[Table Talk] Return of Table Talk

The Library staff is pleased and proud to report that the preliminary unified catalogue for the library material has been completed, and can be found here:
[url]https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/meta-the-covenant-of-lough-caillte-in-detail/1744/4]

Work continues, and more texts are being discovered and catalogued, but the above gives us a baseline for study and research. Thanks to all for their input.

~

On a related note, as chance would have it we have a super-abundancy of Intellego summae:

L15 Q15
L 5 Q18
L 5 Q11

That last clearly is inferior to both others, and serves no purpose except redundancy, which we really can't afford right now.

If(?) we agree (and that includes Dierdre), perhaps one or more of us should see if we can market that at the faire, either for a higher Level with lower Quality (of approx same "value"*), or perhaps for a collection of Arts Tractatus, which we sorely need.

(* Level 5 Quality 11 would cost 38 points (5 + 3x11) to purchase during CharGen for the Covenant. Considering that the Merchant has to make a profit as a middle-man, that would be approximately the same as...)

L6-7 Q10 Summa (30 + Lvl)
L8-10 Q9 Summa (27 + Lvl)
6 Q6 Tractatus* (36)
5 Q7 Tractatus* (35)
4 Q9 Tractatus* (36)
(* Or some combination equaling something just less than 38)

With those suggested Levels, only Animal or possibly Imagonem could improve with such a Summa, but with our current Arcane library, tractatus on any Art would help.

With those Summa suggested above, only Animal* (or possibly Imagonem*) could improve with such middling Levels, but with our current Arcane library, tractatus on any Art would help.

*Currently:
o L 8 Q21 Imagonem
o L 5 Q12 Animal

And with a wave of her hand, and a few words of latin said, Mab quickly erases the erroneous posts, though it now appears that her hair has turned cotton candy pink... As has Miach's fur. With only the dignity a wolf the size of a horse can muster, he stalks off, mentioning something about lying down in the corner for the rest of the day.


The hammering at work is dying down, as we start to head into the holidays; I've had to solve some software issues on my end on my PC, and a project I've been working on for the last 2 years has hit open beta, so I'm doing bug stomping in my own code (Note to self - PUT MORE COMMENTS IN YOUR SOURCE CODE, IDIOT!), so I'm busy, but I've a little more free time now...

And now, on to Ars stuff...

The last Intellego Summa cost the covenant nothing, and is a donation from one of the magi, namely one Mathius ex Verditius. As has been mentioned in the faire topic, There is a demand for good quality books.

As for what the book seller has, I'll have to ponder this and post something come the dawn.

Steve

Such magic!

I'd vote for multiple Tractatus, altho' a Level 9-10 summa would not be bad - but 1) I don't know how much immediate demand there is for Level 9-10 in Animal (vs current Level 5), B) we still need something larger in the mid-long run anyway, and iii) the Summa might(?) be better used as trade directly to some Spring Covenant in need, for alliance, votes, favours, etc.

I'll be visiting my folks for the holiday, so my posting could be limited, we'll see.

A story element that Fabrica would like to pursue. He wants to talk to Diedre regarding the local Church and him making his Church observances there, perhaps talking to the local Father.

I also will be out of town for the holiday, so I will be away from work and I might have time to post something. :smiley:

And ironically, I'm here and ready for incident...

Daggin's player will be around - hey, that's me! He was told to go to the faire, he went to the faire... meh, it's a fair faire. 8)

Unless one of us can invent a way to offend another to get into Certamen, I think it's up to the SG at this point... :stuck_out_tongue:

Azaelle is at the faire. You can offend her if you want. That would be fun!

I was hoping Max would pop back so Corvus could rile Albertus again... I hope I didn't scare him off.

So... what's up? Characters are wandering off, wandering home, wandering in circles, wondering about wandering...

If there's a plothook here waiting for a response, it's too subtle for me. If not, is it time for the next SG input, or at least to resolve those still active at the faire so we all can move forward together?

Day is coming to an end, and seasonal vignettes will become shortly. Get what you want to do firmly in mind for the summer.

Rhiannon will be studying Creo while her lab will be constructed. Fall will be spent getting the lab set up, and Winter will involve her brewing her Longevity Focus.

Fabrica has ...business... to attend to.

Azaelle's troubles are only just beginning...

Why is Mab following Azaelle? Why does a Merinita do anything?

Who is this mysterious person that appears to be following Azaelle?

What is the final disposition of the Labs?

Why are there 2 red branches hanging over the gate when the players return to the covenant?

And will Lough Caillte ever get a charter?


I'll have something up this evening, once I get done bug stomping my hierachial model tree translator...(Puts on Giant's Hobnail Boots of Code Debugging, and begins to wade through a morass of .NET code...) A project of mine has hit open beta, and I'm bug stomping....

Edit : Something's Up, and I hate typos. New season begins...

Steve

Azaelle's troubles began a loooooooooong time ago.

Bring it on, Deus ex Ludus.

Daggin has an agenda, split between the lab (either setting it up or working on a spell at a penalty, haven't decided), and finding translators (plural) for the old texts he bought. (Where do we post our "official" seasonal itinerary?)

Also, what are the Qualities of the 2 Philosophiae Tract's he bought?

You can post your season here.

Tractatus 1, Q 7. It's title page is missing. However, having skimmed the book, you know it's Natural Philosophy.

