The Covenant of Caepernum: Eleutherius of Tremere

Games Discussion Ars Magica
61

Advancement over the first 15 years:

11 Seasons spent on gaining 330 xp

  • 17 xp Mentem -> Mentem 9
  • 2 xp Muto -> Muto 2
  • 11xp Perdo -> Perdo 6
  • 10xp Persona -> Persona 2
  • 50 xp Profession: Scribe -> Profession: Scribe 4
  • 25 xp Latin -> Latin 5
  • 5 xp Leadership -> Leadership 1
  • 20 xp Magic Theory -> Magic Theory 4
  • 15 xp Order of Solomon Lore -> Order of Solomon Lore 2
  • 55 xp Sihr -> Sihr 10
  • 55 xp Solomonic Astrology -> Astrology 10
  • 15 xp Artes Liberales -> Artes Liberales 3
  • 25 xp Bargain -> Bargain 3
  • 15 xp in True Names -> 3 True Names + 3 xp in Magic Lore
  • 10 xp Magic Lore -> Magic Lore 2 (3)

First Year of Labwork

  • Learn "The Far-Speaking Voice" (CrMe 20 HoH:S pg 97) [Lab total Int 2 + Cr 2 + Me 9 + MT 3+1 + Aura 3 = 20)
  • 2 seasons spent inventing "The Secret Kept" (PeMe 15 custom spell, see below - note he will learn one of the less absolute versions suggested of this spell in a later time period) [Lab total Int 2 + Pe 6 + Me 9 + MT 3+1 + Aura 3 = 24
  • One season being initiated into (Solomonic) Sihr. Gains a Major Flaw TBD

Second Year of Labwork

  • One season being initiated into Solomonic Astrology. Gains another major flaw, as his vis limit (20 pawns a year) won't let him spend enough to do it any other way. Again, exact flaw TBD.
  • Two seasons setting up an Astrological Lab
  • One season working for the Suhhar

Third Year of Labwork

  • One season learning 3 level 5 Summoning Naranj (2 based on True Names, plus one actually level 5) [Lab total = Int + Pre + Ability (AL) + Art (Astrology) + Sihr + Lab Aura + Summoning Aura + stress die - Assisting Spirit's Might Score = 2 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 3 - 5 + die = 25 + die. I'm assuming he can get that to level 30. Spends 1 vis.
  • One season learning "The Picture of [Target]" (Astrology Level 5), "Is [Target] a Spirit?" (Astrology level 10) from lab texts. [Lab total = 2 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 3 - 10 + die = 20 + die. Spend an extra 4 vis (above the 2 required for a level 10 spirit) boosting his lab total, so has 28 + die. 6 vis spent.
  • One season inventing "What is the Nature of [Target]'s Loyalties?" [Lab total = 2 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 3 - 15 + die = 15 + die. Spend an extra 7 vis (above the 3 required for a level 15 spirit) boosting his lab total, so has 29 + die. 10 vis spent.
  • One season working for the Suhhar.

Fourth Year of Labwork
1 season writing "The Organisation of the Order of Solomon" Order of Solomon Lore Tractatus (Quality 8 )

  • 1 Season writing "The Application of the Hermetic Arts to Solomonic Summoning" Magic Theory Tractatus (Quality 8 )
  • 1 Season writing "The Application of the Hermetic Arts to Solomonic Astrology" Magic Theory Tractatus (Quality 8 )
  • 1 season spent quickly copying the 3 tractatus to produce 3 Quality 7 tractatus.

New Spells / Naranj

62

There aren't many Solomonic specific flaws in tC&tC. Hermetic flaws can be adapted, but it would be nice to create new ones as well.

What do people think of the following? It needs a name still.

Does this work? Would it be a minor or major flaw?

The key impact is to limit a sahir's flexibility - he has to put 5xp into learning a spirit's True Name before he can summon it, and if he can't find the Name, he's unable to summon it at all. In Eleutherius' case, it has the dangerous additional effect of encouraging him to recycle jinn between Personae.

63

I think it sounds very limiting. If he doesn't have the true name he can't do anything, so it sounds Major to me. Minor would be something that limited his opportunities, something that gave penalties to rolls or totals. But this completely prohibits doing the thing.

