For discussion of anything and everything.

We're not opening things up to public recruitment yet as we still have plenty of work to do, but we have added a new player!  Once I get a name from her, I'll adjust it from the oh-so-original placeholder.

Yay! More players!

Welcome!

If you’d told me that, or given me access to the ooc thread so I could see you say that, you might not have had to wait so long XD

I’ve had Ixchel in my head for a bit :)

Hi there!

Barely in the game, and already mouthing off to me?  Yeah, you'll fit right in! ;)

I was wondering how I’d tell who my big brother was with all the different handles.

Turns out it’s not that hard to find you after all ^^

Oki, more seriously though what can I do to help?

We are getting together a list of things we would like to see developed for the game prior to opening for play, but that isn't really ready yet (we are still arguing about things, ahem, I mean prioritizing) but when it is it will be posted somewhere public.

Until then you can dig into character creation etc. and don't worry about the rest.

Sure thing! I have most of my sheet done, I'll look for a good text template for rpol and drop it in to my sheet once it's done.

Hah!  Glad I'm not hard to find?

So you have a character creation thread, go ahead and use that to start laying things out.  It'll give us a single place to provide any and all feedback.  Everyone has one, so don't worry!

I read the note from Dagda as well, happy to work through character generation step by step there and get feedback.

It will keep me from clogging up your rMail so much too ^^

*Snorts* We'll just find other things to clog it up with, just not Ars talk.

But sounds good!

Bonisagus and I have been discussing a few things and I wanted to share the general outline of what our vision moving forward is.  In no particular order (as I think of them) these are ...

1: Draft & prioritize list of world building stuff that is considered needed prior to play start.

2: Review & put final polish on current material, house rules, etc.

3: Complete character creation for present company, Magi & Companions.

3a: We are contemplating establishing two tiers for Companions, a "High Powered" and/or Mythic Companion tier and a more Mundane/Normal Companion tier.  Each Mage Player would need to make a minimum of one of each tier, each associated with a different Mage (other than their own).  Each Magus can only have one "High Power" Companion in their entourage/retinue.

This is intended to somewhat control power level, enforce scarcity, and give a good distribution of Companions for all the sub-groups around each Magus.

4: Recruit one to two additional Mage Players, as well as potentially several more Players if anyone may be interested in playing Apprentices or Companion tier only, at least to start with.

While I don't want to seem elitist we are both rather of the opinion that Ars Magica is not an easy game to learn to play (much less play well and/or design things well) and that recruiting too many people who were new to the system and unready/unwilling and/or over challenged by digging in to learn the system and setting was part of why our initial attempt to open the game failed.  (Among other reasons.)

To address this we have our present company and desire to add one or two more people who either are of similarly exceptional caliber (ahem) and/or are already well versed in the system as Mage slot players.  Five to Six Magi is a pretty healthy size of Covenant and game, so that also keeps our administrative overhead (for Ars, yes there is this.  There are very good reasons there are two of us.) for the game a reasonable size.

Other people are welcome to join the game (subject to arbitrary recruitment/selection and cutoff at max desired population etc.) but to ease their learning curve they will be restricted to Companions and possibly Apprentices until they are potentially ready for more.  People playing at this tier will be able to make up to one Apprentice and as many Companions as they want, each paired to a different Magus.

5: Play Game, Have Fun, Write Awesome Stories. (And, repeat.)

Obviously this is just an overview of what we are currently thinking and I welcome input from our inner circle here (yes that means you) on refining and achieving these things.

That all feels reasonable to me, and I like the proposal in 3a.

I'm getting the sense of how the game will play, with a troupe of players each playing more than one character of different power level in each other's entourage. Which actually feels more realistic than artificially balancing everyone, which rarely works as well as it sets out to do without making all the options so similar it's really just cosmetic.

But not everyone can do all the things and that's okay. In the other game Bonisagus and I play together, my character would be utterly out of place on the battlefield and his can use all the help he can get at court and courting. His is probably more empirically powerful, but they both have interesting stories to tell.

Please let us know how much of this is "Dagda and Bonisagus" will do, and how much is open for all of the 'inner circle' to contribute to?

2 Probably feels like it needs to be you, but there is hopefully room for us to help with 1.

And 3 and 5 obviously.

I concur with what my esteemed colleague said. Wait, you're not a shapechanger, right?

If you are looking for feedback on 3a, having two tiers makes sense and might allow for other players to join and have a 'more powerful' character as they could play in that tier of companion (possibly). Also good for me as I think Myrna probably falls into that category.

Initial Draft of "Stuff Before Opening" for the review & commentary of the "Inner Circle" at your convenience.

I'm quite open to additions/revisions different directions of thought.  I'd like to work on rounding out/massaging the outline of the list first (to be sure it reflects everywhere we initially want to go once we open, and that we have properly prepared for that.) and then start discussing divvying out the writing.

- - -

Inchmore

- Library (Lab Texts, Book Blurbs)
- (Aegis, Backing/Backers)
-- Temporary Protection/Vis Funding?

Athlone

- Sir Geoffroy
-- Knights, Soldiery, Notables
--- Walter de Lacy, Noble Patron

- Major Districts/Sections & Industries

- Church

- Guilds/Significant Guildmasters

- Witch Coven

- Goblin Market, Night Goblins, Crime

Local Villages/Lands & Lords

- "Lakeside", Inchmore's small (growing?) community on the eastern shore of the lake
- Annaghmore Village (west)
- Agharanagh Village (east)
- Inchcleraun Island (Lake)(Monastery?)

Church (Local/Regional/Ireland)

Notable Lands/Mystic Features (known, within 1/day)

Faerie

- Local, plus Lake & River
- Faerie Nobles/Courts?
- Trod Entrance

- - -

Hermetic Prices (Books, Instruction, Lab Texts)

This message was deleted by the player at 10:08, Sun 06 June 2021.

I know the past couple of weeks have been crazy for everyone, but hopefully everyone's hanging in there?

I think we answered everything for ya Aoife?  If not, just nudge me again.

That said, if anyone has any interest in writing up anything, please let us know!  Boss types laid out some of the very broad things that we're looking for in the near future, but you're certainly welcome to pitch other ideas!  Troupe play and all that!

I think you did too, and I haven't lost any interest.

Just energy, I've been sick and I can't get this last coughing to go away. But I'll get back into creation soon, and do some writing up and stuff.

I'm so sorry to hear that!  And the good news is, we're not in play yet, so there's no need to worry about posts, so you just focus on getting better alright?

Crazy is accurate. Been a crazy few weeks. That is settling down.



I absolutely will. I need to review my previous submissions as I'll probably continue working in that direction. Is the 'World Building Collaboration' thread still accurate?

She liiiiives!

Seriously though, I kinda figured things were insane with ya Leah.  And hey, I'm one to talk.  End of the school year means all sorts of insanity for me.  And I do mean all sorts of insanity.

Finally starting to get into a groove here with the kiddos/summer, but it'll likely be another week or so before I'm back in action as it were.  So yeah, totally understand!

Absolutely!  Everything that's up should be current, as I think I purged everything we didn't want to keep.  But if you have any questions, ask away and I'll happily answer!

