Sparks, the Dragon Warder

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Ad Astera per Aspera
1

Sparks the Dragonette, Chargen Fall 1220
Magical Might: 12 (Ignem in fire breath)
(Base 15 for high powered companion, -0 for base size)
Spring Magical Warder (high power companion)
Characteristics:
Base: Int +0, Per +2, Pre +2, Com+0, Str +0, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qui +3
Adjusted for Size: Int +0, Per +2, Pre +2, Com+0, Str -4, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qui +5
Method: Magical Animal, adjusted for Miniaturex3
Size: -2 (Base size 0, -2 for miniature)
Age: 9, Height: 2', Weight: 30 lbs, Gender: Female, Species: True Dragon
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: n/a
Confidence: 1(3)
Ignem vis: (1)

Virtues(10): Magical Animal (special), Unaffected by the Gift (minor, general), Personal Vis Source (minor, hermetic, 1/season, Sparks Focus Power produces one Ignem vis as a side affect. This may be used, saved, or manifested as raw vis). Tough (minor, general), Lightning Reflexes (minor, general), Puissant Penetration (minor, general), Improved Zatsx3 (minor, general), Arcane Lore (minor, general), Piercing Gaze (minor, general)

Flaws(10): Magical Friend (free), Environmental Sensitivity-the sea (minor, general), Avaricious (major, personality), Nocturnal (minor, personality), Magical Air (Major, supernatural), Poor Student (minor, general), Incomprehensible (minor, general)

Magical Qualities(Base 15-0 size+10 from Inferiorities=22 total): Fatigue Mastery (maj), Focus Power-Dragon of Fire (maj), Grant: Independent Study (maj), Grant: Toughness (maj), Grant: Self Confident (maj), Extra Fatigue, Improved Soak, Gift of Speech, Personal Power: Hands of the Magical Animal, Improved Powerx2 (provide mastery levels for focus power)

Magical Inferiorities (10): Miniature, Susceptible to Deprivation, reduced mightx3

Personality Traits: Dragon +3, Avaricious +3, Protective of Soot +3,
Reputations: none
Combat:
Bite: Init: +5, Atk: +7, Dfn: +9, Dam: -4
Dodge: Init: 2, Defense: 3
Soak: +7
Fatigue levels: 0, 0, 1, 3, 5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1-2), ‑3 (3-4), ‑5 (5-6), Incapacitated (7-8), Dead (9+)

Skills
[table][tr][td]Ability[/td] [td]Score[/td] [td]specialty[/td] [td](xp pending)[/td] [td]Allocated xp[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Brawl[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Dodge[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Awareness[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]In the Air[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Athletics[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]Flying[/td] td[/td] [td]30[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Guile[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Humans[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Folk Ken[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Humans[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bargain[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]For Soot[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Penetration[/td] [td]2+2[/td] [td]Dragon of Fire[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]Dragon of Fire[/td] td[/td] [td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]OOH Lore[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Apprenticeship[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Hunt[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Prey[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Italian[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]Covenfolk[/td] td[/td] [td]50[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Lore[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Magical Animals[/td] td[/td] [td]15[/td][/tr][/table]

Improved Powersx2 for Mastery Levels
[table][tr][td]Ability[/td] [td]Score[/td] [td]specialty[/td] [td](xp pending)[/td] [td]Allocated xp[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dragon of Fire[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]Penetration[/td] td[/td] [td]special[/td][/tr][/table]

Magical Powers:
Dragon of Fire
1-5 Might (may substitute Confidence/Fatigue)
Init -3, Penetration 23-effect level (might 15 + penetration 5 + mastery 3=19)
Ignem aspected effect
R: Var, D: Var, T: Var
Sparks can spontaneously cast any directly fire related effect. The effect must only be fire related, i.e. cannot effect heat, lava, things that produce fire, ice, or even destroy fire as this would be the absence of fire. It can affect those aspects indirectly by creating a specific type of fire that is hotter, or use a created fire to melt rock. Sparks uses this power primarily to breathe fire, but is not limited to the Creo form.
Focus Power 10 levels + 3 mastery points to allow up to 25th level effects.
Mastery Abilities: Penetration +3, Fast Casting
May substitute 1 Confidence for 1 Might
May Substitute 1 Fatigue for 2 Might (note: Sparks has an extra fatigue level)

Hands of the Magical Animal
0 Might
Init 0
Ignem aspected effect
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
Allows a magical animal to lift/carry/manipulate items as if it had hands and a strength of +5. See ROP:M pg 39 for details.

