Servus ex Guernicus

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Phoenix - Rise from the A
1

Servus ex Guernicus, Filius Baruch, 3pg
Younger son of a noble family sent to a monastery (because Gifted people are creeps, and this is a common way of getting rid of younger sons).
He has visions. The visions tell him to run away. When he finally tells the abbot, he is not taken seriously.
So he escapes from the monastery and is led to Duresca where he's apprenticed there. He's not a bad student, and his master realizes that his vera fides may be directed against the infernal. After gauntlet, he is posted to the covenant to keep an eye on them.

Looks: Thin Spaniard, medium tall (black hair, dark brown eyes). Still dresses like a Benedictine monk but is not tonsured (short straight hair). Clean and clean-shaven. Tends to look warily at people. Speaks slowly, pauses to think.

Characteristics: Int 1, Per 3, Pre 1, Com 1, Str -1, Sta 2, Dex -1, Quk-1
Size: 0
Age: 29(29)
Warping Score: 0
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Failed Monk; True Faith, Affinity with Intellego, Clear Thinker, *Hermetic Prestige, Mastered Spells, Piercing Gaze, Relic (Minor: Set Stone touched by Michael, the Archangel), Sense Holiness and Unholiness, Skilled Parens; Driven: Fight Demons (Major); Low Self-Esteem, Flawed Parma Magica (Vim), Pious (Minor), Visions (Story flaw)
Personality Traits: Religious +3, Wary +2; Brave+2
Reputations: Quaesitor in Good Standing (Magi) 3, Failed Monk (Church) 2
Combat:
Soak: +2 (Stamina, no armor)
Fatigue and Wound Levels: as usual

Abilities:
05 Athletics (climbing) 1
15 Awareness (quaesitorial) 2
15 Folk Ken (secrets) 2
05 Stealth (indoors) 1
05 Swim (short distances) 1
25 Sense Holiness and Unholiness (Unholiness) 3
00 Spanish (nobility) 5 [or how do we divide up languages? Xavi made a suggestion for the Andorra saga]
05 Artes Liberales (ceremonial casting) 1
30 Magic theory (intellego) 3
75 Latin (church) 5
05 Parma (Mentem) 1
10 Order of Hermes Lore (Infernalism) 1
15 Code of Hermes (Infernalism) 2
05 Penetration (infernal) 1
15 Infernal Lore (demons) 2
05 Profession: Scribe (diligent) 1
15 Theology (demons) 2
05 Civil and Canon Law (Canon law) 1
15 Concentration (praying) 2

Arts::
70 Int 14 [affinity: 70*1,5=105]
01 Mu 1
21 Re 6
28 Pe 7
45 Vi 9
15 He 5
15 Im 5
15 Me 5

Equipment:
monkish robe, diary and writing stuff is carried in his hood
relic worn on a chain around the neck

Spells:
The Smell of Man InCo15; +16 (HoH:TL 72, Sight of the Molten Magus; smell version))
The Whole from the Part InCo20; +16 (from HoH:TL 72)
Whisper Through the Black Gate InCo16; +14
Interrogate Object InHe 25; +21 (from ToME, p. 54)
Wizard’s sidestep ReIm10; +13
Crowing Cock of the Spoken Lie InMe20; +21 (like ArM5, but with a different trigger alluding to St: Peter’s betrayal)
Ear of truth InMe30 (from HoH:TL, 75); +21
The Call to Slumber ReMe10; +13
Restore faded threads CrVi15; +11
Bitter Taste of Betrayal InVi15; +28 (from HoH:TL, 75)
Impression of the faded sigil InVi30;+28 from HoH:TL
Odor of Lingering Magic InVi30;+28 from HoH:TL
Demon’s Eternal Oblivion PeVi5 Mastery 4 (Penetration, multiple casting, adaptive casting, quiet casting); +24
Circle of Clarity PeVi15; +18 (from HoH:TL 75)

added in three years pg:
Years 1-2: 60xp
==>18xp In to 14
==>17xp Vi to 9
==>20xp Re to 6
5xp OOHL

spells
Ear of truth InMe30
Restore faded threads CrVi15
Impression of the faded sigil InVi30
Odor of Lingering Magic InVi30

2

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I like it. And if, as I suspect, we wind up having to face the Infernal at least occasionally, could be quite the asset.