Concur.  The Collaboration Thread is a list of topics I could think of that we would benefit from worldbuilding material for.  It isn't however listed in anything like a prioritized order and isn't a list of things that I consider essential for opening for play.  That is a far narrower set of things, started on above.

I've had some crazy times myself lately (The great unpacking continues.  I've now unpacked things that have been in boxes at least four or five years.  The wife says it is like Christmas, only we are getting back stuff we haven't seen in a long time.) and have been less active here than I would like.  The goal however is roughly towards the end of this month or so to have at least all of our unpacking done and "maybe" to get myself an office/quiet space of my own situated.  The office/personal space is one of the things I really need to be able to have quiet/focus to be able to give due attention to something like Ars, so I'm really looking forward to that.

We have some time (hey, we aren't "open for play" for some reasons right now) to iron things out how we want them and start doing world building and adding Companions/Grogs etc.  To make things feel decently fleshed/developed and not feel any kind of pressure to make it all work right now with what we have.  And keep it fun and friendly all as we go.

Without making a specific list (or at least one as specific as the collaboration thread) the things I want before play starts are the "primary elements" of the game to be well covered.  The Covenant/Island, Athlone & the important parts/people who live there, the surrounding immediate lands/lords etc. around the lake, Praesis as our immediate nemesis, and the significant backers of Inchmore in the Hybernian nativist alliance.  Those are the things that seem "essential" to me.  The rest is stuff that will be nice whenever we feel like doing it and/or are starting to head that way in gameplay.

Good to see some life here and I'll be looking to try and show some myself here soon!

We have a new player starting character creation for a Magus.  Please welcome Kavin, and also please don't throw anything until I'm offstage.  Thanks.

Welcome Kavin!

Yes, welcome!

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I don't want to step on any magical toes. Do Aoife or Leah have any areas of magic they focus in that I should stay away from or scale back in?

I think everyone posting a quick little blurb about their character isn't a bad idea actually, so whenever folks have the time, please do!

After the kiddo's birthday this weekend, I'm going to start sitting down and spending a fair bit of time on world-building.  That said I know folks are crazy busy right now, but if anyone wants to call dibs on something, let me know in the thread here so I don't write it up!

For Magi we have the following.

Vorsutus bani Ex Miscellanea:  Mercurian Hermetic Astrologer/Diviner with a general proficiency with scrying and an additional proficiency with Intangible Tunnels and other Vim magic.  Infamous (bad reputation lvl 4) master of curses who does bad things to (annoying?) people.  Overall a Vim specialist focused in ceremonial/high magic as he has evolved at this point.  Played by yours truly.

Faelan bani Ex Miscellanea: An Irish native Corrguineach (Irish version of Hermetic Sahir) who is all about summoning and binding elemental spirits and accompanying elemental magic.  Still in development.  Played by Bonisagus, so he could say more perhaps.

Leah bani Bjornaer:  The lady of the lion heartbeast, magically augmented huntress extraordinaire.  Reputation lvl 1 (positive) as a Hoplite for being a lady who is already known helping out the Quaesitori, and some ensuing baggage/drama there.  Overall her magic is about self augmentation/protection, and sensory boosting etc. for being better in combat and for hunting people/things.

Aoife bani Merinita:  Lady of puissant Auram (weather!) mastery and family ties and resultant political entanglements with Faerie.  Your concept and hers might have some shared motivations in seeking dealings with Faerie?  Faerie Princess out and about in the world on her own now.  Well.  She has us!

Would you care to introduce your concept Kavin?

I may have to take the time to do a Magus Roster with a general description of what all the Magi should know about each other sometime after character creation is fully complete.

I am just starting to build my Magus, but I will share the framework that I plan to build on.

Kavin bani Bonisagus A twisted goblin blooded Magus that has served many masters during his apprenticeship and most of them were not kind. He has learned to bind faeries into to items to power them.

I will make the following world building claims. Once completed if the story guides approve of my work, I will come back for more.

Local Villages/Lands & Lords
- Agharanagh Village (east)

Faerie
- Faerie Nobles/Courts?

I'll lay some world building claims for:

Annaghmore Village (west)
and contribute to Knights, Soldiery, Notables
and to share your Faerie Nobles/Courts (or at least contribute to them) ^^

I'm sure Kavin and Aoife will get along very well, except for when they're arguing about ethics and morals :)

Sounds good to me so far folks!

A request before you do any significant writing, please outline where your head is at/what you're thinking (bullet points is quite fine!) and send it our way for a discussion.  Want to make sure we're all on the same page before anyone goes and does a bunch of work!

Concur.  A rough pitch, which we can then discuss and refine, and then a deeper draft seems a good process for ensuring we all aren't wasting our time.

I'm going to be doing some reading and drafting some bullet points regarding Athlone over the next few days and I'll get the results up where we can discuss the public parts.  As the major city near the Covenant I want to go a bit more in depth with it.

I'm looking forward to working on this, and to seeing what other people are bringing together so I get an idea of what sort of format I'm aiming to do.

Which won't stop me from setting my own examples if I end up finishing Aoife's character generation first :)

I'll lay out a rough idea of what the process might look like tomorrow hopefully!  Have a pretty busy couple of days ahead of me, but knock on wood I should have the time, so I'll try to prioritize it!

So obviously everyone's take on things is very different, but I suggest always starting with a short sales pitch of a couple sentences just explaining in rough terms what you're thinking.  This will let us banter back and forth and make sure we're all on the same page before going forward.

From there, go ahead and start breaking things down into bullet points.

For example, let's say I've pitched something about the covenant of Longmist.  My concept might be something like this:

Pro-Hibernia winter covenant is in the middle of a power struggle between its two eldest mages.  Some of the younger mages are pushing back against the rigid structure/isolation.

Longmist

-Location
--
--

-Cathach
--

-Elder Mage/Faction 1
--
--

-Elder Mage/Faction 2
--
--

-Younger Mages
--

Plot Hooks
--
--
--

Again, I haven't filled it all in or anything, but hopefully you get where I'm trying to go with things?  Bullet points are the name of the game here.  We talk a bit more/finesse things as necessary, then off to writing, and you're done!

Just wanted to let you all know I'm a bit distracted this week/weekend due to a birthday celebration for the wife.  I'll endeavor to catch up with you all soon.

Are we making characters in a bubble or can we share projected spell lists so we can maximize the diversity?

You can share as much as you'd like!  Anything in your thread is private (though anyone making a companion of yours can see it when that time comes), but beyond that, it's up to you just how much you tell folks.

In reply to Kavin bani Bonisagus (msg # 38):

I'm focusing on Auram weather spells, with maybe a few observation/sight spells as well. But I've been struggling enough with the spell creation process that our talented Storyguides have kindly agreed to help translate intention into appropriate syntax and point spend.

I was wondering if anyone already took Aegis of the Hearth and if so at what level? If nobody planned to take it I will, but if I could free up some spell levels that would be cool also.

Our resident Mercurian already has a solid Aegis (I forget the level but it's not small), so you're good there.  That said, having a Communion at 10-20 to assist is always welcome I'm sure.

I think this is apparent, but in case not - Leah is largely focused on hunting, and her skills are specifically tuned to hunting mages as a Hoplite.

