The Magus' Lab

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: The Rise of Atlantis
21

There I definitely agree with you. When they get summoned, they send the full-on aspect, no pulling punches. But when they're manifesting on their own, they're much more likely to manifest in a lower-Might aspect.

Let's look at Zeus for an example. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that he's Might 50. Clearly this fellow has a weakness for human women, and came to Earth fairly frequently on his own. But he probably manifest Might 10 or maybe Might 20 aspects for those visits. However, when it was time to have a worship ceremony where he was being summoned by vis, he'd come in full regalia with thunderbolts and the 50 Might.

Also, remember, that an aspect can't appear within several miles of another Aspect of the same Daimon, and no Aspect can return to the same location within a day of leaving it. So you can't spawn groups of aspects.

Perhaps some do. Or perhaps they're worried about Divine reaction. Or perhaps it's considered demeaning in the culture of the Magic Realm to do so. I'm not sure. But I'd argue that they do likely encourage their summoning in subtle ways.

I would guess that the frequency of appearance varies depending on circumstances. If you're the Oracle in Delphi back in 500 BC, maybe you see the aspect of Apollo all the time. If you're in 10th century Scandinavia, not so much. I'm sure the Daimons have their own agendas and they appear where it seems right to them. Consider, you might happen to run into Aneirin the Bard on the roads of Wales, just wandering. I'll bet he sends an aspect out like that to learn new stories. Yes, he'd like more worshipers or at least summoners. But he also likes a good story.

22

My error, so I will need a total of 70 levels of Wizards communion in addition to what Meliai already has. Which will probably mean more than 1 assisting magi. At least it will be really good penetration at that point... assuming we don't attempt the summoning inside a strong dominion aura or anything

Also could we create move this discussion of daimons to another thread, since Trogdor has mentioned having his character being involved in daimon summoning as well, and it may potentially make it more difficult to manage my character's development in terms of thread management?

23

I can up the level of my WC significantly if that will help, we need to have a very healthy capacity to cast large spells safely, and every Magus may not be present at the time it's needed . I'm also considering mastering it.

24

Another factor for Wizard's Communion. This is from a thread in the general forums a while back:

Are we ok to house rule it, or should we take WC with Sun duration?

25

I would be good with a house rule- sticking significant rules changes into errata is a pet peeve of mine...

26

I'm fine with either. Procella has a level 50 RITUAL Communion as is, but if we houserule I will just change the name.

27

Boom! I may not be able to see through the deceptions and tricks of demons, but I CAN blast them too pieces. If I really wanted a good demon blaster I would have linked this to something that defines a room target to shoot. Then I could hit demons outside too!
Imp Sweeper – PeVi- 35
Unlimited Uses/Day, Penetration +30
R: Voice DMom T: Room
With a word any demon in the room that fails to resist loses three might permanently. One magnitude was added for increased size. Most demons will take multiple applications to be destroyed. +13 in shape and material bonuses were claimed for Red Coral and the Cross in the Talisman.
Base 1 +2 Voice +2 Room +1 Size, +10 levels uses, +15 levels penetration

28

Okay, I tried my hand at writing up Selene, and found myself struggling with all that she was supposed to do. She could assist with seven different initiations, bless an unborn child with a Virtue, and establish a tether. That's an awful lot. What's more, I had trouble reconciling having a moon goddess manifest as a tree. That just seemed a bit of a stretch, even given that fertility was within her bailiwick.

What I did instead was split up the proposed Daimon into two Daimons - Selene and Hathor. That seemed more reasonable. I'm interested in seeing what the troupe thinks of these as Daimons. I tried very hard to make them comparable in power to the Daimons in TMRE. I think between the two of them, silveroak can get roughly what he wanted.

[hr][/hr]
[size=150]Selene[/size]

Magic Might: 40 (Ignem)
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +3, Pre +2, Com +1, Str varies, Sta varies, Dex varies, Qik varies
Size: 0
Personality Traits: Womanly +3, Mysterious +2, Generous +2
Abilities: Animal Ken 10, Cursing 10, Dowsing 10, Flight 10, Healing 10, Second Sight 10, Shapechange 10
Powers:
Teach Animal Ken, Cursing, Dowsing, Flight, Healing, Second Sight, or Shapechange, 5 points, Init –10, Mentem:
The successful summoning and creating of a pact by the would-be Initiate of any Witchcraft initiation as part of an Initiation Script grants a bonus of +5 for the purposes of that Script. Selene will assist with one Initiation per summoning, and will then disappear.
Vis: Leaves eight pawns of Ignem vis in the form of crystalized moonbeams when she is banished.
Appearance: Selene generally appears as a pale woman in a flowing white robe, surrounded by a nimbus of moonlight. She is a spirit of femininity, fertility, and witchcraft.

