Well, due to the inflation we feared this did, some players took only 100 points. I know I did.
Now, we can either stick to that or I can (or not, depending on time and laziness) add 50 points of things to hiems (Which would probably be a magical item that suspends his spells).
And yes, go for it! Alchemy is great, and maybe you'll somewhat get along with esteban (Our doctor, who is also a philosopher), that'd be cool!
Yup, I don't see how 2 magi of the same house could pose problem. What matters is character concept, and these are quite different here
So, IMO, bonisagus Auram specialist, cool!!! I like bonisagi, and Auram is very interesting and useful.
Oh, right. I forgot about that. So the answer is, 100 build points, not 150. I will try to update the house rules, once I figure out what happened to the buttons.
Due to limited time, I'll be building a character by merging concepts for two characters I've played in the past. Jewish usurer, maga Merceris. Social skills, alchemy, slight Vim focus but otherwise generalist.
If I may, I "created" herman and the gate of the dead, which was an item for Hiems. The item was scrapped from his list, but stayed with herman, who made a comeback as the author of one of Hiems Books.
(It's just that it was an slight hommage to a friend of mine, so it's important to me)
Yes, I remember you were quite striken with him, which was surprising to me since I had so little (the gate, a name, a look), but, well, if it gives you ideas, all the better!
Apparently, nobody at work thought as much of my awesome new idea for an alt-setting as I did:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Ars Magica
All of Mythic Europe is ponies. Those with the Gift have Cutiemarks. And the gestures for spell-casting would be, like, a flick of the main, shaking the head, stomping a hoof, flick of the tail, etcetera.
Friday afternoon, Cygna's probably in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on her grape tarts...and, after yesterday, the Jewish maids are probably loath to disturb her work.
Although Claudia should probably be summoned, now that I think about it.
If Ra'am came about the same time as Abdul the Merchant (which is what I thought), then that would be Friday afternoon, 15 March, according to what I have on the game log.
Couldn't the council meeting be a longish discussion and merit a new separate thread?
Also, sundown is the key for sabbath. Of course, there may be life and death issues at steak...
I'm sure it will be when it gets ready to start (just like the first one was)...it's just that I'm already juggling like four simultaneous non-linear storylines and am not ready to start the follow-up meeting when there's still a couple of things unresolved that would make a difference. Such as whether Cygna decides to take Cersei's old sanctum, what they find when they go to talk to the refugees (if they get around to it), and if the news Abdul has for Raoudha makes it to the magi's ears.
Claudia might be a good choice as you suggested, if she's not doing anything, and would know 1) about the council meeting and 2) know why the other magi and maga are indisposed. I came into the merchant thread because it was amul's suggestion. Any answers to Ra'am's questions can't get resolved until the council thread, anyway. Could give Claudia something to do, too.
Let's do it here, and any other loose ends there can be wrapped up in 2.1 Prelude thread for Ra'am. I came in to the merchant thread at amul's suggestion and it was a good way to bring some continuity to story threads...
Alchemy is great, and maybe you'll somewhat get along with esteban (Our doctor, who is also a philosopher), that'd be cool! 
