busy reading and winds up doing so in complete darkness when she forgets to light the candles.

I switched it from Muto since her large size is such a major problem in learning spells. MuVi would allow a wizards boost +1 mag size. Also 8'6" tall, red skinned with (stub) horns in the Roman tribunal. MuIm change appearance self sun is level 4 (1 base, +2 sun, +1 size). I suspect it will come in handy.

12

awareness 2 is pretty good and perception 0 is average so she's not a lost cause when it comes to looking behind bushes. On the other hand, I've got no books here to check with, but wouldn't second sight need to penetrate in order to work on a magus?

Once again I'll claim serf's parma, what is the individual size for an image? Do you need a size increase for a muto Imaginem spell? Even with a deficient technique you can pull off a level 4 spell.

13

Second sight isn't resisted. See this thread discussing it. I haven't checked errata, if David Chart's not authoritative enough. :smiley:

The base size for Imaginem is that of an adult human being, last paragraph on page 143. I would personally allow it up to +1 sized humans as corpus allows this. Where it goes wonky is when you try and make an imaginary castle. How does that compare to a person...

14

Unfortunately she is a +2 size human, requiring an extra level for size. For a magus, giant blood seems more like it should be, at best, a minor virtue. Second sight allows you to see invisible on a Per + Second Sight Roll of 6+the magnitude of the spell (so +4 in most cases).

15

I'm splitting this edition up into three posts. The first deals with story, the second notes and statistics, the third provides the season by season advancement.

THE STORY

Sarah and Sher arrived at the ruins of Veii, a ruined Etruscan city about a day outside of Rome, in the Fall of 1112. There she was Sarah introduced to Arria's husband Oisin,a Merinita magus specializing in Arcadian travel. Sarah quickly took to teaching Sher the Parma Magica and the four began sketching plans for erecting a mystic tower within the powerful region encompasing the cities former citadel.

Plans for magical construction soon ran into a snag. While hunching over drawings and sketches the four found themselves in an intense discussion of what they wanted. After about twenty minutes the magi realized that they had been talking to two new voices. Both the servant spirit of Minerva (located in a ruined temple on the site) and the areas Genii loci possessed differing ideas on what should be erected. Over the next several days many of the sites ghosts and other supernatural residents chimed in. The issue quickly became divisive. Supporters of the Genii loci favored a new fortress. Those favoring the temple of Minerva, wanted a reconstruction of a villa once found in the citadel. Eventually, the magi of Veii found themselves forced to call in Mathematicus of Bonisagus, a noted hermetic architect, to mediate the dispute. The compromise solution called for a fortified manor house conjured by Mathematicus. This cost Sarah her carefully horded rook of Creo vis.

Soon after the creation of a permanent structure on the site, Sher and Sarah found themselves under almost constant investigation by the Quaesitores. Only one of the tribunals Quaesitores, Germanicus of Guernicus proved capable of staying at the covenant for any length of time. After spending four seasons in a row investigating repeat allegations that Sarah was a demon or that all Sahirs were diabolists Germanicus filed a request for recognition at the next tribunal that this was not the case, and that the magi making the charges compensate him for his wasted time.

Soon after Germanicus gave up the investigation Abraxas of Tytalus declared Wizards War against Sher Ex Miscellanea. Sher's sodalis promised to help defend him. It did no good. A week into the war Sarah saw Sher suddenly stand up, then drop dead the apparent victim of Perdo Corpus spell.

Sher's death devastated Sarah. The only structure in her life came from almost obsessive study of Rego Corpus in order to invent a large size version of Leap of Homecoming to return to Surat. To add further insult Sarah found herself summoned to tribunal in 1115 to defend charges of diabolism made against her by Abraxas.

At the tribunal Abraxas put forth a number of letters and lab texts, written in Arabic, taken from her covenant.

“What do these say?”
“I don't know they are in some form of infernal glyph but clearly they deal with demons.”
From Sarah, “They're written in Arabic.”
“Scippio the Mercer can read Arabic. What do they say?”
“This is an outline for a tractus on demons found in Hind, with comments on combating them. This text looks like some form of Demon's Eternal Oblivion, but I can't make out these figures.”
“They're Hindu numerals. They go from one to nine and there's a special one for nothing. If you use them like this [quick example] it's easier to keep track of what you are doing.”
“ACKH!”
“What was that?”
“Mathematicus's apprentice seems to be having some difficulty. Mathematicus, do we need to take a break, you're looking a bit pale yourself.”
“Well then what about this one?”
“It's written in Hind. It's from the um I think it's from the god Avyappan to the tiger Avyappan. This um, looks like a report on the doings of the creatures in a magical forest.”

Avyappan goes up to Scippio and looks at him plaintively until he hands over the letter. Later Avyappan gives a similar look to the tribunal scribe before taking a ink well and parchment off his desk. At the end of the tribunal the tiger puts a letter addressed in Latin, by a claw dripped in ink, to the Temple of the God Avyappan in Gujarat into the hand of the Primus of House Mercer. The Primus takes the letter with the admonition that “this might take a some time to deliver.”

The charges against Sarah quickly fall apart. Sarah and Abraxas spend the rest of the tribunal glowering at each other, with Sarah absent mindedly fiddling with the handle of her dagger. Toward the end of meeting Mathematicus invents a quarrel with Abraxas leading to a Perdo Corpus certamen. The contest shows Abraxas possessed of a powerful Parma and highly skilled in Perdo Corpus. At the verge of victory Abraxas botches and enters into a prolonged twilight. The redcaps quietly canceled the betting pool forming on Sarah's likelihood of killing, or being killed by, Abraxas.

After the tribunal Oisin talked Sarah into joining the Fianna, a mystery cult Oisin belonged to. This would offer Sarah greater ability to confront Abraxas when he emerged from twilight. Sarah's depression only began to lift after mastering Leap of Homecoming for Ceremonial Casting – making it much easier to travel to see her son. After mastering the spell Sarah cleared out Sher's lab and re-appropriated the space for a ceremonial casting chamber. Relieved to see some life out of her, her covenant mates vote to approve funds for purchasing a complete set of large casting props, so long as the chamber becomes available for the use of all the covenants magi. About this time Germanicus joined the Covenant.

The new expense brought a spotlight on the covenants somewhat strained finances. With births among the covenfolk, expenses increased. All of the magi became involved in an attempt to expand their trading enterprise in Genoa. Sarah found herself both writing to merchants in Syria and giving pirates a first hand lesson in why not to attack a ship flying a hermetic banner.

