Malach ex Criamon (teacher)

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Stealing the Future
1

I'm sure I'll have lots of editing to do, but here we go...

Hermetic Name: Malach ex Criamon
Birth Name: Asher ben Moshe
Birth Date: 1176
Geographic Origin: Cordoba (al-Andalus), moved to Montpellier in the Provencal at a young age
Cultural Origin: Sephardic Jew
Gauntlet: 1204

Sketch of the [b]backstory /b

Asher was born the eldest child of a Jewish family of craftsmen (glass and mosaics) in Cordoba. They had been living there for generations, but with the rise of the Almohad dynasty and the abolishment of the dhimmi system there was a notable souring of inter-faith relations; the family decided to jump before they no longer had a choice.

In their new homeland of southern France, Asher was given a good education along the fairly extensive Jewish community already present. He quickly became an avid reader and made good use of the cross-pollination of cultures and languages, learning from both the Arabic authors of his youth and the Jewish ones of his heritage. [Later in life, he would add the Greek origins of both to his list, but in Montpellier there was no access to those.]
He became well-known for his remarkable talent to pick up new languages with consummate ease, and to crystallize complex thought into a synthetic understanding. As early as age 10, though, he also developed a reputation for willful behavior and dangerously independent thinking. Although he developed the appropriate forms of address and discussion techniques well ahead of his class, he still had a lingering air of unease around him; people wouldn't trust someone quite this precocious - especially when the boy had the temerity to refute arguments not even voiced! It came as no surprise, then, that his teachers were quite happy when a scholar with whom Asher had been corresponding offered to take his teaching on, as soon as he had passed his Bar Mitzvah. Asher was shipped off to Marseille.

The new teacher, a Guernicus of advanced years but simple tastes, was pleasantly surprised with his new disciple. He had good hopes that the reports he had read indicated a Gifted child, but not only was this quite true, it seemed that his new pupil got along wondrously with his existing apprentice, a Greek boy from Epirus named Ioannes Christophoros. Ioannes was not as intellectually inclined as Asher, and came to dote on his new companion, in whom he saw a purity of spirit he did not expect among mages. Asher, in turn, admired Ioannes for his disciple and compassion. The two worked together towards their respective gauntlets, until disaster struck.

Neither Ioannes nor Asher were much inclined towards the elemental forms, and attempts to show them at least the basics of their lineage's Terram magic had so far fallen on deaf ears. Although their general learning was excellent, and their understanding of the Hermetic system quite sufficient, they would struggle making much headway with even the simplest pebble or sliver of metal. it didn't help that they would distract each other with their youthful wiles, and one day their teacher set them a stern test: not to leave the laboratory before they could open the stone window shutters or the metal door and leave by their own powers. The next day, with their teacher coming to see how things were going, he found the boys in tears: Ioannes had tried his utmost to burst through the door, but his feeble control over the forms involved caused a great backlash and he had lost all control over the Art. Asher, in turn, had gotten trapped under the stone tables that were toppled by the explosion and had lost the use of his right arm.

There was little that their master could do to rescue the talent in Ioannes: not only had he lost the Gift, he had also become convinced that this was all a punishment from God for the favor he had shown his boyhood friend, Asher. He, in turn, promised Ioannes that no matter what would happen, he would try and heal the wounds that had marred them. They two remained devoted friends, but Ioannes was almost paranoid were they to stay together and see the greater talent of his friend likewise cursed; he joined a monastery on Mount Athos in his native Greece, from where he kept up letter-writing with Asher, who joined House Guernicus soon after.