64

I agree with Christian that it should be Major. In this case, perhaps is not that limiting to spend the xp and get names but in a real game that should be a pain in the ass.

65

Maybe change it to halving all appropriate totals if he doesn't have a True Name, rather than making it completely impossible? That makes it like a Deficient Technique, but with an out, but then Summoning is more important to sahir than any single Technique is to a Hermetic Magus.

66

Kinda depends on how available you expect True Names to be.
If they are easily available, it's a minor (at best). If you have to find them through hard work, Major.

67

My assumption is that getting hold of at least some True Names is a fair bit easier for a sahir than it would be for a magus - it's the sort of information Buyut al-Hikma will collect. However, they won't necessarily have the True Name of the jinn you want, and you do still have to spend time and 5xp learning each Name.

68

Time is the issue here. The 5 XPs are almost immaterial in context.
I'm leaning towards Minor, but I can be persuaded.

69

Hi, my two cents: unless it applies to both (all) magical Traditions powers the character enjoys, or is something on the level of a Greater Malediction/Story Hook, then it’s minor at best, I find it strange that a Major Flaw that springs from this particular ceremony would only affect his sahir powers, and not also his Hermetic abilities.

If, say, it inflicted Twilight Prone, Plagued by Supernatual Entity, Rigid Magic, a Necessary Condition, a Restriction, etc, applying to both, then clearly Major. If it only applies to his sahir abilities, then he still has his entire gamut of Hermetic spells available, with no further restrictions imposed, the impediment would be minor.

Even if the Flaw is crippling to his sahir abilities, his mission would not be greatly affected, he would still be of use as a spy, even better in some ways because the O o Suleiman would expect little of him, and might assign him to assist other more powerful and capable members, and pay him little heed in the future.
“O poor Saleem, what an unfortunate side effect of the trip to the Magic Realm; then again, that jinn they called has always been lazy and troublesome, cursed be his name! Still, I have found use for him, the lad is bright and his letters flowery, and he will serve me well in the laboratory, for now. Alas, he will never shake the pillars of the Earth, but that is our burden to bear, hahaha! Would you like more dates, these are as if descended from Heaven!”

70

I think it makes far more sense for it to inflict a flaw that affects sahiric abilities only than one which affects hermetic magic only, given that it's a solomonic "initiation" into a solomonic ability. That said, the rules in the Cradle and the Crescent say that the flaws should be linked to the student's journey in the Magic Realm, which is fairly broad.

I know I've seen something somewhere which discusses how virtues and flaws affecting your magic impact you when you have access to multiple traditions, but I can't find it now. Anyone else know where it is?

71

Something slightly odd I just noticed rereading the Order of Suleiman chapter (page 42) - there's a reference to characters getting the Flaw Deficient Technique if the master opening them doesn't have a score of at least 5 in any of the Solomonic Arts when opening their Gift. At first I thought that this meant that an alternative version of thr same flaw, this time with a get-out clause was definitely not going to count as Major flaw.

But then I realised that Sihr is not technically a Solomonic Art (although it's sometimes considered to be one by practitioners), and that, less nitpickingly, the "ritual" opens all five Solomonic Arts, and that "The teacher, a spirit summoned by the teacher, a student with a summoning Art spend a season together in a Solomonic lab, and the teacher performs a powerful ritual that opens all five Solomonic Arts."

So even if you're gifted, you still need to acquire a Summoning Art somehow. That's not necessarily hard, but it helps explain why different Sahir use different summoning Arts.

Moving on - Ignes.Festivus found something on page 103 of HoH:S stating that Hermetic Virtues and Flaws only affect Hermetic Magic, not supernatural abilities (like all of the Solomonic Arts).

So, there are (at least) two ways to go from here. Either we assume that Eleutherius' Solomonic magic is entirely vanilla (before you start allowing for initiation flaws), or we start creating an alternative character sheet for him as a sahir, ignoring the Hermetic virtues and flaws, where the virtues and flaws are subject to the usual constraints (i.e. must balance, <= 10 points before initiations).