The largest target available, Sarah often found herself targeted in a fight. Becoming tired of taking wounds, Sarah set out to create a Talisman that would help defend herself against attack. After recovering from her latest wounds Sarah spent significant time over the next three years at Duremar studying magic theory and Castra Solis reviewing Parma Magica. Unfortunately, the ruby given to her by Sher remained outside of her ability to enchant. Instead, Sarah selected a smaller (semi-precious ruby) and obtained an Ovum Angium to add the tough virtue.

Sarah's visit to Castra Solis coincided with the Flambeau tournament. The last official use of Test of the Flames took place during the 1122 tournament. During the spells final use two archmagi, both immune or nearly immune to fire, sat in the flames playing chess. More junior magi, aided by an item casting wards against heat and flame, played in the fire. The scene, as the flames began to jump higher and began to singe off the participants clothing (very good roll on the damage dice) became the subject of Ernesto of Jeribiton's painting The Flambeau. The work currently hangs in the council room of Castra Solis. It remains somewhat controversial as it could be used in sympathetic magic against a number of the houses members. The depiction of the various magi (including a somewhat demonic looking Sarah) and their familiars would likely be considered heretical if it came to the attention of the church.

In 1122 Veii seemed like a Spring convenant headed into a powerful Summer. Two years later the magi were wracked by internal divisions. Oisin, an unaging magus forever twenty six, found himself married to a wife with an apparent age in her early forties. In 1124, Hypatia of Bonisagus filia Mathematicus, gave birth to a son by Oisin. Only two years out of apprenticeship Hypatia, a lab rat, did not know Oisin was married. Complicating matters, Oisin had initiated Hypatia into the Fianna. Sarah, friends with both women, found herself caught in the middle.

Arria Sentina promptly declared Wizard's War on Hypatia. Sarah managed to talk Arria into calling off the conflict, pointing out that Oisin shared more than a little bit of blame. Unfortunately, Hypatia had already gone into hiding. Unable to locate her, the covenant hoped for an uneventful war. They were in for a shock. A specialist in Hermetic Astrology and mentum, Hypatia of Bonisagus seemed one step ahead of the magi of Veii. The amount of collateral damage inflicted in the war could only be described as astonishing. This included the burning of the covenants ceremonial chamber, seemingly caused by candles containing an alchemical substance. Arria was using the chamber at the time.

In disgust, Sarah made arangements to study at a library in Cordoba for an unspecified period of time. In Sarah's absence the situations at the covenant continued to deteriorate. Hypatia tracked Sarah down and convinced her to come back, telling her that her friends had been excommunicated.

“I'm surprised you found me here, I didn't know you spoke Arabic.”
“Not really, but the librarian knows some Hebrew.”
“A Jinn that old, shouldn't surprise me.”
“Jinn? The Order of Solomon?”
“No, just Sahirs.”
“Here?”
“In this section of the library? I should think so.”
“But you are, and they are. . .”
“Not going to use destructive magic in a library.”
In Arabic “relax, she's an astrologer. She isn't going to throw lightning bolts at you.”
“Come on, now that you're here I expect we can get one of the Sahir astrologers to treat us to dinner.”

Getting the excommunication lifted and Arria on Oisin's marriage annulled proved a major drain on the covenants silver stores (500 pounds). The church agreed to annul marriage on grounds of infertility. Like many magi, Arria's longevity ritual rendered her infertile. Oisin, having not yet begun his ritual, remained fertile. This argument almost failed until Sarah realized that all the magi involved had missed the obvious, the difference in apparent age between the two. While the Church found longevity rituals hard to handle, annulling the marriage of a young groom married to an older wife who could no longer bare children proved relatively routine. This did nothing to help Arria's mood.

After the end of the marriage Arria disappeared into the magic realm for almost a year, returning with a sudden urge to learn more about the Parma Magica (the transformed human virtue and a driving desire to outlive Oisin). After Arria's return Sarah spent half a year in Hibernia as part of a cult initiation. During the trip she found that Lambaird possessed an excellent Summa on Vim. Sarah quickly reached an agreement, under reciprocal cow and calf oaths, to swap a copy of Veii's Ignem Summa for a copy of the Vim work. Her covenant mates were somewhat less enthused. Obtaining the resonant materials to make a copy of a great work is not easy. Sarah, much to Germanicus's surprise, pointed out that the Summa was her personal property and that the volume in the covenants library was a copy of the work kept in her lab. The covenant already possessed a copy ready to trade!

Gemanicus need not have worried. The next year Sarah acted as a Hoplite for the first time. Aiding Germanicus in an investigation, Sarah helping to track down and slay a Faerie impersonating a powerful magus, and already responsible for the death the death of at least one redcap. For her part Sarah gained a substantial stock of Ignem vis, including several resonate items. This almost made up for having to deal with Oisin in order to change the folk tale that gave birth to the faerie.

At the end of 1128 the Magi of Veii found that they would face charges for creating excessive magical wealth at the next tribunal.

16

THE STATS

The Covenant at Veii
Location: Roman Tribunal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veii)
The Covenant at Veii
City (Rome)(Major), Seat of Power (the Pope)(Major), Fallen Temple (minor), Church Territories (minor), Monster (Major), Cursed (minor)

Regio, Aura (+4), Health Site (+2), Secondary Income, Great Text (Major), “Inhuman” covenfolk, Hidden Resources.

The covenant at Veii is located in a powerful magic regio just twenty miles northwest of Rome. It would seem like a great covenant site, if it were not for its curse. "No Roman may long endure in [the ancient Etruscan City of] Veii." After a season, any Roman will feel a strong compulsion to leave the site. What constitutes a Roman varies on a case by case basis. In general any Magus gauntleted in the Roman tribunal or born in Italy will be considered a Roman. This restriction does not apply to Etruscans. Whom constitutes an Etruscan can be difficult to determine. Additionally, any person excommunicated by the Pontifex Maximum of Rome (the Pope) is not considered a Roman.

Due to the high aura almost all of the covenfolk possess some form of supernatural ability aligning them with the magic realm. The covenants main sources of income arise from selling spices and other goods brought back by Arria Sentina to other covenants and in running a trading operation through Genoa. A powerful magic spirit, a servant of Minerva, still resides in the ruins of an ancient temple to the god located at the cities citadel (where the covenant is). Initially the covenant has a vis income of only 20 pawns a year, but additional (hidden resources) are available – albeit much of this constitutes divine vis from Rome.

