One Shot Questionnaire

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

I am working on an Ars Magica One Shot, and one thing I like to do for one shots where the characters don't know each other is to ask the players to fill out a questionnaire prior to playing and assign characters based on their answers. This way I can try to give players the characters that most closely fit what they might want to play without the player looking though the characters and saying, "Oh, Piere is an infernalist, good to know."

I would like to test out my quiz. I want to see if there is any grouping, if too many people answer the same way, and it doesn't let me differentiate between players. I have not had this problem in the past, but it seems something to be concerned about. I can also find out if the sorting does a bad job of placing people, if my scoring says I should assign you a particular character and it turns out you hate that character, that would be useful information too.

So, I am asking the good people here to fill out the questionare. Once I have a few results, I will start posting the corresponding characters, so that you can tell me if you would like playing that character or not.

Anyway, the covenant of Nani in domum suam is holding a contest for magi who are less than three years past guantlet. Those who win will be allowed to stay at Nani in Domum Suam for five years as guests, with free use of the library and use of a basic lab. At the begininng of the fifth year, they will be given 10 pawns of any Form vis they desire and at the end of the fifth year, they will receive 10 lbs of gold. The player characters are those who decided to compete.in this, the first year the competition is held.

Anyway, for each of the eight grouping of choices, rank the four options from 4 to 1, with 4 being the most prefered choice and 1 being the least prefered choice. If you reverse this, the fact that you don't like your assigned character is on you, not me.

For the following four choices, place a 4 next to the choice you would most like your character to have, a 3 next to your next most prefered choice, a 1 next to the least prefered option and so on.

Group 1 Would you rather

__ Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. You do not, you are able to interact with normal humans without them being automatically suspicious of you. (Gentle Gift)

__Magi have a repertoire of known spells which have defined results in terms of target, range and duration. You (unlike most) are able to adjust those spells slightly. For instance, if you have a spell which allows you to turn an unmoving person or item invisible until sunrise or sunset, you could increase the duration to moon duration (lasts until both a new moon and full moon have passed) or decrease the duration to concentration (as soon as you stop concentrating on the spell, it ends) (Flexible Formulaic Magic)

__ The most powerful magic magical spells are rituals, which require time and vis to cast. You are especially adapt at casting ritual spells, requiring half of the vis normally required. Unfortunately, as a trade off, you can only cast spontaneous spells ceremonially, which takes much longer than otherwise. (Mecurian Magic)

__You have made a deal with a demon and have a whole other type of magic you can call on with the power of the infernal. While your magic based abilities are penalized in an Infernal Aura, your Infernal spells receive a bonus. Too bad about your soul going to Hell when you die.

Group 2 Would you rather

__Your magic is skilled at destruction, in particular, destruction of demons

__Your magic is skilled at changing things into other things they can’t naturally be.

__When magi develop spells, they can spend time and effort to learn an ability to use that spell more efficiently. You are unusually good at that. Every spell you know has at least one special ability which either allows it to be cast with more penetration, more quickly, without gestures or some other feature, depending on the spell. When cast in non stressed situations, you can not botch your spell roll. (Flawless Magic)

__ You have the blood of the goblins flowing through your veins. You have second sight, and you start requiring aging rolls much later than normal. You get +1 bonus to stealth and can see in total darkness. Your blood is black instead of red.

Group 3 Would you rather

__The arts and spells the magus knows are good at learning things.

__ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at creating, destroying, manipulating and discovering information about liquids.

__ The Parma Magica is a wizards defense against magic cast against him and other magical effects. Your Parma Magica is greater than normal for a magus your age (Puissant Parma Magica)

__ You have the magical ability to change into a bear, horse and falcon.

Group 4

__ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at dealing with the human form

__ The magus has a wand that puts a bag over targets head. Has unlimited uses per day, but as no penetration.

__ The magus is better than normal with spells related to earth and stone

__ The magus is better than normal with spells related to illusions

Group 5

__ The magus has a long term injury to his leg which makes walking, dodging, and other such activites more difficult

__Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. Your penalty is twice as bad as normal, you seem very untrustworthy to them. (Blatant Gift)

__ You have an angel which follows you around and tells you what to do. As you are pious and know that the angel has your best interest at heart, you usually listen, but it can be annoying.

__When magi make mistakes with spells, they can get Warping points. When a magi gets too many warping points at once, they might go into Twilight. For most magi, too many warping points is two, for you it is one. Going into Twilight is not always bad, but it usually takes you out of the game for a while and can remove you from play permanently.

