The Vis Hunters (Summer 1232)

Can Liberto find any tracks? (Per 1 + Hunt 4 + spec 1 + roll 3 = 9)

Yes, it headed off thataway about an hour ago :slight_smile:

Vocis turns to Vibria. I propose that Liberto moves on ahead, with Celeste watching him. We'll follow a few hundred paces behind. If he finds the beast's lair, he can signal Celeste and we'll move up to meet him. If the beast somehow gets the drop on him, I can teleport to him and hold it off until you arrive. He smirks at Liberto. Though I may take my time. If something this big sneaks up on you, you deserve a good scar.

(I'm not going into detail about this, but I'm assuming Vocis, Liberto, and Celeste have worked together long enough that they have all manner of hand signals.)

I think that is something that would be covered by Profession-Soldier, Folk Ken, or Leadership :smiley:
Liberto forges on ahead following the trail. After about an hour, the trail goes cold. Make a tracking roll to see if you can bick it up again or tell why it went dead.

All three of them have Leadership and Folk Ken, so we're covered.

Per 1 + Hunt 4 + spec 1 + roll 3 = 9

The owlbrear prints seem to indicate a shrinking and changing foot, and apparently it changed into a very large man and went trudging off in thatotherdirection

Vibria gets a thoughtful expression as she looks at the feather in her hand. [color=red]"Vocis, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

[color=red]"That's odd," Vibria mutters when she notices/has the footprint thingie pointed out to her. [color=red]"The owlbear's not a natural creature...not even a magically natural creature, right? So how did someone become a shapeshifter with an Owlbear form?"

There are many ways to shapeshift. In this case, a Muto Corpus spell or two would do the job.

You are on the right track :wink:
So do you guys follow up on the human prints?

Yes, with the same tactics - Liberto leading, Celeste monitoring.

You shall eventually arrive at a cottege with a wooden fenced in yard. The gate on the fence bears a Sanctum marker.

I have to head out, but I will be back latter for ya :wink:

Whose name/sigil is on the Sanctum marker? (Int 1 + Order of Hermes Lore 1 + die roll of 3 =5, if it's needed.)

There is none. Just the simple symbol designating this yard as a sanctum.

In that case, Vocis approaches the gate and calls out Greetings sodales. I am Vocis of Tremere, member of the Andorra Covenant. I am accompanied by Vibria of Flambeau, also of Andorra. May we speak with you? We were not aware we had any neighbors from the Order.

Com 1 + Charm 3 + spec 1 + roll 0, no botch = a very disappointing 5
I'm willing to throw in a confidence point if it will help.

No response

In that case...Int 2 + CoH 1 + roll 3 = 6...which tells me nothing other than I've apparently angered the gnomes who run Invisible Castle...

Vocis turns to Vibria. What are your thoughts? I can try making much more noise, but that may provoke the hermit. Sending a grog in or even casting a spell on the house could do the same. I'd rather not have to kill a brother magus who just wants to be left alone, even without considering the legal repercussions.

((Is the fact that the Sanctum marker has no name on it noteworthy? I was thinking that a sanctum marker had to have the name(s) of the magus/magi on it. Ah...Covenants, p. 103, first paragraph.))

[color=red]"True. But then, I don't remember us having a neighbor able to take the form of an Owlbear of Unusual Size. (Personally, I thought they didn't exist.)"

Vibria will stand at the gate, looking over the grounds and the cottage for anything unusual (and pending response to the above question before she does anything rash). ((Per 0 + Awareness 3 + die roll of 6 = 9, or 10 if it's "things of value".))

That's actually why I rolled Code of Hermes.

You said Order of Hermes Lore for the first roll. But you did get a 6 on the second roll, and I see it says CoH.
Having to put your own personal name or sigil along with the sanctum marker is a new rule. Several regional tribunals had made similar rulings, and the Grand Tribunal of 1228 made it a universal requirement in all tribunals.
And also, it is a new rule in fifth edition that I didn't know was there.

The version I remember, and didn't know had changed is...

The design described is the same. What is different is that the WGRE makes no mention of having to include a name. I know, we are playing a fifth edition game. But the difference is so subtle that I never realized it was there, and I never bothered to check.
So yes, it is significant that there is no name. It indicates he is old and reclusive. The name is a custom in Provencal and was ruled by the Iberian Tribunal in 1214. Neither of these apply to Andorra, but a Grand Tribunal ruling does.
And whatever this guy's problem is, he is still squatting on territory of the Covenant of Andorra. Our charter claims the whole freaking principality! You should file a complaint with authorities of the Val-Negra Tribunal and..., oh, wait...., there is no Val-Negra Tribunal. No place to redress complaints. Whatever to do?
And as far as the mystery of the giant owlbear goes, the answer stares you in the face. What kind of magical animal is an owlbear?

PB rolled Order of Hermes Lore. And I thought the name thing might be something you either weren't aware of or weren't using, which would have been my next question if I could have rolled something decent. I didn't know about it until I checked the Sanctum chapter in Covenants for this specific situation.

Step 1 is getting his attention without picking a fight. Vocis will apologize to Carmen for that later. :slight_smile: As for the owlbear, I'm guessing this guy is a Bjornaer with a chimera Heartbeast, but I don't think Vocis knows that much about the inner workings of House Bjornaer...(Int 2 + OoH 3 + roll 9 = 14)...or maybe he does.