Table Talk (OOC)

Do we have any Companions? Other than Julius.

I had upgraded Argos from grog to companion, but tbh I'm still unsure about that. I'm thinking about dialing back and changing an NPC I've designed for the Telsberg family to my companion.

Shouldn't each companion be for the Magus of a different player? Or do we design a companion for our Magus, and someone else gets to play them?

Oh, Argos is not supposed to be played together with Regulus (albeit Regulus could surely get some benefit from him).

Sorry, my internet died yesterday after my message here and i went to sleep without posting anything ^^! And today I've been at 38 degrees (Celsius) from a tremendous heat wave, and I've been half-dead all day T__T
Let me a moment to post :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes

Today that the heat has dropped a bit and I can start to think again, I remembered that I did a image with AutoCAD to help visualize the laboratory that Alba has in mind (if you give her access to a wax table to draw, she will do something like that... but a lot more rough):

fLFLcXu

Several things to take into account:

  • Ignore the Small Expansion for now, that for the future. That space will be used to store tools until Alba improves her Refinement.
  • Without taking into account the Small Expansion, the laboratory is around 810 sq feet (75 m2 or size +2), with the diameter of that part being 40 feet (12 m) and a height of 36 feet (11 m) to the highes point of the dome.
  • The doors that lead to the laboratory and Alba's rooms, doesn't have hinges. At all effects they are very thick wood planks embedded into the wall. So they must be opened with magic.
  • At the first floor, both doors and windows (except the ones at the lab, and the doors for the pantry and the latrines) are designed to be completely round (thats why are so wide).
  • The rooms are at the east to have all the heat and light at the morning Alba will have better light since her room looks to the south-east).
  • That tree there measures 28 feet (8.5 m). Thats the around highest size normally reachable by a hawthorn tree.
  • About the human figures: the man average sized at 1.72 m tall, so it's easier to imagine the proportions of the building. The female is Alba sized at 1.42 m.

Due to the weird building procedures needed, its expected to cost more than a regular building and need more time to be finished (since a lot of excavation is needed, it should be started on summer, and since this year is already nearly there, so surely will not be possible to organize everything in time).

1 Like

::insert I'm impressed meme::

Impressive indeed. It may be a while before the covenant is able to complete that, and there may be some practical considerations that require a few adjustments.

One of those is that the covenant is located on the east side of the small valley, so it doesn't catch much of the morning sun. And the ground of the valley is quite rocky, with only a relatively thin layer of soil. S quite a bit of digging through rock will be required, and soil may have to be imported from somewhere else to cover the building. The tree also needs enough soil depth for its roots, and a source of water. And enough sunlight -- the windows depicted may not be enough and might cause the tree to grow asymetrically. Mirrors might need to be used to spread the light around and larger windows might be needed.

Doable, but it will be very very costly.

1 Like

Ty, but I was wanting to practices a little with AutoCAD (no real reason, i just like to learn shit like that) and the lab was the perfect excuse.


Also, Alba's sanctum:

xD

It seems ok to me :slight_smile:

If the sanctum is placed near one of the small streams (they start into a spring?), the humity of the ground would be good. The common hawthorn its not very exigent about soil, but a good drainage is ideal (so, it seems like the soil in this valley is good enough).

About the sun, that where "The Welcome Addition of False Sunlight" comes into play into the dome, so it receives a good amount of light :slight_smile:

(PS: this also remembers me... its time to upgrade labs for everybody with magical lighting... xD)

Yep, maybe we could make an adaptation of the Superior Construction for the cost (but not exactly the same due to the aura of the covenant).

But since we don't have a very deep financial planning, we can just handwave it and subjectively calculate the issues as they arise :stuck_out_tongue:

The description in the Late Arrivals thread did strike me as a hobbit hole. XD

Seems like an entire endeavor on it's own. A medium/small project spanning a few years until everything is really set into place.

For what is worth, I like it. =]
But the covenfolk will probably hate it. Haha.

Use of such spells in the lab will either increase the Warping score or reduce the Safety score of the lab, by 1 for each spell. See Covenants p.122.

You would need to enchant the effect into an item to eliminate that drawback.

We don't have detailed financial planning, but that allows me to just say: "This project will take X years to complete, if all things go well." or just "The covenant cannot afford this project."

To my understanding, that just for spells that need a regular recasting. A circle spell is not used "regularly" by their very own nature, its just casted once and its done (unless somebody removes the spell), so it already works very closely as a ritual version (supposedly, a 1 year version) of the spell.

Yep, that sounds about what i expected :stuck_out_tongue:

Nope. Even if you don't have to cast them that often, the rule is pretty clear. The tediousness is only one part of it, and has little to do with the rest of the effects.

However, there are disadvantages to the usage of non-Ritual spells. Casting such spells on a daily or monthly basis can become tiresome, and they may have unpredictable side effects. As a rule of thumb, for each such spell that is employed regularly, either add one to the lab’s Warping Characteristic or subtract one from its Safety.

That doesn't sound reasonable to me, tbh.
I'd say that the tediousness has little to do, true, but not the constant recast. No spell is being casted daily or monthly, so they aren't unpredictable at all (how a spell casted once can turn unpredictable over time?).
A ritual spell still needs to be recasted once in a year and its not an issue at all.

Also, with the literal wording of the text, can also be said that this sentence:

As a rule of thumb, for each such spell that is employed regularly (...)

Doesn't apply to circle spells anyways (as it doesnt with yearly used rituals).

This strict reading can also lead to weird paths as like making a CrIg spell that lights all the room with Fire duration (Merinita magic), being able to produce the same issues even if its cast into an CrIg eternal circle bonfire. And even when both spells working in tandem can outlive the very own caster.

I see it as similar to being under a constant magical effect. So it doesn't matter if it's through a magical item casting an effect daily or monthly, or a year ritual, a circle spell or the magus himself casting every day, as long as you can classify it as "constant magical effect" it warrants the lab warping.

It's a matter of game balance. To provide improvements to a lab without incurring the disadvantages, you need to spend time and raw vis.

Well, the rules explicitly leave out Ritual spells, so its not a constant magical effect issue but a repeatedly casting issue. The same happens with items that gives constant magical effect to the lab (except in very powerful cases... being powerful something to the SG to decide).

:man_shrugging: To me it would have a lot more sense as you say, tbh.

Just spend the time to create a magical item,

Also, in regards to making the lab, Celeste doesn't have any Terram, but she's got a 10 in Rego, and if we have a Terram Summa, she would be happy to invent a spell or spells to ease the construction,

To invent a spell she will first need a lab. :smiling_imp: