Tayma Zamzam

I'm assuming that the covenant is going to need help either building or maintaining its physical structure.

we have several masons that will ultimately serve three purposes. First, there is maintaining the physical structure. Second, Paphos is a Mythic Sculptor and will eventually need assistants to support his art (but those can likely be untrained labor). Lastly, Tartessos, the resident Verditius, is also a sculptor and will constantly be looking for additional Forge Companions.

If none of those appeal to you, we could also use a carpenter.

Beyond which the question is not what role will she play in the covenant, it is how she will be integrated into it. There are hundreds of masons and other craftspeople around Malta who do not suddenly become part of the covenant because the covenant has a need.

Well no, but it does mean that the covenant needs to hire someone and when they do she can be someone who takes them up on the offer. They can't have a good reputation by now with Mr. Demon Eye's caught pouching especially when you combine that with the nature of the Gift. Plus general strangeness, being outside of town, and being near the spooky ruins. That makes them low on the list of potential employers. Tayma isn't going to be on the top of anyone normal's list to hire simply because of being female. She'll probably be one of the only people happy to get a steady job away from town near the ruins.

Obviously this would happen when they go recruiting, which means integration won't be immediate.

I expect a lot of 'recruiting' will be picking up people who impress them in adventures, since they can't exactly go to craigslist. Hence the question.

That sounds like a terrible way to recruit anyone. While there isn't Craigslist you can still go out and ask around where the you can find workers. The tavern, the guild, a person off the street. "Where might I find a bricklayer my good sir?" something like that.

Alternatively Tayma could head to them. Probably suspicious of "magicians" who promise healing. Sounds like something a charlatan would do, no?

Anyway GTG, more stuff later.

Plus you can try and put the word out generally that they are looking for a type of worker. Now obviously if the covenant doesn't put at least some effort looking for potential covenfolk it becomes more difficult to connect them.

Anyway this brings up the second character idea: murdered wife, rises for revenge upon the husband her killed her. At her funeral. Causes a large commotion and gives the magi the opportunity to play hero and such. Say that they understand and can help with this kind of thing, blah, blah, blah they can get her away from the town and offer her help at the covenant. If you think that's a better way to go about it we can go with that.

I think either idea works, and you should pick the one which works best for you, but finding work in the middle ages was even more about relationships than it is today, and the idea that anyone comes into the covenant as a result of a help wanted sign should be rethought. She is more than her work, and that is the point I want you to give consideration to- what has she been doing with her faerie wizardry prior to the covenant? Does she still have a teacher? Human or faerie? What is her life situation other than she shows up at the covenant?

First off, the Faerie Wizard concept wouldn't integrate into the covenant fully. Spend a lot of time there sure, maybe even live there, but she would be a covenant employee who works for pay and maybe other favours. The reverent would consider the covenant really her home if they took her in.

Wizard Concept:
She learned wizardry from her mother, in theory a long line of woman descended from Athena, and while much of the potential remains the knowledge is almost gone. Tayma knows everything her mother knows. In truth they aren't even sure of their history, but it is clear over 2000 years they left Greece, since they are very clearly not Greeks now. She mainly uses her Wizardry for helping woman recover from injuries, especially child birth. Occasionally she'll give someone a "blessing" which amounts to Faerie Sympathy. Very rarely she'll try something "major" such as a ward or an actual curse to hurt someone. She mostly works on woman, not men or young girls, when performing Faerie rites for obvious reasons. Polite society scoffs at the idea she is anything other than a silly girl.. Even so she can scrape out a "living", enough to help her parents get by with assorted jobs.

Reverent:
She's a noble daughter. Her family fell on hard times, and they never were very important in the first place. She is the eldest daughter and there were no surviving sons. She was slightly famous because at her Baptism an Angel appeared and made a proclamation. She would be sent into God's hands by an immortal beast, a foul demon, an avenging angel, a wondrous Faerie or the powers of a mighty wizard. No dying to banal bandits or death in childbirth for her. Technically, it was always "sent into God's hands" instead of "death", but everyone took it as dying. Cool right? Oh and the Angel named her. Don't let an angel do that, they are terrible at picking names.

Fast forward eighteen years. Her family had finally found a solution to their downward spiral! She would marry a "merchant prince", not an actual prince of course, but very, very rich. He wanted to marry into nobility and Tayma was set to inherit. Tayma was a bit miffed at having to marry an old dude, but this Jonathan character turned out to be surprisingly young. Older than her, but not by much. Plus he was charming, superficially at least.

They got married. The problems started almost immediately. Jonathan seemed... reluctant to perform his "Husbandly duties", at least as much as Tayma wanted. Some of Jonathan's deals were less than completely on the level. Probably legal, but embarrassing if they came to light. They fought. Tayma thought he wasn't acting properly. They were both good at flying off the handle. Jonathan almost hit her, but a comment from Tayma about how that would be the most contact they had all week... eventually Jonathan and Tayma had both had enough. Tayma said if he didn't start "acting like a husband" she would accuse Jonathan of "lying with men". Jonathan panicked and murdered her, stabbed her to death.

