Syrus Solis ex Miscellanea

Reserved for final character sheet

Characteristics: Int +3, Per -2, Pre +4, Com +2,
Str -2, Sta +1, Dex -2, Qik +0

Size: -1

Age:

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws:

The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Holy Magic (Major Hermetic Virtue);Quiet Magic (Minor Hermetic Virtue); Minor Magical Focus (Sun) (Minor Hermetic Virtue);
Affinity with Art (Creo) (Minor Hermetic Virtue); Affinity with Art (Intellego) (Minor Hermetic Virtue); Positive Cyclic Magic (during the day) (Minor Hermetic Virtue);
Free Study (Minor Hermetic Virtue); Great Presence (Minor General Virtue); Greater Relic (Major General Virtue); Subtle Magic (Minor Hermetic Virtue)

Pagan (Major Story Flaw); Pious (Major Personality Flaw); Restriction (Must display a sign of faith) (Major Hermetic Flaw); Small Frame (Minor General Flaw); Chaotic Magic (Signs of Divine Displeasure) (Major Hermetic Flaw)

I'll be posting the character sheet step by step. This is partly for my own convenience (I haven't played much Ars Magica,) and hopefully for the readers, so they can more easily follow the process of character creation.

Characteristics

Int +3
Per -2
Pre +2
Com +2
Str +0
Sta +1
Dex -1
Qik -1

7 points total
-6 for +3 Int
-1to raise Com to +1
-1 to both Dex and Qik to raise Com to +2
-2 tp Per to raise Pre to +2

Nope. that is
+6 pts for Int +3
-3 pts for per -2
+3 pts for Com +2
+3 pts for Pre +2
0 pts for Str 0
+1 pts for Stamina +1
-1 pts for Dex -1
-1 pts for Qik -1
6-3+3+3+1-1-1 = 8. Did you intend Str -1 as well? That would make it balance. (The error you made is that Com +2 costs 3 pts, and you only got 2 from Dex and Qik.

Virtues

For the Virtues granted by being ex Miscellanea, I pick Greater Relic (Major Supernatural Virtue) and Subtle Casting (Minor Hermetic Virtue.)

I also choose the following

Holy Magic (Major Hermetic Virtue) from RoP:D +3
Quiet Magic (Minor Hermetic Virtue) +1
Minor Magical Focus (Sun) (Minor Hermetic Virtue) from The Mysteries +1
Affinity with Art (Creo) (Minor Hermetic Virtue)+1
Affinity with Art (Intellego) (Minor Hermetic Virtue)+1
Positive Cyclic Magic (during the day) (Minor Hermetic Virtue) +1
Free Study (Minor Hermetic Virtue) +1
Inspirational (Minor General Virtue) +1 (to be changed to Great Pre)

A total of 10 points in Virtues, along with two extra Virtues granted by my house

Flaws

I must take one Major Hermetic Flaw because of house. I pick Chaotic Magic (Signs of Divine Displeasure)

Pagan (Major Story Flaw) -3
Pious (Major Personality Flaw) -3
Restriction (Must display a sign of faith) (Major Hermetic Flaw) -3
Weird Magic (Signs of Divine Displeasure) (Minor Hermetic Flaw) -1 (to be changed to Small Frame)

A total of -10 points in Flaws, plus one Major Hermetic Flaw because of my house

I'd like to make my character's magic thematically revolve around the sun. Cyclic Magic (during the day) is pretty self-explanatory. In Western culture the sun has been generally regarded as a generative and enlightening force, so I picked Affinity with Creo and Intellego. I picked Quiet Magic, Subtle Magic, and Free Study to help make up the weaknesses from of Holy Magic. I picked Inspirational to help him overcome the social difficulties of the Gift when using Pre, which is also thematic since it's considered to be under the sphere of Magical Focus (Sun.)

My character will be heavily dependent on vis to advance his arts, so I am considering switching out Inspirational for Personal Vis Source. How much would PVS yield yearly? Though, Inspirational seems very thematic so I probably won't.

I plan on initiating other Virtues through a Sol Invictus mystery cult. I'll add some scripts later.

I also have to design the relic from Greater Relic.

I will review stats in a while.

4 pawns per year

New Characteristics

Int +3
Per -2
Pre +2
Com +2
Str +0
Sta +1
Dex -2
Qik 0

How about this?

