The library of Triamore

Triamore – the library
A library can be used for different purposes – learning and finding information on a topic. The Triamore library has a huge amount of texts, which are not catalogued in a way that is easily understood by outsiders.
The library is run by Isabel de Bruges, who not only knows to find the tomes best but also is skilled at binding and repairing books. She is a heavyset woman who loves books and knowledge, and whose dreams of learning have come true against all odds. She likes helping people to find the right book, but doesn’t mind magi looking around on their own. If she ever blamed a magus for damaging or losing a book, the absence of her assistance would make using the library quite difficult. It has over a thousand tomes, but many of those are obscure or poorly written, so the number of books attractive to your magi is much, much smaller.
She is assisted by Richildis, the illustrator, a rich widow who has traded her services for a longevity ritual, Martin, the scribe, a shy stooped man that seems to be half the size of Isabel, and his dreamy apprentice Thomas, who would rather train with the grogs than learning how to scribe although he is much too frail for becoming a soldier.
The library is visited by mundane scholars from across Europe, so at any time, you can expect to find one or two guests from places like Bologna, Cologne, or Paris.

Library personnel and use – key statistics:
Isabel (Int 3, Dex 1, Com 0, age 34): Area Lore Local 6, Area Lore Rhine 4, Area Lore elsewhere 2, Triamore Library Lore (best copy on the subject) 7, Profession: Book-binding (repair) 7
Richildis (Int 1, Dex 3, Qik -1, com 1, age 41): Triamore Library Lore (poetry) 2, Profession: Illustrator (hermetic) 6
Martin (Int 2, Qik 1, Dex 1, Sta -1, com -1, age 26): Profession: Scribe (order law and history) 5, Triamore library Lore (order law and history) 3, Code of Hermes (history) 3, Order of Hermes Lore (legal disputes) 3, Teaching (single student) 2
Thomas (Int 4, Dex 1, Sta -2, com 2, age 9): Profession: Scribe (elegant) 2, Triamore library Lore (House Flambeau) 1, Order of Hermes Lore (House Flambeau) 1

Note that some high quality books have been put on an extra shelf and are usually available to you without a roll (unless you have managed to anger Isabel). There is a 10% chance (roll of 1 on a d10) that one of those special books is in use by another magus. In that case, a visless certamen determines who gets it first.

For the other books add modifiers to find out how difficult it is to find a book. Roll Int+Triamore library lore (suggested specialisations, summae/tractatus/high quality, forms, techniques, hermetic abilities)

Modifiers:
-1 for every additional language you can read except Arabic, Greek
-2 each if you can read books in Arabic or Greek

+1 per book you have tried to find on the same topic (e.g. a High quality summa on Ignem, or an average Tractatus on Finesse).

+3 Hermetic topic, except spell mastery and Parma Magica
+8 If looking for a book on spell mastery (published spells only) or Parma Magica
+3 topic is not scholarly, but typically learned from books(e.g. etiquette, Profession: falconer)
+6 topic is not typically learned from a book (e.g. firing bows)

+(level-5) for the level of summae on arts
+((level x 3)-6) for summae on abilities

+12 if summa quality is very high/max (15xp)
+11 if tractatus quality is very high/max (14xp)
+8 is quality is good (11xp)
+4 if quality is average (8xp)
+0 if quality is bearable (5xp)

Learning Triamore library Lore: There are no books on Triamore Library Lore, but practice, teaching and training are of course available (max lvl. 3 if you are trying to learn from someone, becaus ethey won't hand over all the secrets of the library just like that). Reading any book from the library grants you 1xp exposure to Triamore Library Lore, or 3xp if you found the book you read without help from others.

Special tomes:
Primers (lvl6, Q21, Latin): Creo, Muto, Rego, Animal,Aquam, Herbam, Ignem, Mentem,Terram, and Vim.

The pride of Triamore:

“Creo” by Florence ex Bonisagus, (Creo Summa level 21, Quality 8; Latin)
“Geologos” by Viator ex Guernicus (terram summa, level 21, Quality 9, Greek)
“Heinz’ notes on the transmission of sound in Swabian Caves” by Heinz ex Criamon (intellego summa, level 24, Quality 7, German)
“The Power of Power” by Titita ex Tytalus (Vim summa, level 19, Quality 7, Latin)
“Control - Volume 2: Journeymen” by Stricta ex Tremere (Rego summa, level 9, Quality 21, Latin)
“The Gild’s Guide to Apples” by Horse ex Bjornaer (Herbam tractatus, Q17, Latin)
“Lance of Solar Fury” by Gerald the Ghost (Ignem tractatus, Quality 15, Arabic) ,
“Mists of Change” by Scorpion ex Bjornaer (Corpus Tractatus, Quality 15, Latin)
“Cloak of Mist” by Lilifee ex Miscellanea (Muto, Quality 15, Latin),
“Suppressing the Wizard’s Handiwork”by Malin ex Bonisagus (Rego Tractatus, Quality 15, Latin)
“Fog of Confusion” by Florian ex Verditius (Auram Tractatus,Quality 15, Latin).

