Winter 1238: students copy texts for backup, exposure in Latin (to 75 points, cn now write in Latin)
Spring 1238: students read Principles of Magic (10 pts in magic theory)
Summer 1238: students write commentaries on Principles of Magic
Autumn 1238: student have season off, are divided into groups for future learning and tasks based on quality of commentaries:
Academics: these students will be continually tasked with reading books on subjects we wish to expand our library in and writing tracti and commentaries to expand our knowledge base
Teachers: will be instructed in teaching and given the task of teaching covenfolk and selected villagers
Scribes: these will be put to work copying texts to have reserve copies or additional copies for study as well as for trade
I am putting together a spreadsheet of what is being copied when, I'm not sure what all Vocis had going prior to 1236, also I am not sure how to set this up to be shared. I have made some edits to the library wikki noting books already purchased and copies made in this plan before the end of 1236.
okay, this is still a work in progress, but the link is here
Can we get a set of Roots for our Arts and Forms? You know, level 5 or 6, quality 15 or 21 summae. The really, stupidly basic texts - the ones for teaching young magi and for those looking to take apprentices who need to brush up on their fundamentals. I've seen mention elsewhere on the forum that stuff like these'd be easy to pick up for a few silver to cover the Redcap's time.
We need to update the wiki to indicate how many copies of each book we have - or at least we have to put that info somewhere. We'll need it for trade purposes and in case certain books are particularly popular with the magi.
We need to update the wiki to indicate how many copies of each book we have - or at least we have to put that info somewhere. We'll need it for trade purposes and in case certain books are particularly popular with the magi.
Also, once we get a decent supply of surplus book it may be time for Lucas to go to Harco to see what kind of deals he can make. Maybe as a Mercere he can get a better deal.
I've already updated the wiki, at least through 1236. However at this point the primary emphasis is having a backup copy of each book we can (does cow and calf prevent making a copy to store as backup?), with a batch of sales already being handled early on in lab texts.
Agree on all counts.
I also think that the numbers with Com 4, and especially 5, should be lesser. Stats from -3 to +3 are the "normal" human range. Going lower/higher requires both an already extreme stat and 1-2 virtue/flaw.
So we're not just looking at a standard "who has Com 3" distribution, but "Who has Com 3 and virtue X".
I'll freely admit that I don't think that stats outside +/-3 are that common in ME: To me, these are "special", the realm of exceptional characters and heroes. But even if ignoring that, thinking about a "best in the world" combination of virtues like "Com +5, good teacher", you're asking a question like "how many Olympic athletes can we find?" or "how many Hawkings?" Real world says: Not that many.
Same thing here.
I think it's a great idea, and a fun one. I just doubt we'll have a factory of "+4 quality and more" children, although we might get lucky.
The problem is this- I started this thread talking about recruiting 30 of the best, and nobody said a thing about making a story out of it. Now here we are a few seasons later in game and you are talking about making a story out of it. I don't have a problem with it being a story, what I do have a problem with is going backwards 3 seasons to tell the story or delaying the library development by a year because nobody could bring it up in a timely manner.
Also I have to disagree regarding com 4 and 5 being the equivalent of an Olympic athlete. Virtually everyone in mythic Europe has at least one minor virtue- these virtues are minor, not major, and you have to have a stat of +3 to take them. Exceptional perhaps, but apparently no more so than guild training, which is also a minor virtue.
I do apologize. I did not realize what you were doing at first. I have been skimming a lot lately and missing things. Time pressures from new job and issues with posting from my phone. I need to work on that. Also, I am not ready to absorb and comprehend the desired results. Basically, I have yet to wrap my head around the logistics of it all. There is also the matter of keeping everything pleasing to the aesthetics of the troupe. If multiple people think it may be a bit much, perhaps it is wise to refine it. Do you know how many crazy ideas I would unloose if others didn't keep me in check?
Anyone can have a Minor Virtue, true. But with the range of choices, finding someone with the exact combination you seek may be lower than one might hope. You might find a Good Teacher with a Communication of -1, or someone with Communication +5 that is Incomprehensible.
The population of Arans in 2012 was two-hundred-twenty-eight. Figure that, as a small isolated town it never grew much. Mythic Arans could have a mythic population of close to that. Estimate that about a quarter are "school-age" children. That is about sixty-four. Most will range between, -2 and +2 in Characteristics. A quarter will be +/-3 or more. Skip the poor ones, so an eighth will be +3 or better in something. That is eight kids about. Out of eight Characteristics, one kid might have a +3 or better in a specific Characteristics.
Or maybe there are three, or none.
There are things I do like about this though. It is good to have a literate population in the town that supports our covenant. It will allow us to recruit the best out of our population too. The idea has merit. I just ask you let the seed germinate a bit and let us implement results that work the best for the prosperity and enjoyment of the saga.
