Magus: Animus Tremeris

I'm a big fan of your character as he is now!

I've never run a game that had a Tremere player who wanted to use his House benefits. Fortunately, this won't come up for two or three months. There will be opportunity for your character to serve the house (easy with Daria at the covenant). Mechanically, I'll use a reputation to keep track of your loyal service to the Tremere. I'll simply grant minor requests for house resources and I'll make you roll for fancier stuff.

That depends on whether Daria is in my chain of command or not. I memory serves (I don't have my books with me at the moment), there are 2 Tremeris with their voting sigil in the Rhine -- Stentorius and another -- and I don't think that Daria is the other one. Of course, the hierarchy may be putting me under her orders for now, but we could end up being under the same boss instead.

And, because of Animus' mobility, he may be the one delivering her dispatches. And probably delivering hers as well.

Now, as for pre-saga advancement, the plans would be:

  1. Study Vim
  2. Study Intellego
  3. Study Intellego
  4. Study Vim
  5. Study Creo
  6. Study Creo
  7. Study Rego
  8. Study Rego
  9. Study Animal
  10. Study Animal

Die roll for the number of seasons: 1d10=4

So 16 xp in each Intellego and Vim.

Updating character stats. Ready to go. :smiley:

Final stats at Gauntlet.

Animus Tremeris

Age: 26
Size: 0
Gender: Male
Confidence: 1 (3)
Characteristics (10 points): 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. [Base 10, +1 Conc, +1 additional speed]

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

Abilities (270 xp + native language):
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
Folk Ken (peasants) 1
Hunt (scouting) 1
Language: French (Lorrain) 5
Language: High German (Swiss) 2
Language: Latin (Hermetic usage) 4
Magic Theory (inventing spells) 3
Organization Lore: House Tremere (doctrine) 1
Organization Lore: Order of Hermes (history) 1
Parma Magica (Mentem) 1
Profession: Soldier (scouting) 1
Single Weapon (axe) 1
Stealth (forest) 1
Survival (forest) 3
Magical Arts (105 xp): Cr 3, In 5, Pe 3, Re 3(3), Au 11, Im 7
Wizard's Sigil: A slight cold breeze carrying the scent of fir
Spells (120 levels):
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) +17
Whispering Winds (InAu 15) +22 -- Focus applies
Discern the Images of Truth and Falshood (InIm 20) +13
Image of the Beast (InAn 5) +6
Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10) +8
Personal Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 15) +11 -- Same as Veil of Invisibility but at R:Per
Unravelling the Fabric of Imaginem (PeVi 5) +4

Question: What's his reason for being at Triamore?

Was he assigned to go there by his House? If so, why? He wouldn't have gone there on his own, in all probabilities. It doesn't mean he knows all the reasons, or even the most obvious reasons, but he would have orders at the very least. If he's to report to Daria and put himself under her orders, then that's sufficient.

But he may have additional orders or tasks, such as patrolling the region, searching for sites/vis/animals, etc. Or study X in order to be able to learn spell Y within Z time.

Essentially, with his strong House mentality, he's a soldier given a new posting. With orders, or volounteering for such posting.

Working on Animus' detailed background and who his mentor might be. Would it be too much of a coincidence that this might be Daria herself?

It might be more of an equal footing, if he started out under someone else's command. He can of course be transfered to her eventually.

Ok, here's a detailed background. If Daria doesn't work out as his mentor, I can modify it to a different mentor.


Josserand was born in a small village in the Vosges Mountains, where his parents were simple shepherds. Even then, there was something strange with young Josserand. Like his mother, he had pure white hair even as a child, which marked him as different from the dark-haired folks of the village. He began running almost as soon as he could stand, darting here and there chasing the sheep or the chicken. He liked to feel the wind on his face, he would tell his parents when they tried to keep him still. He was also quick to anger, much to the despair of his mother, who saw her own father's anger reflected in the child.

While he was still a young child, Josserand's parents died of a fever that struck the village. He was taken in and raised by his uncle Enguerrand, a woodcutter working in the mountainous forests of the Vosges. This was a lonely and hard life, one which Enguerrand had until then lived alone, for no woman wanted to live in the woods. But Enguerrand had a strong sense of duty, and the boy had no other close family, so he took charge of his brother's son. This period was hard on both of them, as Enguerrand was ill-equiped to raise this quick-tempered child, while Josserand missed his mother desperately. Still, they both had little choice in the matter, if for different reasons.

One day, while Enguerrand was in the village with Josserand, he was approached by a man to act as a guide for his small party. They were seeking a certain valley, he said, for their mistress who had heard of its holy properties. Not one to spit upon some hard coins, which were hard to come by in a small village, Enguerrand accepted. Little did he know that the man worked for a maga of the Order, Clara Stella of Tremere, who was seeking a magical spring in the mountains. She had noticed that unusual winds seemed to blow around the boy, who also displayed other signs of the Gift. So she had arranged to hire Enguerrand as a guide in the mountains in order to observe the boy more closely. This proved satisfactory to her. Upon their return to the village, she had her man negociate with the uncle to take charge of Josserand. Enguerrand hesitated, for there was something strange with all of that business of apprenticing Josserand to a stranger. But for some reason, he accepted, not knowing that he was being manipulated by the maga's magic into accepting.

