Of course, by this description, Viscaria's parens should not be the author of the book. Should probably have a cooler title, too. Something with a ton more Hubris in it.
Here's the reasoning behind why I was willing to say she's got a cow-and-calf copy of one of the most prized books in the order. All this is still subject to JL's final approval, and he's swamped right now (another reason why I thought maybe she should just read the Rego books in the library).
Err... Does this mean I get build points too? If so, how many? The library is desperately poor when it comes to Isen 
And if so, I then have to ask the same question as Arya.
Everyone can bring 75 bps of stuffs with them.
I renamed and re-attributed the Terram Summae to more accurately convey the sense of how rare and substantial a tome it is.
Again, I'm assuming the backstory behind her acquisition of the book has to do with the mysterious season she spent working in Spider's Palace (without earning any XP nor gaining the mystery I spent the season learning in earlier drafts). Given that Guernicus was a Terrae-Mage, and Fenicil's secretive hoarding of books, that should give the sense that this is a rare tome, "those most prized in the Order," even without any plot-hooky knowledge hidden inside the book.
Now, eventually, that secret should come out, given Spider's Palace's role in the Lotharingian movement, if only so Viscaria can use the lab text she wrote for it. But right now, all I need to know is whether or not this is an acceptable identity for the book.
Elsewise, I also picked enough info for Chastity the Silversmith and Patience the Apprentice to enter play. Chastity, as you might expect, is Lecherous. Patience is a bratty kid.
If someone with a Windows-box feels like it, they can randomly roll up Patience, until they get a set of VFs that appeal. I'll tweak the skills it supplies.
Can't seem to find RoP:M, which I need at the moment. So I pause, to contemplate Viscaria's someday talisman, I'm thinking it might be something like this:
etsy.com/listing/93142876/sp ... igree-hand
or
etsy.com/listing/87317511/ca ... t-gorgeous
(Pretending that these would count as "gloves" for Shape/material bonuses)
Description: Gloves/slave bracelets, made of Silver chain links, with medallions depicting a mason’s chisel in bronze on one hand, and a small hammer in electrum on the other. Three attached rings bear stones on each hand: magnet(ite?), red coral and opal. (Should it have three different stones, or six?)
I discovered an interesting potential rules loophole. Every time you open a talisman for further enchantment, you can activate one of the Shape and Material bonuses for spell casting. Major Philosophic Alchemy lets me open a device as a 7-day distraction each season. Theoretically, this means that I could add an attunement every season as a 7-day distraction, limited by the maximum capacity of the Talisman and my skill as an Alchemist. Viscaria would actually be able to activate MORE attunements if she was worse at alchemy.
Currently, her max TeFO is 29 (+3 for Affinity with Terram), and she distills 6 vis/season, which is only 5 attunements in 5 seasons.
(I'm going to punt this loophole over to the ArM forum and see what people think.)
Okay, I'm going to go look for my gorram book again.
I posted a reply on your thread over yonder.
But, to summarize, I think they're using the word "open" to mean two different things in the sections on Magical Enchantments and on Talismans. In the Magical Enchantments, "open" seems to refer only to the initial preparing an item for enchantment, where you put the "material and size"-based amount of Vis into the item so it can hold future enchantments (which you don't need for lesser enchantments or charged items). In the Talisman section, it seems to use "open" to refer to any time you're fixin' to put another magical effect into the talisman. So, imo, I think that rule with Major Philosophic Alchemy refers to opening an item with regards to the Magical Enchantment and not to the Talisman rules.
It seems to me they're using the term "open" to describe any time you are investing Vim Vis to prepare the item to hold a greater amount of enchantment (the max capacity for enchantment of a talisman is your Highest Tech + Highest Form). This is a different procedure than investing an effect into a item.
Tangent: I still cannot find my gorram copy of RoP:M.
Okay, after 2 seasons of Theraphosa working on the lab, I'm hoping the stats would look something like this:
+1 Auspicious Shape +1 Aesth +1 Vim
-1 Diminutive no effect for Size -1 or smaller
+0 Superior Construction +1 Aesth +1 Safety
+0 Dedicated Building +1 Upkeep, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Re
+0 Studio +X Aesthetics
-0 Subterranean +1 Upkeep, -1 Health, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Te
+0 Guard (Vin) +1 Aesthetics
+0 Familiar -( Int 1 + MT 5) General, +1 Items (MT Speciality), (Golden Cord 2 Safety
+0 Silversmith Forge Companion (Patience) (+2 Items)
+0 Superior Equipment +1 general +1 Vis Extraction
+0 Superior Tools +1 Safety +1 Items
+0 Magic Item (Dragon Forge) +2 items
+0 Magic Item (Tentacular Trunk of Many Uses) +2 texts, +2 items, +1 Health, +1 Aeshetics, +1 Au
+0 Magical Lighting (in the same cave system as the other one) +1 Aesth, +1 Tests, +1 Im
I replied over there, too. What's your CrVi lab total? I'm on my iPad and don't feel like running the numbers. MT is 5+1 for enchanting specialty so can instill 12 pawns in a season.
Philosophical Alchemy Lab Total:
Creo 7+ Vim 15(Possible Form Req) + Int 3 + MT 5 + Aura 5 + (S/M+Philosophiae, max MT) 5 + Craft:Silver 9 + Forge Companion 2 + Lab 8* = 60
Lab 8 = Familiar Int 1 + Familiar MT 5 + Superior Equipment (General) 1 + Superior Equipment (Vis Extraction) 1
So, based on what I said in the Ars forum this is where I see it, and of course the rest of the troupe can comment.
Option 1: trickle charge your talisman, losing easy access to it for a season opens 6 pawns based on your CrVi LT. No attune meant, and if you get called away you have to leave the talisman behind as it is soaking up the magic that is being distilled from the aura. Also don't get the opportunity to attune a bonus. This may not be as bad as it sounds, since you could attune a bonus related to an effect being instilled at a later time.
Option 2: standard open& attune as a seasonal activity. I'll point out that at the same time Viscaria can be distilling Vis from the aura.
Wait. So Viscaria IS in Iosephus's sanctum? I thought we'd given that to someone else. I'm quite happy to take it 
No one's arguing with it... Had to go to someone.
Trying to sort out what all we decided about spells:
Assuming that Viscaria can also use this spell to Perdo a trench the size of that "tunnel", then this version is totally fine.
There was quite a bit of conversational drift that occurred around the discussion of Baroque Peasant Hut.
Fixer pointed out that Viscaria has a Watching Ward 10 spell which, being a ritual, can't be less than 20. This gives me an extra 10 lvls of spells to fix these issues with.
Hermetic Projects, pg 122 offers this for our consideration:
Conjure the Mighty Barn
CrHe 25
Base 3, +1 Touch, +3 size, +2 elaborate design
A barn, 100 paces long and wide, 20ft high. Interior determined by the caster.
Switch this to Te, add +1 for stone. No finesse roll required. Leaving me with 5 spell levels, which I'd use to create a Touch version of Wielding the Invisible Sling (ReTe auto-hit spell, damaged dependent on size, default +5 for the stones she's already carrying for the Vilano version)
We can then assume that she'll find a ReTe craft spell during the spell inquiries she makes during 1222. One such spell might be:
Brick By Brick
ReTe 15
Base 2: Rego Craft base. +1 Stone. +1 Touch. +2 group. +1 flexibility (as per the Phantom Blacksmith and Mystic Carpenter, this would let her achieve any Craft:Mason effect using stones).
This spell turns a pile of stones or bricks into a building, using finesse in place of Craft:Mason.
Fixer also suggested:
Shape Dressed Stone
Base 3 + 1 affect stone, +1 Touch + 1 Part => lvl 10 spell to carve a brick from a stone block (or the earth, since using Part). This is kinda easy, the finesse roll might be manageable.
Shape Earthen Brick
05 levels (Base 3? +1 Touch + 1 Part), you can have the same thing to create earth bricks.
(double post)
Lab!