Summa Ignem 16/19 (quality 16/level 19) – Exceptional Text Major Boon
Summa Aquam 14/16
Summa Auram 16/14
Summa Terram 15/15

Summa Rego 16/12
Summa Corpus 15/15
Summa Code of Hermes 15/3 (24 points)

Vis 20 (100 Points)
Stocks (10pt silver (100 pounds); 10pt vis (50 pawns)
Specialists: Teacher 21pts, 3 specialists 15pts, 50 pts casting tablets, 12 pts Lab texts

One lab size +1 (20pts)

Oisin of Merinita (Arria Sentina's husband)
Age 28 in 1112
Int +3, Per 0, Str -2, Sta +1, Prs +4, Com +2, Qui -2, Dex 0
Virtues/Flaws: Diedne Magic, Strong Faerie Blood (Sidhe), Great Characteristic (Prs), Arcadian Travel, Puissant Guile. Free Expression, Faerie Magic (house), Dark Secret (from Diedne Magic), Driven (Restore the House), Reckless, Mentor, Deficient Perdo, Weird Magic, Motion Sickness.

Personality:
Restore House Diedne +3
Torn between two Houses +2
Shifty: +1

Oisin comes from a line of Diedne magi that joined House Merinitia during the Schism. The husband of Arria Sentina, his mentor is the spirit of a Diedne that has apparently been lost to twilight. Oisin is torn between his desire to see the magical tradition of House Diedne continue and his interest in the Merinita mysteries. While Oisin is not motivated by animosity towards the order, the same might not hold true for his spirit mentor.

Hypatia of Bonisagus filia Mathematicus
Age: 20 in 1124
Int +4, Per +1, Str -2, Sta +0, Prs +0, Com +4, Qui +0, Dex -2
Virtues/Flaws: Planetary Magic, Affinity with Artes Liberales, Book Learner, Hermetic Divination (Astrology), Minor Magic Focus Lucrum (Possessions and Finance) , Great Com, Great Int, Great Teacher, Puissant Magic Theory, Curse of Venus, Ambitious, Sheltered Upbringing, Twilight Prone.

Personality
Collector of Lab Texts +1
Naive +2
Told by those who knew Hypatia of Alexandria that she looks nothing like her +1

Sarah of Flambeau (Gauntlet +37)
Year: 1128
Age: 62 (36); Aging Modifier -11 (-3 faerie blood, -3 Bronze Cord, -2 Living Modifier, -2 Location, -1 Lab Health).
Warping 1(1)
Decrepitude 0,

Int 3, Per 0, Pre 0, Com 2,Str 2, Sta 3, Dex 0, Qik 0

Virtues and Flaws: Major Focus (Damaging Spells), Giant Blooded, Improved Characteristics, Strong Faerie Blood ('Afrit), Puissant Creo(House), Driven, Faerie Upbringing, Black Sheep, Deficient Technique (Muto), Faerie Heritage, Fast Caster*, Intuitive**, Unaging**, Higher Purpose**, Tough***, Flawless Magic**, Necessary Condition**

  • From Adventuring in the Magic Realm
    ** Result of Mystery Initiations
    ***From non-Hermetic effect in Talisman

Soak: +9 (without armor), +18 (full armor)

Familiar: Avyappan The Tiger
Magic Might 10 (Ignem)
Size +1 (need total of 40)
Gold +1, Silver +1, Bronze +3
Int +2, Magic Theory +2

Faerie Sympathy Traits:
Power +2
Conformity -1

Medium Casting Props: Cr,Pe, Re, Aq, Co, Ig

Skills: Second Sight 4, Brawl 3, Guile 2, Stealth 2 (Sneaking Cookies), Arabic 5 (Iberian), Faerie Lore 2 (Jinn), Awareness (Ambushes) 2, Folk Ken (Con Jobs) 2, Parma Magica (Ignem) 6, Artes Liberals (Ritual Magic) 3, Latin 5, Magic Theory (Inventing Spells) 6, Profession (scribe) 1, Single Weapon (longsword) 5, Penetration 2, Concentration 4, French (Langue d'Oc) 3, Athletics (Marching) 1, Greek 2, Ride 3, Intrigue (Church) 2, Order of Hermes Lore (Crusaders) 2, Philosophea (alchemy) 2, Speak Parsi (Trade) 4, Area Lore Silk Route 1, Profession (merchant) 1, Magic Lore 2, Finesse 3, Teaching 3, Speak Sanskrit (Danger) 4, Theology (Comparative) 1, Dominion Lore (souls) 2, Infernal Lore (Non-Western Demons) 2, Lore (Suhar) 2,Fianna (Mystery Cult) Lore 3, Charm 1, Church Lore (Roman Clergy) 2

Arts: Cr 15(+3), In 5, Mu13, Pe 5, Re 12
An 5, Aq 10, Au 9, Co 15, He 6,Ig 15, Im 5, Me 0, Te 5, Vi 12

Pilum of Fire CrIg CrIg 20 58 1 5 Multicasting
Arc of Fiery Ribbons CrIg 25 58 1 5 Fast Cast
Flash of the Scarlet Flame CrIg 15 58 1 5 Fast Cast
Blade of Virulent Flame CrIg 15 58 1 5 Quiet Casting
Unseen Arm ReTe 5 21 1 5 Quiet Casting
The Unseen Porter ReTe 10 21 1 5 Quiet Casting
Dagger of Ice CrAq 10 36 1 5 Penetration
Quench the Raging Conflg PeIg 20 30 1 5 Fast Cast
Healing Touch (+ Size) CrCo 25 42 1 5 Quiet Casting
Purification Festering Wnd CrCo 25 42 1 5 Stalwart Casting
Demon's Eternal Obliv PeVi 5 21 1 5 Multicasting
Wind of Mundane Silence PeVi 20 21 1 5 Fast Cast
Touch of Midas CrTe 20 27 1 5 Stalwart Casting
Ball of Abysmal Flame CrIg 35 58 1 5 Magic Resistance
Mighty Torrent of Water CrAq 20 43 2 15 Fast Cast, +1 Initiative
Leap of Homecoming ReCo 40 30 2 15 Ceremonial Casting, Stalwart Casting
Circuling Winds of Prot CrAu 20 31 1 5 Fast Cast

Talisman: The Ring of (Ridiculously) Many Component
Ivory Ring, with an Ovum Angium, Ruby (small), Red Coral, a Magnant and Jade. Opened with 10 pawns.
Gives the Tough virtue (Ovum Angium, see RoP:M).
Ruby +6 Fire
Ivory: Healing Wounds +5
10 Pawns / 5 Remaining

Pretenatural Growth and Shrinking Size +1 MuCo(He, An, Te) 22.
3, +1 touch, +1 Concentration, +1 size, +1 extra effect +5 Item maintains concentration. +2 (3 uses/Day)

The Faerie Heritage Disguised MuCo 17
3, +1 Touch, +1 Concentration, +1 Size, +5 Item maintains Concentration. +2 (3 uses/day)
Changes the targets appearance as desired.