Tractatus 2, Q 9. Title as yet to be determined. Written in a good, clear hand, with enough illumination.

Steve

Maybe, for ease of future reference, another thread, a dedicated one? One where we only post seasonal activities?

Or, perhaps better, a SG only thread*, where you/the Scribe sum up the season's activites, both intended and resulting, & thus the season's adventures as well. That might be an idea. (a good one, that is.) 8)

(* Or, at least, one where we don't waffle and ask questions, but is some sort of "official, final record")

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For his first Summer (his first "conscious" season, ahem), Daggin will do the following:

Send out messengers looking for translators of Greek. Ask the redcap, too, and, of course, firstly the Scribe/Librarian! D's looking for 3-4 total, and is willing to pay top rate, as he plans to not allow any two consecutive pages to be translated by the same clerk (he's squirrelly that way.) No need to hire them this season, he'll just find what he needs - contract for them to come to the covenant and do the copying, room & board & a nice stipend, etc. (Hell, toss in a family plan if they're attached.) Maybe find someone permanent for the covenant if they're the right sort. (read "desperate") :laughing:

(Attribute+Ability base values on request.)

He'll also cast a few more spont' spells on the writing material (assuming he's never seen papyrus?), the ink (to verify both are about the same age), and the scroll tube, looking for age, origin, an image of the fire, age of fire damage vs when scroll was written, etc etc etc. Focusing on the history. Hey, he'll even shoot for an image of the scribe, why not, if it's an AC (unless that's a stretch for Spont spells.)

InHe Total =31 (already including +4 Aura and +2 for loud/bold, and Artes Lib's & Phil for ceremonial casting.)

InAn 33, InIg 24, InTe 29.

Also hit it with his InVi spell, just in case.

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In the lab... well, he's operating at a handicap for now, so we'll not go for the big guns - what's the penalty for non-attuned labs, again, -3? Assuming so, he'll go for a pair of small spells, using experimentation with no added risk mods:

o Taste of the Astrological Clock InIg(Vi) 10
o Tale of Ashes InIg(Vi) 5*

(* ToA typically has no Vim requisite, but the rules of labwork require both spells to be of the same TeFo(Req) if both are done in the same season. Here, the Vim adds nothing to the spell effect, therefore he's effectively electing to add a free, completely pointless requisite that only limits his casting total. But vs. a 1st magnitude spell, I can live with that.)

Taste of the Astrological Clock
InIg(Vi) 10
R: Self, D: Sun, T: Taste
The mage can "taste" the passage of astrological time, if he has any hint of natural light available. Although this takes a bit of getting used to at first, the mage can know, with perfect accuracy, when a Diameter duration is about to pass, or exactly how long until a Sunrise or Sunset will occur. This can take place at any time of day or night, even if far from any direct view of the sky, so long as some natural light can filter to the caster. This works even if it is not visible to the naked eye, as this is a magical and universal aspect of the sun and stars, not a visible one. Non-Hermetic durations, such as hours or minutes, and the moments of noon and midnight, may also be known, but only if these, too, have a relationship to the astrological clock. The concept of "seconds" is not a medieval one - for that, heartbeats would have to be counted by an individual, or a miniature hourglass device used, as those are not tied to the passage of the sun or moon in the medieval concept. The mage must stick out their tongue and actually "taste" the environment, though many magi act as if merely licking their lips. (Some magi increase the Range to Touch for this reason, or simply because they can.)
(Base 4, Sun +2, free requisite)

Lab Total is 37 - penalty for unattuned lab (including extra +3 experimentation bonus from Inventive Genius, which may not be needed in the total.)

37-3 = 34(?) +d (overkill, even if "no experimental benefit" result.)

  1. IC, he'll also try to hike and be physically active as much as possible, since he's feeling a bit low after the whole Twilight thing. Not enough to train or anything, just IC color. Take a few meals outside, swing the old quarterstaff around on an afternoon, things like that.

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Julliette the ermine will spend the season gaining Area Lore: the Covenant, so she can find her way about better. Specialty in (food sources). :wink:

Assuming Fab's 'business' doesn't take up the whole season he'll read the book that I proposed (also assuming that it's actually available and in our possesion.

Guests in the Palace of Triton a book on Aquam written by a Merinita, who was captured and dwelled in an Undersea Faerie Grotto. Bound in rough selkie skin, and written in squid ink from a giant squid, this details the capture of the wizard and his companions and a cautionary tale on the tempestuous nature of the water nymphs.

L 10 Q 15

It was the first Art text defined. Just labeled it with that title (tho' without the entirety of the description) so you can more easily find it.

Whether another mage had plans for it for this season is another matter, but it's always been on the Lib ledger.

Sheesh! Who had the 'nads to do that?! :open_mouth:

Corvus would. Rhiannon would, being a sucker for various lores and legends. Angus knows the story as well, as it's happen 5 times in his life so far. She's far from defensive on the subject, unlike many things...

go Here for the abirdged version of the story. Consider mine the hermetic cliff notes of the tale.

Next Up, why are the Fae here, and what is this agreement they speak of...?

I should have plenty of time this weekend to write something. We're about to get smacked with an ice storm.

Steve

Seasonal activities are so noted.

Fab's business won't take this season. It will take a season or three down the road.

Penalty for unfamiliar labs is indeed -3. This will be gone by the end of the season, of course.

Steve