Konrad ex Bonisagus

[Trogdor]

I've modified this to be an up-to-date version of Konrad

Current through: Winter 1199

[size=150]Konrad ex Bonisagus[/size]

Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex -2, Qik +1
Size: 0
Age: 25 (25)
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 158 lbs
Gender: Male
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0 (0)
Confidence: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Affinity with Creo, Affinity with Corpus, Deft Form (Corpus), Gentle Gift, The Gift, Harnessed Magic, Hermetic Magus, Personal Vis Source (Corpus), Puissant Magic Theory*, Puissant Corpus, Skilled Parens, Ability Block (Martial), Deficient Technique (Perdo), Dependent (nephew), Compassionate (major)
Combat:
Dodge: Init: +1, Attack --, Defense +2, Damage --
Fist: Init: +1, Attack -1, Defense +2, Damage -2
Kick: Init: +0, Attack -1, Defense +1, Damage +1
Soak: +2
Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)

[size=150]Abilities[/size]

[tableborder][tr][th][left]Ability[/left][/th] [th][left]Specialization[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th] [th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Area Lore: Negrisaxa Covenant[/td] [td]nearby towns and villages[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Artes Liberales[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]Latin alphabet[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Athletics[/td] [td]climbing[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Awareness[/td][td]alertness[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bargain[/td] [td]books[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Brawl[/td] [td]dodge[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Charm[/td] [td]reassuring people[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Chirurgery[/td] [td]binding wounds[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Code of Hermes[/td] [td]Tribunal procedures[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Concentration[/td] [td]maintaining spells[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Etiquette[/td] [td]townsfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td] [td]Corpus[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Folk Ken[/td] [td]townsfolk[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Latin[/td] [td]hermetic usage[/td] [td][center]4[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Low German[/td] [td]extensive vocabulary[/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]Native[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Lore[/td] [td]creatures[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Theory[/td] [td]inventing spells[/td] [td][center]3+2[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Medicine[/td] [td]treating disease[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Order of Hermes Lore[/td] [td]House Bonisagus[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Parma Magica[/td] [td]Mentem[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Philosophiae[/td] [td]ritual magic[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Stealth[/td] [td]sneaking[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Survival[/td] [td]woodlands[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Swim[/td] [td]long distances[/td][td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Teach[/td] [td]Medicine[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]

[size=150]Arts[/size]

[tableborder][tr][th][left]Art[/left][/th] [th]Score[/th] [th]XP[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Cr[/td] [td][center]10[/center][/td] [td][center]55.5[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]In[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mu[/td] [td][center]7[/center][/td] [td][center]28[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Pe[/td] [td][center]2[/center][/td] [td][center]3[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Re[/td] [td][center]8[/center][/td] [td][center]36[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]An[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Aq[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Au[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Co[/td] [td][center]10+3[/center][/td] [td][center]55.5[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]He[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ig[/td][td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Im[/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Me[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Te[/td] [td][center]5[/center][/td] [td][center]15[/center][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Vi[/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td] [td][center]1[/center][/td][/tr][/tableborder]

[size=150]Spells Known[/size]

[tableborder][tr][th][left]Spell[/left][/th] [th]Type/Level[/th] [th]CT*[/th] [th]Mastery[/th][th][left]Notes[/left][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Doublet of Impenetrable Silk[/td] [td][center]MuAn15[/center][/td] [td][center]+10[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Circle of Beast Warding[/td] [td][center]ReAn5[/center][/td] [td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Purification of the Festering Wounds[/td] [td][center]CrCo20[/center][/td] [td][center]+25[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]Deft[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Revealed Flaws of the Mortal Flesh[/td] [td][center]InCo10[/center][/td][td][center]+16[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]Deft[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Seven-League Stride[/td] [td][center]ReCo30[/center][/td] [td][center]+23[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]Deft[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Extended Lamp Without Flame[/td] [td][center]CrIg15[/center][/td] [td][center]+14[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Aura of Ennobled Presence[/td] [td][center]MuIm10[/center][/td][td][center]+14[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Personal Veil of Invisibility[/td] [td][center]PeIm15[/center][/td][td][center]+5[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Wizard's Sidestep[/td] [td][center]ReIm10[/center][/td][td][center]+12[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]The Call to Slumber[/td] [td][center]ReMe10[/center][/td][td][center]+11[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]The Crystal Dart[/td] [td][center]Mu(Re)Te10[/center][/td] [td][center]+13[/center][/td] [td][center]0[/center][/td] [td]-[/td][/tr][/tableborder]

Bio: Konrad was born in the city of Lubeck in the Rhine, and spent his first ten years living there. But as he approached the age of ten, he started to show signs that he might be special. Things started to happen around him that couldn’t be explained. Thankfully, there was a covenant of magi living in Lubeck. They kept a low profile, mostly. But the locals knew that when strange things happened, the people of the covenant were the ones to go to. They brought Konrad there to be examined by the learned men there, who declared that the boy had magical ability. They offered to train him, and after some negotiation, the family agreed.

It was expected that Konrad would be apprenticed at the local covenant. But sometimes things don’t work out as expected. The magi who was assigned to train Konrad turned out to be a very poor instructor, and not a particularly diligent parens. By the end of his first year, Konrad had not advanced nearly as far as he should have in his studies. And it was not from lack of skill, determination, or industry on his part. This was noticed by a Bonisagus magus from Negrisaxa in the Stonehenge Tribunal who was visiting the covenant. He challenged the right of Konrad’s parens to train the boy, and claimed the apprentice for his own. There was some debate about the matter. But once a Guernicus arbitrator was brought in, Konrad was handed over to the Bonisagus magus.

This was both good and bad news for Konrad. It was good because his new parens was both knowledgeable and generous. In fact, within the first two years, he’d brought Konrad up to grade, and more. It was bad in that he had to move to the Stonehenge Tribunal and away from his family. But such is the life of an apprentice, and Konrad quickly became used to his new life and his new home at Negrisaxa.