Group 6

__ Your magi is part of a lineage known for starting conflicts.

__ You turn into stone on the night of the full moon, you turn back to normal at daybreak

__ It is unusually hard for your magic to destroy (Deficient Perdo)

__ It is difficult to cast your spells at something you are not touching (Short Ranged Magic)

Group 7

__ You have a wife who you love and want to protect. This love is higher than mortal magic and no magic can make you betray her. While she has some, small magical powers, she is significantly weaker than you and will need your help much more that she will be helping you.

__You are smaller than normal, and injuries are often more serious as a result

__ The maga you apprenticed under is known for her bad behavior and some of that bad reputation has tranfered to you.

__ Magi sometimes cast spells which they have not learned in the lab to meet particular situations. These spells are called spontaneous spells, and while weaker that formulaic spells which were invented in the lab, can be tailored to the specific situation that needs to be solved. You are particularly bad at spontaneous spells, being able to cast only the easiest spell that you don’t have to exert yourself for.

Group 8

__ You have slightly more difficulty than normal casting spells during the daytime.

__You have the head of a cow rather than a human. You can use magic to hide this, but if you hide your head all the time it will cause warping.

__You made a bargain with a demon and are working at cross purposes from the rest of the players.

__You can’t cast spells when you are naked.

2

can you please describe the format you would prefer for us to post our answers in? It is not quite clear to me how best to post a list of answers.

3

The main problem I see is that I can't imagine wanting to fill out the questionnaire. Getting assigned a character is a huge turn-off to begin with, of course, and helping construct the method by which I don't get to play a character that suits me seems counter-productive.

Granted, it may be necessary for an environment such as convention one-shots with zero continuity, but without continuity, there's very limited value to engaging with the story.

I suspect that your target audience ends up being people mostly new to the setting, and as such their responses and ours (who are likely mostly not new) will likely be sufficiently different as to not be a good guiding line.

4

Group 1 Would you rather

4_ Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. You do not, you are able to interact with normal humans without them being automatically suspicious of you. (Gentle Gift)

3_Magi have a repertoire of known spells which have defined results in terms of target, range and duration. You (unlike most) are able to adjust those spells slightly. For instance, if you have a spell which allows you to turn an unmoving person or item invisible until sunrise or sunset, you could increase the duration to moon duration (lasts until both a new moon and full moon have passed) or decrease the duration to concentration (as soon as you stop concentrating on the spell, it ends) (Flexible Formulaic Magic)

1_ The most powerful magic magical spells are rituals, which require time and vis to cast. You are especially adapt at casting ritual spells, requiring half of the vis normally required. Unfortunately, as a trade off, you can only cast spontaneous spells ceremonially, which takes much longer than otherwise. (Mecurian Magic)

2_You have made a deal with a demon and have a whole other type of magic you can call on with the power of the infernal. While your magic based abilities are penalized in an Infernal Aura, your Infernal spells receive a bonus. Too bad about your soul going to Hell when you die.

Group 2 Would you rather

1_Your magic is skilled at destruction, in particular, destruction of demons

2_Your magic is skilled at changing things into other things they can’t naturally be.

3_When magi develop spells, they can spend time and effort to learn an ability to use that spell more efficiently. You are unusually good at that. Every spell you know has at least one special ability which either allows it to be cast with more penetration, more quickly, without gestures or some other feature, depending on the spell. When cast in non stressed situations, you can not botch your spell roll. (Flawless Magic)

4_ You have the blood of the goblins flowing through your veins. You have second sight, and you start requiring aging rolls much later than normal. You get +1 bonus to stealth and can see in total darkness. Your blood is black instead of red.

Group 3 Would you rather

4__The arts and spells the magus knows are good at learning things.

2__ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at creating, destroying, manipulating and discovering information about liquids.

3__ The Parma Magica is a wizards defense against magic cast against him and other magical effects. Your Parma Magica is greater than normal for a magus your age (Puissant Parma Magica)

1_ You have the magical ability to change into a bear, horse and falcon.

Group 4

2_ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at dealing with the human form

1_ The magus has a wand that puts a bag over targets head. Has unlimited uses per day, but as no penetration.

4_ The magus is better than normal with spells related to earth and stone

2_ The magus is better than normal with spells related to illusions

Group 5

4__ The magus has a long term injury to his leg which makes walking, dodging, and other such activites more difficult

1__Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. Your penalty is twice as bad as normal, you seem very untrustworthy to them. (Blatant Gift)

2__ You have an angel which follows you around and tells you what to do. As you are pious and know that the angel has your best interest at heart, you usually listen, but it can be annoying.

3__When magi make mistakes with spells, they can get Warping points. When a magi gets too many warping points at once, they might go into Twilight. For most magi, too many warping points is two, for you it is one. Going into Twilight is not always bad, but it usually takes you out of the game for a while and can remove you from play permanently. (note: this "question" is general information and gives no options for a preference)

Group 6

3__ Your magi is part of a lineage known for starting conflicts.

