Semita Errabunda

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Et Postestatum Magnam...
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Whereupon it becomes necessary to have a detailed accounting of the Covenant that the PC Magi, Companions, and Grogs call home, so shall this thread become a place to store said information about the Covenant and its non-player inhabitants. I shall try to keep an accurate table of contents in this thread so that specific information may more easily be found by any who wish to find it.

I. Covenant Statistics
II. Boons and Hooks
III. Covenant Description
IV. Covenant Library, Books
V. Covenant Library, Lab Texts
VI. Vis
VII. Enchanted Items

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[center]Covenant Statistics[/center]
Name: Semita Errabunda
Founded By:
Founded Year: 1217
Aura: Magic 5
Hooks: Festival, Missing Founder, Road
Boons: Aura (Minor x2), Difficult Access

Annual Income: 100 mythic pounds
Primary Industry: Agriculture
Secondary Industry: Mining

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[center]Boons and Hooks[/center]

Difficult Access
Boon
The Covenant's geographical surroundings make it difficult to assault. This Boon is suitable for Covenants in mountain passes, on coastal islands that require boats to reach, or in deserts. A sufficiently prepared mortal warlord can overcome the defenses, but finds it expensive and troublesome.

Semita Errabunda sits near a natural pass on Mont Pincon, about 20 miles southwest of the city of Caen. The mountain itself protects the Covenant on one entire side, while a sheer cliff protects it on the other. The only way to or from the Covenant, sans magical means, is the road that runs from east to west near the site.

Festival
Hook
A large number of the local peasants gather for festivals on certain occasions. This often inconveniences the magi. For example, the Irish Beltane Fire Festivals dispel minor Hermetic enchantments and curse witches, so those with The Gift must hide behind the Aegis of the Hearth on those evenings. Passion plays may be followed by troublesome miracles, or over-excited mobs.

Although the Covenant is located in a mountain pass, there are 2 festivals that take place in and around the mundane areas of the Covenant during the year. They are:

  • Easter. Celebrated in late March or early April, this is the celebration of the crucifixion on Friday, followed by the resurrection on Sunday. For this weekend, starting at sunset on Friday and ending at sunrise on Sunday, all mundane residents of the Covenant are considered to have the True Faith Virtue, with all the benefits that come with it. Any mundane Covenant members that are behind the Aegis of the Hearth do not receive this benefit.
  • All Saints Day. Celebrated on November 1st, to mark the close of the Paschal season, with additional readings of scriptures, singing of hymns, and a large feast with bonfires. Ignem spells are extremely dangerous during this festival, with 2 extra botch dice rolled and 1 extra Warping point gained on a botch. It is rumored that magi from house Flambeau enter Twilight more easily during this time, but this has never been confirmed.

Missing Founder
Hook
One of the Covenant's founders slipped from Hermetic history indecisively, and this causes the Covenant difficulty. For example, rumors emerge that the founder thought gone lives on in Faerie, or someone appears from Arcadia claiming to be his son. Alternately, a will might be found in a book in the library at Durenmar that gives many of the Covenant's goods to an heir, debtor, or cause. This Hook may be unknown in the sense that the resumption of the founder's estate is unexpected.

Jerome, follower of Jerbiton, is currently missing and presumed dead. He was in the process of sequestering a child in the bishopric at Bayeux when he disappeared without a trace. It is believed that he entered final Twilight sometime after securing the child, but he is in fact being held captive at the former Covenant site of Baiocassium Minor. His fillius Eloi is an important political member at Cunfin, and a serious ally could be gained should Jerome be found actually alive.

The magi PCs are currently unaware of this situation, but that will change during game play.

Road
Hook
The Covenant is on an important mundane road, river, or sea route, so that people often turn up at the Covenant, bringing or causing stories.

The road that travels from Caen to Mont St. Michael, through the villages of Vire and Pontorson, is the only road that goes through the mountain pass that Semita Errabunda sits on. All other roads go around Mont Pincon, which adds several days' worth of travel, while taking the mountain pass is the most direct - albeit one of the most difficult - routes. The road is well-traveled, and the Covenant is mistaken for a large village or even a traveler's wayside site at times.