Faelan's magic is mostly focused on summoning/controlling/warding of critters aligned to the elements.  Beyond that, he's dipped his toes into elemental magic (though not Elemental Magic just yet, but soon!), starting with either Aquam or Terram, not sure yet.  But eventually, he'll have all four elements at a pretty solid level.

Things have been hectic this week, apologies all.  And with the holiday weekend ahead of us (for any Americans amongst us at any rate), I don't see things lightening up until Tuesday or so.

That said, please continue to work on things, and ask if you have any questions (we're reading everything, even if we don't have the time to respond).  Both Dagda and I will get back to you as soon as possible, we promise!

Back up for air!  I've been out of pocket lately with both the birthday of the wife and then Independence Day... but now we are back in business.

I'd like to welcome a new Maga, Aoibheann bani Merinita, who has joined us as of today.

Aoibheann is special not only because she has The Gift but because she is the last Mage slot character we will be accepting as long as our current numbers hold strong.  If you had a friend you wanted to talk into joining us it just became too late.  (I already talked Bonisagus into playing, so I'm safe.  Or did he talk me into it this time?)

We are however still willing to accept people willing/interested to/in playing Companions, but we aren't actively recruiting at this time.  We have world building to do first, after the initial Magi are complete.

To that effect ... everyone please this week send your friendly neighborhood GMs a PM and let us know what you are thinking and where you think you are in the process.  (I want to make sure we all are on the same page here.)  And if you need help/guidance, please ask.

Also!  Please follow and document the steps as outlined in the character creation guidance.  I care as much if not more about your background text/fluff, and how/why you see your character being/doing the thing (whatever) as I do what your mechanical build actually is.

Ars is both a game strong on mechanics and strong on story, and I want to be clear that we have a heavy emphasis on both as your GM team.

Best wishes for your all and I look forward to getting this thing moving again.

Welcome Aoibheann! I can't wait to hear a a little about your character.

Oh hello, it's a Merinita sister!

I look forward to meeting you (and everyone) In Character... which I guess means I should get back to finalising my character so I can share the fun of helping write setting materials with you!

Back to giving our storyguides plenty of tangled writing to make sense of.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.

Yes, a fellow Merinita. Definitely a musician, and expecting to use Charm Magic. Probably a Hedge Wizard doing significant Faerie Wizardry, but I'm running stuff by the  SG's on that. Faerie-raised with (Strong or regular) Faerie Blood (Cana Cludhmor) - you can see the musical background there. Working on becoming a renowned warrior-mage.

Yes, Aoife, I suspect we'll have much in common. I've been trying to make sure we're different enough despite both being Merinita. I'm definitely more focused on Charm Magic, Faerie Wizardry, and the like rather than on the fae themselves, but I'll definitely be involved with the fae. Hopefully that gives us a few points of common ground without any stepping on toes.

Welcome to the game!

At some point I will reach out to others to work on making connections and possibly adding companions. But I'm not quite ready to do so at the moment. Soon (ish)

Everyone has replies/feedback to work with, so I'll be curious to see how things evolve for all of you.

As for developing connections/ties between characters ... I encourage this!  As much as you like, go hog wild.  Any/all of the Magi are options as far as that is concerned.  You can always find a reason and/or way.  Magi have lots of strange powers for both travel, communication, and whatnot.  As well as the only solid mail system spanning the known world in the Redcaps.  Contact can be made and maintained in the Ars world.

For connections, Aoibheann was among the fae for about 21 years, then apprenticed for 15 years and staying on for a bunch more years in at Vigil. So if anyone spent a lot of early time among the fae or significant time at Vigil, there is a good chance they would have run across each other, or maybe would know each other well.

Among the Fae where?

Aoife spent six years in Faerie, not at the Lakeside trod but one a bit further to the north and west called the Ard na Lir.

Definitely open for a meeting in Fae or even knowing of one another vaguely if we haven't met.

She was born among the Osraighe. She was among the fae near the border of Ossory and Munster.


How far is that from Ossory? I'll have to look through some maps to get a better feel for relative locations. When were those 6 years? Before apprenticeship?


Yes, it's likely two Merinita apprentices at least knew of each other and met a few times. Where was Aoife apprenticed?

Faelan here is a native of Connacht, and one of the Gifted children given to the Order as tribute every few years.  His apprenticeship was in Longmist, though he didn't spend the full 15 years there (for reasons), and parted on extremely bad terms with the covenant (his pater in particular).  There were some rumors to the effect that he didn't even complete his Gauntlet... That said, after leaving Longmist, he spent more than a little bit of time crisscrossing Hibernia doing stuff (not hunting down spirits or the like I assure you!), so there's certainly a rather easy way for him to have met folks.

And really, let's face it, the apprentices of a given 'generation' all likely know each other to begin with.  Especially given how small the tribunal is.

As an aside, I know it's early days, but I'm going to have a whole retinue of spirits that folks are welcome to help design/play when we get to companions.  And the kicker is, I haven't settled on much if anything about most of them, so you'd have a lot of free reign!  Just something to keep in mind for anyone interested in playing a critter with might (or two, or three...)!

Possibly less likely then.

Ossory seems to be SSE from Lough Ree, and the Ard na Lir is North West of it. Also the 6 years were from 28-22 years ago (when she was born there up to the age of 6) so could have been before your time.

May make more sense if they met as apprentices since those probably overlapped more.



Aoife apprenticed at Cliffheart, in the south of Chorcaí. So "knew of each other and met a few times" sounds about right to me, I'm sure the Merinita covenants associate from time to time (and maybe either or both of our Masters visited the other covenant for a year or a season at some stage).

In reply to Aoife bani Merinita (msg # 56):

Yes, location would be a bit off. Aoife definitely doesn't predate Aoibheann among the fae, though. She lived among the fae from about 41 years ago until about 20 years ago. She travelled about between Faerie areas some, but not significantly. Yes, both due to age and location, running across each other during apprenticeship would make more sense.

In reply to Faelan of the Younger House (msg # 55):

I expect you're right about generations of apprentices, especially within a Tribunal or House.

Hmm... Faelan might be just the sort to attach my Companion to when we get that far along.

I'll keep the idea of spirits in mind. Does he have a focus area of spirits, such as elemental spirits.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:08, Mon 19 July 2021.

Just made sense to me, ya know?  Especially given how few mages there are really (and again Hibernia is very small!).  But yeah, gives us plenty of room to develop stories.

Excellent!  Well you're certainly free to make as many companions as you feel comfortable playing, but I digress!

So he has a focus in Magical Realm spirits, so nominally anything along those lines is possible via traditional Hermetic magic; though with Sihr, he is, of course, focused on elemental spirits (again, preferring the Magic Realm).

Even if the two Merinita were not raised in the exact same spot in Faerie, the Faerie Courts even of different Lords and the like have interactions.  So you could posit that they encountered one another in some way during Faerie happenings.  But that is up to you two.

Vorsutus is an Ex Miscellanea from a small tradition of Mercurian descended Astrologers.  His magical lineage therefore is focused on astrological divination and elsewise strong Mercurian ties.  He is no exception being a natural born seer and precognitive in addition to a trained hermetic diviner.  The magic he practices is focused on ceremonial/ritual casting and he excels in particular with Intangible Tunnels for using magic at a distance, in particular with Arcane Connections.

