I like the idea but I'm unsure how I can help.

I'll have a Merits dot to add to our Sanctum too.

By the sounds of it, the shared Sanctum has the additional dots being contributed to it:

Arwen - 1 dot (just gotta pick whether you want to increase Size, Security, add it to Library?)
Mamanu - 1 dot (going to Security)
Acciaio - 2 dots (just gotta pick whether you want to increase Size, Security, add it to Library?)
Link - 1 dot (just gotta pick whether you want to increase Size, Security, add it to Library?)

Did I miss any?

With the starting stats of the shared Sanctum being Size 3, Security 2, Library 1 and Hallow 1 and Mamanu's point going into Security to bump that to 3, we still have 4 dots to distribute from others contributing shared dots. You all could use 2 of those to max out the sanctum's security at 5, and could add 2 more dots of Library if you'd like? Or if you'd like the Sanctum to be bigger, you could also do that. Currently, it is the equivalent of a large home with 5-8 rooms. Just let me know how you'd like to distribute those remaining dots so I can update everyone's sheets accordingly with the finalized stats of the sanctum.

I feel like Arwen would be appreciative of any of those three options!  And being a near-total ignoramus of the system, I'd be thrilled to entertain suggestions which way she should go?  :)

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 43):

I can free up 4xp if we need it - that's 2 more dots, correct?

Depends on how you spend them! If you were purchasing 2 dots of the same Merit, it would cost 6XP, but if you were say buying 1 dot of Sanctum, and 1 dot of Library, each of those would cost 2XP, so it would total up to 4XP.

Size will give us a bigger area to work with. I don't think we need a bigger size Sanctum than we have - 8 rooms is plenty [1 for each character and 3 spare rooms for libraries or other augments.]

If you're not passionate about anything else, security would be my recommendation.

Acciaio has decided to put their 2 dots into Security, so currently the shared Sanctum stats are as follow:

Size: 3
Security: 5
Library: 1
Hallow: 1

@Link -- would you prefer to bump up Size or Library at this point?

@Arwen -- based on some of the conversation we're having via PMs, I can see you adding your dot to Library, with the topic being something like "Dead/Forgotten Languages" or something similar. Thoughts?

Anyone else have any ideas for the Library topic for the freebie dot the Sanctum started with? Or do you all like Mamanu's suggestion of "The Consilium of DC"?

Love it, let's do it.  :)

Does that seem a little bit narrow?  Would something like a more general "Magical history of DC" be too broad?

One more question - the character sheet we're given has an entry for "Mana Bleed."  What is that?  My copy of the core rulebook is a searchable .pdf, and that phrase isn't anywhere in it.

History of the Awakened in Washington, D.C.

Not as narrow -- because it would include historical records for mages in the area, but not limited to just the old DC Consilium?

But a little more limited than "magical history" since that could include other supernaturals and things that one might consider "magical."

Thoughts?

RE: Mana Bleed -- this likely won't come into play anytime soon, but its basically a mechanic for when your Wisdom drops lower than your Gnosis.

For example, if John Doe has a Gnosis of 6 but a Wisdom of only 3, his pattern bleeds 3 mana. That being said, I'm gonna be changing some of the rules around that since the formula I'm using for starting mana already involves Wisdom. So no need to worry about it! :)

Ooooh, gotcha.  So Arwen has Mana Bleed Zero at startup then.  :)

Re: the library, I guess I'm on general principle a fan of having the topics covered in our personal library leaning more towards breadth than depth, if that distinction makes sense?  I kind of feel like our library will most often just be a starting point for uncovering information, so as long as it gives us a reasonably actionable idea of where to look or who to consult for deeper or more obscure information, then it's doing its job.

Maybe 'Awakened History of DC'? Limited to mages but doesn't cover all other Supernaturals.

Sounds great to me!

Here's a thought for the group, since we were prompted to come up with a way our cabal came together and how we acquired our Sanctum:

A snip from my character's background is that she was the ward of her mage uncle until his death from illness just slightly before the game begins.  Maybe our Sanctum was Uncle Edmond's estate?  Bequeathed to Arwen with the condition that she welcome a few specific local DC mages who he was familiar with, either personally or by reputation?  I'd be happy to toss another couple of dots at the shared Sanctum in that case, in order to reflect Arwen's deeper connection to the place.  Thoughts?

Just keeping shared Sanctum stats updated, currently it sounds like we have the following:

Size: 3
Security: 5
Library: 2 (Awakened History of DC, Dead/Forgotten Languages)
Hallow: 1

@Link -- let me know whether you'd like to contribute an additional point in Size or Library.

If folks like Arwen's idea about inheriting the estate of her dead uncle, another point in Size couldn't hurt, so you'd have a much larger Sanctum with 9-15 rooms total and it could be an old mansion of sorts.

a pool?

library?

*shrug*

In reply to Link (msg # 56):

A garden / greenhouse?

This sounds like a great idea!

In reply to Mamanu (msg # 58):

If you're game, Arwen, that'd be great.  I can do 4xp of dots, if we're pooling.  I like the idea of the Scooby house, and that also lends itself to awakening it's spirit, something Chiron would be all about.

Nice, I'll add another couple of dots to the sanctum too, along with the one I already spent on the Library.  How about one for size, and one for Hallow?

There's almost nothing clearly defined about Arwen's uncle at the moment, other than that he was Edmond Byrne, Arwen's mother's brother, who introduced Arwen to the Cryptologos Legacy.  Do we want to make up reasons each of you might have known him, or been known to him?  Or do we want to just sort of handwave that?  :)

In reply to Arwen (msg # 60):

Hallow will be capped at 1 at game start, so no need to worry about improving that right now.

Probably fine for you to just add another dot of Size in addition to the Library dot you've already contributed.

Ooooh, gotcha.  Sure, I'll just do the one more dot for now then, adding to size.

No problem. So given that, I think the final stats for the shared cabal Sanctum are as follow:

Size: 4
Security: 5
Library: 3 (Awakened History of DC, Dead/Forgotten Languages, +1 more topic from Link's dot that needs to be picked still)
Hallow: 1

Any ideas for that 3rd dot of Library from Link's contribution?

Are there other merits than library we could invest in? It seems wasteful. On the one hand, I do want to pay my dues, but it feels like paying taxes, which I do with conviction, only to be disappointed again and again on how the money is spent.

I only feel it's wasteful if we pick a topic that we're not passionate about or interested in exploring. That said, there ARE a good amount of other options you can pick from.

Size, Security, and Library are all standard options for mage. Sanctum Materials increases the overall durability and resilience of the physical structure of the Sanctum, and is the last of the Shareable merits (with some Mysterium-specific exceptions). The ones below are all things that require a sanctum.

Guardian Ghost, Guardian Spirit, and Guardian Retainer can provide extra layers of defense, though they won't be super-effective at low levels.

Alchemical Lab is really only useful if we have someone engaging in Awakened Alchemy (creation of perfected metals that can be used to craft items).

Sanctum Gauntlet increases or decreases the strength of the Gauntlet in the Sanctum, making it easier (or more difficult) to interact with Spirits in the Shadow.

There's a summoning circle merit if you wanna like, Summon Supernal beings, but I don't know about that.