Moving right along...

[gridlore]

Despite having gotten almost no sleep last night (medications, too much caffeine, and an October heatwave had me up until 0100 and awake by 0600) I've actually been productive today. Emailed the doctor to inquire about my next appointment, doing a couple of loads of laundry, and most importantly, I've emptied several boxes and put a lot of things away.

The bad news is even the slightest exertion leaves me breathless. Obviously, the main benefit of the current treatment is to help me while I'm at relative rest. This does not bode well for my return to regular life.

Sadly, I remain completely out of beer.

I've also been compiling some notes for a possible Ars Magica campaign. It would center around a group of mages who have moved into the ruins of an old Covenant, one that had fallen into Winter (Covenants are described in terms of the seasons in the rules; Winter Covenants are in decline and either die out or are reborn into Spring Covenants) along the Lovat River near the settlement of Gnezdovo and it's portages to the Dnieper. Since Gnezdovo was fading by the early 12th century as trade moved to Smolensk, it would make sense for the local Covenant to also fade out as mages left, died, or entered Final Twilight. Keeping the Covenant close to the Lovat means a regular flow of river traffic and locals who are willing to overcome their distrust of mages for protection from the unpredictable Norse traders. The advantage to a Winter into Spring game is that the Covenant itself provides mysteries and opportunities for adventures. There might even be a troll in the cellars.

Thought you should know.

Comments

[melchar.livejournal.com]

... the adventurers are checking the subbasements and happen upon walls covered in scurrilous graffiti. 'I -knew- there was a troll in the cellars!' they exclaim.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

"Master, there is a rune here with which I am not familiar.. what does '/b/' mean?"

Far more likely the players would find a magically sealed door or trapdoor that defies all attempts to open it. Figuring out who sealed that door, and how to defeat it, could be a series of stories that lead into longer campaigns.

[melchar.livejournal.com]

... and then their brains melt? They change alignment to chaotic-distracted? [or they fail the confusion/feeblemind effect?] ^_^

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

The bit of the Code that says that if another magus tries to enter/bust into your lab without your permission, you (or a trap you set up) can blast him to tiny bits with impunity, offers all kinds of "interesting" challenges to people trying to reoccupy spaces whose former occupants were (1) fairly powerful and (2) almost certainly crazy as all fuck.