“Parma for Dummies” by Regina ex Tytalus (Parma summa, level 2, Quality 12, Latin)
“Bonisagus Theory” by Notatus ex Bonisagus (Hermetic Theory, level 6, Quality 10, Latin)
“Bonisagus Theory” by Notatus ex Bonisagus (Hermetic Theory, level 6, Quality 10, French)
“The Order – a History” by Horst ex Mercere (Order of Hermes Lore, level 6, Quality 12, Latin)
“The Order – a History” by Horst ex Mercere (Order of Hermes Lore, level 6, Quality 12, German)
“The Peripheral Code” by Horst ex Mercere (Code of Hermes, level 4, Quality 12, Latin)
“The Peripheral Code” by Horst ex Mercere (Code of Hermes, level 4, Quality 12, German)

“Magic Beasts” by Diana ex Merinita (Magic Lore Tractatus, Quality 15, Latin)
“Il Diablo” by Jose ex Guernicus (Tractatus Infernal Lore; Quality 15, Spanish)
“Fairies from A to Z” by Diana ex Merinita (Fairie Lore Tractatus, Quality 15, Latin)
“Pilum of Fire” by Flambeau the Younger ex Flambeau (Mastery Pilum of Fire, Quality 15, Latin)

Beginner's shelf
"Healing for Beginners" by Stephane ex Merinita (Corpus Summa, L5Q15, Latin)

Just trying to get a handle on how the library system work. Figured an example would help:

Let's say Animus is trying to find an average-quality tractatus on Parma Magica. He asks for the help of Isabel to locate one.

  • The ease factor would be 12 (8 for Parma Magic, +4 for average quality).
  • Since he asked Isabel, I am assuming her stats would be used for the search. So Triamore Library Lore 7 + Int 3 + die roll. Stress die, I assume?
  • It is alsmost certain that she will be able to locate a tractatus (need a 2 or more on the die roll).
  • Animus would receive 1 xp of exposure in Triamore Library Lore, assumably above and beyond the xp he would get from studying the tractatus for the rest of the season.

What happens when a roll fails? How much time is lost in the search? Can a different search be performed during the same season, until we find a book we'd like to study? Can we ask for Isabel's help after a failed search on our own? Can the same search be performed again in a different season?

Can we expect to find lab text on common spells (like pilum of fire, leap of homecoming...)?

stress die, botch could be a book on a different topic or a fire in the library.
Finding an average book should be easy. Finding many very high quality book shouldn't.
Failure means you can reroll, but that you get the +1 for having tried once before (if you're looking for a similar book). Ten rerolls (successes or failures) lead to a +10 modifier for a similar book, which never goes away. If it turns out in game that the +1 per roll is too small, then I can always find an ic way for making things harder.

Second example, then, to make sure I understand:

  • First season, with the help of Isabel, Animus located a first average-quality tractatus on Parma Magica (EF 12).
  • Second season, he tries to find a second average-quality tractatus on Parma Magica (EF 13), again with the help of Isabel, and succeeds.
  • Third seaons, tries to find a third average-quality tractatus on Parma Magica (EF 14), again with the help of Isabel, but this time fails.
  • Still in the third season, decides to go looking for a good-quality tractatus on Parma Magica (instead of an average-quality one). Ease factor is 16 (+8 for Parma, +8 for good quality), as it is not affected by the previous searches for average-quality tractatus on the same subject.

What would happen if the stress die gives a very strong result? Would that move us to a higher-quality book?

Am I correct in assuming that we cannot find better books than those listed as "The pride of Triamore" (on those specific subjects)?

If another magus finds a specific book (e.g. a Q14 tractatus on Creo), would this become available to other magi without needing a search roll?

All of these book bear the name of a spell, yet they are about the specified Art and not mastery of those spells? That's kind of confusing...

the ones from ArM5 Core, yes

Assumptions are correct as far as I can see. A normal good roll wouldn't change a thing, but a really fancy roll (like 30, or 2048) would probably translate into you "rediscovering" a great book that somehow gone unnoticed.

First: if that other magus reads it in the season directly after (so it doesn't vanish in the chaotic "system" of the library).
Second: If you can convince either the council or the librarian that the book should be added to the "Pride of Triamore" shelf.

I used the titles from 4th edition Triamore. I had wondered why they felt so familiar. :mrgreen: