I thought there was a pass that allowed access without climbing the mountains, and that was how we got there.
No. You are at an altitude of 3000 ft, the peaks around you are at around 3600-3800 ft, and the closest thing to a pass (which is not how you came in) only rises to 3200 ft. You did not come in through the lowest rise because there in fact is a town in that direction and Tremere didn't want the traffic to be seen...
In that case I guess my original idea doesn't make sense. The big fortress I had in mind (that I was thinking could be hidden) would actually attract attention, so never mind. Can we retcon the earthworks? Otherwise I can roll to put the earth back.
Here is the (revised) basic plan:
Balaurega will expand the one tower, making it a bit wider and a lot taller, and making sure it connects to bedrock. It will be the hub of a series of tunnels, and once things are established it won't house labs, but will house the covenant's armed force, sentries, etc. The tower will be as high as she can get it, to provide the best possible lookout spot. The tower can perhaps be made invisible. At the deepest level there will be catacombs, in a cross formation, with a spot for a lab at each end of the cross (one of which will be Themmix's.)
In between that and the surface will be other tunnels, storage rooms, and whatever facilities the cult needs.
Half a mile or so from the hub, in the direction of the town, in whatever forest there is up here (and if there isn't one in a good spot perhaps it can be made or moved), will be a large hunting lodge. This will serve as housing for mundanes, and the point of contact with the outside world when such is needed. It will be connected to the tunnels via secret passage in the basement.
In the other direction from the hub, about a quarter mile away, will be an area built up to be more garden-like, surrounded by natural-looking low hills, one of which will have a cave entrance; the garden-like area will be Balaurega's lab, the cave her home, and it will connect to the tunnel network as well.
Does anything about that seem problematic?
I was under the impression that Themmix's lab request specified above ground near a cemetery, and in a separate building. We also need to figure out the basics of how this will be done to account for vis usage.
Keep in mind that the mountains are 2 miles from the covenant in each direction- tunnels of 1/2 mile will still be in the same "bowl" as the covenant, and anyone visiting the lodge would see the covenant.
Yep, Themmix would insist on a separate building. But since there's no cemetery, underground could be ok.
mmmm... Would it be possible, over time, to have the dead buried in caverns around her lab, so that eventually it will gain the Vile Surroundings flaw?
SG input- you could have the covenant waste dumped near her laboratory and get vile surroundings much faster...(or even set up a nearby tannery). If she is focused on having a cemetery though that is up to her.
disturbing thought- there is a town 6 miles away you need to prevent from discovering the oppida, and Themmix needs bodies...
A tannery would work wonders.
While i could see the appeal of a whole town becoming dead, and buried near her lab, an entire town gone missing would likely have the local nobility to seek out the cause of it...
My thought was if the tower is invisible (which is doable) the only thing visible that was obviously manmade would be the hunting lodge.
As far as the town goes, is it a remote/small enough town that it could believably die out in a hard winter?
Themmix, is the separation of the catacombs not good enough? Or were you after the dedicated building bonus? We can put a separate entrance in if you want.
The Dedicated Building bonus is a big part, but so is keeping her separate from others, who will likely find her presence abhorrent even if it weren't for the Gift.
@silveroak would you allow it to count for a set of chambers at the end of a catacomb containing nothing but his sanctum?
No, to be a dedicated building it would need to be completely separate from the covenant with its own entrance from the outside.
In that case Balaurega will ask Themmix for suggestions as to how to build him an above-ground sanctum that can remain secret.
@Red-Shadow-Claws in addition to the above question, Balaurega asks, "Are you knowledgeable in matters of disease and medicine? How are villages marked when ravaged by disease, to warn off visitors?"
[Maybe that isn't a thing until the Black Death, but she's looking for ways to deal with the nearby village.]
"If you intend to build a hunting lodge, just set up a building next to it that will serve as the butchery/tannery place, and place my lab in a hill near it."
At Balaurega's second question, she smiles, and stops herself from laughng "My dear, you ask a leper who masters Corpus if she knows about disease and medicine? Why of course I do. And once my lab is set up, give me two seasons, and I can devise a spell that would make many of the villagers struck with disease. Though am not sure whether the others will either drive them away, or run away themselves, and leave the poor sods to themselves, or whether the authorities here will take any steps to eradicate the diseased."
OOC
She will have a Winter Lab Total of around 71 to research a CrCo45 spell I'll call Village of Lepers, which will essentially be like Curse of the Leprous Flesh, except R: Sight, and T: Group. It would take 2 seasons to develop this, unless we have good enough lab assistants, but she's only got Leadership 1... And finding a lab assistant with +19 would be hard to do...
"Well... I was thinking more about leaving false evidence to explain the sudden abandonment of the village. And perhaps supply you with a graveyard. "
@silveroak How remote is this place? Is it likely to be regularly visited? Would the House disapprove of wiping out a village?
"You're such a dear, but why deal with false evidence? Why not just kill them, leave a few bodies behind with evident disease, and use the others as corpses to create a graveyard? Though, it would be interesting to see whether any would rise as ghosts."
You should probably ask your superiors before wiping out the village. They clearly hadn't already chosen to do so.
She will send a letter asking for full details about the village and whether it must be preserved.
Then she will proceed with the tannery idea, though keeping it well separated from the hunting lodge, in a different patch of forest if possible. It will also be the place where the covenant leaves waste, ostensibly that of the lodge.
The mystic tower is essentially a solid piece of stone which rises into the air, trying to modify it with craft magic would destroy the superior construction virtue that it has. What of the original plan are you keeping at this point and if you are makin changes what will they be?
Can Balaurega not get Superior Construction via Finesse and Rego Terram from single blocks of stone? No longer changing the tower, but for other things she builds?
Below is adjusted plan.
The tower basement will be the hub of a series of tunnels, with storage rooms, barracks, and whatever else is needed as the needs arise. Once things are established the tower will house guest labs, but the top level will be for lookouts, the next below will be barracks for the lookouts; the first floor purely for defense, and council chambers above that. Top basement will be kitchens, next down armory, more defense, and the tunnel entrances. Not sure how many floors but the middle floors will be the guest labs.
Half a mile or so from the hub, in the direction of the town, (think 12 o'clock) in whatever forest there is up here (and if there isn't one in a good spot perhaps it can be made or moved), will be a large hunting lodge. This will serve as housing for mundanes, and the point of contact with the outside world when such is needed. It will be connected to the tunnels via secret passage in the basement.
At 3 o'clock, if there is forest there, or closer to the hunting lodge if necessary, but at least 400 paces from any other structure, will be tannery, covenant waste, and Themmix's lab. The tannery will have a tunnel entrance hidden in the basement, but not Themmix's lab unless she wants one.
In the other direction from the hub (6 o'clock), about a quarter mile away, will be an area built up to be garden-like, surrounded by natural-looking low hills, one of which will have a cave entrance. The garden-like area will be Balaurega's lab, the cave her home, and it will connect to the tunnel network as well.