Tiberius

[Yan]

Tiberius aedes Verditius

Description:
"His arms seem just a tad too long, or the legs too short perhaps.
Whichever may be the case, the fact is that it is not pleasing to the
eyes. He has strong hands however, that is for sure; strong and
steady. Whatever he is wearing, he's always with a working leather
apron on top, and both a hammer and a pair of thongs hanging from his
belt. But it is usually when people notice the thick, short neck that
they begin to feel uneasy, and when they move up to the face it only
worsens. Crawling from the base of his neck all the way to the right
side of his forehead is a grained burning scar that stretches the pale
skin, so that the veins are visible underneath. The left side of his
face is rather unassuming: brown growing beard, greasy hair almost to
the shoulders and brown beady eyes. All in all, Master Tiberius - that
is his name, is not much worse than any other magus." - Fremer,
Librarian at Fengheld
Introduction:
The third day of Pisces in the year 1179 of the Age of Aries,
Fengheld.

To my sodales Hadat,

Aye, as you suspected, he was born in Goslar, I do not know exactly
when. I only came to know him when Galbinus brought him to the
covenant, saying he had found himself an apprentice. I remember
hearing the grogs say something about it, but I admit I did not pay it
any heed at the time, as I had much more important experiments to
focus on.
It was a few years later, two I think, that I came to actually meet
the boy, during dinner one evening. I was discussing the difficulty of
enhancing the thaumaturgical attunement of argent vive and
rosamarinus in an attempt to ease the process of transforming one art
into its Euclidean opposite with my amicus Heliardo when he, and I
hadn't noticed him there, suggested I tridistilate the rosamarinus in
melancholic humor and add lacrima to the final mixture to potentialize
the argentum vive's properties of captation. Heliardo chuckled, and
Galbinus gave him such a blow that he fell and hit his head to the
table.
His suggestion was, of course, not possible due to the ephemeral
nature of lacrima, and the consequences of mixing it with melancholic
humor would be disastrous to the experiment. Still, I was impressed.
But the opportunity to train him myself came when Galbinus was
challenged by you to Wizard's War, and I confess the reasons for such
elude me to this day, and Galbinus was slain. Yes, it was only then
that I claimed him as my apprentice and the praeco gave his blessings.
I do not regret it for a moment, for my filius has grown into a fine
craftsman and I have no doubt he will soon be bringing House Verditius
and the Order wonderful new creations..

And it is for that reason, Amentes, that indeed I must thank you for
your past actions. As I have said, I do not know and have no wish to
understand the reason of the quarry between you and Galbinus. That
such quarry gave me Tiberius is a true sign, for me, that your reasons
were just.
Now I have answered your question, my sodales, and I must ask you to
stay true to your word and accept him in your covenant. After all, you
are partially responsible for whom he turned out to be...


Hefarion







Background information:

It is said that in Athens there lived a great artificer, patron of
many arts and inventor of carpentry itself. It is said among his
creations lay impenetrable labyrinths, wings and wooden sculptures of
astonishing beauty. It is said also that his son died as it tried to
reach the sun.

It is told his name was Daedalus, and he was a great man indeed.

But it is also told that he was envious of other craftsmen's work, and
that his hubris was such that he committed a crime out of pride.
Perdix, inventor of the saw and the compass was his apprentice and
nephew, and it was out of fear and envy for the saw and the compass
that Daedalus one day pushed Perdix from the acropolis at Athens. The
patroness of the city, the Goddess Athena, took pity on the boy and
averted his death by transforming him into a bird, and to this day the
partridge is afraid of heights, and builds its nest on the ground, and
does not fly.

What is not told is that Perdix pleaded for Athens to concede him at
least one day to be a human once more. But Athens denied, and Perdix
then, displeased with his life, fought against his fear and jumped
from a cliff into his death. In the underworld, he pleaded for Hades
to concede him at least one day back on earth, as a human, and Hades
too denied him, although he didn't notice the way his wife Persephone
looked at the bird. That same night Persephone went to Perdix and
convinced him to mate with her, that she would persuade Hades to grant
him his wish. Perdix agreed, and this scene was repeated for ninety
nine nights more.
On the hundredth day Perdix had been in the underworld, Hades called
him forth and announced his wish would be granted, and he would be
sent back to the earth as a human, to live once more. Perdix thanked
him immensely, and Persephone smiled. But when the time came for
Perdix to leave the underworld, Hades came furious at him, for he had
noticed his wife's bulging belly and, upon being confronted, she
confessed to him her affair with Perdix.
"Thy asketh me for a boon, and a boon I granted thee," said Hades
infuriated. "What gratitude is this that thou repay with treason? I
curse thee and thine to ever be a bird on the hundredth day after
sleeping with a woman!"

