Regulus would show up. I think that between him, Clusius, Perion and Augustus it's possible to have a good grasp on the legal aspects and several anecdotes of Normandy raids and tournaments.
To Regulus they are not that different from Certámen (in the sense that they are legal and he doesn't always agree with how things are done), so it wouldn't be a problem to him. I'ts just another Tuesday. But he is not a martial guy, and will probably never be, so it's best to not depend on him for physical fights, only legal, logistics, etc.
I don't think there's anything Regulus would like to discuss with Clusius, but after some rest he would like to see the covenant (maybe Julius or one of the grogs could guide him?), and would seek Perion, ask how things are, maybe chitchat a bit about "the old times" before things got awkward and he finds an excuse to leave.
The big thing is whether Wolfgang is the only one down to face magi in combat, and whether that's a big part of raiding. I purposely haven't read on it, but if the easiest thing is to just say "read it, that was the meeting", then I will.
I see. I don't remember the specifics of raiding except for the general thing and a few case rulings... It's fairly easy information for us to get IC, but I will refrain from rereading until Arthur has had the time to comment.
Anyway I think we would mostly want to defend ourselves, so a few items to protect the covenant and detect intruders would help us. Since this is something that we will want regardless of what Tribunal we join, maybe we could start working on that together with the letters/visits to the Tribunals?
This can be done here out of character. Augustus Nero is certainly more familiar with the practice and law of raiding than I am.
IIRC it is limited to mundane resources, since raiding magical resources would be deprivation of magical power. I would also think that it doesn't involve direct combat between magi, since hurting another magus outside of Wizard's War is also against the Code.
Essentially, the location of the covenant allows the troupe to decide which Tribunal they want to join, and consequently what kind of stories they want to be involved in. If you want a more politically oriented saga, then the Rhine may be more to your liking. Isolationist is more Greater Alps, mundane imitation and conflict is Normandy.
Whichever you, the players, decide on will eventually happen. It may pose some challenges in order to attain that goal, but you will get there. Your characters may have to make compromises, deals and outright bribery. They may also face unintended consequences from their choice. But in the end your covenant will join the Tribunal you choose.
Even the Greater Alps if that is what you want, despite that Tribunal usually not being open to magi as young as you are. You may have to settle for the status of a chapter house (or maybe not!), but you can be part of the Alps.
I feel pretty neutral about this, my vote goes to whatever sparks the most joy for the SG(s). Whatever option we choose there'll be fun stuff for Wolfgang to get involved in, and that's really all I care about. I will observe that running a Normandy tournament is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work, as there are so many moving parts to deal with, so that might be a strike against Normandy.
Either Normandy or Rhine are cool, slightly inclined to Normandy (seems more interesting due to tournaments and competitions in general).
Nothing particularly against or in favor of Great Alps.
Lotharingian seems like a decision for the future. I'd be happy to avoid it entirely (as in, the Lotharingian movement doesn't has enough strength), but that might change due to in game reasons.
Regulus wants to push for apprentice rights. I think Rhine is too conservative, and the Alps even more, so maybe Normandy would be the best option for that... But this could get us in direct opposition to House Tytalus Domus Magna. If the troupe (or the SG) doesn't want to deal with that, I think Rhine would be better.
I am happier with either the Rhine or Normandy, since those are the books I own. I can't seem to get any 4th ed stuff, so all the Alps stuff that Marcus should probably know I will be totally clueless on.
I don't care which tribunal it is. The sooner we can get these business meetings out of the way, the sooner we can start playing, things like spying and meeting giants and finding ancient Roman ruins...
I'm thinking that sending Regulus to Normandy (possibly with company) gives us an excuse to:
have any number of adventures along the way, possibly visiting a few covenants: there are about 350 miles between Tugurium and Confluensis, and up to 6 covenants to visit if we are willing to make some detours. If we go by Mercere Portal we save a lot of time, but it's still possible to have a few adventures;
have IC information to support our decisions (if we chose Rhine, Regulus unearths reasons against Normandy; if we chose Normandy he unearths useful information if he goes well on his research (I'm thinking OoH Lore or Intrigue... or both?), or barely useful if not);
the other characters can move on to adventures in the Rhine, Alps, or around the covenant.
The point of this meeting is to establish what stories and adventures will take place in the following seasons. So each character should state what their intent is for the near future. That helps SG plan those stories.
For example, a few months ago I mentioned that Clusius will have to solidify and renew the covenant's position with the local nobility. One of the players at the time expressed interest in running that story, so I gave him a rough outline of the Telsberg family and their dynamics. Unfortunately that player is no longer active in the saga, but if one of you in interested in running such a story, let me know.
The same should be true for the other magi. What Rafael posted gives us an idea of where he will go and what he plans on doing. Now we'll need a volounteer Beta SG to step up and develop on that with a story outline. Then the story can be played out in the coming months.
This seems like a good time to address the scale/pace of the game. Are we planning on time passing quickly or slowly? The density of stories over time is really quite arbitrary, a number of different types of event could be either stories or narration, depending on what meets our pacing goals. It's up to us (with @Arthur getting an extra say because this is all his game). If we are really granular, with everything that could potentially be a story, being a story, we should be realistic and accept that the duration of the game probably won't encompass a lot of long-term developments, such as the Lotharingian tribunal, or anything else dependent on the Grand Tribunal, or any long-term research goals.
Once we have an initial roster of stories, we can put them in a calendar of sorts and run them in parallel, even if they don't actually happen at the same time game-wise. This is what I call a "cycle" of stories.
The first cycle will probably cover the timespan from the foundation of the covenant until the next Tribunal, which is in 1207, which is probably when Tugurium will probably petition one of the Tribunals to join.
After that will be another cycle, this time covering a longer stretch of years. Perhaps until the next Tribunal meeting.
Should we also discuss our plans for what we intend to run (avoiding spoilers)? I have something in mind for Eikona by around 1206 or 1207, but otherwise I'm still tinkering with ideas.
So SGs will be posting stories on the calendar, should we post character plans there too, or post them here and when an SG takes it on they post in calendar?
Have we, as players, decided what tribunal we want?
Wolfgang is going to start writing letters, but not going to work on gathering official sponsors until the magi have ruled out Alps and Normandy as options (which means we need to decide).
P.S. Is it Regulus, or @RafaelB who's pushing for Normandy? It's not equivalent to the others, we have more vis issues in that Tribunal.