4_ You turn into stone on the night of the full moon, you turn back to normal at daybreak

1__ It is unusually hard for your magic to destroy (Deficient Perdo)

2__ It is difficult to cast your spells at something you are not touching (Short Ranged Magic)

Group 7

4__ You have a wife who you love and want to protect. This love is higher than mortal magic and no magic can make you betray her. While she has some, small magical powers, she is significantly weaker than you and will need your help much more that she will be helping you.

3__You are smaller than normal, and injuries are often more serious as a result

2__ The maga you apprenticed under is known for her bad behavior and some of that bad reputation has tranfered to you.

1__ Magi sometimes cast spells which they have not learned in the lab to meet particular situations. These spells are called spontaneous spells, and while weaker that formulaic spells which were invented in the lab, can be tailored to the specific situation that needs to be solved. You are particularly bad at spontaneous spells, being able to cast only the easiest spell that you don’t have to exert yourself for.

Group 8

4__ You have slightly more difficulty than normal casting spells during the daytime.

1__You have the head of a cow rather than a human. You can use magic to hide this, but if you hide your head all the time it will cause warping.

3__You made a bargain with a demon and are working at cross purposes from the rest of the players.

2__You can’t cast spells when you are naked.

Final note: from these questions I doubt I would enjoy playing any of these characters.

5

Given that Silveroak has now created a system, I will post my answers in the same style as them.

Group 1 Would you rather

4_ Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. You do not, you are able to interact with normal humans without them being automatically suspicious of you. (Gentle Gift)

3_Magi have a repertoire of known spells which have defined results in terms of target, range and duration. You (unlike most) are able to adjust those spells slightly. For instance, if you have a spell which allows you to turn an unmoving person or item invisible until sunrise or sunset, you could increase the duration to moon duration (lasts until both a new moon and full moon have passed) or decrease the duration to concentration (as soon as you stop concentrating on the spell, it ends) (Flexible Formulaic Magic)

2_ The most powerful magic magical spells are rituals, which require time and vis to cast. You are especially adapt at casting ritual spells, requiring half of the vis normally required. Unfortunately, as a trade off, you can only cast spontaneous spells ceremonially, which takes much longer than otherwise. (Mecurian Magic)

1 (actually -1000000) _You have made a deal with a demon and have a whole other type of magic you can call on with the power of the infernal. While your magic based abilities are penalized in an Infernal Aura, your Infernal spells receive a bonus. Too bad about your soul going to Hell when you die. (I would NOT want to play this character at all).

Group 2 Would you rather

1_Your magic is skilled at destruction, in particular, destruction of demons

4_Your magic is skilled at changing things into other things they can’t naturally be.

3_When magi develop spells, they can spend time and effort to learn an ability to use that spell more efficiently. You are unusually good at that. Every spell you know has at least one special ability which either allows it to be cast with more penetration, more quickly, without gestures or some other feature, depending on the spell. When cast in non stressed situations, you can not botch your spell roll. (Flawless Magic)

2_ You have the blood of the goblins flowing through your veins. You have second sight, and you start requiring aging rolls much later than normal. You get +1 bonus to stealth and can see in total darkness. Your blood is black instead of red.

Group 3 Would you rather

4__The arts and spells the magus knows are good at learning things.

2__ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at creating, destroying, manipulating and discovering information about liquids.

1__ The Parma Magica is a wizards defense against magic cast against him and other magical effects. Your Parma Magica is greater than normal for a magus your age (Puissant Parma Magica)

3_ You have the magical ability to change into a bear, horse and falcon.

Group 4

3_ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at dealing with the human form

1_ The magus has a wand that puts a bag over targets head. Has unlimited uses per day, but as no penetration. (Note: Why is this even an option, this seems like a joke option with no relation to the others.)

4_ The magus is better than normal with spells related to earth and stone

2_ The magus is better than normal with spells related to illusions

Group 5

2__ The magus has a long term injury to his leg which makes walking, dodging, and other such activites more difficult

1__Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. Your penalty is twice as bad as normal, you seem very untrustworthy to them. (Blatant Gift)

3__ You have an angel which follows you around and tells you what to do. As you are pious and know that the angel has your best interest at heart, you usually listen, but it can be annoying.

4__When magi make mistakes with spells, they can get Warping points. When a magi gets too many warping points at once, they might go into Twilight. For most magi, too many warping points is two, for you it is one. Going into Twilight is not always bad, but it usually takes you out of the game for a while and can remove you from play permanently.

