Laboratories
[tab][/tab]Everyone gets to hit the ground running.
[tab][/tab]Each magus is granted of one of the covenant's several towers, containing the Standard Andorra Lab. This automatically includes the Free Virtues of Dedicated Building and Superior Construction (+1 Safety, +1 Upkeep, +2 Aethetics, +1 Rego). Easy modifications & additions include Defenses, Elevated, Grand Entrance, Guard, and Servant. The magus may optionally choose some interior space (that happens to be available), but this means certain features may not be available (such as Dedicated Building, plus Grand Entrance &/or Elevated may not be available as depending on the situation).
[tab][/tab]The option for Magical Heating &/or Magical Lighting is available to any who choose it (each chosen as either Excessive &/or Superior Heating/Lighting, but none increases Upkeep and choosing both some form of Magical Heat and some kind of Magical Light lowers the Lab's Upkeep by one point.
[tab][/tab]Further, every magus may choose from three more options: 1) to start off with the Standard Lab as described above, including the features and options already given, and/or any other Free Virtues &/or Flaws as appliclible (including Magic Items); 2) Modify and Refine the Standard Lab according to standard rules and options given below; 3) Create a Custom Lab by having spent points on Lab Virtues and Flaws, again using standard rules with options described below.
Standard Lab
[tab][/tab]I already told you what the Standard Lab is and what your options with it are.
Customized Lab
[tab][/tab]You may spend your first season to modify and customize a standard lab with a balanced number of Virtues & Flaws. This not the same as Refinment and that score is not changed.
Refined Lab
[tab][/tab]All the standard rules for Refinment apply, save that you are able to reduce the amount of time it takes to install Virtues &/or Remove Flaws by including or replacing them with New Flaws. Consider a Minor Virtue as being worth 1 point and a Major Virtue as 2. A Minor Flaw is -1 and a Major Flaw is -2. The total number of points is the number of seasons it takes to install of these Virtues with these Flaws, but the minimum is at least one season in addition to the season of Refinment. This also means that, without changing refinment, it takes a season to change and rearrange all of a Labs Virtues & Flaws as long as they achieve the exact same balance as they did previously.
[tab][/tab]This increased speed is part of the magical nature of the covenant's aura, and no one is even aware of it.
Purchased Lab
[tab][/tab]You may spend points from Mustering Out to purchse Virtues & Flaws for your lab, or to transfer a lab you created in play to the covenant. Again, this is just the magical nature of the Aura at work here, and you are not even aware it is happening.
[tab][/tab]The following rules replace what was written before, but according to my calculations having looked at all current labs, this formula makes everthing fit.
- Nonstandard Lab: Pyramid Value of Size x 10 (eg. +1 costs 10, +2 costs 30, +3 costs 60)
- Refined Lab: Refinment x 5 (up to a maximum of your Magic Theory minus 3)
- Virtues: 5 points for Minor, 10 points for Major; may include Flaws, since Vitures - Flaws may not exceed Size + Refinment)
- Extra Lab: 25 points (an additional Standard Lab, fully equipped)
- Retained Lab: 25 points (if you designed, refined, &/or modified a lab during your character's pre-game development, you may transfer that lab in it's entirety to your new location).
E.G. Vocis spent 40 points on his Lab, including 15 points for a Refinment of 3 (the maximum he is able), 10 points for Size +1, 5 points for a Minor Virtue, and 10 points for a Major Virtue.
((Vocis had previously spent 10 points for a Minor Virtue and mistakenly paid 30 points for a Major instead of 20, then he further neglected to balance the Virtues with Flaws or Increased Size, which may be my fault for dismissing a valid question when I was distracted))
Upkeep
[tab][/tab]As for Upkeep, the Covenant bears the cost of the first 10£ of your expenses (Upkeep +3). Above that, the covenant splits the cost with you. However, you recieve an annual Salary of 6£ and 3 pawns of Vim, you recieve an annual Stipend of 6£ and 3 pawns of Vim if you serve a Covenant Office, and you can earn a Wage once a year of 6£ and 3 pawns of Vim for performing extra duties. Vis of another Form may be taken in lieu of Vim, this is just a term of accounting. A pawn of a Technique may be taken in place of 2 pawns of Vim. The covenant will buy & sell (or rather, exchange) vis for silver and visa versa at an even rate of 12£ per pawn of Vim. Exchanges such as this are not to exceed the value of a Rook of Vim in a given three-year span.
E.G. Vulcanus has a Lab Upkeep of +6, an annual expense of 21£ of silver, The covenant covers the first 10£ off the top, and pays half of the remianing 11£ to leave Vulcanus bearing the burden of 5.5£. He recievs a Stipend as Artifex of 6£, leaving him with one-half £. He also recieves a Salary as a Master, and often earns Wages for his extra duties.