My first Ars Magica character
Oct. 18th, 2010 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreOK, I'm going to try to do an Ars Magica mage. Let's see how this works.
My concept is character who is fascinated by mystery, an investigator type who ponders the big questions and uses magic to solve riddles and open paths. Looking at the various houses of Hermes, House Criamon is a natural. Obsessed with “The Enigma,” Criamon is a mystery cult whose members tend to mark themselves with mystic designs. They are more prone to Twilight, but endure it better.So, my mage starts off with The Enigma and Enigmatic Wisdom 1. Next up, Virtues and Flaws. My vision has my character coming from a town merchant background, and being a younger son He's generally quiet, studious, and used to being last in line for everything.. Let's work from there.
As a mage, I must take The Gift and Hermetic Magus Social Status, both free Virtues. From there, I take Clear Thinker, Adept Laboratory Student, Well-Traveled, Intuition,Secondary Insight (a nice bonus to any kind of magical study), and Puissant Art (Intellego), giving me a bonus on spells dealing with perception. 8 virtue points of the ten I'm allowed.
Flaws. Hmm.. My character is all about revealing truth and understanding. Destruction is anathema to him, so Deficient Technique (Perdo) makes sense. I have great difficulty with spells that corrupt and destroy. Missing Eye, simply because a wandering seeker of knowledge should be partially blind. As a studious, careful sort, Weak Spontaneous Magic makes sense. Let's make him a bit scrawny, so Small Frame. 8 points of Flaws. (Deficient Techniques and Weak Spontaneous Casting are major flaws, worth 3points each.)
So far, so good. Characteristics, then.They run from -3 to +3, with a default of 0. I have seven points to spend here, with higher stats costing more.
Strength -1
Stamina +1
Dexterity 0
Quickness 0
Intelligence +3
Perception +2
Presence -2
Communication +1
Obviously, this is a person who gets lost in the crowd easily, blends in, and is mostly ignored. Which is just how he likes it. Next comes my early childhood. Being lazy, I take the Travelling Childhood package. Area Lore (Baltic Coast) 1, Area Lore (Paris) 1, Folk Ken 2, Living Language(French) 1, Native Language (German) 5, Survival 2. Obviously, my character spent time traveling with his father on trade caravans between Lubeck and Paris. Probably other places, but this would be a natural trade route. After that, assuming I was apprenticed at 10, I have five years of of experience points to spend. That's 75 XP. Being Well-Travelled means I can spend points on an increased range of skills. Keeping in mind the idea of a shy, watchful child Let's pop fifteen points each into Awareness, Intrigue, and Stealth, giving me a score of 2 in each. 45 points. Raise my score in French to 2. 55points. Add Living Language (Greek) 2. 70 points. Bargain 1 would make sense for a merchant's son.
Let's sum up my abilities: Area Lore(Baltic Coast) 1, Area Lore (Paris) 1, Awareness 2, Bargain 1,Enigmatic Wisdom 1, Folk Ken 2, Intrigue 2, Living Language (French)2, Living Language (Greek) 2, Stealth 2, Survival 2.
At this point, my father tires of my weird ways (and the fact that the horses can't stand me) and happily apprentices me off to a stranger who pays well. I learn I am to be a mage. My fifteen years as an apprentice give me 240 XP and 120 levels of spells.
Splitting my XP between abilities and Arts, we get: Artes Liberales 1, Dead Language (Latin) 4, Parma Magica 1, Magic Theory 4, Code of Hermes 1, and Single Weapon 1. Obviously, my Master thought I should be able to defend myself. There might be a story there, or a potential companion. Perhaps my sword master decided I needed to be watched after and accompanies me on adventures... I spent 120 points on Abilities, leaving 120 for Arts.
First, the Techniques.
Creo (I Create) +3
Intellego (I Perceive) +5 (with an additional +3 bonus due to Puissant Art when appropriate.)
