[Table Talk] Build Your Covenant!

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Loch Caillte (Lost Lake)
1

Ok, here we go...

Isolation : You Aren't. You're on a road between 2 ports, and 2 well travelled roads east aren't all that far away. However, most visitors stop in town, at the Inn.

Fortifications : Modest, at best. The wall provides some cover. The only approached armed men can easily make is up the road; The rest of the approaches are across broken slopes that are tangled with briars and thorns. You have a watch tower, magically disguised as a spire of rock. The tin mine, however, is heavily fortified.

Buildings : Superior : stone construction, slate roofing. Real Glass in the windows. One great work, the feast hall.

Specialists : Modest. There are a few more beyond what's been already mentioned.

Mundane Relations : Good. You pay your taxes, The O'Connor's don't bother you. Magi, in general, are respected, and many families in the village have sons or daughters working at the covenant. Bandits in your area are few. There are healthier places to be (Diedre has had to put down several bandit groups... ruthlessly). Norman and Irish traders alike come to buy tin. Angus charges about double for the english than he does the locals. If there is a sore spot, it's there. There is also a modest market faire in the summer.

Relations with the Order : Average. Redcaps stop frequently at the covenant however - about twice a month. The Tribunal Meets at Circulus Ruber, In Meath (the oldest covenant in the tribunal).

Resources, Mundane : Good. The covenant has a steady income from the tin mine, with a smattering of zinc, silver, and semi-precious stones (all found in the mine). 75% of the food comes from the village, and the covenant has an excellent supply of water (the pond is spring fed).

Resources, Magical : Good. 3/4ths of the covenant's vis sources are uncontested, the remainder are contest by our nearest neighbor to the south. These vis sources have been shared between the 2 covenants for some time, usually harvesting it every other year, but recently, they've been harvested full time by the other covenant.

Aura : +3, Magical. No Regiones within the covenant, however, several small faerie regiones are known to exist, and there is a well known faerie trod nearby. Relations with the Fae in the area are good.

Library : Excellent. The Fifth of Connacht is a region known for it's scholarship; The covenant carries on this tradition, and has a library equal to any continental summer covenant. About 2/3rds of it's books are Tractati, some of them penned by former members of the covenant. Contents tend towards mundane subjects.

Inhabitants : As has been mentioned, The covenant has 2 existing members, one of which has little to do with running the covenant (Mab), the other running it out of necessity (Diedre). Neither Mab or Diedre are particularly well liked in the tribunal, but for different reasons, which explains the cool hermetic relations, somewhat.

Custos: Are mainly the local lads. However, there are a few veterans around to mentor them. The custos of the covenant are a mixed and varied lot, but effective. The covenant can afford standard arms and armor. The grog captain or sargeants typically have had expensive weapons, or armor, but seldom both. Typical kit includes chain shirt, steel skull cap, round shield, a spear, and a sword (short or long). Bows are self bows, suitable for hunting, and roughly half have some skill with them

Consortis : A typical assortment. A couple of them show great skill. The woodsmen, in particular, know the land quite well.

Steve

2

Repeated from the general OOC thread, for reference...

A brief description of the covenant layout:

Lough Caillte sits in a semi-circular bay roughly 200m across, which is open to the south. If the Gate everyone came in at is 6 O'clock, the stables are at 6:30, and the grog barracks are at 5:30. Guest Cottages are at 4:30, and there are a total of 6. Each is basically a bed, desk, a couple of chairs, chest (containing good wool blankets), armoire, and a fireplace, about 4.5m x 3m. A trundle bed is under the main bed. Sleeps 4 comfortably, 6 with crowding. The door can be barred, and a window (with real glass) looks out into the courtyard.

At 2:30 is the first cluster of labs. One resembles a foundry and forge, Torsten (Hs. Verditius, died in his sleep) was an armorer by trade. Glendower's (Bonisagus, final twilight) resembles a bunker, with deep set windows. Scorch marks on the outside walls near bronze covers indicate that he liked to experiment (sometimes with spectacular failures). Sylphie's lab (healer, Ex Misc., died of "natural causes"*) looks more like a comfortable house with an extensive garden; It is also 2 stories, 1st floor larger than the second.

i[/i]

At 1 O'Clock is Angus' residence. This is a fairly large house, as befits his status. His three younger sons still live here, along with 2 daughters, and his wife. His office is off to one side of the house, where he can be found working on the books, or receiving mundane guests of importance.

