Ok, in HOH: TL, Mercere chapter, p.103-104, I'm getting confused.
Starting near the end of p.103, the "Blood of Heroes" description begins. This is not a Virtue nor a Flaw, it is a niche for Companions - The Mythic Companion.
This character type may buy Heroic Virtues & Flaws (one assumes they're normally restricted!)
Furthermore, each point of Flaw may be balanced by two points of Virtues. So far so clear. Also, recieve one free Minor Vurtue, related to the heroic/supernatural heritage. In addition, one must take the Heroic Personality Flaw (Minor, Heroic).
This is where I get lost in the text!
Quote from HOH: TL p.104, line 7:
"For most hero characters, this means taking the Redcap (ed: Major Virtue, Social Status), and that leaves you with nine more points of Flaws for as many as eighteen points of Virtues."
What? Why not the full -10 Points of Flaws? Does the Heroic Personality - somehow - not count into those Flaws, which count double, regarding Virtue Points? Should the balnce of Virtues and Flaws for such a character not be (at a maximum) +20/-10?
Could somebody please clarify this? Is this some errata I just havn't found? Or is my logic simply failing me?
Heroic Personality does count as one of your ten points of flaws and gives you two points of virtues. Along with the free minor virtue (1 point), that's enough to buy Redcap, which is Major (3 points).
The only deviation from a strict interpretation of the rules is that you'd buy a major virtue instead of having a free minor virtue and two points to buy virtues with.
The maximum for a Mythic Companion is +21/-10, because they get one point of Minor Virtues that doesn't need to be balanced with a Flaw. Heroic Personality counts as one of the ten points of Flaws you can take, giving you two more points of Virtues, which means every character with Blood of Heroes has at least three points of Virtues to spend. This is just enough to take Redcap, but you still need to take at least one Heroic Virtue, which means you'll also have to take at least one more Flaw.
On a closely related point for those who don't have The Blood of Heroes, but who would possess Heroic Virtues/Flaws, how widely available is the Legacy Minor Flaw? It is listed as an alternative to The Blood of Heroes or Mythic Blood. Obviously, no Grog could possess it, but can it be taken by characters from diverse backgrounds, or solely those who are members of House Mercere?
Also, could Strong Faerie Blood substitute for any of the above? The Fay often possess extraordinary powers and attributes which might be inherited by their offspring. Mythic Characteristics, in particular, seem like a perfect fit.
How do some of you people feel about using a few Heroic Virtues as Supernatural ones? Specifically Gift of Tongues. I had a 4th ed magus with that Virtue, and when I converted him I just kept it, even though he has no Mythic Blood.
Ok, thanks for the clarification. I don't think those paragraphs are very well formulated, but I get the math now. Taking the one Minor Flaw (-1) counts as doyuble (-2) and together with the free Minor Virtue (+1) makes for the Major Virtue (+3) of being a Redcap. I simply hadn't though about using that 1 free Virtue point as part of a Major, simply an additional Minor Virtue.
Regarding Gift of Tongues, sure, it's really a Supernatural Virtue. But so is the other Heroic ones. One could say, that heroic is a subcategory of Supernatural, since they describe kind of the same "powers beyond normal, mortal, mundanes". But Heroic Virtues have a requirement; either you have to be a Mythic Companion, have Mythic Blood etc.
Perhaps Strong Faerie Blood could also give acces to these Heroic Virtues.