Lab Lights CrIg 9
From Lab Text, Hickory Disk +4
5 (light of a cloudy day) +4 constant effect
A fairly standard text in the order to create a lesser device to give a lab the magical lighting virtue.

Mystery Cult: The Fianna

The Fianna are a Diedne trap. The group takes it name from a mythical band of Irish warriors lead by Fionn mac Cumhaill. As a boy Fionn was order to cook the Salmon of Knowledge for his master. One drop of the Salmon fell on Fionn's thumb-which he then instinctively put to his mouth. Ever after Fionn would possess great wisdom when he put his thumb to his mouth. In later life Fionn would rise to lead a band of twenty seven Fian. Fian consisted of young, landless, nobles. The Fenian Cycle of Irish folklore follows the band as they face both mundane and magical foes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fianna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenian_Cycle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fionn_mac_Cumhaill

The Hermetic Fianna are a Diedne plot. The group is designed to act as irresistible lure for magi from the Latin houses. The groups mysteries focus on internalizing and broadening a magus's power. The cult offers a very valuable secret, unaging, early but at the price of a mystically binding oath. There are actually three different versions of the oath (the first oath, the Bonisagus oath and the Flambeau oath). The Flambeau is attributed to Sarah of Flambeau and Oisin. The groups secret masters prefer this form due to Sarah's well known connection to the East. The Flambeau oath looks like nothing else, which helps to deflect suspicion from the groups true aims.

The secret goal of the cult is to create a cadre of Diedne at the highest levels of the order. Initiates learn how to use small magics in a number of situations. The outer mystery focuses on expanded awareness. Cult members then learn to expand this technique to provide improved longevity. Later initiations show how to combine small magics to strengthen formulaic casting and to provide additional combat prowless. Further initiations focus on broadening the use of internal power to other situations.

The ultimate ability is reputed to be Life-Linked Spontaneous magic. This is wrong. In the final initiation, the cult member realizes that the techniques he has learned can be applied to spontaneous spells, giving Diedne magic. The idea that simply learning Diedne magic would suddenly make a group of senior magi pawns of House Diedne shows that the Diedne involved in the cult may no longer be thinking clearly.

Initiations are broken into three stages:

Glaine ár gcroí (Purity of our hearts)
1st Intuitive
2nd Unaging

Neart ár ngéag (Strength of our limbs)
3rd Flawless Magic
4th Faeries Sympathy (Warrior) Major Virtue*

Beart de réir ár mbriathar (Action to match our speech)
5th Luck
6th Self Confident
7th Diedne Magic

*Remember that botches while using Faerie Sympathies create warping.

Initiate the Outer Mystery
Initiate Intuitive (Target 15)
Cult Lore 6 (4+2) + Prs 4, Mystagogue Sacrifices Time (+3), +2 Sympathetic Bonus
To learn the outer mystery, the Mystagogue spends a season teaching cult lore to the initiate. The initiate learns to intuit the correct course of action.

Initiate Unaging
Target 15
Cult Lore + Prs 10 + 3 Gain Minor Flaw (Higher Purpose) +3 Required Travel, +2 Sympathetic Bonus.
Oath:
In the second initiation the initiate must travel to the forest of Sliabh Bladma. There he swears an Oath to the Fionn and it's goals. The Flambeau version of this oath reads:

I am the light in the Darkness
I swear to defend the weak
Provide Voice to the Voiceless
Hope to the Hopeless
I will hold my friends close
And respect the secrets of my Mystae
But I shall not hide if they fall to hell
Should I fail in this oath, may god have mercy on my soul.

Eat the Salmon Of Knowledge
Target: 30 (but normally 21)
Initiate Flawless Magic
10 Skill, +3 Prior Bonus, +9 Major Ordeal, +3 Travel, +3 Quest, +3 Sympathetic Bonus

The initiate must find the Salmon of knowledge. Once found he must cook it for the Mystagogue. During preparation one drop of oil will fall on the initiates thumb. The mystagogue will then tell the initiate to eat the fish (though in one notable case the mystagogue had to then prepare the fish with Rego magic for a Magus who-for ever after in the group-would be known for his legendary lack of cooking skill). The initiate gains Flawless magic as well as the Necessary Condition must kiss or suck thumb (phantom limbs can be kissed for a Magus lacking hands, but not for one shackled or lacking arms).

17

THE DATA

Covenant at Veii

To make handling the covenant more manageable, I've taken to updating the covenants population numbers every 5 years. I'm afraid the covenants year by year notes are tied up in the notes about Sarah. I'll try to pull them out next time. T

In order to preserve my sanity I've had the covenant introduce a system of vis tokens, which can be traded for form vis on a 1:1 basis or technique vis at 2:1. The covenant has also dedicated one magus's worth of vis salary to improving it's library. This has brought about sustained growth using the rules from covenants. Currently, I'm assuming each scribe/illuminator pair turns out 2 tracti a year, and that these are then traded for more tracti – none under the cow and calf oath. When a tracti is needed, I'll roll some dice to see if they have it.

For the mundane library, I've used the large library rules out of Transforming Mythic Europe.

Covenant records
1118: Gain 10 dependents
1123: Gain 2 dependents, 5 laborers, 1 cooper, 2 vinters, 1 each scribe, illuminator and book binder. Library adds 50 Mundane Texts.
1128: -5 Dependents, +2 Vinters, +1 Blacksmith, +1 Tinker, +1 Carpenter Library adds 100 mundane texts.
[table][tr][th]Type[/th] [th]Number[/th] [th]Population Points[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Magi[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]40[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Companions[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]20[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Specialists[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]21[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Grogs[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]14[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Craftsmen[/td] [td]10[/td] [td]20[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Servants[/td] [td]11[/td] [td]22[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Horses[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Laborers[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]10[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Teamsters[/td] [td]13[/td] [td]26[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dependents[/td] [td]13[/td][td]26[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Total[/td] [td]65[/td] [td]204[/td][/tr][/table]

[table][tr][th]Covenant Expenses[/th][/tr]
[tr][th]Item[/th] [th]Number[/th] [th]Cost(Savings)[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Building[/td][td][/td] [td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Consumables[/td][td][/td] [td]40[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Labs[/td][td][/td] [td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Provisions[/td][td][/td][td]102[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Wages*[/td][td][/td] [td]67.5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Tithes[/td][td][/td][td]35[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Weapons[/td][td][/td] [td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Writing Materials[/td][td][/td] [td]8[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Subtotal[/td][td][/td] [td]250.5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Labor Savings[/td][td][/td] [td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Carpenter[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Tinker[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Blacksmith[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]6[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Cooper[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Vintner[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]18[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Prs Magic[/td][td][/td] [td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Savings[/td] [td][/td][td]42[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][td][td][/td][/td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Total[/td][td][/td] [td]208.5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Income[/td][td][/td] [td]350[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Surplus[/td][td][/td] [td]141.5[/td][/tr][/table]

