The Covenant of Caepernum: Aeric exMiscellanea

[ironboundtome]

I was offering information from core and a view. Thanks.

[AericExMiscellanea]

@Ouroboros

Hi countryman, I have two objections and one personal note for this magus.

Hi!

You raise very valid concerns about the stats. In the end, I think that my "inner mutchkin" was possessing me, so I will somewhat reduce the extremes a little bit in order to make the stats look more like other published Magi. Just give me some time to figure it out.

But... I do not agree with some of your arguments.

@Ouroboros

The most logical model to figure how stats distribute is the Normal model. As they usually range from -3 to +3, with some outliers (from people having relevant virtues and flaws), that would be pretty close to a normal of mean 0 and standard deviation 1. So for any given characteristic around 60% people will have it between -1 and +1, 90% people will be between -2 and +2 and almost everyone will be between -3 and +3. So it should be uncommon to have a +3 or a -3, but your character have 4 of these extreme values!

The extreme values are +5 and -5. And the book makes an excellent job creating rarity for those extremes hidding them behind virtues and flaws. A grog can only have one characteristic at +5 at another at +4 in the most extreme case.

If we take into account the gaussian distribution, the +3/-3 range is the range within two standard deviations. This quote of the book pretty much confirms this:

@ArM 18

Each Characteristic has a score that describes the degree of the character’s aptitude. A score of 0 is completely average, therefore positive numbers denote higher-than-average ability and negative numbers below-average ability. All but the most exceptional of individuals have Characteristics that fall between –3 and +3.

+3 and -3 are not exceptional, just very good.
So if you buy my 2 standard deviation argument, in a class of 100 students, you probably would have one +5 or -5 Int student and up to four +4 or -4 Int students. Probably not, because it is unlike that the -5 student or the -4 students would be there, but that is another discussion about normality.

And the distribution probably would be around 40 students with 0, 30 students with +1/-1, 15 students with +2/-2 and 10 students with +3/-3 or so. So +3 is not rare, just good. If you check the qualifications, it is your student in the range 8-9. He is not a 10 (+5) and, depending on the distribution of the values, he probably does not have above a 9 either.

@Ouroboros

You argue that the typical apprentice is bright. I disagree: the typical apprentice is Gifted.

It is not me you have to disagree with. Houses of Hermes: Societates states about Jerbiton Magi:

@HoH:S 55

Less Intelligent Magi?
Sagas vary concerning the prevalence of The Gift. In sagas where The Gift is rare, and mundane hostility to magi is acute, House Jerbiton’s magi may select apprentices with serious Flaws, provided they have the Gentle Gift. As an example, the usual Intelligence score for magi described in earlier supplements is +3. An Intelligence score less than +3 reflects a premium placed upon Gentle Giftedness by masters in House Jerbiton. As a counterbalance, these apprentices are often healthier and more charismatic than their sodales from other Houses.

It is assumed that the default intelligence of a magus is 3. If you have less, your parens probably had other reasons to take you as an apprentice (Faerie blood for Merinita, Lineage for House Mercere, Gentle gift for Jerbiton...). Training an apprentice is taxing. Why do it at all if you cannot get something good in return? Probably Magi don't consider training gifted children unless they are also intelligent. And if this does not happen and the apprentice shows other interesting advantages, I am sure they use magic to increase the intelligence.

@Ouroboros

Well, sorry for the rant, and obviousl feel free to just ignore all of the above. It's not your saga (as this is not a game) but your character and all the effort you are putting on it, at one side, and my house-ruled mind, at the other. Also at this point I'm so used of magi having characteristic values around +2, +2 and +1 that I can totally buy that your Aeric is just the extreme outlier to my mental, statistical Mythic Europe characteristic's model.

What I wanted to argue is that probably you have put too much emphasis on "normality" in your saga. Also, Magus normality is not average. Magus normality is around 3 in Intelligence. And I think that makes sense that way. But we can agree to disagree about that.

Regarding the other things:

@Ouroboros

Second, Damhan-Allaidh. There are only two names that, once spoken aloud, will eat any saga, and that's one of them (now that I think of it both names start with 'D', how odd is that?). You argue that Damhan-Allaidh is not a covenant-wide problem, but a personal one. I'd say that, if using it, then it will become actually a order-wide problem. Also I'm not sure about your troupe, but if I say 'spider' at my game, they all start immediately screaming 'Dav'nalleous! Dav'nalleus!'

I think that that flaw could be disastrous for a PC but I think that I could be interesting in an NPC. It is not even a mutchkin decision, as I balanced that flaw with death prophecy, who gives almost no advantage for a project like this. In any case, if there is a lot animosity about that, I will change it, but that probably would need a complete concept overhaul.

And finally, about the Aegis you say:

@Ouroboros

And finally a totally personal, house-ruled curiosity: in my saga there can't be any Aegis spell of level less than 30. The way we understand it, being R: Touch, D: Year, T: Boundary, level 30 would be the minimum required to have a positive base level (Base 1, +1 Touch, +4 Year, +4 Boundary), because we think base 0 or negative just doesn't make sense to us. To be honest, in this specific spell, this causes more trouble than anything else, as just every covenant is so well guarded.

But... Aegis gets a free pass:

@ArM 161

Aegis of the Hearth was invented by Notatus, the first Primus of House Bonisagus. It was a major breakthrough, incorporating Mercurian rituals as well as Hermetic theory, and was the reason Notatus was chosen to succeed Bonisagus. As a result, the spell is more powerful than it ought to be, and has no Perdo requisite. By 1220 Notatus’s discoveries have spread, and any magus trained in the Order is capable of inventing versions of the Aegis with the above parameters, but at different levels. Inventing a version with different parameters, however, would require a similar breakthrough, and years of research.

Aegis and Parma Magica together are the reasons why Order of Hermes is so prevalent in Mythic Europe. There is no base or guidelines, it combines several spells in one, discards prerequisites and does a long list of "impossible" things. In my saga anything with level 20 or more is ok. You know, more than ever, "it's magic".

[AericExMiscellanea]

Thanks for the replies about the cross-Realm spell. The ghost spell seems to be the only similar example to what I wanted to do. I have checked for errata stating that only works with magical ghosts but I have not found it.

I think that has become clear that Realm discrimination is something strong in hermetic theory. I wouldn't want to propose spells that create controversy with rules. I want them to be as RAW as possible. So probably I will create versions to order Magical and Faerie Spirits. They will affect more creatures than just Jinni, but also I won't know which one to use in advance.

Also, It seems also that you would need multiple spells to detect the realm of a creature (one for each realm), as I haven't found any specific guideline to identify the realm of the creature. I have been thinking in a device to identify that by chaining InVi effects in the same creature.

I'll keep you posted.

[Ouroboros]

Ah, how much do I hate Jerbiton magi! I'm going to stick to my Std. Dev. = 1 model, though a quick browse of the very corebook example magi stats agree with you regarding the Int +3 average. So, to wrap things up, I'd say +3/-3 values are, for me, quite rate, but indeed magi tend to be quite smart in RAW. Still we'll keep our "dumb-magi" approach with an average Int around 1.5: with time I have found that desigining such magi is quite fun. And anyway Int gets useful for magi mostly for lab totals, but the weight it have in that total ends being quite marginal once arts are high enough, labs get customized and all of that.

Regarding Dav'nalleous, please keep it: the whole concept of your magus spins around the prophecy / plagued combination. It's just that from a selfish point of view that will make your character something I won't be able to use in my saga. Not that Dav'nalleous won't appear, but if he does he will be something different than what appears in TTT (I'm half-way on a quite time consuming concept of rewriting Dav'nalleous as a simple Gruagach which just happens to be over 800 years old). But anyway surely your spells and items will be worthy enough, and some adaptation to fit other threaths than The Spider should be easy task.

And as for Aegis not having a defined baseline, I know the hand-waving explanation and all the unique features of the spell. I guess we should really keep our Base level > 0 away from there. Or, now that I think of it, we can just assume that the base already includes the extended parameters, which would explain why these parameters can't be tweaked (whenever I think of that spell I guess Notatus got a nasty lot of good side effects while inventing it), so a 20 level Aegis (which is going to be the lesser possible anyway, being it a Ritual) would have a positive base, if it were having one anyway.

[Salutor]

@Ovarwa

@Salutor

@ironboundtome

I could be convinced by an example spell from cannon, my quick search didn’t see any.

There sort of is one - Ward Against Woodland Spirits on page 27 of Legends of Hermes is a ReHe(Vi) ward against all creatures with a Herbam aligned might score, regardless of the realm. However, it's specifically described as an experimental spell which gives integration points towards knowledge that hasn't yet been properly distributed into Hermetic theory, so it seems a pretty good indicator that it's not possible usually.

what's the 'signature' of this spell? If there is +1 magnitude for each additional Realm, I'll totally concede. Otherwise, the experiment is about unifying the realms, represented by a new guideline or similar, rather than about the rather ordinary casting a spell that has multiple effect.

It's designed as (Base 10 + 4 Vi representing each of the realms; +11 for penetration) - it has the penetration due to being in casting tablet form when being found. That it's +4 for every Realm rather than +3 for extra ones is slightly odd, and there doesn't seem to be an erratum.

@AericExMiscellanea

@Ouroboros

You argue that the typical apprentice is bright. I disagree: the typical apprentice is Gifted.

