Just want to make sure I'm assuming correctly, and check a couple of things right quick.
Any magical items and talismans would come out of the 75 bp that each character has for their personal use that they're bringing?
How are we doing Longevity Rituals/Aging Rolls and Familiars? Does the character simply have them, or would they have to be paid for with either bp or xp somehow?
Also...if we're not making our own Longevity Rituals, how do we determine the effective level of the thing? I think Mercere are given a Level 50 at the appropriate time, which says to me that this is pretty wicked. So, maybe 30-35 the first time, 40-45 the second? (before Flaw modifiers, of course)
Let's say magic items, yes. Talisman is personal. These are some items that you're able to negotiate upon departing the covenant. Even though you may not have a story behind it or have spent the XPs for every season, we can presume you made it and are asserting ownership over the covenant, or during negotiations they are offering you something in exchange for something else you made, did. Or you acquired this in service to your previous covenant.
Familiars, give up a season to find oneget one, give up more seasons to create and strengthen the bond.
I could get really pick here, but then I decided to pull up Apollodorus for giggles. He is no master of Creo Corpus, but has been studying the last few years in an effort to increase his longevity without relying on someone else. Say the one he buys it from is fast approaching death or twilight. He can get to 48 no sweat. Creo and Corpus are his 3rd highest technique and form, respectively. So 50 is not unreasonable, especially from your mater and your "assistance." If you have vis over and above what the ritual requires, juice it up beyond 50. You're going to need it, especially when you divide that lab total in two. Assume 50 for your first one and 55 (rounds to 28 when divided) for your second one, due to the law of diminishing returns. In your case, Magic Theory will become very important for you, very quickly....
I do like the idea of an ex Misc expert in Magic Theory as a means to stay alive. Show them haught Bonisagus a thing or two about a thing or two.
I have been following this game from the beginning and was contemplating a possible magus character for me that would fit your saga. I am happy to see you are still searching for players.
I would like to join your saga. I was thinking about playing a nature/forest oriented magus. Not house Bjoernaer, since i definitely want to have a familiar. I was thinking either House Merinita, though i would not want to put much emphasis on faeries, so more "old-school" Merinita. Or a Diedne magus, prolly hidden in House Ex Miscellanea. With the history of the place, a pagan druid character should feel right at home and have a good motivation to go there.
Do you have access to "Guardians of the forest"? Following a path through the forest in the future would be something that intrigues me, though i dont have a certain path in mind yet.
And from what i found out in the internet, the region should have enough forests to explore/connect with/protect.
So with that character concept, would you like to have me in your saga?
Would a second Ex Miscellanea, albeit of a very different tradition, be a problem?
Any hints or possible problems you see with my concept?
A nature based magician would be a good addition. So far, it appears we have an artificier, an elementalist walking a unique path, a Flambeau turb general and an ex Misc potion master with the ability to transfigure others, and then there's the benefactor who is a fairly typical Jerbiton. Keep in mind that the artificer is a woodcrafter, and will likely be felling trees like no one's business.
I really like the idea of a Merinita based nature magus/maga, not into fae, all the better as far as Apollodorus is concerned. A couple of things to consider. It could be an ex Misc tradition keeping the vision of Merinita alive. This would be for those magi who followed Merinita, but couldn't go over to Bjorner. The ex misc tradition would be like secret keepers of hidden lore lost to House Merinita. Alternatively, you could be in Merinita, a nature tradition within House Merinita, but there would be tensions with the side of the House obssessed with the fae, and I think you and your line would almost be like second class House members. And both have an equally compelling basis for character development.
The Diedne magic thing is alright, but it forces you into the Dark Secret story flaw, and boom, you're done picking story flaws and oh, by the way, to be clear the Dark Secret story flaw doesn't get added to your Flaws total, so you have to make it up with another flaw. Adding that to an ex Misc means you're effectively starting with 16 points of flaws, for 14 points in virtues. Diedne is a harsh mistress. That, and when you go sponting spells like crazy, someone's going to get suspicious, so you can't even use your virtues to maximum effect. I'm not sure I can by a Diedne hiding out in any house for any length of time. They're toxic to be around, so a small ex Misc tradition seems to make the most sense.