Group 6

3__ Your magi is part of a lineage known for starting conflicts.

4_ You turn into stone on the night of the full moon, you turn back to normal at daybreak

2__ It is unusually hard for your magic to destroy (Deficient Perdo)

1__ It is difficult to cast your spells at something you are not touching (Short Ranged Magic)

Group 7

4__ You have a wife who you love and want to protect. This love is higher than mortal magic and no magic can make you betray her. While she has some, small magical powers, she is significantly weaker than you and will need your help much more that she will be helping you.

1__You are smaller than normal, and injuries are often more serious as a result

3__ The maga you apprenticed under is known for her bad behavior and some of that bad reputation has tranfered to you.

2__ Magi sometimes cast spells which they have not learned in the lab to meet particular situations. These spells are called spontaneous spells, and while weaker that formulaic spells which were invented in the lab, can be tailored to the specific situation that needs to be solved. You are particularly bad at spontaneous spells, being able to cast only the easiest spell that you don’t have to exert yourself for.

Group 8

3__ You have slightly more difficulty than normal casting spells during the daytime.

2__You have the head of a cow rather than a human. You can use magic to hide this, but if you hide your head all the time it will cause warping.

1 (actually -1000000)__You made a bargain with a demon and are working at cross purposes from the rest of the players. (Note: If I was given this character I would be tempted to walk away right then and there. I do not want to play against the rest of the party. I know people who like it, but I dont play with those people mostly for this reason.)

4__You can’t cast spells when you are naked.

[/quote]

6

The way Silver Oak filled it out was the way I was thinking of,.

7

Well, let us see. Your answers definitely pointed me to a specific character. If the character is not at least broadly acceptable, I need to either include some additional characters, or get a better questionnaire or both.

Abele of Guernicus

Wizard Sigil: Purple

Characteristics: Int: +1 Per: +3 Pre: +0 Com: +0 Str: -1 Sta: +2 Dex: +0 Qik: +0

Size: 0

Age: 27 Height: 5’9” Weight: 170 lbs Gender: Male

Decrepitude: 0

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, The Gentle Gift, Educated, Hermetic Prestige, Improved Characteristics, Keen Vision, Puissant Intellego, Puissant Mentum, Second Sight, Skilled Parens, Meddler, True Love, Difficult Spontaneous Magic, Lame, Soft Hearted, Weak Enchanter

Personality Traits: Forgiving: +2 Soft Hearted: +3 Truthful: +2

Equipment:

Combat:

Dodge: Init: +0, Attack -, Defense -1, Damage : NA (Includes penalty for Lame)

Punch: Init: +0 Attack: +0, Defense: +0 Damage: -1 (Includes penalty for Lame)

Soak: +2

Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20)

Abilities: Artes Liberales: 1 (grammer) Athletics: 2 (lifting) Awareness: 3 (searching) Brawl: 1 (dodging) Charm: 2 (first impressions) Code of Hermes: 2 (relation with mundanes) Concentration: 1 (spells) Ettiquette: 2 (magi) Folk Ken: 3 (detecting lies) Guile: 1 (misdirection) Latin: 4 (hermetic usage) Low German: 5 (technical terms) Magic Theory: 3 (spells) Parma Magica: 1 (Mentum)

Arts: Cr 5, In 7+3, Mu 5, Pe 6 Re 5, An 5, Aq 1, Au: 4, Co: 5, He:5, Ig 0, Im 8, Me 6+3, Te 2, Vi 5

Spells Known

Whispering Winds (InAu 15) +16

Eyes of the Eagle (InIm 25) +20

Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10) +15

Disguise of the Transformed Visage (MuIm 15) +15

Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20) +16

Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie (InMe 20) +21

Thoughts within Babble (InMe 25) +21

The Call to Slumber (ReMe 10) +16

Demon’s Eternal Oblivion (PeVi 10) +13

8

I was debating having an optional an optional veto ,, so people could indicate that they would never be OK with a character with that characteristic. The point of the questionare is to avoid having people play characters they don't want to play.

.

1 Like
9

as you can see there are people like me who feel strongly about certain types of characters. Good idea to have some option to make it known as a questionnaire filler. I might not have thought to speak out if I was a potential player in your game.

10

A betrayer is such a story dominating part of the game, it's something that should be front and centre when asking for players. Admittedly I'd think someone would need have a real life communication -3 to read the questionnaire and not understand there's a turncoat in the group.

11

That character is not terrible, but I don't know that I would find it actually enjoyable.

12

Alas, I thought it was a questionnaire about OneShot!
Or maybe a questionnaire that's been seriously shot?

Anyway, I'll answer in the format you suggested, with the occasional comment.
Do keep in mind that I would answer quite differently for something that was not a one-shot game.
Also, please note I am answering questions "independently", so it may be that I like a magus who has the Gentle Gift, and/or one who has the Blatant Gift. Ultimately, the total can be significantly better or worse than the sum of its parts: a lot of the fun of choosing V&Fs lies in their combinations.

And let me ask two questions too:

  1. given that (as far as I can see) many options are about ranking certain groups of Virtues and Flaws, or Houses... why didn't you compact the questions that way? Is it to test whether it's clear enough for newbies to the game? If so, I think you did a pretty good job; although I do not think newbies would immediately understand all implications of the choices.
  2. I find the name of the covenant "Dwarfs into their house!" fascinating. What's the story behind it? It feels almost like a covenant whose mission is to push those pesky dwarfs back into the depths of the earth.

Group 1 Would you rather [choose]
4 Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. You do not, you are able to interact with normal humans without them being automatically suspicious of you. (Gentle Gift). Generally, I do not like Gentle Gift (I'd rather play a Companion) but for a one-shot game it opens a lot of game possibilities.
3 Magi have a repertoire of known spells which have defined results in terms of target, range and duration. You (unlike most) are able to adjust those spells slightly. For instance, if you have a spell which allows you to turn an unmoving person or item invisible until sunrise or sunset, you could increase the duration to moon duration (lasts until both a new moon and full moon have passed) or decrease the duration to concentration (as soon as you stop concentrating on the spell, it ends) (Flexible Formulaic Magic)
1 The most powerful magic magical spells are rituals, which require time and vis to cast. You are especially adapt at casting ritual spells, requiring half of the vis normally required. Unfortunately, as a trade off, you can only cast spontaneous spells ceremonially, which takes much longer than otherwise. (Mecurian Magic). For a one-shot game, I'd like this the least, because I'd not expect the ability to be in play a lot.
2 You have made a deal with a demon and have a whole other type of magic you can call on with the power of the infernal. While your magic based abilities are penalized in an Infernal Aura, your Infernal spells receive a bonus. Too bad about your soul going to Hell when you die.

Group 2 Would you rather [choose]
3 Your magic is skilled at destruction, in particular, destruction of demons
4 Your magic is skilled at changing things into other things they can’t naturally be.
2 When magi develop spells, they can spend time and effort to learn an ability to use that spell more efficiently. You are unusually good at that. Every spell you know has at least one special ability which either allows it to be cast with more penetration, more quickly, without gestures or some other feature, depending on the spell. When cast in non stressed situations, you can not botch your spell roll. (Flawless Magic)
1 You have the blood of the goblins flowing through your veins. You have second sight, and you start requiring aging rolls much later than normal. You get +1 bonus to stealth and can see in total darkness. Your blood is black instead of red.

Group 3 Would you rather
3 The arts and spells the magus knows are good at learning things.
4 The arts and spells the magus knows are good at creating, destroying, manipulating and discovering information about liquids.
1 The Parma Magica is a wizards defense against magic cast against him and other magical effects. Your Parma Magica is greater than normal for a magus your age (Puissant Parma Magica). In a one-shot game I'd like this the least, because it's something that limits the impact of the story on the character, and that's exactly what I do not want in one-shot game.
2 You have the magical ability to change into a bear, horse and falcon.

Group 4
4 The arts and spells the magus knows are good at dealing with the human form
1 The magus has a wand that puts a bag over targets head. Has unlimited uses per day, but as no penetration.
3 The magus is better than normal with spells related to earth and stone
2 The magus is better than normal with spells related to illusions

Group 5
4 The magus has a long term injury to his leg which makes walking, dodging, and other such activites more difficult
3 Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. Your penalty is twice as bad as normal, you seem very untrustworthy to them. (Blatant Gift)
2 You have an angel which follows you around and tells you what to do. As you are pious and know that the angel has your best interest at heart, you usually listen, but it can be annoying.
1 When magi make mistakes with spells, they can get Warping points. When a magi gets too many warping points at once, they might go into Twilight. For most magi, too many warping points is two, for you it is one. Going into Twilight is not always bad, but it usually takes you out of the game for a while and can remove you from play permanently. Terrible for a one-shot game, unless there's a replacement character ready, or due to circumstances/other Virtues and Flaws (say Flawless magic etc.) it's unlikely to come into play.

