I really like this. Personally, since Second Sight doesn't need to Penetrate I don't think that InVi should have to. Especially given the high levels of said InVi spells...
I'm with Mark on this one, 15 seems good to me. I'd say 15 and Summer. As for Grogs... 5 and Summer? As for being less powerful than familiars, yes and no. Is a Might 15 Creature as strong as Cadoc or Vort / YR7 familiars? No. Is it stronger than other Familiars? Yes. I think comparing familiars to companions is a bad idea. Take for example the Familiar of Niger and compare it to that of a Magi 5 years out of Gauntlet...
I'm not sure you address the part of my post where we've decided that 25 is the "average" familiar for this saga--the three you mention would constitute half the saga's familiars. In light of that, how does your answer change? And how do you address the fact that familiars can get XP's more easily?
Well if I remember correctly he's mentioned that he would be using it as more of a walking stick of sorts. To me, if he's using it for support it makes no sense to add it as encumbrance.
I am new to this saga so I don't its power level, but I suspect Might 25 characters would not outshine the magi, so would make for fine Companions, while even Might 15 would be small-potatoes so Grog status would fit well enough. However, Might NA (i.e. mortal) characters can be companions and grogs too, so I see no real point in setting down Might guidelines for either class. There could be a Might 5 Companion, or a Might 20 Grog. Just design a character to work with the saga or characters, not to fit some preordained Might guidelines.
I'd just reiterate my own - I would like to see old, wizened magi wielding staffs, not avoiding them like the plague. A staff is iconic. The old man leans on it, it helps him - it doesn't hinder him and weigh him down.
Perhaps a wizard's staff isn't a Great Weapon? Perhaps it's a lighter walking staff?
I'll be fine with applying the -1 Enc penalty, but it just strikes me as absurd that a magus is penalized for choosing the iconic wizard talisman. I see wizards, especially old guys with white flowing beards and so on, as wielding staffs - not puny wands or butterflies or whatever so as to avoid Encumbance.
OK, how about this? If he's using it as a walking aid, no Encumbrance, but if he's using it in combat, whether to defend himself physically or to wave it around casting spells, it encumbers. In one case, it's supporting his weight, but in the other case, he's supporting its weight. Unless someone attacks him while he's casting with it, forcing him to Dodge, Encumbrance doesn't come into play.
How about I take the approach of figuring out how many points of Qualities I need, and finding Might backwards from that? After all, if I keep it low, the character has more prospects for advancement (believe me, Personal Vis Source is starting to look like a good Virtue, though that should really annoy the magi once they discover such a "waste" of vis). Unless the character plans on magical combat, I'm not sure how important the Might score is, and I can always use Improved Powers to boost Penetration if necessary.
That's certainly true. However, he might always want to cast spells through it, in order to gain the attunement bonuses--that would doubtless involve waving it around, in order to complete the necessary gestures.
Personally I don't favor any kind of preset might scaling. Just do what feels realistic and reasonable in regards to your creature and the magus it will primarily be interacting with. For example Ludovico can easily summon might 40/50 type spirits. For him, a spread of creatures that fall at or sometimes a bit below that ( for some 'far' below that depending on their purpose/role ) are what is 'realistic'. Because that is what he can summon.
For another Magus who isn't a summoner, the 'scale' shifts dramatically and is obviously based on different things. If you are talking about a social compact with some kind of might creature, I am all for it. And I really don't care what the might score is, as long as it makes sense in the roleplay for that creature to be around, and it comes off well. You could build yourself a might 30/40/50 drake/dragon for all I care. If you have something smaller in mind, then do what you have in mind. Just bear in mind the declared/desired 'high' power level of the saga. I'd say for most magi a might 30 critter is just fine, unless they have some kind of niche role that makes something bigger reasonable. A Merinita that is all about doing stuff with faeries or a Flambeau that just -had- to have a Griffon to ride... whatever.
That still means that the old white-bearded wizard doesn't wield a staff. He has an amulet or ring or something. I find this disappointing, but it's fine - no big deal.
How about the following - magi are assumed to normally lean on their staffs, only waving them around to cast spells. In this mode of operation, a staff's Load does not count towards Encumbrance. If used as a weapon, including for Defense, the staff's Load counts as normal.
This way having a "staff" on hand is just a piece of flavor, basically, as it should be.
Here is my suggestion for a guideline:
A Companion character as a whole need to have Companion-level powers, i.e. only a single power or so that would give a magus pause or that he cannot duplicate, and sufficiently low Magic Resistance to allow magi to influence it (which I reckon is around MR 30 in this saga).
A Grog character as a whole need to have Grog-level powers, i.e. he cannot cause massive effects (making him a significant, and hence companion-level, character) or ignore the magi's power. I reckon that means only relatively weak powers (say, level 15 or so) and low Magic Resistance (say, 10 or 5).
Again, these are flexible - the point is to make a grog-like or companion-like character, not to stick to any rules. But I think as guidelines they might be appropriate, and serve better than the more narrow Might guidelines.
My meaning ( although I didn't convey it well ) is really this. I am against setting guidelines simply based 'Oh by X's Familiar is this Might' and I think Companions should be more strong. Vort said it much better than I, whatever is realistic. If you can come up with a logical reason that a Might 50 Dragon is following you around, outstanding!
The difference is that under my suggestion the magus can swing the staff around when casting spells without Encurmbrance. He only gains Enc if he uses it for Defense (or Attack, or whatever).
Like Vort and Jo said, familiars are whatever feels fitting in-game. Whatever you can get to follow your around. Unlike companions, which have a far more defined story-role of "support cast".
Does a staff use Single Weapon or Brawl? I don't see a Single Weapon Ability for Propolos, so maybe it's just a thin cane. Did they have those in the Middle Ages?
