Hi folks!
Joining the game. I have an idea for a character, a Greek oracle of mythic origin, compelled by nature, instinct and preference to engage in that most forbidden of Hermetic Arts, scrying.
Still need to pick a house. Possibly Criamon, since I have never really looked at them, but to suggestions. Also still looking for her "left hook, " the unexpected twist to make her interesting.
More as I work on it.
I've always been intimidated by Criamon. I think I can make interesting NPCs of them, but not run them, they're too strange and philosophical for me.
Looking around a bit, I discovered that the best known Scottish oracle/prophet is Thomas the Rhymer who is concurrent with our saga, having been born circa the saga start date.
I also note that his "birthplace" is very close to the covenant of Horn Hill, and though I know nothing about that place, I now assume that this was the covenant of his apprenticeship. In fact, I'll call him the son and "heir" of whatever puppet noble is associated with Horn Hill.
The question becomes whether to put him into play before or after he becomes the central figure to the story Tam Lin and spends seven years at the court of the Queen of Elfland. I think my preference is to advance him three years post-gauntlet, and then have him spend the rest of the time stuck in Faerie Land (maybe roll randomly to determine how many seasons he gets), learning only things he could learn while at a Faerie Court.
Now, given his strong story associations, it'd be easy to cast him as a Merinita, but I still have a strong urge to play a Criamon oracle, and given that True Thomas seems to spend the rest of his life steering clear of faeries, it seems like this would be a viable option while still staying somewhat true to the source material.
So, broad strokes of what I have so far:
Criamon Intellego specialist, with visions and an obsession for scrying. Scottish Laird Thomas Learmont the Rhymer, aka True Tom. Incapable of lying, writes poetry/prophecies, either a noble or covenant born. His prophecies get passed around by mundanes for a while before he disappears (happens during the saga. Possibly he finally figures out to get out of the limelight, or something).
Well, from HoH:S, the Path of Seeming is both Intellego-aligned and the most comprehensible of the Criamon. I'm currently toying with the notion of a Criamon who seems perfectly comprehensible on the surface, who scrys the world nearby looking for Adulterations and other worldly imperfections, and then tries to send out people to fix these things. He may also, sadly, have the Lesser Malediction: Incomprehensible to Blood Relatives, which will make his impending inheiritance a bit of a problem.
....and for a Companion, I'll also be playing Janet, the virgin mother of True Thomas's children from Tam Lin. She'll have been "blessed" by the faeries to endure the rose prick/birth cycle repeatedly (possibly, this is a vis source?), and will therefore be spending 3 seasons of every year pregnant. She's the mother you don't want to mess with. I'm thinking that she'll have points in Single Weapon (frying pan), social skills, and will somehow get involved in every pirate grog story, or other "life among wizards" story arcs.
No thoughts or input? Could I at least get a "go ahead" from somebody?
Thomas Learmont the Rhymer, Criamon at GAUNTLET
Voting Sigil - a mirror-smooth oval disc of silver
Casting Sigil - desaturated colors (“flashback coloration”)
Virtues
The Gift, Magus, Enigmatic Wisdom(free), Path of Seeming)
Privileged Upbringing (Minor, General) - Born of the puppet nobles who keep Horn Hill out of trouble, Thomas was born into the good life.
MMF - Scrying (learning information that is distant in space or time from the caster) (Major, Hermetic)
Premonitions (Minor, Supernatural)
Affinity with Intellego (minor hermetic)
Inventive Genius (minor Hermetic)
Pussiant Intellego (Minor Hermetic)
Good Teacher (minor Gen)
Free Study (m H)
Flaws
Heir/Close Family Ties (minor Story) - he's either the supposed heir of Horn Hill's puppet noble, or his natural and noble family are close enough to the covenant setting to cause problems.
Covenant Upbringing (m Per) - raised in Horn Hill
Greater Maledict - Speak Only Known Truths (M Gen) - This won't start until after his misadventures in Tam Lin. However, the basic premise is that he can only say things which he knows are true. And since he's a Criamon, this ends up being a quite complex issue.
Obsessed with Scrying (minor Personality) - it's like being a gossip, only with magic
Visions (m, Story, Supernatural) - Yes, I know what the rules are about Story virtues. They're stupid. There is room enough for him to be plagued by visions AND have a family.