At 12 O'Clock is the feasthall, the domain of Helga, the Cook. Some tall tales are told about her, who supposedly held off a pack of bandits with nothing but a skillet for a weapon (which hangs proudly in the kitchen, and it's HUGE) and a pot for a helmet. Helga definitely has some viking blood in her family, given her blonde hair, blue eyes, and warlike disposition. On top of that, she's an excellent cook. In the kitchen and scullery, her authority is supreme. The kitchen help are the typical mix of young lads and lasses, and the occasional custos on kitchen duty for some infraction of the rules.

At 11 O'Clock is the library and scriptorium. It has the most glass of any building here on the premises, to allow as much light inside as possible for reading. It is also gaurded; The 2 gaurds are kitted out in full scale, wearing tall, peaked helms, bearing a round shield blazoned Sable, an Elm tree Argent on a Hill Proper (Black, with a white elm tree on a green hill) They both have long swords, and medium length spears. Thier features are fine, and you are watched carefully by amber eyes, but they say nothing. They also won't allow you entry, so a tour of the library will have to wait...

At 10:30 is the vellum maker, whose journeyman tells you he can't spare the time to talk to you at the moment. Ink is also kept here (some of it locally made, some of it imported), along with some new-fangled stuff called "paper". It looks like it is only his workshop; many covenfolk live in the hamlet just outside the gate.

At 9 O'clock is the second set of labs; Diedre's (Praeco, Flambeau) looks like a cross between a country house and weapons test range, though the blast marks on the vitrified stone walls behind the lab are old (and probably permanently part of the wall). Kallias' Lab (Kallias Delphinus, Jerbiton, mariner, died at sea?) is a small, elegant place, with a small garden, a fountain, and what appears to be a ship's crow's nest on the roof. And then, there's Mab's (Praeco, Merenita). It is a collection of trees whose branches have been skillfully woven together to provide a weather proof shelter, and flowers and hedges abound. Miach typically naps just inside the door, when Mab is inside, and doesn't allow you more than a glimpse inside. There is no door, and you can see the interior is partitioned off by curtains.

At 8pm is a largish, squat and ugly stone building. The doors are made of Bronze, and are of good craftsmanship. There is also a big lock on those doors, and Angus has the key. They keep a fortune in Tin and Zinc in the building, he explains (Tin and Zinc are what are added to copper to make Bronze and Brass - Foundryman Steve).

At 7:30 is the stable smithy, where one of Liam's journeyman works to meet the covenants needs. At 7:15 is where some leather work is done. A large, low barn runs from there to the stables. Right now, it's mostly empty, though it appears there has been a scuffle of some sort in the last few days. Several children (and sometimes Mab) can be found playing in the pile of hay in the corner. There are a couple of wagons, in good repair, and what appears to be a chariot of some kind, made of wicker and leather.

The paths between buildings are set with cut stone, expertly set. There are a few trees, and the aforementioned pond with the lily pads (though none have begun to bloom), about which are set a few benches.

In general, there is very little iron used inside the covenant; Beyond the tools in Torsten's lab, it's Helga's skillet and the lock on the tin bunker. Everything else is bronze.


Classic walled enclosure taking advantage of a natural feature for half the wall.   Middle is open space, where the pond and trees are.  There is no central keep, that you've found, or been told about.  The formal council chambers are on the west side of the feast hall.  Diedre's parlor at her lab is where most council meetings of late have been held.

With a 200m (660ft) diameter, there is some 628m of circumference, and the lab buildings take up a 6m x 15m foot print.  Or, if you prefer, each degree at the wall is 1.7m (or, 5.8 ft).  

There is plenty of room left for other structures within the wall, even allowing for 100 meters of empty space in the center for the pond & park.  Trying to eliminate that will probably prompt Mab to do ... something ... about it.

Iron isn't forbidden or avoided within the walls;  the covenant has more bronze, brass, tin, and zinc than it does iron.  So pewter, brass, and bronze are the common metals of choice around the covenant.

As to what the covenant has, above and beyond what I've already laid out, is for you to decide. I'm waiting for you to get out the covenants book, and get to it! :slight_smile: (I thought I mentioned this in the e-mail relay...) What I've mentioned, doesn't have to be paid for with build points. Granted, you won't have the full amount for a summer covenant to play with either...When your done, you give me the numbers and stats, and I'll tweak 'em a bit.

