Tremere duties and resources

[firth5]

Something came up in a game last night, and I don't have a copy of True Lineages to comb thru. In the book, under the Tremere section, there are new rules for what a Tremere can be called upon to do, and what resources the Tremere are allowed to draw upon.

My new Tremere pulled a "loan of 4 pawns of vis" as indicated in the rules.

But what are the terms of the loan? Is it understood that I'm serving the house with this loan, and that I simply must return the loan of 4, or do I need to return the 4 with interest?

Obviously my SG and I can work out terms, but I'm wondering if anyone off-hand knows what the rules say.

[BoXer]

But what are the terms of the loan? Is it understood that I'm serving the house with this loan, and that I simply must return the loan of 4, or do I need to return the 4 with interest?

From what I read, Tremere magi are obligated to serve the House at least one season per year. It is in exchange for this willing subordination to the House that magi are accorded aid (to greater or lesser degrees depending on seniority).

HoH:TL (page 118)

Little is required of younger magi beyond time, obedience, and courage. Their aim is to develop the skills required to serve the House skillfully in later years. If they are the senior Tremere magus in the covenant in which they live, they should seek its leadership, but not in a hasty way. They are required to avoid the notice of the powerful in the church and nobility, but seek influence among lesser landowners and local priests.

His superiors carefully select a young magus’s duties for the House so that, except in times of crisis, they do not slow his magical development so markedly as to make him weak compared to magi from other Houses. A younger magus generally loses a season per year to the work of the House, less if he completes his duties swiftly.

[omitted section about obligated call to arms in times of crisis or war]

Other duties include:

• negotiating with the landholders and churchmen in
the immediate area.
• collecting vis from a site frequented by minor, hostile
faeries or magical creatures.
• finding and claiming a suitable Gifted child as an
apprentice for a superior.
• securing a rare, distant resource from a site unlikely to
be heavily defended.
• finding witnesses to an incident to be discussed at
Tribunal.
• investigating rumors that indicate the presence of
resources useful to the House.
• investigating the disappearance of a redcap or minor
ally of the House.
• assisting senior magi in their personal concerns.
• developing local knowledge of terrain, to act as the
House’s guide should it need to operate in force nearby.
• locating ancient battlefields or artifacts for the
House’s necromancers.
• investigating local hedge magicians, drawing them
into the service of the House if possible.
• attending the Wizards’ March.

Forms of support available to younger magi include:

• the loan of a moderate sum of silver, or 4 pawns of vis,
or a minor book on an Art, or a minor magical item.
• the secret assistance of a highly-skilled but non-magical
person, paid for by the House, such as a blacksmith,
poisoner or courtesan.
• the use of a debt owed to the House by a minor noble
or priest.
• passage on ships, or a team of horses.

Assume a young magus may have one form of aid at a time and that it takes a complete season for a player character in a multi-house covenant to change his form of aid. If, for example, he repays a loan and asks for the assistance of a burglar, it takes three months for the burglar to become available. Magi in House covenants find the process far faster. Senior magi often give younger magi more support than this, if they have difficult tasks to perform.

Hope that helps

[Ejidoth]

I don't recall any 'interest' on the loan, simply a requirement that it be paid back. Which is, I think, in line with medieval Christian thought anyway; to actually charge interest on a loan is usury or something.

[Timothy_Ferguson]

@firth5

But what are the terms of the loan? Is it understood that I'm serving the house with this loan, and that I simply must return the loan of 4, or do I need to return the 4 with interest?

There is no interest, except your time and dedication to the cause. That is, you get benefits like this in exchange for spending a season a year on house business.