Lotharingian Tribunal

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Hello,

I am planning on, in the near future, to play a new saga with my regular group concentrating on forming the Lotharingian Tribunal, as described in Lion and the Lily and Guardians of the Forest. As the number of covenants is rather small in this area, the number of magi few, I feel that it would not be an impossible task to create the covenants in great detail.

We are talking about:

Triamore, home of Daria la Gris (Tremere), Remi of Museau (Jerbiton) and Sicero (Tremere)
a politically very active covenant, which is the main proponent of the Lotharingian Tribunal. I believe it could be created/detailed as a pro-active site, which, as described in the book, sometimes has its hand to far down in the cookie jar...maybe low on vis, high on books, with a nasty history (Why have a number of resident mages recently gone missing/ending up dead?)

Waddenzee, home of Hygwald Veritas (Tremere), Eric Ribecus (Tytalus), Lucas von Beck (Flambeau) and Hachim al'Khalejj (Criamon)
a local bad boy. In many ways this covenant can play both scoundrel and enemy maybe attacking the players' covenant and being vile (their experiments with necromancy etc.) or maybe they are a freh air of novelty, being carefree and proponents of a loose Peripheral Code? They definately could be blackmailing a Quaesitor for not investigating their doings or maybe they have bought their indiscretions off via the Church or the Nobles.

Florum, home of Rhesus (Verditius), Calvinus (Jerbiton), Alroy (Flambeau) and Prunellie (Merinita). There are also as of 1220 three visitors, a Quaesitor, a Tytalus hoplite and a Redcap.
Grand Florum! Economic powerhouse of the region and apparently also owner of some good vis sources. Florum's contributions to a Lotharingian Tribunal would primarily be financial, as well as being the site of the largest number of magi; thus they might have to contend with Daria's ambitions. Florum's own largest 'problem' is keeping their facade as running a legitimate business. I see them as quite flexible, able to cover many facets, but definately a possibility is upping the Merinita membership and let them be a focus for faerie stories and faerie lore.

Spider's Palace, home of two unnamed magi from Florum
It seems Spider's Palace has access to a good aura and could become a prize for the Lotharingian Tribunals magi to visit, buy their way into or borrow for lab projects. It also has a link to the areas magic history with the pre-Dominion faeries and magical beasts. Quite flexible.

Requies Aeternae, home of Eulogius (Ex Miscellanea) and Henri (Ex Miscellanea)
A covenant that can fill any number of eerie nichés. They might be ideologically opposed to Waddenzee with their necromancy. It is described as staid and deep in Winter. It could have a number of connections with demons, the Divine, secrets of the night, the Donatores of other tribunals etc. As a Winter covenant, they probably have a number of secrets.

Basically what I am looking for is the creative mass here at the forums! Write up a magus/maga, detail a covenant with virtues, flaws, library, aegis, interesting grogs, floorplans etc.
If suggesting new magi, I would like some from the houses not represented yet, Bonisagus, Mercere and Bjornaer.
Come with your best ideas! They are greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

2

The 4th edition Triamore sourcebook gives a lot of details on this covenant

3

I would point out that logically you are missing out a quite a few covenants, as from the description in the Guardians of the Forest the Lotharingian tribunal would encompass the north sea region being the north sea coast of France, the Low Countries and Germany. It would also require a land grab from Novgorod if it was to include Denmark, and as the only covenants in the west of the Novgorod tribunal want nothing to do with the east that might not be a problem getting their agreement.

From the decription in the book about the Lotharingian tribunal you already have Oculus Septentrionalis and half the Fengheld magi as committed to joining it. I made the assumption when reading this that it was magi from the chapter houses of Fengheld who supported it, like the Cherborg chapter house falling in Normandy, Rhiengasse being in Cologne, and Lusatia, rather than the main covenant which has been planning on increasing its membership and slowly dominating the Rhine tribunal. Of course this might be naive and they might have calculated the numbers so that those members of Fengheld left are enough to still dominate the Rhine and those members who join the Lotharingian tribunal are enough to take control of that as well.

The covenants from Novgorod who would be needed to join are Heorot who wanted to join the Rhine, but have no certainty of managing it and so should easily be persauded and Sinus Wodinus a 4th edition covenant mentioned in multiple sources like Mythic seas and the web enhancement for Land of Ice and Fire as being a bjornear covenant of isolationists on the south west coast of norway. Sinus Wodinus gives your players the problem of approaching a covenant that might attack ambassadors on sight, and have been refusing to attend the Novgorod tribunal meetings or the Gathering at Crintera. Speaking of Crintera, they would also be needed to join the tribunal based on this view of what the new tribunal would include land mass wise. Although hard to persaude them on board, it would push a Domus Magnus into the new tribunal and thus the added status to win recognition of the new tribunal at the Grand Tribunal.

However this might make your story much too big, and you might be delibrately limiting the size of the new Tribunal to only the Low Countries, making it the smallest tribunal for ease of storytelling. If so ignore my remarks. :smiley:

4

I forgot about the Fengheld chapter houses! Doh!

So yes, they would raise the numbers "slightly".

I don't think I would include 4th ed. covenants, eventhough an all Bjornaer covenant in opposition to Apple Guild oriented Low Country covenants could set a tone for internal dynamics.

However another point in not including Ocolus Septentrionalis, is that GotF states that Ocolus are interested in the Lotharingian Tribunal, but have no interest in joining, also Heorot on Zealand, would be a weird "detour" for the tribunal to take, just to encompass it. I definately see Heorot as both more appropriate for and interested in joining the Rhine Tribunal.

But regarding internal dynamics, it seems that the Fengheld chapter houses vs. Florum and Triamore (and then with Waddenzee as a wild card) could actually create a dynamic, interesting tribunal :slight_smile:

5

Easily forgotten :slight_smile:

I didn't see that quote, only the bit which says they are committed to the new Tribunal on p29, but your game your rules.

I was looking from the point of view of territory on the map, if the tribunal includes the low countries in the 'north and west' of the Rhine Tribunal including Oculus then to connect up Oculus to the low countries you are either grabbing land further south stealing more territory from the Rhine or you are taking control of the north sea, baltic coast so you would need denmark. That's not your vision, so cool, you just want the low countries but I was imagining the Tribunal being based on those territories which will form the Hanseatic league:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Exten ... _Hansa.jpg and if you are following this map, stealing Denmark from Novgorod isn't such a detour.

Just different mental images of what the GotF description meant.