Fiona ex Miscellanea

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Stealing the Future
41

It is possible that you may be able to spend more of those remaining build points as vis. The idea was to limit the total build points spent on vis, in your case 365, to 36 (rounding) build points. You can have or have used up to 180 pawns of vis during your development. Whatever wasn't spent out of that 180 pawns you can cash out with.

No. But you will have had to read the summa it is based upon, so don't forget to detail that book, too.

42

Her pawn usage is as follows, so far:

  • 2 BP to prepare her Talisman for attunement (8 pawns Vim). 2 pawns to reserves.
  • 5 BP for her Longevity Ritual (25 pawns).
  • 3 BP for 14 pawns Vim in her Talisman, with 1 pawn to reserves.
  • 2 BP for opening the Collar of the Insula Canaria Polar Bear Club (8 pawns Vim). 2 pawns to reserves.
  • 5 BP for opening the Pegasus (24 pawns Vim), with 1 pawn to her reserves.
  • 2 BP for Bonding Albus (8 pawns Muto). That left her 2 pawns for her reserves.
  • 2 BP to open the Greenhouse à la Valnastium with 6 pawns Vim, leaving 4 pawns for her reserves.
  • 6 BP to open her Chain Mail for enchantment (30 pawns Vim).
  • 1 BP to empower the Familiar Bond with Locate Familiar, which cost 2 pawns Animal and left 3 pawns for her reserves.
  • 2 BP to invest her Talisman with Reverto Mutandum, costing 7 pawns of Vim and leaving 3 pawns for her reserves.
  • 1 BP to empower the Familiar Bond with Complex Mental Communication, costing 2 pawns of Mentem and leaving 3 pawns for her reserves.
  • 2 BP to open the Discreet Headboard (10 pawns).
  • 1 BP to open the Flawless Barometer, which cost 4 pawns and left 1 pawn Vim for her reserves.

So, that's a total of 34 BP that she's used for vis to open various items that still have space, or for her lab projects. Hunh.

Maybe she won't be cashing in any more BP for vis, after all.

It was In Flux Veritas, from the Bibracte library, which iirc is/was a very common summa.

43

I was hoping to come up with a device that would be opened for 6-10 pawns and still have space, so I could use that last 2 BP for vis. Didn't work.

But I do want to be sure I'm building this item right. My main concern is what constitutes "Linked Trigger."

Fiona's robes are opened for 6 pawns Vis (cloth is 1, Huge is the size of a human body, Fiona's robes would thus be Huge +1, or x6 multiplier).

First effect is an Intellego Corpus to determine the wearer's current size and shape. Base 5 ("Sense a specific piece of information about a body"), R: Touch +1, D: Concentration +1, T: Individual, +1 for Target size, for a final effect level of 20. The effect is usable [strike]6[/strike] 24 times a day ([strike]+3[/strike] +5), and the robes maintain concentration (+5), for a final Enchantment Level of 28, or 3 pawns. The number of uses is in case Fiona takes off and puts on the robes more than twice in a day. Note that, in order for the effect to succeed, Fiona will have to suppress her parma while she puts the robes on.

The other effect is a MuHe to make the robes grow or shrink and conform to the wearer's current size and shape. Base 3 (change an item made from plant products), +1 to change plants into finished materia", R: Personal, D: Conc +1, T: Individual, +1 for complexity (to allow the robes to shrink or embiggen, and to change the cut slightly to better fit her current figure), for a final Effect Level of 10. The device has Unlimited uses a day (+10), maintains concentration (+5), and has a Linked Trigger (+3); the Trigger is any change in the wearer's size or shape, based on the Intellego Corpus effect. The final Enchantment Level is 28, or 3 pawns.

Opinions?

44

Fiona's laboratory is situated in a large wood-and-stone cottage slightly apart from the school itself, and is surrounded by a spacious well-maintained and landscaped garden (which she spent all of Summer 1268 working on). Nearby is a second wooden structure, about 40 feet wide and 125 feet long, and about 27½ feet high (or 12.2 by 38.1 by 8.4 meters), which has no visible windows.
[hr][/hr]Size: +1 (1) [650 sq. ft.]
Refinement: +0
General Quality: +1
Upkeep: +4
Safety: +1
Warping: +0
Health: +2
Aesthetics: +3

Virtues
Lesser Feature (Minor Structure): Aesthetics: +1; Feature: Still; Muto: +1
Superior Tools (Free Outfittings): Upkeep: +1; Safety: +1; Enchanting Items: +1
Superior Equipment (Free Outfittings): General Quality: +1; Upkeep: +2; Safety: +1; Extracting Vis: +1
Pot Plants (Minor Outfittings): Upkeep: +1; Aesthetics: +1; Herbam: +1
Dedicated Building (Free Structure): Upkeep: +1; Aesthetics: +1; Rego: +1
Idyllic Surroundings (Free Structure): Health: +2; Aesthetics: +1; Herbam +1

Flaws
Undecorated (Minor Outfittings): Upkeep: -1; Aesthetics: -1

Specializations
+1 Enchanting Items
+1 Extracting Vis
+1 Herbam
+1 Muto
+1 Rego

Features
Still (Lesser)

45

Fiona's plans (subject to last-minute cajoling) is as follows:

[table][tr][th][u]Season[/u][/th]
[th][u]Activity[/u][/th]
[th][u]Advancement[/u][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]1268/Spring[/td]
[td]Learn Hermetic Instruction from Elizabeth[/td]
[td]3 xp Hermetic Instruction[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1268/Summer[/td]
[td]Breaking down lab in Bibracte for shipping[/td]
[td]2 xp Magic Theory[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1268/Autumn[/td]
[td]Setting up lab in Hévíz[/td]
[td]2 xp Magic Theory[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1268/Winter[/td]
[td]Learn Hermetic Instruction from Elizabeth[/td]
[td]3 xp Hermetic Instruction (score to 1)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1269/Spring[/td]
[td]Learn Hermetic Instruction from Elizabeth[/td]
[td]3 xp Hermetic Instruction[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1269/Summer[/td]
[td]Landscape her laboratory and sanctum surroundings[/td]
[td]2 xp Gardening[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1269/Autumn[/td]
[td]Explore Hévíz and the surrounding areas[/td]
[td]5 xp Area Lore: Hévíz (score to 1)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1269/Winter[/td]
[td]Learn Hermetic Instruction from Elizabeth[/td]
[td]3 xp Hermetic Instruction[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1270/Spring[/td]
[td]Learn Hermetic Instruction from Elizabeth[/td]
[td]3 xp Hermetic Instruction (score to 2)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1270/Summer[/td]
[td]Explore Hévíz and the surrounding areas[/td]
[td]5 xp Area Lore: Hévíz[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1270/Autumn[/td]
[td]Explore Hévíz and the surrounding areas[/td]
[td]5 xp Area Lore: Hévíz (score to 2)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]1270/Winter[/td]
[td]Learn Hermetic Instruction from Elizabeth[/td]
[td]3 xp Hermetic Instruction[/td][/tr][/table]

Her plans for exploring Hévíz is three-fold: see who and what's in the area, especially the village; find out where we might be able to find specialists, workers, craftsmen, etc. for the school (to fill any holes we haven't filled yet), and to get a good feel for the local flora and fauna so she can have an idea of where to go if we need wolfsbane or nightwort or something.

Oh. And Aging Rolls (blech):

  • 1268: die roll of 7 + Age 10 – LR 15 – BC 1 – LC Mod 1 = 0, no apparent aging. +1 Warping Point
  • 1269: (die roll of 1, followed by a die roll of 8) 16 + Age 10 – LR 15 – BC 1 – LC Mod 1 = 9, no apparent aging. +1 Warping Point.
  • 1270: die roll of 2 + Age 10 – LR 15 – BC 1 – LC Mod 1 = -5, no apparent aging. +1 Warping Point.

1270 also marks her 100th birthday (she seems like a Summer, so let's say her birthday is August 25). So, that weekend, she is going to have an incredibly not-family-appropriate celebration with her friends, loved ones, and lovers from all over.

46

+4 Upkeep is 100 points, and expenses for the lab are 1 pound per 10 points of lab, so therefore 10 mythic pounds of silver is necessary to keep the lab up for a year. Relocating the lab (as per the insert on page 119 of Covenants) costs 2 years of maintenance to cover the breakage.
So, to move this lab it costs 20 mythic pounds, or 2 build points.

Note: I erred in saying that it was 1 season to tear down and 1 season to reassemble (it's two), but we'll go with the one and one. It's still two seasons where your lab isn't available.

47

The Upkeep is reduceable if we have master craftsmen (score of 6+), right? So, if I use Fiona's remaining build points for a glass-blower, goldsmith, silversmith, lapidary, mechanic, and toolmaker (the craftsmen listed on p. 66), that would cover it? And she'd use 2 of her BP stash to cover the costs of moving, too.

48

The last of Fiona's 94 lifetime Build Points.

  • A copy of the Bible, a gift from Alexei many, many years ago. It is a Summa on both Theology (Quality 3, Level 10) and Church Lore (Quality 3, Level 3). Lifted directly from Realms of Power: The Divine, p. 86).
  • Seven Specialists to bring the school's Lab Upkeep scores down. They are the specialists listed in the insert on p. 66 of Covenants, although their crafts can be altered if need be to make more sense. Each has a Score of 7 (mainly because I had 49 points to spend, and 7 specialists, which made it a nice even number).
  • [tab][/tab]Ana, the lapidary
  • [tab][/tab]Astrid, the goldsmith
  • [tab][/tab]Bojana, the silversmith
  • [tab][/tab]Dieter, the blacksmith/toolmaker
  • [tab][/tab]Gordana, the carpenter
  • [tab][/tab]Gregor, the mechanic
  • [tab][/tab]Renáta, the glass-blower
49

Things that Fiona does with her newly-free seasons.

  • Winter of 1268: Invent a Voice-range version of Staff of Moses (from the dreaded Net Wizard's Grimoire). I was torn as to whether this falls under her Transformation of Others Focus, but ultimately erred on the side of caution and said no, as every other spell under the Focus affects living things, and this kinda doesn't. 2 xp Exposure in Magic Theory.
  • Spring of 1269: Goes looking for students. Random wiki-clicking has her going toward the Tribunal of the Greater Alps, although this can be anywhere that we have students from (Rhine, Normandy, Hibernia, Greater Alps, Stonehenge)
  • Winter of 1269: Invent Hide in the Hollow (also from the Net Wizard's Grimoire), with +1 Magnitude for Size. 2 xp Exposure in Magic Theory.
  • Spring of 1270: Practice Aegis of the Hearth. 5 xp (doubled for her Flawless Magic), raises her score to 2. New Mastery Ability: Learn from Mistakes.
  • Summer of 1270: Practice La Petite Masquerade. 5 xp (doubled for her Flawless Magic), raises her score to 2. New Mastery Ability: Quiet Casting.
  • Autumn of 1270: Invent Bestial Growth and Shrinking, MuAn 25, which is basically an Animal version of Preternatural Growth and Shrinking. Base 4, R: Voice +1, D: Sun +1, T: Individual, with +1 Magnitude to allow for both growth and shrinking. 2 xp Exposure in Muto.
  • Winter of 1270: Practice Giant Leap of Homecoming. 5 xp (doubled for her Flawless Magic), raises her score to 2. New Mastery Ability: Imperturbable Casting.
  • Spring and Summer of 1271: Practice Magyar with the locals. 8 xp per season, raises her score to 2.