Deficient Technique (Perdo) - M Hermetic - so obsessed with Knowing Things, that he has a hard time destroying them.
Personality Traits : Studious +2, Noble Bred +3, Philosophical -2
Characteristics:
Int +2 Per 0 Age: 20
Pre 0 Com +2 Size: 0
Str 0 Sta +1 Confidence: 1 /3
Dex 0 Qik 0 Warping:
Abilities
AL: Scotland (nobility) 2
Athletics (climbing) 2
Stealth (nocturnal) 2
NLang Scottish (rhymes) 5
Latin (Hermetic) 4*
Artes Liberales (ritual) 2
Prof:Scribe (lab texts) 2
Code of Hermes (scrying) 2
Magic Theory (spells) 3
Parma Magica (Mentem) 1
Penetration (Intellego) 2
Enigmatic Wisdom (Twilight) 2
Premonitions (familial) 2
*from Privileged Upbringing
Arts
Creo 4
Intellego* 11+3
Muto
Perdo**
Rego 5
Animal 5
Auram 5
Aquam 5
Corpus
Herbam
Ignem
Imaginem 4
Mentem
Terram 5
Vim 1
Rough outline of Post-Gauntlet Life:
Travels to Durenmar, so that people can keep an eye on him. He gets pretty good at Scribing and Library magics, since that's all anyone will "let" him do, though he does find some time to learn a few other spells and read some other books. Then he gets captured by Queen of Faeries at a party, newb wizard that he is. Only by the timely arrival of his True Love, Janet, does he escape.
I think it would be a lot of fun if True Tom's saga entrance was the actual end of the Tam Lin song -- with Janet clutching him hard to her chest as she flees from the Faeries, only to free him by casting him into some body of water appropriate to Canaries.
Thomas will have spent an uncertain amount of time among the faeries, with those seasons spent on the sort of skills one picks up at a Faerie party.
I'm also not sure how to handle the Path of Seeming. I assume that this is a normal Mystery advancement system, and with less than 10 years under his belt, it seems unlikely that he'd get past the First Station.
Note that Janet may very well qualify as a companion, being the sort of uppity Scottish Lass who saves her True Love from evil fairies. Also note that during the story of Tam Lin, she gets pregnant, possibly as some kind of virgin birth. I'm thinking about giving her the Personal Vis Source, to indicate a recurring experience wherein she gets pregnant, saves True Tom, and then gives birth to a baby boy who is worth Intellego Vis. Given the Criamon Vows against parenting, this would have some interesting repercurssions.
Sorry, I thought I had posted on this. They both sound pretty good. "Go ahead."
Scrying is only a (high) crime if caught. Being able to penetrate MR is key to that. Quaesitores and the capable Intellego specialists don't always have spells like Bitter Taste of Betrayal functioning 24/7, unless they like warping. I generally agree with your Story flaw commentary, but I think one should be a major, or at least treated as such. Minor story flaws tend to offer advantages along with disadvantages which is why they at minor flaws. Close family ties offers the benefits of family, one that presumably likes your magus. Visions, though is entirely the province of the SG, and IMO gives him carte blanche to send you off on any story his heart desire and your game contact suggests you are ok with that.
Do you think that Scrying qualifies as a Major Magical Focus? The original concept was to be a Greek Oracle, but then I discovered the story of Tam Lin, and now, frankly, the magical choices are less interesting than the "prophet Criamon" aspects to me.
Really, I'd rather go with Heir (to some other covenant's puppet nobility) than with Close Family Ties, because of the political conflict inherent in that flaw. Either way, the unifying thread between those story flaws is "stories involving the mundane world."
Oh, and one minor caveat: I feel that Visions gives the SG permission to use my character as Deus Ex Machina to get the covenant involved in whatever, not necessarily the character. True Tom could just as easily send people out to investigate and then watch them like a hawk in his scrying pools.
Hrm....maybe I should pick up Intangible Tunnel.....
Sure, scrying is a suitable focus. It doesn't cover the entire Art of Intellego, and can be applied to several forms. Scry the weather, check. Scry what that animal you have an AC to is up to, sure, check. Where scrying breaks down is that it is tricky to write future events before they happen, especially in a game format. I was able to write my only piece of prophecy in Bibracte because I the events had already transpired in real time, but parts of an older thread had not played out fully.