It is not me you have to disagree with. Houses of Hermes: Societates states about Jerbiton Magi:

@HoH:S 55

Less Intelligent Magi?
Sagas vary concerning the prevalence of The Gift. In sagas where The Gift is rare, and mundane hostility to magi is acute, House Jerbiton’s magi may select apprentices with serious Flaws, provided they have the Gentle Gift. As an example, the usual Intelligence score for magi described in earlier supplements is +3. An Intelligence score less than +3 reflects a premium placed upon Gentle Giftedness by masters in House Jerbiton. As a counterbalance, these apprentices are often healthier and more charismatic than their sodales from other Houses.

It is assumed that the default intelligence of a magus is 3. If you have less, your parens probably had other reasons to take you as an apprentice (Faerie blood for Merinita, Lineage for House Mercere, Gentle gift for Jerbiton...). Training an apprentice is taxing. Why do it at all if you cannot get something good in return? Probably Magi don't consider training gifted children unless they are also intelligent. And if this does not happen and the apprentice shows other interesting advantages, I am sure they use magic to increase the intelligence.

There's also this line in Apprentices - I think there genuinely is a positive correlation between possession of the Gift and Intelligence:

@Apprentices page 27

Gifted infants are often more curious and traditionally more intelligent than their playmates

[AericExMiscellanea]

I have adjusted the scores to make them a little bit less extreme. Only one +3 and one -3.

[AericExMiscellanea]

Ok, finally these will be the spells that Aeric will develop regarding spirits, now that is is clear that hermetic magic is limited by realms. These could be used to order genie around if their realm allegiance is properly identified:

Command the Spirits of Magic
ReVi20
R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
Makes a spirit aligned with the Magic Realm obey you. For most spirits, threats can be used to coerce the spirit, especially if you know something about the spirit’s interests in the mundane world. With Jinni, striking a bargain is what works best, even if only a minor service is offered, but coercion can be also used. If the spell penetrates the creature’s Magic Resistance, make a Communication + Leadership roll (or Communication + Bargaining if the target is a Jinni and something is offered in return). The storyguide uses the total to determine the strength of the effect, though anything other than a botch always produces at least minimal results.
The version of Aeric exMiscellanea flashes a chain of light towards the target. This is just a cosmetic effect.
(Base 5 +2 voice +1 concentration)

And the Faerie version:

Seduce the Spirits of Fae
ReVi20
R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
Makes a spirit aligned with the Faerie Realm obey you. Most spirits aligned with Faerie Realm can be convinced that you are a superior in their story and that is their place to obey. With Jinni, striking a bargain is what works best, even if only a minor service is offered, but coercion can be also used. If the spell penetrates the creature’s Magic Resistance, make a Communication + Leadership roll (or Communication + Bargaining if the target is a Jinni and something is offered in return). The storyguide uses the total to determine the strength of the effect, though anything other than a botch always produces at least minimal results.
The version of Aeric exMiscellanea flashes a chain of light towards the target. This is just a cosmetic effect.
(Base 5 +2 voice +1 concentration)

In both cases, the guideline used is the following:

@RoP:M p.111

Control an Airy Spirit of a specific Realm.

In order to identify the realm of the creature, you would need several spells like this:

Identify the Magic Creature
InVi15
R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind
You sense if the target of this spell has a Magic Might score. If it penetrates Magic Resistance, the spell determines if the creature has Magic Might and the magnitude of that Might (with an error of one magnitude). It has no effect with creatures aligned to one Realm but without Magic Might (like Magi aligned with magic).

In the version of Aeric exMicellanea, a target with Magic Might seems to briefly glow in bright white light.
(Base 5 +2 Voice)

The guideline is described in ArM 158 but not written. It should be "Detect any magical creature".

[AericExMiscellanea]

Now some new spells regarding coounterspelling.

I wanted a swiss knife of counterspelling. A spell that could be used to counterspell anything in the moment of casting. Perdo Vim guidelines allow that, but at the cost of reduced potency. Higher level spells probably won't be affected by this spell. The guideline that I used to create this two similar spells is:

Dispel any magical effect with a level less than or equal to half the (level + 4 magnitudes) of the Vim spell + a stress die (no botch).

And the spells are:

Flash of Mundane Silence
PeVi Gen
R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind
You direct a ray of light that destroys a single spell or magical effect, canceling its effects. The spell or effcanceledncelled if, with this spell, you can double his level on a stress die + 10 + the level of your spell. You need some kind of ability to distinguish the specific spell unless you are dispelling an ongoing effect with visible consequences or it is an obvious one, like fast-casting this spell towards a spell being cast by another spell caster.

This spell must penetrate to affect effects on a creature with Magic Resistance, including Parma Magica. Alternatively, this spell can be directed toward Parma Magica itself. If the spell penetrates, and its level +10 + the stress die is double the Parma Magica x 5, then this spell dispels the Parma Magica.

In the version of Aeric exMiscellanea, the light created is pure white.

(Base effect, +2 Voice)

This is the base version, designed to counterspell a single spell.

The problem is that when the hermetic arms race of mastered spells develops, Magi start throwing several spells with a single action while each counterspell requires a six-point reduction in your initiative. That is a war that you cannot win. So Aeric developed this elegant solution to counterspell a group of spell multicasted in the same action:

Constellation of Mundane Silence
PeVi Gen
R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Group

You direct several spheres of light towards a group of identical spells, like the ones that are created when a hermetic caster multicast a mastered spell. Each sphere impacts a different spell, negating its effect. Up to 10 identical spells can be potentially dispelled. Each individual spell is canceled if, with this spell, you can double his level on a stress die + the level of your spell. If there is doubt if the total will dispel a particular spell, you must check individually and some of the spells could be dispelled while others don't.

This spell can also be directed towards several people protected by the Parma Magica of the same Magus. Check individually: If the spell penetrates, and its level + the stress die is double Parma Magica x 5, then this spell dispels the Parma Magica. This spell only dispels the Parma Magica produced by the same gifted individual. If directed towards a group of different Magi, each with his or her own Parma Magica, only one of them would be affected.

In the version of Aeric exMiscellanea, the light created is pure white.

(Base effect, +2 Voice)

[AericExMiscellanea]

In order to make Affinity with Creo less prevalent in this group, I have changed Aeric's affinity with Creo for Perdo, and made lesser adjustments in the initial spells and some specialization to reflect that. This should give us more variety in the new spells and effects invented.

[Erik_Tyrrell]

@AericExMiscellanea

In order to make Affinity with Creo less prevalent in this group, I have changed Aeric's affinity with Creo for Perdo, and made lesser adjustments in the initial spells and some specialization to reflect that. This should give us more variety in the new spells and effects invented.

If you like Aeric better that way that's fine, well done. But I didn't see the commonness of Affiity with creo to be problem.

[AericExMiscellanea]

@Erik Tyrrell

@AericExMiscellanea

In order to make Affinity with Creo less prevalent in this group, I have changed Aeric's affinity with Creo for Perdo, and made lesser adjustments in the initial spells and some specialization to reflect that. This should give us more variety in the new spells and effects invented.

If you like Aeric better that way that's fine, well done. But I didn't see the commonness of Affinity with creo to be a problem.

Yeah, I know. I understood the first time. But if this is an exercise to create NPCs that perhaps others will use, a little bit of variety will improve the result.

Also, other things were central to the concept, but that particular affinity was there only in order to give some more versatility. Vim affinity is the one I cannot change, but the thing is that having Vim as your sole focus means that you don't have any way to deal with non-supernatural things. Thus, a secondary focus in a technique opens a whole world of other effects while allowing for a powerful combination with Vim.

Perdo (dispelling) or Muto (metamagics) were the obvious choices for a Pralixian (I don't like Rego because I very much like Rego, so I would finish having a bunch of spells that I have already worked into other NPCs), so I chose Creo because was suboptimal (Creo Vim is not especially enticing) and I thought that I could develop some interesting side-tools with it.

But, as I said, I think that almost any technique (excluding Intellego, because I find hard dealing with problems by just knowing) can work fine, Perdo included. So I don't see any problem with this change.

[AericExMiscellanea]

First 15 years of Aeric exMiscellanea. The actual character sheet to come later.

12 years devoted to study/practice/adventures (around 4 for abilities and 8 for arts).
3 years devoted to lab work, including the design and implementation of a complex labyrinth/insect-trap laboratory.
(I have not ordered them, but I am sure that can be done without problem)

Abilities 140px
Magic Theory 3>5 45px
Arabian 1>3 25 px
Parma Magica 1>2 10px
Finesse 1>2 10 px
Penetration 1>2 10px
Comprehend Magic 1>2 10 px
Theology: Muslim 0>1 5px
Mastery: Demon’s Eternal Oblivion 1>2 5px(x2)
Mastery: Dreadful Bane of the Fae 1>2 5px(x2)
Mastery: Sapping the Griffin’s Might 1>2 5px(x2)
Mastery: The Lesser Enigma’s Gift 1>2 5px(x2)
Mastery: Flash of Mundane Silence 1>2 5px (x2)

Arts 220px
Perdo 9>15 50px(+25)
Vim 13(1)>20 79px(+40)
Terram 4>5 5px
Corpus 0>8 36px
Muto 0>4(4) 14px
Creo 5>8 21px
Rego 0>5 15px

