I have a magus in my game who, somewhat similar to "The Bountiful Feast" (p 135 in the main book), wants to create a ritual to enchant a well or spring with a healthful aspect so that anyone who drinks from it within the Year gains a recovery bonus.
I see this either as a Creo Aquam (perfecting the water) or Muto Aquam (granting the water a property it could not normally have) with a Corpus requisite (for the +6 recovery bonus to humans). However, it's possible it could be ruled as Creo Corpus with an Aquam requisite for similar reasons.
The weird part of ruling this is that the water is the target of the magic, but those who imbide the water receive the magical effect.
Any ideas what kind of spell this should be and what level? I'm open to suggestions.
In general, I wouldn't permit transitive spells, meaning that the target of the spell is one thing, but it affects another thing. That is an ability for enchanted devices.
That being said, Muto Aquam (Corpus) seems reasonable to me to turn water into heathier water.
Another possibilty would be to create a batch of Creo Corpus potions that look like a water well.
I (once again) don't have books with me to reference guidline levels.
I think that the simplest way to do it would be with a Creo Aquam spell to make the water more perfect. However I don't see that perfectly healthful water would warrant the +6 bonus that you seem to want (I'd give it a +1 on recovery and ageing rolls).
A +6 on recovery rolls would be a Creo Corpus effect.
I can think of a few ways to do this.
The simplest would be to enchant the well with the creo corpus effect (sun duration) and use drinking the water while touching the well as the triggering effect. If I were the SG I'd give a pretty healthy shape bonus for this, but of course I'm not).
A choice that wouldn't use vis but would still suck up seasons is to enchant the water in the well as a charged device (probably duration moon) use a pretty involved triggering action to activate it so that your charges are not squandered on people who don't need it.
A harder way to go about it would be to join house Bjornear or delve into hermetic research and initiate or invent sensory magic targets, specificly the target of taste (not a sense target mind you, a sensory magic target) You then develop a spell that will effect anyone who tastes the water. (Some SG's may allow this to be done without research or initiation by using a bump in spell level to account for a non-standard target, I wouldn't but your SG might differ)
The reason I don't think it's an enchanted item (though that could well work) is because it's only a Year duration Ritual. Still, food for thought in that regard.
I do see a precedent for transitive spells of this nature in the Bjornaer Sensory Magic Minor House Mystery (pg 27 of HOH: Mystery Cults). In this case, the target of the magic is Personal, but the magic effect is experienced by others who perceive the target in a variety of ways (including Flavor, which would apply in the water case).
But I welcome additional suggestions as to how to make this work.
I would say a spell like this could be made (not only but as an example)
Spring of the Snake(CrAq30 , Base 5 (creating a spring with high flow), Touch, Moon, Individual, +1 Magnitude for the best, naturally water)
This spell creates a beautiful spring from any place whrer a spring could normaly exist. The water of the spring is pure and good, tasting a bit like honey. People who baths in the spring or uses it to drink a bit or gave a bit of the water to plants and animals they will feal healthier and bether. This results in a additionaly +1 living conditions modifier for aging and healing rolls. But if you drink too much from this spring and sometimes this spell isnt recast in time you will dehydrate in the moment the spell ends. Like a sperpent this spell can be useful and good for your health or deadly as the baddest poison.
Spring of Paradise(CrAq 20, Ritual, Base 5 (creating a spring with high flow), Touch, Instant, Individual, +1 Magnitude for the best, naturally water)
This spell creates a beautiful spring from any place whrer a spring could normaly exist. The water of the spring is pure and good, tasting a bit like honey. People who baths in the spring or uses it to drink or gave the water to plants and animals they will feal healthier and bether. This results in a additionaly +1 living conditions modifier for aging and healing rolls. This spring will exist only forever if the place it is created could sustain a normal spring as well or this spell is cast on a existing spring.
Sensory magic is something (like many of the spell mastery options in True Lineages) that is too darn useful for its accessability in the setting. Everybody is going to want to get their hands on it yet to do so (without altering the setting from the published material) you need to make some pretty specific choices about your character in an unrelated area.