A list of decisions, house rules etc. as they arise.
A "ward" is any kind of Rego spell that is protective in nature and measures its range from the magus to the thing protected and not to the thing protected against.
Some wards affect how a thing acts around the warded subject. For example, Cloak of Duck's Feathers (ReAq5) is a ward because its range is Touch (i.e. the object/person touched, which is then warded against water as described in the spell.) Clearly the caster is not "touching" each bit of water that comes into contact with the object for until the next sunrise/sunset. It makes liquid roll off the object without making it wet. As I read it, the subject is touched by the water, it just rolls of him. Otherwise the base would have to be higher (Working backwards from HoH: S, the base to ward against natural liquids is 5). Similarly, the ReAn 5 ward I originally posted is a "ward" in this sense that doesn't prevent touch.
Other wards are the "true wards" that prohibit the warded Form from touching the warded object at all. Ward Against Heat and Flames falls into this category as does the ReAn 15 spell I posted earlier. Also in this category are the well known circular wards against foos, with their added benefit of prohibiting the warded Form from affecting the circle, or across it.
Finally "Warding" is a supernatural ability of the Columbae which has its own set of caveats.
For the record, I subscribe to the "wards have to penetrate" school, although Form specific wards (i.e. ReAu Ward against Fairies of the Air vs. ReVi Ward against Fairies) get to double the usual penetration from the casting roll. E.g. when casting a Level 15 ReAu Ward against Fairies of the Air, the casting score ends up at 20. Normally this would give a penetration total of 5. Since the ward is Form specific that is doubled to 10. Had the maga used a generic Fairy Ward (ReVi 15) the penetration would have been only 5. If you incorporate an arcane connection into the ward spell you can boost penetration normally, however the spell then only wards against the specific individual that donated the AC.
Effect expiry can be used to make charged items that expire; but you gain no other benefit when making a charged item. The multiplier does not affect the lab total, and does not give extra charges.
Die Rolls:
I'll be happy to roll dice for any player. just post a request. PM me for faster service, since I try to deal with older messages first.
Otherwise, please use Invisible Castle Campaign title "ArM5: Falling Leaves"
Heres a link invisiblecastle.com/campaign/view/9232/
Books can be traded. This generally takes three seasons total. In season one a redcap circulates a description of the tome sought and offered. In season two negotiations take palce. In season three the redcaps exchange books. The new book is ready for your use in the fourth season. For example, if you start the trade process in Summer 1210 you will have your new book in hand in Spring 1211.
Note that many of the better books in the library are bound by the Cow and Calf Oath and cannot be freely traded by you. To trade a book PM me with the book you are offering, whether it was written by you or from the library, whether you are demanding the cow and calf oath, anything else you want to add to the trade, and the general nature of the book you are seeking in return. I'll get back to you with offers.
For example,
Alphonse writes a Tractatus on Herbem in Autum 1210 he offers it for trade in Winter 1210. Its Quality is 11. He PMs me with the book stats and asks for Tractatus in Herbem in return. He is offered a tractatus in Herbem of Quality 12; a tractatus in Herbem of Quality 9 and three pawns of Herem vis; and a Tractatus on Herbem of Quality 8 and a Tractatus on Animal of Quality 7. Alphonse is a generalist and opts for the final offer. In Autumn 1211 he receives two Tractatus one each on Herbem and Animal.
Carnacis has skilled scribes, illuminators and binders, so any book written can claim the bonus for those skills.
Carnacis can also afford resonent materials for up to one Art book per mage per year. This is enough for a +1 resonance.
Story quests that specifically seek resonant materials are allowed.
I am also considering the following additional rule on book writing:
If the person who authors the books (i.e. comes up with the actual words, not just the scribe who writes them down) has the following skills, the book gains a +1 Quality for each skill possessed at Level 6 or better: Teach, Artes Liberales, Latin.*
What says the group?
- Or whatever other langugage the book is written in.