Although, wouldn't be a hoot if a Flambeau had diedne magic? Consider the possibility that they "adopted" a few Diedne apprentices instead of wiping them out. The reasoning is that an apprentice is property, The House was renounced, and the property of the House fell to the victors. Flambeau reasoned that some of the newer apprentices hadn't been sufficiently indoctrinated by Diedne principles, and took a few of the apprentices as their own, not telling anyone where they got the apprentices. A secret Flambeau tradition with Diedne Magic would be something to see.
Note, I'm of two minds of the Diedne House and Schism War. They could be or could not be corrupted. It might've been their accuser who's been corrupted (Tremere) and they decided to act first, before being discovered themselves. Or the Tremere were right all along. This, of course, tells you nothing other than I don't hold to a hard and fast rule, because it's so ambiguous. I can go either way, depending on where the saga shapes up. As it is, I don't see any Tremere here, so...draw a conclusion from that. Or not.
Just to be clear, I'm not advocating you do this. It was more like a sudden though that came out and I wanted to express it. It obviously doesn't fit so well with a nature magus.
Well, my character would not have been corrupted yet and does not plan to become. What has happened more than 200 years ago, he could of course not say for sure. He would not be out for revenge either, it it was only for him, he would live in harmony with the other mages of the order (but then it aint that easy, aint it?).
About the "sponting spells like crazy" bit, i was debating that before, in a real-life saga. Can you really tell if another magus just used a formulaic spell or spontanous magic? Especially a 30-years-out-of-apprenticeship-magus who could have learned a lot of formulaic spells in all his seasons past. The question would also be how many witnesses, if any, of the magus sort there would be for his magic. I would guess that magi of our hermetic age could defend themself alone and therefor would not adventure in groups much.
But then, as i said, i am not fully decided yet on diedne or not. I did know about the extra flaw part of course though, and i dont mind having more flaws than usual. They restrict a character but they also give him a certain "personality".
I think a magus with sufficiently high magic theory would be able to tell, especially if they saw you work magic, and repeat an effect. That doesn't appear to be the case, as the characters currently stand.
It's likely that you won't be working with other magi on adventures. As with most troupe play, IRL, the idea is to make the magus the star of the particular story. Putting two magi or maga into a story is possible. Putting three or more gets tougher. In some ways, pbp play makes multiple magi in a story easier. I want to back away from that, bring companions and grogs into more stories. By running concurrent adventures within different seasons, I hope to see more action from covenfolk and companions, and lots of player interaction as players adopt characters.
Not wanting to spoil the fun for others, especially Mad Max, but rather wanting to understand how to develop my character:
Do we really get exposure xps for seasons spent on not learning? Rule book states that if you spent 3 or 4 seasons on lab work, you dont get any xps for that year. And the only change for this saga i could see was raising the yearly total from 30 to 40.
Also, just to be checking, we will all start with 60 warping points (30 years times 2), no matter if and when we decide to have a longvity ritual? Or is there any house rule on that too?
Will certainly have more questions later on, but these are the first that come to my mind.
Yeah, I suppose I need to HR some additional items.
Warping, as normal from Longevity ritual during post gauntlet years, whenever you started down that path. Do not give 2 points/year since gauntlet. (Hate that rule).
Exposure experience for labwork is only allowed once play commences. Creating items before play begins is a good exchange for 10xps/season spent. Sorry Max, I should've caught that earlier.
And now we have six.
ezzelino asked to join, and along with zlorfik's earlier request we now have 6 players.
So, total build points will be 1950=(250+75)*6. 250 per player at the covenant and 75 per player to be brought with their magus. This puts it pretty much smack dab beween Medium and High power to start.
My character would certainly not be half as active in the lab as a Verditius, but he would be interested in having a minor magical focus: wood and be able to use it to enchant his wooden talisman, and most probably only his talisman (with a few non-wood affecting effects). Would that work?
Wood is used as an example for a minor focus in the basic book but i know there has been discussions online regarding its power.
I think the issue with wood as the same as wand. Does it allow you to affect it by adding any effect, or does it only work if the effects work on wood. I've rules for wands, already that it affects anything. The same would certainly go for wood.
Warping points would come from the longevity ritual, and would start from that moment on.
1 warping point per year from the moment you started the longevity ritual.
