Looking at the virtue "Mythic Blood" (p 47), part of the benefits are one "at will" special effect. The more I think about it, the more possibilities suggest themselves, some more useful, some less. I was wondering- what options have others chosen, or seen or thought of, and how did those choices work out for the character from a story-telling point of view? Would you have taken something else, in hindsight? What did you base your decision on, and any suggestions re approaching that choice?
For me, I'm thinking it should be either something that the mage would use often, or in extreme situations - and the more flexible the effect, the better. That is, either something handy, or a real "ace up the sleeve", or both, (or maybe a MutoVim effect?), but I was hoping to get some first-hand examples of such before going with one or another.
One thing I like to do, with the mythic blood 'magical feats', is to use non-hermetic guidelines, such as unusual R/D/Ts. This obviously requires storyguide approval, but helps highlight that it is a special magical ability, and makes it more unique than just a spell.
And if you have the rules for integrating things into hermetic magic, from Ancient Magic, a character could perhaps use a power like this as a source of inspiration.
Anyway, I suppose that doesn't answer your question. You were looking for examples... I allowed one player, with mythic blood from a Criamon adulteration related to deceit, to have a sort of 'aura of inconsequence' ability with concentration duration, based on what I think was a guernicus spell with a similar effect.
My character has mythic blood. My SG and I cooked up a spell for her that I named "Trepidations of the Unkindness". This spell raises her presence to +3 and calls all the ravens together in a great big Hitchcock-esque omen of death. The effect is similar to "Visions of the Infernal Terrors" and requires a stamina roll from everyone in the immediate vacinity. A botch roll would mean that the person was scared to death. If I forget to warn my friends before I do this than they have to make a stamina roll too.
I got the idea for this idea from a legend that a Roman general won a great battle because a raven landed on his shoulder and distracted his enemy.
She's a very harmless looking character with mostly defensive abilities so I used my mythic spell for something with a little more offence. Also, I just thought it would make a great image.
Silenus of house Bonisagus is descended from the Greek god Dionysus.
With just a gaze (Eye range, no words, no gestures), he can make someone drunk until sunup/sundown. This was based on ReMe15 "Confusion of the Numbed Will".
I like the idea of using non-hermetic guidelines, if I was to redesign this power. I'd especially like to get a way to bypass the Parma Magica, considering the effective penetration is 0.
Exactly!
It's not a rule, but It seems better if the spell you choose has something to do with your mythic blood. Choosing somthing that has nothing to do with your magic focus, as sugessted earlier, is practical but why would you have a requisite that isn't dirctly connected to your mythic blood?
Bypassing parma sounds too strong to me, but I figure thats up to the SG and whether or not you can find some way to justify it in the rules.
I never played her, but the first Ars character I designed was an assertive and very strong-willed Guernicus, who would have fit better in Houe Tytalus. She had a fierce hatred of demons, partly from religious conviction, but mainly due to her despicable diabolist father, who was half-incubus himself. Her Infernal heritage gave her the ability to make anyone feel good for a moment, with eye contact. A tasp, in other words. The looming problem (sorry, story hook) was that she didn't see anything wrong with using it extensively on mundanes.
One thing that Belladonna failed to mention is that her character is a descendant of one of Odin's Ravens. Odin had two ravens, "Thought" and "Memory" which flew about the land and brought him news. So Belladonna is one the descendents, has the aforementioned "Trepidations" special ability, and also has a minor magical focus with birds.
Just wanted to link where her special ability comes from in regards to her Mythic Blood.
BellaDonna's parens is a descendant of the wolf Freki, also Bjornaer mythic blood.
Odin has 2 wolves, Geri and Freki. "Greed" and "Ravenous". I thought it was suitable to have a raven learn from a wolf called "ravenous" and he was my excuse for her "skilled parens" virtue.
I'm glad you don't have an Odin complex. I wouldn't want you to hang yourself from a tree or poke out one of your eyes.
In a word, "no", and I'm now running late in coming up with something. Every option seems to be either inelegant, somewhere between "forced" and mere "power gaming", or next to useless, colorful but mainly inconsequential. But I've been busy the last 10 days or so and haven't had time to sit down and make a concentrated effort to brainstorm it.
When it's ready, I'll post both here and in the Char Description of the game threads.
Nice birds.
), but in a raven 'fibula' - a nordic iron age necklace.