Muto (I Transform) +3
Perdo (I Destroy) 0
Rego (I Control) +4
Now, the Forms:
Animal: +4 (Animal)
Aquam: +1 (Water)
Auram: +2 (Air)
Corpus: +4 (Body)
Herbam: +3 (Plants)
Ignem: +1 (Fire)
Imaginem +5 (Images)
Mentem +5 (Mind)
Terram +1 (Earth)
Vim +6 (Power)
On the spur of the moment, I decided that the character's other-worldly nature made him either naturally limited or just not interested in the elemental spells. No reason he can't make up time later in his career. 120 points spent. Finally, my spells. The highest spell level I can get is based on several factors and differs for each combination of Technique and Form. The spells are listed on the character summary at the bottom..
So, there we are. A mage just past apprenticeship, ready to take his place in the world. Probably has been told that there's no place for him at his old Covenant, so he's moving on. What's his story?
Karl was unlucky enough to be the fourth son in the Greniczer household of Lubeck. His father, a successful merchant trading good from the pagan lands in the east cared little for the runty boy, and he was the butt of all his brother's attacks. Karl did benefit from an education of sorts, and traveled extensively with his father to Paris and later as far as Austria, where he was instructed in Greek. But everyone knew Karl would never be a merchant. People found him unsettling. No horse would take him. Even the calmest dog was unhappy around him. At 10, a stranger appeared and negotiated an apprenticeship. Karl had the Gift.
Karl was initiated into the mysteries of House Criamon, in search of the Great Enigma. His apprenticeship was unremarkable, except for an incident outside the Covenant that cost Karl his right eye when the party was best by brigands. Recognizing Karl's weakness in quick spell casting, his master invested in a sword master to teach the lad some self-defense skills. Karl showed a true calling to perception and mind spells, and passed his Gauntlet. He's nowhere near where he wants to be as a mage, but is patient and willing to do the drudgery to excel. Karl, at the start of the game, is 25. He's short and slender, with pale skin and mousy light brown hair. He is a most unremarkable person, often overlooked and passed over. He's used to it. As with most mages, he's Latinized his name to Carolus.
Carolus of Criamon
Characteristics: Int: +3 Per: +2 Str:-1 Sta: +1 Prs: -2 Com: +1 Dex: 0 Qik: 0
Size: -1
Age: 25
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Confidence Score: 1 (3 points of confidence)
Virtures and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Clear Thinker, Adept Laboratory Student, Well-Traveled,Intuition, Secondary Insight, Puissant Art (Intellego), Deficient Technique (Perdo), Missing Eye, Weak Spontaneous Magic, Small Frame
Personality Traits: Curious +3, Shy -2,Detailed +2
Reputations: none, yet.
Combat:
Fist: Init:0 Atk:0 Def:0 Dmg:-1
Kick: Init:-1 Atk:0 Def:-1 Dmg:+2
Shortsword: Init:+1 Atk:+4 Def:+1Dmg:+4
Soak: +0
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, 0, -2, -4,Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-4), -3 (5-8), -5(9-12), Incapacitated (13-16)
Abilities: Baltic Coast Lore 1, Paris Lore 1,Awareness 2, Bargain 1, Enigmatic Wisdom 1, Folk Ken 2, Intrigue 2, Living Language (French) 2, Living Language (Greek) 2, Stealth 2,Survival 2, Artes Liberales 1, Dead Language (Latin) 4, Parma Magica 1, Magic Theory 4, Code of Hermes 1 Single Weapon (Short Sword) 1
Arts: Cr 3 In 5(+3) Mu 3 Pe 0 Re 4 An 4Aq 1 Au 2 Co 4 He 3 Ig 1 Im 5 Me 5 Te 1 Vi 6
Twilight Scars: None yet, but you can be sure that's coming!
Equipment: Short sword, slightly shabby clothing and cloak.
Encumbrance: 0
Spells:
Doublet of Impenetrable Silk (MuAn 15)
Jupiter's Resounding Blow (CrAu 10)
The Ear for Distant Voices (InIm 20)
The Call To Slumber (ReMe 10)
Whispering Winds (InAu 15)
Whispers Through The Black Gate (InCo15)
Eyes of the Cat (MuCo 5)
Spasms of the Uncontrolled Hand (ReCo5)
Tales of the Ashes (InIg 5)
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10)
Unseen Arm (ReTe 5)
Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5)
I could have taken Carolus farther into his career (the example character is 87 years old and one scary dude) but this was good enough. Really like the system, it encourages thinking about your character from the start, and allows great flexibility in generation.
