Aegis of the Large Hearth (ReVi 25, includes a +1 Size magnitude): is this:
a) a lvl 20 Aegis requiring a 25+ casting total to avoid fatigue? or;
b) a lvl 25 Aegis requiring a 30+ casting total? or;
c) Neither. (???)
Aegis (and wards) do need to penetrate, right? In other words, if we are talking about option "a)" above, we would want a casting total of 45 to have penetration 20 and protection against (realm) creatures?
What would be inside the Aegis? Taking the Covenant Valley Map, would it be everything inside the dashed line?
I think this was discussed somewhere, but I'm not finding it: are the caves inside the Aegis? I suppose the answer is yes (at least the ones with labs inside), but I can see it going either way.
Last, but not least: really nice maps Arthur (both for the covenant and for the whole valley)! I've been meaning to ask for a few days, how did you make them?
a) The spell level is 25 and that is what must be cast, but it only provides the protection of a level 20 Aegis because the extra magnitude is only there to increase the area.
Yes, Aegis and wards need to penetrate. So the actual protection provided by the Aegis will be between 0 and 20, bepending on how high the Penetration achieved.
and 4. Even a +1 Size Aegis cannot protect everything inside the valley. It is large enough to protect the big cluster of buildings up to the small watch tower. So the boundary used to cast the spell would be the comma-shaped area delineated by the road (dotted line). That area includes the caves beyond the covenant (and beneath the mountain). That would still leave a few buildings and the oak outside of the Aegis.
Note that the covenant also has a casting tablet for Wizard's Vigil (the variant of Wizard's Communion that has a longer duration for use with rituals). But the effective level of the spell is 10, and the total level of the communion needs to double the level of the spell being cast. Since we would be casting a level 25 ritual, we need 5 magi casting a level 20 Wizard's Vigil to be able to help the casting of the Aegis. If we can't reach that, then the caster of the Aegis needs to carry the whole load for Penetration.
The good news is that Wolfgang, once he learns Aegis, will have a Casting Bonus of +35 (Re 6 + Vi 17 + Stamina 2, Mastery from Flawless Magic 1, Artes Liberales 1, Penetration ability of 3 including Puissant, and Aura 5). Thus he can already achieve a Penetration of 10+die. So he won't really need much help to achieve maximum Penetration.
How much of his plans has Augustus revealed to Regulus? In particular, would Regulus be aware that the covenant is to be registered in Duresca (he would expect Magvillus)?
I was to type this in the IC thread, but this isn't something anyone would be aware of. Do anyone have a preference to keep in the IC thread only what the characters would see or notice, or is it ok to post inner thoughts and reasoning of our characters?
Regulus does have some objections about the legality of a group of people "owning" the valley and the vis (but not the manor or the village), but he won't voice this right now. First because it changes nothing in the short term, second because if everything goes wrong this would be brought to tribunal and become a convoluted mess... It is better to keep things civil, if at all possible.
Unless @Arthur decides otherwise, Regulus would have brought copies of the Charter for every magus (and a few more if needeed). I think we can assume that everyone was either previously informed or has the time now to read the Charter and raise questions/objections?
I was trying to keep an already-long post relatively short. You can assume that each clause of the Charter will be discussed in the council.
The broad lines would already have been discussed through letters before each of your characters travelled to the covenant, so this isn't a surprise that's just been sprung on you.
Not necessarily a copy for each one individually. But certainly a "copy" for the covenant (to be signed by all and kept in the library) and a second copy to be registered at Magvillus (also to be signed by all). At the moment those two "official" copies are on a single large piece of parchment, but will be cut into two copies once signed (this is a chirograph). That way, it can be authenticated as a unmodified copy of the Charter, both physically and by virtue of each half being an arcane connection to the other.
Other copies can have been made, but are not "official" copies and are only for ease of reference.
And I also didn't knew about chirographs! It is neat, indeed!
Man, now I want so much do make (or learn) a spell to check if two documents are valid copies from one another. This is the kind of thing I love about Ars Magica!
If you get the impression that I am trying to get the magi to accept the charter as is, you are correct. I don't want this discussion to drag on for weeks. The charter was designed to justify some stories in the future. So I'm fine with your magi expressing their discomfort regarding some of the clauses in the charter, but in the end don't expect it to change significantly.
I'm letting you know ahead of time so that we don't waste too much game time on it.
Regulus will only propose his addition to the Charter (the one which was already discussed and mostly rejected at the OOC topic). I don't think we need to roleplay it. He proposes the change, is rejected, and he will try to pass a general intention to treat apprentices well at a further date.
