Immortal magi questions

Sure, sure, but because someone came to a different consideration based on the possible risks, costs, and benefits of each option does not make them an "idiot."

How about using enriched objects of virtue? That might be a good reason for something else.

Sorry, My tendency to emphatic affirmation of my views not so rarely drives me to using harsher language than I mean, and it gets worse on the Net.

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So, I understand why some people may prefer sagas in which immortal magi become background characters, but I feel like that's a definite saga preference as I'm running a game in which someone completed the ritual of Becoming and we are having a blast watching her character continue to push for her long-term goals.

I do want to say, though, that I don't quite agree with you here, Wanderer. Because, it's not like a prospective immortal has complete and perfect knowledge of all mystery virtues in the order. In my game, the maga who completed the Becoming isn't even aware of all the other Merinita mysteries (let alone that there are other hermetic paths to immortality).

They may just not know that Inscription on the Soul exists, and even if they do, they may not have a pathway to initiate it- they would just have to try to find a work around afterwards. Like, I don't know, eating your talisman or something. Stealing the secrets of the Learned Magicians so that you can cast spells from lab texts and just have a huge library of spells you invented and then forgot.

Assuming everything will line up perfectly isn't wrong, but I do think there's a certain beauty to finding a more flawed path and trying to mend it- you get directions that may be more novel or unique for a narrative about research and the transformations wrought by magic.

Regarding the central topic: I'm not sure how retirement would work with immortal magi, since simply not personally voting doesn't impede your ability to influence politics and the order that much (see the house that controls the mail and has, roughly, 12 voting members). I could see a very firm demand that they spend some significant amount of time working to the benefit of the order. They may also have restrictions on the kinds of, and amounts of, magical resources they can utilize. Permitting an immortal magus to consume an inordinate amount of Vis, for example, could be a sore point because it may be less useful for them than for a mortal magus who can actually keep all of the experience granted from studying it.

Immortal Magi may be expected to write books, create powerful magical items, compile their spells into lab texts and take apprentices in exchange for being left to keep their secrets and pursue their studies otherwise unbothered.

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Technically all of House Mercere has votes, they just all usually donā€™t use them. The redcaps donā€™t vote except in the most dire circumstances out of a sense of deference to the magi of the Order and the Mercere magi donā€™t vote out of some sort of camaraderie or ā€œnot wanting to shove their face in that they are magiā€ with the Redcaps

My view of how immortal magi are regarded is that
a) They are rare. Rare enough that there haven't developed any common conventions or rules for how they are to be treated.
b) Magi who does manage to become immortal one way or another tend to keep this fact quiet. They do not advertise their new immortal status and tries to keep it a secret as far as it is practical.
c) They are not actually immortal in most cases. They have just become immune to some of the more common causes of death, but not to all possible death reasons. So eventually they too die off and cease to be relevant.

There was one Criamon Mage in the Thebes tribiunal book that had basically stopped aging due to the Criamon path, and was for all intents and purposes very marble-like. I don't think anyone would know that he or she was immortal except by the insane Criamon philosophy may have done so, not that many would undertsand it. And Criamon would assume that person would simply be OK until absolute chaos (or order, I forgot) was reached and then the circle would begin again.