Perdix line endures to this day, but it has never failed that on the
hundredth day of ever sleeping with a woman, his descendants will turn
into a partridge.

[Yan]

How lovely, it came out all disorganized.

Here it is again, a bit better...

And to add to the whole mess, I'll begin the discussion on Mythic
Blood. I was thinking of Fear of Heights for the minor Personality
Flaw and Minor Magical Focus: Metal...

Not too sure on the Free Enchantment either. I thought of two
possibilities; either the Miner's Keen Eye or another InTe effect that
allows him to "learn all the magical properties of an object" as per
the InTe guidelines (Base 20 +1 Touch = 25). Another possibility is
reduce it to "learn all the natural properties of an object" or "sense
all the mundane properties of an object".

What do you think?

Just so you know, before I send the whole sheet with numbers (I have
yet to choose spells...), here is a peek:

Characteristics:

INT +2 (+3) STR 0 ( 0)
PER 0 ( 0) STA +1 (+1)

COM -1 (-1) DEX +2 (+3)
PRE -2 (-3) QIK -2 (-3)

Virtues:
Hermetic Magus` (Free)
The Gift (Free)
Verditius Magic (Free)
Mythic Blood (+3)
Puissant Craft (+1)
Inventive Genius (+1)
Affinity with Craft (+1)
Puissant Muto (+1)
Keen Vision (+1)
Enduring Constitution (+1)
Planetary Magic (+1)
Minor Magical Focus: Metal (Free)

Flaws:
Cabal Legacy (-1)
Weak Spontaneous Magic (-3)
Deficient Perdo (-3)
Poor Hearing (-1)
Slow Caster (-1)
Lesser Malediction (-1)
Fear: Heights (Free)



Just tell me what you think of the whole thing.


Yan

[Y R]

>
> Just tell me what you think of the whole thing.
>

Generally, I like it. Good Mythic background. The different elements feel a little cobbled together at times, but it's all good. Some points, though...

1) I take it his old master, Galbinus, died in Wizard's War with Hadat. I'm asking since I'm not sure who this Amentes guy is. Also - why did Tiberius choose to come to Rethra, the home of his master-slayer? Is he thankful for his old master's death? It is possible that the Astrologers arranged for his initiation into the cult through Hefarion by this Wizard's War, and if you wish this may have even been done with his knowledge and consent - perhaps he is repaying old debts and keeping true old promises.

2) I take it his master, Hefarion, is a Verditius and an Astrologer from Fengheld. To merit the Cabal Legacy flaw, I'd insist he is a rather well-known member of the Astrologers, although perhaps not a high-ranking member.
Note that you don't have to have a Cabal Legacy, you could initiate Planetary Magic after apprenticeship or even just start with Planetary Magic without being yet a member in the cult - we'll initiate you into the cult and its inner mysteries later on (perhaps that's why you decided to come to Rethra). Your choice on how you wish to build the character.

3) Can't really help you with the special magical effect. All your suggestions sound good, pick one. The focus and personality trait work nicely.

4) I take it the Lesser Malediction is the Curse of Hades, which turns the character into a bird on the hudredth day after sleeping with a woman, for ONE DAY. Is that the idea? If so, it's a bit weak. I think it's a bit weaker than, say, Ability Block or Disfigured. How about changing into a bird the day AFTER sleeping with the lady? The will also have a greater chance of entering the story. (I'd expect a positive "Love-prone", "Lecherous", or other personality trait to make it interesting; or just roleplaying.)
If you mean he turns into a bird PERMANENTLY, then it's a mighty curse indeed, and well-worth the Lesser Malediction.

5) Isn't he Disfigured by his scar? I expected to see this flaw from his description. Not necessary, of course.

That's it, as far as I can see.

Have fun now,
   Yair

[Yan]

> 1) I take it his old master, Galbinus, died in Wizard's War with Hadat. I'm
> asking since I'm not sure who this Amentes guy is. Also - why did Tiberius
> choose to come to Rethra, the home of his master-slayer? Is he thankful for
> his old master's death? It is possible that the Astrologers arranged for his
> initiation into the cult through Hefarion by this Wizard's War, and if you
> wish this may have even been done with his knowledge and consent - perhaps
> he is repaying old debts and keeping true old promises.

Amentes is the guy I originally had Hefarion write the letter to. I
later replaced it with Hadat but forgot to re-read the whole thing and
make the change on the rest of the letter, my bad.
My idea was that the Astrologers did indeed arrange for Galbinus'
death to have Hefarion take Tiberius as his apprentice. Tiberius was
aware of the fact as he had been approached by Hefarion after the
episode with Eliardo (Hefarion's senior at the Cult). He was promised
secrets Galbinus would never be able to teach him, as well as the
possibility of removing his curse.
I assumed Hadat wasn't an Astrologer himself, and did not know of the
whole plot, so that his killing of Galbinus was, to him at the time, a
personal issue. As he discovered bits and pieces of the plot, he
questioned Hefarion, who said he would only answer if Tiberius had a
place at Rethra (An Astrologer's plot, since the place was a seat of
the cult back in the day).
Now if Hadat *is* an Astrologer, he may have been part of the plot the
whole time, and in exchange for killing Galbinus, Tiberius was to be
sent to help him restore Rethra in the future.

