Prelude for Herman of Bonisagus

So how many concentration rolls, against what target (and are they stress or simple) if I very patiently were to cast a ring ward after the birds flew away at night? (I am presuming that they fly away at night.) Since they are not magical, it looks like the spell itself us ReAu, base 1, +1 for touch, +3 for ring. So I can manage that part.
Assuming the concentration is too high, could I cast a series of small wards next to each other around the field? (I expect that it would take too many circles, since each one needs a stress spell-casting roll, and botching next to his precious vines could well be MUCH worse in terms of attitude.)

I realize that I have to deal with the grogs accidentally rubbing out the circles. One problem at a time.

The birds didn't have spells active on them, which doesn't mean that they are not magical themselves. In fact Peter did mention something about that:

In any case, trying to set up a single circular ward is simply not possible. For one thing, the area is just too large, several miles in diameter -- so it would take several hours to trace the circle. For another, the perimeter of the circle wouldn't allow tracing of a suitable circle -- it passes through the forest, streams, gullies, etc.

As for smaller circular wards, there would need to be several dozens of them. And again, tracing out the circles would be almost impossible. In addition to the uneven terrain, you'd have to cut accross rows of vines in many places (risking damage to them and increasing the difficulty of Concentration rolls).

So, while Herman entertains the idea for a few seconds, he realizes that a spontaneously cast circular wards (or multiple circles) is not a viable option.

Hearing the cawing of the birds, he feels like they are laughing at him. :laughing:

Yep, Herman feels like the birds are laughing at him (doesn't matter whether they are.) And it would have been rego anima not rego aurum, so the casting would have been unlikely, and as you say that was ruled out anyway.)
Is it really the case that the birds are never flying within 50 yards of Herman for more than 1 second? Clearly, I am not going to get to hit enough birds to make a dent in them. If they are never that close, something really odd is going on. If they are sometimes, maybe I can knock one down, and grab it. I am starting to wonder if these birds can actually talk (I can not get a good enough spell to read its mind, even if I catch one.) (Also, assuming I caught one, how would I determine if it was Magical, Faerie, or Dominion? Determining it is Infernal is presumably only by elimination?) I could try doing a spontaneous Disguise of the Putrid Aroma (ReAn 5 + 2 Sta + 1 Aura + 2 gesture and voice + stress die, and then concentrate until the birds are close enough? Might as well try that as well.

(If only because this is supposed to be background, if I do not come up with something effective soon, I will declare that Herman spends a frustrating season trying somethings, manages not to make a mess by botching, but doesn't accomplish anything. I was hoping for better, but this is taking longer than is appropriate for this.)

Well, it is a very large vineyard, and the birds seem wary of anything moving too close to them. It might just be bad luck that they haven't flown that close to you, because the workers keep trying to scare them off. I've been concentrating on the first day for now, but eventually he might be able to get close enough to sling one down.

That would be a Base 5 (from RoP:M), specific to each Realm.

Disguise of the Putrid Aroma targets a single creature, so that it ignores you. Its range is again Voice, and it would only ignore you.

Here's a hint about a potential way:

The second day begins much the same as the first, chasing the birds or trying to sneak on them. After another unsuccessful attempt, Herman kicks at a rock in frustration, sweat dripping due to the summer sun. A gust of wind blinds him momentarily with dust, at the same time coating his face with grit. After wiping his brow with his sleeve, Herman looks reflexively at the damp spot on his arm, to which a small black feather clings for a moment before being blown off by another gust.

(I thought about trying to use feathers for arcane connection. As far as I can tell, That can increase the penetration, or I can try to do a spontaneous spell at +4 for range = arcane connection. That would mean a spont invisible sling would be 20, and a spont to determine whether these are fae would be base 25, which would need a 50 casting total, which just isn't going to happen. Off to work and cogitate.)