Attributes:

Intelligence +3
Perception +2
Strength +0
Stamina +1
Presence -1
Communication +1
Dexterity +0
Quickness -2

Merits:

The Gift (special)
Hermetic Magic (social status, free)
True Faith (supernatural, major)
Educated: Hebrew (general, minor)
Linguist (general, minor)
Flawless Magic (hermetic, major)
Minor Magical Focus: Healing (hermetic, minor)
Social Contacts: philosophical correspondence (general, minor) [This will later become Great Teacher]
Hermetic Prestige (hermetic, free from House) [This will later become The Enigma, after he joins House Criamon]

Flaws:

Higher Purpose (personality, minor)
Vulnerable Magic: when a pious person brandishes a symbol of their faith (hermetic, major)
True Friend (story, minor) [This will later become Beloved Rival, after Ioannes dies]
Missing Hand (general, minor)
Continence (personality, minor) [This will become Inscribed Shadow in later years]
Weak Elemental Resistance (hermetic, major)

Abilities:

Area Lore: Iberia (al-Andalus) 1
Area Lore: France (Provence) 1
Athletics (endurance) 1
Awareness (inscriptions) 1
Concentration (writing) 1
Craft: calligraphy (Arabic) 1
Etiquette (Jewish) 2
Folk Ken (scholars) 2
Living Language: Arabic (native) 5
Living Language: French (langue d'Oc) 3
Organisation Lore: Judaism (Sephardic) 2
Organisation Lore: Order of Hermes (House Guernicus) 1
Profession: scribe (tbd) 1
Artes Liberales (rhetoric) 3
Dead Language: Classical Greek 3 (Aristotle)
Dead Language: Hebrew (Tanakh) 4
Dead Language: Latin (Hermetic) 5
Medicine (Galen) 1
Philosophiae (Avicenna) 2
Rabbinic Law (Sephardic) 1
Theology: Jewish (tbd) 2
Code of Hermes (Quesitorial procedures) 2
Dominion Lore (tbd) 1
Finesse (tbd) 1
Magic Lore (tbd) 1
Magic Theory (Intellego) 3
Parma Magica (tbd) 1
Penetration (Intellego) 1

The Art

Creo 3
Intellego 6
Muto 0
Perdo 0
Rego 6
Animal 0
Aquam 0
Auram 0
Corpus 5
Herbam 0
Ignem 0
Imagonem 1
Mentem 5
Terram 0
Vim 1

Spells (TeFo + Sta, no aura)

Whispering Winds [ InAu 15 ] -8
The Chirurgeon's Healing Touch [ CrCo 20 ] -8
Sight of the True Form [ InCo 20 ] -8
Whispers Through the Black Gate [ InCo(Me) 15 ] -3
The Inexorable Search [ InCo 20 ] -8
Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie [ InMe 20 ] -8
Enchantment of Detachment [ PeMe 10 ] -4

(Obviously, his spell selection means he needs to study up before he's fit for field duty. He was also taught a fairly standard set of Guernicus investigative spells, which fits only partially with his actual interests.)

2

I don't have a mechanism for swapping out virtues and flaws during advancement. I'm leery of adopting one generally for something that happens during advancement. Is there a canonical script that grants Good Teacher somewhere?

The requirements for working at the school are Com+Teaching+Good Teacher=7. It's a pretty low bar to hit. And by the time you've learned Hermetic Instruction and we figure out your teaching quality, it's probably going to be 4, whereas everyone else is at a 5. So, it's not a huge big deal to not have Good Teacher.

I was thinking that the Muslim nobles were more tolerant of Jewish people than the Christians were, it seems as if many of the administrators and officers of the courts were Jewish. FWIW, Elizabeth is a Sephardic Jew, and rather pious. Her sister is not.

3

The muslim nobles used to be, but after 1148 things took a turn for the worse in Almohad Spain. Scholars aren't sure the degree to which it got bad, but there was a notable wave of emigration from Jews away from al-Andalus towards other parts of Arab-speaking Europe. Going for the Provence was a bit of an alternative thing to do, but it was relatively close and it had a sizeble existing population of Jews already.

The Great Teacher thing isn't terribly bad to leave off, although acquiring Com+Teaching 7 will be time-consuming with a Com of "only" +1. Guess I didn't optimize him as a professor! Figure that.

