I'm running a saga set in the Theban Tribunal, and found Yan Prado's article on the magi of that Tribunal, found in Sub Rosa issue #7, quite invaluable.
I was trying today to place the two new covenants found in that article, Lycia and Gramvousa. A quick search let me know that Gramvousa was a tiny island (barely) northwest of Crete, and that Lycia was a region in southwestern Anatolia, in the 12th Century Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.
So far, so good.
But getting a map of covenants ready for my players, I noticed that Lycia was thus firmly placed in the Kretan Phyle, while the article in Sub Rosa places it in the Aegean Phyle.
Now, before I decide to move Lycia somewhere inside the Aegean Phyle, or switching it to the Kretan Phyle, I would like to know if I'm missing something here. Does any of you know if there's any other Lycia somewhere else in the Aegean Sea? Is the author of that article somewhere in this forum, so that I can ask him/her directly?
I don't have my book in front of me, but I want to say there's something in the text that explains how the covenant is in the other region, possibly due to the 4th Crusade? I'll look tonight.
Thanks a lot, Jonathan. Not that I can't just make up my own reasons for it to be placed outside of the actual Lycia, but I get the feeling there is already a reason, and would love to hear about it.
Ben, the Lycia covenant is not actually in the book, but in the Sub Rosa piece, where I couldn't find an explanation of why it's not in the Kretan Phyle.
Lycia isn't in the text of the article or the book.
I believe it was the PC covenant, and Lycia might just be the name of the covenant, rather than an indication of where it is, specifically.
I defer to Yan, but as those are the only magi with no set ages, that's my impression. Either way, I don't believe it will matter if you shift it's location, but it might shift the balance of the phyles, if that's an issue for you.
It's not in the text of the article, just in the downloadable excel file, that's correct.
I'm definitely not going to be placing it in actual Lycia, since our troupe has already had a Tribunal game where they were part of the Aegean Phyle, so in our "canon" that covenant is already in the Aegean Phyle (as the excel file says).
It's also not an issue for me to create a story of why a covenant named Lycia is not in actual Lycia. Actually, several ideas already come to mind, specially since Lycia (the region) is part of the Sultanate of Rûm and that gives a lot of story ideas for a covenant that had to flee away from muslim lands.
I was just curious as to the author's explanation (if there is any), just in case his is way better than what I've thought of.
I'm glad you find the article and the file useful!
The covenant of Lycia was indeed the player covenant, but its name was never meant to indicate its location. In fact, it was located in a (fictional) atoll just north of the island of Imbros where the founders found the stables of Poseidon's winged horses. At the center of the atoll stood three tall rocks, and atop the tallest stood the mythic stables. The other two housed the magoi and custos. The covenfolk lived down near the ocean level on the beaches formed at the foot of the three pillars. It was named Lycia because it was in that region that Bellerophon defeated the Chimera, and likewise the covenant was purposed to rid the Tribunal of monstrous threats. It was thus part of the Aegean phyle.
Gramvousa, on the other hand, was located on the island of the same name, and consisted of magi originally from Rome and Normandy trying to be accepted into the Tribunal - a difficult task since they came after the crusade.
I still have a bunch of other information on the campaign, if you need anything else let me know.
Much more than just "useful", I found it invaluable! It saved us a ton of work for setting up our own Theban saga.
Thanks for the explanation on Lycia, it's got much more flavour and story potential than what I had originally came up with.
As for additional information, whatever you have will be of use, I'm sure. You can e-mail me anything you want to share, if that'll be easier (ghoulwiz at gmail dot com), or share it here, whatever is easier for you. I've also got quite some documentation piled up on the Tribunal, so if you're still playing that saga I can share it as well.
Sorry for taking so long to reply, I've recently been successful at breaking the limit of the Soul and managed a Creo Corpus ritual - the summoned creature is 3 months old and requires constant supervision!