There was some suspicion cast at Jonathan, but that whole proclamation by the angel shut that down pretty quickly. Jonathan wasn't a demon or dragon. Tayma's funeral was set up reasonably quickly. Tayma got out of her casket. Now pale and scarred, cold and dead, but moving. Tayma was angry. She wanted Jonathan dead. He was the killer. He didn't send her into "God's hands". The angel didn't bless her. It was giving a warning.

Integrating the reverent: This could happen if the player characters step in. They might save Jonathan and could offer the scared, angry, and confused Tayma guidance. If they offer her a place to live and help understanding what had happened too her she would probably latch onto them. Next time they are in town they could hear the commotion and screams. Possibly when Antonius is finally released.

Thoughts? I think the later is certainly better if you want a character fully integrated into the covenant. I'm kind of leaning that way now...

I could work either of these into a story, the second obviously comes with it's own story, and if you are leaning that way anyways lets go with that. I have the first one completed in my worksheet, and we could bring both of them in at differing times (one would have to have a different name) if you want to do that.

I got over eager, the sheet is almost done...

Now its done.

Name: Tayma Zamzam
Type: Magical Human; Companion, High Power
Might: 2
Confidence: 0
Essential Trait: Vengful+3
Personality Traits: Desire+3, Wrath+3,
Qualities: Natural Appearance, Improved Abilities5, Greater Power, Personal Power, Improved Soak5 , Major Virtue2, Minor Virtue3, No Fatigue
Inferiorities: Minor Flaw, Reduced Might13
Characteristics: Str+2 Dex+0, Sta+2, Qik+0, Pre+5, Com+4, Int+1, Per-2
Reputations: Returned Wrong+4, Abandoned Family+2
Virtues: Venus's Blessing, Death Prophecy, Great Communication
1, Greater Presence2, Educated, Good Teacher, Gentlewoman.
Virtues from Qualities: Improved Characteristics
3, Immunity (Magical Might Loss), Immunity Cold
Flaws: Black Sheep, Wrath (Minor), Low Self-Esteem, Infamous, Small-Frame, Compulsion (Seeks Sex)
Flaws from Inferiorities: Disfigured

Abilities:
Italian 5 (Academic Usage)
Latin 4 (Academic Usage)
Artes Liberales 2 (Writing Systems)
Arabic 3 (Academic Usage)
Teaching 3 (Children)
Etiquette 3 (Courtship)
Brawl 2 (Kicking(
Guile 2 (Men)
Intrigue 3 (Nobility)
Charm 4 (Men)
Athletics 3 (Climbing)
Church Lore 2 (politics)
Theology: Catholic 1 (Sins)
Music 3 (Signing)

Appearance:
Looking at Tayma gives the sense of a marred masterpiece. She's horribly scarred. Slashes across her face, her arms, her neck, her back and legs if those aren't covered. But ignoring the scars one can see she was once beautiful. Lithe, yet still strong long dark hair offsetting her pale skin. A flawless face if you discount the puckered lines of scar. Eyes of pale, striking blue.

Powers
Greater Power (45 levels, 5 left over)
Deathly Chill
Points 0, Init+0, Ig
R: Touch, D: Mom T: Ind
Cold radiates from Tayma, a distance of a little over a pace, forming frost and turning the air deathly freezing. Anyone caught in the area takes +10 damage from the cold. At the Storyguide's option warm clothing may provide a bonus to soak.
Base 10 Touch+1, Size+2 Part+1, Cost-3

Personal Power 25 levels, uses 5 leftover from the Greater Power)
Death Walks Behind
Points 0, Init+0, Ig
R: Per D: Mom T: Ind
Tayma moves to a location she can see within 50 paces. Transport is instant and intervening barriers don't matter so long as Tayma can see the endpoint.
Base 15 -2 Cost, 1 Mastery Level, Fast Casting

Woman is not a defining essential trait. Essential traits are like personality traits, not simply a declaration of gender.
I also get a calculation that you have 31 points in positive qualities, 14 points in negative qualities, and a might of 15, which leaves you 2 points overspent.
PeVi effects are too general for an immunity, though I will allow for immunity against magical depletion of your might and might pool as a greater immunity.

given its placement, were you aware that no fatigue is a greater, not lesser quality?

I was generally aware of that, but in counting stuff up I probably missed it.

Seems reasonable.

Added reputations from flaws. Exchanged Great Communication for Gentlewoman, since she is, at least in theory, from a noble line. I really only realized that might still be important reading the land thread.

you are still one over on your might accounting... 30 points in qualities > 14 points in inferiorities+15 might

Derp. I changed the Virtues from Qualities, and removed an improved Characteristics and lowered Per, but didn't delete a minor virtue quality.

okay, looks good, in a season or two (probably fall- rising dead seems like a fall thing...) we will get her in the game

The first three posts of Tayma have been changed to reflect the reverant version. The story has gotten some minor edits, most notably the rising now has more ambiguous circumstances so they can fit more adventures. :slight_smile: The sheet itself has had Death Walks Behind changed to corpus, and Deathly Chill's target is now listed as part, as I think it should be. Its chilling part of the air. Her might now has Corpus listed as its type.

Something just struck me: Deathly chill has a cost of 3 and you only have a might of 2- you can't actually use this power...