I used to have Pious written into the character, but I decided against it in the end. For one thing, it put some significant restraints on his backstory (a pious Jewish mage more or less has to be a Karaite, which I didn't feel like), and going without created a nice contrast with Ioannes, which helped with the development of the personality I had in mind. Given that I am working here with close to a century of character development, I felt it most important to get the historical and psychological aspects right on the ground level.

4

Well, I think there are ways around being a a Hermetic magus and a devout Jew, but it wouldn't be with a Criamon! :smiley:

5

Admittedly, I wanted to "end up" with a person who, through experiences good and bad, comes to the conclusion that all human lives are an illusion, but that going through the motions and weighing your actions carefully is where worth is at. Adherence to laws outside of your own person - those of society, of the family, of religion - can be good and morally worthy, even if the laws themselves do not represent an absolute good. From that basis, I determined that I wanted a Guernicus - to retrace the Founder's approach to faith - but that eventually he would find solace in a more absolute faith - one theistic, but not dogmatic, and especially one that presumes an intent to existence. I believe that Malach would have gotten along well with Spinoza, if the opportunity had been there. Time has to be more than just cyclic for that to happen, though!

Admittedly, Spinoza is generally considered a "cultural" Jew, much more than a "religious" one. Being a philosopher and a free-thinker will do that to you. I makes him neither more, nor less, worthy of consideration. Personally, I enjoy reading Maimonides and Spinoza, both. I'm not a Jew myself, by the way, and I'd love to hear the Jewish perspective on this character development. I always strife to be both respectful and accurate, but being human means that there's also room for improvement.

6

NOTE: as always, a list of edits are at the bottom, and are updated as they occur.

I'm sure I'll have lots of editing to do, but here we go...

Hermetic Name: Malach ex Criamon
Birth Name: Asher ben Moshe
Birth Date: 1176
Geographic Origin: Cordoba (al-Andalus), moved to Montpellier in the Provence at a young age
Cultural Origin: Sephardic Jew
Gauntlet: 1204

Sketch of the [b]backstory /b

Asher was born the eldest child of a Jewish family of craftsmen (glass and mosaics) in Cordoba. They had been living there for generations, but with the rise of the Almohad dynasty and the abolishment of the dhimmi system there was a notable souring of inter-faith relations; the family decided to jump before they no longer had a choice.

In their new homeland of southern France, Asher was given a good education along the fairly extensive Jewish community already present. He quickly became an avid reader and made good use of the cross-pollination of cultures and languages, learning from both the Arabic authors of his youth and the Jewish ones of his heritage. [Later in life, he would add the Greek origins of both to his list, but in Montpellier there was no access to those.]
He became well-known for his remarkable talent to pick up new languages with consummate ease, and to crystallize complex thought into a synthetic understanding. As early as age 10, though, he also developed a reputation for willful behavior and dangerously independent thinking. Although he developed the appropriate forms of address and discussion techniques well ahead of his class, he still had a lingering air of unease around him; people wouldn't trust someone quite this precocious - especially when the boy had the temerity to refute arguments not even voiced! It came as no surprise, then, that his teachers were quite happy when a scholar with whom Asher had been corresponding offered to take his teaching on, as soon as he had passed his Bar Mitzvah. Asher was shipped off to Marseille.

The new teacher, a Guernicus of advanced years but simple tastes, was pleasantly surprised with his new disciple. He had good hopes that the reports he had read indicated a Gifted child, but not only was this quite true, it seemed that his new pupil got along wondrously with his existing apprentice, a Greek boy from Epirus named Ioannes Christophoros. Ioannes was not as intellectually inclined as Asher, and came to dote on his new companion, in whom he saw a purity of spirit he did not expect among mages. Asher, in turn, admired Ioannes for his disciple and compassion. The two worked together towards their respective gauntlets, until disaster struck.