Thankfully for Konrad, his life was not entirely isolated from his family. His father was a prosperous merchant who managed to arrange to visit Konrad every year or two. Once he even brought the rest of the family with him. And on that trip, Konrad’s sister fell in love with a grog at the covenant and was married to him. So, when Konrad’s family departed, they were one short. But the result was that Konrad had his sister living in the covenant.

Everything went well until near the end of Konrad’s apprenticeship when his sister and her family were struck by disease. His nephew, Thomas, had come through okay. But both his sister and brother-in-law were near death. Konrad approached his parens about having them healed. But the policy of the covenant was not to spend vis on grogs. They offered the use of the covenant’s resident healer, but were adamant that no vis be spent. Alas, within a few weeks, both patients were dead, and young Tom was an orphan.

Konrad was angry about the deaths of his sister and brother-in-law, knowing that the covenant could have saved them. But he also realized that there were many more people suffering in such a way, and that there would never be enough vis to go around. It was then that he determined that he would study in the ways of healing, both magical and mundane, and some day build a hospital where people could come to get proper care.

In the meanwhile, Tom was cared for in the covenant until Konrad was past his gauntlet. Konrad studied hard, focusing on Corpus magic, even learning a bit of mundane healing from the covenant’s resident healer. And within a year-and-a-half, he had completed his gauntlet and was ready to move on to life as a full magus.

But he hadn't forgotten his dream. Moreover, having spoken about it to others over the last year, he know that it would be impossible to pursue this dream within the covenant. The power given to a junior magus was just too slim. It would be decades before he was in a position to truly make progress on his dream. Things changed when he grumbled about this to a visiting Redcap. After listening intently, the stuttering Mercere said that there might be another way. In a very circuitous way, the Redcap implied that there might be a new covenant forming around a newly discovered source of vis. And if it was, those founding it might be interested in a magus such as him.

Konrad immediately said that he would be interested, and penned a letter to the new covenant that he gave to the Redcap for delivery. Then he arranged for a trip back home. For one thing, he wanted to visit his family. For another, while the Redcap had been very cagey about the location of this new covenant, he had revealed, at least, that it was in the Rhine Tribunal. And Konrad felt that if the new magi wanted to meet with him, better that he was closer than all the way in England.

So it was that the newly gauntleted magus, along with his nephew Tom, took a trip to the covenant in Lubeck, and the merchant family that lived nearby. There he waited for word from the new covenant that he would consider joining. It was a great throw of the dice, he knew. But it meant a chance to pursue his dream decades early, so it was a chance he was willing to take.

[hr][/hr]
[size=150]Spell Book[/size]

Extended Lamp Without Flame
CrIg 15
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell creates a steady light as bright as daylight on a cloudy day. The light has no apparent source, but illuminates an area about ten paces across, centered on a point indicated by the caster. This point may be a mobile item.
(Base 4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun)

Personal Veil of Invisibility
PeIm 10
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Ind
The caster becomes completely undetectable to normal sight, regardless of what he does, but still casts a shadow.
(Base 4, +2 Sun, +1 changing image)

[Arthur]

I'll be interested in the character's concept and story, explaining why he would exile himself from established covenants. After all, as a Bonisagus, one would expect him to do research, something that may prove limited by the lack of resources that a new unrecognized covenant will be able to provide.

But since you posted stats first, I'll comment on those...

@Trogdor

Characteristics:Str -2, Sta +2

Although a popular choice for magi in Ars Magica, I always find the low strength/high stamina combination to be questionable. How would you describe such a person in real life? A weakling with the constitution of a horse? An Ethiopian marathon runner? (This is just an editorial comment, it is perfectly legitimate choice. I just find it a boring min/max one.)

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Personal Vis Source (Corpus) [Location]

What do you mean by "[Location]"? It will have to be brought along with you. It cannot be something already there.

Also note that the virtue indicates that the virtue's description indicates that the yield of the source should be about one tenth of what the covenant can expect to get. As this is a low-resource saga, that would mean about 2 pawns of Form-specific vis per year.

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Driven (to create a center for medicine and healing)

As you may have come to realize, Oberland (the plateau) will not be easily capable of hosting such a center. Somewhere else on the island might work, but this means that the center will not be part of the covenant proper.

Of course, I'll need more details of what the character's vision of this is. A magically-oriented center of healing? Or more mundane medicine? His own very limited knowledge of Medicine is surprising if the second one is the goal.

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Incompatible Arts (Perdo Corpus, Perdo Mentem)

The flaw's description states that it cannot be taken for Corpus or Vim. So one of your combinations is not allowed.

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Lost Love

The flaw's description almost makes it incompatible with Driven. "You take little joy in life’s pleasures and give up easily in the face of difficulty, since you’ve already lost the most important struggle."

How can you be driven to accomplish something, yet give up easily in the face of difficulty?

@Trogdor

Abilities: Area Lore: Area 2, Artes Liberales 1, Athletics 1, Awareness 1, Bargain 2, Brawl 1, Charm 1, Chirurgy 1, Code of Hermes 1, Concentration 1, Etiquette 1, Finesse 1, Folk Ken 1, German 5, Latin 4, Magic Lore 1, Magic Theory 4+2, Medicine 1, Order of Hermes Lore 1, Parma Magica 1, Philosophiae 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Swim 2, Teach 1
Arts: Cr 10(1), In 1, Mu 7, Pe 5, Re 8, An 1, Aq 1, Au 1, Co 10+3(1), He 1, Ig 2, Im 2, Me 0, Te 5, Vi 1

I'm having trouble reconciling experience spent during the various stages of life. Early childhood is fine, but there seems to be too few xp during the "Later Life" stage and too much during apprenticeship. You may need to change some of the selected abilities, as some will not be accessible before apprenticeship.

@Trogdor

Spells Known:
Extended Mercury's Winged Sandals (ReCo 25) +23
Wizard's Leap (ReCo 15) +23
Personal Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 15) +9

Please see the House rules on character creation regarding sourcebooks and spells. I just added the clause (that was in the initial saga's announcement).

