Fiona ex Miscellanea

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: In the Ruins of Bibracte
21

So, this had completely slipped my mind until working I was working on Fiona's stuff for the next few years, but Fiona had gotten some pretty spiffy (to her, anyway) lab texts from Valnastium when she was there in Autumn of '21. They were never actually finalized, though, near as I can tell from what I cut&pasted from the pm's that we had. So I wanted to run this past you guys, see what you thought and if there was something blatantly wrong/missing before I put the lab texts in the library.

Greenhouse a la Valnastium

The Skilled Gardener's Touch: This Enchantment ensures that any seeds, cuttings, transplants, etc, will grow as if they were in their native soil and environment. This uses the Creo Herbam Level 1 guideline "Ensure that a plant grows well for the duration of the spell." R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Room, for a final Spell Level of 4. Usable twice a day (+1), with an Environmental Trigger (+3), for a final Effect Level of 8 (1 pawn).

Fighting the Blight: This Enchantment keeps all the plants within healthy and vigorous. This uses the Creo Herbam Level 1 guideline "Prevent a plant from becoming sick." R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Room, for a final Spell Level of 4. Usable twice a day (+1), with an Environmental Trigger (+3), for a final Effect Level of 8 (1 pawn).

The Wooden Greenhouse: This Enchantment simply makes the greenhouse transparent from the inside, by virtue of transmitting all species striking it from the outside to the inside, including the sun's warmth. Rego Imaginem Base 2, "Make an object appear (to one sense) to be up to one pace away from its actual position," with an Ignem requisite for the heat. R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Room, +2 magnitudes for size, for a final Spell Level of 10. Usable twice a day (+1), with an Environmental Trigger (+3), for a final Effect Level of 14 (2 pawns).

The item itself would be Wood (2 base points) and Huge +1 (the size of a good-sized room, about 480 square feet), for a multiplier of x6), so it would take 12 pawns of vis to Open for enchantment.

I had thought about having it be made of Almond Wood, which adds +3 to the Lab Total for Creo Herbam, but I thought that would be too limiting for a lab text from Valnastium.

So, 12 pawns to open the wooden structure, 1 pawn for The Skilled Gardener's Touch, 1 pawn for Fighting the Blight, and two pawns for The Wooden Greenhouse, which leaves 8 pawns in the thing. Look good?

22

I'm pretty sure that's actually 12 pawns to open 120 levels, and 4 pawns to instill 30 levels of effects, leaving 90 levels worth

You could increase the two CrHe enchantments to Structure for a mere +1Lvl

Why are you enchanting the room? Why not just enchant a statue in the room? If you enchant the room, your laboratory has to be big enough to have the room in it, and then you'll have to move the room out of it. You've got a total of 30 levels here, 32 if you increase the CrHe effects to Structure. Unless you want to add enchantments later to the same object, you don't need to open anything so huge.

If you are using the building itself, then the enchantment would be personal, not Touch for The Wooden Greenhouse.

These spells would only affect mundane plants. If you wanted them to affect magical plants as well, you'd need to include penetration.

Viscaria, of course, would be happy to make several of these for you.
~checks rules for lab texts~
Dammit, I forgot about the niggling rules for LTs.

  1. This will take 2 seasons to enchant because you can't mix and match techniques/forms during a season.
  2. You can't use lesser enchantment LTs to instill effects into greater enchantments
  3. You have to use the exact same shape and material every time you use a lab text.

This affects Fiona not at all, but will definitely affect Viscaria's plans.

23

I've always done it "by the book" where you spend one pawn "for every 10 points, or fraction thereof, of the modified level of the effect" instead of one pawn buys you ten points

I think this is one of those cases where, because of the building design, the building is a single room. Either one would work, but Room is one magnitude less. Doesn't matter on such a small effect, but it could make a difference down the road if we go to enchant a more significant effect.

shrug It's what we came up way back when. I can actually see it being something enchanted into one of those clay wall-hangings of the Green Man or something. Make it Hard Stone, Medium (about the size of a skull?), and it holds the same amount of vis. And hanging on the wall, it makes Touch range make more sense.