Cost: Paying for 1 major and 2 minor virtues(40bp)
+3 Natural Environment: The lab has been constructed half-in, half-out of a cave at the top of the cliff behind the covenant. (+2 Aesthetics, +1 Aq, +1 Au, +1 Te)
-3 Outdoors: Half of the lab extends out onto the wide rock ledge that hangs out from the cliff. This leaves it very exposed to the elements. (-1 General quality, +2 Upkeep, -1 Safety, -1 Health, -3 Aesthetics)
+0 Superior Construction +1 Aesth +1 Safety
+0 Mountaintop (-1 Safety, +1 Upkeep, +2 Aesthetics, +2 Au)
+0 Idyllic Surroundings (+2 Health, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Te)
-0 Disguised: the entrance to the lab is usually blocked by the raw stone of the wall. It has to be transformed into something else magically in order for Iosephus to enter (-1 Aesthetics)
+0 Spacious: The ledge is wide, and the cave is deep (+2 Safety, +1 Aesthetics) (Free due to size +1 not filled)
+0 Magical Lighting: The cave walls are streaked with seams of silvery rock that shimmer in the darkness when a magus approaches, providing good light whenever necessary. (+1 Aesthetics, +1 Texts, +1 Im) (no space cost)
+0 Lesser Feature : The shimmering, constantly changing stalactites and stalagmites count as a lesser feature (+1 Aesthetics, +1 Mu)
-1 Missing Equipment: as yet, the lab has no equipment for teaching or for binding a familiar. (-1 Upkeep)
-1 Chaotic: The cave walls, floor, and ceiling grow, shrink, shift, and change over time. (-2 Safety, +1 Warping, +1 Experimentation, +2 Mu)
-0 Deformed: the constant shifting of the lab walls often creates strange, inconvenient deformations in the shape of the lab (-1 Aesthetics, +1 Mu)
+0 Guard (Vin) +1 Aesthetics (Possibly 0, due to being Vin Diesel)
+0 Familiar -( Int 1 + MT 5) General, +1 Items (MT Speciality), Golden Cord +2 Safety
+0 Silversmith Forge Companion (Chastity) (+2 Items)
+0 Superior Equipment +1 general +1 Vis Extraction
Build Points: 40
Size: +1 (-1) [650/350 sq ft]
Refinement: +0
General Quality: +6
Upkeep: +1
Safety: +2+?
Warping: +1
Health: +3
Aesthetics: +7
- Specializations (2 activities, 4 arts)
Enchanting Items +8
Vis +1
Experimentation 1
Texts +6
Muto 4
Auram 4
Imaginem 1
Terram 2
Mentem 1
Aquam 1
Impossible Activities:
Teaching
Binding familiar
Red text indicates specialty bonuses which exceed the number of specialties which a lab can have.
Gunthar's Broom is giving a bonus to Health and decrease in Upkeep, rather than providing the Spotless virtue mentioned in the spell it is based off of. Since the spell is an ongoing effect and the item is a momentary duration effect, this seemed like a safe compromise.
The Ordinary Mirror is listed for completeness. The only logical bonus is can give is for texts, which is one of the specialties that don't apply.
The Aesthetics bonus provided by having a Guard (shield grog) on duty in the sanctum may be offset by that guard being Vin Diesel.
I wasn't sure how best to list the presence of Patience, the 6-yr-old apprentice working under my forge companion. Person would decrease Safety, while Servant increases it based on her Int, which hasn't been stat'd yet. The Mentem bonus doesn't apply in either case. In the math provided, this has 0 effect, beyond reminding me she's there.
The first group of virtues/flaws were the lab as designed for Iosephus. The second group of VFs were brought by Viscaria.
Thera spends 2 Seasons in 1222 to install:
+3 Greater Feature, Forge +2 Aesth, +3 Items
-3 Greater Focus, Forge -2 General, +4 Items
I'm unclear about where the bps for this lab are coming from. As I understand it, you spent all of Viscaria's personal bps earlier, or are you shuffling around and planning to Ambulatory Laboratory it here? Remember, this is a 50th level spell, after the Covenant's errata.
The BPs were from Iosephus description, not mine. I have not tracked where they came from, assuming they were part of the initial covenant build.
It seems like we all settled on the CrTe finesse-free version already learned. JL, did you ever come to a decision about the proposed tweaks to my character history to add more finesse training?
Important point:
This needs to be resolved. I could either take Wielding the Invisible Sling (non-finesse combat spell), or I could take a Rego Craft spell:
The Phantom Mason
Base 2 + 1 affect stone, +1 Touch + 1 Part, +1 flexibility => lvl 10 spell transforms a section of stone into a crafted and formed result, as if a mason has worked to the magus's instructions. Per+Finesse roll substituting for the mason's Craft:Mason roll, +3 modifier. (Based on Phantom Blacksmith)
Zoiks!! I knew I was forgetting something. I've reviewed my Inbox and Outbox, and I can't find the last message in that discussion. Do you happen to have it still?