I just got back into this game after a long hiatus, and am making a talisman. I want to make sure I am remembering things correctly. Is this effect (for a talisman) correctly calculated?
To duplicate the virtue Unbound Tongue for a Bjornaer Magus : Level 5 Mu An (to change a feature of an animal without transforming it completely) + 5 (to raise it to concentration duration) + 5 (to let the talisman maintain concentration on the effect, so it will in essence be constant) = 15 Mu An. No penetration is needed as it will just be used on the possessing mage when in animal form. Does this look right?
Broadly. However, with that set-up you'll need to concentrate on it at sunrise / sunset to keep it up, and if you don't you won't be able to put it up again for the rest of the day because you only have one use per day. I'd therefore recommend either multiple uses per day or Sun duration with 2 uses per day and an environmental trigger for a constant effect (but note that that'll warp you, and you have to have your talisman on you at sunrise / sunset for it to cast on you successfully).
Dang, I forgot that CONSTANT effects warp the magus even if he created them himself. I think I will just add 5 levels to get 24 uses / day, and change duration from concentration to diameter. 2 minutes is enough time to cast spells without the no-voice penalty, which is the main purpose of this (I couldn't find a virtue slot to spare for the unbound tongue virtue). If the character has to talk significant lengths of time, he can always change back to human.
Thank you for the feedback.
Hi! Was going to suggest something like that.
Note that you aren't installing that Virtue in the Talisman (Hermetic magic isn't really good at such things), but there's a spell that does pretty much the same thing, Voice of the Bjornaer Magus, in HOH:MC, p.36, MuAn 5 + D:Sun has to be cast in animal form. Depending on the animal shape, you might need a +1 to Target for size.
Also, keep in mind that you may need to cast in a hurry, and activating the Talisman is 1 action, and you'd have to wait for the next round to use your "Voice".
And the activation action has to be something the animal form finds easy to do.
Whatever R/D/T works best for you, and your character can afford!
Best of luck!
Thanks. I had forgotten I had that book, much less that spell. I think I will go with that - easier in the long run.
also keep in mind that a constant ability only warps the magus if it is on for more than half the year. You could only have it on when you need it, or make it daytime one and skip a day each year and not get warping.
Don't forget Perceive the Change in the box on page 24 of HoH:MC. In a talisman its only a level 9 enchantment and you can use linked triggers to it from multiple talisman effects.
MC p.24 box Perceive the Change is just one of these constant effects warping the talisman's wearer, if she wears it most of the time.
Note, that
So once a maga goes the way of being under long time mystical effects frequently, different effects may accumulate to provide full warping points.
The MC p.38 Virtue Unbound Tongue gets her around these troubles safely, as does a decent MuAn casting score and HoH:MC p.36 The Voice of the Bjornaer Magus, cast only when needed.
Cheers
I guess I parsed it differently thinking it was affecting the item ("Is [target] touching an animal?" vs. "Is [target] in animal form?") not the animal/caster.
HoH:MC p.24 Perceive the Change in general has R: Touch, not R: Per. So it affects the touched being - its wearer - with a constant effect.
Only as a talisman it is part of the touched being, and thus the effect can have R: Per.
Cheers
Which ultimately may be part of why mages spend so much time in their labs, within their sanctums, where they don't need to carry all their "spells on" long term effects.
Only an itsy-bitsy part, though: easily overlooked if a magus is busy inventing spells, enchanting devices or - unless he has an ArM5 p.59 Study Requirement - improving Arts.
Cheers