That works.

I'm actually going to drop Com to +0, raise Pre to 3 and then exchange Inspirational for Great Pre, resulting in a Pre of 4 if I've read the rules right. Then I'm dropping Stre to -2 and raising Com to +2, and exchanging Weird Magic for Small Frame.

New Characteristics

Int +3
Per -2
Pre +3 (+4 if counting Great Pre)
Com +2
Str -2
Sta +1
Dex -2
Qik 0

[table][tr][th][/th]
[th]Childhood[/th]
[th][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Skill (Specialty)[/td]
[td]EXP Cost[/td]
[td]Level[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Living Language: Arabian (Syrian)[/td]
[td]Free[/td]
[td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Charm (Invicti)[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Guile (Lying)[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Area Lore: Fertile Crescent (Sol Invicti sites and communities)[/td]
[td]15[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][/td]
[td]Total 45 EXP[/td]
[td][/td][/tr][/table]

Syrus was born to a poor peasant family who had intermittent access to land. His early years were initially filled with hunger and deprivation, which affected his growth. He was sold at a young age to the leader of what their parents thought was a strange Sufi community near Emesa, who showed unusual interest in the precocious runt.

Just an FYI, the invicti are probably not applicable specialties for a childhood skill. You could take one level in each, then invest in them later in life to gain the invicti specialty.

unless you were raised in the cult?

He was sold while under five years old. He began his apprenticeship at age five.

lets go ahead and begin the apprenticeship then- I'm less concerned with specializations at childhood which could reasonably have changed in 15 years even without adding to the ability (yes, not according to standard rules, but for character creation it makes sense.)

I've been really busy these last few days, but I'll try to have it done sometime today

Apprenticeship (240 EXP)

[table][tr][th]Skills[/th]
[th][/th]
[th][/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Skill (Specialization)[/td]
[td]EXP Cost (Sum of EXP)[/td]
[td]Level[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Artes Liberales (Rhetoric)(Arabic,Latin)[/td]
[td]15(15)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Latin (Writing)[/td]
[td]50 (65)[/td]
[td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Magic Theory[/td]
[td]30 (95)[/td]
[td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Parma Magic[/td]
[td]5 (100)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Italian (Roman)[/td]
[td]50 (150)[/td]
[td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Penetration[/td]
[td]5 (155)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Finesse[/td]
[td]5 (160)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Concentration[/td]
[td]5 (165)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Philosophia (Neoplatonism)[/td]
[td]5 (170)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Code of Hermes[/td]
[td]5 (175)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Area Lore:Rome (Invictus Community)[/td]
[td]15 (180)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr][/table]

Skills 180EXP

Arts

[table][tr][th]Art[/th]
[th]EXP Cost (Total EXP Cost)[/th]
[th]Level[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Creo[/td]
[td]20 (Affinity) (20)[/td]
[td]7[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Intellego[/td]
[td]10 (Affinity) (30)[/td]
[td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Rego[/td]
[td]10 (40)[/td]
[td]4[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Muto[/td]
[td]1 (41)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Perdo[/td]
[td]1 (42)[/td]
[td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Animal[/td]
[td]3 (45)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Herbam[/td]
[td]3 (48)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ignem[/td]
[td]3 (51)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Corpus[/td]
[td]3 (54)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mentem[/td]
[td]3 (57)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Auram[/td]
[td]3 (60)[/td]
[td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][/td]
[td][/td]
[td][/td][/tr][/table]

Total for Arts 60 EXP

Total for Skills and Arts 240

I wrote up the fluff and skill info for a few years post-apprenticeship, but it was all lost when I tried to post it. I'll rewrite it again tomorrow.

I've noticed other players spending vis during character creation. What's the mechanic behind that?

You can use vis if you generate it as part of character development, through Personal Vis Source, or spending a season (direct vis distilling, or copy/trading something of value). Tomas, I believe, used all of his in lab activities, while Tartessos spent his using standardized Verditius prices. Things you can use vis on in development include (but are not limited to) enchanting items, including talisman, binding a familiar (requires a season to find animal), longevity ritual (rules buried in another thread), and purchases such as I made.

You may not conduct initiations or draw a vis "salary" in character development.

Thanks, Kuiti.