General Table Talk

Yeah, but does PB and someone else who is casting it want to risk the botch?

If that's a heavy wound, isn't Vibria basically out of commission for a season? No lab work, halved study totals, all that?

Pretty much. No lab work for the Summer, and any study totals are halved. Same thing with fall, since even if she makes her Improvement roll, she'll be at -3 for the first month of Fall...which means she probably shouldn't travel.

Note: JL, this is not specifically targeted towards you. It's more something that I have noticed for a while...

You know, I've been playing roleplaying games for over 25 years and what I have learned in the last 2 years or so that I've been playing Ars Magica is that Ars Magica players are the most risk averse gamers I have ever seen (although obviously PB has proven that's not always true :stuck_out_tongue: ). It just amazes me how many threads and discussions I have seen discussing how to alleviate botches, how concerned people are of botching, and how nobody ever wants to be the one casting Aegis of the Hearth for fear of botching. I have to admit, I just don't get it.

With Vibria, it's not so much the botch potential as the "I'm not spending MY vis to sort this out." (Same reason she never had her boobs fixed after the incident at Baltrum.)

If the Council decided to use Covenant vis to pay for her healing, she'd be fine with that.

(That reminds me...I should track down and figure out how much vis she actually has. I still have her as just with the one pawn she started with, but don't remember where the Stipend vis would have been. nevermind...just checked the charter page on the Wiki, she gets 3p of Vim a year, which may be traded for other Forms on a 1:2 basis. So, as near as I can tell, she should have 12 or 15 pawns of Vim, depending on if she got a salary the season after she joined in 1230.)

The Charter sticky thread disagrees with that. According to the Privileges of Masters, all Masters receive 3p Vim every spring and all Officers receive 3p Vim every Autumn. It also states those pawns can be taken in any Form, not just Vim, but Technique vis requires a 1:2 exchange. Assuming the thread is the correct version (and I hope it is, because I've been using it for Vocis), by spring 1235 Vibria should have received 27p from the Forms of her choice, plus 3p additional for any season spent performing her job of Marshal.

So, the question is, where will the vis come from?

The girl didn't have to go and do something for the covenant. Yet, she did try to reach out unduly whereas this wasn't necessary, and wasted covenant vis unduly.
We should take both these fact into account. I say she should pay one half, the covenant providing for the rest. We do have a healer, do we?

(IMO, Vibria is Judged Unfairly, but the spider has a sweet spot for the young maga. I tried to balance the two. And if no one wants to heal Vibria, she'll swear and grump, but try to do it herself)

What exactly needs healed?

Vocis actually has a sweet spot for Vibria because of Judged Unfairly - he sees her as a naive maga who needs looking after. Consequently, he'll also support using covenant vis to heal her. He's not a good option for casting the spell, though. His casting score is only 29 and it would cost him 10 pawns instead of 8. In fact, Waster of Vis probably precludes him from using casting tablets altogether.

It is covenant policy to pay for the healing of member magi. Free healing for the life threatening and crippling injuries of our grogs and companions as well.
Both Carmen and Roberto know the Gentle Caresse of Aesclepius. That will take Vibria from Medium to Light. Fleur can take it from there and cast a healing spell that insures you are fully recovered in short order.
This season is trashed because of the explosion (roll to see if the first completed item survived). But otherwise study and such is not penalized. However, it will take at least two seasons to rebuild her lab. We have craftsmen and specialists that can do that, building a basic lab, while Vibria does something else. But we will have to put it in another location for now. The tower she occupied needs to be demolished and rebuilt. Demolition will take a season, mundane rebuilding will take a year (or overnight if a ritual spell is used).

Already rolled to see if the ring survived in the first post of the other thread – the die roll was an 8.

Looking at the planner, Vibria doesn't have anything that requires a lab for a while, so she can just move into the empty tower on the top right (northwest?) corner of the keep, near Carmen and Kesara. Once the structure is rebuilt she'll move in and refurbish her lab. For now, she'll forego having a lab until the new tower gets rebuilt. She'll just be cold. (As always.)

Lucia, for her part, is shaken that Vibria would be so careless and reckless as to destroy their home and will try to find alternate lodgings for a while. Perhaps she and Epona can find something. Or, if not, wherever the other covenfolk dwell. (But if the two can get their own apartment, they would.)

Bear in mind that that tower may not be empty by Spring 1235; Antoine arrives in Winter, and I guess there's a chance he'll be assigned that as his quarters. Mind you, he will likely be only a pledge.

Fleur would certainly volunteer to take in Lucia and Epona.

I can actually see this whole thing strengthening her Judged Unfairly flaw.

"Vibria tries so very hard to impress us, but (bless her heart*) she's just not very good with magic, and she just bit off more than she could chew with the rings."

  • You can tell I'm from the South – we say things like "bless her heart" right before we insult the heck out of someone, just to make it seem "proper."

Lucia appreciates and accepts the offer. Epona has her vague doubts, but is persuaded by Lucia.

Just an idea, but Vulcanus knows Conjuring the Mystic Tower and has a casting tablet for Laboratory of Bonisagus. He's not likely to balk as casting them either, since Ryu was desperate for someone to take advantage of that casting tablet when we were getting set up. For a fee, of course. :slight_smile:

The real Vulcanus, yes. The doppleganger NPC Vulcanus, maybe not so easy :mrgreen:

A non-game question.

Would one of you happen to be, or know, a lawyer? I've got a friend that's in law school, and she'd like to do a (IIRC) 2-weeks internship next year in the USA.

Marko: Received Faith & Flame, and, although I didn't have time to read it (nor will I for the foreseable future :frowning: ), I skimmed through it with my best friend, and it was great seeing the maps and paragraphs with all these places that we know :smiley: Thanks!

I know a few lawyers, especially in family law (been through a couple of divorces), and corporate law. What sort of speciality is hse looing at and what portion of the US Geography?

I'm back from vacation now. It was a lot of fun with whales, a black bear, sled dog puppies, a porcupine in a tree, and more food than you could shake a stick at. I'm currently digging my desk out today, so I may be a bit slow in posting. But I should be back up to speed soon.

Looks like I missed some fun while I was away ...

I'm an intellectual property attorney. However, I work at a pretty small firm that specializes in IP law. I do have a few contacts at larger IP firms, though. What kind of law is your friend interested in?