I've only provided her with one power, since it's really seven powers, given her ability to assist with seven different Initiation Scripts as opposed to only one.

[hr][/hr]
[size=150]Hathor[/size]

Magic Might: 40 (Animal)
Characteristics: Int +2, Per +4, Pre +5, Com +3, Str varies, Sta varies, Dex varies, Qik varies
Size: varies
Personality Traits: Womanly +3, Joyous +5, Loving +2
Powers:
Birth Blessing, varies, 5 points, Init -10, Corpus:
Can bless a woman with child such that her child is born with one of the following Virtues: Clear Thinker, Common Sense, Enduring Constitution, Intuition, Keen Vision, Large, Long-Winded, Perfect Balance, Sharp Ears, Tough, or Venus' Blessing; she grants the blessing, then departs. A given child can only receive this blessing once.
Presence, 5 points, Init –10, Vim:
Can manifest as a sycamore tree that establishes a magical tether in an area surrounding it. The exact duration that Hathor's Aspect will stay depends upon the negotiations made with Hathor during the pact binding, but is never less than two weeks.
Vis: Leaves eight pawns of Animal, Herbam, or Corpus vis when dispelled, depending upon the particular form taken.
Appearance: Hathor can appear in a number of different forms: cow, lioness, falcon, cobra, hippopotamus, pregnant woman, or sycamore tree.

29

It seems to me that if you can successfully summon Selene you have already been opened, while a witchcraft initiation is generally for the ungifted... something you might ask her to do for a friend.

Also the moon is generally associated with water, no fire, and you have reduced the multisplendored totality of Selene described in both ancient times and the ROP:M book to a single function which is representative of one of her minor attributes. She is, in my opinion, less powerful than Dietrich von Bern who has 30 might and can raise any of three attributes by one, one time per person.

Is there a residual tether (or can there be if she stays long enough) for Hathor?

30

I was basing her ability on the similar one used by Lasa Vegoia, except expanding it such that instead of only working with Augury and Divination, it worked with all of the seven Witchcraft mysteries. That seemed a big expansion of power, so I limited her to that one power. We could certainly try and change that by limiting her to the mysteries she can help with and giving her an additional ability.

Good point. She should be Aquam.

I have tried to maintain play balance by keeping a daimon to the suggested power level. Mythologically, a lot of gods are extremely powerful, and cover a lot of bases. It's a challenge to keep one single daimon summoned by one single spell from having far greater an influence than it ought to. I'm certainly open to suggestions as to how her multisplendored totality can be represented in two or three powers consistent with the level of power shown in Appendix C of TMRE.

DIetrich has a 35 Might, but I take your point. I'd be happy to shuffle her powers around to make her more in keeping with what you think she should be. I only want to make sure that her power level is comparable to similar daimons.

I've given this a lot of thought, and I think the way the rules set things forth is clear. If a daimoninc aspect with a tether stays in a place for a year, then an Aura will remain even after it leaves. Once it leaves, however, the Aura will start to deteriorate at the rate of one point per year. But, if something else magical moves in to take up the slack before the Aura is gone, then the Aura could be recharged.

I welcome any comments from anyone in the troupe about this. Am I being too restrictive? I'm just trying to come up with a ruling that seems balanced to everyone.

31

How about we rename your version of Selene to something else- that preserves the write up of Selene in ROP:M and the balance you are seeking here. It won't matter much beyond this since I will be learning the summoning of Hathor instead of Selene.
If the tree remains for over a year, would it be fair after it departs to use the Awakening mystery to awaken the area (perhaps in the same tree if the non-magical shell was left behind) and use that for a new tether? It will get a magic might of aurax5 and generate a tether of might/10 (unless you allow it the presence power...)

32

Don't forget that aspects aren't the whole thing. You could even have multiple aspects from a single Damion. I think the thing about awakening an area after giving it an aura. Its clever. Ultimately this is less about mechanics and more about how easy we want it to be to make an aura. Quite frankly I would be fine with a residual aura of one or two if you summon a big Damion and keep it around for a year. Those are big spells and could certainly leave an imprint of magic behind.

33

Slight change in items. The jeweled choker now has a few more items. The Bookstand is basically an item taken from covenants, but made of metal and stone.

The Bookstand of Artemis
Range: Self D: Conc T: Ind
This is a bronze lectern similar to the Bookstand of Hespera from Covenants, pg 121. It has enough space for a lab text, a small knife, the integrated granite inkwell and a lab text. This item follows the user around and can be precisely placed and “locked” in place if the user wishes. Adds +2 to the text specialization to the laboratory if used in a lab. +6 in shape and materials bonus were claimed from the brass and granite.
Base 3+2 Metal +1 Precise + 1 Conc +5 levels Item Maintains Concentration. Total level = 20

[i]The Jeweled Choker[/i]
This talisman is a composite item consisting of a Silver Collar inlaid with jewels specifically Ruby, Sapphire, Opal, Emerald, Aquamarine and Amethyst, fused to the collar are fine chains forming an Electrum Necklace, from which hangs a Jet Cross which encases a fragment of Red Coral. In the back there is a Bronze Lock where the item opens and closes.

