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23:59, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

OOC Discussion.

Posted by Alpha SGFor group 0
Player 3
player, 18 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 19:45
  • msg #151

Re: Covenant locations

In reply to Player 13 (msg # 145):

Somewhere around Ouled-Naïl Mountains would be great. Not too far from either Berber or Tuareg, but also not too far from civilization and sites my Bjornaer would be interested in.
Alpha SG
GM, 30 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 20:00
  • msg #152

Re: Covenant locations

Others have posted the limits and costs. Thanks.

Yes, we're grouping as covenants to give people a chance to coordinate as a covenant.
Player 4
player, 29 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 20:01
  • msg #153

Re: Covenant locations

I was looking at site in Tassili N'Ajjer National Park (for no one in particular I just always look in National Parks for magic Auras). Apparently it has a lot of caves and cave drawings. Maybe good for the spirit guy? Ghosts? Or maybe in ME there are still practitioners there.
Player 3
player, 19 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 21:08
  • msg #154

Re: Covenant locations

Yoo, Egypt actually has a legit Adventurer's Guild!?

I know which one of my Companion concepts I'm picking!

(Edit): Holy shit, there's more! LotN Page 47 has the following insert:

Use Whatever You Like
"If you have earlier Ars Magica supplements,
traces of many of the hedge
magician types described in them can
be found in Egyptian relics. Egypt has
such deep history that a roughly parallel
version, weaker in some aspects
and more potent in others, to virtually
every other magical tradition listed in
preceding Ars Magica supplements, can
be found somewhere in the ruins that
line the Nile. Even groups like the trollblooded
magi of the frozen North seem
to have parallels.
In that case, there
were similar mages among the servants
of the ancient desert spirits."

I mean, I knew there were Egyptian variants of Learned Magicians, but local variants of Trollsynir?
This message was last edited by the player at 21:27, Thu 25 Feb 2021.
Player 6
player, 17 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:24
  • msg #155

Re: Covenant locations

Player 11:
In reply to Player 8 (msg # 43):
Monster Hunters / Menagerie
Player 6 - Criamon Animal Ken (Beta SG)
Player 7 - Tytalus Shapeshifter (Beta SG)
Player 8 - Merinita, Strong Fairy Blood, Shape Changer


Now am thinking that if I give my Criamon the Shapeshifter/Skinwalker/Lycanthrope Virtue/Flaw, it could be a covenant that might rub most Bjornaer the wrong way... :-)
Player 9
player, 23 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:32
  • msg #156

Building the covenant

So, when covenant locations have been assigned and we start building the covenants.
Do we pay for buildings, labs and the like with silver from our p.v.f.?

Or de we get some covenant BP that cannot be spent on books and the things we can bring as supplies.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Thu 25 Feb 2021.
Player 13
player, 36 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:43
  • msg #157

Building the covenant

In reply to Player 9 (msg # 156):

I was assuming only things we can bring with us and that enough lab equipment has been shipped with us, one for each PC magus, at no cost as that is a free part of covenants. But then I also assume there are no building there either until we build them. We arrive at the sites with some stuff and grogs but no existant covenant or community (though some sites might have a community in or near them).
Player 4
player, 30 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:45
  • msg #158

Building the covenant

P13 that's what I figured as well. The rule was no lab bonuses before game start so if you want a bigger lab just bring cash to find it.
Alpha SG
GM, 31 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:48
  • msg #159

Re: Building the covenant

Player 9:
So, when covenant locations have been assigned and we start building the covenants.
Do we pay for buildings, labs and the like with silver from our p.v.f.?

You won't get separate BP for the location. Approaches will vary. One group may arrive with some Creo/Terram vis and make a tower. Another might arrive with lots of silver and buy a large building in a city. Etc. That will surely be part of the discussion each covenant ends up having.