I might be fine with the Personal Veil of Invisibility and Wizard's Leap (although Wizard's Leap is redundant when you know Seven-League Stride), but what does Extended Mercury's Winged Sandals do? I can guess, but I don't have Transforming Mythic Europe, so I can't check. By guessing what it does, however, I probably won't allow it.

[Trogdor]

@Arthur

I'll be interested in the character's concept and story, explaining why he would exile himself from established covenants. After all, as a Bonisagus, one would expect him to do research, something that may prove limited by the lack of resources that a new unrecognized covenant will be able to provide.

I was interested in the concept of a Bonisagus who was more interested in field research than laboratory research, sort of pushing against the mold of what you'd expect from a Bonisagus. Yes, he could study healing and healing magic in a laboratory. But far more interesting is the laboratory of the real world. Plus there's always the overarching restrictions that the current covenant system imposes. Based on your description, there is a powerful hierarchy in the established covenants, and strict rules for advancement. And even then, there are few resources to be had, so you could wait a very, very long time to get very little.

Plus we add in an early tragedy. I was going to make it a wife dying and leaving a son to be raised. But as will be discussed below, that doesn't seem to work with the exact wording of the available limitations, so how about we go with a sister and brother-in-law who died leaving a nephew to be raised? The two died of an illness that might have been prevented. But Konrad did not have the skill to save them, nor did the rigid covenant system allow for them to be saved any other way. (Even more reason to be dissatisfied with belonging to a traditional covenant.) He has since branched out to see about joining a starting covenant in the hopes that doing so will give him a chance to make a difference and prevent more people from dying from causes that could be prevented.

@Arthur

Although a popular choice for magi in Ars Magica, I always find the low strength/high stamina combination to be questionable. How would you describe such a person in real life? A weakling with the constitution of a horse? An Ethiopian marathon runner? (This is just an editorial comment, it is perfectly legitimate choice. I just find it a boring min/max one.)

I find this not surprising at all. How would you describe a person like this? Fairly easy. A man with not so much strength as endurance. Someone who does a lot of cardio, but not so much weight training. Someone who has over the course of years trained his body to channel magic, but has neglected to train it to be physically strong.

We have a world in which channeling magic takes stamina, but not strength. It makes sense to me that during their training (and beyond), magi would train themselves to be able to channel more and more magic (i.e., they would engage in more cardio workouts), though they would not put much of a focus on personal strength (i.e., they would not engage in much in the way of strength workouts). I take myself as an example. I'm an office worker with little in the way of physical challenge in my day-to-day life. I don't lift weights, and I'm not particularly strong. But I do run on the treadmill, and that's increased my wind (i.e., endurance). I'm not quite at the -2/+2 stage, but I'm probably a -1/+1. But of course, having a powerful stamina is not part of my job the way it would be if I were a magus. Much like a professional athlete can be expected to focus on his or her specialty (grace for a gymnast, strength for a weight-lifter, endurance for a runner), I would imagine a magus might well focus on stamina (i.e., the ability to focus magic) as much as a professional athlete might.

My two cents, at least.

@Arthur

What do you mean by "[Location]"? It will have to be brought along with you. It cannot be something already there.

Hmm, that's got to be an artifact of Metacreator. I can remove that language if you like.

@Arthur

Also note that the virtue indicates that the virtue's description indicates that the yield of the source should be about one tenth of what the covenant can expect to get. As this is a low-resource saga, that would mean about 2 pawns of Form-specific vis per year.

That sounds fine.

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Driven (to create a center for medicine and healing)

As you may have come to realize, Oberland (the plateau) will not be easily capable of hosting such a center. Somewhere else on the island might work, but this means that the center will not be part of the covenant proper.

Well, as a start, having somewhere that the people of Oberland could come to when they were hurt would be a start. It may be that his sister and brother-in-law were folks out on the country and they were too far from anyone who could help them. Konrad knows he can't help the world fix this problem. So he's focusing on one small corner of it to start.

@Arthur

Of course, I'll need more details of what the character's vision of this is. A magically-oriented center of healing? Or more mundane medicine? His own very limited knowledge of Medicine is surprising if the second one is the goal.

Well, given the way it sounds like the people would burn me for being a witch if it were a magically-oriented center of healing, I was thinking of making it at least appear to be a mundane center of healing, with magic being used surreptitiously to help things along.

His only having a low amount of Medicine/Chirurgery can be explained two ways (one IC, one OOC). IC: the death of his sister and BIL happened only recently. He's determined to build a center for healing, but he could only pick up the skills so fast, especially when he was stuck in his apprenticeship and his time was not fully his own. Now that he's out of his apprenticeship, he can pursue such studies. But he's only at the beginning. OOC: We only have so many points for abilities, especially just out of gauntlet. If he were several years out of gauntlet, he could have afforded to have invested in Medicine some more. But straight out of Gauntlet, he's lucky to have it at all.

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Incompatible Arts (Perdo Corpus, Perdo Mentem)

The flaw's description states that it cannot be taken for Corpus or Vim. So one of your combinations is not allowed.

D'oh! I was counting in Metacreator to keep me from doing anything that was not allowed. But if fell down on the job. My idea was to have him being restricted in how he could harm people in body or mind. I'll probably do something else with a Perdo restriction instead. I'll have to rework things.

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Lost Love

The flaw's description almost makes it incompatible with Driven. "You take little joy in life’s pleasures and give up easily in the face of difficulty, since you’ve already lost the most important struggle."

How can you be driven to accomplish something, yet give up easily in the face of difficulty?

As originally conceived, the idea was that he'd lost the one thing most important to him, so he was determined not to let that happen to anyone else. But since the exact wording of the Lost Love flaw seems to preclude that concept, I'll adjust it to make it his sister and BIL who died, and drop Lost Love. Maybe I'll take Compassionate instead. I'll have to refigure.