3

For those of you who are metrically challenged:

The GM's handy conversion table!

1 m (meter)= 40 inches (approximately)

Hence, 1.5m = 5 ft (approximately).

There is no real easy conversion to Ars Paces, so...

Assume that 1 pace = 36 inches. 1 meter = 1.1 paces

I use the metric system in deference to my players across the Atlantic. I could really confuse everyone, and try for period units of measurements... :slight_smile:

Steve
(who is 30% done with a 'rough' map of the covenant... in meters)

4

Meters, yards, meh- that's why they use paces. In the end, the diff between a wall 600 ft in diameter and 660', or 182 m vs 200 m, is not that big to worry about most of the time.

5 

Here's what it "sounds" like we have for specialists

[b]Specialists[/b]
(no suggested standard for "Medium" or "Powerful" in the core rulebook)

I haven't seen any, except maybe Angus (a quite capable chamberlain, not a position to ignore!), and the 4 Fae guards (who, tho' perhaps attached to Mab, are functioning in the covenant's interests... I hope.)  Also a blacksmith and vellum maker.

[i]"Specialists : Modest.  There are a few more beyond what's been already mentioned."[/i]

(Cost = the highest single relevant ability value.)

Angus- 5?
4 Fae Guards - 7 each?
Velum Maker - 6
Blacksmith - 6
[i]Consortis : A typical assortment.  A couple of them show great skill.  The woodsmen, in particular, know the land quite well.[/i]
1 Woodsman? 5 (One "attached" to the covenant, more locally available)
1 _________? 5

That's about 55 pts in specialists (5 tbd)
6

By modest, I meant "modest number of", not "modest skill".

You can add a mine boss, scribe, and smelter (reduces ore to usable metal).

Steve
(Giving Caesar his due...)

7

We need a decent head librarian, someone who can maintain and repair the books. I think this should be someone other than the scribe, as it is a full-time job.

I imagine that the scribe will be busy copying books, writing them for magi, working with Angus on the covenant records etc.

8

Hate to tell you this, but those skills are maxed, or almost. They don't include the Characteristics, nor Virtues like Puissant (why, I have no idea, but they don't. Guess that's up to the SG.)

See page 31-

Max skill until age 30- 5
30-35 - 6
36-40 - 7
41-45 - 8
46+ - 9

I didn't envision any you described (except the fae) as "middle aged" (~30+) or older, except perhaps Angus (who would have several skills around 5), and the Velum maker and Blacksmith (and those two are maxed.)

If you want to start making aging rolls for them, we can go bigger.

Are the rules in the Covenants book parallel to those in the Core book? Or, as usual (every edition so far since 3rd!), are there multiple separate approaches that are completely unrelated to each other?

Because right now, by core rules, we're marching toward a "High/Powerful" covenant (and possibly flirting with "Legendary" power!?), and have more Boons than Hooks by a longshot. :\

9

On Scribes and Smiths

Let's make finding a librarian a small story. My Magus would willingly take over the "supervising magus" position, but finding a full-time librarian and Lore Master (tm) would make for a decent urban story for him.

As for convenant smith, I've got a Companion character that may fill that role very well. A little discussion has to happen in sidebar conversations before that is decided for sure. I ask for patience on that one as well.

Suggestions for others:

Mine Boss -- Alwyn, late 40s, Craft:Miner 7, leadership (intimidation) 5, Brawling (bar furniture) 5, AL (arithmatic) 1, Latin 3, Covnenant Lore (business deals) 3, etc.

Foundry Foreman -- Rufus, late 40s, Craft: foundrywork 8, leadership 3, AL (arithmatic) 1, Latin 3, Covenant Lore (personalities) 2, etc.

Mine Mascot -- Dammit: a mastiff. Very high Cunning, Awareness (guarding the till), Brawling (bite). The mine is his domain. Everyone except Alwyn and Rufus work here by his sufferance. He has saved the lives of some miners by sensing a couple impending minor cave-ins and has rescued a couple others. He recognizes Alwyn and Rufus as superior in his pack, but that's it.

Thoughts? Feedback?

