When do we have to return to Trier to get our stuff from David?
David gave us a year, so I think we can stop by him even after the tribunal is complete.
I suggest one of us stays behind to arrange the expedition - recruiting the men needed, and gathering the essential construction materials. The rest should start the travel to the site, stopping either in Darkamar or in Fengheld (We should split if we want to visit both). The party can gather at the chosen location, at more or less the same time.
What do you say?
Problem is that Fengheld and Treir are opposite directions. Honorus is the best person to send to Fengheld and I may be the best one for Trier. I think the spell i made to open the walls is lvl 10 ReTe but I'm guessing that no one else can spont that?
But we should organize craftsmen to build structures, Foresters to fell logs ( and provide income) and teamsters to transport everything. Then supplies and someone can start building on the site. At least one of us will have to go with them with some grogs.
edit: correction. ReTe5(base 2, +1 part, +1 control, +1 touch) was used to open the door. can anyone else generate a casting total of 9+ with ReTe?
Hmmm... I tried replying yesterday, but it apparently did not post.
Carolinus has a base 7 to spont ReTe. A season of studying Te could get him to 9, possibly 10, depending on the quality of the text. He also has a personal interest in seeing the former Jerbiton covenant. As he is gently gifted, he might have an easier time in Trier, although he did not personally meet David.
Also, we could copy texts in Durenmar faster, and get a level 18 summa in one season. We would sacrifice 1 point in the quality of the text, but would this be worth it given the time?
Trier can wait in my opinion – we have more than enough time. We should first build the covenant before we consider moving the artifacts.
If Honorus will travel to Fengheld, which of the rest will travel to Dankmar and to Westerwald with the grogs and supplies?
In the season right before tribunal, all covenants send representatives to Durenmar to broker deals etc
I assume that it is possible to negotiate with multiple covenants in that season.
You can build the covenant buildings before that, nothing illegal about it, but you are not legally recognized as a covenant. You are protected by the Oath, but are considered peregrinatores. If this inofficial status goes on for years, it will also damage your reputation and prevent you from becoming masters until it is rectified.
Suggestions:
- using the first season as a non-roleplay season in which everyone does something he/she is good at (like traveling to the site and raising a tower, recruiting grogs and villagers, bringing the stuff from Trier, using the Durenmar library (which you can of course use like any normal magus - see GotF rules). This season can also be used for personal development (finding a familiar, reading a book, learning how to produce sushi)
- using the second season for the main negotations (so tribunal is just a formality after that)
- what can you ask from which covenant?
- what can you offer which covenant?
- who is best suited to negotiate with whom?
- what do you need most urgently?
- you need a sponsor from each covenant: Do you try to convince a single magus by offering him/her sth, or do you try to offer sth to the covenant?
example:
Hildegard is mostly interested in Tractatus on Creo and Corpus, lab items that increase creo, corpus or labwork (lr rituals). As a specialist, she'd also love to see the roots of the arts (which she still needs herself).
She can offer lr rituals. As a useful member of house Mercere, she has good relations to her Housemates (especially relevant for Durenmar and Fengheld). Hildegard can get vis loans from her house.
Honorus is interested in all of the elements and in the hedge magic elementalist. He will also make a study of Vim. Any Technique is also a big plus. He will look for a lab setup that could help in any of the elements and/or vim. Honorus has good relationships with his house. Stenorius(sp?) of Fenghold is his councilor/advisor. He can ask his house for support.
Arturous will travel to the site with a few able men and establish the base there. He will return in the second season for the negotiation with the rest of the covenants. If time permits, he will stop in Dankamr first.
moving on?
Carolinus can use the first season to recruit covenant members, unless we feel that we won't have room for more people yet. Alternatively, he can get the equipment from Trier.
Also, as none of us have Profession: Scribe, it will still take at least two seasons at Durenmar to copy a level 18 summa, assuming we find someone to teach us scribing, using up a third season. I think our time would be better spent making a couple of fast copies, and sacrificing the one point of quality.
I think we should bargain with other covenants for:
some really nice lab equipment
books
spells (low priority, except for Conjuring the Mystic Tower, unless we are looking for a casting tablet.)
vis (low priority for now, except for Te or Cr so we can raise a Tower)
BTW, how detailed are we going to get with the mundane aspects of covenant building? Do we need to list out who/what occupations we are recruiting? I can imagine us needing hunters, farmers, shepherds/goatherds, various servants, etc. We will also need places for these folks to live, and to ensure that we have enough income to support them and our own pursuits. In the other sagas in which I have played, we pretty much hand-wave this stuff, unless the SG intends to have a story about something in particular. (The most memorable being some negotiating with a local abbey to obtain the services of a permancarius (sp?), which led to several interesting entanglements.) Anyway, I don't have a lot of experience (or interest) in building a covenant at a deep mundane level; if we are going there, I am open to suggestions about the best way Carolinus can help.
