Hi,
A focus in Magi applies to certamen, as does a focus in Dueling. Maybe even a focus in fatigue or non-damaging combat.
Some astrological foci would also apply, though these are problematically written in general.
Anyway,
Ken
Hmm. I missed that.
That's the thing I was looking for. Thanks.
So since Certamen only benefits from a Focus in this one, special case should this not mean the Hermetic Savant can still participate in Certamen? although using his normal, unmodified stats since his Focus is irrelevant?
Hi,
It means that he cannot do Certamen at all, unless his Major Focus is in Certamen, in which case it is the only thing he can do. That's what the restriction is here, being able to only perform Hermetic Magic within the focus, and certamen is by definition part of exactly one focus, RAW.
(Never mind that Certamen is a minor focus.)
Me, I'd kind of relax things, allowing Tremere to take major foci that thematically include certamen, maybe as a mystery known to part of the House.
But RAW, no.
Anyway,
Ken
I'm not the person this was addressed to, but I do recognize the reference, so I'll try to clarify and Akriloth can jump back in if I'm totally wrong about what (s)he meant.
So there was an episode of the Simpsons where Homer is diagnosed with Narcolepsy. He says while in the hospital that he probably won't ever need to use the diagnosis to get out of anything, after which the scene cuts to him on his couch later, refusing to make his family breakfast, take his daughter to school, or go to the hospital to pick up his narcolepsy medication, all by holding up his diagnosis paper and saying "Narcolepsy!" The episode actually goes on to treat the condition of narcolepsy in a surprisingly mature and accurate manner, but Homer is Homer, so naturally his first scene after being diagnosed with it is, as mentioned, using it to get out of doing anything. So the phrase was most likely used to elicit the idea that this sort of exchange would happen between SG/troupe and player of the magus:
SG: "Hey, remember that Story Flaw? It's rearing its head."
Player: "Yeah, but my savantism means I don't have magic that can do anything about that. I'll send somebody else to deal with it."
SG: "But... But Story Flaw. The fact that your character will actually consider this worth dealing with personally is the entire point of taking it."
Player: "But savantism."
Other players: "Well our magi aren't dealing with your issue for you. We have things we need to do."
Player: "So you'll leave my character to suffer for no reason except that he was born with a crippling magical disability? I didn't think your characters were so discriminatory. It's fine, though... melodramatic voice Since they're your characters, it's your right to make them as immoral as you want."
And so on and so forth.
No. Hermetic Savantism is not meant to be interpreted with "common sense". It's written to be interpreted literally.
If some Magical Focus could provide a bonus to an activity, and the Savant's Major Focus does not, then the Savant can't perform that activity. Since the Tremere Focus could provide a bonus to certamen, if the Savant's focus does not give a bonus to certamen, the Savant can't participate in certamen. Easy!
I'd point out that even if, by RAW, the only focus that can provide a bonus to certamen is the focus in certamen, many troupes allow Major Focuses that encompass certamen plus other stuff -- e.g. "magical one-on-one duels"; a Savant with such a focus could participate in certamen. I'd also point out that the RAW do not disallow taking a Focus that's much narrower then it could be; so by the RAW a Savant could still be an excellent duellist by taking his (Major) Focus in certamen. Of course, such a character would not be able to cast spells, enchant items, bind a familiar or distill vis ... although he could still raise a parma magica, study/teach/write about the Arts, open the Gift of an apprentice, benefit fully from longevity Rituals etc.
This does not seem a solid argument to me. I mean, you could claim the same about many other Flaws. E.g. Hermetic Major Flaw Restriction: your magic does not work against + Story Flaw: Enemies <that type of opponent>.
In general, you should not select a Story Flaw creating stories that you do not want your character to take part in! For some players, this includes stories in which a magus' magic is ineffective; though other players really do relish these types of stories, as they allow them to explore issues such as "what would my magus be without his most defining characteristic?" or "how can my magus find a clever way around a seemingly insurmountable problem?"