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Abilities: Area Lore: Area 2, Artes Liberales 1, Athletics 1, Awareness 1, Bargain 2, Brawl 1, Charm 1, Chirurgy 1, Code of Hermes 1, Concentration 1, Etiquette 1, Finesse 1, Folk Ken 1, German 5, Latin 4, Magic Lore 1, Magic Theory 4+2, Medicine 1, Order of Hermes Lore 1, Parma Magica 1, Philosophiae 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Swim 2, Teach 1
Arts: Cr 10(1), In 1, Mu 7, Pe 5, Re 8, An 1, Aq 1, Au 1, Co 10+3(1), He 1, Ig 2, Im 2, Me 0, Te 5, Vi 1

I'm having trouble reconciling experience spent during the various stages of life. Early childhood is fine, but there seems to be too few xp during the "Later Life" stage and too much during apprenticeship. You may need to change some of the selected abilities, as some will not be accessible before apprenticeship.

I'll go through more rigorously and see how it falls out.

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Spells Known:
Extended Mercury's Winged Sandals (ReCo 25) +23
Wizard's Leap (ReCo 15) +23
Personal Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 15) +9

Please see the House rules on character creation regarding sourcebooks and spells. I just added the clause (that was in the initial saga's announcement).

I might be fine with the Personal Veil of Invisibility and Wizard's Leap (although Wizard's Leap is redundant when you know Seven-League Stride), but what does Extended Mercury's Winged Sandals do? I can guess, but I don't have Transforming Mythic Europe, so I can't check. By guessing what it does, however, I probably won't allow it.

Wizard's Leap is not entirely redundant. It has a much lower casting target, and so can be cast in more difficult situations in which penalties would be applied to the casting check.

Mercury's Winged Sandals is a flight spell. I can get the details for you. Normally it's a Concentration duration. The Extended version is identical except it has a Sun duration. If you don't like it for some reason, I can replace it with a spell from the Core Book.

[Arthur]

@Trogdor

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Incompatible Arts (Perdo Corpus, Perdo Mentem)

The flaw's description states that it cannot be taken for Corpus or Vim. So one of your combinations is not allowed.

D'oh! I was counting in Metacreator to keep me from doing anything that was not allowed. But if fell down on the job. My idea was to have him being restricted in how he could harm people in body or mind. I'll probably do something else with a Perdo restriction instead. I'll have to rework things.

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Lost Love

As originally conceived, the idea was that he'd lost the one thing most important to him, so he was determined not to let that happen to anyone else. But since the exact wording of the Lost Love flaw seems to preclude that concept, I'll adjust it to make it his sister and BIL who died, and drop Lost Love. Maybe I'll take Compassionate instead. I'll have to refigure.

One possibility would be to go with a Deficient Perdo (Major Hermetic), which would allow to eliminate 2 minor flaws (one being Lost Love).

@Trogdor

@Arthur

@Trogdor

Abilities: Area Lore: Area 2, Artes Liberales 1, Athletics 1, Awareness 1, Bargain 2, Brawl 1, Charm 1, Chirurgy 1, Code of Hermes 1, Concentration 1, Etiquette 1, Finesse 1, Folk Ken 1, German 5, Latin 4, Magic Lore 1, Magic Theory 4+2, Medicine 1, Order of Hermes Lore 1, Parma Magica 1, Philosophiae 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Swim 2, Teach 1
Arts: Cr 10(1), In 1, Mu 7, Pe 5, Re 8, An 1, Aq 1, Au 1, Co 10+3(1), He 1, Ig 2, Im 2, Me 0, Te 5, Vi 1

I'm having trouble reconciling experience spent during the various stages of life. Early childhood is fine, but there seems to be too few xp during the "Later Life" stage and too much during apprenticeship. You may need to change some of the selected abilities, as some will not be accessible before apprenticeship.

I'll go through more rigorously and see how it falls out.

No problem, it's a work in progress. Sometimes new sets of eyes help figure things out.

@Trogdor

Wizard's Leap is not entirely redundant. It has a much lower casting target, and so can be cast in more difficult situations in which penalties would be applied to the casting check.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I just doubt that there will be that many situations where the difference will matter, as it is only a difference between fatigue or not. Considering that he has other defensive spells, and that he is a Bonisagus (so not expected to be in combat much), then having Wizard's Leap on top of Seven-League Stride is less than efficient. Plus, he can probably invent it in a single season without a lab text during the saga if he realizes that he would need it. But it's up to you.

@Trogdor

Mercury's Winged Sandals is a flight spell. I can get the details for you. Normally it's a Concentration duration. The Extended version is identical except it has a Sun duration. If you don't like it for some reason, I can replace it with a spell from the Core Book.

Considering the source, I'm worried that it provides fast flight... Plus it's a third spell that would be non-standard or not from the Core Book. As I've been pretty strict with the other players, it wouldn't be fair to be less so in this case.

[Trogdor]

@Arthur

One possibility would be to go with a Deficient Perdo (Major Hermetic), which would allow to eliminate 2 minor flaws (one being Lost Love).

That was a possibility I was going to look into.

@Arthur

Yeah, that's what I thought. I just doubt that there will be that many situations where the difference will matter, as it is only a difference between fatigue or not. Considering that he has other defensive spells, and that he is a Bonisagus (so not expected to be in combat much), then having Wizard's Leap on top of Seven-League Stride is less than efficient. Plus, he can probably invent it in a single season without a lab text during the saga if he realizes that he would need it. But it's up to you.

I may well drop Wizard's Leap then, and take some other appropriate spells.

@Arthur

Considering the source, I'm worried that it provides fast flight... Plus it's a third spell that would be non-standard or not from the Core Book. As I've been pretty strict with the other players, it wouldn't be fair to be less so in this case.

Not a problem. I'll drop it and stick with the Core Book.

[Arthur]

Any progress on your magus? I'm thinking about starting the first few stories, so it might be a good time to try to introduce him during one of those, and retiring Pytheas from the saga.