Seasons of Lab Work (3 years, 12 seasons)
Season 1 - Create the lab 1
Season 2 - Create the lab 2
Season 3 - Refine the Lab (+1 refinement, Highly Organised Gained)
Season 4 - Install Summoning Circle in the Lab (feature, +1 Vim)
Season 5: Invent Command the Spirits of Magic ReVi 20. Lab total: 5 Rego + 20 Vim + Int 3 + Magic Theory 6 + Aura 3 + Lab 5 = 42
Season 6: Invent Command the Spirits of Fae ReVi 20. Lab total: 5 Rego + 20 Vim + Int 3 + Magic Theory 6 + Aura 3 + Lab 5 = 42
Season 7: Longevity Ritual: 8 Creo + 8 Corpus + Int 3 + Magic Theory 5 + Aura 3 + Lab 1 = 28. That is a -6 modifier.
Season 8: Learn from lab texts: Pierce the Faerie Veil InVi20 + Scales of the Magical Weight InVi5 + Sense the Nature of Vis InVi5 + Sense Magical Power InVi 2. Lab total: 0 Intellego + 20 Vim + Int 3 + Magic Theory 6 + Aura 3 + Lab 4 = 36
Season 9: Learn from lab texts: Pierce the Magical Veil InVi20 + Pierce the Infernal Veil InVi20. Lab total: 0 Intellego + 20 Vim + Int 3 + Magic Theory 6 + Aura 3 + Lab 4 + Similar spell 4 = 40
Season 10 and 11: Invents Flash of Mundane Silence PeVi 30. Lab total: 15 Perdo + 20 Vim + Int 3 + Magic Theory 6 + Aura 3 + Lab 4 = 51 (-30 = 21 > 2 seasons)
Season 12: Invents Retribution over the Menacing Weapon PeTe 15. Lab total: 15 Perdo + 5 Terram + Int 3 + Magic Theory 5 + Aura 3 + Lab 1 = 32 (-15=17 > 1 season)

Aging rolls:
Roll: stress die + 4 age -1 spring covenant living conditions +1 lab health - 6 longevity ritual = stress die -2.
35: 2-2=0 No apparent age increase
36: 3-2=1 No apparent age increase
37: 5-2=3
38: 0-2=-2 No apparent age increase
39: 0-2=-2 No apparent age increase
40: 9-2=7

Aeric’s Lab
Aeric devoted an entire year to its design. It is a dedicated building with a labyrinthic design to keep people and (especially) vermin away. Airways are filled with traps for vermin. The core of the labyrinth features a summoning circle. That is the place in which Aeric often studies, after casting Circle of Beast Warding, of course.

Highly organized (free, +1 General quality) (free)
Feature: Summoning Circle (+1 aesthetics +1 Vim) (+1)
Dedicated building (free, +1 aesthetics, +1 upkeep, +1 Re) (free)
Laberynth (-1 safety, -1 health, -2 aesthetics, +2 Vim) (free)

Size 0, Refinement +1, General quality +1, Upkeep +1 Safety 0, Aestetics 0, Warping 0, Health -1.

Specializations: Re+1, Vim +3.

[AericExMiscellanea]