>
> 2) I take it his master, Hefarion, is a Verditius and an Astrologer from
> Fengheld. To merit the Cabal Legacy flaw, I'd insist he is a rather
> well-known member of the Astrologers, although perhaps not a high-ranking
> member.
> Note that you don't have to have a Cabal Legacy, you could initiate
> Planetary Magic after apprenticeship or even just start with Planetary Magic
> without being yet a member in the cult - we'll initiate you into the cult
> and its inner mysteries later on (perhaps that's why you decided to come to
> Rethra). Your choice on how you wish to build the character.

I'm fine with him being a well-known member of the Astrologers.

> 4) I take it the Lesser Malediction is the Curse of Hades, which turns the
> character into a bird on the hudredth day after sleeping with a woman, for
> ONE DAY. Is that the idea? If so, it's a bit weak. I think it's a bit weaker
> than, say, Ability Block or Disfigured. How about changing into a bird the
> day AFTER sleeping with the lady? The will also have a greater chance of
> entering the story. (I'd expect a positive "Love-prone", "Lecherous", or
> other personality trait to make it interesting; or just roleplaying.)
> If you mean he turns into a bird PERMANENTLY, then it's a mighty curse
> indeed, and well-worth the Lesser Malediction.

The curse turns him permanently into a partridge, but since it is very
conditional (sleeping with a woman), I didn't think it merited being a
Greater Malediction.

>
> 5) Isn't he Disfigured by his scar? I expected to see this flaw from his
> description. Not necessary, of course.

Another editing mistake, my bad. If you remember, I had started
working on the character about a month ago, and then had to leave him
in the backburner for a while as work ate my life. When I resumed
working on him I had had the time to re-think some ideas and add other
elements, which ended up creating the confusion in the Disfigured (a
flaw present in the first draft) and Amentes (the magus Hefarion wrote
to in the first draft).

My apologies for not re-reading the whole thing and fixing these
mistakes before submiting; I will fix the whole thing and send it all
together in a block.


Thanks!

[Y R]

Hadat is definitely a member of the Cult, and in an important position even if not a high one. I think your last suggestion would work best - Tiberius was to be sent to Rethra in return for the Wizard's War.

>
> 2) I take it his master, Hefarion, is a Verditius and an Astrologer from
> Fengheld. To merit the Cabal Legacy flaw, I'd insist he is a rather
> well-known member of the Astrologers, although perhaps not a high-ranking
> member.
> Note that you don't have to have a Cabal Legacy, you could initiate
> Planetary Magic after apprenticeship or even just start with Planetary Magic
> without being yet a member in the cult - we'll initiate you into the cult
> and its inner mysteries later on (perhaps that's why you decided to come to
> Rethra). Your choice on how you wish to build the character.

I'm fine with him being a well-known member of the Astrologers.

Right.

 

> 4) I take it the Lesser Malediction is the Curse of Hades, which turns the
> character into a bird on the hudredth day after sleeping with a woman, for
> ONE DAY. Is that the idea? If so, it's a bit weak. I think it's a bit weaker
> than, say, Ability Block or Disfigured. How about changing into a bird the
> day AFTER sleeping with the lady? The will also have a greater chance of
> entering the story. (I'd expect a positive "Love-prone", "Lecherous", or
> other personality trait to make it interesting; or just roleplaying.)
> If you mean he turns into a bird PERMANENTLY, then it's a mighty curse
> indeed, and well-worth the Lesser Malediction.

The curse turns him permanently into a partridge, but since it is very
conditional (sleeping with a woman), I didn't think it merited being a
Greater Malediction.

I see. Yes,  Lesser fits the bill very nicely then.
 

>
> 5) Isn't he Disfigured by his scar? I expected to see this flaw from his
> description. Not necessary, of course.

Another editing mistake, my bad. If you remember, I had started
working on the character about a month ago, and then had to leave him
in the backburner for a while as work ate my life. When I resumed
working on him I had had the time to re-think some ideas and add other
elements, which ended up creating the confusion in the Disfigured (a
flaw present in the first draft) and Amentes (the magus Hefarion wrote
to in the first draft).

I see.

 

My apologies for not re-reading the whole thing and fixing these
mistakes before submiting; I will fix the whole thing and send it all
together in a block.

Alrighty. No need to apologize - editing errors are very hard for yourself to spot.

Yair

Thanks!