for discussion, creation and advancement of the title character
What I'm thinking in terms of combat style for this character is essentially the School of Ramius, but using the heartbeast. Ideally, I'd like him to lead a pack of other wolves (nonmagical, to bypass magic resistance), and to fight with them as a trained group. He'd probably use a lot of spells on them, however, and that would lead to a lot of warping. So ideally he'd be looking for magical wolves.
Would it be possible to dedicate some post-apprenticeship seasons to seeking out and befriending a pack of magical wolves (don't care about the powers, just something with Might to avoid warping)? Could he take a Flaw like Magical Animal Companion that would provide several wolves? Or would he be better off creating the pack wholesale with a Ritual spell?
That's post-apprenticeship, anyway, so I'll get started on bringing the character to the end of apprenticeship in the first place.
It might be best to figure that his reason for coming to Nogovod is to seek out such a pack, since they don't tend to run in packs of magical creatures through the rest of Europe...
Which covenant do you want to apply to? Sinus Wodinis or Pripet Major?
That makes sense. Do they run in packs in Novgorod? And let's go with Sinus Wodinis.
There seem to be more than one set of wolf characteristics around; the ones from the example of page 23 of HoH:MC are different from the ones in the Book of Mundane Beasts. Shall I just use the latter ones?
Actually, there's also a slightly different set in ML p.141...
Hmm, yeah; that's got a Trip attack, but 1 lower Awareness. Also, both the Mythic Locations version and the Mundane Beasts version seem to forget the increase that the Keen Hearing and Keen Sense of Smell Qualities give to Perception, leaving wolves with only Perception 0...
That is why, for my Animals of Mythic Europe, where I gather the stats of the various animals, I plan to double-check everything. In fact, right now am working on creating an Excel sheet that will calculate it all. That way, even when a quality or feat is added, or a size is changed for a different animal, I will know that the math is correct.
Also, besides the Perception, it's got Survival 3 instead of the 5 the Hardy Quality would give it.
Anyway, using the wolf stats from the Book of Mundane Beasts, Wulfric should now be complete to the end of apprenticeship. The backstory needs work, but that's a job for when it's not some ungodly hour of the morning.
close family ties needs to refer to actual family, not your house.
also the instant packmate is level 35 but you can only finish the gauntlet with spells in CrAn up to level 30
Ahh, okay. I thought it might be okay based on the description of the Ritual of Twelve Years in HoH:MC:
"The ritual is more than a rite that awakens the heartbeast: it also joins the magus to the family of House Bjornaer, much as a cutting, grafted to a tree, becomes part of that tree. Mystically, his parens is now equivalent to a true parent, and sept-brothers and -sisters are as close as true relatives following the rite. Supernatural powers that affect ancestry or descendents (such as the Merinita Target Bloodline) operate now on the Hermetic family instead of the biological family."
I can think on something else to change it to if that doesn't work.
I thought I could get to 35 in CrAn using the magical focus in wolves. 8 Creo + 8 Magical Focus + 9 Animal + 3 Intelligence + 4 Magic Theory (specialised in Animal) + 3 Aura = 35 Total.
I could see that argument working for something like his sept except for the fact that he is literally in the middle of relocating. The entire house is simply too large to be close to as a flaw.
Fair enough. I've swapped it for Hermetic Patron (a group of Ash Guild Bjornaer magi who fear the Order of Odin). That should serve roughly the same purpose I was looking for, and also solidify a reason to head out into the Novgorod Tribunal.
That works, approved
Cool, thanks.
I was planning to move Wulfric some years past apprenticeship (having lived that time at a Rhine covenant) before getting started, if that works. I've not made a post-apprenticeship magus before, so I've got a few questions on that front.
- Is the vis allowance per year the default Magic Theory × 3, or is this in some fashion adjusted for Tribunal?
- Should I use the default +1 Living Conditions and Aura of 3, or figure out the actual Living Conditions and Aura of the covenant Wulfric was staying at?
- Is it possible to Initiate the House's Inner Mysteries in this time, and what are the mechanics for doing so? I'm particularly interested in Sensory Magic, but also in Secret Name and the first two Clan Midusulf Mysteries.
- Is it possible to get someone else to make a Longevity Ritual for you, and what're the rules behind that?
I'm going to have your character advance by standard rules instead of by covenant since you are just entering the tribunal, still limited to guantlet+15 years.
Alright, thanks. Does that mean no Mystery Initiations?
It is a mystery cult so they would be possible.
Excellent. Would I just set aside some seasons for that, and if so, how many? Just looking at Sensory Magic and Secret Name; the Clan ones would probably be more interesting to do during play.
You can arrange one initiation for each meeting of 12 years after gauntlet, the secret name essentially simply exchanges a flaw for the virtue, for initiation of sensory magic the main component will be the creation of the magic item to be sacrificed.