Covenant Stores
[table][tr][td]Year[/td][td]Silver[/td][td]Surplus[/td][td]Expenses[/td][td]Vis[/td][td]Vis Income[/td][td]Expenses[/td][td]Tracti[/td][td]Tracti Copied[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1113[/td][td]38.5[/td][td]38.5[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]2[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1114[/td][td]77[/td][td]38.5[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]4[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1115[/td][td]109.5[/td][td]42.5[/td][td]-10[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]6[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1116[/td][td]132[/td][td]42.5[/td][td]-20[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]8[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1117[/td][td]159.5[/td][td]42.5[/td][td]-15[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]10[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1118[/td][td]157[/td][td]22.5[/td][td]-25[/td][td]10[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]12[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1119[/td][td]290[/td][td]153[/td][td]-20[/td][td]20[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]16[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1120[/td][td]413[/td][td]153[/td][td]-30[/td][td]30[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]20[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1121[/td][td]546[/td][td]153[/td][td]-20[/td][td]25[/td][td]10[/td][td]-15[/td][td]24[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1122[/td][td]679[/td][td]153[/td][td]-20[/td][td]13[/td][td]10[/td][td]-22[/td][td]28[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1123[/td][td]312[/td][td]153[/td][td]-520[/td][td]23[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]32[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1124[/td][td]426[/td][td]144[/td][td]-30[/td][td]33[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]36[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1125[/td][td]550[/td][td]144[/td][td]-20[/td][td]43[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]40[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1126[/td][td]674[/td][td]144[/td][td]-20[/td][td]53[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]44[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1127[/td][td]798[/td][td]144[/td][td]-20[/td][td]33[/td][td]10[/td][td]-30[/td][td]48[/td][td]4[/td][/tr][/table]

Magical Library
Summa (Quality/Level)
[table][tr][td]Creo[/td][td]15/16[/td][td]Animal[/td][td]15/5[/td][td]Ignem[/td][td]16/19[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Int[/td][td]21/6[/td][td]Aquam[/td][td]14/16[/td][td]Imagonem[/td][td]15/16[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Muto[/td][td]17/14[/td][td]Auram[/td][td]16/14[/td][td]Mentem[/td][td]15/5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Perdo[/td][td]15/15[/td][td]Corpus[/td][td]15/15[/td][td]Terram[/td][td]16/15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Rego[/td][td]16/12[/td][td]Herbam[/td][td]21/6[/td][td]Vim[/td][td]17/18[/td][/tr][/table]

Mundane Librar (Skill and Base, followed by current level and total library XP)
[table][tr][td]Church Lore[/td][td][/td][td]10/4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Quality[/td][td]12[/td][td]78[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Level[/td][td]8[/td][td]36[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Civil + Cannon Law[/td][td][/td][td]Lvl 5, q 11[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Quality[/td][td]13[/td][td]94[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Level[/td][td]5[/td][td]36[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dominion Lore[/td][td][/td][td]11/5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Quality[/td][td]13[/td][td]93[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Level[/td][td]6[/td][td]21[/td][/tr][/table]
Convert Spreadsheet Tables to BBCode http://theenemy.dk/table/

1112: Study Rego 6 Vis (+9xp), Taught Sanskrit (+17), Adventure (+10xp in Magic Realm, Gain Cautious Sorcerer), Setup Lab (+2mt XP).

Retcon: Fall season 1112 Teaching (Parma Magica +2xp) not Setup Lab.

1113: Setup lab – Adventura +6xp (+5xp Parma Magica, +1 xp Magic Lore), Fix Arcane Connection +2mt, Teaching(+2xp Sher Latin), Teaching +2xp (Sher Latin).

1114: Extract Vis (+2mt), Rego 7 (summa), Rego 10 (Sher Killed by Abraxas of Tytalus), Corpus 10 (+15 xp). Covenant Purchase Creo Summa 15/16. Gain Leap of Homecoming (+ Size), Lose 1 vis token.

1115: Corpus 11 +15 XP, Corpus 13, Extract Vis Adventure +7xp (tribunal, +7xp, +1 twilight point, +2 Mt, +5 Order of Hermes Lore), Corpus 14 (+15). +1 Vis token, 4 Q: 12 Rego Tracti.

1116: Corpus +13[limited], Invent Leap of Homecoming.,Gain Fianna Lore +15; Initiate intuitive, Rego Tracti A (+12), Covenant gains food preserving Object (+1 health all labs, -4 pounds provisions).

1117: Creo 11(+3) +15xp, 12 +3 Creo +15xp, Extract Vis (+2 mt), Adventure (7xp Parma Magica +5xp, Penetration +2xp, also gain unaging and higher purpose). Gain 5 Vis tokens, Covenant gains Mu 17/14 Summa. Germanicus joins covenant.

1118: Practice Leap of Homecoming (Ceremonial Casting) Gain Medium Prop Co, Study Creo (+15xp) – Covenant gains casting space + large Rego prop -5 pounds silver, 14(+3) Creo (15xp) Corpus Casting Props, Extract Vis (+2mt) Pe casting props. Gain 6 vis tokens (12).

1119: Create Heat the Frigid Tower (+2mt), all labs gain magic heating (Ig Casting Props),5 Muto +17 and Mu props(large), 4 Speak Parsi +23xp, Adventure (7xp, medium wound, +5 power, +2 Profession Merchant). Income Source Upgraded to Major.

1120: Three Seasons Studying Magic Theory in Duremar +45xp Mt, Extract Vis (+2xp Mt), +3 vis tokens (15) (Vi Casting Props).

1121: Gain Ovum Angium, Practice Sanskrit +8, Enchant ring (-10 vist tokens 5 remain)(+2mt)(auram props), Attune Talisman +6 ignem(+2mt)(terram props), Extract Vis (Aquam Props)+3 vis tokens (8). Covenant Gains Summa Corpus 15/15.

1122: Study Parma at Castra Solis +48xp, Adventure (+8 XP, +5xp Power, +3 Order of Hermes Lore)(Cr Props) Vis tokens _3 (11).

Covenant gains Summa Imagonem 15/16. Roots of the Arts In, Pe, Te, Vi, He 21/6. Other primers, Me, An 15/5.

1123: 5 An (summa)(An props), 6 He (summa)(he Props), 7 Mu (+17xp)(Cr Props), Make Coral Amulets (7)(+2 mt)(Au Props). Covenant starts educational program. +7 Vis tokens (18)

1124 9 Muto (summa) Me props. 11 Muto Im props, 12 Muto Int Props, Make Coral Amulets (+2mt). +7 vis tokens (24). Soap Opera begins.

