Oh, I have tons of ideas. I just want to make sure that the first level of the regio seems. Perfect for Viola's lab, despite what she is going to find in the deeper levels. 
Bastard!
Scott
For anyone who didn't catch it elsewhere: my wife is being induced to labor early Sunday morning. I should be able to get online enough to keep up, but I'll be distracted the next few days.
Scott
Would anyone care to play the Cat in the current Faerie thread? If so, just pop on in!
Scott
Just wanted to say hello and say that I like the idea of this covenant. I'm still quite new to Ars Magica (I've read a few of the books & love the troupe concept), but haven't been able to convince a face-to-face group to give it a go. I have played other games online and decided to try Ars Magica online. So if I make any mistakes with the style or mechanics, please just give me a heads up.
I think I might start by playing the cat for a while. I also have an idea for a magus: a Jerbiton musician and connoisseur of beauty and fine things. He is originally Greek, from Constantinople, but has been travelling for 3 or 4 years post gauntlet in the Levant Tribunal. He heard about a new Covenant being set up north of him, and is making his way to you guys with some skilled artisans--all emigres from the sacking of Constantinople--(a skilled sculptor & goldsmith: companion, & a husband & wife team--a skilled glassblower and a gardener--who are madly in love with each other: grogs).
Hopefully these will fit the covenant. I'll try put up the full character sheets, but let me know if any of you have issues with these guys & I'll be happy to change them.
OK, sounds great!
Scott
Sorry, all. Things got really overwhelming here for a little bit. But all my advisees/students were were on the verge of not graduating got through and the family is healthy again. All good! I'll have to catch up now.
Chris
OK, great. Good to have you back.
Glad to hear it all came out alright in the end! I was worried about you.
I'm still a little new to this forum and wanted to clarify something. I just signed up for an account with Invisible Castle for die rolls. Is there a campagin for Nova Castra to which I should attach such rolls?
I don't think so specifically. I've been tending to stick "Base Camp" in the campaign name for rolls, but not as part of any co-ordinated plan.
I don't even go that far--I just use the character name. 
Scott
I use "Base Camp."
While we are doing a rules review, can someone explain how to calculate botch dice for me? Meaning, how many do I roll for a botch check after rolling a 0 on the stress die in all the circumstances?
As I understand it:
- If you're casting in a stessful situation, you get 1 botch die.
- If the situation is more than standardly stressful (e.g. not just casting in combat, you're casting into a confused melee in which your opponents have taken on the shapes of your own grogs), you get extra botch dice. How many is mostly at the discretion of the storyguide depending on the situation, although there's a handy chart of examples on page 7.
- Plus one botch die per level of foreign (non-magical) aura (so casting in a level 3 divine aura would mean you had 4 botch dice). (pg 183).
- If you're in a foreign regio, the number of botch dice for the foreign aura is doubled. (So casting in a level 3 divine regio would mean you had 7 botch dice.) (pg 190)
- Plus one extra botch die per pawn of vis used (so casting a ritual spell using 4 pawns of vis would mean you had 5 botch dice). (pg 83)
- Less one botch die per strength of the golden cord, to a minimum of 1. (pg 104).
- Plus or minus any botch dice from virtues such as Cautious (-3, min 1) /Careless (+2) Sorceror.
- Less one botch die per level of mastery of the spell, to a minimum of 0. (pg 86)
The reduction in botch dice from mastery is applied last.
These modifiers generally rely on the spell being stressful to start with. If you're casting a non-ritual spell in calm conditions, using vis won't give you botch dice. Spells that are only using a stress die because they're mastered, and for no other reason, also don't get extra botch dice (and will therefore have 0 botch dice).
This only covers botch dice for spellcasting. Other situations may have other modifiers. In particular:
- Trying to use an ability which you have no experience points in (but is an ability which you can use unskilled) gives an extra 3 botch dice.
- Cautious with (Ability) gives a reduction of 2 botch dice, minimum 0, as compared to a reduction of 3, minimum 1 for Cautious Sorceror.
- Supernatural abilities get botch dice for foreign auras in the same way as spellcasting does, with the exception that Divine aligned abilities don't get any extra botch dice.
Thanks for the recap, Salutor!
Just working the math on specific examples here...
Laboratory of Bonisagus is a CrTe 45 ritual. During the moment it is active, it has a trace of 45. Once the spell is complete, it has a trace of 23. These decrease at a rate of 1/rd until it reaches 0, 23 rounds later. As a ritual, it then decreases by 1 for the next 10 years, until it reaches -10.
Wizard's Sidestep is ReIm 10, duration Sun. When the sun sets, the trace magnitude is 5, and dropping at a rate of 1 per sunrise/sunset. On sunrise, 3 days later, it is at 0, but will linger like the Lab spell for the next 10 years.
Bountiful Feast, CrHe 35, year. Trace 18 after it expires. 18 years later, it is at 0, and then persists for another 10 years in the negatives.
Presumably, Circle/Ring spells work like Sun duration traces, Fire-duration spells last like Moon spells, and so on for magnitude-equivalency?
To add to Salutor's summary, I'll just say that, if you roll a 0, you want to ask the SG how many botch dice to roll.
Scott
That seems less feasible somehow. 
You can always roll what you think is necessary, and then the SG might add some extra dice, but ultimately, the SG is the only one who has full knowledge of the situation, including factors that are hidden from the player, and on top of that, there are certain sources of botch dice that are up to SG judgment.
Scott
Sorry about the delay, folks. I've been out on another trip. I really need to sit down and figure out what sort of time I reasonably have to give while on the road. I'm back for another week or two before my next trip.