Of the group I believe he is the most "Latin" in magical bent, and is a full Mercurian with a strong Wizard's Communion.  As a Vim specialist he is also capable of throwing a sizable Aegis of the Hearth.

He was born in the Norse-Irish port city of Wexford though he spent his Apprenticeship primarily in Venice though travel is not out of the question.  If nothing else he could easily have had a vision or other sort of prediction that caused him to be at just the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time to create the conditions for a connection.

Definitely. While there need to be a fair number at a time to sustain the Order's numbers, there really won't be that many at a time in any one Tribunal or House. If magi average living about 100 years past gauntlet and average 1 apprentice apiece, that sustains the number if about 1/7 of them have an apprentice at any given time. Said another way, if you lose 1% of your magi a year, then to sustain them you need to gauntlet the same 1% of the number of magi each year, so each Tribunal or house should average gauntleting about 1 new magus a year. There won't be that many apprentices floating around Hibernia with numbers like that.


Well, starting with the one is probably good for now. The idea was a Failed Apprentice Verditius looking to get into ex Miscellanea despite lacking the Gift. Your character sounds like he might be more sympathetic to that situation.


Got it. Yes, most of his would probably be elemental spirits with Magic Might. I'll try to let the creative juices flow.


I was thinking about that during the years Aoibheann traveled more. But with the age difference (ballpark 16 years old with ballpark 2 years old), most likely she would have been a babysitter or similar. However, she could not have done that so well with how she was traveling at the time. But two Merinita apprentices in Hibernia at roughly the same time are bound to have met a few times, though not nearly as much as if they were trained in the same covenant. So we have no shortage of remaining overlap period between apprenticeship and afterward.


Cool! Always good to have someone who can manage those things. Do we have a house rule allowing Wizard's Communion with Ritual spells? I saw a couple house rules about Wizard's Communion.


I'd guess this means the most likely meeting times with him would be after his gauntlet. Aoibheann hasn't ever left Hibernia, so she's certainly gotten nowhere near Venice.

Man says he was apprenticed in Venice, give you one guess what covenant that means... Buncha damn criminals.

As for WC, we both have always played assuming it works with rituals in its base form, but perhaps a clarification (as opposed to a true HR) is due!  So to answer your question, yes WC works with rituals, and there's no need to modify the spell or the like as it's 'special' magic, much like Aegis or Parma.

Awesome, let me know if you have any ideas or just want to chew the fat about spirits!  Same goes for anyone else!

As someone from Connacht and an Ex-Misc himself (with a rep for being a Hedge Wizard), yes, he'd likely be quite sympathetic.  Again, just drop me a line and we can chat whenever you'd like!

And that's more or less our take on things as well mate, so yeah, same page!

I've got some elemental spirit ideas. I'm playing around with personalities fitting for their elements but distinct from each other.


I may adjust away from Failed Apprentice while keeping most of the rest the same. Failed Apprentice is receiving an erratum that changes it significantly. I may just have him have been a Forge-Companion who wants to be much more. But maybe I'll keep Failed Apprentice. I need to examine it with different lenses now.

You know what happens ta squealers don't ya?!?!



For clarification it is my view that the somewhat common (at least in the online Ars community) interpretation of RAW that Wizard's Communion must, as other MuVi effects, be cast with a modified Duration to extend over the entire span of the affected Spell is in a word incorrect.  For two reasons.  One, it is not fully integrated into Hermetic Magic being a leftover of Mercurian practices.  It doesn't therefore have to perfectly comply with the MuVi guidelines.  The fact that it is imperfectly integrated is stated in the Spell description.  Second, it does not modify the other Spell being cast in any way.  The effects of the Spell that is cast are unchanged, at all.  What is affected by Wizard's Communion is the process of spellcasting itself.  This is a very different function compared to the way a standard MuVi effect operates, but regardless ... even if you did require it to have a duration to cover the duration of what it would cover, that would be the spell casting operation rather than the duration of the spell.  I don't see it as necessary or beneficial to gameplay to burden Wizard's Communion with such requirements.

I am not aware of any reason MuVi effects can not target a Ritual Spell, though I'm open to citations/suggestions?  Personally I don't see why you wouldn't allow it?  Spontaneous Spells on the other hand are explicitly prohibited from benefiting from any MuVi effects and I'd posit that Wizard's Communion would be included in that.



You might also posit some degree of affiliation between your respective Faeries, if it is desirable to in some way further entangle the two.

It may be the most likely thing at this point, but I'm open to other options if you have ideas.  Vorsutus returned to Hibernia roughly three to four years prior to the start of the Saga.  He came back seeking to join the Hibernian Loyalists in opposition to the "external forces" and had foreseen (divination/prophecy etc.) something like the fall of Praesis and wanted to prevent it.  He however didn't have the standing to get anyone to listen in the Tribunal at all (or even trust him as it were, given his long absence and recent arrival from the Rome Tribunal), and wasn't able to prevent the siege from taking place or being effective.  That did however change how people saw him and caused him to be included in the efforts to found Inchmore as a Hibernian oriented Covenant ... and that is why he is here, as it were.

In addition to his divinatory/astrological abilities Vorsutus has a variety of scrying spells that stack well with his general facility with Intangible Tunnels.  Also effects for communicating through Tunnels.  He is therefore capable of having interacted or communicated long distance if the circumstances were right (for whatever reason).

The couple of years of deliberation on how to respond to Praesis and then the construction of Inchmore in the lead-up to the start of the Saga at the very least should give all of us time to have had our characters spend a not inconsiderable amount of time getting at least basically familiar and comfortable with one another.  Though I don't expect us all to get along perfectly it should facilitate us all skipping some of the more immediate "getting to know you and your name" phase of things.

I'll spend some time thinking on this and come back with an idea or three soon.

I'm totally fine with that. I can play with whatever rules so long as I know what we're doing.

For clarification on the community end, though, I think you've missed a few things:

• Not only do the MuVi rules now say you need a longer Duration for Rituals, Wizard's Vigil (TTA p.75) says just this specifically in regard to Wizard's Communion.
• There are other MuVi spells/effects that don't really change the spell being cast. Facilitate the Stifled (Form) Spell (HoH:MC p.36) lets you cast without words/gestures (the process of spell casting, which can be altered within a spell). Sharpening the Wizard's Blade of Vim (MoH p.51) increases the penetration from the spell.
• Mercurian Magic is receiving an erratum so that it gives Wizard's Vigil instead of Wizard's Communion because Wizard's Communion doesn't work with Ritual spells.

That's why I asked if there is a house rule on Wizard's Communion.


Oh, that's a great idea. I've got some strong connections and some weaker connections that could link together there in fun ways.

That does give us a few years. Where has he been living these years? Aoibheann stayed on a Vigil for several years after apprenticeship. If he went there, they definitely would have met.

Yes, I'm aware of Vigil and that view of the rules.  I just rather dislike it and consider it a departure from what I'd view as the longstanding functioning/interpretation of Communion (including past editions etc.) that doesn't really seem necessary, beneficial ... or to factor in the aforementioned non-integrated nature of Communion.

This does highlight that Vigil is none-the-less RAW however, so I suppose you are correct that reverting to the unmodified WC is therefore a House Rule.