I think the latter is more interesting - other people's thoughts?

For reference, Eleutherius' "standard" virtues and flaws are: The Gift, Second Sight, Persona; Dark Secret: Spy for the Order of Hermes, Higher Purpose (Prevent the fall of the middle east to infernal corruption) (+2 / -4)

His Hermetic virtues and flaws are Minor Magical Focus: Certamen, Gentle Gift*, Quiet Magic x2, Subtle Magic, Cautious Sorcerer, Life Boost; Weak Magic Resistance (When not in his natural form), Vulnerable Magic (addressed as "Tariq" three times) (+8 /-6)

I've ignored the free Social Status virtues, as they'll change between Personae anyway.

I'm inclined to move Gentle Gift into the "standard" category, as it's something that applies without any tradition whatsover. That makes his balance +5 / -4 "standard", +5 / -6 Hermetic.

So when making up Solomonic virtues and flaws, he needs one more point of flaws than virtues.

Where possible, I'm inclined to try to mirror his Hermetic virtues and flaws in his Solomonic ones - it makes sense that some types of things he just has a natural aptitude for, which will express itself similarly across traditions. That "where possible" caveat is important, however.

Vulnerable Magic will transfer across just fine, as will Cautious Sorceror.

I don't think Quiet Magic and Subtle Magic work for a sahir - the alternative to casting with a Firm Voice and Bold Gestures takes 15 minutes per magnitude, rather than sahir being able to cast without them just with a penalty.

Life Boost is massively better for a sahir than for a magus, because boosting your Summoning total boosts all of your interactions with the spirit later - Bargaining, casting naranj through it (although with no effect on penetration) and Lab Totals. Yes, you've got a temporary fatigue penalty giving you -3 (or -5, if you feel like pushing your luck), but you've also got somewhere between +10 (if using a fatiguing summoning method) and +20 to your bargaining total - and your lab total later. That means it either needs to be made a major virtue, have significant alterations made, or be banned altogether - thoughts?

72

Hi! Well, I think you have to first decide what happens to his Casting ability as a sahir.

He is Gifted, but he has been Initiated as UnGifted, so he only gets one Art (Solomonic Sihr), right? But he is Gifted, so his Casting totals when he gets one of the other Solomonic Arts would not be limited by the jinn he has around. His Master/other sahir might notice that! It's also probable that Eleutherius/Tariq will only be Initiated into 1 other Art, as this is a family thing, correct, and they specifically want to avoid highly Warped individuals. Plus its hideously costly to Initiate UnGifted people.

•In general, my belief is it's fine to translate all Hermetic Virtues/Flaws as best you may, so that they apply in every way possible, even if the result is unbalanced. Characters with two Traditions are rare enough, and have to split xp, so in the words of another poster,

. Nothing.
However, this also means I believe that any flaw you get from those Initiations had best apply across both Traditions, don't merely pick and choose Flaws that will strictly be applied to one. Just a balance thing, from my perspective.

•I would definitely make a separate sahir sheet, but I would not assign him any other Virtues and Flaws, or balance them in any way, unless earned in "play". Simply describe how these Hermetic Virtues/Flaws are interpreted for the sahir.

•Life Boost is for formulaic spells, it's awesome for a Gifted sahir, for the Naranjs, but I don't think it would help with Summoning Arts at all, which do not in any way work as formulaic spells.

Note that this is probably not the way to go for this project, which should hew to the rules as tightly as possible to keep to the task at hand. TC&TC already states that they do not "cross over", so from the perspective of the Caepernum project, he should be a vanilla sahir. But that should be between you and the other Caepernum project members to decide.

73

Playing catch up here, so I'm going back in the thread a bit.

Two points -

  1. As to what might expose him, I think you forgot Wizard's Twilight as a potential problem - Don't Gifted people experience any Warping as per their first tradition initiated?

  2. As to Pralicians and MuVi - the description of their mMF may also be relevant. Also, is there anything definite on whether or not a Merinita magus can affect non-Hermetic magic/effects with the MuVi Animae Guidelines?