10

A rough tally of the Points used, according to the Core Rules

(Edit- Apologies for the long post, but it's not a short topic.) :\

On page 72 of the Core Book rules are some suggested "Base Resources" for "Weak, Medium and Powerful" covenants. Below I'll list the values for Medium (800 pts total) and Powerful (2100* pts total), and compare those to what I feel "this" covenant might have.

(*The book lists the total at "2000 pts spent", but double checking puts it in fact at 2100, or actually just over; 1105 for the lib, 500 for the lab texts, 300 vis and 200 items.)

It's clear from the SG's comments that this covenant has its act together, or did before it lost 4 magi. Of the two remaining magi, both are senior, but one seems largely "out to lunch" with regard to improvements, leaving only 1 to run/improve things. Decisions are based partially on that.

[size=150]Resources [/size]
800 pts is listed as "medium", 2100 for "powerful", so I'll split the diff and aim for just about 1450, and we can live with disappointment if we have to.

Library
(I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that ~everyone~ wants a huge arcane library, so I'll try to spend most of the points here. Listed "Medium/Powerful" is 400/1100pts for an average of 750; the below is about 850.)

Arts Summae
(~550, 19 books)
1x L20 Q11
3x L17 Q14
2x L15 Q10
3x L13 Q18
3x L11 Q20
3x L10 Q15
2x L8 Q17
2x L5 Q10

For a final version, I'd like to see even more variation in these generic-ish values - some Arts duplicated with Low Level/Hi Quality & vice versa, some unusually hi/low Qualities, etc., to make it look less optimalized and more "realistic"- some strengths, some weaknesses, some duplication, perhaps one art missing just to make things interesting, etc.

Tractati (Arts and/or Abilities, mixed)
(~100, 11 texts)
2x Q11
5x Q10
2x Q8
2x Q5

Abilities Summae
(~200, 7 texts)
1x Lvl 6, Q17
1x Lvl 5, Q15
1x Lvl 4, Q22
1x Lvl 4, Q18
2x Lvl 3, Q16, 22
1x Lvl 3, Q 11

Some of the very low level/quality texts could reflect rare or obscure topics addressed, where any text is valuable and no "great works" are easily found, or just amateur efforts on topics of little/local interest.

Lab Texts
(200/500pts, 1000/2500 Levels)
Doesn't strike me as a covenant highly focussed in "sharing texts" (which would take a Bonisagus feel), tho' they could have acquired such.

I'd say 250-300 pts or so, and put the rest toward the Library.

Vis
(100+20pts/250+50 pts; 20/year+ 100 pawns in stock/ 50/year + 250 in stock suggested for Medium/Powerful covenants.)

This covenant has considerable stocks, apparently, so either it's rolling in or the Praecones haven't been using much.

175 pts = 35/year, varied types.*
_35 pts = 175 stockpiled (or roughly ~12 pawns/Art on average.)

(Note- Altho' 35/year may sound comfortable, after a decent Aegis spell and maybe one more annual Covenant Ritual (Scrying Pool?), with 10 magi that's going to be less than ~2.5 pawns/year/magi, before personal adventure gain! A "Powerful" covenant has 50/year, which would still be less than ~4/year/magi. 10 magi is a big split.)

Enchanted Items
(80/200 pts = 200/500 levels of effect)

Bleh! I have no friggin' idea. Some Cov's are filthy with items, some not. I don't know how excited Dierdre/Mab are about items, nor the recently departed magi. Looks like they had only one Verditius (an "armorer" or such), and a couple more well-used labs. These are items for the covenant, so they don't have to have been all made by locals, and some could have been lost with the recent magi losses. I'd say lean toward a lower-than-averaged amount, maybe 300, and put the rest toward the lib'.

300 levels (120 pts) would be about 2 items of Level 35-40+ "master" (complex) enchantments, ~4 Level 25-30+ "major" enchantments, plus 100+ levels of Level 5-20 lesser enchantments . Off the cuff, the Cov' would need...
o Magical Lights & Heat for commonly used rooms (Ireland- cold, wet and dark in Winter!)
o Magical Defenses on library/vis stocks
o Magical Kitchens/Food Storage
o Intelligence gathering magic (Scrying Pool for lake???)
o Magical buff's on Guards
o Some Armour, weapons (he was an armourer!)
o Magic Defenses on other buildings, wall?
o Some magic items for expeditions
o Some personalized/"pointless" fluff/flavour items
o Others???...
Specialists
(no listing for suggested expenditures)