I do think that Vigil would have been a natural center for planning the initiative against Praesis that became the founding of Inchmore.  Therefore I think while all of that was going on it is likely that Vorsutus, and indeed most of us, spend the better part of a year or two there involved in that plotting and negotiation amongst the Hibernians.

I actually think that Circulus Ruber would have likely been the center of any planning, given their status as the oldest/largest covenant in Hibernia.  But that's just me?  Not that Vigil wouldn't have been involved mind you, as both they and Lámbaird are both staunch Hibernian loyalists.

Anyhow, I've been on vacation all week folks, hence the relative radio silence on my end.  We're starting the drive home today, but won't be back until tomorrow, at which point you can expect my usual postings to resume.

Couple of things worth noting, I've updated the prices on things as per folk's requests.  It's in the Hermetic Culture thread.  Keep in mind we had to invent a lot of these off the top of our heads, so we're amenable to feedback etc.  Also, just because a price is listed for something, doesn't mean you'll be able to find it.  But it never hurts to ask!

Also, as folks start wrapping up mages in the next couple of weeks, we'll start working on other things.  For anyone interested in doing some world-building, we'll get a list up where you can see precisely what needs to be done before play.  It's by no means mandatory, but we highly encourage participation, and it's worth some extra vis and or xp.

Note that Leah is from Circulus Ruber. Anyone spending time there during the last several years would almost certainly know her well.

I've had some difficulties lately due to my office having to be emptied for the room to be worked on.  Pair that with my wife apparently finding it unreasonable to desire peace & quiet in the living room and my ability to focus has suffered a great deal.  And the span of time that the room has been in that state has stretched on much longer than anticipated already.  Regardless ... I am hopeful that inside of the next week I'll have my office back, get it back together, and be able to focus again.  Please bear with me for the delays in the interim.

These things happen mate, no worries!  But suffice it to say, this week we're hoping to hit the ground running and help folks start wrapping up character creation sometime soon(ish).

Leah, I was thinking that CR made the most sense for Faelan to have spent some post-Gauntlet time at, so I'll likely poke ya here in the next few weeks.

I look forward to being poked!

I'm still alive, folks, just been largely buried under RL, uh, stuff. Or I'm barely treading water, or something like that. But definitely alive!

Checking back in with people.  I know I've been absent.  Was down with an ear infection and then my birthday.  Just had the work on my office completed today however, so should be able to get it put back together tomorrow.  I'm hopeful I can play catchup over the next few days and get some closer review and feedback for everyone as we get back on track and start building some momentum again.

In reply to Dagda (msg # 76):

Welcome back, from apparently both the good and the bad.

Alright, after yet more distractions (family in town and resulting exhaustion) I return again.

We are fully aware that things have been more stagnant here than we would prefer they be (and that our/my activity levels (or lack thereof?) have contributed to this) and are looking to get us back on track and redirected to completing the things immediately between us and opening for play.

Here is a brief/condensed timeline for moving forward.

(Note my dates are Monday through Saturday, for turn-ins/completion.)

Week 1 (16 Aug/21 Aug): Complete Initial Drafts for all Magi Slot Characters.

Week 2 (23 Aug/28 Aug): Magi Slot Characters, Revisions and Final Drafts.

Week 3 (30 Aug/4 Sep): World Building, Topics Claimed/Assigned and Initial Drafts.

Week 4 (6 Sep/11 Sep): World Building, Revisions and Final Drafts.

Week 5 (13 Sep/18 Sep): Companion Characters, Complete Initial Drafts.

Week 6 (20 Sep/25 Sep): Companion Characters, Revisions and Final Drafts.

Week 7 (27 Sep/2 Oct): Final Review/Touch-Ups, Open Initial Story Threads.

Anyone who struggles to keep up or complete anything, just be in communication and by all means we will work with you.  That said, we aim to try and get some momentum going again with this game and so as much as possible please try to work with us on moving things forward.

We thus now move into wanting solid final drafts for all Magi completed this week, so if you need anything for completing that get in communication regarding it soon so you have your answers to ponder a few days before you have to write something.

I look forward to seeing what all of these characters look like in their final form!

Alright, we haven't received contact from everyone since our timeline was updated so please bear with us as we make sure we are all on the same page and/or whether we have lost anyone.

I'm still alive! And I intend to continue. Just bear with me a little longer...

Of course, glad you are still with us.

Apologies for being out of pocket all.  Was offered and accepted a new teaching gig at the last second, so I'm suddenly in the process of setting up a new classroom, on top of adjusting to teaching two entirely new topics, and a new grade (slightly outside of my usual wheelhouse to boot).

Anyhow, I should be around, just a bit more radio silence than usual is all, so bear with me please!

We are alive.

Isle of Wrath will be soon as well.

I'm looking forward to getting things going here and the aim is for that to really seriously start being a project for us all next week.

We are currently reevaluating things and trying to make a clear set of decisions about what we need to accomplish prior to opening for play again.  If any of you would like to comment (or just to chat for that matter) by all means we welcome discussion here.

Thank you for still being interested in being a part of our Troupe.  We hope to gratify your investment in us as much as it has gratified us.

Yay!

I'm going to have to go back and reexamine my character, as I don't remember some stuff and I think I wasn't quite finished. And you may change things relating to that anyway. I'm totally fine making a character from scratch and can do so relatively quickly. Whatever works best for you all.

Thanks! Glad to hear you're alive.

Yay! I spent time rereading all my character creation stuff. Thank goodness for the character threads!

I’m ready to return whenever you decide the board is green.

Yes, you're right. Those threads are handy. Looking back, creation had paused at a point where it was decided we weren't happy with some canonical examples, and those affected my initial Virtues. So at the minimum I'll have to go back to rework this character, or I can make a fresh one.

I should probably wait to see what others are doing. I'm perfectly happy to adjust to fill niches. It sounds like we have Lioness Bjornaer Hoplite for sure still with us.

Yes, the huntress is ready to stalk her prey. Or bad wizards. Which I guess...is her prey.

Are you heading into (or already have) Inner Heartbeast? Lion's are already fabulous, but I'd be curious to see a winged lion or the epitome of a lion or similar.

Our current (slightly smaller) line-up is the following:

Leah bani Bjornaer  (Lioness Huntress & Hoplite)

Aoibheann bani Merinita (Auram + Faerie Entanglements?)

Faelan bani Ex Miscellenea (Bonisagus is thinking about ideas and may be revising soon.)

Vorsutus bani Ex Miscellenea (Astrologer/Diviner, Mercurian Ritualist/Ceremonial Magic specialist with a penchant for intangible tunnels, scrying, and Vim in general.)

We have a new recruit working on an RTJ who will likely be joining us shortly as well, but hasn't been added into the mix yet.

I will need to do some rereading before I answer that, but from memory it's going to take Leah some time before she's able to get to Inner Heartbest. Can't remember if Winged Lioness or Gryphon was on my mind when looking at it.

I remember discussing Gryphons and the fact that they are murder birds in their stat-block and how it seemed fitting given a lion as a base heartbeast.

Leah the Murderbird has a nice ring to it as well.

Everyone please take some time between now and Sunday the 1st and review as much of Isle of Wrath as you have enough motivation for, and submit any suggestions, inconsistencies, or just plain observed typos as you care to write up for us then.  No pressure or production expectation by any means but I intend to take time next week to review/edit and plan our way forward to opening.  Thoughts and data constructive towards that end as we head into it could be helpful.