[Trogdor]

Oops. I hadn't realized the ball was in my court. I'll get moving.

[Arthur]

No problem. I just expected that you'd detail some of his background and refine his stats (perhaps) based on how the character would have progressed in your mind. No particular hurry, aside from your own desire to introduce your personal magus at the closest opportunity.

[Trogdor]

Okay, here's a modification to address some of the issues that were raised.

[size=150]Konrad ex Bonisagus[/size]

Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex -2, Qik +1
Size: 0
Age: 25 (25)
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 158 lbs
Gender: Male
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0 (0)
Confidence: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Affinity with Creo, Affinity with Corpus, Deft Form (Corpus), Gentle Gift, The Gift, Harnessed Magic, Hermetic Magus, Personal Vis Source (Corpus), Puissant Magic Theory*, Puissant Corpus, Skilled Parens, Ability Block (Martial), Deficient Technique (Perdo), Dependent (nephew), Compassionate (major)
Combat:
Dodge: Init: +1, Attack --, Defense +2, Damage --
Fist: Init: +1, Attack -1, Defense +2, Damage -2
Kick: Init: +0, Attack -1, Defense +1, Damage +1
Soak: +2
Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)

Abilities:
Area Lore: Area[sup]1[/sup] 2
Artes Liberales 1
Athletics 1
Awareness 1
Bargain 2
Brawl 1
Charm 1
Chirurgery 2
Code of Hermes 1
Concentration 2
Etiquette 1
Finesse 1
Folk Ken 1
German 5
Latin 4
Magic Lore 1
Magic Theory 3+2
Medicine 1
Order of Hermes Lore 1
Parma Magica 1
Philosophiae 1
Stealth 1
Survival 1
Swim 2
Teach 1

[sup]1[/sup] This would be the area around the covenant he was apprenticed at. Is there any restriction on what that covenant was?

Arts:
Cr 10 (1)
In 1
Mu 7
Pe 2
Re 8
An 1
Aq 1
Au 1
Co 10+3(1)
He 1
Ig 1 (1)
Im 5
Me 1
Te 5
Vi 1

Spells Known:
Doublet of Impenetrable Silk (MuAn 15) +10
Circle of Beast Warding (ReAn 5) +11
Purification of the Festering Wounds (CrCo 20) +25
Revealed Flaws of the Mortal Flesh (InCo 10) +16
Seven-League Stride (ReCo 30) +23
Extended Lamp Without Flame (CrIg 15) +14
Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10) +14
Personal Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 15) +5
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10) +12
The Call to Slumber (ReMe 10) +11
The Crystal Dart (Mu(Re)Te 10) +13

Extended Lamp Without Flame is identical to Lamp Without Flame except it is of Sun duration rather than Concentration duration. Personal Veil of Invisibility is identical to Veil of Invisibility except it is of Personal target rather than Touch target. Both of these are basically spells from the core book, save for the change in duration/target.

The numbers work out like this:

Early Childhood (45)
Athletics 1 (5)
Awareness 1 (5)
Brawl 1 (5)
Charm 1 (5)
Folk Ken 1 (5)
German 5 (0)
Survival 1 (5)
Swim 2 (15)

Later Life (75)
Area Lore 2 (15)
Bargain 2 (15)
Chirurgery 2 (15)
Concentration 2 (15)
Etiquette 1 (5)
Stealth 1 (5)
Teach 1 (5)

Apprenticeship - Abilities (120)
Artes Liberales 1 (5)
Code of Hermes 1 (5)
Finesse 1 (5)
Latin 4 (50)
Magic Lore 1 (5)
Magic Theory 3+2 (30)
Medicine 1 (5)
Order of Hermes Lore 1 (5)
Parma Magica 1 (5)
Philosophiae 1 (5)

Apprenticeship - Arts (180)
Cr 10 (1) / 371.5 = 56
In 1 / 1
Mu 7 / 28
Pe 1 / 1
Re 8 / 36
An 1 / 1
Aq 1 / 1
Au 1 / 1
Co 10+3(1) / 371.5 = 56
He 1 / 1
Ig 2 / 3
Im 6 / 21
Me 1 / 1
Te 4 / 10
Vi 1 / 1

Apprenticeship - Spells (150)
Doublet of Impenetrable Silk (MuAn 15)
Circle of Beast Warding (ReAn 5)
Purification of the Festering Wounds (CrCo 20)
Revealed Flaws of the Mortal Flesh (InCo 10)
Seven-League Stride (ReCo 30)
Extended Lamp Without Flame (CrIg 15)
Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10)
Personal Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 15)
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10)
The Call to Slumber (ReMe 10)
The Crystal Dart (Mu(Re)Te 10)

[Arthur]

Stat-wise he looks good to me. Just a few questions and comments.

@Trogdor

Virtues and Flaws: Personal Vis Source (Corpus), Dependent (nephew)

These are the two Virtues and Flaws that I'll need some details on.

For Personal Vis Source, what is it mechanically and why (or where it comes from).

For the Dependent, what makes him so important to the magus and will we (ou of character) keep him a dependent of the magus -- i.e. getting into trouble and making sure that Konrad has to bail him out again and again. :mrgreen:

@Trogdor

Abilities:
Area Lore: Area[sup]1[/sup] 2
German 5

[sup]1[/sup] This would be the area around the covenant he was apprenticed at. Is there any restriction on what that covenant was?

Are you dead set about making Konrad come from the Rhine Tribunal? Bernhard has quite a few contacts in England, so it would be easy to have your magus come from the Stonehenge Tribunal. And it would not penalize you too much language-wise, as the language penalty between English and Friesian (the local dialect of Low German) is only -2.

I'm worried about too many just-gauntleted magi coming from the same tribunal and all trying to form an independent new covenant. After a while, it streches credibility. Also, it might make some sense for your magus wanting to completely get away from the place (as in Tribunal) that let his sister die.