Pts spent: 72

Angus- 5? (capable, but neither "old" nor expert, but broadly skilled to serve his function. He could have a "5" in a dozen or more of relevant abilities.)
4 Fae Guards - 7 each?
Velum Maker - 6
Blacksmith - 6
Scribe- 5
MineBoss- 7 (age 36-40?)
Smelter- 4 (doesn't need to be "the best", not with magic around.)
Librarian- 6 (older)
1 Woodsman? 5

Any/all of these still have Characteristics and Virtues (or Flaws?) to be applied to them. With a reasonable governing Characteristic of +2, that makes these quite respectable. With the odd Puissant Ability or etc, even moreso. The elves, of course, are wildcards, and could be anywhere.

Total Points spent:
_850 Library
_275 Lab Texts
_210 Vis
_120 Magic Items
__72 Specialists
1527 (at the lower end of "High" power, 1250-2500- see chart, p 71)

By the book, this level of power implies that the covenant has been around for more than 50 years, and could have achieved lab texts and magic items of greater than 40 levels of power.

(Note- The above spends almost exactly the average between the 800 pts "Medium" and 2100 pts "Powerful" covenant as suggested (1450 pts) - it's the lack of any Specialists in those examples that throws this off, by ~75 pts/ 5%.)


That's just something to throw out as a starting point for conversation - I'm under no illusion that it will be everyone's ideal solution (nor even if it's far too low/high vs what our SG had in mind!)  But as a starting point, I feel it's probably "in the ballpark".

However, that's only the points for Resources- no Boons/Hooks have been addressed yet.  That's another long topic, so let's narrow in on this one first.  

(And again, if "Covenants" uses a diff approach, well, then we can go with those rules, but maybe consider this as a rough idea of a target goal?)
11

I'm not on commission, I promise, but have you got the Metacreator covenants add on? You'd be able to track all the cool covenant stuff and make a decent covenant "character" sheet available on the downloads thread. Just print it to PDF and we'd all be able to see it much easier then referring to this thread.

12

Here's an idea:

Everyone come up with 4 summae and 8 tractatus (per Steve's comment that 2/3 of the library is tractatus) and send them to Steve for his review and approval. For those he approves, we'll add it to the library.

We all keep doing that until Steve says the Library is full. It should mean that there will be some duplication and a couple holes (at least at the upper end) so the library will have character rather than feel like something done in full munchkin fashion.

Also, Steve, you might consider holding back on a few of the better books as story hooks. In another saga that I play in, adding to the library seems to require stories and I have found that to be a thoroughly enjoyable thing.

How does everyone feel about that?

-K!

13

One thing that works with the table-top game I play, where we're in a very similar situation, is that we haven't yet fully defined the library.

As we need something we just kind of find out whether it's available or not. The storyguide ultimately decides and as we "discover" a new volume he adds it to the known list. It saves and has saved a lot of time up front and allows us to progress our characters as open play dictates.

For instance, Corvus would dearly like to find Summa and tractatii on all the arts and the various realm lores... and penetration and parma and finesses and... well, just about everything. But I wouldn't want to make my mind up now as to which he might get around to first. I'll let open play decide that and "try to find the right books".

14

Sorry, nope.

Tried to list them as they are in the Core book- best I can do without additonal [tags] that are not currently supported on this site. (Waiting to hear from the Mods on that one!)

"Equal to any continental Summer Covenant"??? I missed all that. The library I suggested above is, if anything, insufficient.

An "excellent" library would, imo, need to cover most of the below points:
o (almost?) every Art covered
o If an Art has a high Level, Low Quality Summa, then some Low/High compliment should be available.
o Tractati on the key Arts ("all" Tech's, and the popular Forms)
o Ability Summae on popular/useful subjects
o Some Summae on obscure subjects
V, I'm not sure what you think is "full munchkin fashion", but the above is not an example of it. (In fact, your suggestion smacks a bit of that, in that none of the 8 new magi will have their "favorite" Arts lacking.) "Character" is not best achieved by random methods, nor by committee.

A library can be purposefully designed without being "munchkin". If you looked at the above example, you saw that I suggest exactly what you do, leaving at least one gap in the Arts, etc. Also, about half of the Qualities/Levels are not min-maxed (100% are in the book examples.)

