Rose ex Tremere and a brief hello

Well greetings to you all. I've recently been invited by Jonathan to join your illustrious saga with a character that I believe is familiar to some if not all of you.

A little about me, I am a fairly experienced RPer (20 years, mainly White Wolf) but from an Ars Magica point of view should be viewed as total beginner. I had the chance to play ArM4 about 10 years ago under a very experienced and great ST, but after a few months that fell away. Its taken me about that long to persuade my equally green troupe to give ArM5 a go, but that's involved me jumping in at the deep end. Lets call in the partially sighted leading the blind!

I wont bore you with any more inane details about my life, save to say I am enthusiastic, a team player and really look forward to gaming with you. As I said to Jonathan, I am more than happy to answer any non-incriminating questions!

So below is my character sheet for Rose. She is the first Ars Magica character I have personally created. This has been done with a lot of patient assistance from Jonathan. I would certainly welcome any other feedback you guys have, at least to help me think about other characters in the future. Now, before I provide the stats, I should point out that in an effort to endear me you all, Jonathan has given Rose 550xp for Apprenticeship as opposed to the 240XP and 120 Levels of Spells. He has however, said to direct any friendly observations about the same to him!

So below is my character. I look forward to gaming with you all soon.

Akril

[tableborder][tr][th]Characteristics[/th]
[th]Score[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Strength[/td]
[td]-1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Stamina[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Intelligence[/td]
[td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Perception[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dexterity[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Quickness[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Presence[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Communication[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr][/tableborder]

[tableborder][tr][th]Abilities[/th]
[th]Speciality[/th]
[th]Rank[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Awareness[/td]
[td]Searching[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Brawl[/td]
[td]Knife[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Charm[/td]
[td]Being Witty[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Concentration[/td]
[td]Spell Concentration[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Etiquette[/td]
[td]Hermetic[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Folk Ken[/td]
[td]Magi[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Guile[/td]
[td]Fast Talk[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Intrigue[/td]
[td]Alliances[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Native Language (Gaelic)[/td]
[td]Expansive Vocabulary[/td]
[td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Order of Hermes Lore[/td]
[td]Politics[/td]
[td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Profession (Scribe)[/td]
[td]Hermetic Texts[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Artes Liberales[/td]
[td]Ritual Magic[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Latin[/td]
[td]Hermetic Use[/td]
[td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ancient Greek[/td]
[td][/td]
[td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Philosophiae[/td]
[td]Ceremonial Magic[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Code of Hermes[/td]
[td]Tribunal Procedure[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td]
[td]Terram[/td]
[td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Theory[/td]
[td]Inventing Spells[/td]
[td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Parma Magica[/td]
[td]Corpus[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Penetration[/td]
[td]Rego[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr][/tableborder]

Virtues
The Gift
Hermetic Magus
The Gentle Gift
Puissant (Rego)
Affinity with (Rego)
Improved Characteristics
Book Learner
Quiet Magic x 2
Subtle Magic
Minor Magical Focus (Certamen)

Flaws

Driven (to become a Quasitor)
Favours (from her Parens and House Tremere by way of an invested training)
Deficient Technique (Perdo)
Animal Companion (Cat)

[tableborder][tr][th]Art[/th]
[th]Rank[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Creo[/td]
[td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Intellego[/td]
[td]6[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Muto[/td]
[td]6[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Perdo[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Rego[/td]
[td]9+3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Animal[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Aquam[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Auram[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Corpus[/td]
[td]6[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Herbam[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ignem[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Imaginem[/td]
[td]0[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mentem[/td]
[td]6[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Terram[/td]
[td]6[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Vim[/td]
[td]6[/td][/tr][/tableborder]

Grimoire

Aura of Rightful Authority (ReMe 20)
The Earth's Carbuncle (ReTe 15)
Posing the Silent Question (InMe 15)
Trust of the Childlike Faith (PeMe 10)
Lifting the Dangling Puppet (ReCo 15)
Disguise of the Transformed Image (MuIm 15)
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10)
Recollection of Memories Never Quite Lived (MuMe 4)
Invisible Sling of Vilano (ReTe 10)

Hi Akril and welcome! The more the merrier, hope you will have fun here.
Now go wash my car :smiling_imp:

We definitely know Rose's character somewhat (she and my maga, Tranquillina, got to smash each other in Certamen a couple of weeks ago). The build looks familiar to what I know about Rose, which is good of course.

  • Why the level 4 MuMe spell, when Rose can spont it easily? I know 4 points isn't much, but you could throw them into Herbam or Creo.
  • Two Story Flaws (Favors and Animal Companion) might be a bit much ... could there be a suitable replacement Flaw for the latter? perhaps even a Minor General Flaw?
    Neither is a big deal to me though. Nor is the "extra" XP in my book - Rose is far younger than the other PC magi.

I've been lax on the two story flaws thing before. Alexei has two, with Milites and Plagued by something something... I think someone else has two, but I'm all fuzzy due to some bug that's going through the family.

I let Akril rebuild her into a character he'd like to play, was looking for a quick entry into the saga, and also let's him start off a bit slower, than trying to build a PC at 30 years PG. She's remarkably similar to what I had build for Rose as she existed, which I did for fun. Yeah, I'm a geek.

The Animal Companion one will probably be resolved relatively quickly and could possibly become a familiar. We need to flesh out the cat a bit...but that can come in the fullness of time. :smiley:

Well, speaking as the player of the character who probably knows snigger Rose better than anyone else...

(JL did tell you about Rose and Ulrich, right?)

  • Pre 0...but Rose is the most beautiful woman that Ulrich has ever seen!!!
  • I see that she doesn't have Lost Love or True Love, something representing her relationship with the apprentice Ulrich. Which, from lurking on the thread where Tranquillina, Maris, and Tria discuss Ulrich and Apollodorus, isn't that surprising. But she also only has a Guile of 1. Seems to me that she should either have something showing her love for him, or a higher Guile to completely fool him into thinking she does. (Of course, he is a 15 year old boy, so it wouldn't be that [strike]hard[/strike] difficult to do :smiley: ).
  • I was thinking she had case Wizard's Communion when they healed Ra'am.
  • I was thinking that we'd had a discussion about the Minor Magical Focus: Certamen being kind of a rip-off for Tremere, when you compare it to either Minor Magical Focus in the book or the free House Virtues that other houses get. Or was that another hallucination?

I did mention Ulrich, and how that was important, but as to saying it had to be True Love or Lost Love... Well, I wanted to let him put his fingerprints on Rose.
And we will Retcon some stuff, of course. The Arts don't match the Certamen contest, I think I specified an unnamed Lieutenant of Maris's, not Rose, so that isn't an issue.

And technically, I'm treating it as Tremere Certamen Focus, I've used it already. I probably should have clarified to Akril before now. I like the idea that Tremere are strong in Certamen, and I've used it a bunch here already...so... shrug I wouldn't call it a hallucination, more like it hadn't really come up because we haven't had any Tremere...

I think it's perfectly consistent to suppose that Ulrich is madly in love with Rose, while Rose is more "well, it's nice to have a guy this much into me, let's see where it goes". In fact, the more head-over-heels Ulrich is, the more possible it is that Rose could have a wide spectrum of feelings.
Am I a bad person?

It kind of looks to me, from what Tria and Maris told Tranquillina, that Rose is basically a tool to keep whatever Apollodorus did to Ulrich under control. A carbon rod, as it were. Which is going to be interesting to play out if/when he ever finds out...or is given something to make him doubt that Rose feels the same way he does.

I love drama.

On today's episode of "In the Ruins of Bibracte..." Should we call it Days of Bibracte? :laughing:

You always know you're welcome when you are gratuitously abused from the off :laughing:

Hmmm... I'll have to read up on who won!

And likely an amazing coincidence, since I built Rose in independently, save the Rego emphasis.

I had to spend a min of 120xp on spells so I couldn't really put this elsewhere. However, a useful observation as I hadn't though to work out whether a spell could be easily spont casted.

.

I might have a think on that. Whilst I realise Flaws are meant to be a hindrance (so to speak) I couldn't really find any others that would fit.

Thanks for the feedback. Very much appreciated. I look forward to Certamen Round 2!

I take it you've taken either virtue to express your affection for the "most beautiful woman" you've ever seen. Huh. Men! :smiley:

I have to say when I was told I would be playing a woman who was romantically involved with another PC, I'm fairly sure the disclosure did not include him being 15!

Now that made me laugh!

Really look forward to gaming with you all soon.

He was 14 when he and Rose first got together, back in the summer of 1222. He's currently been advanced to Summer of 1223, but still needs to be advanced to get him up to 1227 and current to everyone else...at which point he will be a studly 19 years old.

Yes, all the love was age appropriate...

Are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party?

for the middle ages :smiling_imp:

Going off the rails here... As a parent of a daughter, I have this ideal hope that she will be a good girl. However, the reality is much different. Combine raging hormones and an underdeveloped frontal lobe, and well, stuff happens...

I'm going to go with "Yes" because admitting to being a member of any other party in the UK is far more incriminating! :smiley:

So, did Akril have to pull out? Real-life obligations, no doubt ... how recherché.

Looks like. It's been almost three weeks since his last visit, and a month since his last post. Ah well.

Poor Ulrich...his future Lost Love Flaw strikes again. :laughing:

Well, I'll take her over. It was my intention to bring her here... It made it "easier" to do it when she was a PC.