The Characteristics make an interesting combination. Definitely nothing resembling a Combat Magus. With that hellishly high Per stat, nothing's going to get past him...especially if you build up his Sense Good/Evil ability. Not sure I see the connection between Quickness and self-confidence, unless maybe his insecurities subconsciously interfere with his reflexes?

It would be interesting if Servus and Claudia get contradictory Visions. Servus's Divine visions point one way, Claudia's Magic-realm Visions point another...how to reconcile them? Or do we?

I assume you mean "now a magus"?

For some reason I was thinking that demon's non-physical attacks were Vim-based (probably too many decades of reading comics). If so, wouldn't this be a major drawback for his Vocation? If not...nevermind.

But all in all, I'm really liking it. Be a nice change from my prior tabletop game, where the prevailing attitude was "Shit! Quaesitores! Hide!"

3

Glad you like it.

:mrgreen: got me!

That is why I chose Vim: He's still protected by his form bonus (and half the Pama) OR his true faith protection. But fighting high-level demons will either require him to study a lot of vim or to raise his true faith score.
Deficient parma (Aquam) would have been easier - but just a cheap getaway.

4

Seconded. What I understand seems great and interesting.
And the visions bit is an excellent idea :smiley: Actually, this is something we should all do: Point out to which realm are our virtues coming from, if only for background purposes.

Something I'm not sure, though, is the social flaw: I may be wrong, but, from serf parma, it seems that magi have the magus social status and nothing else, since they are appart from society. I'm not sure one can have, for exemple, Magus and Landed Noble or, in your case, Magus and Failed Monk. But I may be wrong.

A question for something I'm not sure I understand correctly: For your personnality flaws, you meant to take 2 times driven, isn't it? One Major, one Minor? Or Am I wrong? Not that I see any problem with it, it's just I'm not sure to read you well. Otherwise, it's your choice: What do yu prefer to play? I tend to believe the "fight demons" would make you more proactive, as well as give you potential Code problems (harsh for a quaesitor), which would make it more interesting in term of stories, but do as you'd like to do, and have fun! :smiley:

5

I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be -
Personality Flaw, Major - Driven: Hunting Demons
Personality Flaw, Minor - Pious

6

Aaaaaaaah!!! Thanks a lot for helping my poor serf parma!!! I feel very, very dumb :blush:

7

Oh, a magus can take Magister. Anyway, it's not difficult finding another flaw. I like it though (and a negative church rep may be trouble if the church investigates his doing, so I consider it a true - minor - flaw).

Sorry for the form of the post above.

One question: Does true faith + a relic grant magic Resistance 10 or 20? If it's only 10 I might reconsider not taking the relic, but some other virtue (or scrap the Parma Vim flaw).

8

IIRC, the 2 cumulate, as do relics (serf's parma).

I'd advice you to check, though, but I'm pretty sure of this.

EDIT: For social status, I checked, it came from the insert on p37:

And

I'm not sure this wasn't happilly forgotten later, such as for Magister in Artibus, though. Although...

OTOH, they didn't forget to explicitely state that it is compatible with Priest.
Anyway, I can see a magus apprenticed at, say, 25, having been a Magister in Artibus (getting the extra XP), but then, he would no more have any of the social part of the virtue, since he's now a magus, and thus no longer subject to Mythic Europe class system.

You might be interested by Powerful Relic (RoP: tD p35)
I also appear to have been wrong: Ars p 189 tells Relics don't cumulate, so you can't pile on relics to gain MR 100.
BUT "A character with True Faith of his own may also get the benefit of a single Relic", so, while multiple relics don't pile on, a single one can cumulate with True Faith :smiley:

9

It's in the errata. Anyway, it seems possible.

