Magus: Animus Tremeris

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Triamore
1

Animus Tremeris
Filius Teodor Tremeris Mujis

Background: Josserand was born in a small village in the Vosges Mountains. His parents died when he was still young, but he was taken in by his uncle Enguerrand, a woodcutter working in the mountainous forests of the Vosges. A Tremere maga passing through the village in search of a magical spring in the mountains noticed that unusual winds seemed to blow around the boy. So she offered to hire Enguerrand as a guide in the mountains, in order to observe the boy more closely. Upon their return to the village, she negociated with the uncle to take him on permanently. While she didn't intend to take him as her own apprentice, she knew that her House would find a use for the boy and train him. After passing his Gauntlet, Josserand was given the name Animus by his pater.

Concept: Josserand possesses the blood of Aquilon, the Roman god of the northern wind. This makes him one of the very few magi Tremeris who have a second Focus, in addition to the normal Tremere focus in Certamen. He was trained by his House to become a scout, with a focus on Imaginem in addition to his natural aptitudes with Auram. Although he is now nominally a full magus, he still has much to learn. His training was quite intense and resulted in an unquestionning loyalty as well as a deep-seated desire to serve House Tremere. He is quick to anger over small slights, but is otherwise a cheerful young man. His long white hair is a mark of his mythic lineage.

Age: 27 (born 1193 A.D.)
Size: 0
Gender: Male
Confidence: 1 (3)
Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Str +2, Sta +1, Pre 0, Com 0, Dex +1, Qik +1

Virtues: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Minor Magical Focus w/Certamen (House), Mythic Blood (Aquilon), Affinity with Auram, Affinity with Rego, Apt Student, Improved Characteristics, Inspirational, Life Boost, Long-Winded, Minor Magical Focus w/Wind
Flaws: Chaotic Magic, Deficient Terram, Driven (major, serve House Tremere), Mentor, Unimaginative Learner, Wrathful (minor)*
Mythic Blood Power: Running Like the Wind allows Animus to run as fast as the wind blows, which is much faster than any horse can gallop. He can run over almost any surface, even if it could not normally support his weight, like water. He can even run up walls. [ReCo, Base 10, +1 Conc, +1 additional speed]

Personality Traits: Cheerful +2, Driven +4, Wrathful +3

Abilities:
Area Lore: Rhine Tribunal (geography) 1
Area Lore: Vosges Mountains (mountain passes) 2
Artes Liberales (geometry) 1
Athletics (running) 2
Awareness (searching) 3
Brawl (punch) 2
Charm (first impressions) 1
Concentration (spell concentration) 2(3)
Faerie Lore (Winter Court faeries) 0(2)
Folk Ken (peasants) 1
Hunt (tracking) 1
Language: French (Lorrain) 5
Language: High German (Swiss) 3(19)
Language: Latin (Hermetic usage) 4
Magic Theory (inventing spells) 3(6)
Organization Lore: House Tremere (doctrine) 1
Organization Lore: Order of Hermes (history) 1(5)
Parma Magica (Mentem) 2(2)
Profession: Soldier (scout) 1
Single Weapon (axe) 1
Stealth (forest) 1
Survival (forest) 3
Triamore Library Lore 0(2)
Magical Arts: Cr 3, In 7(3), Pe 3, Re 8(4.5), Au 11, Co 5, Im 7, Vi 5(1)
Wizard's Sigil: A slight cold breeze carrying the scent of fir
Spells:
Charge of the Angry Winds (CrAu 15) +18 -- Focus applies
Circling Winds of Protection (CrAu 20, Re) +18 -- Focus applies
True Sight of the Air (InAu 15) +19
Whispering Winds (InAu 15) +24 -- Focus applies
Discern the Images of Truth and Falshood (InIm 20) +15
Image of the Beast (InAn 5) +8
Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10) +8
Personal Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 15) +11 -- Same as Veil of Invisibility but at R:Per
Scales of the Magical Weight (InVi 5) +13
Sense of Magical Power (InVi 2) +13
Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5) +13
The Invisible Eye Revealed (InVi gen/5) +13
Unravelling the Fabric of Imaginem (PeVi gen/5) +9
Personal possessions: Although Animus usually travels with an axe, it is more a tool for he has little skill in its use as a weapon. He also wears padded garments to protect him from scratches and such, in colors that blend well in natural surroundings. He also normally carries around some form of writing implements, most often a wax tablet and stylus rather than parchment and ink.

