Membership in the Magvillus Council - error in HoH:TL?

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

A close reading of the description of the Magvillus Council in HoH:TL p.44 left me confused. The book says:

  • There are two tiers to the Magvillus Council, the inner and outer.
  • The inner tier consists of six Guernicus magi, plus the Primus.
  • The outer tier consists of twenty-four magi.
  • The full council thus consists of thirty-one magi, including the Primus.

So far, so good. In particular, no mage is member of both the inner and outer council (because then the sum would not be 31),

Now, let's look at the outer council. Its members are:

  • 11 non-Guernicus Quaesitors - one from each of the other Houses
  • 12 Presiding Quaesitors from each regional Tribunal - except for the Rome Tribunal, whose Presiding Quaesitor is a member of the inner council

I cannot find a way to resolve this contradiction. It seems that there are only 23 members of the outer council, so 30 magi in the full council, including the Primus.

2

I would say there are indeed twenty four magi on the outer tier, including 11 from other Houses and 13 Presiding Quaesitors from Tribunals, which includes the Roman one. A member of the Inner Council is "usually" the Presiding Quaesitor from Rome, not always. So there are 31 total magi slots, and often that ends up with 30, since one of the magi sits on both council, one for being a member of Magvillus, and the other one for being a presiding quaesitor. This isn't always the case, so there are 31 seats. Possibly, when the full council is in session, he holds two votes.

3

Alternatively, to maintain the 7/24 split, when the Presiding Quaesitor of Rome is on the inner council, maybe another Roman Quaesitor is appointed to the outer council (possibly one of the Roman PQ's advisers).

4

I like the idea that there are 24 seats, of which only 23 are usually taken. It seems like the outer council never meets without the inner council. I don't see why anyone would get two votes or bring a friend (which is almost the same). That would make him more influential and that to me seems to be at odds with the purpose of the council.