10

I know you wanted the emphasis on fighting Hubris, but there's also the Parable of the Talents - you should use the Gifts God has given you, even if it runs counter to worldly possessions and goals. It might change your concept/background a bit, but what about the Major Story Flaw: Black Sheep? Especially in the Medieval/historical paradigm, many fantasy stories write about a child's destiny based on his birth order because it was a common practice of nobility in that time. The first son learned to be the Lord and Knight, the second son became Commander of the Armies/conscripts and levies, and the third son was promised to the church. What if Servus was initially promised to the Church upon his birth, and when he ran away from the monastery/Church to "seek out the best use of his Gifts" as God ordered, his family was forced to pay great restitution/alms and grant greater leniencies/less restrictions to the actions of the Church on their lands. In the great extremes, some families became practically vassals to the Church in all but name to avoid charges of heresy or "great disfavor from the Church". This brings a much bigger impact to your "abandonment" of the Church for a greater cause, and gives you back Self-Confidence for points in Emergency situations, or "moments when God has granted you to go above and beyond your norm."

11

I could take chicoazian's version.
That would add a major story flaw: Black sheep. Visions would become a supernatural flaw. I'd then make him minor driven only (major driven is quite fanatic, isn't it?)

Anyway I had a charsheet finished, so I post the version without the changes - it can always be altered.

Servus ex Guernicus, Filius Baruch
Younger son of a noble family sent to a monastery (because Gifted people are creeps, and this is a common way of getting rid of younger sons).
He has visions. The visions tell him to run away. When he finally tells the abbot, he is not taken seriously.
So he escapes from the monastery and is led to Duresca where he's apprenticed there. He's not a bad student, and his master realizes that his vera fides may be directed against the infernal. After gauntlet, he is posted to the covenant to keep an eye on them.

Looks: Thin Spaniard, medium tall (black hair, dark brown eyes). Still dresses like a Benedictine monk but is not tonsured (short straight hair). Clean and clean-shaven. Tends to look warily at people. Speaks slowly, pauses to think.

Characteristics: Int 1, Per 3, Pre 1, Com 1, Str -1, Sta 2, Dex -1, Quk-1
Size: 0
Age: 26(26)
Warping Score: 0
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Failed Monk; True Faith, Affinity with Intellego, Clear Thinker, *Hermetic Prestige, Mastered Spells, Piercing Gaze, Relic (Minor: Set Stone touched by Michael, the Archangel), Sense Holiness and Unholiness, Skilled Parens; Driven: Fight Demons (Major); Low Self-Esteem, Flawed Parma Magica (Vim), Pious (Minor), Visions (Story flaw)
Personality Traits: Religious +3, Wary +2; Brave+2
Reputations: Quaesitor in Good Standing (Magi) 3, Failed Monk (Church) 2
Combat:
Soak: +2 (Stamina, no armor)
Fatigue and Wound Levels: as usual

Abilities:
05 Athletics (climbing) 1
15 Awareness (quaesitorial) 2
15 Folk Ken (secrets) 2
05 Stealth (indoors) 1
05 Swim (short distances) 1
25 Sense Holiness and Unholiness (Unholiness) 3
00 Spanish (nobility) 5 [or how do we divide up languages? Xavi made a suggestion for the Andorra saga]
05 Artes Liberales (ceremonial casting) 1
30 Magic theory (intellego) 3
75 Latin (church) 5
05 Parma (Mentem) 1
05 Order of Hermes Lore (Infernalism) 1
15 Code of Hermes (Infernalism) 2
05 Penetration (infernal) 1
15 Infernal Lore (demons) 2
05 Profession: Scribe (diligent) 1
15 Theology (demons) 2
05 Civil and Canon Law (Canon law) 1
15 Concentration (praying) 2

Arts (155xp):
52 Int 12 [affinity: 52*1,5=78]
01 Mu 1
01 Re 1
28 Pe 7
28 Vi 7
15 He 5
15 Im 5
15 Me 5