74

Eleutherius' plan is to get two initiations, into Sihr and Solomonic Astrology, this Persona (and cycle), and then get initiated into other Solomonic Arts under other Personae (and in future cycles), pretending that he only knows Sihr. That way, each time round he'll be considered to be a member of a different "family".

The Might of the spirit limits the level of the spells you can cast and invent for the Ungifted, rather than the casting total so (assuming he knows about the limitation) it's not going to be something that happens by accident, but is a risk he might be tempted to take - which might indeed go horribly wrong.

You can get summoning naranj, though - is there any reason it wouldn't work on those? I actually think Life Boost's pretty rubbish when spent on other naranj, as it only affects whether you meet the spell level, and doesn't carry through into penetration (so it's still useful if you're trying to cast a spell that's barely within your ability, or in a hostile aura, but it doesn't have its standard ability of "I really need to get through that thing's defenses").

As you say at the end here, I'm not going to go for "Hermetic virtues and flaws automatically cross over", so the question is just whether he is a completely vanilla sahir before initiation flaws. If he is, I will probably make one of his two Major initiation flaws a Solomonic version of Vulnerable Magic, as I want him to have it. Given the limitation on the applicability of flaws cross tradition, saying that he can't have any (tradition) flaws as major if they don't affect all of his magic is essentially saying that he can't treat any Solomonic flaws as major, which seems excessively harsh.

To balance that a bit, I could take the second Major flaw as a non-Solomonic one. My key concern here is that his flaws aren't going to cripple his role as a spy - he needs to be able to switch Personae without it being too obvious it's him, for example, plus he needs to be able to maintain the right temperament. To that end, most Story flaws are going to be an issue, as he'd either leave them behind when he switched Persona (which shouldn't be allowed), or they're somehow able to track him, which is a massive security loophole. A few might be viable, such as Supernatural Nuisance with a particular type of minor creature he just always seems to have a problem with, but I don't have any immediate inspiration. Similarly, I'm wary about taking Major Personality flaws and obvious disfigurements.

Basically, I need major flaws that he can hide. Age Quickly is, I suppose, an option, but seems to be pushing my luck given he'll shortly have access to both Hermetic and Solomonic means of life extension, plus there's no obvious thematic link with being initiation into either Sihr or Astrology, which would be nice to have even if not a requirement.

75

You're partly right - certainly I'd expect him to get Twilight rather than Fatra Bayna, and that's a definite exposure risk, particularly as Sahir can apparently tell immediately after someone comes out of it whether they've had a good or bad experience, which also implies that they can tell when someone's been in Fatra Bayna as opposed to something else. Worse, if he has a long twilight, it'll be hard to just deal with it by wiping memories and he may have a reception committee when he comes out.

Which gives a story seed for when he's older and more warped: He's known to have entered Twilight at such and such a time and place. Given his warping score (and the fact that he hasn't come out already), he's expected to emerge at time Y. Unfortunately, the Suhhar know where he went into Twilight. They may or may not know when he's going to come out; what is certain is that they've heavily booby-trapped the area and are watching it. Get in there and extract him safely.

The bit I think isn't quite right is the reference to him getting Twilight because it's his first tradition. I believe it's more complicated than that - for example, if a magus has Miraculous Abilities, the character should negotiate with the SG as to whether they get Twilight or Divine Ascension (pg 63 RoP:D), whereas Twilight takes precedence over Faerie Calling (pg 120 RoP:F). That said, I think Twilight is fairly high up the precedence chain (winess the way Hedge traditions incorporated into the Order enough to have the Hermetic Arts never seem to keep their original warping response), so I'd expect it to be what applies in this case.

76

Thinking about it more...maybe Hunger for (Form) magic of some variety. That seems like the sort of thing he could plausibly have picked up whilst in the Magic Realm. Although there's still no thematic linkage to initiation into Astrology - unless I make it Intellego rather than a Form? Not technically by-the-book, but a bit nastier than the book so probably viable?

77

Other things to sort out over the period: aging, warping and the new Persona.

Aging: Eleutherius was 23 at gauntlet, meaning that the 15 years goes up to the end of his 37th year.

