Make the whole thing outta metal or toss in a casting requisite.
As I understand it, only when the instilled effect matches the focus, not the item being enchanted. If you will allow the focus to cover the material and not just the magic going into it, I'll have some thinking to do...
Story flaw, I'd have to drop my vendetta and pick two new minors. And I really want a vendetta, someone has to steal my girlfriend away once I get her!
It says you should not, but not cannot.
I often allow multiple story flaws as long as only one is major. Carmen has Mentor and Close Family Ties for example. The intent is for this to be a long enduring saga, so there is room for lots of personal stories (and the SG could benefit from multiple entangled hooks as well).
Very glad to hear this. I wanted Vocis to have Close Family Ties but didn't want to give up Mentor.
I would totally go for that.
Yes, you were correctly sent to C&G. There is no roll, just a workshop total.
Okay, I'm convinced. I've tinkered to keep the major focus (even though this interpretation is so butch I feel a little guilty about having it), and I'm done. Done-done. For real this time.
Agreed. It gets ridiculous otherwise, and also make "material" foci (say, wood) much better than immaterial ones (say, emotions).
Nonetheless, since it is a Major Focus, some flexilitity is, IMO... I lack the word... There's some wiggle room that I would say NO for a minor focus. So a thing that makes a sword or armor more swordy or armory can certainly be considered.
For exemple: A sword that casts a Ward against Heat and Flames, no. An armor that casts it on anyone it touches, no. An armor that has it as a Personal, constant enchantment (thus protecting its wearer, thus being more of an armor), of course yes!!!
A sword that makes you invisible, no. A sword whose blade can become invisible, thus becoming harder to parry, well, yes.
A sword of armor that throws poison, no. A sword whose blade is constantly poisonous, I'd say yes, too.
Think along RoP:F lines here: If the effect affects the armor/weapon and helps it in its role, it can be considered under the focus, IMO.
Think about creating a lot of swords and throwing them at your ennemies, like this at 0:33
Like Sword from the Unseen Scabard, but range Touch, +1 Rego, Duration Mom, +2 Target Group = lvl 25 for base damage +10 (a long sword doing +9).
As an alternative, take T: Ind, add one magnitude and say that it creates multiple swords that strike only one target, for lvl 20 and Dam +15.
This is less efficient that Crystal Dart, but does benefit from your focus and, more importantly, is awesome looking.
Think about a concentration duration enchantment that makes your blade/handle longer, like sangoku's bo staff 
If swinging it at a far enemy, aside from the range bonus, I can certainly give you a +5 to your strike's damage.
(Oh, and I hope I'm not bothering you, I'm thinking about things you might be able to do and submitting ideas, hoping these will please or inspire you, but I'm not trying to impose anything on you)
Fixer knows my thinking well 
Wiggle room is the idea. It is a Major Focus. Armor with wards: cool.
Swords that ignite or hammers that dischage thunder on impact: also cool. A sword that improves the weilders skill in combat: super cool.
Anything thematic to the function of the item works for me, and I will allow a little elaticity (stretchy-ness).
Fixer, that is great! It's both more broad than my understanding of focuses, and not so broad as what I think Mark was suggesting. Which means it's good enough that I think it's worth taking a major virtue for, without being so powerful that I feel dirty about using it. Thank you thank you 
Fixer is da man!
One more thing-- does Might 10 seem like a good score for my familiar? It's high for a Transformed creature but low compared to most familiars I see in 5th edition. I don't see any need for having a highly powerful familiar (a magus without the Gentle Gift being able to ride a mount is already pretty awesome) but I don't want to worry about losing my familiar to a low level PeVi, either. Should Egon's Might be higher? Should it be lower?
And most importantly, is a destrier familiar appropriately knightly, or would something more combatly on its own merit be more Flambawesome?
My familiar is Might 10. Someone (Arachne?) has a cat with Might 13, which is presumably base Might 10 modified for size. I'd say Might 10 is pretty reasonable.
I say I am proud my troupe is being so moderate. In volume II, one guy munchkined a might 50 familiar, had zero scores in most of his arts and 20+ in just a few, and could not undertand why I thought he was overspecialized. And yelped when I told him he would be refused to challenge an Archmagus because he had no apprentice and was way to weak (and with a 0 in Order of Hermes Lore, I asked how he even knew archmagi existed).
One of the reasons I am being so cautious this time around is that I know I tend to let things slide. I still tend to let things slide. I just try to throw a lot of questions up and encourage other players to regulate me.
Case in point: Familiars. If you would have made might 20 and never said a word, I would not have noticed.
Fightmaster's apprentice: I have not made any definitive rulings. I would have let it slide if they didn't alert me (but another player may have yelled).
A warhorse, since yer German, sounds good. A griffon would by mythic! But they eat horses.
Having a familiar of moderate might will pay off in the long run. I am using core rules for Familiar training. Sorta. The magic animal looses immortality, since they "age as the magus" does. But they are not penalized for learning, so long as their magus is involved (which is almost always).
However, they cannot use the rules for Transformation as other magic creatures can. That's the balance.
I had an idea long ago about Familiar Qualities (similar to familiars from ArM4). This would be a lab project, and would occupy "space" between your Bond Level and Lab Total.
This is something we can all develop together if you guys like the idea.
But later. Much later. Don't put any plans on it.
And who ever heard of a talking horse?
That is of course unless the horse is...
A griffin would be awesome 
I wouldn't be comfortable with that powerful a familiar unless someone else wanted to play him, though.
Every familiar needs the ability to tell his magus to sod off now and again
I'm thinking of a griffon familiar for Carmen some day.
or maybe a falcon...
with Lightning Powers!!!
Oh, this is so kind! Really, my pleasure, I'm really happy to help and if you like it
Might is modified by size.
Considering that familiars are companion-level characters in a medium saga gives might 10 +/- size.
I think that you could say that Andorra is high power, taking Might 15 +/- size, but don't forget that such a horse will be very difficult to bind, so this might not be desirable.
Oh, sorry, lost myself. All that to say that it's OK, IMO.
And yeah, a destrier familiar is "appropriately knightly" IMO and awesome (Here's Helest, Isen's destrier familiar in Bibracte. He's a Flambeau, too).
Oh fuck yes.
But it would be too hard to bind, due to the size (3 IIRC) and might (Don't remember clearly, but definitely more than 15) 
.
Unless he binds he binds a baby/adolescent griffin? It might very well be possible
And that can change to lightning, like the Bjornaer Mystery. Awesome
Eep. I'd forgotten to subtract his size from his final Might score. I'll change Egon to a starting Might of 15 per Fixer's suggestion, as that puts him at 12 might.
Assuming size +3 for a griffin, Vulcanus can only bind up to 16 Might, so probably not feasible. He could bind a size +2 griffin with a 21 Might, but that still seems low for a griffin. Destrier is fine, especially since it fits the knightly theme.
I was reading over the final version of Vulcanus thinking about companions and noticed a few things...
- He doesn't speak any local languages.
- He only has one spell that fits his MMF. Actually, he has very few spells in general.
- His lab score for bonding his familiar is incredibly high. How did you do that?
He doesn't have any reason to speak local languages. Spanish would make life easier but doesn't fit for someone who's spent his whole life at Fengheld.
Regarding his focus-- two spells fit it, Phantasmal Squire and Damascene Shiv. But his Hermetic role is that of an artisan, not a spellcaster. He only learns spells for rituals and for bonuses to lab totals for similar known effects
Lab total for binding familiar: Egon is designed as a ReTe creature, and Vulc is a lab rat. 13+3 Terram, 14 Rego, 5 MT (+1 specialty Terram), 5 int, 3 for Inventive Genius, 5 aura, 7 from Egon's assistance (2 int, 4 mt with specialty in terram). Total of 56. And that will be higher when I muster out and buy my lab.
Behold thearithmetic nightmare of Verditian nickel-and-dime lab totals!