There are no such thing as dragon "types".
There is no such thing as America.
[color=darkred]No.
You'll probably will not be able to do a real breakthrough in such a way, but you might be able to lay the foundations for a new mystery... (and this gives me an idea for my magus)...
probably too mean, but:
Have your spider - I assume the sex is not known - become pregnant. During the pregnancy the magus developes a familiar connection with all the little hatchlings - which when hatched start to eat the familiar, and spread through more of the ruins.
The increasing numbers means more utility for the magus, he can spy on more locations, otherwise the bond remains the same. But the increased input of sensations starts driving him insane.
What's really annoying is that Ignore doesn't work when you aren't logged in.
What is really annoying is that ignoring the original poster doesn't prevent seeing the post quoted...
The ignore feature is very annoying. 
I have by now developed quite a splendid mental ingore feature to ignore mental ignorance. 
So far it only blocks out one poster, but it does so even if that poster is quoted. I warmly recomend it. 
What I find most amusing about abe's posts is that it immediately turns every thread he posts in, into a response to him rather than a discussion on the topic.
Can we get on tangent again?
I have a story result for the spider, but since the experiment was in the past, the unexpected effect will have to be delayed until a later moment. After you experience some unusual or powerful Corpus effect (e.g. your longevity ritual), your familiar unexpectedly turns into a dead woman. Investigation reveals:
She is wearing classical Greek clothing.
She died by hanging.
She does not decay.
She is aligned with the magic realm*.
Your familiar cords remain intact, but they aren't functional.
Your story, should you choose to accept it, is to convince Athena to turn Arachne into a spider again. This will resore the status quo ante. If you are particularly persuasive, she may be granted a new, useful power (for example, the ability to turn into a living woman**).
*[size=75]Arguably Faerie would make more sense, but presumably the creature is already magic-aligned, and in any case you've had enough of faeries.
**In which case, you should remember the tradition of spiders eating their husbands.[/size]
you can't speak any language but native american!(this language probibly would be indisiferable to native europians)
[color=orange]this is part of an adventure idea![size=18][/size]
An experiment attracts the interest of a powerful being of some kind.
A magus begins sleepwalking. He repeatedly wanders into his soldales' sancta, despite the usual locks, wards, etc.
A comparatively modest experiment unexpectedly dispels the covenant's Aegis of the Hearth. The magi quickly notice, and are able to repeat the ritual. Is it worth experimenting some more to try to reproduce the effect?
A maga requests a rare, exotic ingredient for her research, and a merchant manages to find some and delivers it. It turns out to contain raw Vis, but tracing it to its distant source will be a challenge.
A magus's experiments cause his clothing to slowly fade ... and then start affecting the clothes of everyone in the covenant. If he persists, his hair starts turning white too.
The fumes from an arcane process produce strange visions that foreshadow future events.
A magus accidentally replicates Exchange of the Two Minds on himself and a companion or grog.
A ritual is more potent than expected, but only works with vis from one source.
A spell or item works correctly, but has the sigil of another maga in your Tribunal. She has been working on something similar, and accuses you of spying on her research.
A strangely small but menacing black cloud appears over the covenant. It remains there until the magi decide to investigate how to dispel it.
huh? what was that? must have been the rustle of leafs in the wind...
Well, you are right. Even if we shouldn't starve the friendly neigbourhood troll.
Very very nice treasure trove of ideas ArsBrevis! Hard to top those! I really like the Arachne "thread" of ideas ( ) - I did a series of stories about a magical creature - a spider - based on the legend of Athena and Arachne. The first was let loose in the covenant by a couple of young (player) apprentice sent to a masters lab to fetch some cobwebs from a jar (always put the cork back in a bottle housing a magical spider! or rather dont botch when you do it... The next session was called Errare Discipulum Est).