He's got no Longevity ritual this period (getting one will need to be done early next period), but let's assume that he has a Living Conditions Modifer of +1.

Age 35: Age 4 - LC 1 + die 7 = 10, 1 aging point in any characteristic (Int)
Age 36: Age 4 - LC 1 + die 2 = 5, apparent age increases by one year
Age 37: Age 4 - LC 1 + die 6 = 9, apparent age increases by one year

Warping: 15 x 2 = 30

New Persona:

Edit in December 2020: I've realised that the covenant has a base LC of +1 due to its location by the Sea of Gallilee. Adding that to the Base +1 for a magus in a Spring Covenant gives a LC modifier of +2, and changes the aging experience to:

Age 35: Age 4 - LC 2 + die 7 = 9, 1 apparent age increases by one year
Age 36: Age 4 - LC 2 + die 2 = 4, apparent age increases by one year
Age 37: Age 4 - LC 2 + die 6 = 8, apparent age increases by one year

78

Revised version of advancement over the first 15 years. The key difference is that I've removed the two seasons he spent setting up a solomonic lab (on the assumption he could use one at the bayt al-hikma, as they're said to have one), and instead spent one season repaying his initiator and another learning a summoning naranj and then "What is the State of [Target]'s Health?" to fit in with his Persona. I've also added the specifics of his flaws, and his summoning naranj (anyone who actually knows arabic, feel free to point out if I've horribly mangled the names). I may come back and do properly statted versions of the jinn later.

11 Seasons spent on gaining 330 xp

  • 17 xp Mentem -> Mentem 9
  • 2 xp Muto -> Muto 2
  • 11xp Perdo -> Perdo 6
  • 10xp Persona -> Persona 2
  • 50 xp Profession: Scribe -> Profession: Scribe 4
  • 25 xp Latin -> Latin 5
  • 5 xp Leadership -> Leadership 1
  • 20 xp Magic Theory -> Magic Theory 4
  • 15 xp Order of Solomon Lore -> Order of Solomon Lore 2
  • 55 xp Sihr -> Sihr 10
  • 55 xp Solomonic Astrology -> Astrology 10
  • 15 xp Artes Liberales -> Artes Liberales 3
  • 25 xp Bargain -> Bargain 3
  • 15 xp in True Names -> 3 True Names + 3 xp in Magic Lore
  • 10 xp Magic Lore -> Magic Lore 2 (3)

First Year of Labwork

  • Learn "The Far-Speaking Voice" (CrMe 20 HoH:S pg 97) [Lab total Int 2 + Cr 2 + Me 9 + MT 3+1 + Aura 3 = 20)
  • 2 seasons spent inventing "The Secret Kept" (PeMe 15 custom spell, see below - note he will learn one of the less absolute versions suggested of this spell in a later time period) [Lab total Int 2 + Pe 6 + Me 9 + MT 3+1 + Aura 3 = 24
  • One season being initiated into (Solomonic) Sihr. Gains the Major Supernatural Flaw Vulnerable Magic: (Addressed as Tariq three times)

Second Year of Labwork

  • One season being initiated into Solomonic Astrology. Gains another major flaw, Hunger for Intellego Magic, as his vis limit (20 pawns a year) won't let him spend enough to do it any other way. Spends 10 pawns of vis on initiation.
  • One season assisting mystagogue in lab as payment
  • One season inventing a Summoning Naranj for a Might 5 jinn (Faras al-Riyh) and "What is the status of [Target]'s Health?" (the latter using a lab text). [Lab total = Int 2 + Pre 2 + AL 3 + Astrology 0 + Sihr 10 + Lab Aura 0 + Summoning Aura 3 + stress die - Assisting Spirit's Might Score 5 =15 + die. So assigns 10 points to inventing the summoning naranj and 5 points to learn the astrological naranj. Spends 1 vis. Ease Factor 18 (Base 18 - 3 single task + 6 season - 3 accept small duty). Bargain: Com 2+ Bargain 3+1 + Summoning Strength (Pre 2 + Sihr 10 + 3 aura +die - 5 Might) + die = 16 + 2d10.
  • One season working for the Suhhar
  • 4 vis spent on his Hunger for Intellego flaw, for a total of 15 vis over the year.

