fixing arcane connections and multiple lab activities

It seems that fixing a single arcane connection is an exclusive Season of lab activity. On the face of it, it appears to be an inefficient use of a Lab for a Season.

I guess I can justify by saying a Lab is the equivalent of an Hermetic clean room. Any other magical operation in the Lab will contaminate the Arcane Connection being fixed.

But much effort is required to fix an Arcane Connection? It seems that an apprentice newly opened to the Arts and a single level in Magic Theory could fix an Arcane Connection.
So it seems you need a Lab for a Season, rather than the full time occupation of a magus.

Hence a Magus could probably study from a book for that Season, taking maybe 1 hr per day to check that the Fixing is proceeding correctly.
Or perhaps have two Labs, one for fixing the Arcane Connection, the other Lab for another Magical activity, without penalty. Including fixing another Arcane Connection.

Presuming your mage had access to enough labs, how many Arcane Connections could be Fixed each Season ?

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Fixing an Arcane Connection is indeed a Season's work. There's a reason why Magi let apprentices do it, because it's inefficient use of their time.

There has been suggested breakthrough that will allow multiple AC to be fixed in a season, but nobody in the Order has taken the time and effort to improve that. After all, those who need lots of ACs, don't have the time to do it, and those who have the time to do it, deem such a thing to be beneath them.

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You can of course create a house rule where fixing an arcane connection is a standard lab activity based on perhaps cr or Re vi, or simply allow a magus to fix a number of arcane connections equal to their magic theory. However there is a spell which will move an arcane connection up a category in terms of durability (only usable once per arcane connection) and arcane connections have a lot of potential if they have permanent durability that can unbalance a game if used extensively, including the possibility of a Tytalus collecting arcane connections to various heads of state...

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I share the concern. A full season on a simple task feels like a waste. To the level that I have played, it feels wasted for two reasons. There are too many ACs to fix them all, and none stand out as the one to be prioritised. Secondly, in the cases we have seen year-duration ACs can be acquired and replaced with some use of leap of homecoming. Maybe we handwave too much, but then there is no strict mechanics for managing non-permanent ACs.

We houseruled that one could fixate a number of ACs up to Magic Theory, but I would not really advocate that. The rules are as they are for some reason which may become obvious if one plays long enough. Making multiple fixations possible Hermetic breakthrough is uncontroversial IMHO, but then breakthroughs won't become available until far into the saga.

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I have changed the thread title to more accurately reflect the intent of the thread.

I am positing that fixing an Arcane Connection requires the dedicated exclusive use of a lab, but not the dedicated exclusive use of a mage.
I am asking what else a mage can do while supervising the fixing of an Arcane Connection?
And any penalties?

Study from a book would almost be a certainty. Work in a 2nd Lab? Multiple Labs and multiple Arcane Connections was an extreme example.

Something like when enchanting a Talisman, it is also possible to do a Shape / Material bonus.

In the model where a Parens has their apprentice fix Arcane Connections, what does the parens do while the lab is occupied?

Anything they want that doesn’t require a lab. Read a book, relax, study a language, write a tractatus, etc.

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If you follow the RAW that adventure experience cannot be taken if you are undertaking lab activities hen fixing an arcane connection seems to me to be something which could reasonably be an exception...

Well, the canon answer is none, so it is fully down to your design.

If you posit that the fixation requires 1h/day in attendance, you cannot go away on adventure, but you could conceivably gain xp for a in-covenant story as @silveroak suggests. You could read, of course, with only about 10% loss of time, which is well within the one third affordable by RAW. A second, more regular, lab activity may be penalised since 10% is pretty close to the ten days afforded out of a season. I am not sure if we think 8h days or 12h days ...