General Table Talk

apparently the curtsy as we now know it began in the 17th century, prior to which women bowed.

Just to be sure I'm assuming correctly, when it comes to advancing Epona with Adventure Experience.

Grogs and Companions default to 20 xp per year, which can be broken down into four 5-point seasons. In seasons where they adventure, receive training, or are taught, they can take one of those 5-point blocks and trade it for what they get with adventure/training/teaching.

So, in Epona's case, she would get 15 xp for 1237, plus the eight points for the adventure?

(I couldn't find it stated anywhere in the House Rules thread, the Experience wiki page, or the Character Creation page.)

I had assumed you would assign experience through exposure, training, etc as with any other character, but if there is a house rule I haven't seen it.

You have found a bug in the system. I suggest you use one or the other, and do not mix both.
Generic = 20xp per year, which works only for non magi, during CharGen and/or abstract updating. This does not equal 5xp per season. Nothing equals exactly five for mundanes. 20xp is an abstract sum; 2xp Exposure twice, an 8xp adventure, and reading a Q8 book or something.
Detailed: take the 8xp Adventure, and specify a specific advancement activity for each other season of that year.

It has been driving me nuts lately. The 2/2/4/7 abstract from Grogs works perfectly for most grogs, and my generic is 5xp higher. However, regular Ars Magica is not as demanding of having diverse abilities and different Lore knowledge as I am. Even so, I have been slacking and have been trying to make an effort to diversify in characters I am updating.

So anyways, I suggest using Detailed Advancement for Magi, and your favore3d other characters (be they companions or grogs). For most other characters, use the generic. Heck, use the generic for favored characters if they are severely out of date and you have a ton to catch up on.

The HR Peregrine seeks does not exist. The generic 20xp per year was intended for CharGen only. I allow it for in-game advancement to make it easier on people who are managing multiple other characters.

Where should we track grog progression?

For Magi and Companions, I've been editing the main character thread and the Andorra wiki page with the up-to-date stats, and posting in the character's (Development) thread a breakdown of the seasons (along with keeping the planners up to date). For grogs, I can still edit the wiki, but is there somewhere to put a seasonal breakdown? Otherwise I know I'll miss a season somewhere...

I've just been putting an "Advancement" section at the bottom of my posse's character sheets, with a table for what they're doing each year.

I always consider what is written on the character's Character Sheet, here in the Atlas Games Light of Andorra PbP Forum, to be the official version. In the Covenant Thread in the top box, I try to make the member names link to that sheet.
Everything else is planning and backup.
i use the Magi Planner to record what was done and what I plan to do, and to arrange it so my characters are not using a book someone else is in that season.
The wiki, I did not even create it or my character sheets on it. I think Fixer did, and he is always fiddling and adjusting and updating. I try to update it and take responsibility for my stuff and add things. And The rest of you do so a lot as well. The Light of Andorra has grown huge beyond my ability to perceive and comprehend it all. It has truly become our shared fiction, a rich and vibrant setting no one person can take full credit for.
It is truly amazing.

So that was a bunch of semantically null bullshit.
Keep track of all further development on your character sheet. Create a column on the magi planner for them.

I am meditating on an easier way to do this...

For the representation to grant a bonus to Penetration, doesn't the spell have to be cast by the maga who made the image/icon/interpretive dance?

I am not sure. I do not recall reading that anywhere. And Lead worker would otherwise be worth only a fraction of a minor virtue.
I am inclined to allow it, but would like some feedback and input from others. And as always, I cede ultimate authority upon RAW to The Fixer, who is so much wiser than I am in these matters :mrgreen:

I will tell you though, your main ace in the hole is your ring. That's right, your ring. Your precious :laughing:

Sorry all, it's been a super busy/crazy week. Hopefully I can get some posts up tonight or tomorrow.

The RAW for Sympathetic Connections (corebook, pg. 84) has symbolic representations of the target working only for the person who made them. The Leadworker Virtue might do things a little differently, however. The figurines you can make (the kolossos) are stated to be representations like any other - presumably they follow the normal rules for sympathetic connections. You can get a higher pen bonus from your kolossos representations (above and beyond the bonus you get for the symbolic representation) if you embed a piece of your target in them, however.

Separate from the kolossos, you have the tablets (the katadesmos). They seem to be called out as something different. They're not categorically noted as symbolic representations (as the kolossos are), so I'm inclined to believe they're something else. And therefore are not subject to the rules for symbolic representations. Just like a normal magus could make a horrorscope and pass it on to another, I believe you can do the same for the katadesmos.

So to my reading, the two advantages for the Leadworker virtue are: you can make Katadesmos, getting a +2 pen bonus for your sympathetic magic above and beyond all the other options you could use normally (horrorscopes, true names, etc). And your kolossos / symbolic representations can be slightly stronger (+1 pen) than a normal magus can ordinarily make.

Also! What's happening? So much seems to have happened. Frederika need something to do. I should probably resurrect Elena's thread. And probably more besides! :laughing:

I'm looking forward to getting a thread that Elena can have a bigger part in.

Start it up :smiley:

IIRC, they allow you to make "fixed" AC to their target without spending vis or time. This also suggests something more tangible to simple symbolic representations.
=> I agree with you, although there's no sign in any direction about this :-/

I think you may be right, I missed that. This virtue is actually more complicated than I gave it credit for, and I definitely rushed my cursory reading. I stand by my assessment of the katadesmoi - I think they're legitimately just another type of thing you can do to get a pen bonus; no different to researching a horrorscope, or uncovering a true name.

The kolossoi are...more interesting? I'm not sure if I'm parsing their text correctly. There are two types of kolossoi, that much is clear: the first sort are symbolic representations, like any other. So they'd take a month of time to make. Ordinarily, they'd also require an appropriate craft roll but the virtue waives that ("success in both activities is automatic"). Then there's the other sort: that contains a piece of something's body. That seems to create a fixed arcane connection without the usual vis or time constraints.

But I think you can only do that to the restless dead, and to animals and spirits that recognise their own names...? (and does that apply to the katadesmoi as well? I don't think it does, due to text ordering, but this virtue is less clear than I'd like). The virtue also seems to suggest that ordinarily, magi can't fix arcane connections to the restless dead, and spirits/animals that can recognise their own names. But I'm pretty sure we can do that, can't we? Or is the second thing the virtue does actually the katadesmoi, and the katadesmoi only apply to restless dead / spirits / animals, and the text ordering is just out of whack?

Have we officially made the jump to 1242? I'm just curious as to when I should set a new story. I don't want to push forward if that's not appropriate. But I can't help but feel that if we all keep backdating our stories, we'll never reach 1241.

I know I am still getting characters and the library updated, I know we have another book trade in 1241 to finish out...

My understanding is that we're wrapping up storylines for this cycle, and new stories will go from 1242 on. Except for deciding what to with Vibria after Bride of the Vavel Dragon.

My point is that if we wait to wrap up all the story lines either we get no new stories, or we stretch this out forever, as new stories need to get wrapped up and newer stories start, which need to get wrapped up, as even new stories start, which need to get wrapped up, ad infinitum.