[Cov] clearly states under the minor boon that «All the covenfolk must live within the aura.»
I agree that for many covenants, depending on the landscape, this makes little sense. Why can't you just build another building out of the aura?
OTOH It makes some sense because if you can keep the covenfolk out of warps way, the high aura is much more valuable, and arguably worth major boons.
It doesn't matter. I do not care if you balance boons and hooks, either.
I take from this that security is not a reason to expand just yet.
How bad is warping? I suppose within the city walls warped covenfolk will be noticed rather sooner than later...
You wrote about building points (and that the manor is 10) earlier. Do we have a space problem with 14 inhabitants points already?
This was another question I had in the thread.
An aura of 6 results (basic book p. 167) in 1 warping point per year per long term inhabitant who does not have a virtue related to the ream in question. warping advances as an ability, so 5 points results in a warping score of 1, which imposes a minor flaw which may or may not be subtle- it could make them offensive to animals, pick up a magical animal companion, develop an afflicted tongue, become anchored to the city, or develop a form monstrosity or monstrous blood. If you wait five years you will start to see if there is a pattern or not...
s to inhabitants, 10 points is not 10 inhabitants- a magus is 5 points for a spring covenant, a companion is 3, a servant, laborer or teamster is 1.
I also notice that a might:30 spirit would have a presence extend to area:boundry, so it looks like it may be more than the one building being affected... it would appear that the aura in fact covers 81 manor houses...
A Might 30 Spirit is a very mighty spirit! Hope the specter is somewhat friendly, or this could be a short-lived Covenant!
(Sorry to interrupt!)
Wait, a 81 manor houses Lacuna. It does sound as if we should reduce the aura, maybe drastically, otherwise it is pretty likely Serafino has skipped the Lacuna and continued his search. That kind of Lacuna wouldn't have gone unnoticed, I'd expect it to be closely watched by the order...
That much is clear, hence the 14 points in my calculation. You said something about building points and I was asking if those building and habitant points have to match.
yes, "building point" is my shorthand to refer to the occupancy capability of buildings in terms of inhabitant points.
Given the "Conscious space boon" I suppose the specter is at least not hostile.
the size of the aura is an issue- it would definitely not be a lacunae under these circumstances...
and would likely have attracted earlier attention...
so I think I'm going to have to change to the alternate definitions, and maybe reallocate some boons and hooks...
okay, revised version gets rid of conscious space, and has a small aura of 3, as in one floor of the house...
For which abilities exist books? I suppose Area Lores can be studied from books, potentially there could be books on bargaining and a lot of others. Awareness however doesn't sound like it could. Is there a rule (of thump if no hard one) for how to decide which ones can?
Oh, another one. The mundane book market, is that driven by Mercere or are there mundanes trading books?
Books exist for almost any ability- my assumption is that studying a book for a season is not always simply reading, and if Charles atlas can write a summae on athletics(bodybuilding) just about any topic can be written about.
On the other hand, existing and being common are not the same thing- most craftsmen, for example, would rather demonstrate their expertise through art than writing.
Does the commodity investment already pay off in 1195 or should the 36 LP for that year be taken from work or cash?
With mundane books at £1 Serafino would be interested in:
Assuming that there are book dealers that are not Mercere. Prometheus would raise suspicion ordering that many books all at once. Assuming that Mercere will have the highest quality and levels of books he would order intrigue and leadership at a Mercer house.
What is the price of books handling arcane topics like Finesse or MT?
So with 14 inhabitant points (potentially growing) and a single building that provides housing for 10, we need to add a secondary building. I could imagine taking two neighboring manors and building a small garden wall around the complex. Maybe even three manors and demolish one in favor of a real garden. The main concern is that it might not be adequate for a merchant with a lesser source of income. On the other hand, the 14 inhabitant points do sound adequate and don't fit into a single building...
An altern could be individual houses, no garden wall, but in the longer term connect the buildings below ground.
Thoughts?
having two houses in one name will certainly draw attention, especially right next to each other (since you obviously won't have your wife and mistress living that close). You might create a cover identity to purchase the second house, but even this will require some form of active plan, and possibly a story, to ensure the availability of said house.
Purchasing the books is also a question of time, money, and availability. If you are only putting in 10 days a season to maintaining the appearance of Serafino running the business then a lot of that time as things stand will be spent on the ship unless you develop some methods of making it seem you are on the ship when you are not, including the ability to show up in various ports when the ship does. Other than that it will be a roll of com+bargain to locate and purchase the books (make one generic roll for now to see what you can find)
Mmh, with Serafino (5) and Larione (3) we already need 2 servants and one teamster, exceeding the building points of the manor. So there really has to happen something.
As an alternative to getting to a larger complex, we could spread the inhabitants to small houses in relative proximity.
I planned for trading in summer and fall, but apparently the grand tribunal and the hunt take long enough to block seasonal work? Should probably still leave room for more than ten days.
Not sure if I should roll or not and what the consequences would be. Books would be nice to have but there are some things higher on his list of priorities.
Two months in summer and your seasonal remainder in the fall would be plenty of time to fake a career, and seek out commodities such as books. keep in mind that at some point you will need to set aside time to set up your labs...
Ok, looked up seasonal activities in C&G, because lab rules seemed to be hardly applicable. What I found is
A character gains no Labor Points in a season where he does some-thing other than tend his business;
with the sole exception of
that is, if he gains experience other than Exposure experience.
I'll take that as I will not have earned any labor points from travelling around faking a business. But as it was still a major time investment, the fake business should be pretty believable. And, I take that there was still time to seek out the books or at least some of them. (Should I prioritize the list?)
Com+Bargain, seeking mundane books
8
Details:[1d10+4 # (4)]
The lab should come in winter, potentially only one season for now (I recall that option for a bad quality lab, but would have to lookup the source if necessary).
Added: When does the commodity investment start to pay off? 1196 or already in 1195? Additionally, I found the following:
For a negligible cost, usually involving ale, a merchant can gather one guard per half-season’s worth of invested Labor Points, and suggest how he spends an hour of time per week.
That's 40 guard hours a week with the investment done...
One season gives you a lab with -3 General Quality. First page of Laboratory chapter of Core rule book, "Creating a Laboratory."
the investment starts paying off in 1196. The guards however are available immediately.