Lets design a Tribunal Fair

Games Discussion Ars Magica
21

I posted up my first write-up in the collection thread. If you have the time please take a look at it and provide any feedback here.

Formatting - I tried to produce a usable format that provides the important information in a style that can be fairly easily used in a game. Tweaks and feedback welcome.

Material - Attempted to provide information on non-special items available without any details. Special items however I attempted to include description of both the item and its affects, along with mostly unfixed prices which are some multiple of what an individual saga would charge for something. This is to avoid situations where two Saga sets the base cost for something at 1 and 3, resulting in a set price being horribly expensive in one and cheaper than standard in another.

If anyone has anything complete they wish to add to the collection, please adapt something like my formatting and post it.

EDIT: And my second write-up is not posted in the collection thread. I really am going to need some help to build the full thing so please anyone with something contribute.

EDIT EDIT: And there is the third. That is all the ones I have started building past just the idea stage so most likely nothing new for at least a few days.

2 Likes
22

I very much like your ideas. Would you be willing to write them up for the content thread? If not, then would you mind me writing them up as little triple collections like the last one I did?

23

I have no objection if you want to write them up. I can write them up, but I'll have to update them to your format as I presented mine as a range of people/story seeds around a common theme rather than as a specific encounter.

1 Like
24

Since it is your ideas, I would be happier if you did it. Not only so you will clearly get recognized as the author by anyone desiring to use it, but that it will be one less thing I would have to create myself.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the ideas being tossed about in this thread but if it is only me writing finished entries then it is going to take a long time.

25

How uniform do you want the formatting?
Should we bend backwards to fit in?
Or maybe post here first for a formatting review?
Or?

26

No don't bend backwards. As long as they are formatted in a somewhat similar way. For some encounters things will have to be organized differently.

27

I'll try a write up for a stall and see if it the kind of thing you wants.

Terminius's repurposed goods.
Terminius is a gifted RedCap. A tall dark haired man, he always wears elegant clothing with lots of attachments such as broaches, pendants, cuff links etc. He is obviously an older mage, however, he does have a good longevility potion. He is actually 104, but a magi who looks at him could well predict anywehere between 45 - 120.
Terminius crosses all of the tribunals, bringing the most important information that may even have relevance to distant tribunals. He travels in a large carriage enchanted with 7 league stride and enchantments to shrink goods placed inside. Not only does Terminius bring information, he has an extensive trade network where he will bring mundane items such as large amounts of quarried stone, wood planks, large carpets,etc. Part of his trade network is buying magic items from covenants who no longer need an item and on sell them for a profit.

His stall is filled with lesser enchantment items. Cost wise, I've gone for the cost of the lesser enchantment + 1 - 3 Vis depending on how easy it would be to make the item. I've just gone with core book spells.

Saddle of Wizards Mount (7 Vis)
Leather Armour of Impenetrable Silk (3 Vis)
The gentlemen's double of Impenetrable Silk (3 Vis) -very elegant clothing
Shepherds Crook of Peace (5 Vis) - Soothe the Ferocious Bear, Size +1 and Group range
Necklace of Water Breathing (4 Vis)

The items are going to clearly take me hours, so I'm going to get back to it and edit this later.

Potential encounters with the PCs.
There is the obvious, simple transactions of vis for goods.

Terminius is always interested in big picture information. He cares not about the usual material a redcap who works in 1 tribunal wants. It has to be large. At the fair the PCs could set up an information exchange.
Terminius has one location in every tribunal he checks in to every season (arcane connections) where magi can leave notes which Terminius may respond to. If a wizard continually gives Terminius good information, Terminius will respond in kind.

Terminius always keeps his ear to the ground about misplaced magic items. He is extremely passionate about keeping magic from mundanes. He could give the magi a commission to recover a magi item for him.

Terminius can be used as a connection to get the party to somewhere you want. He crosses all tribunals. You want to give your party a reason to go from Stonehenge, to the Rhine, he can do it. He could even transport the party in his cart, if it is in his interest.

His key motivation is a devotion to redcaps. His "merchant empire" is to provide the vis and money to assist non-gifted redcaps, and to increase and maintain his extensive information gathering network. Any threat to the order or the redcaps, he will utilise his extensive contacts and arcane connections to mobilise significant resources quickly. Terminus can be used as a starting point if you want to have a campaign with a long running threat to the order.

3 Likes
28

Your idea looks good. A well rounded trader with some good general hooks.

The goal is "plug-n-play" encounters that are designed to be use at a fair. That can range from things that are just amusing background to fleshed out traders and story hooks. I'm not trying to limit peoples contributions as long as they are helpful to people running a fair. Heck some of them could become part of their ongoing Saga beyond just the fair.

I really don't want people to feel things like "I shouldn't submit a Redcap, there are already X many". For one thing Redcaps will most likely be the most common traders by far. Options to choose from are important. With enough many people could run a fair pulling from the collection without any overlap and give it a completely different feel.

3 Likes
29

The Wolf Ring

Type: Entertainment

Description
In an open area on the edge of the tribunal grounds two concentric rope circles are pegged to the ground. At intervals signs posted around it proclaim:

DO NOT ENTER WHILST CONTEST IS IN PROGRESS

A single larger sign is placed where the ring is closest to the rest of ther tribunal grounds

Wolf Duels
Take your wolves, and fight those of your opponent!

Rules:

  • For single wolf duels the referee will provide you with a single wolf at the start of the duel. For pack duels, you will be provided with a pack of six identical wolves.
  • You have 30 seconds to enhance your wolves as you see fit at the start of the match. All spells must be cast on your own wolves only. No-one else may cast any spells on either your wolves or anything else affecting the duel.
  • Combat will last for one minute, and must remain within the inner circle. During this time no further spells may be cast. You must remain in the ring between the two circles.
  • In the event that the fight does not have a clear winner, the referee will proclaim one based on tactics, clever use of spells and aggression.
  • For "spells" also read any other supernatural or mundane effect intended to affect the duel.
  • Other duel formats available by arrangement - please discuss with Acca of Tremere

Background
This is largely a bit of fun (and also an opportunity to introduce new players to combat in a safe way). There is no entrance fee, but there is usually a mundane Tremere functionary around who will act as a bookmaker for minor bets.

The default wolves before buffing have the standard stats from the Book of Mundane Beasts:

Combat:
Size: -1
Teeth: Init +2, Attack +11, Defense +9, Damage 0
Soak: +4
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, –1/–1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16), Dead 17+
Abilities: Athletics 5 (distance running), Awareness 3 (smell), Brawl 5 (teeth), Hunt 4 (track by smell), Leadership 5 (wolves), Survival 3 (winter)
Max group bonus: +18, applied to either Attack or Defense
Appearence: The wolf has erect, triangular ears, a narrow muzzle, and a coat of shaggy fur. Its eyes are usually yellowish and have a steady, unsettling gaze. Its coat is always a brindled pattern of black and brown.

Acca can multicast a Cr(Re)An 30 spell to create 6 of them, then hand control of the wolves over to the duelists. She will usually cast the spells forcelessly; however, if aiming to penetrate (which she may do for some non-standard duels) she can achieve a penetration total of 31 + Aura + die.

Acca expects most duels to be fought between two other magi; however, she will accept casual challenges herself. Her standard "enhanced" pack has the following stats:

Size: +0
Teeth: Init +1, Attack +16 (+18/+0), Defense +8 (+0/+18), Damage +7
Soak: +9
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, –1/–1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead 21+
Abilities: Athletics 5 (distance running), Awareness 3 (smell), Brawl 5 (teeth), Hunt 4 (track by smell), Leadership 5 (wolves), Survival 3 (winter)
Max group bonus: +18, applied to either Attack or Defense
Penetration: 0 / 18+Aura+die
Appearence: The wolf has erect, triangular ears, a narrow muzzle, a coat of thick fur and razor sharp teeth and claws. It is larger than normal, and its eyes are a firey red. Its coat is deep black, but with a brindled brown pattern superimposed on it, and it occasionally appears to breathe steam.

The inner ring has a Ward Against Mundane beasts, and the outer ring has a ward against humans (although this is cast forcelessly, and she will extend her Parma to anyone competing without magic resistance long enough for them to step over the line).

Acca is happy to agree to provide wolves for duels against other conjured creatures. She is more wary about providing wolves for duels against magi's familiars, grogs or the magus themselves, and will require the magi to first fight a duel against the proposed opposition using conjured creatures, and then make a statement in front of a Quaesitor accepting that any damage is upon their own head, and that they forfeit their immunity in respect of any damage that was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the duel, up to and including deaths. Any such duels must not be deliberately to the death (first blood or surrender are the default options, with the duel also ending at unconsciousness), but there is always a risk of accidents.