While she didn't intend to take him as her own apprentice, Clara knew that her House would find a use for the boy and train him. So she brought him home and had him tutored in Latin before passing him on to a more senior Tremere for evaluation. The boy's aptitudes were tested for weeks. It was found out that he carried the legacy of a minor Roman god of old, Aquilon the northern wind that brings winter. He had the latent ability to move like the winds and an affinity with the winds. This particular mythic heritage had not been encountered before by House Tremere, but it was decided that it might be well-suited for the role of scout. So he was apprenticed to a Tremere of the Lineage of Muj (HoH:MC p.77), Teodor Tremeris, who was instructed to preserve the boy's particular talents intact rather than shape him into the usual magus of this lineage. The House wanted to evaluate whether this particular type of Mythic Blood could be harnessed into a different type of scouts. As a result, Josserand was not taught the usual ways of the lineage, but allowed to develop his own innate talents. Still, much of his training emphasized esprit de corps, inculcating a deep loyalty and sense of obligation towards House Tremere. Clara kept in touch with the boy, through letters and the occasional visit, fostering a privileged relationship with him and acting as a mentor.

Late during his apprenticeship, the House had Josserand father a number of children. There is hope that some of these might inherit his Mythic Blood, so that if the experiment proves a success, a new lineage might be fostered. House Tremere plans for the long term.

After passing his Gauntlet, Josserand was given the name Animus by his pater. He was then assigned to Germania, under the reponsibility of Stentorius of Fengheld, who currently holds his sigil as Exarch of the Tribunal.

Well, technically he is still under Stentorius' command in the Tremere hierarchy. And they would both try to keep their privileged relationship private.

I can change it to someone else, but I'm simply at a loss as to whom that might be within the Rhine Tribunal. There aren't that many Tremere described in GotF that would be of suitable age. Another possibility would be Stentorius, who might have been the one to initially test him when he was young. But that might be just as problematic as having Daria be his mentor.

Any further thoughts or suggestions, based on his background as just posted?

Stentorius is powerful, but that's okay for an ambitient bootlicker like your character. :mrgreen:
And eventually, Daria is an obvious candidate as your commanding officer.
Anyway, they are just names, and if you feel uncomfortable about a magus that has been described, then maybe Stentorius has a filia that lives with him at Fengheld?

Ok, let's go with a filia of Stentorius, called Clara Stella. She lives at a Chapter House of Fengheld in the foothills of the Alps, near Basel.

I'd like to make a small change in Animus' abilities. Right now he has "Profession: Scout (reporting)", but I think that may be a bit too narrow as a Profession.

I'd like to change it to "Profession: Soldier (scout)". I know this is really a cosmetic change, and I'm pretty certain that this won't be a problem, but I'd rather not make changes without letting you know first.

There is also a Minor Virtue that is a relic of the initial concept, which seems no longer required. It's Inoffensive to Animals. I'm thinking that I could perhaps swap that one out and replace it with an Affinity with Rego, which is quite frequent in House Tremere.

Would that be ok?

EDIT: If I do swap out Inoffensive to ANimals, I'll also replace Animal Handling (taming wild animals) by Hunt (tracking).

No objections. For now, you'll get 3xp out of your new virtue. Congratulations! :laughing:

Yeah, I know. Doesn't look like such a great deal. :wink:

Changes applied.

Just taking some notes (for myself mostly) about ideas for spells that Animus might look into inventing/learning in the future.

First are specialized spells that he might invent from scratch:

  • A PeIm spell to remove his scent so that he cannot easily be tracked by an animal
  • A number better InVi spells to identify supernatural auras
  • A ReIg personal ward against cold, or perhaps a ReAu personal ward against the effects of cold winds
  • A MuAu spell that would change the consistency of a Wind so that it is denser -- much like a surface of water -- so that he could use his Mythic Blood power to literally run on the winds (and thus fly)
  • If the previous doesn't work or proves impratical, a MuVi spell that boosts his Mythic Blood power to turn it into a flying spell (specialized version of Wizard's Boost)
  • A specialized ReVi spell that could sustain his Mythic Blood power so that he doesn't need to concentrate to keep running fast

Of course, there are still plenty of standard spells he also would like to learn. Some of these may be redundant if he develops his personalized spells:

  • Air's Ghostly Form (CrAu 5)
  • Chamber of Spring Breezes (CrAu 5)
  • Broom of the Winds (CrAu 15)
  • Clouds of Rain and Thunder (CrAu 25)
  • Clouds of Summer Snow (CrAu 25)
  • Pull of the Skybound Winds (CrAu 30)
  • Wings of the Soaring Winds (CrAu 30, Re)
  • Talons of the Winds (MuAu 20, Re)
  • Quiet the Raging Winds (PeAu 20)
  • Wind at the Back (ReAu 5)
  • Ward Against Rain (ReAu 10)
  • Bind Wound (CrCo 10)
  • Charm Against Putrefaction (CrCo 10)
  • Sight of the True Form (InCo gen)
  • Whisper Trough the Black Gate (InCo 15)
  • The Inexorable Search (InCo 20) + variant for dead people
  • Eyes of the Cat (MuCo 5)
  • Preternatural Growth and Shrinking (MuCo 15)
  • Palm of Flame (CrIg 5)
  • Lamp without Flame (CrIg 10)
  • Pilum of Fire (CrIg 20)
  • Winter's Icy Touch (PeIg 10)
  • Ward Against Heat and Flames (ReIg 25)
  • Eyes of the Eagle (InIm 25)
  • Piercing the Faerie Veil (InVi 20)
  • Piercing the Magical Veil (InVi 20)
  • Sense of Lingering Magic (InVi 30)
  • Sight of the Active Magic (InVi 40)
  • Ritual Communion (MuVi gen) -- the D:Sun variant of Wizard's Communion
  • Demon's Eternal Oblivion (PeVi gen) + variant for faeries
  • Unraveling the Fabric of ??? (PeVi gen) -- for various Forms
  • Aegis of the Hearth (ReVi gen)
  • Maintaining the Demanding Spell (ReVi gen)
  • Opening the Intangible Tunnel (ReVi gen)
  • Gather the Essence of the Beast (ReVi 15) + R:Voice variant

Stats updated for recent seasons of advancement.