I thought of that, but at least for the Herbam effects, if we put more than 4 Penetration in (+2 modifier), it would increase the Vis cost, and if you're going to do that, might as well make it buff enough to heal Swamp Thing.

I honestly wasn't expecting this to be made right away, I just wanted to get it checked before I put the lab text in the library.

24

I think you're contradicting yourself here, as well as missing my point.

The cost of enchanting is 1 pawn for every 10 points or fraction thereof. However, the capacity of the Greater Device is measured in effect levels, not pawns -- as you indicate in the second quoted section.

I figured :slight_smile: She'll be busy until 1228 anyway.

25

p. 96, under Invested Items, says "The total number of pawns of vis expended when instilling effects may not exceed the number of pawns of vis spent to prepare the item for enchantment." So, if I open an item with 12 pawns, then I can spend another 12 pawns on the effects themselves. If I put in an effect with a modified level of 12, that's two pawns...which is just as much vis as if I had tweaked duration, or penetration or concentration or whatever to get it up to a Level 20. Whereas, if I'm understanding you correctly, that 12 pawns of vis lets me put in 120 levels of stuff. That Level 12 effect lowers the "available space" to 108 levels. Assuming that I put in a number of level 12 effects, my way, I can only do that six times; your way, I can do that ten times. World of difference.

26

And while we're on the subject of aging rolls.

And I'm thinking that, since Jormungand is the one who invented Fiona's Longevity Ritual, that when the ritual is working extra-hard to stave off the effects of growing older during the winter months, it's going to have an effect on Fiona...namely, she's probably feeling extra frisky. And since she's not that proficient in sponting PeIm, her housemates are probably either just going to have to deal with not getting much sleep or crash someplace else. :smiling_imp:

27

This is the way I view enchanting. Your device is limited by Vis capacity from preparation. It does not provide spell level capacity. An effect is designed and it costs x pawns to invest.

28

Working on the Enhanced Curse of Circe, did we ever figure out how much Paul and Sheelagh added to her lab total in Autumn of 1223? (I have 11 from Abigail already).

29

I thought you were going to work Sheelagh up.

Paul adds 4. He's very bright and had picked up some Magic Theory from the other familiars and magi at Valnastium. Just give him booze after you're done for the day...

30

For some reason, I thought Fixer was. I can, if y'all want.

31

I guess I should have said I wasn't aware I was designing her. :smiley:

32

Did a first draft/rough sketch so we at least have something to build on. Fixer can tweak her some if he wants, and keep track and run her and all that good stuff. Or not.

33

Final run-through on Fiona' Enhanced Curse of Circe, in Autumn of 1223. The spell is just like the regular Curse of Circe that Fiona already knows, with +2 Magnitudes for Size. Thus, it should work on targets of up to +7. Technically it's Muto Corpus base 10, +2 Voice, +2 Sun, +2 Size.

Her Lab Total is Mu 16 + Co/An 7+7 (for Minor Magical Focus) + Int 1 + Magic Theory 6+ Aura 5 + Lab Bonus 2 + Inventive Genius 3 + Similar Spell Bonus 6 = 53. Sheelagh has 0 Int (due to being young), has 2 Magic Theory, as Fiona taught her the season before working on the spell, and has Inventive Genius as well. That brings is to 53 + Sheelagh's Magic Theory 2 + Sheelagh's Inventive Genius 3 + Paul's help 4 = 62. Add in Abagail's Magic Theory 5 + Int 3 + Inventive Genius 3 = 73.

Experimenting triggers Fiona's, Sheelagh's, AND Abagail's Inventive Genius turbo-boots, adding 3x3 = 9 to the Lab Total, for a Final Lab Total of 82, with no additional risk, and the spell is invented in one season.

Experimenting added a die roll of 5 to her lab total, bringing it to an 87. Rolling on the Extraordinary Results Chart: Die roll of 4 = No extraordinary effects.

Damn, Fiona rocks. And she feels like celebrating. Who wants to get drunk and yiff?

Also, what did Korvin want in exchange for Fiona borrowing his apprentice?