Personalities
Acca of Tremere
Personality Traits: Brave +2, Callous towards animals +3, Paranoid -1
Acca is a lean Slavic woman apparently in her mid fifties (but actually over 100), her hair almost entirely grey. She wears a suit of high quality chainmail with a (talisman) whip coiled at her belt, and a ring on one finger. She's a relatively new Archmage, and Master of Auxilleries for House Tremere. When casting her spells, she often uses the whip to extend her touch range - it appears to reach surprisingly far, and move in direct response to her will with no conscious effort on her part.

She's running the duels for a few reasons:

  • She enjoys them (and has put a lot of effort in over the years developing her suite of spells)
  • As an opportunity to train other magi in the tribunal in handling her wolves in preparation for future military use - she has other spells that last longer than the diameter she uses for the contests
  • To see what ideas other magi have for buffing her wolves. Magi who appear to have developed interesting spells may be approached by her later to request a lab text.

Story Seeds

  • Acca has taken various precautions to prevent accidents - which make it all the more worrying when one of the conjured wolf packs break out of the ring and attack one of the spectators. Is this just a magical botch, or is something more sinister going on?
  • Acca suspects that one or more spectators is magically interfering with some of the bouts, but must keep her full attention on the ring whilst they are going on. She asks a player character (most likely a junior Tremere or Guernicus) to keep watch.
  • Acca views her conjured animals as extensions of her will, and has little to no regard for their welfare. Whilst not gratuitously cruel, she considers that as such creatures will vanish anyway once the spell duration ends, how she treats them doesn’t matter. Some nature orientated magi may have different opinions.
8 Likes
30

OK. I wikified my entry, so feel free to polish what you do not like.

Is there anything which should be done differently for the next NPC to post?

31

Overall the style fits in with that of the thread nicely. That is all I am really asking for.

The way it is written, it appears to be primarily an NPC. That is actually good since the NPC encounters are the thing I most was hoping others would contribute. They are the most work and the hardest to get to feel different from each other, so need the most

@Salutor The Wolf Ring looks good, are you going to post it in the collection?

32

Indeed. I never enjoyed roleplaying inventories and à la carte shopping, so I try to invest in NPCs.
I would make a larger stall the same way, with one primary NPC to interact with the party. YMMV

It is, of course, an interesting question how much of the market place is filled up with large stalls from long-term professional operations, and how much is just an individual magus either having some second-hand stuff to get rid of or who try to set up a new business.

33

I would think the ratio of long-term professional operations to individual Magus would vary both by fair and saga. Fairs that attract a large group of Magi from all over on a consistent basis would of course attract more long-term professionals.

You could easily change the ratio in game just by how the organizing Covenant acts. Since a Covenant is the host of all Tribunals and fairs, they are the ones setting the stipulations for vendors. Some will require everything have a Magus present, some will allow Magi sponsored booths, and some might allow local area mundanes to setup a booth. Just that one choice would massively change the feel of a given fair.

34

Done.

35

Ferunius's Books

Ferunius is completely ordinary. The kind of person easily forgotten. Plain clothes, plain features. He stands in front of rows of book shelves, filled with books. Summae and Tractatus on the mundane and the magical. Lab Texts on spells and items. He has some of the greatest works written by the order, and lots of the basic 21/6 primer summaes.

I will not write what books, as some SGs are happy with say a 14/20 Summae existing, while some are not. His collection is comprehensive. He should have at least a few tractatii of the highest level the SG wants in the game and some truly impressive summae and translated lab text of top end spells.

History: Ferunius has the blatant gift and was not found by the order until he was 12. His childhood was exceptionally bleak. He has a near pathological fear mundanes are coming for him and anyone with the gift. While his Parens is a Criamon, he is estranged from the Criamon house. He considers their weird ways and weird look is begging for trouble from the mundanes.

Motivation: Ferunius wants the order strong and wants friends for when the inevitable pogrom happens. While the book selection is up to the SG, to fit the character's fear of the peasants with torches and pitchforks, books on spell mastery of multiple attack spells should be in the collection. He has multiple hoplite types who he's given books for free to gain their favour.
Any magi who want their magnus opus to be spread around the order as a legacy, they know to go to Ferunius. He has scribes on his payroll working every season.

Anyone who decides to go after Ferunius is risking multiple wizard war happy types being angry with them.

Sales: Ferunius will allow anyone to borrow a book for a pawn a season. If they copy the book there will be a vis cost of 2 - 4 vis depending on how good the book is. Part of the deal of copying a book is that they must be willing to allow others to copy the book. Off the shelf, again depending on the quality of the book, anywhere from 3 - 8 vis. Mundane books can be purchased for mundane currency.