An "excellent" library is not one that has been put together at random, as your suggestion would create. It's one that has been groomed to meet the demands it was designed for. There is a big diff between that (or a realistic stab at it) and a munchkin lib, which would have everything min-maxed according to the needs of the magi involved, and then some, completely ignoring variation and making no attempt to mimic randomness.

(The only reason I used the relative amounts of summae:tractati is that is approx what the book uses, and I had overlooked the above comment on lib's by our SG.)

Well, I agree completely in principle (as my suggested example above demonstrates), but for an "excellent" library, for a solidly Summer Covenant and without any other rationale for loss/destruction, I think one true "hole" is ample. That, coupled with some rather "unacceptably" low level Arts represented (lvl 5 certainly, 8 & 10 less so but some), will give us enough of a challenge, depending what Arts they cover.

I'm guessing that the SG isn't interested in making the pursuit of Summae a central element to the story, as it is in many (if not most/all) Spring Sagas. At the power levels represented above, this covenant has been around for 50 years or more- enough time to fill in a missing Summa or ten, I'd think.

15

Peace, C-hound. No criticism was intended. It may not have been explicitly stated, but I was largely agreeing with you. My post was meant to back you up.

And I agree that a Summer covenant with such a library would have most if not all Arts addressed. A certain "deliberate uneven-ness" has a lot of appeal for me.

I think Mark has hit apon an excellent idea. Playing out looking for particular books would add a lot of flavor. And it is reasonable that Diedre and Mab would not know everything there because they probably don't care about their non-specialties too much (at least as far as tractatus go).

Having said that, I like contributing books with little one- or two-paragraph backgrounds so I'd like to find a way to do that.

One self-imposed restriction, though, would be to change the phase "as good as any Continental library" to something else, say, "among the best libraries given it's age and power." That way, we are not laying claim to the same level as Durenmar or Valnastium or Magvillus. Just a thought.

Either way, though, I'm looking forward to this!

-K!

16

Ah- thanks, and my apologies for my kneejerk. All good.

I try to create challenges, not "perfect" covenants, which would be rather dull, imo.

It IS a classic bit, and so long as it isn't central (as has been done in so many Spring Sagas), I'd be all up for it. Possibly an Art only has a couple Tractati, or the book was "last seen" in the possession of a visiting mage, who left during the chaos of one of the deaths of the magi we're replacing? Either could open the door for trade/diplomacy.

At least a creative title and one-line descriptor. "The Lives of a Cheese" is much, much better than "Qual 10 Tractatus- Muto", imo.

But, having said that, for me (one opinion) I'd rather start with the slots defined and then fill in the titles as they get used/etc. More chance for plot complications than filling them in as we need them.

I think Durenmar is Autumn, no? In it's fullness? But regardless, I'd agree that "in the same category" is better than "equal to".

I entirely missed this post- wasn't intentionally ignored, just that my opus took a while, and thus a 2 hour crosspost was missed. :blush:

Let's make finding a librarian a small story.

If we have a great lib, we need a great librarian- whether we have (an acceptable) one is up to our SG. Maybe the one we have is a putz (skill 3-4?) Maybe he is really old, and due to retire? Maybe the prev one died, and the scribe has been (mis)handling the task since then?

As for convenant smith, I've got a Companion character that may fill that role very well.

Companions taking the role of Covenant Specialists is all good by me! So long as they have an excuse to travel with the magi and operate near their level - some (the mine boss) would, for instance, make a better Companion if he was a formally trained, Latin-speaking Mining Engineer, rather than a peasant/custos with a lot of experience (even if the numbers were the same.) Sometimes it's the background that makes the diff.

Likewise, a Woodsmen/Ranger, even if a scuzzy peasant, has far more reason to travel about on a mystery than the cook, even if she did, for some reason, have great combat skills. And I'd think the magi would be loathe to let someone like the librarian or Angus out on anything that looked dangerous.

If a Companion wants to be giving any advice to magi, or be treated as someone deserving of leadership or real trust, a thought should be given as to their position in our little family (as in their Social Status?). In Mythic Europe, it often takes more than skills to be respected. :wink:

Suggestions for others: ...

"Specialists" need only be defined by their relevant skills, if that is all they're going to do. Not every one needs to be a fully fleshed NPC. However, IF we are going to use them in stories/etc, then that's the way to go. Don't forget Virtues/Flaws- those are just as important as lesser skills, if not more so.