Equipment:
monkish robe, diary and writing stuff is carried in his hood
relic worn on a chain around the neck

Spells:
The Smell of Man InCo15; +14 (HoH:TL 72, Sight of the Molten Magus; smell version))
The Whole from the Part InCo20; +14 (from HoH:TL 72)
Whisper Through the Black Gate InCo15; +14
Interrogate Object InHe 25; +19 (from ToME, p. 54)
Crowing Cock of the Spoken Lie InMe20; +19 (like ArM5, but with a different trigger alluding to St: Peter’s betrayal)
Wizard’s sidestep ReIm10; +8
The Call to Slumber ReMe10; +8
Bitter Taste of Betrayal InVi15; +24 (from HoH:TL, 75)
Demon’s Eternal Oblivion PeVi5 Mastery 4 (Penetration, multiple casting, adaptive casting, quiet casting); +22
Circle of Clarity PeVi15; +16 (from HoH:TL 75)

12

Well, Major Story Flaw: Black Sheep was meant to replace No Self Confidence, and I don't see a problem having a Major and Minor Story Flaw, but that was just my idea. Interpret and use how you wish - it's more if you feel like expanding your character's family history and having us use it against you or not. :slight_smile: I like the character setup you've already built, too. I know Amul was surprised at the lack of Divine/Infernal conflict and interaction in our characters - I think we've well and firmly grabbed that hook and pulled. :laughing:

13

Well, it's not technically against the rules, there is this little tidbit under "Magi" in the big insert:

So, you can take two Story Flaws, but the rules discourage it...it says in the text under the inserts that it's "to avoid having a singer character unduly dominate the saga." My namesake character had three Personality Flaws and two Story Flaws (all Minor), but the saga didn't last enough to see what kind of effect it had on the game.

Ymmv.

14

So, this reinforces the bit in the core book about multiple social status being impossible unless explicitely mentionned, which is pretty logical, especially in the middle ages.

It seems to me you want this for the Bad reputation with the Church. I have no major objection with this, but, since you left the church against the advice of the abbot to become an evil wizard after receiving visions (from satan, no doubt), which seems a lot worse, maybe Infamous would be better suited, I dunno

Well, if, say, each story flaw is used one and then you come back full circle, it stands to reason that the player with more such faws will have see more stories going on revolving about him. In a group of 4, if you've got 2 story flaws while the others got one, that means you go from 25% to 40% of the stories being about you o_O. Pretty drastic, I'd say.
Also, I don't think AT ALL that's JeanMichelle's way, but, compared to General and Hermetic Flaws, this also seems like a cheap way to "optimize" your character.

15

My view is that the limitation on Story Flaws is both a way to keep players from taking "cheap shots" to min-max their character, and also to limit the amount of screen time any particular character gets during tabletop sessions, which have a much more limited amount of time to dole out to people than a PbP would. Given enough beta storytellers, and an interest in players to roleplay out companions and tertiary characters, this isn't nearly as large an issue as it would be in a PbP. So, it is a question about the campaign style we want to have. Are people willing to run lots of thread plots per season?

I've always felt like Reputation Flaws should be handled differently. ~shrug~ I have no problems with this character is it stands.

Regarding the Relic, if Servus is a sword-wielder, then he could become one of the divine sword bearers which will be coming into the campaign as part of the primary plotline.

16

Jean Michelle's decision, but it feels like this could be awesome! :smiley:

17

I'll leave him as he is then. I'll keep the social flaw (why rename it into a general flaw?)
My character was created as a non-physical person (being a quaesitor is expensive - he hasn't got the xp and the physique to bear a sword).

18

Good to know!

19

added in three years pg:
Years 1-2: 60xp
==>18xp In to 14
==>17xp Vi to 9
==>20xp Re to 6
5xp OOHL

spells
Ear of truth InMe30
Restore faded threads CrVi15
Impression of the faded sigil InVi30
Odor of Lingering Magic InVi30