Need Covenant Feedback

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

This is a draft of a spring covenant site for a play be Ventrillo chat game I'm thinking of starting up around February 1st. I'm posting it here for feedback and ideas (and to get a little buzz going about the game which I'll probably formally announce in two weeks or so once I'm sure I have the tech side lined up).

Covenant Stats

Location: The site of Dunscaith castle, on the isle of Skye, Scotland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sc%C3%A1thach (Folklore)
http://www.skyewalk.co.uk/dunscaith.shtml (Pictures and Maps)

Back Story: Your group was planning to launch when one of your number inherited (mundanely) the rights to the site.

Your Covenant has been granted, as hermetic magi, a fief over the headlands where Dunscaith castle will later be built. This includes a grant of rights to all vis gathered from two major sources. Did I mention that a mundane lord recognized a right to vis in lands claimed by the Order of Odin? Welcome to the deep end of the pool.

In any event you owe the service of one 16 ore galley with fighting men to the local lord. You have been granted a fief including the villages of Ord, Tokavaig, Tarskavaig and Achnacloich http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/skye/tarskavaig/index.html. You also have rights to a distillery (being in period but just barely). Taken together this qualifies as a greater source of agricultural income.

The covenant is also on a major sea trade route between Norway, Scotland, England and Ireland, given the rocky terrain most local goods are moved by sea. You have a small fleet of ships giving a typical source of income (trade, multiple relatively local routes). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knarr).

Hooks: Monster (major), Regio (major), Legendary Site (minor), road (mundane seaway, minor), Hedge Tradition (major, Order of Odin), Mundane Politics (major);Warping to Pattern (minor) [14 points]

Boons
Aura x 4 (+7 Total); Healthy Feature (+1); Difficult Access; Wealth; Secondary Income; Right; Hidden Resources (vis); Loyal Covenfolk; Veteran Fighters. [12 points]

Vis (200 points, 40 pawns)

Aquam 4, Rego: 4; Corpus: 4; (water from the covenant well gathered on midnight of a particular day)
Terram: 8; Aquam: 4; Auram: 6 (collected at midsummer eve from lichen found growing on the Old Man of Store, http://www.pbase.com/image/75740420).
Ignem 6; Creo 4 (stones from the Eilean Ruaridh island http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/newcanmore.details_gis?inumlink=11441).

Total: 40 (200 Points)

Specialists:
Brewer: 5
Autocrat: 5
Shipbuilder: 6

(16 Points)

Stores: 30 pounds (3 points)
Vis Stores: 30 pawns (6 points)

Lab Texts: 75 Levels (15 points)

Texts:

Special Rules: you may start your characters up to five years out of apprenticeship. You may sacrifice post gauntlet Xps for

2 creation points in skill treatise
1 creation point in Art tracti or skill summae
0.75 creation points in Art summae

per XP sacrificed
Maximum level is 15 (arts) or 5 (skills) and maximum quality is 10.

These are for books not written by the character. Use standard rules for books written by him or her.
In any event you start with the following 61 build points worth of books.

On Mundanes: Summa Code of Hermes L: 2 Q: 10 [16 points]
The Theory of Magic: Summa, Magic Theory, L5, Q 10 [25 points]
Magic & Timing, Summa, Finesse, L3, Q 8 [20])

2

Hi Sdelear,

Have you the issues 14 and 15 of the Hermes' Portal zine?

You will find the article Treasures of the Sea that describe in detail the Kingdom of Man and the Isles (comprising the Isle of Skye), indeed a very well done setting for the 5th edition.

You can download the issues at:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/styren/hermesportal/hermes1.htm

3

Hi,

Fine overall. However:

I recommend you do something different, unless the character owns each book, or unless you add something so that everyone donates the same amount of time. Otherwise, the following is most likely to happen:

  1. Each character will donate no books, hoping that other players take up the slack.

  2. Some characters will donate lots of books and others none, causing a discrepancy not likely to be healthy for the game.

  3. A player donates a summa in an Art for which he has takes no xp, to maximize the benefits of his book.

Alternatives:

Start the covenant off with all the books that the characters could have written, and the ones that you want.

Give the covenant a generic library, say, all the basic Arts at L10Q10 and the Arcane Abilities at L4Q10.

Start the covenant off with no books at all, and let the characters decide (IC) what to do about this problem.

Anyway,

Ken

4

I've used these for an arc on Man and the isles and they're very helpful. It's well worth picking up if you want to set a saga there.

-Ben.

5

  1. This is intentional and is quite frankly the expected outcome.

  2. Well um yeah, the idea is that the character sacrificed time to his prior covenant in return to the rights to a copy of the book.

As for number 2) they're going to have to work that out in character.

(now to go download some issues of Hermes portal).

[edit] though on second thought maybe simply eliminating the library and putting the points in Vis sources would make for a more viable covenant.

Stephen

6

The authors population numbers for the Hebrides seem a bit off on the low side. I think he may have extrapolated from modern (post clearance) population.

Stephen

7

Probably the best choice, along with removing your special rule. This makes sure you get the result you want for the start of your saga! It also helps players know what to expect.

Anyway,

Ken