Advancement:

  • Winter 1218: Study Vim for 8 xp (pre-saga advancement)
  • Spring 1219: Study Intellego for 8 xp (pre-saga advancement)
  • Summer 1219: Study Intellego for 8 xp (pre-saga advancement)
  • Fall 1219: Study Vim for 8 xp (pre-saga advancement)
  • Winter 1219: Story experience, 5 xp in Order of Hermes Lore, 3 xp in Concentration and 2 xp in Faerie Lore
  • Spring 1220: Install lab (basic) for 2 xp in Magic Theory
  • Summer 1220: Install lab (standard) for 2 xp in Magic Theory
  • Fall 1220: With the help of Isabel, found a L5Q15 Corpus summa in the library to study, gaining 15 xp in Corpus and 1 xp in Triamore Library Lore
  • Winter 1220: Study “Parma for Dummies” (L2Q12 summa) for 12 xp in Parma Magica and 1 xp in Triamore Library Lore
  • Spring 1221: Learn spells from lab texts in InVi (Sense the Nature of Vis, Scales of the Magical Weight, Sense of Magical Power and The Invisible Eye Revealed at level 5) for 2 xp of exposure in Magic Theory
  • Summer 1221: Learn High German from a mundane teacher for 12 xp (plus 5 for Apt Student)
  • Fall 1221: Study “Control - Volume 2: Journeymen” (L9Q21 summa) for 21 xp in Rego (plus Affinity)
  • Winter 1221: Learn High German from a mundane teacher for 12 xp (plus 5 for Apt Student)
2

I like the character a lot. Any of the powers you have suggested is okay with me. If you want to make him fly, we will need some rules on how flying works, which is doable (most of the characters I have can fly, because it's a darn useful ability).

3

He looks fine, but you asked for comments so.. :

-I would probably not choose Wrathful as a Leader
-I didn't check Lvl But I would take arcane connection variant of Words of Unbroken Silence as my single spell out of rulebook
-I would choose to transform into a Horse, because you will probably not focus a lot in animalem (flying is quite easy with auram, fast running you can do It as a Horse) and with deft mentem it's a very potent way of infiltration and information gathering. Also I want to ride a Tremere ! :mrgreen:

4

Wrathful is linked with his Mythic Blood -- it's a character trait associated with Aquilon. It is also minor, and something that he'd have to work on controlling. The discipline of House Tremere would somewhat counter-balance it, and Leadership is something that can have a component of intimidation. Also, as per ArM5 p.37: "Minor Personality Flaws are aspects of a character’s personality that strongly color much of what he does, but do not really interfere with or guide his life." So he'd get angry if his men did something wrong, but he'd also get even angrier when they aren't treated well. So this might work out, I think.

I probably need to add an additional personality trait, like Disciplined, to counter-balance it a little.

Words of Unbroken Silence is already a Sight range spell. R:Arc would add another magnitude. For battle directions R:Sight works reasonably well. He may eventually learn other variants, such as D:Conc and R:Arc ones, for additional usefulness.

I'm leaning towards a cold-related effect. He has Inoffensive to Animals and will eventually develop that Art, whereas with a Deficient Ignem it is unlikely he will develop any ability in that domain.

5

I thought about the Mythic Blood innate power some more while commuting hom. A cold-related effect will have the weakness of having little (if any) penetration.

So I got to thinking how fast he might be able to run. There isn't really any specific guideline in ReCo for that, but there are some that are pretty close:

  • Base 3: Move a target slowly in one direction, as long as the surface can support its weight.
  • Base 4: Move a target slowly in one direction over surfaces that cannot support it.
  • Base 5: Move a target slowly in any direction you please, even if it is unsupported.
  • Base 15: Move a target quickly in any direction you please.

I like the idea of Animus being able to run accross surfaces that cannot support him, like water. Perhaps even up walls? Essentially running like the wind along any surface. So I would start with Base 4.

I included Base 5 and 15 because they show how one moves from "slowly" to "quickly" by adding 2 magnitudes. So moving quickly over surfaces that cannot support him would be Base 10. Then I add D:Conc for level 15.