Aeric exMiscellanea v2.0 (gaunlet +15 years)
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +2, Pre -1, Com +1, Str -3, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik +2
Size: 0
Age: 40 (36) (longevity ritual -6), Height: 167 cm, Weight: 58 kg, Gender: Male
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 3 (total warping points 30)
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift (0); Hermetic Magus: House Miscellanea (0); Comprehend Magic (Major, free), Minor Magical Focus: Exotic Magic (Minor, free), Affinity with Vim (1), Affinity with Perdo (1), Death Prophecy: he will be killed by arachnids (3), Flawless Magic (3), Good Teacher (1), Puissant Finesse (1), Spirit Familiar (gained in twilight).
Weak Magic Resistance (Major, free), Driven: Make a name for himself (1), Infamous Master: Ineffective (1), Fear: Arachnids (1), Plagued by Supernatural Entity: Damhan-Allaidh (3), Twilight Prone (3), Unimaginative learner (1).
Personality Traits: Keen to Impress +2, Confident -1, Quiet +2, Fearful of Arachnids +3, Driven to prove himself +3.
Reputations: Ineffective Magus (hermetic) 3
Combat: Soak: +1; Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious; Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11– 15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)
Abilities: Artes Liberales 2 (Ritual Magic), Awareness 2 (spotting arachnids), Comprehend Magic 2 (hermetic magic), Concentration 2 (spells), Dead Language: Latin 4 (hermetic use), Folk Ken 2 (warriors), Hunt (tracking) 2, Living Language: West Norse 5 (Danish), Living Language: Low German 3 (Saxon), Living Language: Arabic 3 (Levantine), Parma Magica 2 (Mentem), Finesse 2+2 (speed), Penetration 2 (Vim), Magic Lore 1 (magical traditions), Magic Theory 5 (Vim), Order of Hermes Lore 1(history), Survival 2 (snowy areas), Teaching 2 (Magi), Theology: Muslim 1 (the Qur’am)
Arts: Cr 8, In 0, Mu 4(4), Pe 15, Re 5; An 0, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 8, He 0, Ig0, Im2, Me 0, Te 5, Vi 20
Twilight Scars: All of Aeric’s hair became chalk white. Spirits are attracted to Aeric, tend to follow him and try to contact him (but this does not make hostile spirits friendly, the “contact” does not need to be pleasant).
Equipment: - Encumbrance: 0
Spells Known:
Aegis of the Hearth ReVi20/+30 - Mastery 1 (penetration)
Brief Cover of Protecting Stone CrTe10/+15 Mastery 1 (fast casting) Demon’s Eternal Oblivion PeVi10/+38 - Mastery 2 (multicasting, penetration)
Dreadful Bane of the Fae PeVi10/+38 - Mastery 2 (multicasting, penetration)
Circle of Beast Warding ReAn 5/+7 - Mastery 1 (penetration)
Command the Spirits of Magic ReVi20/+27 - Mastery 1 (penetration)
Command the Spirits of Fae ReVi20/+27 - Mastery 1 (penetration)
Flash of Mundane Silence PeVi30/+38 - Mastery 2 (fast casting, unravelling)
Pierce the Faerie Veil InVi 20/+22 - Mastery 1 (still casting)
Pierce the Infernal Veil InVi 20/+22 - Mastery 1 (still casting)
Pierce the Magical Veil InVi 20/+22 - Mastery 1 (still casting)
Pit of the Gaping Earth PeTe15/+22 Mastery 1 (fast casting)
Retribution over the Menacing Weapon (like Stone to Dust but Voice Range) PeTe15/+22 - Mastery 1 (fast casting)
Sapping the Griffin’s Might PeVi10/+38 - Mastery 2 (multicasting, penetration)
Scales of the Magical Weight InVi5/+22 - Mastery 1 (quiet casting)
Sense Magical Power InVi2/22 - Mastery 1 (quiet casting)
Sense the Nature of Vis InVi5/+22 - Mastery 1 (quiet casting)
The Lesser Enigma’s Gift CrVi 20 (it gives 2 points of warping instead of 4) CrVi20/+31 - Mastery 2 (multicasting, penetration)
Veil of Invisibility PeIm20/+19 Mastery 1 (still casting)
Appearance: a bearded white-haired middle-aged man dressed with humble robes. His skin has been darkened by the levantine sun and his face covered by freckles. His complexion is extremely thin and his presence unimposing.
Casting Sigil: Whiteness, it normally manifests as white light but that can manifest as the colour of object or as a brief perception of light.

Notes: Aeric used his first years in the Levant to study mainly the local language and his hermetic arts. He also designed and followed the construction of his lab according to strict specifications and used it to develop a longevity ritual and several new spells. His role for the covenant has been mainly studying and dealing with hostile local spirits known as Jinn, protecting the covenant with the Aegis of the Heart, fighting other supernatural threats, and acting as the treasurer of the covenant's vis reserves. Other than that, he has been preparing himself for when Eleutherius work cames to fruition. Also, in this years, Aeric has become mildly paranoic. He thinks (correctly) that something or somebody is spying him.

Twilights these years:

In the early days of covenant building, Aeric was supervising the activity of the grogs and helping to decide the location of important buildings when he came across a particularly uncomfortable rock. Wanting to help the grogs, Aeric tried to cast a spontaneous Perdo Terram spell to destroy the rock. The subsequent twilight taught him not to improvise with magic. Later he developed Retribution over the Menacing Weapon to solve minor problems like this, and to destroy the weapons of his opponents.
Twilight Scar: All of Aeric’s hair became chalk white.

Investigating a lead about a nearby Jinn, Aeric chased him to a Faerie Regio. There, he tried to command him using the spell he designed, only to spectacularly botch the spell. Choosing not to fight it, Aeric entered in Twilight for an instant, only to find an enraged Jinn determined to kill him when he recovered. Aeric barely survived but found a connection with spirits.
Twilight Scar: Spirits are attracted to Aeric, tend to follow him and try to contact him (but this does not make hostile spirits friendly, the “contact” does not need to be pleasant).
Gained Virtue: Spirit Familiar.