1125: The Faerie Heritage Disguised (+1 Size) +2mt (note conformity)(22 vis tokens), Preternatural Growth and Shrinking (+1 size) +2mt (conformity)(casting chamber destroyed)(19 vis tokens), Finesse +15 xp, Adventure +7xp (+5 charm (1), +2xp folk ken)(Major Covenant Expense).

1126: Intrigue +16 xp (taught), Church Lore 2 +15 xp, Cult Lore +11xp (Loaned tracti), Extract Vis (+2mt) +7 Vis Tokens (31).

1127: Study Cult Lore +16xp; Gain Flawless Magic and Restriction + Commitment for Text +1 twilight point ; Invent Circling Winds of Protection +2mt, Imagonem 5 (+15xp), +8 Vis Tokens (39). Covenant gains Terram 16/15 and Perdo 15/15.

1128: 15 Ignem (+16xp), Adventure (+7xp, +3 Mu, +4 Order of Hermes Lore), Create Lab Lights (5)(+2mt), Study Vim 12(+17xp)+8 Vis tokens (56).

18

Sorry to take so long. Have been researching my dissertation over spring break. I need to do up some covenant turns, I'll do a larger than normal section on the covenant next time.

Magic Items
Charged Items used to Attack Sarah

This item cannot work on Sarah as it is capped at size +1 and she is size +2. Even if it could her skill in Corpus, plus the Magic Resistance from her familiar (15+10) exceed the arrows penetration.
(Base 30, +1 touch, +10 Penetration).

.

Creating Items of Quality using the Verditus mystery allows for some really crazy attack, damage and soak totals.

Character Stats
Sarah the Younger
Int +4, Per 0, Str 0, Sta +1, Dex -2, Qui 0, Prs +0, Com +3
The Gift, Major Magical Focus (Unnatural Fires)*, Sihr, Great Int, Inventive Genius, Faerie Blood ('Afrite), Affinity with Ignem. Flaws: Will be detailed later
Faerie Sympathies: Fire +0, Ice (Negative) -0

*Note: As creatures of smokeless fire, this focus would also apply to Jinn.

Story

The Magi at Veii saw the pending tribunal as a threat to the covenant. Tribunal tradition allowed on Magus to stay behind when all the magi of a covenant were summoned to appear. Sarah thought that this would be her. Arria insisted that a twilight had recently left her terrified of going into a foreign Aegis. While not true, this served to hide the fact that Arria, now a magical creature with a low might, could no longer enter an Aegis. Sarah found herself both taking Arria's place at tribunal and taking over her role in the covenant's book trade.

Sarah's social skills, proved somewhat lacking. Germanicus convinced her that, while she had been acquitted of all charges at the last tribunal, the covenant was much more likely to face trouble this time around. The covenant obtained an instructor from Venice to help Sarah to master the finer points of etiquette (etiquette and intrigue skills).
Sample dialog
“Hold your back up straight dearie and look ahead. Good posture. Let's go meet the archbishop.
[A short while later] You did well, now tell me which of the archbishops servants is most likely to be a spy? Which is most likely to be bribed to to slip poison into his drink. Dearie, don't look so surprised, there is more to surviving at court than simply keeping proper posture.”

The tribunal did not go well. Just prior to the tribunal, the magi were informed that one of their vis sources was being contested. With everything revolving around building alliances for the upcoming interference case, the claim against a vis source came out of the blue. To make matters worse, Sarah dramatically botched an attempt to solicit allies at the tribunal, while leaning on her faerie sympathy, both alienating those she was talking to and gaining a warping point.

Veii ended up as a proxy for a political fight between Harco and Verdi. The tribunal recognized the right to magically created goods, including gold but not silver, and invest the proceeds in a mundane business so long as the magically created goods were sold outside of any hermetic tribunal. At the same time it ruled that using magic to instantaneously transport goods and silver equated to creating them with creo magic.

Veii might have faced severe sanction had it not been for Hypatia. Using hermetic astrology Hypatia calculated the amount of silver in Rome. This number proved so large that it became apparent that Veii could not cause inflation.

The tribunals rulings caused Veii to lose magical transport of goods as a source of income. Worse, the covenant suffered the lose of a valuable vis source (4 pawns/year).

Returning from the tribunal Sarah grumbled that “it's time to stop having people do unto us and start doing unto them.”

Sarah spent the next three years preparing for wizards war. When ready she declared wizards war on all five magi of the covenant whom had taken Veii's vis source, and demanded that they return it in order to call off the war. On the night of the next full moon, Sarah armed her grogs with wands casting Pilum of Fire and road out to plunder the vis sources of the target covenant.

Sarah's party; herself, her familiar, three heavily armed and mounted grogs and the turb captain, all enjoyed some version of second sight. The group discovered three magi (Flambeau, Bjornear and Tytalus) along with eight grogs on foot (partial leather scale, spears and round shields) lurking in ambush behind an invisibility spell. Sarah's party decided the ambush the ambush. (The party gets one free ranged attack on the way in and one round of melee to attack the magi before their shield Grogs can get into place).

(Round 1)The group charged their enemies. Sarah, observing that the grogs wands did no damage, suspected wards against heat and flame. Singling the grogs to focus on Veblan, the Flambeau, Sarah put a lightning bolt through the Tytalus's Parma, killing her instantly (10 + 7 (casting roll) + 18 (burning 9 pawns of Auram vis)+2 penetration = soaking 30 points of damage).

(Round 2) Suddenly, Avyappan appeared from nowhere to grapple with a lion, also seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Had anyone but his target been able to interpret Avyappan's growls they would have heard “silly child, one does not ambush the master ambusher.”

Then it was Sarah's turn to learn what it felt light to be hit by lightning. The Tytalus put a black arrow to his bow and loosed it, harmlessly into Sarah's armor. Or at least it would have been harmless if it's enchantment had not dropped Sarah's Parma. Veblan of Flambeau then hit Sarah with an Incantation of Lightning. (38 (8+30) Damage vs +24 Soak (8+18) = 14 damage). Veblan stands stunned as his spell causes Sarah only a medium wound. Then the Grogs hit him hard.

Sarah has more difficulty with the Bjornaer. Her Attack Total is 13 (5 +5(horse charging) +3 (mounted) – 3 wounded + 2 roll+1 specialization). The Magus's defense total is 3 (dex) + 3 brawl +1 dodge + 14 roll. Sarah can't score a hit on the shapechanging b*stard whom then multicasts clenching grasp. All of her grogs, except the turb captain-a Jinn with might 10-drop dead. Hostile grogs surround Sarah, causing no damage to the heavily armored maga. (Three shield grogs still trying to protect the magi, one trained group of 5 with skills at 4 and Vanguard at 5. Gives skill of 21+2 dex+2 weapon bonus, attacking skills of 5, -3 wounds +4 sword and shield +3 mounted = attacker base advantage 16 (15 after dice). Damage bonus is +7 (damage +5, +2 strength) =+21 damage – 18 soak = +3 which become -1 after dice).

