I could handle that.
Oh, gosh, would that actually be four magi: two parens and two apprentices/magi?
We did have a third person express interest as well, I was hoping to have 6 magi and 6 apprentices, which become magi before 1220.
I'm definitely interested in playing, but I'm not sure I'll have the time to devote to two magi and apprentices ...
I am interested, but I need to check a few things first to make sure I've got my head around this.
We're starting a creation process from 1100, aiming to get to 1220 for the campaign proper to start.
How old are the parens in 1100? Freshly gauntleted or a bit older?
How old are the "apprentices" supposed to be in 1220? Freshly gauntleted, allowed to be gauntleted sometime close to 1220 to have some variation, or you apprenticed them in 1100 and they're 105 years past gauntlet in 1220? (I gather from the replies they could be anywhere on the spectrum but is there any guidance or preference?)
Are the parens supposed to be dead/out of the way come 1220?
What books are we allowed to use? I ask because the long time span of the prologue makes me interested in some of the grander mysteries - for instance, could my Parens deliberately make themselves an immortal or a living ghost and effectively become a magical NPC in the 1190s, making room for the younger generation of magi? Could we use hermetic architecture on the covenant? Could my parens begin research into one of the Hermetic Projects but be a decade short of completion in 1220?
Other things from books - would a Nephilim (from RoP:Divine) companion be allowable - they usually start age 70 and their advancement totals drop to 1 pt/season some point after the age of 150, so this is one saga where you could employ this type of Mythic Companion and have them peak before the main action starts.
If I commit to the ridiculous amounts of bookwork, can I use the labour points and craftsmanship rules from city&guilds and have a master crafter in the prologue help train a verditius and leave behind a top quality smithy and a cache of super-crafted items for the grogs?
If I attempt to build a Great Work (ie a book in architectural form as per covenants p102) in the prologue, is it OK or does it count as us picking the Edifice Boon and require an extra hook?
If I take a merinita Creo specialist and I make a T:bloodline spell to get as many members of one family buffed, how does that work - can I D:instant Creo ritual the family matriarch and all of her descendants currently alive get buffed for life? Or would I have to make the spell duration "while" and ensure no-one in the bloodline accidentally breaks the condition, while they all get warped?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just thinking of all the long-term things you normally don't get time to do in all but the fastest-paced sagas.
The parens may be of any age in 1100. By 1220 they should be ta a point where they are no longer engaged in adventures, whether that means dead, departed, in really long twilight or permanently holed up in their labs.
The apprentices may be of any reasonable age in 1220 (obviously if they started an apprenticeship after 1100 200 years old is not reasonable), but should be able to see the adventure through until 1270 or so if necessary, so pushing on final twilight or death in 1220 is not a good idea.
Making your parens a living ghost or daimon would be a great way t keep them around and make them unavailable for adventuring.
Books allowed for initial character creation include: main, all house books, all realms of power books, city and guild, artes and acadamie, The Church, and Lords of men. Development after creation can include The Mysteries and Ancient magic, though not all of ancient magic will be appropriate. The Mysteries may be used to a limited degree in initially creating the parens, which will require discussion with the storyguide.
Mythic companions (including nephalim) are not part of the plans at this point, exceptions being made for anyone selling their soul and Heroic redcaps.
Yes, a master crafter can leave a top quality smithy and super crafted weapons
Instant target bloodline would instantly and permanently (if ritual obviousl) affect all her ancestors and descendants alive at the time of the casting. If you make the duration "while" then as long as the condition is not broken it will add new family members as they are born, but yes also cause warping.
Could I suggest including Grogs and Apprentices in the book list?
Yes... both of those would be included, not mentioning them was an oversight on my part.
When would you like us to start pitching magus ideas?
We should set up the board first, I would think.
I'd like to discuss a name for the covenant, so I can make that part of the request for a board. The founding magi had 40-50 years as a chapter house to decide what to call themselves, so I figured it should be something of a group decision.
If the covenant started as a watchtower, how about "Vigilantia Magna" (or great vigilance/alertness - Vigilantia is 1st declension feminine if you want to think of other adjectives to go with it)
If the ties to Persephone and Aphrodite are more important, how about something like "Persephone's Garden"?
If we want a more sinister take on the Persephone ties, we could have a name based on Hades or the underworld.
Thinking of famous people of Locri according to Wikipedia, we could have "Zaleucus' rope" in reference to the codifier of laws, have a symbol of a noose and make magi wear a noose when making proposals at council meetings, with a tradition that expulsion and wizard's war occur if anyone proposes a change to covenant law that is soundly rejected.
If we play on the purpose and location: "Clustrum Zephyri" Gate of the West Wind (this one is a little clunky), or "Custos Zephyri" or "Praesidium Zephyri" Guardian of the West Wind.
If we prefer to include the temples, "Praesidium Deae" or "Praesidium Aedis".
In English, I like the sound of "Persephone's Garden", or possibly more strongly, "Persephone's Wall" or "Persephone's Gate". The Latin versions of these don't sound as poetic as I might like.
On a separate topic ... (which might be better discussed when we allocate build points)
As I was reading about the history of Locri, the existence of the ruined temples and theater seem to cry out to me as a vis source or regio site. I know the Roman Tribunal is supposed to be well-settled and all, but the ruins, repeated abandonment of the area, and the raiders seem to make this a possible location for more magical "wilderness", or at least unclaimed/forgotten resources.
There are two established towns within 6 miles, but yes, there could be a small vis source that is natural to the covenant grounds- however it would have been claimed by another covenant prior to the establishment of the chapterhouse and be a source of friction...
I have to say so far I like the sound of "Praesidium" as part of the name...
I like both the Praesidium names.
So, does this mean that we'll be restricted in our ability to buy vis sources with out initial 2000 BP?
To the degree it conforms to the reality of the setting, yes. It isn't so much a restriction on the total so much as simply situational realism. You can decide they receive Vis from their parent Covenant in Normandy, but given the scarcity of vis in Normandy they will want something for it. A local natural source will mean conflict with whomever previously claimed it. A commercial source (such as book copying) will be far less restrictive, but will generate vis of account rather than a particular art source of vis. (Vis of account is typically equal to vim, but is conditionally easier to exchange)
So just to confirm, is it true that any vis source we buy will come with some sort of disadvantage, e.g.:
- strings attached from the parent covenant
- conflict with previous owner
- vis is of account
Is there any way for us to get any of our vis sources free and clear, or must they all be restricted?
Probably, I'm not out to make this onerous, just to enforce what the setting is (and vis of account is not much of a restriction, it can always be withdrawn from the redcaps as either vim vis or any other form which they have an adequate supply of on hand. So it can pretty much be any form, just not always reliably unless it is vim.
Also keep in mind that any hooks originating from the Vis source are not simply attached- you get full credit from them to by boons.
That's a good point.