My concept is character who is fascinated by mystery, an investigator type who ponders the big questions and uses magic to solve riddles and open paths. Looking at the various houses of Hermes, House Criamon is a natural. Obsessed with “The Enigma,” Criamon is a mystery cult whose members tend to mark themselves with mystic designs. They are more prone to Twilight, but endure it better.So, my mage starts off with The Enigma and Enigmatic Wisdom 1. Next up, Virtues and Flaws. My vision has my character coming from a town merchant background, and being a younger son He's generally quiet, studious, and used to being last in line for everything.. Let's work from there.
As a mage, I must take The Gift and Hermetic Magus Social Status, both free Virtues. From there, I take Clear Thinker, Adept Laboratory Student, Well-Traveled, Intuition,Secondary Insight (a nice bonus to any kind of magical study), and Puissant Art (Intellego), giving me a bonus on spells dealing with perception. 8 virtue points of the ten I'm allowed.
Flaws. Hmm.. My character is all about revealing truth and understanding. Destruction is anathema to him, so Deficient Technique (Perdo) makes sense. I have great difficulty with spells that corrupt and destroy. Missing Eye, simply because a wandering seeker of knowledge should be partially blind. As a studious, careful sort, Weak Spontaneous Magic makes sense. Let's make him a bit scrawny, so Small Frame. 8 points of Flaws. (Deficient Techniques and Weak Spontaneous Casting are major flaws, worth 3points each.)
So far, so good. Characteristics, then.They run from -3 to +3, with a default of 0. I have seven points to spend here, with higher stats costing more.
Strength -1
Stamina +1
Dexterity 0
Quickness 0
Intelligence +3
Perception +2
Presence -2
Communication +1
Obviously, this is a person who gets lost in the crowd easily, blends in, and is mostly ignored. Which is just how he likes it. Next comes my early childhood. Being lazy, I take the Travelling Childhood package. Area Lore (Baltic Coast) 1, Area Lore (Paris) 1, Folk Ken 2, Living Language(French) 1, Native Language (German) 5, Survival 2. Obviously, my character spent time traveling with his father on trade caravans between Lubeck and Paris. Probably other places, but this would be a natural trade route. After that, assuming I was apprenticed at 10, I have five years of of experience points to spend. That's 75 XP. Being Well-Travelled means I can spend points on an increased range of skills. Keeping in mind the idea of a shy, watchful child Let's pop fifteen points each into Awareness, Intrigue, and Stealth, giving me a score of 2 in each. 45 points. Raise my score in French to 2. 55points. Add Living Language (Greek) 2. 70 points. Bargain 1 would make sense for a merchant's son.
Let's sum up my abilities: Area Lore(Baltic Coast) 1, Area Lore (Paris) 1, Awareness 2, Bargain 1,Enigmatic Wisdom 1, Folk Ken 2, Intrigue 2, Living Language (French)2, Living Language (Greek) 2, Stealth 2, Survival 2.
At this point, my father tires of my weird ways (and the fact that the horses can't stand me) and happily apprentices me off to a stranger who pays well. I learn I am to be a mage. My fifteen years as an apprentice give me 240 XP and 120 levels of spells.
Splitting my XP between abilities and Arts, we get: Artes Liberales 1, Dead Language (Latin) 4, Parma Magica 1, Magic Theory 4, Code of Hermes 1, and Single Weapon 1. Obviously, my Master thought I should be able to defend myself. There might be a story there, or a potential companion. Perhaps my sword master decided I needed to be watched after and accompanies me on adventures... I spent 120 points on Abilities, leaving 120 for Arts.
First, the Techniques.
Creo (I Create) +3
Intellego (I Perceive) +5 (with an additional +3 bonus due to Puissant Art when appropriate.)
Muto (I Transform) +3
Perdo (I Destroy) 0
Rego (I Control) +4
Now, the Forms:
Animal: +4 (Animal)
Aquam: +1 (Water)
Auram: +2 (Air)
Corpus: +4 (Body)
Herbam: +3 (Plants)
Ignem: +1 (Fire)
Imaginem +5 (Images)
Mentem +5 (Mind)
Terram +1 (Earth)
Vim +6 (Power)
On the spur of the moment, I decided that the character's other-worldly nature made him either naturally limited or just not interested in the elemental spells. No reason he can't make up time later in his career. 120 points spent. Finally, my spells. The highest spell level I can get is based on several factors and differs for each combination of Technique and Form. The spells are listed on the character summary at the bottom..
