Hello all! This is my first time being storyteller for an upcoming session. A Verditius Contest in 1234. Feel free to correct any mistakes or offer any suggestions.(Especially for Magic Items, Hermetic Ships, or Sample low-level Magi).
My Magi, Jaque of Verditius, supports the old Domus Magna of Verdi and will be bringing our party to south-western Sardinia, under the control of city-state Pisan and Pope Gregory IX. The German Emperor Frederick II has knights to establish control of the area, creating tensions with the pope.
My Magi's elder sister, a Verditius shipwright, will bring the players to the Contest with a Hermetic ship using an Ocean Regio Network. The Shipwright-Magi has an assistant verditius magi who crafts and repairs the sails. Any suggestions for a hermetic ship which can transport through regios and have enough space for 2 laboratories?
My players will arrive in Verdi, under the control of the Judicate of Caligari. I would like there to be a Saint at the docks to greet the players. Does anyone know of any good sheets for saints?
At the contest, my Verditius Magi will disappear into the private regio. They will not return.
There will dozens of redcaps and venditors selling hermetic wares - Please send me ideas for Hermetic items!
The next day, the magi awake to find all the venditors dead -- killed by rival Verditius Magi following the orders of the Primus! Several Verditius Magi might attack the players if provoked without breaking the hermetic code. Any good examples of powerful verditius magi?
All of the Verditius Magi which the players are allied to are missing, leaving them stranded. They must find a way home from one of the town's factions: The Emperor's Knights, the Pope's Templars, the House Mercere, or the Sardinian locals.
TLDR:
Searching for examples of hermetic items&ships, Verditius Magi, Red caps, Saints, Mundane ships and Holy Roman Empire Soldiers for the Verditius Contest in 1234.
In my version of Mythic Europe, there are no magic item shops that you can just walk into and buy a magic sword. Magic Items are usually custom-made, and making an item in the hope of finding a buyer only makes sense in certain special cases. Having said that, here are a few:
I'm not sure you can kill other magi outside of a wizard's war. It would have to be self-defense.
Thanks so much guys! Yes, any magi in attendance will be protected by the hermetic code. However, some of the grogs are forge-companions and vendititors- as well as one verditius apprentice- leaving them vulnerable to attack from rival verditius who have previously declared vendettas against the friendly Verditius Magi.
I think this line has got people jumpy. Attacking another magi without a declared wizard war is one of the most extreme breaches of the code that exists, so it gets all the attention.
Attacking grogs and/or companions linked to a magi and/or covenant, can be seen as breaking the code, but it is not so extreme. It can still attract fines and punishment if brought to a tribunal, or a Quaesitor. If the apprentice is killed or permanently damaged, that is likely to bring a strong punishment.
Regarding the earlier question, I have no examples of strong Verditus magi.
The opposing Magi have already declared Vendetta and would not be subject to persecution under Verditius code if they killed agents of the magi which they have declared vendetta against. The players will be subject to interrogation to determine whether or not they are associated with the magi that the assailants oppose. Very few members of my convenant are, however the people working the Verditius markets and crafting stations will be killed in the night.
When I read "vendetta", not the formal term "Wizard war", I assumed it was long standing enmity, but not an actual Wizard's War. If that is the case, yes, no code breach.
I think I've derailed this enough. I'll leave it be, and see if others have answer for the examples you are seeking.
It does seem rather extreme for a Vendetta. A vendetta is a personal feud, not a war: "Feuding magi seek to undo the good name or reputation of the other by interfering in his life through subtle means." It also says "Occasionally feuding magi attack each others’ forge-companions or venditores. This is rarely done directly, but rather, is usually executed by a feuding magus’s own assistants." I take that to mean they may be robbed, but a nightly slaughter seems over the top to me.
The other thing to say regarding Vendetta, Saints, etc. Your game, your Mythic Europe. If you want the vendetta more bloody than the book says, great. You want the pope to saint living people, go for it.
There's clearly a big over-arching villain and detailed story, so if the core setting is not perfect for that, adjust it.
I broadly agree, with the caveat of it being the troupe's saga and the troupe's game rather than specifically one player's. I think from what Glick has said that the escalation of the Verditius Domus Magna issue has been an ongoing plot thread from someone else, and this is just a logical culmination of it that they're running, rather than something they're introducing cold - but if not, it's probably worth sounding out the troupe first* to make sure they're happy with the impact on the saga of kicking off an outright civil war amongst the Verditius in Glick's first bit of story-guiding for the saga.
*Doing this without spoiling the upcoming adventure is left as an exercise for the reader.
Thanks for the advice- I’ve been speaking to my main SG about what will throw the main saga off. I want to keep a lot of things a separate from our original saga. I think both he and I would love a side-quest for my magi, especially since his first apprentice was just guantleted. I’m excited to risk the lives of my own characters while also pumping the brakes a bit based off of our interest.
Mundane mortals who attack magi are dead meat. The magi they are associated with are in danger of charges. The Order has no sense of humor about that sort of thing. No loophole can be tolerated.
That always depends. Maybe they can be made to tolerate it. Absolutes like "No loophole can be tolerated." are usually wrong. You don't have to agree, of course, and this discussion is not really relevant here, as the OP will rightly just do what is best for their saga.
Flaws are good for getting stories out of both the player characters and the people they’ll meet.
Look through the player’s Story Flaws – this is an opportunity for them to trigger. If someone has Venus’ Curse you add in a character who will pursue them. If someone has a Rival you add in someone connected to that rival. If someone has Avaricious you put in something to tempt them.
But, Flaws are also good to build non-player characters around. Pick a few interesting Flaws that haven’t come up a lot and start putting together a background that explains the Verditius venditor with Carefree + Fury. Maybe one of the other Verditius magi has a Lost Love that no one knows about but which is why he keeps making uncanny human-like automatons.
If I expect a side character to be minor I might get by with noting a few Virtues & Flaws, any particularly notable Abilities (e.g., Area Lore: Paris 8), a name and where they come from. Only if the players show interest in interacting with that person would I define that the Lost Love was their young child, or whatever else hooked their interest.