(Round 3) Looking at Bjornaer and muttering, I should have done this the first time, Sarah puts a Ball of Abysmal Flame through his Parma (+20 casting total, +2 penetration, +2 power, +2 roll, +20 from spending 10 pawns of Ignem Vis against a Parma + Form bonus of 22!). Unfortunately the spell causes only a heavy wound (0 on damage roll). The Bjornaer grins and hits Sarah with an arrow causing no damage and triggering a corpus effect that fails do to Sarahs size. Meanwhile the turb captain hit her non-magical attackers – killing one. Sarah then fastcasts circuling winds of protection (Sarah spends a confidence point to help win the initiative roll). The hostile grogs cannot make their size rolls and go flying.

(Eound 4) Facing an increasingly desperate situation, Sarah casts Flash of the Scarlet Flame on the Bjornaer, botching and taking a warping point, as well as temporarily blinding herself. Avyappan then hits the Bjornaer from behind, his shield grogs having been scattered in the wind, and rips his throat out. The turb captain kills another Grog (we're down to 5 hostile Grogs). The rest, no longer in an organized group, run away.

With most of her Grogs dead, Sarah decides that the war has been lost, loads the lion (the Bjornear's incapacitated apprentice) up, and heads back to her covenant in hopes of ransoming him back to his house. A week later the targeted covenant capitulates-giving up the contested vis source.

In the council meeting after the war the conflict between Arria and Oisin came to a head. Oisin seemed almost obsessed with gaining his sodalis's support in an attempt to have the tribunal award his son to him as his apprentice. Oisisn had shown no interest in the boy, lacking either Faerie Blood on the Gift, until his mother revealed that he had the gentle gift-taking him as her apprentice. His sodalis saw no way to obtain the chosen apprentice of a Bonisagus Maga whom did not wish to give him up. Instead, they were much more interested in replacing lost Grogs.

Losing his temper Oisin howled “not all of us at this table are human. If you won't help me, let's watch you die b___!.” And cast a PeVi spell at Arria. Sarah failed to land her fast cast Mighty Torrent of Water before Oisin could release the spell. Deciding that Oisin needed to be put off balance Sarah continued with the spell. Mighty Torrent of Water is, under most circumstance, non-lethal. Unfortunately, the torrent forced Oisin back into a wall where he hit his head and died (+30 damage).

As the dust settles Arria has lost the transformed human virtue and Oisin is-messily-dead.

Oisin attacked a fellow magus in front of a Quaesitor and a Hoplite. Initial investigation by senior magi of house Guernicus leaned toward declaring his death a suicide. Receipt of a letter from Oisin, to be delivered after his death, accusing Arria of being a magical creature changed this. Final disposition of the case was held over until the next tribunal. In exchange for support from Harco, the magi of Veii voted to allow Alexander, and gifted Mercer, to join the covenant.

Just as her hermetic life became complicated, a Jinn appeared at the covenant with a request that Sarah come to Surat at once. Several years before Sarah's son had married Nasrin-Luke and Catherine's daughter. While neither Luke nor Catherine possessed the gift, Nasrin proved gently gifted and adept at the study of Solomonic travel. Now Sarah's grandaughter, also named Sarah, showed signs of the gift. More worrisomely-she also spontaneously started small fires around her. The elder Sarah found that she could suppress this by placing the bayut under an Aegis not including the younger Sarah. The baby did not like being in a foreign Aegis. In order to help Sarah made arrangements with Nasrin to open a portal between the two women's labs. Sarah then began the somewhat unusual task of childproofing a hermetic lab.

With the death of Oisin, one of the cults most talented Mystogouges, the Fianna found themselves in turmoil. One group, including Hypatia, backed Sarah. Another felt that she should be expelled from the cult. The rift, eventually, split the cult in two. The bulk of the cult members continued on as the Fianna. Sarah's handful of followers declared themselves the Knights of Hermes.

The fighting within the cult spilled over into the tribunal. In order to ready Sarah for tribunal her Sodalis pulled what could only be considered epic strings to secure instruction for in intrigue and charm from Guido Del Castillo, the Cardinal-Priest of the Church of San Marcos in Rome. The friendship between Sarah and the Cardinal would continue for several years.

The fight between the two mystery cults, Fianna and Knights of Hermes, spilled over into the tribunal. The legal question facing the body was complex. Sarah had killed a fellow magus for attacking a magus whom had become a magical creature-losing the protection of the code-whom then changed back into a magus as a result of the attack. While Sarah suspected Arria was no longer human, she had no proof at the time of the attack. Further, if Sarah was not named Oisin's inherritor, Arria saught the dead magus's items in recompense for his attack.

Many in the tribunal proved more interested in the possibility of a transformation preserving the gift than the legal aspects of the case. The tribunal noted that Sarah could have aborted her attack, but also that her talisman held more powerful attack spell capable of penetrating the Parma of almost every magi their. With prompting from the presiding Quaesitor the tribunal found that Arria was not covered by the code at the time of the attack. Sarah was found guilty of slaying a magus and sentenced to the loss of her talisman. In attacking Arria, instead of seeking a declaration that the code no longer applied to her, Oisin was recognized as having committed a low crime. For her help in containing the criminal, Sarah was awarded his possessions. Given Sarah's recent success in wizards war, many members of the tribunal breathed a sigh of relief to see her talisman destroyed.

After the tribunal, Sarah's attention turned to the needs of her mystery cult. Early the previous year Sarah, tired of most standard lab texts inability to handle a caster of her size, had convinced a Knights of Hermes mystagouge to created a script for Flexible Formulaic Magic. In order to help separate the Knights from the Fianna, Sarah acquired a large number of magical texts from India. Sarah then translated several on using various forms of concentration in combat magic. These meditative techniques would help form the basis for a change in cult lore. The prior owners of the texts were not far behind. Entering into a deal to allow her purchases to be copied, Sarah then found herself explaining to her Sodalis why strange hedge magi were coming and going from her sactum

Having come to an agreement with Nasrin to take Sarah the Younger as an apprentice, Sarah found her access to India reduced for a year as Nasrin worked on a permanent connection between the Covenant and Bayut's auras. At the behest of the other magi of Veii this portal would be located somewhere other, though perhaps not more defensible than, Sarah's la. At the same time an invitation from House Tremere arrived for Sarah to study Reala as Tablinum. House Tremere offered to compensate Veii for the loss of Sarah's services for a year. In return, Sarah would offer a series of lectures about her experiences fighting in the first crusade. Since the crusade no magi had participated in a major mundane military operation.