So, there we are. A mage just past apprenticeship, ready to take his place in the world. Probably has been told that there's no place for him at his old Covenant, so he's moving on. What's his story?
Karl was unlucky enough to be the fourth son in the Greniczer household of Lubeck. His father, a successful merchant trading good from the pagan lands in the east cared little for the runty boy, and he was the butt of all his brother's attacks. Karl did benefit from an education of sorts, and traveled extensively with his father to Paris and later as far as Austria, where he was instructed in Greek. But everyone knew Karl would never be a merchant. People found him unsettling. No horse would take him. Even the calmest dog was unhappy around him. At 10, a stranger appeared and negotiated an apprenticeship. Karl had the Gift.
Karl was initiated into the mysteries of House Criamon, in search of the Great Enigma. His apprenticeship was unremarkable, except for an incident outside the Covenant that cost Karl his right eye when the party was best by brigands. Recognizing Karl's weakness in quick spell casting, his master invested in a sword master to teach the lad some self-defense skills. Karl showed a true calling to perception and mind spells, and passed his Gauntlet. He's nowhere near where he wants to be as a mage, but is patient and willing to do the drudgery to excel. Karl, at the start of the game, is 25. He's short and slender, with pale skin and mousy light brown hair. He is a most unremarkable person, often overlooked and passed over. He's used to it. As with most mages, he's Latinized his name to Carolus.
Carolus of Criamon
Characteristics: Int: +3 Per: +2 Str:-1 Sta: +1 Prs: -2 Com: +1 Dex: 0 Qik: 0
Size: -1
Age: 25
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0
Confidence Score: 1 (3 points of confidence)
Virtures and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Clear Thinker, Adept Laboratory Student, Well-Traveled,Intuition, Secondary Insight, Puissant Art (Intellego), Deficient Technique (Perdo), Missing Eye, Weak Spontaneous Magic, Small Frame
Personality Traits: Curious +3, Shy -2,Detailed +2
Reputations: none, yet.
Combat:
Fist: Init:0 Atk:0 Def:0 Dmg:-1
Kick: Init:-1 Atk:0 Def:-1 Dmg:+2
Shortsword: Init:+1 Atk:+4 Def:+1Dmg:+4
Soak: +0
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, 0, -2, -4,Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-4), -3 (5-8), -5(9-12), Incapacitated (13-16)
Abilities: Baltic Coast Lore 1, Paris Lore 1,Awareness 2, Bargain 1, Enigmatic Wisdom 1, Folk Ken 2, Intrigue 2, Living Language (French) 2, Living Language (Greek) 2, Stealth 2,Survival 2, Artes Liberales 1, Dead Language (Latin) 4, Parma Magica 1, Magic Theory 4, Code of Hermes 1 Single Weapon (Short Sword) 1
Arts: Cr 3 In 5(+3) Mu 3 Pe 0 Re 4 An 4Aq 1 Au 2 Co 4 He 3 Ig 1 Im 5 Me 5 Te 1 Vi 6
Twilight Scars: None yet, but you can be sure that's coming!
Equipment: Short sword, slightly shabby clothing and cloak.
Encumbrance: 0
Spells:
Doublet of Impenetrable Silk (MuAn 15)
Jupiter's Resounding Blow (CrAu 10)
The Ear for Distant Voices (InIm 20)
The Call To Slumber (ReMe 10)
Whispering Winds (InAu 15)
Whispers Through The Black Gate (InCo15)
Eyes of the Cat (MuCo 5)
Spasms of the Uncontrolled Hand (ReCo5)
Tales of the Ashes (InIg 5)
Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10)
Unseen Arm (ReTe 5)
Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5)
I could have taken Carolus farther into his career (the example character is 87 years old and one scary dude) but this was good enough. Really like the system, it encourages thinking about your character from the start, and allows great flexibility in generation.