Grant Toughness/Independent Study/Self Confident
5 Might (may substitute Confidence/Fatigue)
Init -8
Vim aspected effect
R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual
Grants the named virtue, either temporarily or permanently. If permanent, also costs permanent Might as well as might score. If temporary, might spent cannot be recovered until the virtue is withdrawn.

History
Sparks and her sister Soot are the twin daughters of Inferno, an ancient Fire Dragon, and Katherine, a human mother. Inferno raised the children through infancy, for nine years, but it became increasingly clear that Soot’s destiny lay among her mother’s people, especially once her true legacy manifested: The Gift. Inferno has sent the pair out of the nest to grow together and protect each other in their moments of vulnerability. While Inferno refused to speak of Katherine, she did relent enough to tell Soot to seek the Order of Hermes and there she would find a new home.

OOC, dragon eggs can take a while to hatch. Soot and Sparks might be the progeny of a wizard at the height of her powers, or perhaps spawn of one long past her final twilight.

Notes:
I wanted to allow Sparks to simulate the presumed life cycle of her species of dragon, i.e. that she is a child dragon, just as Soot is a human child. I chose to use the spring template and Magical Inferiority Miniature to reflect this as it allows her to use Transformation to grow in both size and power. Buying off [strike]each level of[/strike] miniature will allow her to "advance" to the [strike]next phase of growth (Child-current, Pre-Teen, Teenager,[/strike] Adult. She can use the same method to grow in Magical Might, powers and skills. With a Personal Vis Source, she will transform about every 3-5 years, assuming she does not bargain away (or for) vis in the meantime. While I expect her to be fiercely protective of Soot, I think her avaricious personality might bring her protectiveness into conflict with her possessive dragon nature....

Seasonal Advancement:
1220 Fall
The Voyage Home 7: 7-15=0 xp, +1 confidence
+1 ignem vis from PVS

2

Your size adjusted stats are adjusted for size -6, not -3.
Also, size subtracts from might, so might would be 18 not 12 as size -3.

3

Original size is subtracted from might, and his original size (before minature) is +3, so might 12 should be correct.

The -6 is based off of the miniature table, with size and other adjustments being cumulative, following the example on pg 41/42 ROP:M

starting size +3, minaturex1 = -1 size, ending size +2
Minature x2, size -2, ending size 0
Miniaturex3, size -3, ending size -3

total size adjustment from +3 to -3 is -6

4

What is the logic behind this? You seem to be mixing rules for humans and animals here, and I'm not sure how this makes any sense in terms of the principles by which magical animals should be designed... For one thing under dragons and dragon kin it specifically states that the base size for dragons and all their kin is size 0... (ROP:M p. 74) but that this can be modified through virtues and flaws.

5

Page 74 states that the base size is at least 0. prior to adjustment, emphasis mine. The same paragraph specifies that base size can be any size greater than zero.

I arbitrarily chose base size 3 to represent an adult of Sparks species, and applied the miniature inferiority three times to represent a child of that species. Flaws or inferiorities seem to be the only way to get a dragon less than size 0.

6

It also states that adjusting it upwards is the same as getting the Gigantic quality for free, which is mutually exclusive of taking the miniature flaw.
I will let you take the flaws to bring the size down, but it has to be from 0, not 3.

7

I think we will continue to disagree about that paragraph, but I am not emotionally invested in these numbers so I think we ought to move straight to a solution.

would you prefer:

  1. Just go straight to size -3, str -6, qui +3
  2. Base size 0, apply miniature once
  3. some other solution?
8

Given that from size 0 you cannot get to size -3 with miniature, lets go to option 1, unless you prefer option 2

9

I still like the miniature idea as a method of slow growth, so let's do option 2. After reading the table again, that would put him at might 15 (base 15 minus 0 for size) and size -2. If I take reduced mightx3 that should balance might down to 12, and the number of qualities to those listed above (Base 15, +3 miniature, +3 reduced might, +1 for his other inferiority=22). I think I just need to re-jigger stats based on the new size and leave everything else alone.

10

stats in initial post edited, ready for review.

11

I'm only getting 21 points in qualities

12

By George, you're right! I'll happily slap that last quality into Improved Abilities to get 50 extra points.