Group 6
4 Your magi is part of a lineage known for starting conflicts.
1 You turn into stone on the night of the full moon, you turn back to normal at daybreak As usual, in a one-shot game anything that takes game time away from me, the player, is something I dislike.
3 It is unusually hard for your magic to destroy (Deficient Perdo)
2 It is difficult to cast your spells at something you are not touching (Short Ranged Magic)

Group 7
4 You have a wife who you love and want to protect. This love is higher than mortal magic and no magic can make you betray her. While she has some, small magical powers, she is significantly weaker than you and will need your help much more that she will be helping you.
2 You are smaller than normal, and injuries are often more serious as a result
3 The maga you apprenticed under is known for her bad behavior and some of that bad reputation has tranfered to you.
1 Magi sometimes cast spells which they have not learned in the lab to meet particular situations. These spells are called spontaneous spells, and while weaker that formulaic spells which were invented in the lab, can be tailored to the specific situation that needs to be solved. You are particularly bad at spontaneous spells, being able to cast only the easiest spell that you don’t have to exert yourself for.

Group 8
1 You have slightly more difficulty than normal casting spells during the daytime.
4 You have the head of a cow rather than a human. You can use magic to hide this, but if you hide your head all the time it will cause warping. Awesome!
3 You made a bargain with a demon and are working at cross purposes from the rest of the players. Again, ok in a one-shot game, not in a longer story.
2 You can’t cast spells when you are naked.

13

1 is my first and favorite choice, 4 is my fourth choice.
Group 1 Would you rather

3 Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. You do not, you are able to interact with normal humans without them being automatically suspicious of you. (Gentle Gift)

_1_Magi have a repertoire of known spells which have defined results in terms of target, range and duration. You (unlike most) are able to adjust those spells slightly. For instance, if you have a spell which allows you to turn an unmoving person or item invisible until sunrise or sunset, you could increase the duration to moon duration (lasts until both a new moon and full moon have passed) or decrease the duration to concentration (as soon as you stop concentrating on the spell, it ends) (Flexible Formulaic Magic)

2 The most powerful magic magical spells are rituals, which require time and vis to cast. You are especially adapt at casting ritual spells, requiring half of the vis normally required. Unfortunately, as a trade off, you can only cast spontaneous spells ceremonially, which takes much longer than otherwise. (Mecurian Magic)

_4_You have made a deal with a demon and have a whole other type of magic you can call on with the power of the infernal. While your magic based abilities are penalized in an Infernal Aura, your Infernal spells receive a bonus. Too bad about your soul going to Hell when you die.

Group 2 Would you rather

_1_Your magic is skilled at destruction, in particular, destruction of demons

_2_Your magic is skilled at changing things into other things they can’t naturally be.

_3_When magi develop spells, they can spend time and effort to learn an ability to use that spell more efficiently. You are unusually good at that. Every spell you know has at least one special ability which either allows it to be cast with more penetration, more quickly, without gestures or some other feature, depending on the spell. When cast in non stressed situations, you can not botch your spell roll. (Flawless Magic)

4 You have the blood of the goblins flowing through your veins. You have second sight, and you start requiring aging rolls much later than normal. You get +1 bonus to stealth and can see in total darkness. Your blood is black instead of red.

Group 3 Would you rather

_4_The arts and spells the magus knows are good at learning things. (nb: I find intelligo really boring comparted to other arts)

3 The arts and spells the magus knows are good at creating, destroying, manipulating and discovering information about liquids.

2 The Parma Magica is a wizards defense against magic cast against him and other magical effects. Your Parma Magica is greater than normal for a magus your age (Puissant Parma Magica)

1 You have the magical ability to change into a bear, horse and falcon.

Group 4

2 The arts and spells the magus knows are good at dealing with the human form

4 The magus has a wand that puts a bag over targets head. Has unlimited uses per day, but as no penetration.

1 The magus is better than normal with spells related to earth and stone

3 The magus is better than normal with spells related to illusions

Group 5

2 The magus has a long term injury to his leg which makes walking, dodging, and other such activites more difficult

_4_Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. Your penalty is twice as bad as normal, you seem very untrustworthy to them. (Blatant Gift)

3 You have an angel which follows you around and tells you what to do. As you are pious and know that the angel has your best interest at heart, you usually listen, but it can be annoying.

_1_When magi make mistakes with spells, they can get Warping points. When a magi gets too many warping points at once, they might go into Twilight. For most magi, too many warping points is two, for you it is one. Going into Twilight is not always bad, but it usually takes you out of the game for a while and can remove you from play permanently. (I don't think that twilight prone is a good thing in a one off, since it is very much out of the ST's control and might confuse people who are not failiar with the game)

Group 6

1 Your magi is part of a lineage known for starting conflicts.

4 You turn into stone on the night of the full moon, you turn back to normal at daybreak

2 It is unusually hard for your magic to destroy (Deficient Perdo)

3 It is difficult to cast your spells at something you are not touching (Short Ranged Magic)

Group 7

2 You have a wife who you love and want to protect. This love is higher than mortal magic and no magic can make you betray her. While she has some, small magical powers, she is significantly weaker than you and will need your help much more that she will be helping you.

_3_You are smaller than normal, and injuries are often more serious as a result

1 The maga you apprenticed under is known for her bad behavior and some of that bad reputation has tranfered to you.

4 Magi sometimes cast spells which they have not learned in the lab to meet particular situations. These spells are called spontaneous spells, and while weaker that formulaic spells which were invented in the lab, can be tailored to the specific situation that needs to be solved. You are particularly bad at spontaneous spells, being able to cast only the easiest spell that you don’t have to exert yourself for.

Group 8

2 You have slightly more difficulty than normal casting spells during the daytime.

_4_You have the head of a cow rather than a human. You can use magic to hide this, but if you hide your head all the time it will cause warping. (I think that this is just too silly)

_3_You made a bargain with a demon and are working at cross purposes from the rest of the players.

_1_You can’t cast spells when you are naked.

14

Let's go!

Group 1 Would you rather

2__ Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. You do not, you are able to interact with normal humans without them being automatically suspicious of you. (Gentle Gift)

4__Magi have a repertoire of known spells which have defined results in terms of target, range and duration. You (unlike most) are able to adjust those spells slightly. For instance, if you have a spell which allows you to turn an unmoving person or item invisible until sunrise or sunset, you could increase the duration to moon duration (lasts until both a new moon and full moon have passed) or decrease the duration to concentration (as soon as you stop concentrating on the spell, it ends) (Flexible Formulaic Magic)

1__ The most powerful magic magical spells are rituals, which require time and vis to cast. You are especially adapt at casting ritual spells, requiring half of the vis normally required. Unfortunately, as a trade off, you can only cast spontaneous spells ceremonially, which takes much longer than otherwise. (Mecurian Magic)

3__You have made a deal with a demon and have a whole other type of magic you can call on with the power of the infernal. While your magic based abilities are penalized in an Infernal Aura, your Infernal spells receive a bonus. Too bad about your soul going to Hell when you die.

Group 2 Would you rather

3__Your magic is skilled at destruction, in particular, destruction of demons

1__Your magic is skilled at changing things into other things they can’t naturally be.

2__When magi develop spells, they can spend time and effort to learn an ability to use that spell more efficiently. You are unusually good at that. Every spell you know has at least one special ability which either allows it to be cast with more penetration, more quickly, without gestures or some other feature, depending on the spell. When cast in non stressed situations, you can not botch your spell roll. (Flawless Magic)

4__ You have the blood of the goblins flowing through your veins. You have second sight, and you start requiring aging rolls much later than normal. You get +1 bonus to stealth and can see in total darkness. Your blood is black instead of red.

Group 3 Would you rather

3__The arts and spells the magus knows are good at learning things.

1__ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at creating, destroying, manipulating and discovering information about liquids.

4__ The Parma Magica is a wizards defense against magic cast against him and other magical effects. Your Parma Magica is greater than normal for a magus your age (Puissant Parma Magica)

2__ You have the magical ability to change into a bear, horse and falcon.

Group 4

4__ The arts and spells the magus knows are good at dealing with the human form

1__ The magus has a wand that puts a bag over targets head. Has unlimited uses per day, but as no penetration.

2__ The magus is better than normal with spells related to earth and stone

3__ The magus is better than normal with spells related to illusions

Group 5

1__ The magus has a long term injury to his leg which makes walking, dodging, and other such activites more difficult

4__Most magi have a magical air which causes people and animals to distrust them. Your penalty is twice as bad as normal, you seem very untrustworthy to them. (Blatant Gift)

2__ You have an angel which follows you around and tells you what to do. As you are pious and know that the angel has your best interest at heart, you usually listen, but it can be annoying.

3__When magi make mistakes with spells, they can get Warping points. When a magi gets too many warping points at once, they might go into Twilight. For most magi, too many warping points is two, for you it is one. Going into Twilight is not always bad, but it usually takes you out of the game for a while and can remove you from play permanently.

Group 6

4__ Your magi is part of a lineage known for starting conflicts.

1__ You turn into stone on the night of the full moon, you turn back to normal at daybreak

2__ It is unusually hard for your magic to destroy (Deficient Perdo)

3__ It is difficult to cast your spells at something you are not touching (Short Ranged Magic)

Group 7

1__ You have a wife who you love and want to protect. This love is higher than mortal magic and no magic can make you betray her. While she has some, small magical powers, she is significantly weaker than you and will need your help much more that she will be helping you.