Get some of the feathers from the field. I ought to be able to cast a touch range Intellego Vim to at least find out what realm these are from. Base 5, R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind is 10. Have to cast three times, first Faerie, then Magic, and then if I need to Dominion. InVi 20 + 2 Stamina + 1 Aura + 2 for load and exagreated + a stress die is reliable, and the feathers ought to have no magic resistance.

Once that has been determined, spend a day gathering a small pile of feathers and see if there is actually harvestable vis.

(Who said anything about trying to kill them through it? Herman is an Intellego specialist, after all, and there are many ways to learn more about the birds. And right now, you know very little about them.)

(Yes, i realized as I typed my response to your note that maybe the answer was VERY different.)

Can I (and my grogs) gather enough feathers to be able to tell what realm the birds are from (Faerie, magic?) Can I get enough to tell if the feathers are a vis source?

Checking to see whether the feathers contain raw vis is easy, a simple first-magnitude spell.

Teling the Realm of the birds only from the feathers would be much harder. You usually need the creature itself to be able to tell that. So you could use the feathers as an arcane connection, but that raises the magnitude by quite a bit. The InVi guidelines indicate that you can detect a creature as if their Might was a spell effect level. So the lower their might, the harder they are to detect. And the detection spells must be Realm-specific. I'd say only detecting if they are associated with a given Realm is a bit easier, say by 2 magnitudes. So detecting if a Might 15 creature is associated with Faerie would be a Base 2. For a Might from 5 to 14 it would be Base 3. For Might below 5 it would be Base 4.

Presumably, testing whether the feathers have raw vis will not damage the arcane connection, so do that first: InVi base 20 + 1 + stress / 2 so unless I botch, easily enough to make the test. Rest for a few minutes.

Then I will try spontaneous InVi to test whether the birds are Faerie, and if that fails whether they are associated with the magic realm. For the Faerie test do it with Load Voice and Exaggerated gesture. If I can, also spend the 45 minutes to do it ceremonially, getting to a base before stress of 30. That should let be detect faerie alignment even if they are only might 5.

Assuming that does not tell me anything, rest and then try a simpler InVi to test for Magical Realm. Do it the same way, taking 45 minutes, even though the odds are I won't get to 30 (net 25 plus stress die / 2).

Actually, I just looked at the guidelines and simply detecting the presence of raw vis is Base 1, so simply adding +1 Touch is easy enough that you can cast this as a Fatigue-less spontaneous. (Checking your character's stats) Except that Herman has the flaw Difficult Spontaneous Magic, so he must always fatigue himself. :laughing:

Rolled a 4, so it goes off fine. The feathers do not contain any raw vis.

Remember that you should detail your casting total and the parameters of the spell you are trying. I'm guessing maximum Base possible, +4 Arc. Your casting total is: In 15 + Vi 5 + Focus 5 + Int 2 + Artes Liberales 2 + Philosophiae 2 + Aura 5 (I assume you are doing this back at the covenant). I don't allow Bold Gestures and Loud Voice to be combined with Ceremonial Casting. So a total of 36 + stress die 6 (1,3) = 42. Divided by 2 is 21. Minus 4 magnitudes for R:Arc yields a Base of 4. The creature doesn't register as Faerie.

Doing the same for Magic is a total of 31 + stress die 3 = 34. Divided by 2 is 17. Minus 4 magnitudes yields a Base 3. The creature does not register as Magic with a Might of 5 or more.

(Note that usually you would also need to overcome the creature's magic resistance by a few levels kept for Penetration. But I'm waving it in this instance since you are just testing for affiliation to a Realm.)

(Thanks for the corrections. Sorry about being insufficiently specific.) I will perform the same test for Dominion, although I would be amazed if it were.

Doing the same for Divine is a total of 31 + stress die 12 (1,6) = 44. Divided by 2 is 22. Minus 4 magnitudes yields a Base 4. The creature does not register as Divine at all.

Does the covenant have a forester / hunter (grog / covenfolk, not magus)? Someone who might be able to at least make some observations about what sorts of birds they are and what their habits are, given a description and the feathers to look at.

