Ranulf from MoH now 150 years post apprentice!!!!

[Erik_Tyrrell]

At some point in his sixth year of study Ranulf hears of a regio inhabited by salamanders and spends a season in that regio finding a magical animal that he has a bond with.
I had originally looked at the Bjornaer section of HoH:Mystery Cults to see what sort of temperament would be appropriate. At this point Ranulf personality traits are Inquisitive +2, Brave+2, and loquacious -1. While melancholic critters might have been more appropriate for younger Ranulf, Phlegmatic aspect critters fit the Ranulf+60 personality best (deep thinkers finding affection difficult ) . Yet most of the phlegmatic creatures were aquatic and aquatic creatures didn't seem right. So I went to RoP:Magic to see if there was already something appropriate there. There was a salamander joy! It was a creature that automatically put out any fire it came in contact with, that wasn't right . There was a fire drake woo hoo!, The fire drake desperately wants to be seen as fearsome. Ranulf's voting signal is a source of shame for him because it seems too violent. The fire drake presented was entirely wrong . I played with the idea of a very similar fire drake with a less incompatible personality, but it seemed to me that if one of Ranulf's themes is all of the things that you can do with ignem that aren't about violence, then giving him a dragon familiar is not the right way to go even if you rework the dragon's personality. I then reread the salamander of virtue entry and saw "Magi use it (the term salamander)as a kind of blanket term for various beings associated with the form of ignem".

So I created a salamander of my own and posted it on this board for critique here Double check my salamander A big thank you for all who helped me out .

Ranulf spends one season binding his familiar, he immediately spends a second season extracting vis to allow Artesano to study magic theory without a penalty to his study score from his magic might.

Two things here that seem a little off to me:
• The magical monster flaw from the creation of Artesano, Should I not have used a flaw that became inapplicable now that he's a familiar rather than a creature that exists outside of the social order? On the other hand it's an NPC's NPC familiar is magical monster still appropriate?
• The specialization for magic theory, do you think that's appropriate or cheesy?

The Salamander Artisano,
Characteristics: Int +2, Per -2, Pre -4, Com -1, Str -10, Sta +2, Dex +3, Qik +5
Magic Might: 15
Size: -5
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Natural Qualities: Camouflage, Skilled climber
Magical Qualities and Inferiorities: Focus power x2, Gift of Speech, Improved powers x1, minor virtue, Personal Power x2, Susceptible to deprivation
Virtues and Flaws: Greater immunity to fire, Arcane lore, Educated*, Tough, True Friend (Ranulf)**, Unaffected by the gift, Magical Monster, Baneful circumstances (when cool or wet), Afflicted tongue (hissing), Poor eyesight

• from minor virtue quality
  ** from familiar bond
  Personality Traits: Curious +2, Lizard +3, Loyal (Ranulf) +3, Noble +2, Obsessed (crafting flames) +2,
  Reputations: None
  Combat:
  Dodge*: Init +5, Attack N/A, Defense +12, Damage N/A
  Evade: Init +5, Attack N/A, Defense +17, Damage N/A
  Teeth: Init +5, Attack +12, Defense +11, Damage -9
  *(use dodge score if the evasion optional rule is not in use)
  Soak: +5
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
  Wound Penalties: –1 (1), –3 (2), –5 (3), Incapacitated (4), Dead (5)
  Abilities: Andalusian 5 (artistic usage), Artes liberales 2 (geometry), Athletics 3 (running), Awareness 3 (food), Brawl 6 (evasion), Concentration 5 (ignem), Finesse 7 (ignem), Hunt 3 (mice), Latin 5 (dated), Magic Lore 4 (regiones), Magic Theory (helping in the laboratory )3, Penetration 6(ignem), Stealth 3 (shadowing), Survival 3 (lake of fire), Swim 3 (lake of fire)
  Powers:

Crafter of Ignem (Cr/ReIg variable) Init: +3 Artesano can duplicate creo or rego ignem spells of up to level 25. This power has a cost of 1 point per magnitude of the spell duplicated (2 mastery increase level)

Assumption of the fiery mantle (MuAn(Ig)40) 1 pts Init +1, The substance of Artisano's body is transformed into flames. While this effect is active he neither speak nor manipulate objects. While in this form he is typically not damaged when hit with objects unless the object is somewhat larger than he is. He can take damage from an amount of water of greater than his size (typically +5 or +10 damage). See page 139 of Realms of Power magic for further details. In this form it is not uncommon for Artisano to cast range personal magics upon himself to improve his ability to move or even to fly. The effect lasts for duration sun but Artisano can cancel it at his will. In this form Artisano generates heat equivalent to a wood fire (+5 damage) however his small size makes it unlikely that contcat with him will do more than +3 damage except in the case of very small targets (See Arrm5 p .181)
(base 30 +2 duration sun, Personal power x2 2 mastery from personal power and 1 from improved powers to reduce cost.)

Master of Ignem (Mu/PeIg variable) Init: +3 Artisano can duplicate muto or perdo ignem spells of up to level 25. This power has a cost of 1 point per magnitude of the spell duplicated ( 2 mastery increase level)

Vis: 3 pawns in his tail.
Gold Cord: 3, Silver Cord: 2, Bronze Cord: 2
Appearance: Artisano is a reddish-brown lizard approximately eight inches long with darker colored spots on his back. His eyes are a bright orange hue.

The Salamander Artisano was one of a colony of similar magical creatures that live on the shores of a (small) lake of fire which is located deep in a magical regio. Unlike his fellows, he considers himself an artist, he takes pride in crafting and fires both mundane and magical in the same manner as a vocalist or a chef take pride in their work. Artisano speaks fluent Latin as a result of his frequent association with the ghosts of fourth century Monks that share the regio with the salamanders.
Artisano sees in Ranulf both a fellow artist in the medium of fire and a creature that can help him improve his artistry. Leaving his home to pursue his craft was a decision that Artisano does not yet regret.