I think this is an extremely difficult concept to play, maybe too difficult...
Keep in mind that qcipher is the overall laird for the lands of Insula Canaria. I haven't reviewed any historical accuracy for qcipher's character, but if there is another member of nobility, then that might suggest...friction. I dunno.
Scrying, to my mind, is specifically about discovering information about the Present. Prophecies are the realm of Divination, and while I'm going to be using the trappings and imagery of divination, I will not be stepping anywhere near the rules set for Divinations from TMRE.
You'll note that there aren't any of those Divination virtues on his character sheet. The sole source of prophetic knowledge is from his Visions. This, coupled with his Malediction, means that there will be a lot of internal monologues, giving the SG plenty of opportunity to interject.
Questions I am waiting to hear from Peregrine on:
I just thought of something interesting.
Up until their introductory chapter, Janet has only met Thomas in faerie-influenced settings. The only reason she's marrying him is cuz he's the father of her children, and no one in her village would believe that she's a virgin mother. Culturally, just about her only choices are to marry him or to put out a red lantern on her door.
So basically, the roofies are finally about to wear off and she's about to meet her baby-daddy for the first time without the beer goggles on. At which point, his Gift will start hitting her.
This should be fun to play 
Janet of Inchnacardoch Forest
An impressive soul not yet in her prime.
Virtues
Peasant, free Social Status
Apt Student, m General (Q+5 when taught)
Book Learner, mGen
Linguist, mGeneral OR Gift of Tongues, mHeroic
Self Confident, mGen
Improved Char x 4
Great Characteristic x2
Flaws
Black Sheep, MStory - Harlot. Got knocked up before she was married
Lesser Malediction - Relive Tam Lin for 7 years, pregnancy and all, mSupernatural
Weakness: Riddles, mPersonality
Motion Sickness, mGen
Proud, MPersonality
Impious Friend, mStory (Tainted!) "Margaret"
Reputation(Cill Chuimein): 2 Slut Married to a Freak
Personality Traits : Stubborn +2, Proud +3, Girl -2,
Age: 14, Size: 0, Confidence: 2/5, Warping: 0
Characteristics:
Int 1
Per 3
Pre 3
Com 5
Str 0
Sta 0
Dex 0
Qik 0
Abilities
ALore: Inchnacardoch Forest (game) 2
Animal Handling (rabbits) 2
Athletics (running) 1
Awareness (forests) 1
Brawl (knife) 1
Charm (adults) 3
Folk Ken (boys) 3
Guile (adults) 3
Hunt(snares) 1
Leadership (intimidation) 2
NLang:Scottish (poems) 5
Music (reeds) 1
Stealth (sneak) 1
Survival (forest) 2
Combat
Init: Qik 0 + Wpn -Enc 0 = 0+ Die
Attack: Dex 0 + Brawl (knife) 2 + AtkMod 1 = 4
Defense: Quk 0 + Brawl(knife) 2 + DefMod = 3
DMG: Str 0 + DmgMod 2 + Attack Advantage = 2+
Janet is the very definition of a young Scottish Lass. Her idyllic and carefree childhood was spent in and around a small village of maybe 40 souls in Inchnacardoch Forest, and she spent her time snaring rabbits for her family (which has far too many brothers).
Then, last year, she stumbled into the story of Tam Lin, and met Thomas the Rhymer. Thomas was a captive of the Elfqueen and begged her to save him 'ere he was served up to the Devil or some such fate. Somehow, during the meeting, he pricked her thumb with a rose thorn, causing her to swoon,[1] and when she awoke, she'd discovered that the man had got her with child!
That was when all the trouble began, really.
Thankfully, throughout all of this, she has had her trusted boon companion, Margaret[2], whom she confides in absolutely. Margaret always sees the best in her, and always helps her see herself in that light too.
[1]Absolutely not how Thomas tells this story.
[2]Margaret is a minor pride demon who noticed what an amazingly powerful soul Janet has, and she's been keeping tabs on this kid ever since.
Let's go with First Station, and he can work on subsequent stations in-play.
Not quite sure how, but I'm willing to entertain ideas. Only ones I came up with off-hand were (1) at the baby's first haircut, on his first birthday, the shorn hair en masse constitutes a pawn of Faerie-tainted Creo or Corpus Vis. (2) The afterbirth is a pawn or two of Faerie-tainted Creo or Corpus Vis.