Neither Ioannes nor Asher were much inclined towards the elemental forms, and attempts to show them at least the basics of their lineage's Terram magic had so far fallen on deaf ears. Although their general learning was excellent, and their understanding of the Hermetic system quite sufficient, they would struggle making much headway with even the simplest pebble or sliver of metal. it didn't help that they would distract each other with their youthful wiles, and one day their teacher set them a stern test: not to leave the laboratory before they could open the stone window shutters or the metal door and leave by their own powers. The next day, with their teacher coming to see how things were going, he found the boys in tears: Ioannes had tried his utmost to burst through the door, but his feeble control over the forms involved caused a great backlash and he had lost all control over the Art. Asher, in turn, had gotten trapped under the stone tables that were toppled by the explosion and had lost the use of his right arm.

There was little that their master could do to rescue the talent in Ioannes: not only had he lost the Gift, he had also become convinced that this was all a punishment from God for the favor he had shown his boyhood friend, Asher. He, in turn, promised Ioannes that no matter what would happen, he would try and heal the wounds that had marred them. They two remained devoted friends, but Ioannes was almost paranoid were they to stay together and see the greater talent of his friend likewise cursed; he joined a monastery on Mount Athos in his native Greece, from where he kept up letter-writing with Asher, who joined House Guernicus soon after.

The year 1204 saw several monumental events occur: one of the Christian Crusades manages to capture a city (it's one of their own), Malach passes his Gauntlet, and the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Maimonides) publishes "Guide to the Perplexed", a book explaining Jewish thought to the other peoples of the world. Malach had heard of his work well in advance, since drafts and completed sections had been known among the Jewish communities for a while, and he rapidly set out to acquire a copy of the work. Scribes capable of this monumental task are not easy to find, but Malach struck it lucky when he learned that one of his correspondents, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, had been collaborating with Maimonides to translate the original from Arabic into Hebrew, and had been doing so for a while. Translated sections would continue to arrive by Redcap over the next few years.

In the meantime, Malach joined a covenant far from his homeland, as is the Guernicus habit, and ended up in the Theban Tribunal, at Epidauros. He quickly develops both respect and a measure of admiration for Xenias ex Tytalus, the leader of the covenant. The next years are spent learning more of the healing arts, for which the covenant is best known. As part of his duties he helps gather the yearly Imagonem vis at a nearby Roman amphitheatre, and he develops some skill in this art as a result. Malach also begins to build up political contacts within the Tribunal, and assists the Magistrates when his expert knowledge is of service. [Guernici in Thebae do not serve as the main investigators of Hermetic law, although they can be requested to help with this.]

Attributes:

Intelligence +3
Perception +2
Strength +0
Stamina +1
Presence -1
Communication +1
Dexterity +0
Quickness -2

Merits:

The Gift (special)
Hermetic Magic (social status, free)
True Faith (supernatural, major)
Educated: Hebrew (general, minor)
Linguist (general, minor)
Flawless Magic (hermetic, major)
Minor Magical Focus: Healing (hermetic, minor)
Social Contacts: philosophical correspondence (general, minor)
Hermetic Prestige (hermetic, free from House) [This will later become The Enigma, after he joins House Criamon]

Amusingly, I am making a professorial character that should have taken Great Teacher - but only for the quality of his writing! You can't have it all, though.

Flaws:

Higher Purpose (personality, minor)
Vulnerable Magic: when a pious person brandishes a symbol of their faith (hermetic, major)
True Friend (story, minor) [This will later become Beloved Rival, after Ioannes dies]
Missing Hand (general, minor)
Continence (personality, minor)
Weak Elemental Resistance (hermetic, major)

Abilities:

Area Lore: Iberia (al-Andalus) 1 (5)
Area Lore: France (Provence) 1 (5)
Area Lore: Thebae (tbd) 1 (5)
Athletics (endurance) 1 (5)
Awareness (inscriptions) 1 (5)
Concentration (writing) 1 (5)
Craft: calligraphy (Arabic) 2 (15)
Etiquette (Jewish) 2 (15)
Folk Ken (scholars) 3 (30)
Living Language: Arabic (native) 5 (-)
Living Language: French (langue d'Oc) 3 (25 + 25%)
Organisation Lore: Judaism (Sephardic) 2 (15)
Organisation Lore: Order of Hermes (House Guernicus) 2 (15)
Profession: scribe (tbd) 3 (30)
Artes Liberales (rhetoric) 3 (30)
Dead Language: Classical Greek (Aristotle) 5 (60 + 25%)
Dead Language: Hebrew (Tanakh) 4 (40 + 25%)
Dead Language: Latin (Hermetic) 5 (60 +25%)
Medicine (Galen) 4 (50)
Philosophiae (Avicenna) 3 (30)
Rabbinic Law (Sephardic) 1 (5)
Theology: Jewish (tbd) 2 (15)
Code of Hermes (Quesitorial procedures) 2 (15)
Dominion Lore (tbd) 1 (5)
Finesse (tbd) 1 (5)
Magic Lore (tbd) 1 (5)
Magic Theory (Intellego) 4 (50)
Parma Magica (tbd) 1 (5)
Penetration (Intellego) 1 (5)

The Art

Creo 7
Intellego 8
Muto 2
Perdo 3
Rego 6
Animal 2
Aquam 0
Auram 1
Corpus 9
Herbam 1
Ignem 0
Imagonem 4
Mentem 5
Terram 1
Vim 4

Spells

Whispering Winds [ InAu 15 ]
The Chirurgeon's Healing Touch [ CrCo 20 ]
Sight of the True Form [ InCo 20 ]
Whispers Through the Black Gate [ InCo(Me) 15 ]
The Inexorable Search [ InCo 20 ]
Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie [ InMe 20 ]
Enchantment of Detachment [ PeMe 10 ]

Edit 1:

Expanded backstory to cover the first decade after his Gauntlet. Covered research and his "collection" during the same time period.

Since Malach is a little older than usual for a beginning mage, he will need an earlier Longevity Ritual as well. The rules in the Theban tribunal are quite different than usual for this, but to avoid problems I will use the normal rules (one I figure out what those are) - it will create a level playing field and require less handwaving. The covenant Malach resides at are actually the local specialists for healing magic, so he will likely ask one of his sodales to make his first LR for him.

I have no idea how to determine things like lab quality, quality of the living standards, the aura, etc, of a Covenant that don't have those described in their text block in the tribunal book. Input would be much appreciated.

1205 (age 29): 15 xp Classical Greek (to 4), 10xp Medicine (to 2), 5xp Imagonem (to 3), 4xp Creo (to 4), 6xp Corpus (to 6)
1206 (age 30): 10xp Profession: Scribe (to 2), 11xp Creo (to 6), 7xp Intellego (to 7), 7 xp Corpus (to 7), 5 xp Vim (to 3)
1207 (age 31): 10xp Craft: Calligraphy (to 2), 20 xp Magic Theory (to 4), Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10)
1208 (age 32): 5 xp Guile (to 1), 5 xp Intrigue (to 1), 6 xp Perdo (to 3), 4 xp Vim (to 4), Aura of Rightful Authority (ReMe 20)
1209 (age 33): 15 xp Medicine (to 3), 7 xp Creo (to 7), 3 xp Animal (to 2), 5 xp Area Lore: Theban Tribunal, Revealed Flaws of Mortal Flesh (InCo 10)
1210 (age 34): 15 xp Philosophiae (to 3), Purification of the Festering Wounds (CrCo 25)
1211 (age 35): 10 xp Order of Hermes Lore (to 2), Coerce the Spirits of the Night (ReMe 20), one season helping as lab assistant to whomever does the LR work
1212 (age 36): 20 xp Classical Greek (to 5), The Call to Slumber (ReMe 10), 8 xp Corpus (to 8), 1 xp herbam (to 1), 1 xp Muto (to 1)
1213 (age 37): 15xp Profession: Scribe (to 3), 9 xp Corpus (to 9), 8xp Intellego (to 8), 2 xp Muto (to 2), 1 xp Terram (to 1)
1214 (age 38): 20xp Medicine (to 4), 4xp Imagonem (to 4), 15xp Folk Ken (to 3), 1 xp Auram (to 1)