That's just a possibility, so if you prefer to keep him Germany-based that is acceptable too.

@Trogdor

Extended Lamp Without Flame is identical to Lamp Without Flame except it is of Sun duration rather than Concentration duration. Personal Veil of Invisibility is identical to Veil of Invisibility except it is of Personal target rather than Touch target. Both of these are basically spells from the core book, save for the change in duration/target.

Both of these spells are fine.

@Trogdor

Later Life (75)
Area Lore 2 (15)
Bargain 2 (15)
Chirurgery 2 (15)
Concentration 2 (15)
Etiquette 1 (5)
Stealth 1 (5)
Teach 1 (5)

Interesting choice of abilities for the pre-apprenticeship period. Where did he grow up and what were his parents doing? Did they work for a covenant? Where are they now and what happened to them if they are no longer around? It may be interesting to know...

@Trogdor

Apprenticeship - Arts (180)
Cr 10 (1) / 371.5 = 56
Co 10+3(1) / 371.5 = 56

I am a strong proponent of keeping track of fractions when a character has an Affinity. This avoids the rounding up syndrome of 1 xp from exposure being doubled. 8)

[Trogdor]

@Arthur

For Personal Vis Source, what is it mechanically and why (or where it comes from).

I was figuring that his father or mother has a healing gift (perhaps a supernatural ability, or perhaps just as an explanation for a set of Virtues). Konrad has inherited this gift to some extent, which explains his affinity for Cr and Co Arts. But this also means that his blood has some power over the body as well. As a result, once a season, Konrad can extract some of his blood and distil it down into a couple of Co vis.

@Arthur

For the Dependent, what makes him so important to the magus and will we (out of character) keep him a dependent of the magus -- i.e. getting into trouble and making sure that Konrad has to bail him out again and again. :mrgreen:

He's Konrad's nephew and his closest living relative (aside from his aged parents). He also has no one else to take care of him. Combine that with Konrad's Compassionate flaw, and there you have it. We can make him whatever age you think is appropriate, say, anywhere from 10-14. I doubt very much that we'll get past enough years that he'll age out of being a dependent.

@Arthur

Are you dead set about making Konrad come from the Rhine Tribunal? Bernhard has quite a few contacts in England, so it would be easy to have your magus come from the Stonehenge Tribunal. And it would not penalize you too much language-wise, as the language penalty between English and Friesian (the local dialect of Low German) is only -2.

I'm worried about too many just-gauntleted magi coming from the same tribunal and all trying to form an independent new covenant. After a while, it streches credibility. Also, it might make some sense for your magus wanting to completely get away from the place (as in Tribunal) that let his sister die.

I'm not set on being from the Rhine Tribunal at all. I just figured that since we were starting in that area, it would be more reasonable to have him come from the Rhine. If you'd prefer he come from a different Tribunal, I'm fine with that. Stonehenge Tribunal works okay for me. I might change his name, though, since I named him based on the assumption that he'd be from the Rhine.

@Arthur

Interesting choice of abilities for the pre-apprenticeship period. Where did he grow up and what were his parents doing? Did they work for a covenant? Where are they now and what happened to them if they are no longer around? It may be interesting to know...

I was thinking that his father was an animal healer (medieval equivalent of a vet) and his mother was a midwife. Konrad picked up a lot from them about the business of healing. (Hmm, how about I swap Teach 1 for Animal Ken 1?)

Also, FWIW, I figure that his parents are a bit older now (Konrad was their youngest child). So, while they're being taken care of, they're also in no position to raise their grandchild.

@Arthur

I am a strong proponent of keeping track of fractions when a character has an Affinity. This avoids the rounding up syndrome of 1 xp from exposure being doubled. 8)

I'm fine with that. Realistically, I don't see either his Creo or his Corpus going up to 11 within the course of the game. Given the speed at which PBP games go (the first season in this game has been going on for 9 months), I'll be surprised if we get much more than one game year per real year passing. And what with the sparsity of books to study, I doubt Konrad will have the opportunity to do anything to raise Cr or Co.

[Arthur]

@Trogdor

@Arthur

For Personal Vis Source, what is it mechanically and why (or where it comes from).

I was figuring that his father or mother has a healing gift (perhaps a supernatural ability, or perhaps just as an explanation for a set of Virtues). Konrad has inherited this gift to some extent, which explains his affinity for Cr and Co Arts. But this also means that his blood has some power over the body as well. As a result, once a season, Konrad can extract some of his blood and distil it down into a couple of Co vis.

@Arthur

For the Dependent, what makes him so important to the magus and will we (out of character) keep him a dependent of the magus -- i.e. getting into trouble and making sure that Konrad has to bail him out again and again. :mrgreen:

He's Konrad's nephew and his closest living relative (aside from his aged parents). He also has no one else to take care of him. Combine that with Konrad's Compassionate flaw, and there you have it. We can make him whatever age you think is appropriate, say, anywhere from 10-14. I doubt very much that we'll get past enough years that he'll age out of being a dependent.

Just a random idea here. What if Konrad's parents were in some way linked to a covenant, which was the way that his Gift was discovered. They were hired by the covenant and he was taken in as an apprentice. This is how his sister also came to work for the covenant. Yet despite that, the magi there were not willing to spend raw vis to heal her when she became sick and couldn't be healed by less costly resources -- she was, after all, just a mundane to them.

Furthermore, one of the magi (perhaps Konrad's own pater?) had started experimenting with children as a way to make "enhanced servants" for the covenant. One such experimentation was Konrad's nephew, who became in some way crippled by it, but also became a vis source. This would be one additional reason for Konrad to leave Stonehenge and hide away at the new covenant -- some would consider leaving with the child theft of a vis source.

As I said, just an idea. Up to you to decide whether you like it.

@Trogdor

I was thinking that his father was an animal healer (medieval equivalent of a vet) and his mother was a midwife. Konrad picked up a lot from them about the business of healing. (Hmm, how about I swap Teach 1 for Animal Ken 1?)