As for the Specialists themselves, I saw the foundry guy as more of an "adequate" type, maybe a criminal or discredited type who found refuge in the covenant. It's not a critical position, so long as the ingots get made the magi can purify them into what we need (tho' it makes a diff as to the final productivity of the mine.) Maybe he's using a Magic Item to aid him?

Remember- if we have "older" specialists (for their higher abilities), we're more likely to lose them sooner. A few younger souls wouldn't be a bad thing for non-critical positions.

17

A few notes : Lough Caillte wad founded just after the Schism war. Therefore it is nearly 220 years old, and has enjoyed a long summer indeed, but it has had problems making the jump from summer to autumn. Many of those problems are Major Story hooks.

Let me pull out the covenant's book...

We definitely have the following hooks :
Site, Major - Castle (Like it or not)
Site, Minor - Road (Several of them)
Site, Minor - Urban.
Fortifications, Minor - Outbuildings.
Residents, Major (Hidden), x3
Surroundings, Minor - Faerie Court
External Relations, Minor : Obligation.

We definitely have the following Boons:
Resoruces, Minor - Wealthy
Resources, Minor - Right (We can collect tolls on our bridges)
Site, Minor - Ringwork (That covers the wall and the gatehouse)
Fortifications, Minor - Important Building (Feast Hall)
External Relations, Minor - Local Ally (The Priest)
External Relations, Minor - Hangout (Inn)

On the subject of build points, 1800 or so would be the limit. Remember, however, once the numbers are in, I'll be adding a few things. Books will be paid for at 1/2 cost, Usual limits apply. You will not have to pay for Vis, Money, or Extra Labs, as these have already been defined, or will be taken care of.

On the subject of Magic Items : Despite being around for 200+ years, there are very few magic items at the covenant. Again, the reason for this is a hook, but not a major one, and one that will be revealed anon. However, the mundane equipment available is of the highest quality.

And remember, the Code's prohibitions on Scrying apply to Storyguides as well. :stuck_out_tongue: So no using Intellego Mentem to read my thoughts... :slight_smile:

Steve

18

From my last PbP, we had title and author for each book, along with any flaw that applied to the book, or a unique feature (These examples were from 4th Edition)... Really, this is all that's needed for flavor, IMHO.

Examples:
The Libri Sinister (Rego Summa, L21, Q:6) by Brutus ex Tytalus. The book is bound in reverse.

The unfathomable depths of Wisdom and Thought(Mentem Summa, L12, Q10)(Incomprehensible) by Geneste ex Jerbiton.

Excellent Firewood Sources (Herbam Summa, L3, Q 6) by Haakon ex Flambeau

And so on...

Steve

19

And bear in mind that as the needs of the saga dictate, "looking for the required resource" could be as simple as "yes, you find a forgotten tractatus at the bottom of the trunk, now get on with your study". It's just a mechanic that allows a bit of freedom and avoids a) a lot of paperwork up front and b) lets us develop characters in ways we might not have assumed early on.

Of course, I know some of you are going to come up with some great book descriptions so I wouldn't want to lose those. A healthy mix is called for, I think.

20

Almost 20% BIGGER than the 1520 spent above? And then some???

Since the above lib I listed is only 820 pts, that will give us an EFFIN HUGE library!

Well, "Vis" is the only thing in the Core Rulebook that "costs"- the rest are Boons. So that adds another 210 pts to spend - plus any limits from the Magic Items.

Really- now you're talking something that will easily be in the "Legendary" category. Is that what you wanted? I mean, do you understand what you're giving us? :open_mouth:

15 Arts, maxed out in pairs (one summa high Level/low Quality, and one lower Level/higher Quality), that only costs 950 total- and you're giving us effectively around 2000+ on the library alone!

Because I could live without it- to me, it's not necessarily a good thing. 820 from the original lib, +210 from the vis we aren't going to spend, +250 for the "1800" cap, x2 for the "1/2 price" cost savings, equals ~2560 - a library that alone costs a more than the entire 2000 pt "Powerful Covenant" listed in the book! That's more than the threshhold for an entire covenant that's Legendary! With that much, it'll be hard to spend it all and NOT to look munchy. (And you've seen how I feel about being munchy!) :confused:

We're talking about our characters having to look for books, and you're going to give us one of the top libraries in the Order. :blush:

What's going on???????