3__You are smaller than normal, and injuries are often more serious as a result

4__ The maga you apprenticed under is known for her bad behavior and some of that bad reputation has tranfered to you.

2__ Magi sometimes cast spells which they have not learned in the lab to meet particular situations. These spells are called spontaneous spells, and while weaker that formulaic spells which were invented in the lab, can be tailored to the specific situation that needs to be solved. You are particularly bad at spontaneous spells, being able to cast only the easiest spell that you don’t have to exert yourself for.

Group 8

4__ You have slightly more difficulty than normal casting spells during the daytime.

2__You have the head of a cow rather than a human. You can use magic to hide this, but if you hide your head all the time it will cause warping.

1__You made a bargain with a demon and are working at cross purposes from the rest of the players.

3__You can’t cast spells when you are naked.

My advice so far:

I'm understanding there is 4 characters. One has struck a bargain with a devil and will be the enemy of the other players. It can cause unwanted distrust among players. It seems odd, especially if this is central to the game.

I'm not against playing a character who has made a pact, but I'll disagree to play against the troupe. I'm ready to play a tormented character, but it has to at least share some objectives.

And finally the questions are a bit unbalanced. Some are very important, some are not so (especially the one about a magical object). I'd rather have questions about the history and personality of the characters to determine if I'll love to play them. Questions on the preferred arts / spells are interesting too.

I just edited because I reversed scale only for one group... which is bad!

15

Also, remove the numbers (because the scale can be misunderstood), and replace them with pluses. You can give +++, ++, + or nothing. IMO, much less confusing.

1 Like
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I think you inverted the numbers. If I'm not mistaken : 4 is for most preferred, 1 for least preferred

17

Welll, actually...

None of the player characters are actually diabolist.. One ot the themes of the game is having the players work together ian against other players and one of the conflicts is a demon and some diaboloists trying to mess up the covenant.

In my experience, players in one shots assume that all the other players are working together with them as a team, unless they are given some good indication not to think this. I have already given them some reason to be adversarial (six player characters, three invitations to stay at the covenant) but I wanted to introduce the idea that one of the players ,might be playing someone evil.

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As for answering the questions differently if it was not a one shot...Why would I be assigning characters to something that was not a one shot?

My target audience is those people who have heard of Ars Magica and have always wanted to try, but have not really played or read the rules and so forth. I would like to allow people to bring their own character as an alternative, but there are enough people who think they understand the system but don't quite get particular nuances that I am afraid I would spend too much time vetting characters for rule issues to allow enough time for the actual game.

As for the makeup of the questions...I definitely wanted something that was understandable to those unfamiliar with Ars Magica, so I wrote out something close to the impact of the Virtue or Flaw rather than the character creation name which may or may not meen anything. I realize for this forum, it is probably less useful.

As for the covenant name...Once upon a time there was a dragon who lived in a regio along with some dwarves. The dwarves mined gold and traded it to humans for food and alcohol, but the dragon ate about one of them a month. Then a group of magi came and in return for dealing with the dragon (slain) and ale (water magically transformed with enough penetration that got though the dwarves magic resistance) the dwarves agreed to provide gold and service.

The goal of the covenant was to provide a place for newly guantleted magi to mature and get to know other magi their own age and become more powerful prior to starting a covenant of their own. Having a group of covenfolk who are unaffected by the gift was pretty much essential to having new magi rotating through every few years,. Once I crafted a race of dwarves that were unaffected by the Gift, were the original inhabitants of the regio, provided almost all the covenfolk (Magic Aura 7 makes human covenfolk awkward) it made sense to refer to the dwarves in the covenant's name.

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There are a lot of ways for a game to go badly, it would be unreasonable to be confident that you would enjoy yourself just on the basis of the character.

20

There are six characters, and actually, none of them made a deal with a demon. However, the characters don't know each other and I wanted to engender a little suspicion among the players. Also, an extraneous choice allows possible differentiation, if you put the bag wand between two choices, I can assume that those two choices are further apart than it the bag wand is above or below both of those traits.

I think I am going to mush Groups 1&2, 3&4, 5&6 and 7&8, plus add a personality trait section. I will get rid of one of the extranious answers as well...

As for the answers not being balanced. My experience is that how important each catagory of answer is can vary from player to player. So, one player would love to have a character that is Plagued by an Angel, another would hate it and another would be indifferent. My experience is that there is a limit to how much players are willing to do prior to starting the game, and you get someone who comes in late and says "Oh, I don't care, just give me what is left" If I tried to be perfect at getting players the best character, I think there will be too much inpatience, so keeping the scoring and assigning simple is important.