Fixer is...
THE HAMMER!
and a rules shark
Basically, anything that makes it past that guy is fine by me.
Just to let you guys know, I really rely on troupe input for making rulings and judgments. I am the ASG and the GM. But I am not a rules expert. ArM5 has grown to expansive for me to grasp it all as a whole. So there are numerous specialized "micro rules" I either don't know of or understand. Also, there are old rule debate I can't remember from years of Berklisting and these Forums.
So what I am saying is that the group as a whole is wiser than this one individual.
BTW,
I need feedback on some of the HR adjustmets I am proposing. I revised the mechanics for New Virtues & Twilight, based on input from a few of you. Does this work better?
Mustering Out: I realized I was being stingy so I loosened up a bit, but made some resources more expensive. Does it make sense? Does it work? Suggestions?
I also added a bit about Redcaps, because I realized they fall between the cracks of my chargen HR's. I fear what I wrote up makes no sense and needs to be revised. It is tweaky
And Carmen is up
I would like feedback on her, much as we share for each other character. I think my math may be screwy, so I plan to run her final numbers again.
I use no specialized software. Hell, I don't even have Word on my main laptop (the old half busted one I cart to the library does though). No metacreator. Just a calculator
Wow, I don't know if it's the way you write, the language barrier or both, but I have a real hard time understanding you and must really concentrate
Maybe, but not only would this be IMO too generous, this doesn't seem to be the way spells work, in that they are usually more specific than guidelines.
For exemple, Wizard's Reach (that uses the previous guideline) boosts the range, but it can't change the target, despite it being a perfectly valid thing for this guideline to do.
???
How so? You mean taking a lvl 05 spell and turning it into a lvl 10 or 15?
In both cases, this should use that guideline. It allows for a change of up to 2 magnitudes, which is exactly what you're doing. I don't think adding again 1 or 2 magnitudes to the MuVi if you're amping it by 5/10 levels is warranted then, if this is what you're saying.
Hum... To be clear: This would allow you to change any lvl 05 spell into any lvl 10-15 spell. Enjoy your focus, you're gonna be our spontaneous magic specialist
The only thing one could say is that the target must be a valid target for both spells (like with the previous guideline, in which, if changing the target, it must be a possible target for both spells), but as far as I can see, that's all.
Or I am utterly misunderstanding you?
So long as you see me comment on a point without going balistic on the others, you can assume it is probably fine by me
No, really, at first sight and overall, I'm really pleased with what you're done
I think I wasn't clear about some of the references. Sorry.
Right, but the guideline doesn't say "both" as a third option. If I rewrite this guideline, that one piece could be written three times: Changing the Form uses this guideline. Changing the Technique uses this guideline. Changing both the Form and Technique uses this guideline. I'm fine with your interpretation, but the poorly referenced other post had a different interpretation than you have.
No, it was in comparison to the other post, not in comparison to the guidelines. I understood you perfectly.
Thanks.
I think mysteries & twilight work fine now. It is the bit about Redcaps and Mustering Out that I may need to revise.
Open Disclosure: I want to create a Redcap Companion, retcon Alexandro, Carmen's half-brother.
I also wanna recreate two of the Andorran guard as her personal grogs, and spend Carmens benefit points on a LP for each and one lesser enchanted device. That's how they rolled back in the day. Now, the guard is shattered and our larder of items gone. These two grogs now count as just Almogavars with Hermetic Experience (see Grogs).
In doing this, I realized Redcaps get screwed, Items are too cheep, and I am too stingy on the vis you get to keep.
So I came up with the ideas I posted in the HR discussion thread. But I don't want to invent rules just for myself. I ask for feedback
I'm about a third of the way through reading her write-up. I probably won't try to crunch all the numbers. I'll reply once I'm done reading. I think, based on relatively similar ages, that she and Guillaume would know each other. I'll probably want to write that into Guillaume's history since it's relevant to the current situation.
A calculator is fine. I don't even use a calculator for most my stuff, though I'll probably use an MSExcel sheet I wrote to handle advancement. Of course, it doesn't bother me much to do arcsines and the like by hand for practice.
Speaking of companions, I have an idea for a weaver/tailor/seemstress type with a personality suited to adventure that I'd thought of. I may flesh that idea out when we move toward making companions.
Not at all! That wil be perfect! I would like to see the Mercere/Redcap aspect of this covenant revived, and play that out in game as character goals. A Mercere maga (Mercuria) and two Redcaps are a great start!
So do you see where I am getting at? The development rules give a boost togrogs and companions, a bit better boost for magi, but (again) I failed to consider Redcaps. I wanted to give them a similar boost to other magi, including xp and items. Then I got caught up in the whole vis wage/salary thing and how I allow you to buy lesser items with your vis at the end, etc.