If house Tremere hoped to impress Sarah with the organization of the tribunal they failed miserably. Sarah objected vehemently to the common uses of Wizards March within the tribunal. While the tribunal seemed less chaotic than Rome, it also killed magi on a far more regular basis than Rome. The high point of her visit came when a storm wizard mistook her for a giant and tried to kill her. After dealing with miserable weather for three days, Sarah finally cornered the wizard and slew him with a well placed lightning bolt.

The Data
[table][tr][td]Year[/td][td]Winter[/td][td]Spring[/td][td]Summer[/td][td]Autumn[/td][td]Correspondence[/td][td]Gain Vis token[/td][td]Total Tokens[/td][td]Vis Expenses[/td][td]Notes[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1129[/td][td]Code of Hermes (2)+15[/td][td]Etiquette 2 +23 (taught)[/td][td]Intrigue (3) +23 (taught)[/td][td]Adventure +5xp (Bargain (Books) 1) +1 Warping Covenatn loses lowest income source[/td][td][/td][td]8[/td][td]64[/td][td]0[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1130[/td][td]Install Effect Talisman +2mt[/td][td]Install Effect Talisman +2mt[/td][td]Open 10 Spaces Talisman +2mt[/td][td]Practice Book Trading +4[/td][td]+4 Bargain[/td][td]7[/td][td]56[/td][td]15[/td][td]Talisman +10 Vrs Demons, +2 rego, +4 Aquam[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1131[/td][td]Instill Effect +2mt[/td][td]Instill Effect +2mt[/td][td]Create Incendor Homines (+2mt)[/td][td]Book Trading Bargain +2xp[/td][td]Bargain +4[/td][td]7[/td][td]58[/td][td]5[/td][td]Talisman +4 Rego Corpus, +4 Rego Terram[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1132[/td][td]Create IH (+2Mt, Mt now 7)[/td][td]Invent Incantation of Lightning (Magic Resitence) +2mt[/td][td]Invent Opening the Intangible Tunnel Level 20 (Magic Resistance) +2mt[/td][td]Adventure (Wizards War +8xp, +5 Xp penetration, +3xp Second Sight, Medium wound ) +2 Reputation Hard to Kill[/td][td]Bargain +4[/td][td]5[/td][td]53[/td][td]10[/td][td]Covenant Regains Vis Source[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1133[/td][td]Adventure +5xp Intrigue[/td][td]Teaching +2xp[/td][td]Parma Magica +12 (treatise)[/td][td]Parma Magica +11 (Treatise)[/td][td]Order of Hermes Lore +4[/td][td]8[/td][td]56[/td][td]5[/td][td]Oisin dies, Alexander the (Gifted) Mercer joins. Purchase Sword of the Mad Mega -20 pounds)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1134[/td][td]Adventure +6 xp (Speak Parsi +5xp), Charm +1xp[/td][td]Install Portal (Lesser Feature and Focus) (+2mt)[/td][td]Refine Lab (+2mt)[/td][td]Refine Lab +2mt[/td][td]Mystery Cult Lore +4xp[/td][td]8[/td][td]64[/td][td][/td][td]Gain +20 Creo Vis, Lose Captive Apprentice)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1135[/td][td]Leadership (2) +16 taught[/td][td]Adventure (+5 xp Cult Lore)(4)[/td][td]Parma Magica (7) +11 (treatise)[/td][td]Intrigue (4) +5 (Practice)[/td][td]Intrigue +4[/td][td]7[/td][td]66[/td][td]5[/td][td]Purchase Armor of the Mad Maga (-50 pounds)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1136[/td][td]Gain Flexible Formulaic Magic[/td][td]+22XP Charm Taught[/td][td]+22XP Intrigue (5) (taught)[/td][td]Extract Vis and Adventure +5xp Charm (3)[/td][td]Mystery Cult Lore +4xp[/td][td]8[/td][td]74[/td][td][/td][td]Friendship with GUIDO DEL CASTELLO, Lose Talisman[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1137[/td][td]Speak Sanskrit +25xp[/td][td]Speak Sanskrit +25 xp (5+4+9+7)[/td][td]Speak Latin +25xp[/td][td]Extract Vis[/td][td]Divine Lore +4[/td][td]8[/td][td]77[/td][td]5[/td][td]-215 pounds silver (buys a good bit of a Budhist Temples Library)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1138[/td][td]Speak Latin +25[/td][td]Adventure +6 (deal with libraries prior owners +5 bargain, +1 Etiquette )[/td][td]Translate Summa (+2 Concentration)[/td][td]Extract Vis +2mt[/td][td]Church Lore +4[/td][td]8[/td][td]80[/td][td]5[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1139[/td][td]Translate Summa +2 concentration[/td][td]Translate Tractuc +2 Concentration[/td][td]Translate Tractus +2 concentration (5)[/td][td]Write Tractus Concentration +2 scribe[/td][td][/td][td]0[/td][td]80[/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1140[/td][td]Study Reala Second Sight 3 seasons (+30xp)[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]Adventure +7xp (Code of Hermes +5XP, +2xp Teaching)[/td][td]Cult Lore +4xp[/td][td]8[/td][td]83[/td][td]5[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1141[/td][td]Study Mentum (6+21xp)[/td][td]Teaching +2xp[/td][/tr][/table]

19

I'm sorry to wait until you've posted further to comment on earlier posts. My goodness those suma are extraordinary. Is that the way that you play? It differs from what I do greatly.

20

Um, they are sound texts under the rules found in Covenants. Covenants says sound = Level + Quality of between 28 and 31. In most cases that will be a magus with an arts score of 40 writing at level 15, shifting 5 points into a higher quality and gaining +1 from resonate texts (so 15/15 for a Magus with either Com+3 or great teacher). According to covenants these texts cost around 1 pawn/level. To insure I have the power level at RAW, I'm directly pulling the text score out of Covenants page 94. I use to think these were high, but there's a character I'm going to introduce in about another 20 years of game time with maxed out Com and great teacher whom is going to be encouraged to spend one season a year writing for use in trade.

If you have to justify it in your game, Veii has a magus with a minor focus in travel (Arria) whom has the busybody flaw and has-probably-traveled to almost every covenant in Mythic Europe in order to gossip and work out book trades.

Well except for the Ignem text that is a result of the great text major boon and the vim text that was the result of a trade of a copy of the ignem text. Both of those are level + quality =35.