A did a quick search and this question does not seem to have come up recently, so I hope I am not reposting.
My question: what is a tribunal gathering and a grand tribunal like? How do you GM them? How long do they last? My group is currently in the Rhine tribunal, btw, and I did check sources I could get my hands on. The characters are currently apprentices with players who are learning the game, so I wanted to let them taste a tribunal without having to worry about the nuances. Currently it seems to me that:
During normal tribunals:
There are hermetic fairs where valuable materials like special inks, ingredients, etc. are offered, mostly, I assume, by mercere and verditius magi.
Local laws are debated in the forum.
Criminal cases are debated in the forum, á la Ting system.
Trade deals are sealed for books and artefacts.
Colloqium meeting, if it is in the given tribunal.
It is hinted that there are often contests.
I assume there is a small feast in the beginning or the end.
I assume magi generally try to attend unless they have pressing business, but less sociable magi who have no buiness there may skip it, meaning probably about fifty to sixty percent of all magi go in an average year.
During grand tribunals:
There is a grand feast prepared by mostly Jerbiton magi.
"Global" hermetic laws are debated in the forum.
There are contests.
I assume there is also trade, probably on a grander scale.
I assume no criminal cases are discussed, because the grand tribunals are not for that purpose.
I assume the vast majority of magi try to go personally. Even for an average magus, a grand tribunal is a thrice in a lifetime event. I would say it is reasonable to assume, that about eighty percent of all magi in the order appear.
Did I miss something? Is there any source which actually details what happens during a tribunal or grand tribunal meeting?
We are currently going through our local Tribunal, where most of what you say is going on:
Pre-Tribunal:
-Magi showing off
-Contests between magi, between grogs, athletic events with field Redcaps.
-Trade in magic items (via samples and contracts, mostly)
-Trade in mundane and exotic items, most especially books.
-Quaesitorial Private Hearings and consultations
-An employment fair, with young craftmasters looking for employment in a new covenant.
-A marriage fair. It's good to stir the bloodlines.
-The Feast of the Coven, where grogs and consors are given a hearty and excellent meal and entertainment. Some magi attend.
-The Feast of the Magi, a more magical event.
-The Aegis of the Hearth for the Tribunal, for officials only.
-Practice for the opening night ceremonies and rituals.
-General socializing and establishing and reestablishing friendships, gossiping, rumor-mongering, and so on.
-General arguing and reestablish old enmities.
-Meetings of House and Mystery Cults, although usually nothing major.
-Short lectures, mostly to increase interest in your latest tractatus, also to make a display of your interests, although one of our Bonisagus magi is about to give a lecture on a subject to forestall being bombarded and dropped-in-on.
-Jerbiton showings.
-Verditius showings.
Pre-Tribunal political maneuvering.
(And, in my case, a murder mystery.)
And that's before the Tribunal starts! I figure the travel and actual nights of Tribunal will eat enough of a season to seriously impact lab work, so magi are in no great hurry, so long as they make it home in time for the next season.
You'll note we have some mundanes attend, but only proven grogs/covenfolk and select companions.
The Redcaps are generally very busy operating the Tribunal end of the meeting, with the hosting covenant dealing with site matters. I have Redcaps running around and dealing with magi, with local covenfolk trying to keep these strange guests from far-off foreign places (fifty miles away) satisfied but under control.
I regard the lectures as a way to drop clues about events and experts to be consulted.
Is there a way for people to get access to the old Mythic Perspectives fanzine? There was an IIRC good series of articles in the first three issues about tribunals.
The article in Sub Rosa about tribunals talks about the activities before and during a tribunal, and how you can run a session as a tribunal, giving other players the chance to play representatives of other covenants. It's a good time, I've done it twice.