What is the year and season for council of familiars? I think it could be amusing to have some magical kittens who wandered into a ***** regione.
No, I'm going to pursue the Convocation thread just as soon as I recover from my latest case of Netflix-itis (horribly virulent Breaking Bad strain). :mrgreen:
And I just replied there 
Have not yet watched any episodes of Breaking Bad. I plan to though, and I intend to marathon it. Dis the same with Sopranos back when it was ending.
I am now on holiday for the best part of two weeks. I'll try to post when I can; reading will be easier. Crucially, I won't have my core-book, so please forgive any incorrect rolls 
So. Just to throw this out there so everybody knows: I have already let Marko know that I am taking a (hopefully brief) sabbatical from gaming. I have been playing Ars online pretty steadily for the last six years, including running two sagas, and lately I have found that I am not enjoying it as much as I should. In fact, at times it feels like a chore to come up with and post replies. I'm not "burned out" (yet), and I don't want to be, so hopefully by taking a break I can prevent the burn-out like I have with other things I used to love.
I will wrap up the threads that I'm participating in, and Marko has some great ideas on how to write Vibria and Fédora out of the campaign and to bring them back in down the road when I'm ready to pick up the dice again. I will also not be leaving the forums entirely. I will still be lurking and probably popping in to offer the occasional [strike]snarky comment[/strike] bit of sage commentary just for fun.
I love you guys, and this game has been a blast to be a part of, and I'm going to miss it.
Sorry to see you stepping away just as I'm joining in, Peregrine. But I totally understand. Better to take the break you need when you need it than starting to resent the games.
I look forward to seeing Vibria and Fedora rejoin when you feel a little less burned out.
All the best.
Argh 
You're one guy I really enjoy here, a great roleplayer I am sad to see go.
Yet, I understand what you're saying, and agree entirely with Trogdor. Better for you to sit it out now, even if this saga will be poorer by your absence.
Take a break, take a breath, enjoy yourself, and come back whenever you feel like it. I thank you for each and every one of your posts, it was great to have you here.
Does Solomon share this information with the council? Because this whole story sounds fishy. Why was he hanging out the windowsill? As a spy, he only just now gets the thought his employer might be a sneaky fellow? And he just runs away when he gets spooked? Instead of saving the information for latter use?
What a lousy spy is this guy!!!
I say we turn him over if these agents can be polite enough to phrase it as a request instead of a demand.
This is OOC. Carmen has picked her position and will stick with it. Roberto likes the switch idea because it sounds like fun
Answers to those points are available in Bernat's head, if Solomon wishes to read them. Or ask about them.
That should all have come spilling out already. Mind probes do not leave room for ambiguity or unanswered questions.
Sorry guys, I'm traveling and having computer issues. I'll try to catch up on everything tomorrow night.
Yeah, fair enough. As the player, though, I do have to draw a line somewhere between "I got chased" and "the Bishop's curtains were green" 
- so do ask about anything you think I may have missed.
Bernat makes it his habit to get back into the Bishop's grounds by unconventional methods. A cross between keeping his skills sharp, seeing how enemy agents could manage it, and just teenage bravado.
The Bishop is a politically important man, hence he has a few spies. It's practically de rigeur. It is, though, quite plausible that Bernat's employ is at least one level removed from the Bishop himself; he may not get his own hands dirty.
Not just spooked. He was definitely spotted, probably identified, and chase was immediately given. On top of which, you pick up that Bernat's morals are pretty black-and-white on this subject; if the Bishop is making deals with (non-holy) supernatural beings, that's Bad[sup]TM[/sup], and sticking around in his employ would be Wrong. Blackmail never even crossed his mind - it's something he would never do.
More OCC
It just doesn't make sense. You make a practice of keeping your breaking and entering skills sharp. You are a spy, not an agent, a spy. Yet you view the world in back & white morality. And when you get freaked out by the supernatural, which is "always bad", you flee to hide out in a covenant of magi and stand before the council with the Blatantly Gifted Carmen of Flambeau.
I am being overly critical. It is just that this story makes no sense to me. Maybe try to rework it?
Hmm. I'd probably prefer tweaking story than changing character; I rather like Bernat's concept. The point I'm sort of floundering around is that "morality" could (should?) apply only regarding Dominion, and that humans are naturally tending to being moral beings. So on encountering someone who should be a paragon of Dominion-holiness, dealing with a being that is plainly neither human nor Dominion-spiritual, he fled; seeking sanctuary with humans he knew would be powerful enough to protect him, albeit a bit strange (that is, Magic-realm humans don't offend his morality - they're still human).
Of course, the Gift complicates matters, but he may not have known about it until he got to Arans.
Further, he is a spy, yes; but he would only spy for good or holy causes. And he doesn't tend to go in for murder, maiming or theft unless actually necessary; just information gathering. It's impressive how much people can justify dubious actions to themselves...
If you want, we can take this to PMs to thrash something out. I'm more than happy to work with you to find a concept and backstory that rings true.
A question I'm wondering about- is the problem dealing with non-divine forces, or with the Bishop dealing with non divine forces? After all the Bishop has declared, essentially, an allegiance to the divine, and opening the gates and letting faeries involve themselves with his flock is a bit akin to opening the gate you have been in charge of keeping and possibly betraying that allegiance, even if whom you are opening it for isn't strictly speaking an enemy...
Yes, that's what I'm driving at, but put rather better. The problem is with the Bishop being non-Bishopy.
If it would help to adjust his minor V&Fs, incidentally, that's fine. I'm limited to the core book, so any other suggestions would be considered. I do want to end up with a decent bloke, though.
Hey, I might be the only one bothered by this, so go with what the troupe approves of. It isn't the V&F's. It is the highly unrealistic odd ball morality that confuses me. And the strange French word you used. What does that mean anyway?
Realize that this SG is an autodidact with no formal education of any sort.
(OOC: And how are you going to get it brought up at GT? It takes a Regional Tribunal to bring up issues, and they each get only three I think. I doubt anyone is going to waste one of their issues on your minor grievance.)