Hopefully everyone notices the greater losses of p.v.f. for each subsequent year and finds a balance that works for them and their covenant. For example, if everyone in a covenant is 3 years out of gauntlet and they bring some Terram vis and a casting tablet for Conjuring the Mystic Tower, they won't have much of anything left at that point.
Alpha SG
GM, 32 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:50
  • msg #160

Re: Building the covenant

Player 13:
I was assuming only things we can bring with us and that enough lab equipment has been shipped with us

Yes, you can assume the lab equipment for your lab, but nothing beyond. That would fall under having any reasonable equipment for your station, but not having any superior/excellent stuff.
Alpha SG
GM, 33 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 22:51
  • msg #161

Re: Building the covenant

Player 4:
The rule was no lab bonuses before game start so if you want a bigger lab just bring cash to find it.

Yup. For a bigger lab, just build a bigger one or buy a bigger building or similar based on the approach your covenant takes.
Alpha SG
GM, 34 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:02
  • msg #162

Re: Building the covenant

Players 4 and 11, my mage would probably fit well with the two of yours. We're all looking at different varieties of summoning, so there is a fair amount of fit there. We'd be split between jinn, Terram, a ghosts, so different things but a fair amount of commonality. Also, there would be two native Arabic speakers.

Player 4, it's worth noting that my position on Summoning and Chthonic Magic v. Spirit Familiar was changed a little while ago. Having reread Spirit Familiar after hearing arguments both ways, I found all it actually does is allow you to bond with a spirit. The special Cords are a result of bonding with a spirit, not of the Virtue. So those Cords should apply if you bind to a spirit via Summoning or Chthonic Magic. Of course, the latter would be for a demon, so that would be a big no-no for other reasons. ;) Also, since the Terrae Cult's Summoning changes spirits to Terram-aligned stuff, you could form a Familiar Bond with something else, such as an earth elemental. So if you do get that version of Summoning, you may not want to bother picking up Spirit Familiar; but the latter is still working picking up if you don't get the former.
Alpha SG
GM, 36 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:12
  • msg #163

Re: Building the covenant

I would note for everyone that, unless I'm mistaken, it was Player 10 who was considering a Gifted Mercere. Player 10 looks to have decided to make a Merinita. So there probably will not be a Gifted Mercere. But there can still be a chapter house for the Redcaps rather than putting them within the other covenants.

So, since some magi are considering that covenant, of those who mentioned playing a Redcap, which ones really want to v. which ones are on the fence v. which ones don't want to but were willing if needed? If we've got a small handful and they like the idea of a a chapter house, then that certainly works well.
Player 14
player, 2 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:22
  • msg #164

Re: Building the covenant

Is anyone else interested in a mobile covenant for exploring Africa?  Or should I bring that concept along to another covenant (since a Verditius at or near Gauntlet won't be able to build that right away anyway).

Fits in with both Monster Hunting and Deep Wilds Exploration as far as I can see.
Alpha SG
GM, 37 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:25
  • msg #165

Re: Building the covenant

You might also consider working from a static covenant but using a mobile staging area. For example, you might build a ship that can fly your magus and your grogs wherever and return to the covenant.
Alpha SG
GM, 38 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:28
  • msg #166

Re: Covenants Ideas

Player 16:
Do we have a green light to start forming our characters in detail?  If so, how fresh are we?  I might have already put together my Tremere doctor-tempted-by-knowledge-not-meant-for-humankind, but he's freshly minted post gauntlet.  Are we pink-cheeked and rosy, or have we been around a bit post-gauntlet?

Yes, you have a green light. I would go to gauntlet and not beyond at first. You may want to get into covenant discussion before choosing how many years you go beyond since it will cut into resources. As someone mentioned, you can be up to three years out.

There was one unresolved question: Not everyone liked the limited book rule. I mentioned I was willing to adjust. But then I heard no more complaints. Do people want that altered? Or is it working pretty well?
Player 14
player, 3 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:31
  • msg #167

Re: Building the covenant

My imagination has provided me with a castle perched on a permanent mound of sand, (among other things, so it just looks "normal" when not moving).  Haven't worked out the precise details yet.  Happy to stage out of a normal covenant, depending what other people are looking for.  I did notice there are a handful of magus concepts that don't have homes yet, too.
Player 11
player, 8 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:31
  • msg #168

Re: Building the covenant

In reply to Player 14 (msg # 164):

This concept is really intriguing, a traveling covenant that stops from time to time in some place to do his things (recover vis, rituals, search ancient knowledge, summon some spirit). You really caught my attention.