That would probably be Animal Handling, which covers taking care of animals, rather than Animal Ken which requires a virtue and is more about "communicating" with animals.

@Trogdor

@Arthur

I am a strong proponent of keeping track of fractions when a character has an Affinity. This avoids the rounding up syndrome of 1 xp from exposure being doubled. 8)

I'm fine with that. Realistically, I don't see either his Creo or his Corpus going up to 11 within the course of the game. Given the speed at which PBP games go (the first season in this game has been going on for 9 months), I'll be surprised if we get much more than one game year per real year passing. And what with the sparsity of books to study, I doubt Konrad will have the opportunity to do anything to raise Cr or Co.

You may very well be right, although PbP games tend to be uneven regarding the passage of time. In the case of this saga, the setup has indeed taken rather long. But it is my intent to do a few short stories and then jump forward a few seasons.

[Trogdor]

@Arthur

Just a random idea here. What if Konrad's parents were in some way linked to a covenant, which was the way that his Gift was discovered. They were hired by the covenant and he was taken in as an apprentice. This is how his sister also came to work for the covenant. Yet despite that, the magi there were not willing to spend raw vis to heal her when she became sick and couldn't be healed by less costly resources -- she was, after all, just a mundane to them.

I like that idea. And Konrad had to play nice because his parents were still living at the covenant.

@Arthur

Furthermore, one of the magi (perhaps Konrad's own pater?) had started experimenting with children as a way to make "enhanced servants" for the covenant. One such experimentation was Konrad's nephew, who became in some way crippled by it, but also became a vis source. This would be one additional reason for Konrad to leave Stonehenge and hide away at the new covenant -- some would consider leaving with the child theft of a vis source.

That sounds like a whole lot of Flaws all rolled up in one - Dark Secret, Dependent, Enemies, and maybe even Blackmail (under the right circumstances), as well as placing one of my Virtues on shaky ground. I'm all for making story, but not necessarily shooting myself in the foot.

@Arthur

That would probably be Animal Handling, which covers taking care of animals, rather than Animal Ken which requires a virtue and is more about "communicating" with animals.

My bad. I misspoke. I meant Animal Handling.

@Arthur

You may very well be right, although PbP games tend to be uneven regarding the passage of time. In the case of this saga, the setup has indeed taken rather long. But it is my intent to do a few short stories and then jump forward a few seasons.

I'd like that.

[Arthur]

@Trogdor

@Arthur

Furthermore, one of the magi (perhaps Konrad's own pater?) had started experimenting with children as a way to make "enhanced servants" for the covenant. One such experimentation was Konrad's nephew, who became in some way crippled by it, but also became a vis source. This would be one additional reason for Konrad to leave Stonehenge and hide away at the new covenant -- some would consider leaving with the child theft of a vis source.

That sounds like a whole lot of Flaws all rolled up in one - Dark Secret, Dependent, Enemies, and maybe even Blackmail (under the right circumstances), as well as placing one of my Virtues on shaky ground. I'm all for making story, but not necessarily shooting myself in the foot.

(Chuckles) You are right that it could lead to a whole slew of flaws, if we wanted it to.

But in this case it is all about making up a good reason for the Personal Vis Source to be external to your own body, and for your Dependent to remain so for as long as he lives. That also moves the kind of stories that Dependent would lead to from the mostly mundane into something more supernatural, as he became some sort of conduit to magical energy.

As another poster on these boards like to say, Story Flaws are a way to establish a contract about the kind of stories you (the player) want to be involved in. If your Dependent is simply mundane, then this will lead to more mundane stories for your character. And if you do not take the other flaws you listed, then it means it is quite unlikely that stories regarding these aspects of your dependent will be brought up.

It's all up to you -- I just raise possibilities and will let you run with them if you feel like it.

[Trogdor]

@Arthur

But in this case it is all about making up a good reason for the Personal Vis Source to be external to your own body, and for your Dependent to remain so for as long as he lives. That also moves the kind of stories that Dependent would lead to from the mostly mundane into something more supernatural, as he became some sort of conduit to magical energy.

I have nothing against making these changes. It's just the whole 'on the lam from his old covenant' thing that seemed over the top.

How about we say that there was some magical accident or faerie contact or something that turned the nephew into a vis source. Maybe it was something connected to the fact that he didn't die of the sickness when the rest of his family did.

[Arthur]

@Trogdor

How about we say that there was some magical accident or faerie contact or something that turned the nephew into a vis source. Maybe it was something connected to the fact that he didn't die of the sickness when the rest of his family did.

Any of those work. I will wait to see what you come up with as part of his background. He won't need stats, but a fairly detailed background and personality would help me integrate him into stories.

He is probably crippled/scarred (either physically or mentally) in some way that prevents him from becoming a productive member of society. Thus explaining why he is (and remains) a dependent of Konrad. Perhaps something that could be healed with magic, after investing time and research to the subject...

[Trogdor]

@Arthur

He is probably crippled/scarred (either physically or mentally) in some way that prevents him from becoming a productive member of society. Thus explaining why he is (and remains) a dependent of Konrad. Perhaps something that could be healed with magic, after investing time and research to the subject...

I don't see how that follows.

I assume by "becoming a productive member of society" you mean leaving the covenant and moving away from Konrad. But plenty of non-scarred, non-crippled people stay at a covenant. We have physically able covenfolk who perform all sorts of duties and live their whole lives in a covenant. I expect that the nephew will fall into that category. He'll get trained in some job that suits a non-Gifted resident of a coven and stay at the covenant doing whatever that job is. Yes, he could leave. But there's not a lot of economic mobility in the 1200s. Once he becomes a productive member of the covenant, he's unlikely to leave.