Ferunius stats: Hopefully not needed as the party shouldn't go after him. His focus is Perdo and Imaginem. If things go wrong, his go to spell is a veil of invisibility variant which also removed sound (He has Quiet Magic). if combat is needed, Perdo Corpus and Perdo mentem come out.

His clothes are magical. A perdo mentem effect, zero penetration that makes people forget him once they've moved out of his sight. Muto imaginem, to make him fit in to wherever he is. A Muto mentem effect that makes people near him avoid him. Doublet of impenetrable silk of course.

Story interactions:

  1. obviously buying books.
  2. A magi has not returned one of Ferunius's books. Ferunius considers this completely out of character and asks the PCs to check on the magi's well-being. Is Ferunius a poor judge of character and the magi is basically a thief? Has the magi had some kind of misadventure?
  3. A magi accuses Ferunius of copying and on-selling a book he wrote and Did Not give permission for Ferunius to copy or sell. If there is a Quaesitor in the party, they will be asked to investigate and make a decision. An NPC Guernicus could ask the PCs to help in the investigation.

One of the few things which sometimes frustrates me with AM, is many of the characters in a house are caricatures. Bonisagus and Verditus lab rat, Weirdo Criamon, Sociopathic killer Flambeau, etc. I've written this character as a Criamon who is trying to be as normal as possible.

7 Likes
36

I like the shop and character. A Magus who turns the expected stereotype on its head is always fun.

Only issue is "One Shop to Rule Them All". As written Ferunius sells the entire width and depth of texts. Having someone that sells everything will make it difficult to have other book sellers. So the only change I would ask is to tighten the focus of what he sells. That "One Shop to Rule Them All" issue is the same reason I decided not to include a write-up of my Covenants book selling operation.

3 Likes
37

I can make an amendment or two. I'd remove nearly all the mundane text and most of the middle range magical texts.

No matter how powerful he gets, deep inside Ferunius is still that terrified 12 year old. He wants to assist the weak to fight back; or hide successfully; as soon as possible. Pilum, Crystal Dart, Veil of invisibility, Lift the Dangling Puppet, Scent of Peaceful slumber, etc, meet this goal. No spell over level 20 is needed here. This also justifies the 6/21 "magic for beginners" summae.

The other part is the desire for an order so strong, nothing can destroy it. The signature spells and books many magi would want to leave behind as a legacy are here, as well as the spell mastery books.
Top end summae and tractatii.
Level 50 formulaics and level 50+ rituals. These must be either extreme offence, extreme defence, or send an extreme message, to be in his selection.
A spell that creates a chasm that could swallow a crusading army; create a storm with deadly lightning strikes every round; transports an entire covenant to a pocket regio for a year, replicate the 10th plague of Israel in a city, that kind of thing.
The extremely dangerous spells, Ferunius will not sell to people he considers of poor character.

To summarise the changes,
Nearly all the summae and tractatus are about Technique or Form, with a few about mastery of attack spells.
Summae: "Magic for beginners" 6/21 summae and then nothing before the 32+ summaes
Tractatus: Nothing below level 11.

Lab texts: A bunch of level 20 and under spells that will help protect the magi from harm. To clarify. No pacifist leanings here. "Protect" includes eradicating that which will do harm, so many low end attack spells.
Then a bunch of 50+ epic spells, however, they have to be practical. Extreme Defence, extreme offence, or extreme sending a message.

1 Like
38

Works for me. I just wanted to make sure that other book sellers could work.

2 Likes
39

Hi,

My problem is with that guy&business that his way is a clear way to cross Durenmar. Durenmar's only serious Vis source is the scriptoium of the Great Library. If you try to rival that business you can be certain that Murion will destroy you politicaly.

I really like the character itself and the depth you gave it. But I highly recommend - just az Troy said - a more narrow focus.
I think having the primers is not a problem. I think it is like good manners to share the primers with new covenants for a minimal amount of Vis. It is like keep the Order functional. But anything which is more valuable - good tractatii, serious formuilaics - is stepping on the foot of Durenmar.

Maybe it is a good Story Seed that doing business with Ferunius is a clear and straightforward way to get amazing lab text, but it is also a kind of political statement against Durenmar and all kind of political shenaniogans. Like being an ally of Dankmar. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
40

In response to RP, I will quote Troy. :slight_smile:

Durenmar's library being a monopoly across all the tribunals of the order seems extreme. I do appreciate the potential story angle mentioned in the last paragraph though.

2 Likes