So I went slat and made something up. The ideas are there, but it needs refinement. And since this will affect a character of yours (which is helpful): what is your opinion?
The rules seem pretty generous to me. It makes sense that Redcaps would collect a lot of vis, though it's specifically for them to buy items with. I might suggest you let them accumulate vis like magi, and let them use it to buy things like longevity rituals and magic items at a rate of 2 pawns for every 1 required by the investment.
I had been thinking of making a Redcap companion too, though that was back when I thought of it as being tied to another magus. It does make sense that Mercuria would have an escort of a few Redcaps, though. I might do a Redcap who has been specifically groomed by the Mercury cult, possibly with heroic blood. How about a "descendant" of Roland? That sounds fun.
I also think the politics and intrigues sound really interesting if some of the Redcaps come from Doissetep and some come from elsewhere. Maybe our covenant's Mercer House has divided loyalties?
goovy. i am on the right track. My thinking is that Redcaps don't actually gain two levels per year per se. They just make a vis wage each season and thus accumulate more of the stuff than other magi, and can freely purchase them at a better rate than other magi. They also recieve a slighty higher vis salary, and have access to stuff in game as well.
Eh?
Redcap origins. Alexandro works the Iberia circuit, and his home was Andorra all along. Perigrine was thinking of Doisettep. I can imagine the Redcaps maintaining a lodge in Barcelona, though not as members of that covenant (it is a recent development there). Where else? Provencal would surely have a Redcap presence in other covenants. There is Dragon's Rest in Normandy.
Wherever you want I suppose. Harco? Bahgdad? Transylvania?
I am liking this
Characters having links and relationships beforehand feels more realistic. A band of random individuals from every scattered corner of the world feels wacky.
The region is rife with Redcaps, according to Fifth Edition books. There is a Mercer House at Barcelona according to HoH:TL, and Harco is just on the other side of the alps, not to mention the cult of Mercury, which I imagine is at Doissetep. And there's also wherever the Chief Redcap of Provençal Tribunal lives (personally, I imagine she's in Marseille). Andorra is kind of squarely in the middle of all that.
Which makes it the ideal location for a vault!
I clearly stated that the Mercere vault was untouched. This disaster is a recent event! It makes sense for several Redcaps to be sent to secure these resources until it can be decided where to trasfer them (unless the players can convince authorities otherwise).
Will try to look at it if/when I have the time, but à priori, I like Mercuria's ideas and way of thinking
I like it.
Redcaps might get "only vis", but at a different rate than magi, and be able to keep it or trade it for items/longevity, with limits. This gives them some flexibility
For exemple (sheer out of the blue numbers, do not put any trust on these!):
Longevity ritual of 1 magnitude per 2 pawns up to 30, +1 magnitude per 3 pawns up to 10 magnitudes
Magic items of 1 magnitude of total effect per 2 pawns up to 10, +1 magnitude per 3 pawns up to 15
Purchaes before mustering are restricted to redcaps. You don't need them yet anyway. Books are part of your 10xp/season average (some were petter, some were worse). And for Lab Texts, it is presumed you have access to what you need.
As for a Redcap revision, I am using Mercuria's idea. Instead of recieving levels of items for years of service, I'll instead have them earning a vis wage per season on top of a vis salary each cycle. Just like other magi.
Then, just as other magi, they can spend it on stuff. They get a better rate for their exchange, and magic items are half the cost as compared to other magi. But they can buy books and other stuff they want to use or trade.
Buying stuff with vis comes at the end of development. Redcaps are the only exception.
Does this seem functional? I do want to be generous, but also balances and fair.
OK. I have a remaining question, though: what if I want to purchase a suit of armor to turn into my talisman? I had figured some of the lab work (opening, initial attunement, an effect or two) might be done before mustering.
That is what your developmet vis is for, lab work and etceteras. Mustering (a term from the old Traveller game) is for dealing with what vis you did not use.
Don't worry about mudane expenses. Suit of mail, Toledo steel, bag of silver, some jewelry, whatever. Just keep it reasonable.
Big investments, such as buying a townhouse in Toledo or whatnot, that will require resource purchase (in the abstract)
Separate question for everyone, again on MuVi but different this time. Let's say I have a circular ward against animals. Now let's say I want to turn this into a circular ward against wolves. Which MuVi guideline would I be using? My expectation would be non-total change because I'm changing neither the Form nor the Technique, just altering the specifics of the ward within the category it was already handling. But I wanted to double-check with the rest of you.
Don't know where you are going with that. You are changing the spell to be more restrictive in a way there are no level guidelines for. So, I would call it a Superficial Change.