Being able to invoke the power with only gestures would mean having 20 levels available. So the leftover magnitude could be put to improve speed even further.

The question is, how fast is "quickly"? And how fast would one magnitude beyond that be? As a comparison, a galloping horse is about 30 miles per hour (45 km/h). If that is considered to be moving "quickly", then adding one magnitude to that would certainly increase the speed at least three-fold. Winds can certainly blow at 150 km/h. :wink:

So, if I were to select that power, the questions would be:

  • Is that too fast? If it is, what would be the maximum speed?
  • Would running over a "surface that cannot support" him include running up a wall?

Hmmm... this power might actually change his role in House Tremere to that of a scout, instead of a master of auxiliaries.

6

That's a hard one, I'm not sure I would use rego to increase running speed, that would be some kind of muto/part on legs imho. I would use ReCo to basicly displace the target no running involved. In the first case that would be dex rolls and in the latter concentration rolls for direction change , combat etc..

With displacement (ReCo), 150km/h seems legit, with running (Mu Co IMHO) I woudn't go above what european animals can achieve.

But I think we have to ask SG for this, there too much room for interpretation.

7

One thing to remember is that a Mythic Blood power is not an Hermetic spell. It is only using the guidelines to gauge how much power it represents. It might be able to do things that Hermetic magic wouldn't.

But yeah, this is a SG call. 8)

8

this

9

The way I see it, the power confers most of the advantages of flying, except the ability to actaully leave the ground. So nothing is wrong with running up walls and over water.

I'm uncomfortable with km/h because that feels un-medieval. As fast as a galloping warhorse maybe?
I think it makes sense that running usies gestures rather than words.

10

Regarding speed, I rather see him as running as fast as the wind can blow, if you want a medieval equivalent. Or three times as fast as a galloping horse.The kph value is just there for us modern people to get a sense of what that represents.

I am, after all, adding an additionnal magnitude for speed... and the speed of a galloping horse would what I'd get if he were actually flying, which he is not.

EDIT: If you are worried that this is the same as flying, there are several things that he won't be able to do, that flying would allow:

  • Move over chasms or straight up; this also means he cannot see as far away as if he was flying
  • Move over enemies to attack them from above, for example by dropping rocks
  • Move as quickly through a forest, since he has to move around the trees; he cannot just run over the treetops because that's not a surface
  • Bypass damaging barriers, such as a wall of thorns
  • Move up an overhang, because he no longer has a surface to run on (he wouldn't get any traction because gravity would not keep his feet in contact with the surface); a straight wall is the best he'd be able to run

Also, I was picturing some additional limitations to the power. He cannot just keep running all day long; I'd say that at the end of each activation of the power he needs to make a Sta + Athletics roll of 9+ to avoid losing a Fatigue level. The power only has Conc duration, so he'd be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes per level of the Concetration ability. Also, because he needs to concentrate to keep, spellcasting and combat while running is severely impaired (requiring some hard Concentration rolls).

11

Art buddy, not everything needs an extra set of rules or tweaks, just relax and either take an option or a different one.

12

Well, I'd rather know what I'm getting ahead of time instead of finding out later that the power isn't what I thought it would be. When playing with a new troupe, I've noticed that the expectations of what the limits are vary quite a bit. So if Pralix thinks that magic (whether Hermetic or not) shouldn't allow movement faster than a galloping horse, then I want to know before I settle for this power. Once the selection has been made, the character will be stuck with it -- unlike a spell, where you can always invent another one, this is an innate and unchangeable power.

Also, as it is part of the character's Mythic Blood, it is a defining part of who that person is. Considering the Tremere focus on efficiency and specialization, it will guide what his training would have been, and what it will be in the future. This power would probably means he would be trained as a scout, instead of as a master of auxiliaries. He (and the House) would have explored his capabilities during apprenticeship -- so we shouldn't have to stumble around trying to determine as we go what he can and cannot do with this power.

Since Pralix formulated the speed in terms of a galloping horse, but as a question, I felt that offering an alternative "medieval" descriptive speed as a faster alternative was appropriate.