Also, do the birds leave the fields before sunset? (InIm to look at where they are then would be interesting, but I need light to see by. Also, what form would I use to determine where they are, and what base?)

(Just checking I am understanding, given that the covenant told me that the birds crossed wards against normal animals, and the results of my test, they are either low magical might, or infernal. The later seem unlikely.)

They have a number of huntsmen, but they can only provide you with general information. The birds look like small crows, who usualy only move about and eat during the day. Probably live in the forest. Of little interest to hunters.

The birds seem to attack the vineyards only during the day and return to the forest in the evening. Locating them would be InAn, Base 3 (from the InCo guidelines, "Locate a person to whom you have an Arcane Connection.") Look up The Inoxerable Search (InCo 20), ArM5 p.131 for more details of how could be done. Variations might be possible.

Note that one of Fengheld's senior members is known for being quite strong in Intellego. Eule of Bjornaer is a retired Quaesitor, over 150 years old. It is said that she spends almost all of her time in her animal shape, that of an owl. An audience can be arranged through her filius, Günther Lupus.

Would a momentary spell that pulled in the right direction be possible? Not sure I could use it even so, since that would be a base of 15 and need penetration.

I want to have more information before I try to get an audience with an elder expert. So I and my grogs will spend several evenings determining which way the birds leave the fields, whether they leave in the same direction, and such things. I will use a spontaneous InAu spell to try to amplify the sound of the birds flying / sqawking as they leave to help tell how long they are flying, in which way. That should be InAu so Base 17 + 2 Stamina + 1 Aura + Stress. Augmenting one sense is base 1. I am guessing this is Range "eye" (eye longer than I can normally hear), and target group? Meaning net 10? (Presumably a similar effect could be done with MuCo to improve ones hearing, but that would not be Herman's approach.)

Yes, without the use of a map that is the kind of information such a spell would be able to give. Direction and rough distance.

They leave a little before the sun goes down, going east into the forest.

That's trickier. An Intellego Auram spell would only work so long as you see the target (R:Sight), much like Whispering Winds does. So that wouldn't help you much in tracking the birds down when you lose sight of them. InAu doesn't have guidelines to augment your sense, only to make them unhindered by air (wind, fog, etc.)

Note that R:Eye is only valid when you can look the target in the eye. See ArM5 p.111.

I think this would need to be MuCo instead, to improve the acuity of your hearing. That's MuCo Base 2 (Change someone to give them a minor ability) and usually involves an Animal requisite.

I realize that the MuCo approach is natural, but with a 0 base, that is simply not practical. What I was hoping I could do is target the Air, within range Vision, as a group target, to enable me to hear more of the noises from the direction they are moving (essentially, clairaudience rather than clairvoyance, such as allows one to see the other side of a wall.)
If it can not be done, we will resort to mundane means, with the three of us on the correct side of the field, moving progressively deeper each day for 3 days to try to tell roughly how far they go, and if there is anything odd (like a sudden cessation of sound indicating a regio crossing.)

Projecting your senses would be Intellego Imaginem. Check out those guidelines.

Use 1 sense at a distance is base 1. But I think, along the lines of Eyes of the Eagle, that the base I need is 3 for enhancing a sense, +1 for duration Concentration, +3 for range Vision. So the spell is base 15. Which is just too unlikely as a spontaneous InIm. (I had thought the base 1 would do it, but the relevant example is base 3.) So we will use mundane means for a few days, and then I will seek out Günther Lupus.

Base 1 projects your sense at a distance, allowing you to perceive as if you were there. You could cast this at R:Sight (with presumably D:Conc) in order to project your hearing to a distant location you can see. Target level would be 10 (Base 1, +4 Sight, +1 Conc).

Base 3 allows you to enhance a sense, so that everything you can sense from your current location is clearer. You could cast this at R:Per and T:Hearing (presumably also D:Conc) to hear everything more clearly and use this to try to follow the birds. The target level would be 15 (Base 3, +1 Conc, +3 Hearing).

Either could do what you want, although the results would vary a bit.