A possible +3 for three abilities of 6+ is not over the top, yet you also possibly let loose some very very good summae and tractatii...I am kinda neutral on the subject.
Regarding booktrading, how do you respond to the suggestions in Covenants, where you can buy books for Vis? I would think it would be especially lucrative in Normandy?
I reread Covenants.
In this sage, you may purchase a "sound summa" in any Art for 1 pawn of vim vis (or equivalent pawns per the exchange rates) per level of the book. maximum Quality is (29-Level) or 22 whichever is lower.
Mundane books can be purchased with silver, and are fairly trivial to acquire. Maximum Level for Summa is 5; higher level books must be sought specially. Common Hermetic Arcane ability books (Penetration, Finesse, Spell Mastery) can be purchased for 5p vim vis per level with maximum level of 6. Again, higher level books exist but are not available for common sale.
All Art tractatus have a maximum Quality for common sale of 16. Costs are as follows:
Q 16 = 5p vim
Q 15 = 4p vim
Q 11-14 = 3p Vim
Q <11 = 2p vim
The Covenant will give you access to its level 7 Magic theory Summa once you've reached 20 years past gauntlet. Other books will be forthcoming.
If you wish to SELL a book for vis, you may do so once at the listed price. Beyond that, contact me to discuss how "deep" the market is (jpw many copies you can sell) before you saturate it.
New rules of Correspondences
You may over the course of a season engage in a number of correspondences. Each “correspondence” consists of an average of 1 letter per magus per season.
In order to claim the XP bonus you must create the corresponding magus and post a two paragraph description. At any one time you may have no more than your Int score in correspondents that are available to give you a bonus XP. In order to change or add a correspondent, you must meet the corresponding magus. This is automatically done if you attend tribunal, otherwise it requires a communication +artes liberales roll against EF 9 to locate a suitable partner by messenger. Each correspondence concerns only a single Art or Arcane Ability. The requirement to create a “corresponding magus” is waived during character generation but the requirement of finding a suitable one is not.
You may claim the extra correspondence XP only in the Art or ability used in that season. Magic Theory correspondence xp can be claimed when studying MT, or doing labwork. You cannot get an XP for Magic Theory while, for example, reading about vim.
After 5 years of letters, you may compile all of the letters together and create a Bound Correspondence. If, and only if, you later write a tractatus on the same subject of the Bound Correspondence the quality of the tractatus is raised by one. This does not increase the number of tractatus a given mage can write. Nor can a given Bound Correspondence be used to write more than one tractatus, or be used by a magus other than the one who engaged in the correspondence. If the corresponding magus reads the resulting tractatus, he may automatically gloss it without regard for his communication or skills to give the tractatus an additional +1 Quality. As a downside neither magi whose correspondence was used to create the tractatus can gain xp from reading it. Also, if a third magus reads the tractatus created by one partner in a corresponding pair, he cannot later read a tractatus written by the other correspondent if it is based on the substantially similar group of letters from the correspondence.
Every Bound Correspondence stored in the library (whether used to make a tractatus or not) gives the library 1 “xp” in the trait "Library of (Art/Ability)". This trait increases like an Ability and is used as a research modifier for answering questions within the field of the trait. (see Covenants p98).
(EDIT):
A reader (zlorfik) noted that this rule gives the glassing magus no incentive to read the book and lose a whole season just to gloss it. I thought it over and I agree. Because the magus is already familiar with the topic and isn't "studying" the book, he can gloss the book very quickly in the same season he does some other work. This counts as a 10 day distraction from the main research (thus there is no penalty as long as it is the only distraction). Glossing a tractatus based on your letters is considered "good form" in the Order and a correspondent who frequently refuses will be viewed as something of a boor and find his pool of correspondents drying up.
Those rules seem fair and rather easy to work with 
Caelarch I also posted Aurelia up to 20 years - would like feedback, when you have given Ovarwa his for Deborah