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[center]Covenant Description[/center]
Semita Errabunda is a covenant in early Spring, with a level 5 magic aura. The mountains are forested, and home to various creatures, most noticeably magical. There is space for farming, and several areas are being harvested as stone quarries. The Covenant is built near the mountain pass, a well-traveled road running east to west with the mountain to the Covenant's south and a sheer cliff to its north. There is a lake containing a number of small, uninhabited islands that the Covenant could potentially claim at a future date, but for now the lake is used to provide food in the form of fish and shellfish.

The covenant itself consists of a number of typical medieval buildings, built mainly of wood. The covenant has not yet spent the vis required to raise impressive stone towers, but given the stone quarries that are being mined, it may only be a matter of time before towers are built. The largest building is the great hall, which can hold all members of the covenant with ease, with room for growth. The library is housed in a room on the eastern end of the hall, which also serves as the council chamber.

Each magus has his own house, which includes his laboratory. So far, all the magi have chosen to designate the whole of their house as their sanctum. These houses are built some distance apart, so that a disaster in one laboratory will not immediately threaten everyone. For similar reasons, the mundane members of the covenant live in several separate buildings, although none of them have whole structures to themselves.

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[center]Library[/center]
The Covenant, thanks to its founders, has the following books in its library:

  • Creo summa (6/21)
  • Intellego summa (6/21)
  • Perdo summa (16/15)
  • Auram summa (6/21)
  • Corpus summa (16/15)
  • Herbam summa (6/21)
  • Ignem summa (6/21)
  • Imaginem summa (16/15)
  • Vim summa (6/21)
  • Code of Hermes summa (6/21)
  • Latin summa (5/20)
  • Magic Theory summa (6/15)
  • Perdo tractatus (11)
  • Rego tractatus (10)
  • Mentem tractatus (10)
  • Terram tractatus (9)
  • Order of Hermes Lore tractatus (11)
  • Parma Magica tractatus (10)
  • Penetration tractatus (10)
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[center]Lab Texts[/center]
Thanks to the Covenant's founders, the Covenant has the following lab texts in its library:

  • Aegis of the Hearth (ReVi 20)
  • Aegis of the Hearth(ReVi 30)
  • Aegis of the Hearth (ReVi 40)
  • Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10)
  • Ball of Abysmal Flame (CrIg 35)
  • Blessing of Childlike Bliss (PeMe 25)
  • Cheating the Reaper (CrCo 30)
  • Circling Winds of Protection (CrAu 20)
  • Clenching Grasp of the Crushed Heart (PeCo 40)
  • Curse of the Leprous Flesh (PeCo 25)
  • Deluge of Rushing and Dashing (CrAq 40)
  • End of the Mighty Castle (PeTe 25)
  • Eyes of the Eagle (InIm 25)
  • Gentle Touch of the Purified Body (CrCo 20)
  • Grip of the Choking Hand (PeCo 25)
  • Image From the Wizard Torn (ReIm 30)
  • Incantation of the Milky Eyes (PeCo 30)
  • Loss of but a Moment's Memory (PeMe 15)
  • Obliteration of the Metallic Barrier (PeTe 20)
  • Passion's Lost Feeling (PeMe 25)
  • Piercing the Divine Veil (InVi 20)
  • Piercing the Faerie Veil (InVi 20)
  • Piercing the Infernal Veil (InVi 20)
  • Piercing the Magical Veil (InVi 20)
  • Purification of the Festering Wounds (CrCo 20)
  • Seven-League Stride (ReCo 30)
  • Shape of the Woodland Prowler (MuCo 25)
  • Silence of the Smothered Sound (PeIm 20)
  • Stir the Slumbering Tree (MuHe 25)
  • Strings of the Unwilling Marionette (ReCo 25)
  • Summoning the Distant Image (InIm 25)
  • The Chirurgeon's Healing Touch (CrCo 20)
  • The Eye of the Sage (InCo 30)
  • The Great Rot (PeHe 25)
  • The Treacherous Spear (ReHe 25)
  • The Wizard's Mount (CrAn 35)
  • The Wound that Weeps (PeCo 15)
  • Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20)
  • Wind of Mundane Silence (PeVi 40)
  • Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10)
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[center]Vis[/center]
Vis Sources
Certain pebbles at the base of a crumbling rock face within the regio contain Perdo vis, and a total of five pawns per year can be harvested here. Magic is needed to determine which pebbles contain the vis.