The standard 75 personal BP.
I've got stories started through 1223, and the next Tribunal is in Summer of 1224. We can either bring him in sometime during '23, in the Spring of '24, or during the Tribunal season.
Post Gauntlet Advancement:
Year 1-4: "The Horn Hill Years" 96 In, 14 Vi, 5 Cr, 5 He
Year 5: "Durenmar, In Disgrace" 15 Scribe, 15 Craft
Year 6: 30 Penetration
Year 7: 15 Durenmar Lore, 15 Imaginem
Year 8: 25 Spell, 5 Penetration
Year 9: "Journey to The Cave of Twisting Shadows" :
Year 10: "Captured by the Elfqueen", 15 Criamon Lore, 15 Athletics
75 Build Points:
25bps - Device: Simulacrum of the Spheres (HProj 92) InIm24, ReTe37 (7/12)
Invested Item, rock crystal set in complex mesh of metal wheels. Used as an Astrolabe, provides +3 bonus to horoscope work. In the Lab, provides : +1 Aesthetics, +3 In, +2 Vi
"A Collection of Grief Stricken Thoughts, Vol 1 - Preparations"
"A Collection of Grief Stricken Thoughts, Vol 2 - Methods"
5bps - Determine Location of Absent Volume InAn 25 (CrIm) Arc, Conc, Ind,
5bps - The Inexorable Search InCo 25 (CrIm) Arc, Conc, Ind (this version uses the same mirror/map modification as above)
2 - Item of Quality - Mortar and Pestle, +4 Craft:With Ink
12 bps - The Skull of Demetrius filius Abdkypris doctrinae Criamonis (+3 Com, Teach 3, Enigmatic Lore 6 (Also: Criamon Lore, Latin, Order of Hermes Lore and a bunch of other stuff yer daddy shoulda taught you by now). In stark contrast to Joe the Vim Summa, the ornately decorated Skull of Demetrius does not actually talk. Or move. In fact, it is not actually clear how The Skull transmits information, except that it does, if you meditate upon it for a season. You may have just figured all of that out yourself. Per the Teaching rules, up to 15 people can spend a season staring at the skull at time before some of them feel bored or restless. It is easy to stare at the skull. It is the Final Repose of a Criamon magus, focused on teaching his House how to get along better with the rest of the Order. You may be able to barter with the skull in order to get it to teach all the other stuff it knows.
((OOC: Mostly, I just want the Enigmatic Lore and Criamon Lore. It may teach other stuff to Janet and my kids.)
Thomas Learmont the Rhymer, Criamon, 10 YEARS POST-GAUNTLET
Voting Sigil - a cameo locket, with an ivory engraving of a partially opened cameo
Casting Sigil - impressionistic colors (“flashback coloration”)
Virtues
The Gift, Magus, Enigmatic Wisdom(free), (Path of Seeming)
Privileged Upbringing (Minor, General) - Born of the puppet nobles who keep Horn Hill out of trouble, Thomas was born into the good life.
MMF - Scrying (learning information that is distant in space or time from the caster) (Major, Hermetic)
Premonitions (Minor, Supernatural)
Affinity with Intellego (minor hermetic)
Inventive Genius (minor Hermetic)
Pussiant Intellego (Minor Hermetic)
Good Teacher (minor Gen)
Free Study (m H)
Clear Thinker, Common Sense, and Keen Vision (Path of Seeming)
Flaws
Heir/Close Family Ties (minor Story) - he's either the supposed heir of Horn Hill's puppet noble, or his natural and noble family are close enough to the covenant setting to cause problems.
Covenant Upbringing (m Per) - raised in Horn Hill
Greater Maledict - Speak The Larger Truth (M Gen) - He can only say things which he knows are true. And since he's a Criamon, this ends up being a quite complex issue.
Obsessed with Scrying (minor Personality) - it's like being a gossip, only with magic
Visions (m, Story, Supernatural) - Yes, I know what the rules are about Story virtues. They're stupid. There is room enough for him to be plagued by visions AND have a family.
Deficient Technique (Perdo) - M Hermetic - so obsessed with Knowing Things, that he has a hard time destroying them.