Carolinus:
- Recruits mundane village. Age, sex, occupation and promises made matter (they'll greatly influence which sources of income the covenant has, and how loyal people are, if genders are balanced.
- negotiate at Durenmar?
Arturous:
- Establish base in the forest (by himself? Or with workers recruited for that? Does he want them to stay? what does establish base mean: build houses and pigsties from wood? cut down more trees? build a palisade? Establish a decent road?)
- negotiate at Durenmar
Honorus
- travels to Fengheld (he can pick up the stuff from Trier in the same season)
- arrives with magi from Fengheld???
Hildegard:
- Learns how to scribe (I assume she uses contacts within her house). She already has scribe (diligently) 1 and raises it to 2.
- Can either help the others negotiate (works like a common sense virtue for the others for that season only), or can scribe in the library.
You may want to counsel each other before each of you writes what his character tries in one season.
We need to agree on which book Hildegard scribes (or if she scribes later and helps negotiate). If she does all the scribing, she can copy two lvl 18 summae in the 4 seasons we have (or make sloppy copies of 4 summae). I prefer the first version (deligent copies) and trading for what we need.
We need to recruit foresters. They need to be the first ones since they will harvest the lumber to help build. They will also provide some income for the Covenant in the long run.
One Summa should be Creo to help Hildegard cast Wizard's Tower. I would say the other should be a technique as well since they seem to be more tradeable than form.
Arturous will travel to the forest with some men - definitely not by himself.
The intention is to build a few houses out of wood (no need for a palisade or a road at this point). We can use whatever material was left from the old hamlet, but if additional material is required we will gather from the surrounding forest.
The structures are not permanent – just a token to symbolize ownership of the area, and a temp living space for the men, which will inhabit the site while the Magi are at the tribunal. A tower will be created once we have a casting tablet and some vis.
I am against using lumber as a source of income as it might cause issues with the local fey.
Regarding books, I also prefer to make sound copies, as they will improve our prospects for trading. Creo is a solid choice for a Summa, and I suggest either Rego or Perdo as the second technique.
Creo, well, Hildegard right now has Creo 15+3, and plans on further improving it. This means she can write a low-level creo summa (L8) and 3 Tractatus herself (Com+3, good teacher). Same for Corpus, btw.
Terram would be more useful for creating the tower.
As for the second one, I agree that a technique is more useful, although I think we are all weak at intellego.
You are right. I spaced.
Terram and ...
I agree we are weak in Intellego but there is a reason for that 
Lets hear what some of the other Covenants say before choosing the 2nd one. We might get a better trade for a certain book.
Honorus will plan on going to Fengheld and see what they will offer. We need vis for Ageis and Tower. Should I ask for vis? Or, since they are fairly powerful, books and or lab equipment.
Honorus will also plan to hire teamsters to move the equipment from Trier to ???
Vis would probably be better at the moment – we would need it to conjure the tower. Regarding the items, i think we should wait a bit until we raised the tower.
We can't raise the tower before Hildegard
a) Improves her scribe ability
b) Copies the summa
c) studies it for 2 seasons
So we are looking at 7 seasons of work. Call it two years at best.
Carolinus will work on recruiting foresters and carpenters, and their families. Carolinus will promise them steady work, and comfortable living conditions (once we have some buildings). He is not above using a little enchanting music to sweeten the attitudes about moving into the forest.
Should we get a blacksmith as well?
Are the four grogs we have enough to protect the residents?
I am also wondering about how we will feed these people? Should we get some livestock (pigs and chickens) and people to care for them? How do we feed the livestock? Do we need someone to till the soil and plant crops? Won't this anger the local faeries? (My brain really starts to boggle at questions like this ... 
If you have other suggestions about whom to recruit, I am all ears.)
By the way, assuming the farm family's daughter is apprenticed to a Bonisagus at Durenmar, Carolinus will try to deliver the tablet with the message from her siblings. If he has to, he will ask a Redcap to deliver the tablet, after casting a ReTe spell to hold the chalk in place for a month. I think that's a level five spell, which Carolinus can spont with a roll of 1+ on the die, using ceremonial casting.
We are in the middle of the woods so farming will not be an option for a while.
I still suggest foresters. Clear the land and build a road. Use the lumber to build homes.
Can we figure what level Aegis we can cast so I at least know how much Vis to get. I can generate a 19 Ritual casting score. I think that is the highest. We might want to start with a 20 and increase it later as we get Wizard communion and more power.