Selim ibn Ahmed (development)

Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Light of Andorra
1

So with Ryu taking a break, and thus Vulcanus not being around, I figured playing a Venditor might be less exciting :laughing: So, I've come up with another companion idea that will actually fit a very similar niche within the covenant. Selim is a Jann-blooded bedouin who, after many years of leading caravans from the Silk Road across the desert, has decided to take out into the world himself (an unfortunate incident with an emir's daughter hastened his journey). He left Arabia with as much fine silk as his horse could carry and now he is in Barcelona selling it in the market. Perhaps one of our lovely maga would be interested in some?

Selim ibn Ahmed
Characteristics: Int +0, Per +0, Pre +3, Com +2, Str +0, Sta +1, Dex +2, Qui +2
Size: 0
Age: 31
Height: 5’10
Weight: 175#
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Confidence: 1(3)

Virtues:
Strong Faerie Blood [Jann Blood (C&C pg 78)] (major)
Animal Ken (minor)
Faerie Speech [RoP:F pg 50] (minor)
Improved Characteristicsx2 (minor)
Venus' Blessing (minor)
Warrior (minor)
Ways of the Desert (minor)
Well-Traveled (adventure-20xp)
Second Sight (Strong Faerie Blood)

Flaws:
Greater Malediction [Must keep any bargain made] (major)
Outsider (major)
Animal Companion [saluqi] (minor)
Carefree (minor)
Craving for Travel [Grogs pg 78] (minor)
Dutybound [Bedouin honor code] (minor)

Personality Traits:
Outgoing +2
Likes the Ladies +2
Impious -1

Reputation:
Arab Muslim -3

Combat:
Damascene Steel Long Sword: Initiative +4, Attack +11, Defense +8, Damage +6
Soak : +1
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1-5), –3 (6-10), –5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)

Abilities:
Animal Handling (camels) 3
Animal Ken (camels) 4
Area Lore: Middle East (trade routes) 3
Area Lore: Iberia (Barcelona) 1
Athletics (running) 2
Awareness (alertness) 2
Bargain (silk) 5
Bows (short bow) 3
Brawl (dodging) 2
Carouse (staying sober) 2
Charm (seduction) 5
Faerie Lore (jinn) 2
Faerie Speech (seduction) 4
Folk Ken (women) 3
Single Weapon (long sword) 4
Guile (fast talk) 4
Hunt (tracking) 2
Living Language: Arabic (native, Khaliji) 5
Ride (camels) 4
Second Sight (jinn) 3
Survival (deserts) 2
Theology: Islam (jinn) 1

Zahira – Saluqi (hunting dog)
Characteristics: Cun 0, Per +1, Pre +1, Com -4, Str -4, Sta +3, Dex +1, Qik +5
Size: -2
Virtues and Flaws: Endurance, Improved Characteristics, Long-Winded
Qualities: Domesticated, Fast Runner, Grappler, Imposing Appearance x2, Keen Eyesight, Pursuit Predator
Personality Traits: Persistent +3
Combat:
Bite: Init +5, Attack +8, Defense +10, Damage -3
Dodge: Init +5, Atk n/a, Defense +8, Damage n/a
Grapple: Init +5, Attack +4, Defense +8, Damage special (see ArM5 pg 174)
Soak: 0
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-3), -3 (4-6), -5 (7-9), Incapacitated (10-12), Dead (13+)
Abilities:
Athletics 3 (running)
Awareness 3 (keeping watch)
Brawl 3 (bite)
Hunt 4 (track by sight)

2

:open_mouth: Fine silk => Arachné can craft almost invisible thread to serve as traps, or fine garnments, or... Count her in! :smiley:

3

Is it silk from Cathay or from Greece?
Just read "Sundered Eagle", and learned how the Greeks have stolen silkworm technology and raising the critters themselves. I think they stole it from the Arabs. The Arabs have stolen Greek Fire technology by this time as well.
Silk, eh?
What colors? What grade? Carmen might be interested in a new dress and dressing more lady like as she enters her years of maturity.

4

It would actually be Chinese silk (where the technology originated), coming via the Silk Road (I've been reading the Cradle and Crescent which is where the concept, and some rules are coming from). As for colors, I hadn't really thought about that (whatever is plot appropriate :stuck_out_tongue: ) and it would all be very high quality.

5

I do not have that book, I have the "Sundered Eagle", which also makes mention of it being a domestic product for a while now, but the worms were imported from Cathay. Either way, I know more about the one than the other, and I know purple silk is very expensive (and reserved for the emporer).

6

If Selim brings in lots of silk, and we have someone to make nice clothes out of it, Vibria will be very much his friend.

7

So the silk coming via the Silk Road is supposed to be of higher quality than that found in Europe, although it really doesn't matter. I would say he probably doesn't have silk, but does have many bright colors, probably red and yellow and maybe green. But the whole idea is this is basically his last haul from before he left Arabia. So any silk beyond his current (plot appropriate) amount of silk he has would have to be acquired through trade.

Because I took the Outsider flaw for his social status, I didn't take any of the merchant status', and thus he's basically going to be starting from scratch. Which is why he'll be looking for a place to stay. And given that he "Likes the Ladies" (just added to his personality traits), a covenant with a couple of beautiful maga would do just fine as a homebase. 8)

8

One last load of Chinese silk is yours then. Spend it wisely. You land in Barcelona, and a merchant tells you to meet him at a dockside tavern called the Silver Shark and he will buy you a drink while you discuss business.

9

Cool. Should I just do an intro post there in the Barcelona thread?

10

I'm curious: Who is it? Can you tell us more about him? Is he linked to the silk merchant?
Love the greater malediction.
I thought he was Impious +1, and found that great. Too bad :laughing:

IIRC, this is a virtue for Faerie characters, not Faerie-blooded ones. This is even more clear in that, as far as I can tell, it gives a Pretense, not an ability.

11

He is the silk merchant. This was supposed to be the "clean" thread vice the "development" thread :stuck_out_tongue: . I guess it should be Impious +1 vice -1; the point is that he IS impious so I'll change it. The Greater Malediction is actually a recommendation from Cradle and Crescent for Jann.

As for Faerie Speech, it is generally a virtue for Faeries. However, on pg 107 of RoP:F there is a box at the top right of the page called "Faerie Powers for the Faerie Blooded" that provides an option for some Faerie virtues to be used for Faerie-Blooded, and Faerie Speech is one of them. Also, on pg 78 of Cradle and Crescent under the Jann-blooded writeup it recommends Faerie Speech as a virtue to take.

12

Guess it's OK, then :smiley:
I'll admit I'm uncomfortable with language virtues, not per se, but because there are various minor virtues affecting them, some of them being a lot better than others.

13

I moved discussion about the character to the development thread here, so that the clean sheet can stay simple with relevant data only.

14

I totally understand. Solomon has the linguist virtue and has spent a lot of XP to learn a bunch of languages, and I was concerned that Faerie Speech makes Selim in every way better for a cheaper cost. In my mind, the one balancing fact is that Selim will never be able to read or write any language other than Arabic. And technically, he doesn't even necesarilly know what language he is speaking.

15

Have you ever considered Gift of Tongues?
also, as a tangent, in my rambling research I discovered that there is also silkworm technology present here in Iberia, down in Andalusia.