I'd say don't forget that redcaps are companion characters, so they should be comparable in power to other companions. As is, beware of not being too generous to them.
This may be too much, or too little, depending on how it works. What do you mean exactly?
They must spend half their time in service. For most characters, this means that 2 seasons are "wasted", with only exposure XP. This is normally compensated by the access to magical items and to good teachers, but I have a fear you might not do it that way and give them, in practice, 4 "free" seasons.
If this means that they have 2 free seasons, plus 2 "work" seasons in which they gain "only" 5xp in the aforementioned skills (more than exposure but in "good skills) + 2 BP... Well, this is what I would have recommended, so I'll just go hole up somewhere and pray for sleep to come to me. Sorry, too much work, too less sleep, + whatever
Would you believe that I wrote and edited that whole thing on my phone! Not an android, just a keypad text interface phone.
The gross typos and mispellings are evidence
I need to sit back and take a sober look at it after a day or two. I think maybe Redcaps should not ged half-off items after all. They already earn extra and their vis goes farther. And you are right. They are companions, not magi.
You write the cycles as being 7 years... +/- 3 years (I had missed that bit ). This is very, very different, and makes it quite interesting for people to take short cycles.
Compare:
If taking 4 year cycles, in 20 years, you may gain up to 15 virtues points, 105 pawns of vis, at the cost of 5 seasons and 5 warping points.
If taking 7 year cycles, this goes down to 9 virtue points, 63 pawns, at the cost of 3 seasons and 3 WP
If taking 10 years cycle, this becomes 6 virtues points, 42 pawns, at the cost of 2 seasons and warping.
=> Keep it simple. A cycle is 7 years (mystical significance). If you have less than 7 years left, this counts as a full cycle.
Actually, I just read that Amul at least have been doing just this, but I'm asking anyway.
Affinities.
By the RAW, when gaining XP, you round up with the affinity, and add it to your total.
A common HR, used by Metacreator, states that you take your total XP and multiplies it by 1,5, just like chargen.
So, by RAW, if gaining 5XP per season over 4 seasons, this becomes (51.5 = 7,5 rounded to 8) * 4 = 32XP, whereas MC would give (54)*1.5 = 30 XP
What do you use? I'd much prefer the Metacreator HR, mainly for accounting simplicity, but well...
Metacreator is for PCs. I'm on a Mac. I use Numbers, a Mac spreadsheet program.
And I solved that problem by only rounding the total XP spent.
Actually, I solved that problem by only ever spending even amounts of XP on Intellego.
(BTW, I noticed an error in my Spreadsheet math because of this! Thanks! Now I'm debating on whether I should keep Intellego at 300xp and spend the extra 8, or just leave it at 312xp)
Regarding your other questions, I think that falls under the "don't be a munchkin" rules, Fixer :*
Seriously, though. The vis is quite obviously based on the formula of 3*year. You have forgotten to include Longevity Potions in your WP calculations. You've also forgotten to take into account good storytelling thppt
Say it with me, Fix. "The map is not the territory. The map is not territory. The numbers are not the game. The map is not territory."
I also use even xp, but I also keep track of half points.
And Amul has it right. You come at me with five cycles each exactly 4 years, I'll raise an eyebrow. And with all short cycles, you will warp faster (1 per cycle) and waste more time (1 seasson per cycle is scratched).
It need to be flexible so it can flex to fit your backstory. Phases of life rarely run the exact same number of years from situation to situation.
In fact, if Pythos has all cycles exactly 7 years, that seems odd (but Criamon magi are odd, and it is not at all munchkin, so no prob).
In fact, "Don't be a Munchkin" should be the #1 HR. No need to safguard against abuse if no one abuses.
and i think carmen did 4/8/5/5
So i suppose i am okay with short cycles. i coukd have done all sevens for three cycles, and wound up with 10 more xp and 1 less warping. She earned 21 more pawns of vis that way, but she had to dump just as much when mustering. And I wasn't even thinking of vis. I was just focused on how to fit the phases of her life into stacks that fit her story. The past five years she traveled around Spain, the previous 5 were the previous volume of this saga we played out. If you dusted off Dimir Taar and retconed him for this game, he would reasonably have two 5yr cycles for those same reason (or a 6 & 4, or one long 10).
It is not an HR. It's just what I do. I do the same with Flawless Magic, spend half points to keep my scores even. I don't like dangling xp in freshly generated/regenerated characters. That is for my character in play, and I still like building up to whole scores.
An nobody has ever called me out on it, so I guess it floats.
What do you do? What do you suggest?
Edit: Looks like it won't be so bad. I'll just adjust in the middle instead of going back and editing each spot. Whew! I was afraid it was going to really mess with lab totals, but it doesn't.
Yes, really, it is, at least with Arts (underlines mine):
It is not specified for Abilities, but I seriously doubt the intention was to run two otherwise identical things in two different ways.
I usually just follow the RAW, but I'm fine with the house rule.
Do you mean by this that if I have scores of 2(25) and 2(25) I could split a season of practice (5x2=10) into 5 for each? That will actually free up some points that can be moved to Parma Magica/Vim, which will balance the little bits of loss from the lack of rounding.
I do allow that in game, as well as splitting study too.
But you are getting to detailed for chargen. It is supposed to ba an abstract. No need to detail season by season. Some were only 5xp, others may have been grand adventured worth 15xp divided between things.
And don't forget you may spend xp on Acclaim.
Go at it like this. Figure the least of how many seasons out of the cycle are for advancement, and multiply by ten. Then squeeze other stuff in, and fill in remaining seasons w/xp. Super easy.
It is an abstract mix.
You 9an* get super detailed if you want. Just remember 10xp is an abstract average.