Howdy all!  Life has been kicking my butt this past week, but tomorrow appears to be the end of things, so I'll be able to get back to work on breathing some life back into the game.  Dagda will continue to be rather quiet through the end of the week, but after that, things calm down for a bit, so he'll do the same.

That said, if you need either of us to look at something, please go ahead and nudge us!  Even if you already have and we haven't replied.

That's cool. Life kicked my butt for the last few weeks, and I'm finally through it as of yesterday. Yay!

I have one thing occupying me for tonight, after that I have a break.  So I'm looking to get into this and get it up and running starting tomorrow.

Alright folks you have my undivided attention in the near term.  Lets get things moving.

If any of you have any questions I don't address in a PM this evening, PM me to remind me what you need and you'll get my attention soon!

Prioritize anything that would be between each character and being ready for play.  Bonisagus will be taking a look over all the characters soon for that precise purpose, so we can focus on getting each character playable.  We can work on world building as we all have time and inclination after the game is open.

I've been considering consolidating a list of all approved spells in the game into a public listing.  The purpose of this would be to ensure that everyone can see what the interpretation of the rules looks like (and weigh in on it as the case may be) and likewise be informed when conducting their own future designs.

The downside of course is that there is no mystery or privacy as it were about what our respective Magi can do.

I'm open to opinions and the feelings of the Troupe as to whether this is seen as desirable or not?

I'm fine with the openness. Honestly, we can probably give each other a helping hand more easily this way. There are a lot of twists and turns to the rules, and I'm not above asking for (or receiving) help with better spell design.

It's probably a lot easier to have all approved spells and item effects in one spot. It adds to consistency and gives quick reference for building more spells or for checking on the use of a spell. So it's probably beneficial for everyone. I don't mind at all if others see what spells I have.

If you want to maintain a little secrecy without losing out on the value here, you don't need to list variants that follow the core rules that say you can change up R/T/D freely (except in cases like AotH) and just adjust the level accordingly. For instance, there really isn't a need to include a R: Sight version of DEO in a list of accepted spells.

Alright, I've made the approved effects listing and started putting things in there.  I haven't gotten everything yet and some of you are revising/drafting and therefore incomplete so I'll wait for the dust to settle first.

Checking in with everyone.

Bonisagus is going to be doing a review of sheets/concepts for mechanical issues / readiness for play (for those that are close or already there) soon.  We can perhaps expect some things to address coming out of that process.

Aside from that I'm thinking plot hooks/concepts to open play with.  In reviewing things I don't think we are "that" far away from being able to engage in just some basic play (even with some "undefined" things on that map as it were) and get us up and moving.  I don't want to lose your interest by us seeming inactive however mechanically I think we are mostly in a pretty good position.

I am thinking of opening with two or three roleplay threads here soon focused on different groups of characters where we all can participate in all of them.  If any of you have any suggestions for such introductory threads by all means post them.

I'd like to fill in the "Known Reputations" thread with some additional reputations for NPCs etc.  To that effect I'd like everyone to make a few contributions of concepts for the list to avoid it being overly burdensome to write.  The idea is fill in some background for our setting with notable figures, but also figures we might actually like to use in a story in some way.  So think carefully about your entries and consider the elements you include in them something a vote towards having stories that might involve such elements in the future.

Please submit the following in PMs at your convenience and I'll combine, edit/revise, and update the main list.

- Two noteworthy Magi of Hibernia, whether they are Hibernian or Continental in affiliation, and what their significant reputations are and their causes.  (Someone can have more than one reputation for different causes and/or especially amongst different groups.)

- One noteworthy Magi who is famous in the Order significantly enough that they are known far and wide, not just in Hibernia.  Where is this Mage from, where are they active now, and why are they so famous?

- Two non-Magi (Mundanes/non-Gifted) with Local Reputations significant enough to draw attention.  Who are these people and what brings them to be so spoken about?

- One noteworthy non-Magi (Mundane/non-Gifted) with a Local Reputation significant enough that people speak of them throughout Europe (or indeed the world).  Who is this person, where are they from, where are they active now, and why are they so very famous?

Please note that you're not required to make up Magi for this, you're more than welcome to use some of them from the tribunal book, etc.

And again, just drop me a nudge if you want me to look at something mechanical folks!

This looks like fun, though do you want us to start with the Magi from our history first? For example, Leah has her entire sept in the local area somewhat described in her history.

A senior member of her Clan and/or House are obvious choices for additional information from me.

Would be great if you did!  Certainly makes our lives easier when it comes to the future and all that.

Characters from your history/background would be fine if they are also suitable to be famous at a given level.  If want to write up something about major characters in your backstory to fill in things you are welcome to do that and perhaps put it in your character thread.  But the Reputations thread is specifically about people who have a Reputation/Fame of sort and discussing that.

So....how many full Magi would not have the level of fame to be included? I really don't have much basis to understand fame levels.

The basics of Reputations are on ArM5 pg 19.

For reference Famous/Infamous both give a lvl 4 Reputation and Hermetic Prestige gives a lvl 3 one in the Order.  A lvl 4 "normal" reputation then makes it almost a certainty that someone has heard of you in the same town, likely they have heard of you in the same county/province, and possible that someone has heard of you if they live in the same Country.

For Hermetic Reputations a lvl 3 makes it highly likely anyone in the Tribunal knows of you, and roughly even odds that someone from a different Tribunal has heard of you.

I think for both sets of purposes those are fair rough guidelines (lvl 3 to 4 reputations) as minimums for inclusion in this list.  Leah made the list anyway by merit of being a PC with a Reputation and therefore I thought the other players (who being in the same Covenant would without doubt know) should be made aware to roleplay accordingly.

Hope this helps!

So, maybe something that would help is understanding just how many full magi there are in the entire Tribunal. Might help me with reputation judgment to understand if there are 100 of us, 1000 of us, 10,000 of us...

Check the Mythic Hibernia thread, it's at the bottom! Both Hibernia and the Order as a whole.

90 is not out of line for the relative size of Ireland and for an estimate of the entire Order being at roughly 1,500 or so.  Also Ireland until recent times has not been a highly desirable place to non-Irish, simply because of distance/remoteness.  It is largely considered a geographic, cultural, and educational backwater by mainland people.  Which plays no small part in the Continental movement to "civilize" the Peripheral Code of Hibernia.  So that plays into it being both a smaller and less populated Tribunal, while being more "wild" and full of magic/creatures/vis etc.

As the Reputation chart shows the Order is a smaller community than the broader Mundane world, and a lower rating of Reputation carries "farther" for that reason.  The Mercere maintain contact with every Covenant and regularly (at least a few times a year) bring the mail.  Magi are not unknown to correspond with someone in another Tribunal who say is an expert in a topic they are interested in, or good at making something they would like to buy etc.  The question is whether someone has done something worth writing about.

Okay, but, wouldn't it be relatively safe to assume that every mage in Mythic Hibernia at least knows of every single other mage in Mythic Hibernia? It's only 90 people, we meet regularly, and there are a lot of great reasons to know them all (including Leah's 'job') and very few good reasons to avoid knowing the other Magi.