Disfigured - by stigmata
Personality Traits : Studious +2, Noble Bred +3, Philosophical -2
Reputation (Criamon) 0 : Broken Criamon vows by having children (no point yet)
Reputation (Rhine Tribunal) 5: Pen-pusher. Spent nearly four years working as a scribe at Durenmar, a job fit only for apprentices
Characteristics:
Int +2 Per 0 Age: 30
Pre 0 Com +2 Size: 0
Str 0 Sta +1 Confidence: 1 /3
Dex 0 Qik 0 Warping:
Abilities
AL: Scotland (nobility) 2
AL: Durenmar (covenfolk) 2
Artes Liberales (ritual) 2 +3 horoscopes
Athletics (running) 3
Craft: With Ink (tattoos) 2
Prof:Scribe (lab texts) 3
Stealth (nocturnal) 2
NLang Scottish (rhymes) 5
Latin (Hermetic) 4 (from Privileged Upbringing)
Code of Hermes (scrying) 2
Criamon Lore (Path of Seeming) 2
Faerie Lore (names) 0
Magic Theory (spells) 3
Parma Magica (Mentem) 1
Penetration (Intellego) 4
Enigmatic Wisdom (Twilight) 2
Premonitions (nobility) 2
Arts
Creo 5
Intellego* 20 +3
Muto
Perdo**
Rego 5
Animal 5
Auram
Aquam 5
Corpus
Herbam 5
Ignem
Imaginem 5
Mentem
Terram 5
Vim 5
Spells (* = Indicates a Scrying Spell) (CT +Aura+die)
*Hunter’s Sense, InAn 30 Per, Sun, Hearing, CT 34
.....Sense animal motivations
*Enchantment of the Scrying Pool, InAq 30 Touch, Year, Ind, Ritual, CT 37
Air’s Ghostly Form CrAu 5 Touch, Diam, Ind, CT 5
*Fingers For Eyes, InIm5 Touch, Dia, Room (HProj 84), CT 34
.....Use through Master's Message to see room
*Summoning the Distant Image, InIm 25 Arc, Conc, Room, CT 34
*Sense the Feet that Tread the Earth, InTe 30 Touch, Conc, Part, CT 34
The Master’s Message, ReVi 20 Touch, Moon, Ind (HProj 81), CT 11
.....Intangible Tunnel effect, up to mag+1
[/quote]
The vis idea ended up seeming like overkill.
If we're having him enter as the last stanzas of the Tam Lin story, then let's have him show up on a night full of winter power -- the solstice. Lots of power and dark accords for the Elfqueen, and the Aegis casting ritual going on for the covenant.
Now that I'm finally to the point where I actually feel like paying attention to what's going on here rather than just glancing and moving on, I feel like I should probably address a concern I have.
I'm not really comfortable with the idea of an actual historical figure as a PC, especially one who would be (historically) three years old when the saga starts (unless he was raised in a faerie regio with some serious time dilation going on).
I don't have a problem with a PC who is loosely based on an historical figure (in much the same way that The Adventures of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess were based on ancient Greece).
Know what I mean? I'm not saying I want you to scrap the whole character, I just want you to make him your own. I don't want to fall into a trap of finding some historical tidbit that said the real Thomas the Rhymer (for example) got married in 1241 and feeling like that has to (or should) happen in the saga.
I'm with you on this point. The background stuff is meant to add color, not define things tightly. I've already made some enjoyable alterations to "historical truth" by shifting birthdays and age relationships, and then reading Hermetic Projects. I'm not interested in using the dates for hard and fast rules, so much as possibly letting the historical figure be a source of potential inspiration.
Again, my original concept was "greek oracle," but then I decided to shift it to "oracle of a nature related to local geography." It's our bad luck that I found a person rather than an archetype first. If there'd been a more generic type of Scottish prophet/oracle that showed up higher on the google page, then I'd be using them just as happily.
Edit: That said, I think I've already neatly sidestepped this problem by having the largest body of literature regarding the person be part of his introduction story. The story of Tam Lin ends with Janet freeing Thomas Rhymer from the Elfqueen, which is where I'd like to pick up. Beyond that, the only significant details of his life were the specific prophecies that he made -- and as far as I'm concerned, if you decided to use those as inspiration, I wouldn't likely even notice.