A golden rabbit (its fur is golden; it isn't actually made of gold), containing four pawns of Animal vis, is born every year somewhere on the Covenant grounds. The vis-bearing creature is easy to spot, but then you must catch your rabbit.

If a fire is kindled at the base of the mountain, and then carried up the mountain and across the lake to the central island, all without the flame burning out, the ashes contain a pawn of Ignem vis. The fire cannot be transported by magic at any point, but the covenant still manages to do this about once per season. This source can produce no more than four pawns of vis in a single year.

A natural mirror in a cave on western side of the Covenant reflects the true feelings of anyone who looks into it. If someone who is deeply sad, but successfully hiding their emotions, looks into it, five of the tears cried by the image bead on the mirror’s surface, and each drop contains a pawn of Intellego vis. This source produces no more than five pawns of vis per year.

The guano deposited by birds on the covenant itself yields two pawns of Auram vis every year. Virtually all of it needs to be collected to get the vis, which is normally transferred to another vessel. Neither collection nor transfer are popular jobs.

Vis Stocks
The Covenant currently enjoys a supply of 5 pawns of vis for each Art (Form/Technique).

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[center]Enchanted Items[/center]
The following enchanted items belong to the Covenant itself and not to any one person or magus. As such, no singular person or entity may lay claim to any item, and they may only be used in accordance with the terms of release as put forth by the founders of the Covenant. Even the founders of the Covenant may not revoke the items or override their usage except by ruling at a Tribunal gathering.

Mappa Mundi
This large map of the world occupies the whole of a circular table in the magi council chambers. The map itself is drawn onto the table, with details added every time members of the covenant come back from an expedition. A ring, normally worn by a grog during said expeditions, is a fixed Arcane Connection to the map, which shows images of the ring's wearer and all other members of his group. These images show the current state of the people, but do not show their surroundings. They do appear at the correct location on the map, but as they are not drawn to scale each individual is roughly the size of Ireland. Magi in the group are generally invisible, as the item does not have the penetration to get through any magic resistance. The use of this map is for magi only.

In(Cr)Co(Im) 59 (Base 4, +4 Arc, +2 Sun, +2 Group, +1 InIm requisite, +1 CrIm requisite (making the images on the map), +1 location as well as appearance, +3 levels environmental trigger, +1 level 2 uses/day)

Library Lamp
This bronze lamp contains no fire, but it fills the room it is in with light as bright as that on a cloudy day. This light has no direction and no glare, so it is ideal for reading. It also makes the room it is in comfortably warm.

CrIg 34 (Base 4 (for the light), +1 Touch +2 Sun, +2 Room, +1 heat, +3 levels environmental trigger, +1 level 2 uses/day)

Fire Guardian
This item takes the form of a small bowl of water, and only works if it is kept full of actual water. If a fire starts in the room containing the item, it is immediately extinguished. This only works on fires doing +5 damage or less, but very few fires start stronger than that.

PeIg 20 (Base 4,+1 Touch, +2 Room, +3 levels environmental trigger, +2 3 uses/day)

Guard Alarms
These wristbands are activated by saying 'Help', in Arabic, while wearing them. When activated, they make a distinctive wailing sound for two minutes. This sound is a thousand times louder than a single man's shout, and can be heard throughout the level 5 regio. The covenant has four of these, given to the guards patrolling the borders of the level 5 regio. The sounds cannot, alas, be heard across regio boundaries.

While it is not pleasant to be standing next to one of these when it goes off, it is not actually damaging, nor does it have concrete game-mechanical effects. The grogs using the alarms are taught the command word as a simple sound.

CrIm 5 (Base 1, +1 Diam, +3 size, 1 use per day)