I think part of the problem is in the interpretation of "Dependant" being used. It seems to me that you're using the dictionary definition of the term, "relying on an other for support," i.e., someone who can't survive on his own without help from Konrad. In contrast, I'm relying on the description of the Dependent Flaw:

@Ars Magica Core 5th Ed. Rules

Dependent
You feel responsible for someone, and bound to help if he's in trouble. This person may be a relative or a friend, but should be relatively weak and a non-player character. If your Dependent passes beyond your ability to help, or becomes too powerful, you should substitute another Story Flaw. Possibilities include taking the children of the old Dependent as new Dependents, taking the killers of the Dependents as Enemies, or taking the Dependent as a True Friend.

The Dependent Flaw is keyed on the feeling of responsibility, not an actual physical dependence. For example, my own children are not crippled or scarred in any way, yet I feel responsible for their well being. Granted, they're young enough now that they really are dependent on my for support. But I expect that I'll continue to feel a sense of responsibility for them even when they get into their early twenties and can support themselves. God forbid they should get into trouble, I'll feel bound to help them. Granted, at some point they'll stop being my dependents. But that's years away. And realistically, I don;t think I'll ever stop feeling bound to help them when they're in trouble.

So too is it with the nephew. He's still a child right now, and a true dependent. Essentially he's the equivalent of my adopted child. As he grows older, he may, at some point, stop being a dependent (or not). Perhaps at that point, we'll transition him to being a True Friend. That would be another good reason to have him stick around. The point is, he can be the legitimate subject of a Dependent Flaw even without being crippled or scarred.

That having been said, I'm more than happy to give him story hooks. We might say that the nephew (who I really have to name) is still suffering from some of the effects of the sickness that killed the rest of his family. (He's not contagious, but he's still feeling some of the effects.) Konrad isn't certain why, and is staving off these pernicious bad effects with magic. But he really needs to find a permanent solution, which could be a nice hook for a story and the reason for some interesting magical research.

[Arthur]

You are correct, my interpretation of the flaw may have been too restrictive.

[Trogdor]

I realize that I never posted Konrad's detailed background. Here it is:

Konrad was born in the city of Lubeck in the Rhine, and spent his first ten years living there. But as he approached the age of ten, he started to show signs that he might be special. Things started to happen around him that couldn’t be explained. Thankfully, there was a covenant of magi living in Lubeck. They kept a low profile, mostly. But the locals knew that when strange things happened, the people of the covenant were the ones to go to. They brought Konrad there to be examined by the learned men there, who declared that the boy had magical ability. They offered to train him, and after some negotiation, the family agreed.

It was expected that Konrad would be apprenticed at the local covenant. But sometimes things don’t work out as expected. The magi who was assigned to train Konrad turned out to be a very poor instructor, and not a particularly diligent parens. By the end of his first year, Konrad had not advanced nearly as far as he should have in his studies. And it was not from lack of skill, determination, or industry on his part. This was noticed by a Bonisagus magus from Negrisaxa in the Stonehenge Tribunal who was visiting the covenant. He challenged the right of Konrad’s parens to train the boy, and claimed the apprentice for his own. There was some debate about the matter. But once a Guernicus arbitrator was brought in, Konrad was handed over to the Bonisagus magus.

This was both good and bad news for Konrad. It was good because his new parens was both knowledgeable and generous. In fact, within the first two years, he’d brought Konrad up to grade, and more. It was bad in that he had to move to the Stonehenge Tribunal and away from his family. But such is the life of an apprentice, and Konrad quickly became used to his new life and his new home at Negrisaxa.

Thankfully for Konrad, his life was not entirely isolated from his family. His father was a prosperous merchant who managed to arrange to visit Konrad every year or two. Once he even brought the rest of the family with him. And on that trip, Konrad’s sister fell in love with a grog at the covenant and was married to him. So, when Konrad’s family departed, they were one short. But the result was that Konrad had his sister living in the covenant.

Everything went well until near the end of Konrad’s apprenticeship when his sister and her family were struck by disease. His nephew, Thomas, had come through okay. But both his sister and brother-in-law were near death. Konrad approached his parens about having them healed. But the policy of the covenant was not to spend vis on grogs. They offered the use of the covenant’s resident healer, but were adamant that no vis be spent. Alas, within a few weeks, both patients were dead, and young Tom was an orphan.

Konrad was angry about the deaths of his sister and brother-in-law, knowing that the covenant could have saved them. But he also realized that there were many more people suffering in such a way, and that there would never be enough vis to go around. It was then that he determined that he would study in the ways of healing, both magical and mundane, and some day build a hospital where people could come to get proper care.

In the meanwhile, Tom was cared for in the covenant until Konrad was past his gauntlet. Konrad studied hard, focusing on Corpus magic, even learning a bit of mundane healing from the covenant’s resident healer. And within a year-and-a-half, he had completed his gauntlet and was ready to move on to life as a full magus.

But he hadn't forgotten his dream. Moreover, having spoken about it to others over the last year, he know that it would be impossible to pursue this dream within the covenant. The power given to a junior magus was just too slim. It would be decades before he was in a position to truly make progress on his dream. Things changed when he grumbled about this to a visiting Redcap. After listening intently, the stuttering Mercere said that there might be another way. In a very circuitous way, the Redcap implied that there might be a new covenant forming around a newly discovered source of vis. And if it was, those founding it might be interested in a magus such as him.

Konrad immediately said that he would be interested, and penned a letter to the new covenant that he gave to the Redcap for delivery. Then he arranged for a trip back home. For one thing, he wanted to visit his family. For another, while the Redcap had been very cagey about the location of this new covenant, he had revealed, at least, that it was in the Rhine Tribunal. And Konrad felt that if the new magi wanted to meet with him, better that he was closer than all the way in England.

So it was that the newly gauntleted magus, along with his nephew Tom, took a trip to the covenant in Lubeck, and the merchant family that lived nearby. There he waited for word from the new covenant that he would consider joining. It was a great throw of the dice, he knew. But it meant a chance to pursue his dream decades early, so it was a chance he was willing to take.

[Arthur]

Does Konrad have a shield grog? He's allowed one, as well as a personal servant.