[Ars Magica] Spring's First Light

[Lord of Chaos]

Go right ahead. I only stat out grogs when they need to act on-screen, so any covenant NPC that you guys want to stat out, detail, write up etc. is yours for the taking. I figure that you'll be more attached to your covenfolk if you had a hand in making them. Have fun and try not to break stuff.

 

[Paeniteo Azrael]

*Breaks all the things* But yeah, the five grogs are military grogs. Otherwise I think we have up to three grogs per player (the five I chose as martial grogs are marked as such because they have a different cost of living in the covenant expenses).

 

[The Dark Wizard]

@Exthalion, I'll boost your lab total this time.

 

[Exthalion]

I found the rules for distractions from lab work: you can adventure for up to 10 days a season without any negative impact to lab work. You can also adventure up to 20 days without being unable to do lab work, though you start taking a big hit to lab totals.

 

[Lord of Chaos]

Thanks for the find, ex. Seems we did it right after all, since you can still only gain xp from one source at a time but you could have gone on the adventure and then went back to the lab.

 

[Paeniteo Azrael]

Fantastic! Also Exthalion I just made the ring in Winter with some specific modifications, it was easier. As it stands, the Covenant now has 4 pawns of Creo vis and 1 pawn of Vim vis (well, after we cast Aegis of the Hearth but that's non negotiable).

 

[Exthalion]

Could you break it down for me? I believe I understand the enchanting system, but real examples are always nice.


In the future though, I am going to have to remember to go on adventures of so short a duration. I will also have to work hard to catch up. Or sabotage the rest of you, that works also. >

 

[Paeniteo Azrael]

No problem, I'll explain the exact process.


I wanted to create a ring which allows the user to put thoughts into the minds of others, essentially a form of perfect telepathy since what is communicated is thought, not words. First thing I did was go to the Creo Mentem guidelines and figure out what level the effect is. According to the guidelines, the effect level is four. Now, at that level, it would only allow someone to create thoughts in their own mind, so this was pretty ineffectual. I raised the range from personal to Eye, for an increase in one magnitude. Between 1 and 5, an increase in magnitude corresponds to an increase in 1 level. Above 5, it increases by 5 levels. The next thing I did was make the duration of the power longer than momentary, which would only allow a single thought or two to be communicated at a time. Thus, I raised the duration to concentration. This increased the level of the effect to 10 (Base 4 + 1 magnitude for Eye + 1 magnitude for Concentration).


Now, we go over to the enchanting section. There are a list of rules regarding effects and the like - in all cases an enchanted item can only be used once per day, unless you increase the level of the effect to allow more uses. I decided on unlimited effects per day, which requires me to increase the level of effect by 10. Then, I decided that the ring should maintain concentration on the spell for the user, so that the effect is easy to use for any period of time. This increases the level of the effect by five. It's important to note that while the effect can be held constant by the ring, it cannot be changed without the user concentrating on the effect. Thus, in order to change whom the person is communicating with, they'd have to concentrate on the effect and make eye contact with a different person. All in all, the level of the effect that we are enchanting is 25 (10 from the base level of the effect/spell being enchanted, + 10 for unlimited uses + 5 for concentration).


Now, we decide how we're going to invest this effect. I decided on making it a lesser enchanted item, since there is no need to add more powers later. The next step is to figure out how many pawns of vis will need to be invested in the effect - to do that, take the full level of the effect, and divide it by ten (rounding up). This means I will need to use three pawns of creo or mentem vis (ceiling[25/10] = 3). You cannot use more pawns of vis in a season than twice your Magic Theory score, and investing effects into enchantments requires you to invest the vis in a single season. So, I need to invest three pawns of vis into the mechanism by which I shall deliver this effect. I decided to use silver, which has a material modifier of 6 pawns, in the form of a ring, which is a tiny object and thus is further modified by a multiplier of x1. Thus, I can invest up to a level 60 effect into the ring - considerably more than I need. If I were making an invested item, I would have to spend a season "opening" the item for magical enchantment - in other words, I would have to invest a number of pawns of vim vis equal to the full capacity of the item. This is prohibitively expensive for quite a few reasons, so I reasoned that a lesser enchanted device would be a better use of my time and resources. The thing about lesser enchanted devices is that they cannot have further effects added later, and you must finish them in a single season.


So, I have my effect of level 25, and I have the ring I'll invest the effect into. I'm doing a lesser enchanted device, which means I need to finish the ring in a single season. If I look at my lab total including the various bonuses, I get a total of 38. 38 is certainly not double 25, which means I would not be able to create the ring. However, I can limit the duration of the ring's effects - I can have the magic leave the ring after a certain amount of time, which increases the amount by which my lab total exceeds the effect by a certain multiplier. In this case, I chose 70 years, which gives a multiplier of x2, and allows me to create the ring in a single season. I choose the vis I used, and then I have the ring, and a lab text which allows the ring to be recreated in the exact same form (including the expiry date) so long as the creator's lab total exceeds the level of the effect.


In short:


I chose the effect I wanted and designed it like a spell


I modified the purpose of the item with regards to the spell


This gave me an effect level, and I used this effect this effect to determine how much my lab total exceeds the effect, and how much vis I need


I added an expiry date to the item, so that I could create it in a single season


I decided on a lesser device, so I did not have to waste a season opening the item


I chose the material and shape of the item


I made the item.

 

[Exthalion]

All very clear, thank you.


For the winter, I will be extracting 4 Creo Vis. Here is how:


To start, I am going to use my Hermetic Alchemy to draw up a horoscope. I want a +3 bonus so I need at least 9 on a Stress Die + Int 3 + Artes Liberales (Astronomy) 3 roll.


[dice]2297[/dice]


Then, I am going to use Rowan wood which provides a +1 to Vim.


Creo 18 + Vim 8 + Int 3 + Magic Theory 3 + Aura 6 + Material Bonus 1 + Craft 4 + Verditius Runes 2 + Forge Companion 3 + Companion Magic Theory 10 + Horoscope 3 = 61


61/20=3.05~4.

 

[Lord of Chaos]

There will be no game today, as I am sick. Sorry about this.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

[QUOTE="Lord of Chaos]There will be no game today, as I am sick. Sorry about this.

[/QUOTE]
No problem feel better!

 

[SephirothSage]

We have a game today, right.?

 

[SephirothSage]

Game Today?

 

[SephirothSage]

Game Today?