A couple of suggestions to the long list:
-Have some disciples mess something up - the list is endless - anything goes, and they might even get changed or disappear (and the magi probably want them back)
-Have a look at Ovid's Metamorhosis. It is ripe with antique legends and creatures, any of wich could be triggered or introduced as a result of the things getting awry.
-introduce something that does not trigger a story right now and here. A curious object, unexplainable or impossible to get a grip on, yet not ordinary. Nothing gets to player more than an unsolvable mystery. A text they can read can really get them wondering, and their imagination wild top anything you can stir op in a moment. Let it rest, and then bring it back in as a story hook some years later (you might not even have made the exact plans for now, you can just have that spare storyhook lying around for later - and then adapt whatever great ideas you have then to be stories sparked from this hook).
I prefer Special Events over Stories, usually. The "Story" option can always be opened up by an SG with an interest in expanding on it, it's the Special Event result that leads to head-scratching and a scramble to the list. With that in mind...
- spell invention: invented spell affects someone/thing, perhaps permanently. A PeIm spell might make a lab instrument permanently invisible, for example.
- spell/effect: spell is cast during the season, with far greater power than needed.
- magus experiences Temporary Twilight
- lab is warped by research, gains a Virtue or Flaw, probably one conferring the Warped attribute. (see Covenants)
- the reverse of the spell is cast, possibly permanently, on something/person. Research into trying to invent a PeIm spell might for example turn a glass beaker pitch black.
- vis studying: the raw vis is not consumed in the study.
- a new source of raw vis is uncovered
- raw vis is embedded into a mundane item, imbuing it with power as if it was a magical item
- raw vis is used up with no benefit
- raw vis taints the invention/discovery with Infernal taint
- raw vis is of Divine origin; item/invention warps user or calls Divine attention onto him.
- invention pre-saged by a prophet; he or someone else comes to visit.
- magical aura fluctuates as a result of the research. It may increase or decrease, perhaps temporarily or just around the magus' lab. It may even be possible that a regio is formed or discovered.
- research uncovers deep mystical secrets. Gain the benefits of a Good Twilight (without warping points). Alternatively, the researcher's mind reels from the experience and shatters. Gain the effects of an uncontrolled (bad) Twilight (without the warping points), and possibly fail to invent the spell/effect.
- a demon is discovered messing with the lab. The magus may choose to continue the research as normal, but suspects the demon tainted it with Infernal influence.
- An mysterious person leaves clues that further the research, increasing the magus' Lab Total for the season. It may be an angel, or demon, or faerie, or another magus, or something completely different. Whoever it is is probably left unknown for now.
- Mundane woes (fire, water, wind...) beset the lab. A few days are lost before research resumes its course.
- Raw vis is producted by the experiment.
- reroll on the Modified effect subtable; use as a last resort...
If you take that as simply an excuse to have something happen:
-
An unforeseen (astronomy? who cares!) solar eclipse occurs and terminates effects with Sun duration (why not), including Parma. It also triggers devices with "constant" effect, which will therefore fail that night as they are typically only designed with 2 uses per day. Hopefully, nobody relied on them for anything critical, like lab bonuses or flying castles. Smart magi may realize what happened, but they only have until sunset to solve the problem. Can they do it?
-
Following rumors of fantastic riches and wondrous magic, a small party of highly skilled and talented "adventurers" break into the dungeon ... err, I mean, the Covenant.
OK, we may need to cull our lists. This is turning into the "100 Ars Magica Plot Seeds" thread 
Dungeon Keeper anyone...
How about the experiment has caused a faint glowing in the shape of a cup to appear on one of the buildings of the covenant (preferably on a tower, so that it can be seen for quite some distance). The local parish priest noticed this, and has sent word to his superiors. The resulting delegation from the archbishop arrives at the covenant with no warning...
Ed
all to the sound of the clapping of unknown split tropical nuts...
Hey! What a fantastic idea - they should make a game about that kind of stuff! ehmm...? Dungeons and... hmmmm Abe's? Maybe he has some input
I suggest Dungeons and ogre.... or dungeon of magic