34

That Lab bonus seems really low. Viscaria's lab has General +4 Muto +4 = +8

35

Maybe I'm missing something. This is what I have in my metacreator:

Fiona's Lab
Owner: Fiona ex Miscellanea
Location: Bibracte
Floor: Ground
Build Points: 40
Names Added to Sanctum Marker:
Size: +1 (1) [650 sq. ft.] Refinement: +0
General Quality: +1 Upkeep: +2
Safety: +3 Warping: +0
Health: +2 Aesthetics: +4
Virtues & Flaws

Lesser Feature (Minor Structure Virtue): Aesthetics: +1; Feature: Still; Muto: +1
Spacious (Minor Structure Virtue): Safety: +2; Aesthetics: +1
Dedicated Building (Free Structure Virtue): Upkeep: +1; Aesthetics: +1; Rego: +1
Idyllic Surroundings (Free Structure Virtue): Health: +2; Aesthetics: +1; Specialization: Herbam (+1)
Superior Construction (Free Structure Virtue): Safety: +1; Aesthetics: +1
Superior Equipment (Free Outfittings Virtue): General Quality: +1; Upkeep: +2; Safety: +1; Extracting Vis: +1
Undecorated (Minor Outfittings Flaw): Upkeep: -1; Aesthetics: -1; Note: Specializations with score of 2 or more reduced by 1
Specializations

+1 Extracting Vis
+1 Herbam
+1 Muto
+1 Rego
Features

Still: Type: Lesser

36

You're missing our free Superior Tools (+1 Safety +1 Items) for having a Toolmaker, which doesn't apply in this situation.

Comparing my notes, I see that I lump my Familiar's bonus into my Lab Bonus, which explains the difference.

Still, if you ever want a Tireless Wooden Servant, you let her know. It's just the like the other kind, only made out of wood instead of corpses. Way better.

Unless you happen to have a corpse you really want to punish...

37

Not that I know of whistles and looks way innocently

38

After Fiona's little...erm..."mishap" in the winter of '26, she's thinking that it might not be a bad idea to invent a spell to do what she tried to do. If nothing else, the Mastery she gains with her Flawless Magic would eliminate botches in any but the most extraordinary circumstances.

What she would like to do is invent a single spell that both reduces her size from +2 to 0 (8'11 to 5'2"), and remolds her features to the new and improved "Blanche."

Both effects not only are Muto Corpus, but use the same Guideline Level (3, "Utterly change the appearance or size of a person."). Since Preternatural Growth and Shrinking adds a magnitude for flexibility, since you can make the target larger or smaller, I'm of the opinion that this spell would do likewise (add a magnitude to both make the target smaller and to reshape her appearance).

So, going off that assumption, here's what the spell looks like, I think:

La Petite Mascarade (Muto Corpus 15)
[tab][/tab]R: Personal, D: Sun, T: Individual
[tab][/tab]This spell reduces Fiona to the size of a normal woman (5'2"/157 cm tall), while changing her appearance to that of a younger, more voluptuous version of herself.
[tab][/tab](Base 3, +2 Sun, +1 for target size, +1 to change both size and appearance)

Her Lab Total is Int 1 + Magic Theory 6 + Muto 17 + Corpus 15 + Paul 4 + Aura 5 + Lab Bonus 2 = 50, plus whatever Sheelagh brings to the table.

So, does this look right to you? And, if so, any ideas on what to do for a MuCo level 10 to burn those other LT levels?

39

We've had this discussion already :wink:. But if the spell is "fixed" so that it changes her into "Blanche", having only +1 mag for the appearance is fine with me :smiley:

So. Another MuCo spell? Eyes of the Cat?
What you could do, instead, with these 2 magnitudes, is to to add an Herbam and an Animal (or Terram, if forsaking animal products) requisite so as to have your clothes shrink down with you.

40

We have?

Already has it.

I could add an Herbam requisite, and just make sure that everything she wears is linen or cotton or something, but it would reduce her Lab Total. Adding an Animal requisite would also work (as long as it doesn't add a magnitude to the spell itself). Herbam drops her LT to 45, Animal to 42. Both are still more than twice the Spell Level of 15. Even adding a magnitude if the requisites require it would still enable her to invent it in a season.