In reply to Alpha SG (msg # 166):

For my Sahir I stayed away from things like Hermetic Theurgy cause they need Initiation, did I understand correctly?
Alpha SG
GM, 39 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:41
  • msg #169

Re: Craft skill question

Player 9:
How detailed should we do craft skills?
Carpenters tend to be carpenters while there are a lot of different varieties of smiths?

So how specific should craft skille be?

Asking as the verditius ;)

Somehow I skipped this one when replying earlier. I prefer medium. I don't like things like "Craft: Metal." That's way too broad for me. But too narrow gets ridiculous in the balance between simulation and experience points. No point, for instance, in distinguishing between a goldsmith and a silversmith since the techniques are basically the same. Meanwhile, C&G makes a good point about material v. product. So keep it reasonably broad, but not so broad as putting all metal in one category.
Player 13
player, 37 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:46
  • msg #170

Re: Covenants Ideas

Alpha SG:
There was one unresolved question: Not everyone liked the limited book rule. I mentioned I was willing to adjust. But then I heard no more complaints. Do people want that altered? Or is it working pretty well?


I don't see a whole lot of point in it and it seemed rather restrictive considering the books chosen but with this character I don't think there is much I would change if things were opened up, maybe one minor virtue. As it is the only virtue I took outside of the normally allowed stuff was Linguist and that doesn't seem all that appropriate to be limited to Bonisagus anyway, not to mention it is central to my character's concept.
Alpha SG
GM, 40 posts
General rules
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:47
  • msg #171

Re: Building the covenant

Player 11:
For my Sahir I stayed away from things like Hermetic Theurgy cause they need Initiation, did I understand correctly?

Well, you can branch out a little from your main books. For a Hermetic Sahir, you've got the core book, Apprentices, Grogs, and the last chapter of HoH:S. But you may also choose one other book from which to grab a theme. So, for instance, you might go to TMRE and choose Cabal Legacy + whatever that leads to it + Hermetic Theurgy all within one cult, paying for them from your initial V&F as Cabal Legacy says.

I don't want to deal with initiations over the 0-3 years past gauntlet, though. However, Mystery Cults once play starts are a fun thing, so that could be something to build toward.
Player 4
player, 31 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:52
  • msg #172

Re: Covenants Ideas

I'm not interested in a mobile covenant. To the point that I would not join it. I would rather have a big lab and a high aura. I do plan on exploring the continent but it won't be in my lab (maybe from my lab I guess).

A-SG I don't much care about spirit familiars, I'm far more interested in finding out what the sects of the cult outside of Thebes have.

I honestly didn't see the point other than I can't take Exciting Experimentation and Imbued with the Spirit of Terram, it's not a synergy I just want them both. that's probably true of anything else I want from any of the other books. Like I couldn't take Cabal Legacy and the virtues from my mystery cult...
Player 6
player, 18 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:58
  • msg #173

Re: Covenant locations

Players 7 and 8, what shape/s were you thinking about for your shapeshifting?
Player 8
player, 12 posts
Thu 25 Feb 2021
at 23:59
  • msg #174

Re: Building the covenant

In reply to Alpha SG (msg # 171):

I was planning on using part of my initial virtues for a house specific mystery Virtue, and some fairy virtues and flaws. But the flaws and  the virtues balance, and fit within a theme.

As far as the book rules, I'm not a huge fan of character limitations in general, although I do like staying with an explainable theme. If the player can explain how his character got the way he is, go for it. But that's me, and this is a big group, so some level of structure is necessary.
Player 8
player, 13 posts
Fri 26 Feb 2021
at 00:03
  • msg #175

Re: Covenant locations

In reply to Player 6 (msg # 173):
Jaegar would have two base shapes, and develop a third pretty early on. A large black dog and a black or red kite. The kite has migrated, at least in his first year post gauntlet.
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