Re Te can be used to do anything to a gem that a craftsman could do- so a flawed gem could be cut in such a way as to remove the flaw, but to improve the general nature of something would require creo.
Makes sense. Thanks.
I think I may switch my heroic companion to a Companion and a grog, given we already have another heroic companion according to the list. They are supposed to be rare after all...I do have a companion in the wings...I do not have a grog idea...at all though
My recommendation would be to make a faerie or magical grog if you can do so- it makes ascent to higher ranks easier to track and, especially for faerie, accomplish. Starting characters should be designed as medium power, exiting characters are assessed at high power. So if a might 3 magical grog exits the game with might 15+ they are considered a companion, if they leave with 30+ they are considered a mythic companion. Faeries are essentially either companions or mythic companions, but with a good artisan reworking the faerie's glamor or story the transformation from one to the other is easier than for normal (ungifted) companions.
I am rethinking my other characters. Would a mundane redcap be good as a companion-level character?
I might also go with a magical grog that ties up with another player's magus. Who would like to have a link to that grog? I'd work on something complementary.
So I've got a concept, and I'm starting to work out the details of my character. But I've got a couple of questions that I need an answer to please. And thank you.
- Is Initiation allowed at character creation?
- One of the examples of Major Magical Focus is Disguise, which states "Changing the appearance of something, by any means". Would this include the use of Hermetic Alchemy?
- I cannot seem to find a Craft ability that is related to alchemy or potion-making, such as brewing. Could Winemaking be substituted here? Or should I use a Generic Ability and change the name to Brewing or Potion-Making?
- I've gone through and selected a bunch of Virtues, but they are all Minor. Here's the list of them so far; can I get some help on what I've done wrong and what I could take to make this guy better please?
- Adept Laboratory Student
- The Gift
- Hermetic Alchemy
- Hermetic Magus
- Inventive Genius
- Lesser Elixir
- Magical Memory
- Minor Magical Focus (Aging)
- Puissant Corpus
- Unaging
- Verditius Magic
Obviously, The Gift/Hermetic Magus/Verditius Magic are freebies due to being a Verditius Magus. And the concept is a longevity specialist, focused in Alchemy. So I've got 8 Virtues (and the Cabal Legacy Flaw, which is required for Hermetic Alchemy and/or Lesser Elixir), and they are all Minors. Anything I should change or add to this guy? And yes, I know I could take Great Elixir, but I've got a Hermetic Breakthrough I want to explore in-game first because it could change the way the Elixirs work.
Are the rules for magical or faerie grogs simple enough that they can be summarized? I would rather not buy either of the realms supplements yet. (I strongly expect that I will buy them, the question is when.)
Thanks,
Joel
Not especially, though magic is far easier to explain than faerie- essentially each point of might gives you extra slots for virtues, but there is some difference in selection of virtues, especially in being able to acquire powers (so a grog with might 3 could have a few magical powers, or 3 extra relevant minor virtues), and it also sort of blows apart the idea of limits on flaws as long as they are magical "inferiorities" instead of flaw... plus you can play animals or objects that are magical with a personality- so for example an enchanted skull with personality named Bob could be a magical character (for those familiar with Dresden)
Thanks Silveroak. I'll come up with a conventional grog for now.
And it is a magical spirit who lives in a skull, and calls himself Bob 
(I'm reading the Dresden Files RPG rules right now, having read all the books to date.)
You can do spirits too, but since Bob is pretty much bound to the skull you could do it a number of ways...
I am working on a Hermetic farmer for a magi and was considering giving him a focus in fertility. I'm assuming that would be a major focus, but is fertility too broad even for a focus? Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
There is a doozy of a question- technically speaking fertility isn't a part of Hermetic magic (though in ancient magic you can learn the lost art of fertility magic). That being said if we did allow such a specialization it would cross animal, corpus, and possibly plant, and could be used for things like helping with childbirth, or germinating seeds. At that point is pretty close to healing which is considered a minor focus... it would also be a major incentive to solve the mystery of fertility magic.
There is a Major Supernatural virtue called Control Fertility in HoH:S, page 105. It covers plants, animals and humans.
If you are more interested in animals or plants, there are various Minor and Major Magical Focus that could be taken, although as silveroak says fertility itself is not strictly speaking Hermetic. But growing plants, making plants and animals stronger and healthier, food plants, etc. are all possibilities.
please note this is a supernatural virtue listed under ex miscelania, so if you take the Minor Magical Focus and also want to play a Ex Miscelania with that supernatural virtue, I would allow it. You might even be searching for your heritage in looking for Fertility Magic from ancient magic. Note that since the supernatural virtue does not use arts, the focus will not apply to it, though if you discover ancient fertility magic it will add to any spells developed from it.
Thanks Silveroak and Arthur. That's what I needed to know. I'll finish the draft and post it tonight.
Just for my own information, the binding beasts greater mystery (in mystery cults, verditus section) describes it was developed because thebes is incredibly vis poor, while the theban book describes it as a practical wonderland raining Vis. Which stance are we taking in this chronicle just so im on the right foot starting off.
Saw the same thing yesterday evening while rereading the Verditius chapter. But a lot of the Hermetic customs and traditions described in The Sundered Eagle are based on the fact that vis is plentiful there. So my take is that the short blurp in HoH:MC should be ignored.
And since TSE is the more recent sourcebook, I'd give it precedence too. 
There are two ways to resolve this-
- The Tribunal of Thebes was short on vis, but has since recovered
- The Tribunal has always had plentiful vis, but many covenants are short due to the fact the tribunal claims so much vis for themselves.
My personal preference here is to blend the two- there was a shortage for covenants due to the tribunal claiming so much, but more sources have since been discovered and a number of covenants have fallen since the Latin invasion, reducing competition for vis.
In trying to design my merchant companion, I am finding the interaction of the rules:
No Hermetic Flaw
Must have two Major Flaws
Only one Story Flaw
Only two Personality Flaws, at most 1 major
ending up making it very difficult to get the design right.
As I did not like any of the Major personality flaws, I took two minors there.
The Major Story flaw was easy (Married, with a child and another on the way.)
At which point I had to take either a Major Supernatural Flaw or a Major General. The only Major General which did not look completely impossible for a young, well-traveled, merchant was Dwarf. I don't particularly like it, but that is what I have taken for now.
Are there choices or approaches I am missing? is the intent that you really have to have an over-the-top personality attribute? If I was willing to take a Major personality Flaw, it would be easier, but still awkward. As a minor supernatural I am taking offensive to animals (and then spending 50 points on animal handling so he can use a donkey-drawn cart or similar at net skill 1 or 2).
And reviewing this, i realized I had another problem. I had taken "ability blocked (martial)", but of course I can't do that. As a companion without warrior or other suitable virtue, he can't take martial skills. Blocking logic would mean that he can't be literate.
The basic concept seemed sensible, but getting the flaws right is turning out harder than I thought. (The previous companion I did was a giant-blooded greatsword weilder. Easy.)
Well, you don't need to use all 10 points...
But yes, the selection of Flaws for mundane companions is definitively limited.