can we get penetration on level 50? I mean level 50 with penetration:10 is effectively level 10, so...
Aegis was never meant to be cast by a single mage, generally speaking. If folks have a Communion spell or two, we could get some fairly decent pen on it, yeah. If however we only have one other person with Communion, we're probably better off with the 30.
Magnus can get 30 Penetration with his level 30 Aegis. He also has Wizard's Vigil at level 50 (allowing him to add 40 to any ritual). So we might be okay with both of them. Another important question is whether we want to spend 6 or 10 Vim vis a year on the ritual. At the moment, we only produce 2 Vi/year. (Though IBT and QPaC have not spent their points yet.)
Meliai has wizards communion at 50, but it takes a bit to get her casting total there- base casting total 35, assuming we are doing this in the level 5 aura brings that to 41, Name of power Thoth and Hecetate can each add +5 to a maximum of +9, so it takes a few more moments, but she can get there...
Since we devised characters, I've obtained Through the Aegis, which clarifies that you need Wizard's Vigil (a Sun duration version of Wizard's Communion) to help with rituals. Given that this is a late clarification, I'm going to let anyone who took Wizard's Communion swap it out for Wizard's Vigil if they want. It has an effect 10 less than WC because of the duration, but it's useful for rituals.
Yes, the ritual would be done in the level 5 Aura so that the whole covenant could be there. And both names of power can be used for WC/WV.
So, I'm guessing that we're not going to get any actual colonists onto the island in 1221, since no one's working on finding people. I ask because the main reason Magnus would learn Hermes Portal is to bring large numbers of people and supplies to the island. (That's the only way we can justify spending 30 vis.) But if we're not going to need a Hermes Portal in 1221, I may delay Magnus learning the ritual.
Does that seem reasonable?
Yes, makes perfect sense. I also thought that we should consider flying ships rather than ocean going ones.
If I can get my plans into the spreadsheet it will help a little. I want to create the spells/items to detect potentials. We need a site to pickup these people. I thought using an existing allied covenant would be good' but maybe we could also have people arrive at Harco for transport when we have that transport worked out.
If we cast Hermes Portal, we can have the other end be (essentially) anywhere. We'd probably want to make it central for our 'recruits.'
Something like:
Band of Sky Sailing
ReHe 50
R: Touch, D: Conc, T: Ind
This rune-covered circle of wood, embedded with a magnet and the pinfeather of a bird, clamps around the mast of a ship and imbues the ship with the power of flight. When activated, the boat and all its contents are lifted into the air, and the pilot may make Intelligence + Finesse rolls to change direction or speed. The Ease Factor is related to current speed — Ease Factor 6 for walking pace, Ease Factor 12 at moderate speed, Ease Factor 15 at maximum speed of forty miles an hour. The rigid nature of wood allows the boat to carry a substantial burden; in addition to being lifted itself, the boat can contain a Load of 5000. Note that an average person has a Load of 21, so the boat can carry the equivalent of about two hundred people and their equipment.
(Base 3, + 1M Touch, +1M Conc, +1M Size, +1M unsupported surface, +1M for any direction, +1M for increased speed, +2M size, +5 device maintains concentration, +10 unlimited use)
Of course, this would require training 'pilots' in Finesse to allow the boats to fly properly.
Given Hermes Portal only lasts a year and is a fixed spot, ships especially flying ones might be a longer term solve for transport and a better use of vis.
In the very long term I'd love to see us with a permanent portal (from the HoH book), but HP isn't a great spend especially now.
Couldn't an enchanted teleport device perform a similar task, and also be movable? It could be created in an object and then we port all the people and things from one room to another. And have the arrival point outside the Aegis.
ReCo,Te,He,An, etc level 60.
Base 35 for AC teleportation, R: Touch, D:Mom, T:Room
+10 unlimited uses.
I suppose 1 Warping Point isn't going to hurt anyone ...
How about for supplying the island? (An item version of Portage of Eagles from TME)
Rod of Transportation
ReTe(An,Aq,He) 50
R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Group
This rod, which contains a magnet and an opal, transports up to one hundred small crates or equivalent volume of goods (100 cubic paces) to a place to which the user has an Arcane Connection. Requisites have been provided for live animals, liquids, plant products, or animal products.
(Base 4, +1M Touch, +2M Group,+1M Size, +5M transport to an Arcane Connection, +5L Uses/day: 24)
Yea, it gives a Warping Point. But for most items it'll be the only Warping Point they ever get.
We could build six of these for the cost of one year's worth of Hermes Portal.
Yep, but why not add more requisites and use it for people and all matter of stuff?
Meliai is looking for people in 1221, of course she has her own way to get them back...
Okay, I've given this some thought. And so that I won't bog things down with vis hunts, I've decided to let magi exploring the island have a chance of finding a source of vis. (Subject to availability, of course). I've made up a number of vis sources that might be found, each providing vis in different seasons. If you're searching in the right season, you'll have a chance of finding the source. Oh, and, of course, you'll still get 8 xp in AL: New Atlantis, so it won't be a total loss.
Here's a freebie that the group finds fairly quickly:
Font of Magic: In the temple of Hecate, the magi have discovered a large font with five hollows along the top and a large basin. If a pawn of Creo, Intellego, Muto, Perdo, and Rego vis is placed in each of the five hollows, respectively, and left there for a full season, then a pawn of Vim vis will slowly form in the basin.
Provides: 4 Vi vis/year, 1 each season
I made this up and then realized that the obvious place for it was the Temple of Hecate. So I figured I'd just give it to you guys.
I'll make this an Awareness + Int check, EF 9. If a season is spent purely searching for vis (exposure xp), the EF will drop to 6.
Autumn 1220, Andor: Awareness + Int check: 1D10+3 = [8]+3 = 11; success
Winter 1220, Andor: Awareness + Int check: 1D10+3 = [5]+3 = 8; fail
Summer 1220, Meliai: Awareness + Int check: 1D10+3 = [5]+3 = 8; fail
Andor finds:
The Crystal of Fire: In the southern town is a temple of some sort with a red crystal suspended in one window. Once per year, in the autumn, on a date of no apparent significance to the modern world, the sun hits the crystal just right so that a beam of light is emitted from the crystal. This beam remains steady for about an hour before the sun moves out of position, but in that time it contains Ignem vis.
Provides: 3 Ig vis/year, in the autumn
I made up vis sources on the assumption that our covenant charter (off-screen) says that vis sources found in this way belong to the covenant. (My goal is not to give all of the magi lots of personal vis sources.) I'm also being generous with vis sources under the idea that you'll need to cede some of these to other covenants on the island so that they can survive.
I like that idea. And very good point, this island is going to get crowded, fast. And if there's one thing I know, Magi don't like sharing Vis, so having plenty should help mollify folks. Question, I know Andor's familiar spent the entirety of 1220 searching the island, would he be entitled to the same check as the mages?
I thought about familiars, since several familiars explored the island. But in the end I thought that most familiars can't tell what is and isn't vis, so they could easily miss something like that. I'm ready to be convinced otherwise if someone has a good argument.
How many build points do we have for the starting covenant?
You get 300 BP plus any you might have accumulated from pre-game.