Still' not a HR. I never told you to do it, and don't really care about a dozen xp in the big wash.
It is also what I do in other people's games, (half-xp to keep even spell mastey scores), not their HR, just the way I do it.
Mustering has undergone the Final Revision (I edited that specific post). No more changes unless it is to address one of your concerns or a major glitch.
vales are set to truly represent the value of vis and what a magus may expect for his labor (epecialy items & Verditius trade). Now for Redcaps...
And now Redcaps are finished. All this stuff will be edited together as a locked global (soon, I promise).
For now, the HRs for Mustering and Redcaps are on page 2 of this thread. It should be solid now.
[u]Language & Area Lore[/u]
You begin with a score of 5 in your Native Language, and 2 in your Native Area Lore. With any Living Language, you may specialize in a Dialect or a form of use. If your score is 4 or higher, you may choose one of each (or two dialects). For a Dead Language, you choose only a single specialization for Use, which substitutes for Dialect.
For Area Lore, you may specialize in a specific part of that area or a type of lore. If your score is 3 or higher, you may choose one of each (or two locations). Your Native Area can be no larger than a kingdom or Tribunal (whichever is greater). Otherwise, the widest Area Lore available is Mythic Europe. However, the wider an area, the less specific the details available.
French (Orelanias, LangueD'Oc, Bourguigon, Poitevin)
Mozarab (Latinus dialects)
Ladino (various cities)
Latin (Classical, Hermetic, Ecclesiastic)
Other Languages
Basque (regional dialects)
Arabic (Andalusian, Classical, Derija)
Berber (various dialects)
Greek (Classical, modern dialects)
Hebrew (?)
Romance Languages, having derived from Latin, are somewhat mutually intelligible. Apply the following modifiers to communication, based on how closely or distantly related the two languages are...
Same Language, Same Dialect: +1 to both speakers
Same Language, Different Dialect: -1 to both speakers
Closely Related: -2 to both speakers (Occitan vs French, Spanish vs Portuguese)
Somewhat Related: -3 to both speakers (Spanish or Portuguese vs Occitain, Spanish or Portuguese or Occitain vs Mozarab or Ladino
Distantly Related: -4 to both speakers (any pair unmentioned, inclusding Latin)
Berber isn't related to any of the languages here, but may be Distantly Related to Coptic. Basque isn't related to any language at all. Arabic may be considered Distantly Related to Mozarab and Ladino. Ladino is Distantly Related to Hebrew. Language Notes (bonus applied after modifier)
Occitain dialects are spoken throughout the region. Catalan is the native tongue of Andorra and Barcelona to this very day. Languadocian is the tongue of southern France, and is the most like that language (+1).
Spanish is an achronism, but is a convenient way to group together the dialects derived from Asturias. Castilian is the dominant dialect. Aragonese is somewhat different and a bit more similar to Catalan (+1).
Portuguese is decended from Galician, though Galicia is part of Leon (+1).
French is a simplification of the dialects of Northern France, with LangueD'Oc added in, which is similar to Occitain (+1).
Mozarab (Latinus) is the language of a conquored people, spoken in Islamic regions of Spain. It is basically Latin (+1) mixed with Arabic.
Ladino is the Iberian equivilent of Yiddish. It is a dialect of Castilian (+1), incorporating elements of Arabic & Hebrew. Hebrew is a Dead Language used by Jewish scholars.
Euskara, or Basque, is a mysterious language unrelated to any other. Basque is the French term, Vascones is Spanish. Not all Basques are Native speakers.
Andalusian is the most common form of Arabic in the region, derived from the dialect of the Umayads. Deraj is the dialect spoken in North Africa (Morocco/Marakesh). Clasical Arabic remains the language of scholars and the Koran.
There are lots of Berber dialects
[u]Familiars[/u]
When a Magic Animal Familiar bonds with a magus, they loose their immortality and start to age as their magus does. They also loose the normal prohibition limiting learning abilities, but cannot achieve further Transformation.
[u]Learning New Languages[/u]
It is easier to learn languages related to your native tongue. This only applies to Living Languages as compared to your Native Language. The Romance Languages fall into this category for many.
In reference to the modifiers to communication for speakers of related languages, think of this as an adjusted temporary score. When learning that actual language, you need xp enough to increase that score by one point. After that, you are on your own. For example, if my Native Language is Spanish 5, my equivilent Occitain score is 2. For 15xp, I can increase my virtual score of 2 into an actual score of 3.
[u]Armamnents[/u] Toledo Steel
Toledo Steel is the result of master craftsmanship and the inclusion of a rare metal known as Vandium. The Craftsmanship grants a +1 bonus to Damage, and is not uncommon for blades of quality in the region. Vandium is expensive, and is usually reserved for long swords. The metal makes the weapon stronger and better balanced, granting a +1 bonus to Attack. thus, the famous Toledo Longsword has a natural bonus of +1 to Attack and Damage. Enchanting such a weapon requires additional vis, trating the material as equivilent to silver rather than base metal. Such fine weapons often have other precious materials included in their ornementation.
Round Shields
Iberian soldiers prefer the Round Shield, as a stylistic choice. Even Cavaliers. Standard Armaments indicates the standard (cheep) version. Expensive Armaments indicates a larder more durable round shield. Use Heater Shield stats, and just call it a Large Round Shield.
Armour
Configure your outfit as desired, choosing a specific Load you wear. For Standard Armaments, Protection equals Load. Expensive Armor has a 50% bonus to Protection, and Inexpensive Armor has Protection divided in half.
). This is very, very different, and makes it quite interesting for people to take short cycles.
It may also help marko should he decide to use these rules elsewhere.