Regional Tribunal meetings are once every seven years.  Grand Tribunal meetings are once every 33 years.  Regional Tribunals "can" be attended by any Mage in the Tribunal, but don't have to be.  Generally every Covenant will send at least one representative and any Magi who don't attend can proxy their vote to the representative.  Covenants with leadership positions in their Charter sometimes will proxy their votes to their leader and send them as representative.  Sometimes not.  Tribunal meetings are something some Magi look forward to and something others dread and/or detest or consider burdensome.

Some Magi are not overly social and are not eager to get entangled in the politics surrounding Tribunals and the attempts to use their rulings for advantage.  Others are just obsessive about their work and don't take a great deal of notice.  Some are eager to be involved in the broader world of the Order.  Others participate only to try to ensure that the Code and the rulings of the Tribunal are not abused or do not disadvantage their Covenant in some way.

Some Covenants, despite being in good standing and abiding by the Code, are (in)famous for never sending representatives or proxies and largely ignoring the outer world much like a monastery/cloister if you will.  These are not the norm, but they certainly exist.

Which the short version then is that despite being a relatively smaller group of people they do not meet regularly, or even in their entirety, and are geographically separated to a degree that is more significant in such a low technology environment.

There is a much better chance of at least "knowing of" someone in your own Tribunal (and the chart reflects this) but it would be by no means guaranteed.

The "fog of war" of such times is much greater, and some Magi cultivate on purpose even if they desire to stay in good standing with their Covenant/Tribunal.  Others are much better known for a variety of different reasons.

We're all also supposed to have a Reputation 1 if we went through macgnímartha, right?

I'm at least writing up reputations for Dalton Ballaugh an Flámbó. I haven't figured out the other specifics yet.

All Irish Magi who completed their Apprenticeship in Hibernia with a macgnímartha get a level one Reputation, yes.  Declare it in your character thread and we can discuss it.

I'm still having a hard time with how the fiction translates to Reputation.

As an example, everyone in Leah's sept would attend every gathering of the magi, are somewhat cliquish, but have every reason to get to know everyone that attends. They are likely known by any mage that isn't a recluse. More, they are spread out among several Covenants (indeed, none of them share a covenant once they are full Magi) and likely work to create harmony where possible.

How do you translate that into Reputation?

A Reputation is directly "for" something notable.  They do not simply explain who might have heard of a given character, they also stipulate the nature of what they have heard if that is so.  This would be related to the Reputation itself and the score both.

We can use what we have in the thread so far for examples.



These are just basic listings for now, but can/should/will be expanded with explanatory notes/writeups.

Regardless from these we can say that if someone has heard of Leah they have most likely done so by being told about one of the events she has participated in as a Hoplite.  Thus what someone has heard of her via her Reputation would indicate that warrior slant to her, her affiliation with "Law & Order" in the Order, and her general eager participation in things that she sees as "for the good of the Tribunal" as it were.

That doesn't mean then that people know what her heartbeast is (though as the rating goes up, and she uses in fights etc. they might) or what her Bjornaer Clan is, or any number of other details.  Because they aren't super pertinent to her Reputation.

Vorsutus is famous in the Hermetic sense for the power of his divination and visions, and the consistency with which he is able to provide accurate information with both.  In particular he foresaw the siege of Praesis and tried to stop it but wasn't taken seriously until it was too late.  Since his reputation as a seer/oracle has grown given the vindication of his visions etc.

Mundanely his reputation as a "vindictive master of curses" is directly because he retaliates against any slight or insult he receives from mundanes ... and since he has the Blatant Gift, that is a lot.  He actively takes revenge and punishes those who he deems to have mistreated him whether it is the fault of his Gift or not.  And word spreads.  Does that make everything said about him due to that reputation accurate?  Likely not.  Likely some people think he is far worse than he is because of that.  But he does do things, concrete things, that have generated that reputation and cause it to be reinforced and spread.

You don't "have" to have concrete behaviors backing up a reputation, but if not it should be explained in some other way.  The normal rules for how Reputations are acquired and increase revolve around gaining "xp" using the Ability chart for each deed that reinforces the reputation.  This is the customary way and means most reputations are based on some notable series of acts and/or displays of noteworthy qualities/abilities that then become something people talk about.

Hopefully this is helpful but if not by all means I'm open to further questions.

This is helpful, thank you.

Back to contemplation now.

Where do we stand with Companions? Are more needed/desired?

Good question!  Yes, we'll ideally be looking for a companion for each mage.  As it stands, I think our two mages going through reboots/tweaks are the ones lacking them at the moment.

Speaking of reboots, making some adjustments to Faelan for everyone's sanity.  As much as I love playing summoners and want to lean heavily into the concept, I've been on a hedge wizard kick lately.  Especially since we're in Hibernia.  So Faelan is being adjusted to be a Trollsynir (Gruagach), Gallowglass (look 'em up if you're bored, they've got a really interesting history in Ireland).  Still a member of Ex-Misc mind you.

Wanted to check in though and make sure that everyone was alright with the change.  Don't want to step on anyone's toes.  Niche protection and all that!  Thankfully we're almost never running around as a giant group, so that helps, but still.

Currently we have the following:



Everyone should play at least one Companion, but can play as many as they like.  So Faelan and Aoibheann should start perhaps with playing one for each other to hit their one minimum apiece as well as spread the wealth so everyone has at least one.

But there is no limit.  Once we have concepts for those two and minimums are met, if anyone would like another Companion I think I'd be open to making one more.  I don't think I'll want to go beyond that since I'm also ASG.

Also we have a recruit in the wings who is still working on their concept and whatnot, but is applying to play an older but new Apprentice.  More on that as it develops.  They however will also be playing at least one Companion.

If any of you have ideas for Companions you might like to see or play either one, that is a prime discussion topic.

So I think a large part of the potential concerns here fall into two basic areas.  One is playing a more powerful variety of Gifted Hedge Magic tradition that has nonstandard capabilities and at times will "break the rules" of what we expect magic to be capable of.  But at the same time ... they can't do Hermetic Magic and are correspondingly much more narrow even if they are more powerful than other Hedge Wizards.  The only modification to that Hedge Tradition we are making is doing away with the restriction on tattoo magic to play an unmodified Gruagach as the Norse Trollson tradition.  That just comes from our mutual agreement that it seems inexplicable and not tied to lore as a restriction.  As a member of the Ex Misc. they have access to the Parma Magica, but otherwise are a straight Gruagach as written.  Balance-wise ... there are potential areas of concern, but overall I think Hermetic Magic is still more directly powerful most of the time.  If people have concerns I'd readily discuss them.

The other concern is that we seem to have (mostly) a group that is geared towards being able to fight (no objections there) and whether that puts the character too squarely into overlapping with everyone else.  This I think is something that is very perceptual and individual.  My only hesitancy there is whether the BSG's character should be too combatively dominant if you will.  But I don't think that is really the intent of the character either.

Gruagach are among the more powerful hedge traditions and ... always have been.  But bearing in mind this is a Magi slot Gifted character I think some oomph for the main character of someone is ok.  Every other mage has their own oomph as it were.  8P

My two cents.

Sounds good. Faelan, I'll look into Trollsynir (Gruagach) / Gallowglass to see if that gives me any particular inspiration for a companion.