In 10 years, Malach has gathered 50 BP. Of this, 10 points will be spent on vis: this gives 50 pawns, of which 23 will be used on a 13th magnitude Longevity Ritual. The 27 remaining pawns form a "stock":

Creo: 6
Intellego: 4
Rego: 4
Corpus: 6
Imagonem: 3
Vim: 4

To be done:

  • Add the Masteries to spells, from Flawless Magic!
  • Correct the casting totals for the spells, and update the spell list with what has been learned this decade.
7

So, if you wanted a 12th magnitude LR at age 35 it would cost:

7 (normal Vis Cost)
10 (1 pawn per mag up to 10)
04 (2 pawns per mag up to 15)
[hr][/hr]
21 pawns of vis; which is 5 build points.
Note, you can possibly bump this up by a magnitude or two if your MT+Int is >5 (+1 magnitude) or >10(+2 magnitude) for "free".
Make sense?

8

Interesting that I "sacrificed" a season of xp because it made sense, even though I had entirely overlooked the house rule! So a 13th magnitude LR it is, then - I can work with that. I'll incorporate it tonight, making aging rolls, and any adjustments necessary. The next decade should not be long in waiting after that.

9

Well, consider that you need to be present for the LR, so you might as well be involved in assisting in the creation of the LR.

10

I plan to collect a library of some defined books for Malach. Problem is that several of them are listed as Summa, and those aren't used in this saga. How do you want to handle that?

Example:

Guide to the Perplexed, by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (aka Maimonides).
Written in Arabic
Summa 5, QL 9, Theology (Judaism)
Summa 4, QL 9, Philosophiae

The Qur'an, written by Muhammed under divine inspiration
Written in Arabic
Summa 10, QL 10, Theology (Islam)
Summa 5, QL 10, Islamic Law
Summa 5, QL 10, Dominion Lore

(How is anyone supposed to afford a book like that? It can't be that hard to find, but no mage will have it in his or her library at this rate.... This is a common problem, it seems: many of these books are listed as being readily available.)

The Torah
Written in Hebrew
Summa 6, QL 8, Theology (Judaism)
Summa 4, QL 8, Organisation Lore (Judaism)
Summa 4, QL 8, Rabbinic Law

The Talmud
Translated in Hebrew (which is more common than the Aramaic original)
Various authors, originating with Moses
Summa 6, QL 8, Organisation Lore (Judaism)
Summa 6, QL 8, Theology (Judaism)
Summa 6, QL 8, Rabbinic Law
Tractacus QL 5, Canaan Lore

and so forth. There's a LOT of interesting books listed in various ArM works, but the rules are actually discouraging if you want to acquire them for some reason. That seems counterproductive....

Note, that I don't care to acquire any benefit from them regarding study or anything like that. I just can't imagine Malach, or another scholar or philosopher, not trying to gain permanent access to these (or other) tomes of wisdom.

11

Well summae are used differently in this saga, not that they aren't used at all.

Mundane books on mundane things shouldn't cost as much as they do according to covenants, IMO. I think the idea behind making books on abilities costs Scorex3+Quality was to prevent high level books on penetration, concentration and other magi centered abilities. I'll have to think about their cost.

12

Perhaps a seperate cost for books that are hermetic / supernatural in topic, and for all other books? That leaves Concentration and Artes Liberales still open for mage-centric topics, but it catches everything else, I think.

13

Gotta ask: are you going to initiate into one of the cults?

14

Depends on what you mean with "cult": I was thinking that the Path of Seeming was appropriate for him. I don't know yet how far along the Path he will actually walk, mind. It's the "default" initiation for Criamon (since the House counts as a mystery cult).