Third Year of Labwork

  • One season learning 3 level 5 Summoning Naranj (all based on true Names - levels 10, 15 and 25. Sarab, Saqr, Asada al-Jabal) [Lab total = Int + Pre + Ability (AL) + Art (Astrology) + Sihr + Lab Aura + Summoning Aura + stress die - Assisting Spirit's Might Score = 2 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 3 - 5 + die = 25 + die. I'm assuming he can get that to level 30. Spends 1 vis.
  • One season learning "The Picture of [Target]" (Astrology Level 5), "Is [Target] a Spirit?" (Astrology level 10) from lab texts. [Lab total = 2 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 3 - 10 + die = 20 + die. Spend an extra 4 vis (above the 2 required for a level 10 spirit) boosting his lab total, so has 28 + die. 6 vis spent.
  • One season inventing "What is the Nature of [Target]'s Loyalties?" [Lab total = 2 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 3 - 15 + die = 15 + die. Spend an extra 6 vis (above the 3 required for a level 15 spirit) boosting his lab total, so has 29 + die. 9 vis spent.
  • One season working for the Suhhar.
  • 4 vis spent on his Hunger for Intellego flaw, for a total of 20 vis spent over the year.

Fourth Year of Labwork

  • 1 season writing "The Organisation of the Order of Solomon" Order of Solomon Lore Tractatus (Quality 8 )
  • 1 Season writing "The Application of the Hermetic Arts to Solomonic Summoning" Magic Theory Tractatus (Quality 8 )
  • 1 Season writing "The Application of the Hermetic Arts to Solomonic Astrology" Magic Theory Tractatus (Quality 8 )
  • 1 season spent quickly copying the 3 tractatus to produce 3 Quality 7 tractatus.

New Spells / Naranj

79

Character concept
A Tremere Assessor, trying to infiltrate the Order of Suleiman.

Why has he come to Caepernum
It's a useful base for his work. In practice, he'll probably spend considerable periods of time away from it when "undercover".

Appearance
In his natural form, he is a thin young man with olive skin, black hair and a determined expression.

Sigil
The effects of spells cast by Eleutherius appear to coalesce from grains into a coherent whole - so a memory would first appear as fragments that swiftly interlock of make a coherent whole, or a destroyed object become over a moment ever finer dust.

Background
Tariq was born to a bedouin tribe in the Nefud Desert, part of the larger Banu Kalb tribal group. As a young boy, he could see the evil spirit whispering in the ears of the tribe's Sahir, driving him to ever greater cruelties against them. Things came to a head when the infernal jinn demanded that he start sacrificing victims to it - including the boy. He was rescued in the nick of time by one of the Redcaps the then Primus of Tremere had encouraged to find Gifted African and Arabian children. The Redcap took the boy back to Transylvania, teaching him his own ability to change form in the process, and "Tariq" spent the next 15 years as Janos, a Hungarian herdsman's son, training as a spy to go back and infiltrate his native lands.

Persona

New Hermetic Spells

New Naranj

80

Thinking about his jinn more, I have a few questions / issues

I think there might be a problem with this. Magic-aligned jinn are all genii-loci, albeit ones with the ability to transfer their locus to people or objects. What's the range they have from said people / objects? I suspect "scout" is too far?

Obviously he could get round this by summoning a faerie (or infernal) jinn instead, but those have the potential to interact badly with the Oath of Hermes (and just no in any case).

Are people happy for me to have Magic Might 5 jinn? It's technically below the lower limit for a jinn (10 according to RoP:M pg 107), but the Might scores are described on pg 101 as being "typical", and it doesn't seem that unlikely there are weaker spirits out there.

How do people feel about an Imaginem (mirage) jinn? RoP:M pg 107 says that they're Herbam, Aquam or Terram spirits. HoH:S has an Ignem jinni, and tC&tC says that they're one of the classical elemental forms (Auram, Aquam, Ignem and Terram), or can also be Herbam. Can the list of Forms be extended if you can find a decent justification (and is a mirage a decent justification for a spirit of "a" place)?