This is not a problem per se. It's just that this may be a great source of stories, just like any other element of the game.
To clarify: I have no objection with you setting up your school, and it running smoothly. But, as I see it:
You will run into stories if people want to make stories out of it
The handwavium only applies to what people think will be reasonnable assumptions (whatever it may be). The more you ask for, the more of a suspension of disbelief you require, which is why QPC said that you should run into troubles if "getting the message out to 500 people, scouring them for talent and dealing with potential trouble caused by them".
Social virtues?
And you misunderstood me. I wasn't talking of "just" Com 4 and 5. To quote: thinking about a "best in the world" combination of virtues like "Com +5, good teacher"
In the real world, olympic athletes are the best of the best. How do you do the best of the best in Ars Magica? You pile on all the "right" virtues, just like you do with... well, each and every one of your characters. If these are "just" exceptionnal, how do you do the best of the best? You can't, because you've left no margin.
In RAW, IIRC, there's only one published character with this level, and he's Fibonacci. A legend, even to this day. Your post was basically asking "how many fibonacci can we find in the village or Arans?"
To quote myself again, I just doubt we'll have a factory of "+4 quality and more" children, although we might get lucky
That's either Com +3 (so an outlier) and Great Com, or Com +1 (above average) and Great Teacher. Which I'd quality as "exceptionnal characters", like you're writing above. We're speaking of a class of 30 children here.
How often do you see "exceptional" people in a class of 30? If you've taught or spoken to teachers, the answer is "not many". As much as we'd want to think otherwise, we are not great, we are not exceptionnal. We may be a little better, a little brighter, but not enough to be particularly noticeable.
I had assumed about 10x the base population...
perhaps we need to partner with Barcelona on the first class? They find the children, we provide the education, we have a negotiated split of the children for a committed service period? Maybe they get 1/3 back fully trained, we can select them by their commentaries, glance through them and we pick 1, they pick 1, we pick 2, they pick one, etc... I'm assuming that determining the quality of a commentary would not require a full season...
If you are seeking one individual we can work something out and make a character of it. Maybe a grog. What I do want to do is keep the story potential. We have a school, our covenfolk and townspeople become educated and literate. Good for everyone
What I am trying to do is get a group of authors who can build off of each other, not an individual. I had brought up the idea in a thread prior to this one and you seemed fine with the idea, so I was starting the school in order to train the author pool.
I way overestimate the population. Andorra in general has more than doubles in the last generation. Things rise and fall, but I think a reasonable call is 128 people in Arans by 1242.
Anyways, I am willing to accomadate Silveroak, but I want to make sure everyone is pleased with the results too. It is stated that the desire is to "get a group of authors who can build off of each other". That seems reasonable. My questions are only: how large a group?, how skilled?, and how quickly?
It seems to me that starting a grammar school in town is the best way to go.After two or three years as the literacy rate grows, select a few of the best and offer them scholarships at the covenant.
Does this work?
Seems reasonable. I never thought that gathering 30 kids would be an issue. Hell with the number of grogs running around, combined with medieval lack of birth control, but magical healing we might be able to gather 30 from the covenant. Seriously we have 30 grogs on the City of Brass! I was taking issue with gathering the 30 best kids from a large group of them. Looking for signs of intelligence might get you a slightly better distribution, but getting the 30 best isn't a handwave. Cecilio and Purity can help too!
Also I'm fine with the idea of author's building off each other. Think science journals and article publishing.
When it comes to the covenant, it's probably wise to treat it like a village unto itself as far as population goes: not unlike an abbey or other, similarly large, monastery (except, you know, with more men-at-arms!). Pretty sizable in other words. Possibly even larger than Arans...not that Arans is very large. It only has a couple hundred residents now...
That said, when talking about demographics, the population of Europe is currently at a high-watermark - and will remain so until the 1300s. Populations won't get this large again until something like the 18th-19th centuries. There'd be some 8 million people on the peninsula, but Andorra is mountainous, and heavily forested so~ yeah, sparsely populated sounds right to me.
Okay, redoing the math a second-
assuming there is somewhere just north of 60 eligible children for the initial class- enough north that we can assume the best of 60 as a reasonable estimate, ans assuming the same math as before:
15 kids have com:0
8 kids have com:1
4 kids have com:2
2 kids have com:3
1 kid has com:4
if 5% have good teacher out of the 30 that would be 1.5 students- if we include In that demographic the other 15 kids with com:0 it goes up to about 2 children who would have good teacher: 1 of these would almost certainly have com:0 (and presumably made it in due to having good teacher) the other will be somewhere randomly amongst the remaining 25- simply using a random function in excel I get person 15, -10 for remaining com:0, puts it as one of the children with com:1
Works for me as long as everyone else is good with it. And again, plausible numbers such as this are good, but statistical calculus does not apply to the mythic paradigm of a fictional game. There are no reason auras around here.
