I've tried explaining that to the judge before. He would have none of it.
I have to chime in with Fixer here. There is no general rule about who can assist. Rather, there is a short list of who can:
- familiars
- those who are Gifted
- failed apprentices
- magi who gave up the Gift through Becoming
There are no provisions in the rules for any others being lab assistants. There are ways others can help, but not directly as lab assistants. See things like Greater Horde and Servant in Covenants or Forge Companions in HoH:MC for examples.
Generally I would think allowing any being with Magic Might to be a lab assistant would be a house rule.
I dropped some seasons of advancement in favour of more laboratory time; was easy once I spread out my arts a little. I mustered out, and one of my seasons of lab time I spent inventing one of the spells I'd bought a lab text for.
Wrote up some more back story, too. Hopefully this adds enough for fightmaster to go on 
It certainly helps. 
Could you add the years major events occurred? I'm mainly concerned with when you were in Iberia (the first time), when you were on Crusade, and when you were in the Magic Realm. My companion (Bernhard der Blutig) will probably be a cousin of Vulcanus who joined him shortly after Gauntlet, with an eye to learning a trade that didn't involve hitting people with an axe.
Dates added.
First in Iberia: 1207
Gauntleted: 1216
Crusade: 1220 or 1221 (would have been the Fifth Crusade)
Magic Realm: 1220
I calculated up my CTs, and added spell descriptions of sigil manifestations, and better descriptions of my gear.
Question: the Finesse rolls associated with creo rituals like Conjuring the Mystic Tower-- are those associated with Intelligence or Perception? If they're based on Per, I may need to fiddle with my characteristics... again 
They seem to usually be listed as Int, but perhaps sometimes it's different. I think Int is used for slower, static stuff like that and Per is used for rapid coordination like targeting in combat and careful teleportation. I could be mistaken, and I have the feeling I saw Per used once for this type of Finesse roll, but I know this is how it's written in many cases.
Per + Finesse seem to be the standard for Rego Craft Magic (see examples on covenant p50).
In think a nice variation would be to have Int + Finesse be the standard for Creo Magics, as it gives a different flavor. As callen notes, it doesn't rely on reflexes and all. Moreso, this makes it slightly easier (all things being equal) to Rego Craft magic, which is, IMO, a good thing.
I agree. Int for Creo, as you are picturing the platonic form in your mind. Per for Rego as you are shaping as you observe. I think it should be slightly easier for Creo, as those are the spells that require rituals.
Excellent. Thanks guys.
I like Vulcanus being an absent-minded professor-- I'd be sad if game mechanics made him necesarily less distracted.
I'm not sure if you understood me nor if I understand you, so, just in case: We agree 
And having Int be used for Creo spells helps this, since, on average, magi have higher Int than Per, which means that, all things being equal, they'll generally be better at it
So yay for vulcanus!
Isn't that funny. I'd gone and looked at a bunch of Rego Craft Magic examples in Covenants before writing my reply and every one I saw used Int. 
Isn't that funny. I'd gone and looked at a bunch of Rego Craft Magic examples in Covenants before writing my reply and every one I saw used Int.
Don't bother, worse has happened to me 
I don't mean I misread it. Really, all the examples in Covenants I looked at use Int. Covenants is inconsistent, though it does seem there are definitely more Per+Finesse than Int+Finesse.
A question:
The Damascene Shiv (functions as Crystal Dart), MuTe(Re)10 CT: +28 Sigil: The sound of hammer on anvil, and the dart rises from the ground in a puff of steam**
If I understand correctly, you applied your focus to a crystal dart variant. How so? I've found no other description of the spell, but you don't create a dagger or a sword (which would be perfect), the level would be 5 higher (for metal instead of stone), no? At the very least, you can't call it damascene if it ain't metal Or I am missing something?
** btw, congrats on putting sigil depictions on your spells. I need to do it here. This, IMO, is very flavorful and should be encouraged.
You're right, the name is not warranted, but "The Paleolithic Shank" just doesn't have as nice a ring to it.
A player in a past Saga, who was really good at coming up with spell names, had invented a version of that spell with T: Group and either +2 or +3 to Size -- an entire storm of crystal darts. Called it "In the Shade at Thermopylae".
The name of one of Gardaitis' spells, "Incantation of Spare Lumber", is shamelessly stolen from him too. 
So it's a stone knife? Hum... Major Focus... Ok, flies by me
Awesome name, I love it.