Or we could rotate between the three of us (Faelan, this other, and Aoibheann).

I'm not sure I understand what this means.  Rotate what precisely, for clarification?

I'm guessing companions.  That said, I don't think an apprentice necessarily needs one just yet.  That and our would-be magus hasn't officially joined, so let's stick with things as they stand for now.

Perfect, feel free to bounce ideas off me anytime!

That said, if there's anything you'd like to see out of a companion, please let me know!

I was rushing so I wasn't very clear. Player A companion for Player B's mage, Player B companion for Player C's mage, Player C companion for player A's mage to make a loop so that everyone is covered on both ends with a single companion apiece.

I think I agree to leave them out of any rotation until they get far enough to be added to the game etc.

In our current composition once the minimums are in place I'd say any additional Companions will be voluntary and should be both for another Magus and for a different Magus than the existing Companion.  To spread out the involvement with the game and the types/composition of scenes that each person participates in.

I think that's a great plan, Dagda.

OK. Sounds good.

Hope you all are doing well.  We are still doing things here and I wanted to be sure you were all aware.  Bonisagus and I have both been busier than desired (for different reasons) but are still putting in work here where time will allow.

On your end as players there is still the finishing up all characters to be ready for review/approval and the reputation submissions.

If anyone wants anything from/with me, please PM me to ensure it comes to my attention specifically.

Apologies for the radio silence all, but it's the last few weeks of the school year, so life is rather hectic.  That said, I'm doing as much offline work as possible, so I should have some stuff to share here in a bit.

The new thread with information on Praesis is intended to set the stage with the basic information that you should all know about our less than friendly neighbors.  Any questions or suggestions about what is there or further content are welcome.  (And as ever contributions to world-building are welcome and rewarded.)

Cool. Thanks. I skimmed it.

Now that my family is coming out the far end of what was probably a Covid infection, I should be able to start getting back to things.

Glad you & company are doing better!

We just graduated our first class ever yesterday, so life is slowly starting to calm down.  Just conferences this week and a little bit of PD, but I should have a lot more time than I have for the last month or so.  Doubly so when break starts in a week.

All this is to say, thank y'all for being so patient with me, and things should pick back up here soon!

Yay. Congrats.

On my end, I've just started making it through days without getting totally wiped out by fatigue. Covid hasn't been so bad, just a persistent bugger.

I'm going to school and working full time and think I overloaded myself a bit with classes this session.  At least to the extent that I have had not much free time to spare.  In a few weeks when this set of classes ends I'll have a lot more time to give as well.

This game is very much still in my thoughts, I just need sufficient time to give due attention/quality to posting for it.

This feels like an open invitation to start badgering you with questions again. :)

Always.

Well I've survived the school year, which means I now have spare bandwidth to focus on the game.  I'll get to work today or tomorrow and hopefully have character creation done this week.

I just got active again on RPoL less than 24 h ago after catching up on life after Covid. So your timing is good for me. I've got more written to add to some posts...

Still in the throes of class overload for a few more weeks.  But the light is at the end of the tunnel, kind of.  But looking forward to getting more time to devote to things here soon!

How's that tunnel lookin', Dagda? End in sight? Endless? Actually a path to a different dimension?

Hey!

I'm on the other side now.  I was just totally burnt out at the end (two final exams in one day!  I took off work to study/review and do them and still finished late at night) but am glad to have moved on from those three and am now only carrying one until the end of the term.  I've just been recharging since to be frank, but I think I'm starting to get there.

Bonisagus and I were just talking earlier today about this game and that it is time to start giving it some attention.  I'm going to start rereading through things and getting a feel for it all / my mind working on it all again.

If you have any questions (or even just things you want to work on/discuss with me) by all means post here or in PMs and it will get my attention!

Yup!  We're going to be having a quick chat tonight and figure out a gameplan of things that we want done before getting the ball rolling and play started.  So expect something to that effect in the next few days!

I think my post got eaten by the internet.

Yay! Glad everyone's good. I wasn't sure if things were over or not. I'll check to see what I have to complete. I know I was waiting on a double-check on Aoibheann before finishing the next bit.

Alrighty, we talked and have a gameplan!  As always, feedback is appreciated, so please feel free to add your two cents!

Monday the 25th - Mages completed.  Most everyone is more or less here already, so it shouldn't take long.  In fact, I'm the biggest slacker on this front.

Monday the 1st - Companions completed.

Monday the 8th - Reps submitted/Additional world building finished (as necessary).  Quick refreshers about the rep bit.  Think of them almost like plot hooks of a sort?  These are things that will be out there in the world for you to potentially interact with.



Monday the 15th - Final pass completed and threads go up.

Cool. Yay! Thanks.

I'm currently running about a day behind.  Had a much busier weekend than expected so I had little to no free time, unfortunately.  That said, barring a significant disruption, I'll be done by this evening.

That said, we'll start reviewing characters in the next day or two and let folks know if we have any questions.

Hello folks!

I'm here, I'm re-reading all the things, and will be starting a closer look at Magus Tier characters here in the next day or two.  If you have any issues you want specific attention on please PM me for more immediate results.

Bonisagus and I have been discussing everything from his concept to our initial staging of the game and opening plotlines, so rest assured that there is action and attention on things even if it isn't all immediately visible just yet.

I'm looking forward to getting this thing in motion here soon in the next few weeks!

Yup, what the boss said!

I am moving slower on my Mage, apologies, but I was running a Gruagach, and after building him, we agreed that it opened up WAY too many cans of worms as it were.  So the concept is still the same, you'll just have a Gentle Gifted Jotun Blooded Gallowglass Jerbiton zipping around on a longship is all.  Which makes things easier in a number of ways actually.

Once that's done, Aoibheann, I owe you a companion.  Any preferences as to what might work best with your magus?  Just want to mull things over for a bit.

I still don't know Gruagach well, so I'm not even sure what can of worms you're worried about, but a Jerbiton is certainly easier. Alluring to Humans sounds really scary.


Definitely pro-Irish. :) Someone capable of introducing her would be handy, but that mostly means not Gifted. She can defend herself and an ally pretty well, so she doesn't have shield-grog requirements but could make a shield grog powerful soon. She can provide mounts for a friend, too. So anything that sounds interesting to you given what she can provide. Could be a friend from Lámbaird, which leave a lot of flexibility. And, of course, she's plant-focused, though she might mostly over-shadow a plant-focused friend unless designed with some things Hermetic magic can't handle well.

Sounds good, I'll get to work here shortly!

Speaking of work, we're about a week behind where we wanted to be, sorry all.  Lots of personal insanity right now, but we're slowly chugging along behind the scenes.  Finally got a finished draft of Faelan completed mechanically, so I need to get to work fleshing out the last bit of his backstory tomorrow.

Once that's done, there will be plenty of time to get your companion done my friend!

Cool. I'll keep moving along with things.

Another thought for a companion is someone who would want to tag along with someone expected to be a hero for whatever reason.

I just finished a trip to Ireland, which included traversing much of the island by car. Should we start back up again, I'll have a lot more understanding of the history, geography, and culture to bring to the game.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Sounds like it was a great trip if it's so inspired you.

If this game restarts, I'm here.