Cutting a long story short, my mage was thrown out of his covenant after being framed for murdering one of the Covenant’s most trusted custos.
Santiago isn’t the most subtle or patient magi in the order, being a flambeau elementalist. He came to the covenant, stood outside, bellowed that he would be seen by the magi, and then created a full scale hardcore thunderstorm over the covenant.
Also, in the past, when a sodalis has upset him, he has sent a rain cloud to plague that magi’s tower.
This got me thinking about how it would be fun to have a Hermetic mood ring. I would like to make an item that makes the weather around the magi reflect his mood. Essentially, wherever Santiago goes, he literally ‘takes the weather with him’.
Santiago is happy? It’s sunny.
Santiago is angry? It’s a huge thunderstorm.
Etc.
Thing is, would it be a simple aurum item, or would it need to incorporate aquam (for the rain, etc), and ignem (sunshine, etc). In fact, with my scant serfs parma, I’m pretty sure that the item isn’t actually hermetically possible (or would warp my mage hideously).
You can dfine tune it to work for your mage: no warping IIRC (I am not strong in items, but this can be done with HUGE spells).
I would go for Auram only, but HUGE in magnitude,. It will also require a constant effect Ingtellego Mentem effect and a linked trigger (create appropiate weather to mood)
In fact, it sounds like a major flaw than something you would like toc arry around
What would be sleepy weather? And merry drunken weather? You can have some fun designing effects
I think the idea is great, with lots of potential for fun hooks and lots of flavour.
On the implementation-side, I think I'd be more likely to let the described effect be a result of twilight or a flaw. Let's you avoid the item question all together and magnitude issue.
This would make a fantastic minor/major flaw "Leaky Magic", Hermetic, Story.
You have less control over your gift than you would prefer, at random moments your gift will manifest itself as weak spontaneous magic in your strongest arts (due to the no gestures and no words used). How the arts will be used reflects your mood at the time.
In the minor version your body does not lose a stamina level (arts/5), in the major version you lose a stamina level (arts/2)
Examples for Minor versions :
Rego Herbam - occasionally doors will open as you approach.
Creo Aquam - you leave a morning dew on the ground as you pass.
Creo Auram - a gentle breeze starts up around you.
Examples for Major versions :
Rego Herbam - Plants and Trees will bend away from you, sometimes snapping.
Creo Aquam - Wherever you stand water seems to appear, the ground turns to mud, rivers/ponds overflow.
Creo Auram - dark clouds seem to follow you, rain falls.
These effects could be triggered by strong emotions or loss of control (e.g. drunkeness/sleep).
Aurum is weather, Aquam is liquids- unless you wanted a spontaneous flash flood, Aurum will suffice nicely.
It would be a complex item, using the "Linked Effect" on page re Mental Control- approx InMel 30.
Then, either a bunch of spells Base Level 2-3, or maybe one bigger one with a couple levels of Complexity for the one spell changing the effect as the magi's mood changes. (This final spell effect is the type of thing that would have to be weighed subjectively by the SG/Troupe.)
(Actually, since it's defined to create "natural" effects, I think it could be defined to do nothing inside, where storms or winds would be unnatural, and simply not created by a lower-level spell, or severely limited effects.)
It might not rain inside, but it could get cold or hot or... whatever kind of weather ryce was suggesting. Steamy? (EEW!)
I don't follow your math and it makes me afraid I've been doing mine wrong.
Base 3 +2= 5
+1= 10
+2= 20
+5= 45
+3= 60?
Does the magus have a talisman to put it into?
Hmm, base 10 sense all the emotions of a being
+1 Touch
+2 Sun
+1 lev 2 uses
+3 lev Env Trigger
28 + Pen, or 23 for a Talisman Effect.
Change it to group, and add 12 uses per day, ends up at 37
I think the "mental link" has to be Constant, one way or another. Otherwise, it doesn't know when to check for the mental command. The mage would have to activate the device to check for his mental command- kinda defeats the whole purpose, neh?
And I don't think it needs to be "group" if it's an isolated weather phenomenon. The "group" is for a group of clouds, or a group of winds around the landscape- here, as I see it, we've got one single stormcloud over the mage.
If he wanted the entire weather to change, then yeah, but range would have to be bumped to Vision as well.
Creating the weather phenomena is an effect of duration Sun, it triggers at Dusk and Dawn so has a constant effect. However the item maintains concentration to alter the weather as the different emotions are sensed through the linked trigger.
Read Emotions
base 10 sense all the emotions of a being
+1 Touch
+2 Sun
+1 lev 2 uses
+3 lev Env Trigger
29 + Pen, or 24 for a Talisman Effect.
Create Weather
base 3,
+2 (Mags) Range Voice = 5
+2 (Mag) Sun = 15
+2 Mags for 2 Levels of Complexity = 25 (for randomly & "constantly" changing weather)
+5 (Lvls) Item Maintains Concentration = 30
+3 (Lvls) Link Trigger = Level 33.
+3 (Lvls) Env Trigger = Level 36
+1 (Lvls) 2 Uses per day = Level 37
Surely if it's effecting the weather, it would be the natural weather outside? As such it would rain ON Santiago's tower and the surrounding area if he was in it rather than IN Santiago's tower?
If you want it to rain inside, you just add another magnitude for the unnatural effect, right? But I would think he wouldn't want to take it that far. I am imagining a difficult day in the lab going from bad to worse when rain soaks all his paperwork.
Except that the magic can't effect an unsensed target. Though I'm not too sure if it should apply to a creo like this. There's also the fact that it would be beyond the range "voice" which the item works at. Raining above a tower would be "sight" range, raining inside the tower would be unnatural. Neither would happen.
Hmmmm... The counter-argument would be that the Creo effect is already running, so it would at least last a bit after he went inside. But does that mean he can change it?
Let's see...
[i]Santiago is in a dark mood, and so a rain cloud is following him as he stomps across the covenant courtyard*. He goes inside the Council Hall, the rain clouds would remain outside, then if there was no connection they would dissipate naturally or until the spell wears off.
If the existing spell was the connection itself, then as he got angry in the Council, he still has a connection to his ongoing weather, already created, to then change that to a raging storm...[/i]
Iirc, a spell is an AC to the mage who cast it, right? And a Creo'd object/effect lasts until the spell wears off. The question, then, is if a Creo'd effect can be changed by "Concentration" (close enough for this discussion), does the mage have to have that effect within spell range (here, voice) to change it? Or just sight? Or is an ongoing effect connected regardless of traveling out of sight? (Or could it be with an additional Magnitude for complexity?)
(* Hmmm, a Rego effect would be needed to make some of the weather actually "follow" him (clouds, fogs, etc), otherwise he's creating a trail of weather effects as he moves.)
Also, something to remember, when you put ranges of sight and voice in an item, they either have to use the mages voice or sight, or the item has to possess voice or sight with InIm effects. .. Now given this one acts on the magi's unconscious, and isn't specifically -cast- as such, that means you'll probably have to give the ring a sense of sight or such, so it can use its effects on its own