[AericExMiscellanea]

New spells (some of these were already posted):

Flash of Mundane Silence
PeVi Gen R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind
You direct a ray of light that destroys a single spell or magical effect, canceling its effects. The spell or effect is canceled if, with this spell, you can double his level on a stress die + 10 + the level of your spell. You need some kind of ability to distinguish the specific spell unless you are dispelling an ongoing effect with visible consequences or it is an obvious one, like fast-casting this spell towards a spell being cast by another spell caster.
This spell must penetrate to affect effects on a creature with Magic Resistance, including Parma Magica. Also, this spell can be directed toward Parma Magica. If the spell penetrates, and its level +10 + the stress die is double the Parma Magica x 5, then this spell dispels the Parma Magica.
In the version of Aeric exMiscellanea, the light created is pure white.
(Base effect, +2 Voice)
Guideline: Dispel any magical effect with a level less than or equal to half the (level + 4 magnitudes) of the Vim spell + a stress die (no botch).

Command the Spirits of Magic
ReVi20
R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
Makes a spirit aligned to the Magic Realm obey you. For most spirits, threats can be used to coerce them, especially if you know something about the spirit’s interests in the mundane world. With Jinni, striking a bargain is what works best, even if only a minor service is offered, but coercion can be also used. If the spell penetrates the creature’s Magic Resistance, make a Communication + Leadership roll (or Communication + Bargaining if the target is a Jinni and something is offered in return). The storyguide uses the total to determine the strength of the effect, though anything other than a botch always produces at least minimal results.
The version of Aeric exMiscellanea flashes a chain of light towards the target. This is just a cosmetic effect and requires no requisite.
(Base 5 +2 voice +1 concentration)

Command the Spirits of Fae
ReVi20
R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
Makes a spirit aligned to the Faerie Realm obey you. For most spirits, threats can be used to coerce them, especially if you know something about the spirit’s interests in the mundane world. With Jinni, striking a bargain is what works best, even if only a minor service is offered, but coercion can be also used. If the spell penetrates the creature’s Magic Resistance, make a Communication + Leadership roll (or Communication + Bargaining if the target is a Jinni and something is offered in return). The storyguide uses the total to determine the strength of the effect, though anything other than a botch always produces at least minimal results.
The version of Aeric exMiscellanea flashes a chain of light towards the target. This is just a cosmetic effect and requires no requisite.
(Base 5 +2 voice +1 concentration)

The guideline for these previous two is "Control an Airy Spirit of a specific Realm. [RoP:M p.111]".

Retribution over the Menacing Weapon
PeTe15
R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind
One solid non-living object turns to a pile of dust. The object must be a base Individual or smaller, so a stone item can be a pace across while a metal item can only be one tenth that size in total (which is around 200 kg. of steel, for example, certainly enough to destroy a weapon, armor or shield). A casting requisite may be required, of the Form appropriate to the target
The version of Aeric exMiscellanea turns the object white before disintegrating it. He often uses this spell to neutralise the weapon or the armor of his enemies.
(Base 3 +2 affect metal +2 Voice)
Guideline: Destroy dirt

[AericExMiscellanea]

By the way, I have been checking ways of keep arachnids (or even animals) away from Aeric's Sanctum.

It seems that the best way of doing that is not with Perdo. I have been thinking about enchanting perhaps the inner core room of the sanctum with an effect based on this guideline:

PeAn 4 - Cause a beast pain, but do no real damage.

Increase to room target (level 10), infinite uses (level 20), and environmental trigger: when an animal is in the room +3 (level 23 in total).

This probably can be done more efficiently...

[Christian_Andersen (Christian Rosenkjaer Andersen)]

@AericExMiscellanea

By the way, I have been checking ways of keep arachnids (or even animals) away from Aeric's Sanctum.

It seems that the best way of doing that is not with Perdo. I have been thinking about enchanting perhaps the inner core room of the sanctum with an effect based on this guideline:

PeAn 4 - Cause a beast pain, but do no real damage.

Increase to room target (level 10), infinite uses (level 20), and environmental trigger: when an animal is in the room +3 (level 23 in total).

This probably can be done more efficiently...

Circle of Beast Warding should be an easy fix for that

[AericExMiscellanea]

@Christian Andersen

@AericExMiscellanea

By the way, I have been checking ways of keep arachnids (or even animals) away from Aeric's Sanctum.

It seems that the best way of doing that is not with Perdo. I have been thinking about enchanting perhaps the inner core room of the sanctum with an effect based on this guideline:

PeAn 4 - Cause a beast pain, but do no real damage.

Increase to room target (level 10), infinite uses (level 20), and environmental trigger: when an animal is in the room +3 (level 23 in total).

This probably can be done more efficiently...

Circle of Beast Warding should be an easy fix for that

For a normal character would be enough, but for an anti-arachnid paranoid... I was thinking in something that could be created as a permanent magic item.

[Christian_Andersen (Christian Rosenkjaer Andersen)]

@AericExMiscellanea

@Christian Andersen

@AericExMiscellanea

By the way, I have been checking ways of keep arachnids (or even animals) away from Aeric's Sanctum.

It seems that the best way of doing that is not with Perdo. I have been thinking about enchanting perhaps the inner core room of the sanctum with an effect based on this guideline:

PeAn 4 - Cause a beast pain, but do no real damage.

Increase to room target (level 10), infinite uses (level 20), and environmental trigger: when an animal is in the room +3 (level 23 in total).

This probably can be done more efficiently...

Circle of Beast Warding should be an easy fix for that

For a normal character would be enough, but for an anti-arachnid paranoid... I was thinking in something that could be created as a permanent magic item.

I'm not sure "when an animal is in the room" qualifies as an environmental trigger. How will the device know that?

"ArM5 p99
...The item is only sensitive to major magical features of the environment....events that end spell durations (sunrise sunset, phases of the moon)...and to changes in modifier applied to the local aura

But create a device with D:Sun, 2 uses/day, environmental trigger (sunrise/-set) and it's always on. Basic ward against mundane animals is easy. If Aeric is so paranoid he fears supernatural spiders as well he'll need to add Ward Against Beasts of Legend. But then it gets tricky, because how high Might creatures does he want to affect, and how much Penetration will he want?

Maybe Corvus could help him? He has a decent Animal score and a lab good for that, even though he is outside both his focus and potency.

[AericExMiscellanea]

@Christian Andersen

But create a device with D:Sun, 2 uses/day, environmental trigger (sunrise/-set) and it's always on. Basic ward against mundane animals is easy. If Aeric is so paranoid he fears supernatural spiders as well he'll need to add Ward Against Beasts of Legend. But then it gets tricky, because how high Might creatures does he want to affect, and how much Penetration will he want?

Maybe Corvus could help him? He has a decent Animal score and a lab good for that, even though he is outside both his focus and potency.

I am aiming towards common vermin at the moment. If I create the Perdo example in a room with the duration that you suggest:

PeAn 4 to cause pain to all animals (or exclusively to arachnids) + 2 mag to affect Room + 2 mag duration (Sun) +3 enviromental trigger plus +1 for an additional use for a total of 29, that creates a room in which any animal that enters suffers pain. Or only animals that are present at sunrise and sundown suffer the full effect for a day or night?

What happens with warping? I understand that only the animals are affected, aren't they? So only animals gain warping in that room, but it is likely that they will avoid it due the pain. If a magus works in the room for a season (and it is not a bjornaer in heartbeast), he won't be considered under the effect of a continuous spell, will he? And if he is a Bjornaer but his parma protects him, he won't gain any warping.

I know that probably is easier just with a ward with Rego (base 1 or 2 I think).

Edit: I think that with a ward the warping applies because it is you who is warded against animals, not the room. While the Perdo options seems worse but only affects animals, and it does not give warping.

[jules]

@AericExMiscellanea

@Christian Andersen

What happens with warping? I understand that only the animals are affected, aren't they? So only animals gain warping in that room, but it is likely that they will avoid it due the pain. If a magus works in the room for a season (and it is not a bjornaer in heartbeast), he won't be considered under the effect of a continuous spell, will he? And if he is a Bjornaer but his parma protects him, he won't gain any warping.

I know that probably is easier just with a ward with Rego (base 1 or 2 I think).

Edit: I think that with a ward the warping applies because it is you who is warded against animals, not the room. While the Perdo options seems worse but only affects animals, and it does not give warping.

I like this answer from a recent thread:

@cunningrat1

Certain spells affecting targets after they're cast do, canonically, inflict Warping. (The enchantments on the Tremere 'healing waystations' in "Against the Dark" are specifically said to do so, for example.)

My rule of thumb, for my games, is as follows.
(a) If the spell is cast directly at the person as the Target. (Note that "Clenching Grasp of the Crushed Heart" is cast directly at the person, but "Ball of Abysmal Flame" is not: the Target of BoAF is the ball of fire you create.)
(b) If the spell is actively working on a person inside an area. (Room-target "Purification of the Festering Wounds" does directly work on the people inside, but "Chamber of Spring Breezes" does not. Circle of warding against stone doesn't either, because the magic acts on stones that try to enter the circle.)
(c) If the spell is made of pure, grade-A Wisconsin cheese. (If you say "my magus casts 30 defensive spells on himself every morning", this rule comes into play, even if some of the individual spells shouldn't cause warping.)

In your case, I would simply make sure that my Sanctum/Lab is circular and use a Circle ward, which shouldn't apply warping to occupants.