34

After some guidance on using non-standard RDTs.

e.g. rehashing Murmur of the Deep, RoP:M p.90 as hermetic:

Awareness of the Waves (InIm 10) Atlantean
R: Water-way, D: Conc, T:Ind
The caster can hear and see from any point within a water-way.
(Base 2 for two senses, +3 Water-way, +1 Conc)

e.g. the same as the Web Grimoire InIm spell

[b]Awareness of the Road /b Faerie
R: Road, D: Conc, T:Ind
The caster can hear and see from any point on a road.
(Base 2, +2 Road, +1 Conc)

The Web Grimoire makes a point of requiring the caster to move their perception around, scanning for oddities.

Eyes & Ears Within (InIm 15)
The caster can see and hear everything occurring within a structure, and must concentrate to move their perception throughout.
(base 2, +1 touch, +1 conc, +3 structure)

35

That's a good point. I'd probably make it a Finesse roll to get the exact point you're looking for, with the difficulty being related to how hard it would be to find the target. A ship in dock at Portsmouth? Pretty easy. A ship at sea, somewhere in the Atlantic? Not so easy. It's a targeted spell, not omniscience.

36

Another spell I'm likely to invent, or at least spont cast frequently.

Capture the Frozen Scene
Rego Imagonem 5, R:Touch, D: Ring, T: Ind
Effect moves an image from one place to within a ring within a pace, and sustains the image for the duration.
(base 2 to move an image a pace, R:+1 Touch, D: +2 Ring, T: Ind)

My intent is to move captured images into a ring so I have them for as long as needed. I'm pondering making the effect usable on many types of images (sound, smell,etc)_ and maybe extending the distance it can be shifted.

37

And another - I'm not sure if base 5 is too high, as the Hardness of Adamantine is MuTe Base 4.

  • Could this be base 4 as well?
  • Is it fair to also allow it to have requisites for other forms at cast time, for items which contain a mix of materials (saddles with Te and He components)?

The Everlasting Quill
The item made of animal products touched becomes hardy and almost unbreakable, and extremely resistant to wear and damage.
(MuAn20, Base 5, +1 Touch, +2 Sun)

Intent is to use it on a special quill, but also on any An based equipment to save on wear and tear, such as a book given to an apprentice.

38

Here is a spell I never got looked at or approved. Was double checking things and noticed it. :blush:

Simple Sanctum – CrTe – 20
R:Touch DMom T: Ind, Ritual
The maga calls forth a Stone building from the Earth. The building is approximately 4 paces high and has 2250 square feet of floor space. The majority of the space is a large, large laboratory room. About 1500 square feet in all. Enough for a Size+6 lab. There is also a small room for visitors before the lab and living quarters for the maga inhabiting the stone building. Doors swing on stone pivots.
Base 3 +3 size +1 touch +1 Complexity

39

Reposting this as Trogdor has asked out the potential to use Intellego spells to shift perception. Here is the basis for the two spells using special ranges in combination with Intellego magic.

The creature power in RoP:M is written using the hermetic formula, which is why took that as a basis. Then the web Grimoire had the spell using the Fae range which allowed the caster to shift their perception as long as they shift it in steps where they can see each step point. This means little shifts or great steps depending on what the caster can see. The Pletheron Distant spell also allows the caster to shift the point of perception and these spells use the new Range to shift.

i.e. Pletheron is limited to what the caster can see through R:Sight, and the Waterway range allows the caster to see any point in the waterway they are touching.

I'm reposting to raise for discussion.

40

I may be arguing a difference without a distinction, but it seems to me that you could cast the spell anywhere you can see (or anywhere in the waterway). But then it's fixed. You could then cast the spell again to shift that position. And that position could be relative to your previous position, e.g., a quarter mile to the north. So in a practical sense, if spellcasting wasn't a problem, you could effectively move your vantage point, though you wouldn't see everything in between vantage points.

Murmur of the Deep simply says that "[t]he character can hear from the vantage of any point in the same Water-way." It doesn't talk about moving the vantage point on the fly. I don't generally accept the Web Grimoire as controlling authority.

Atlantean Magic is powerful, especially when dealing with a water-way as large as the Atlantic. But the real trick is finding what you're looking for. You could find a ship just leaving the Bay of Biscay, but you'd have to know generally where to look. You could certainly scan the area by making multiple castings in different areas. But you'd have to have some idea of where you were looking first.

That's my take, anyway. I'm interested to hear how other people interpret things.