OOC: Chapter 2b, Interlude (Winter 1220)

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Shores of Albion
41

It is obvious that Sinmore has been waiting to speak with Attravere since their return from the Baron's keep.

"Thank you for meeting with me Sodales." Sinmore bows. "And I also thank you for helping to cool my temper back at the Baron's keep. No one needs remind me of the ego we tend to have, my Pater is named William du Soleil (William of the Sun) after all, and I take my name from the daughter of a titan. I'm not certain of the need to spar with Sir Guillaum, I already know he is better at the sword than myself, and I hold my skills quite highly; I've seen him fight. My concern is his conduct toward Magi. He took great offense when I actually agreed with him, you were there. He thought I impugned on his honour and word, when of course I was more concerned with the realities of dealing with the potential infernal. He insisted that there was no infernal presence, but by what means did he come to that conclusion? Certainly none that a Quaesitor would accept. And in the end of course I actually did agree with him. But what offended me most...what concerns me the most..." it's easy to see the colour rush to her cheeks as she remembers the altercation. "Was that I, a Maga, am to accept his word as a noble? A knight? What the hell is he?! Is he a member of your House and the Order or is he a noble? One cannot serve two masters. That...and your urging for temperance were alone why we did not come to blows...and spells. I tell you this...he should decide himself, before this decision is made for him. And I don't mean by me...if he had spoken anything nearly as coarse to Geirlaug there would be a full scale Wizard's March not just on him but this Covenant." She sighs and adjusts her hair.

"I'm sorry Sodales, I've let my temper get away from me again. If you feel a sparring match will help cool the blood between us, I would be fine with that. I don't wish there to be problems in the Covenant I have been so graciously invited into. I would hope that he is as gracious as the nobility he claims to be from, for I feel it would be a foregone conclusion, but perhaps something I could learn from."

42

Rhodri will study the Corpus summa. Rhodri needs to learn Leap of Homecoming.

He'll also eagerly watch Sir Guillaume teach a lesson to Sinmore, keeping an eye out for any magic use.

There's a lot of flexibility when studying, much more so than with lab work. I figure Rhodri can make one attempt on the shield every other day with ease for a total of about 40 attempts. The ones he's not happy with will be reforged later. How much difficulty should we add in this endeavor? I'll make 50 rolls just in case of 0's or 1's. Yay, no botches! On attempt 30 he got a total of Per 2 + Finesse 4 (w/ Spell Mastery) + Weapon 8 (shields are considered weapons, not armor, generally and specifically in ArM5) + familiarity 3 + roll 16 = 33. Depending on the penalty, there's a good chance his ego won't be satisfied. His other best is a 16 on the 39th try. (Whimper: the 39th was 2x2x2x2=16 - how could I follow 3 1's with a 2?) So if 33 isn't good enough, he won't be done with the shield this season. (I should note that with the 1-point penalty for working in any aura and the 3-point penalty for using Finesse, a 31 would normally give him +5 when working normally with iron/steel.)

Note: Edited to a couple times to fix calculation typos.

43

Since we're on aging rolls (winter), just how much living condition modifier do we have here? I believe the aura helps us, but I'm not sure how much.

44

If these "lectures" are occurring over dinner or as random discussion while walking around the covenant, Aequi would like to join in too. Shmuel will handily out-logic and out-argue him time and again (and I'm probably one of the few that can pronounce his name right, well, at least compared to others who know no Hebrew, just with an extra horrible accent) but it's more because I have a different viewpoint of the different interpretations of the Spheres and Limits more based off Time and Perceptional Placement Analysis. I'm not sure if Shmuel holds Aequi in contempt or humors his arguments, because we've probably had these discussions before - probably contempt, but Aequi cheerfully loses and keeps intruding. (Any kind of Folk Ken will have you realize he's more interested in planting the idea of you one day picking up Enigmatic Wisdom, which Criamon are more than happy to spread, if anyone was actually willing to listen to them long enough).

45

"Huh? You want to move back in? Yeah, that's cool with me. But you have to clean up after yourself, and no bringing home strange women in your master's bed, that just wouldn't be kosher." Sanno then offers Attravere some half-eaten trout, and scampers off to go swimming.

46

With zero Order of Hermes Lore and zero Hermetic Law, Sinmore probably believes this is true :stuck_out_tongue: Attravere knows better, though.

47

Actually, I've long played with a house rule that anything following a 1 can be no less than 5. So if you roll a 1,1,2 you consider it as 2x2x5. I didn't remember to put it in the house rules section, but I have rolled a few stresses for you guys that I've rounded up to 5's. So... yeah, your 39th roll is actually a total of 40. I think that's sufficient to bump up the ol' Hubris, don't you? :slight_smile:

48

+3.

49

The conversations go right over Sinmore's head, so it likely doesn't occur to her that Aequi is anything more than a mundane scholar.

Rhodri and Tabanus, however, begin to hear rumours that there is some magus living in the covenant who has been engaging in disputatio regarding philosophiae and its relation to Hermetic Theory. Attravere hears these rumours too, but he's already aware that there's a Criamon living here that's indebted to House Mercere (in fact, he's been asked by Harco to think of services that Aequi can perform for the House).

50

Rhodri likes the old forge. The time spent removing the wall will effectively be the time adding a focus anyway. He'll move in there and claim it as his sanctum if no one minds. Since he's one of the senior-most of the new magi and no one has used the place in a long time, there will probably be no objections.

51

A young man notices Rhodri begin working on the building, and introduces himself as Jens of Roskilde. He speaks Latin eloquently, despite his heavy Dutch accent. He explains that he is the architect who built the place, and offers his assistance in any modifications Rhodri wishes to make. "It would be bad for my reputation, if the roof falls in on your head. Even if it is your fault!"

During the season spent removing the wall / refining the lab, Rhodri makes an Int+MT roll of 7+4Int+3MT= 14, sufficient to add the Highly Organised virtue. His Organized personality roll is a non-botch 0 for a total of 1, which is not sufficent to pick up the Spotless virtue.

Set up as such, Rhodri's lab's virtues and flaws are as follows:
Dedicated Building (0), Superior Construction (0), Highly Organised (0), Superior Equipment (0)
Size +2, Refinement +1, General Quality +2, Upkeep +3, Safety +2, Aesthetics +2, Re +1, Vis Extraction +1

With the lab's size at +2 and the Refinement now at +1, your maximum V-F is 3, so you can use the forge as a Greater Feature if you wish, or use it as a Lesser Feature and choose two other minor Virtues. Or you could add it as a greater or lesser focus and go crazy with virtues, as long as they make sense :slight_smile:

Over the course of the winter, Rhodri occasionally catches glimpses of a ghostly figure working at the forge. The dead smith does not seem to be hostile, indeed, he does not seem to notice you at all, and he only appears four times throughout the whole season.

52

OK. I didn't realize he could work on the lab this season. He'll do that, holding off on reading the Corpus summa until next season. He'd be happy with the forge as a Greater Feature.

53

With the knowledge that Leona's lab is up for grabs, Aequi will start working on what he needs to be able to move on it - more Parma, some Local Fae Lore to assist in bargaining, some more Animal spells to assist in communication and bargaining... etc. etc. He knows it might take several seasons/years to be able to develop enough. Besides, it'd be a good place to keep Geoffries.

54

SInmore spends the Winter finishing her lab and getting acclimated to it with her particular Gift and studies. She's also waiting to see if there will be a sparring match with Sir Guillaum sponsored through Attravere. She continues to indulge Samuel and his non stop talking, occasionally scratching down some of his wisdom onto a wax tablet.

55

Liliana will overrule the idea of a Flambeau lab being installed immediately beneath the covenant library. Samuel also seems relieved that he won't be losing access to the guest laboratory.

56

Sinmore is not altogether surprised and takes the news graciously (hopefully she didn't get too far in the lab conversion). "Very well, I'm a guest, which lab shall I take then? Whichever will make the Covenant feel safe."

57

As a guest you can use the guest laboratory, though Liliana asks as a personal favour that you don't experiment on any Ignem effects there. The objection is to an ignem-focused lab being a permanent fixture in such close proximity to some incredibly valuable books.

If Sinmore decides to sign the charter then she can establish a sanctum any of the available locations.

58

"With what little I've read of the Charter, I was under the assumption that I would be putting in service to the Covenant, I shall work on whatever the Covenant needs so that I may join. If you merely wish me to abstain from Ignem while in this lab I'm certain I can find other studies."

59

Once you sign the charter you would begin provisional membership. That would last two years, during which three seasons of service are due. Your library access as a guest is entirely at the whim of the covenant librarian, who is insane. As a provisional member you're allowed access to the library, though full members have priority over provisionals.

60

Ah, I'd missed the stress roll note. So the 39th try was 2x2x2x5=40. That gives Rhodri a total of 57. His normal target is 31 for +5. I was expecting a hefty difficulty increase, around the order of +9 to +15. This would handle a difficulty increase of +26. So I'm assuming Rhodri finishes Sir Guillaume's shield right at the end of the season. He'll present it to Sir Guillaume on the equinox.