Note that the written medium is sometimes tricky when it comes expressing the tone. :stuck_out_tongue: In this instance, I'm not stressing out about the character and his power. It is more about defining what is possible and what isn't, so that we don't fall into an argument about it during a story, during which tempers can run hot. 8)

13

God trust me you are far stride from temper inducing, had a player one time grill me because I did not run when it was convenient for him, because I work a 40hr job. I'm just sayin you seem to devils advocate everything and my brain can't keep up :slight_smile:

14

Guilty as charged! :laughing:

It's just second nature to me, to look at all the possibilities and potential loopholes. And I like to discuss and debate in general. Part of it is from my temperament, but it was also further developed by my education and training (I for systems analysis in IT).

You've been warned. :wink:

15

Not worried at all. Fast as the wind if it matters to you.
My point was - he is like really fast, so he should be able to outrun whatever opposition there is 99% of the time. If there is something that is able to keep up with him or outrun him, it is to tell you guys that it is something that moves incredibly fast.

So you gain nothing by being very very very fast, rather than just very very fast. You win races - unless there is a good reason why you shouldn't.

16

I'm good with that. Just didn't want him being run down by a mundane horse.

Having an idea of how fast he is allows us to know how far he can quickly travel to.

For example, as the bird flies the distance between Fengheld and Triamore is about 350 miles. How much time would it take him to travel from one to the other? By my calculations, if he can run "as the wind" at three times the pace of a galloping horse, he can do it easily in 2 days. Perhaps in a single day, if he pushes it. Of course, he wouldn't go unnoticed if he did that. Which is a good reason to learn Veil of Invisibility. :smiley:

Ok, I'll rework his stats to reflect the role of a scout (and probably messenger as well) in House Tremere. I should be done after that. Promise!

17

Stats have been modified. Let me know if he's good before I plan out his pre-saga seasons.

18

First impression:
Incompatible InIg and MuIg is a dump flaw, because those are rubbish combinations. Why don't you set yourself a real challenge?
Applying the focus to Whispering winds is okay.
You have 2 personalized spells - only one is permitted

19

Yeah, I know that InIg and MuIg aren't the most useful. Initially that was Deficient Aquam (from his master). Then it was Deficient Ignem (to show his link to north winds), but I was trying to figure a way to make bad with fire and heat, but without penalizing him with light and cold. Not an easy thing. :stuck_out_tongue:

I'll probably revert to Deficient Aquam.

As for the two spells, one of them is so minor that I figured it could slide. I will replace the InVi 5 to one of the standard ones.

20

Made the changes:

  • Replaced Incompatible Arts by Deficient Terram, to reflect the fact that his wind heritage makes it harder for him to effect the most solid objects. This is a fairly harsh flaw to take, as there is a ton of very useful Terram spells.
  • Replaced the custom InVi spell by Unravelling the Fabric of Imaginem, which willl allow him to reliably end his invisibility spell.

Note that I have only taken 9 points of virtues and flaws, simply because I couldn't find anything else (mostly flaw-wise) that fit the concept. If others have ideas, feel free to make suggestions. But I like the character as he is right now, so I doubt I'll make any more fundamental changes.

I have some thoughts regarding a more detailed background and details about his mentor. I'll write those down soon.

Some thoughts on advancement...

Note that Animus' advancement will be very much guided by what his House needs from him. Because of his Driven major flaw, even a simple suggestion from his hierarchical superiors as to something he might do or learn will have him jump to the task. If left on his own to study, he will concentrate on ways to improve his usefulness to the House. Perhaps a bit obsessively, though he might be tempered by advice from his mentor.

How available would lab texts for non-standard but highly useful InVi spells (to detect auras, for example) be, once the saga starts? For example, the Feeling the Magical Aura spell (Base 2, +2 Sun, +1 Sense:Touch) previously part of his initial make-up? As a scout, this is something that would be part of his duties -- find are report auras so that they can be further investigated for vis sources and creatures, so I'm guessing this would be something that House Tremere would make available to its scouts. I'm not planning on learning them before the start of the saga, but I'll concentrate his pre-saga advancement on areas that will help him learn many of those from lab texts once they are available.

House Tremere would not encourage its junior magi to invent spells from scratch, as it is an inefficient use of their time. Improve their Arts, learn House-approved spells, and train hard. It is only once they have gained some seniority that magi Tremeris would be encouraged to explore new areas of magic.