9/30/16

Endrite (GM): Pilum of Fire vs Vardian's Tomb: 14 Damage

Bog Monster  attacks  Vardian's Tomb

rolling {1d10!+12}>0

{

(

7

)

+12

}

=

1 Successes

Bog Monster  does 12 Damage

Oh hi.

Darvin: Sup

Endrite (GM): You ready for this?

Darvin: Yep

Endrite (GM): Luckily Ferris didn't go to Subiaco Abbey, so he has some spare time.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ferris on patrol.

Endrite (GM): Remind me if you went on the raid that displaced the Spider Matriarch from Casa del Ratto?

Ferris of Bonisagus: Yep, I was there.

Endrite (GM): Alright.

Ferris of Bonisagus: I was on the side of "feed everything to the spider queen and let's be friends with her."

Endrite (GM): What makes you decide to go find the Spider Matriarch today?

Ferris of Bonisagus: I need a figurehead for a spider spy network.

Endrite (GM): Alright.

Give me a Magic Lore roll please.

Magic Lore + INT + basic die.

Ferris of Bonisagus:

rolling 1d10 + 3

(

1

)

+3

=

4

Oh...

Endrite (GM): Alright, that's pretty bad.

You have no idea where your magical spider pal has run off to.

You could always ask one of your sodales.

Who are conveniently available to be played by me.

Ferris of Bonisagus: I'll ask my Bonisagus friends.

Endrite (GM): Which one?

Ferris of Bonisagus: Aristocritus since I believe he was there.

Endrite (GM): Aristocritus or Aleseta?

Alright.

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "Ah, sodale, you can always come to me for advice. What's your problem?"

Ferris of Bonisagus: "I'm looking for the Spider Matriarch that we met a few years. I think she could be of use to us."

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "Of course, naturally you would come to the master of the arcane menagerie."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Do you have a method to find her? Or a suggestion as to where I could start?"

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "I will need some time to research your answer, but rest assured it will be forthcoming."

Endrite (GM): Sounds like you'll have to wait a little bit.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Is a bit like a day or seasons?

Endrite (GM): Probably a day or less.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Sure I"ll hang around.

Endrite (GM): Alright.

Awareness roll please.

Ferris of Bonisagus:

rolling 1d10 + 4 + 0

(

2

)

+4+0

=

6

The die hates me tonight.

Endrite (GM):

(To GM) rolling 1d10 +1 -2

(

6

)

+1-2

=

5

Endrite (GM): Alright had to roll some dice there.

As you're waiting in the library, you hear Aristocritus talking with Aleseta outside her lab.

A short time later he meets with you in the library, holding a hastily scribbled note.

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "Apologies for the delay, but I had a project in the lab that I could not let linger."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Not a problem."

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "The answer to your question is simplicity itself."

"A magical animal will seek a magical aura to sustain itself in such a way that comports with the character of the beast."

'Therefore, a spider will seek an aura in the dark environs which it prefers to lair in."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Could she have returned to her original lair?"

"Well we do have these catacombs beneath us..."

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "Possibly, though it seems unlikely, given the enmity between her and the Rat King."

"The catacombs would make an ideal nest for such a creature, but the Aegis of the Hearth bars it from entering the covenant."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Couldn't we allow her entry?" (I'm actually just not entirely sure of the Aegis of the Hearth works)

Endrite (GM): Actually, you are!

The Aegis of the Hearth prevents any creature with Might less than the magnitude of the spell from entering without a token, created at the time of the ritual.

So while you could allow her in after you find her, it's unlikely that she's lairing in the covenant's catacombs unless she is significantly more powerful than you expected.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Fair enough.

Guess I"ll have to tie a ribbon on her.

Endrite (GM): Sure.

Only until you finish the Familiar ritual, at which time she won't need it.

Since she'll be linked to you for the purpose of that particular spell.

Ok, any other questions you have for Aristocritus?

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Can you think of any magic aura's nearby? The only one I know of is currently sat on by the Rat King, an unlikey place as already figured out."

Aristocritus Bonisagi: "Ah, I prefer the higher realms of Magic Lore, you should ask our resident hedge wizard about that map he's always talking about, if he isn't off somewhere praying!"

Ferris of Bonisagus: Who is the hedge wizard?

Endrite (GM): Well there's two, but he's polite enough not to Lavinia that.

He's talking about Proclus, the magus who doesn't even belong to a real House.

He's probably around here somewheres.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Oh, I didn't know Proclus didn't.

Endrite (GM): Yeah, he's Ex Miscellenae.

He doesn't even refer to himself by House, which is highly unusual.

Not for Ex Misc, I guess.

Alright, any other questions for Aristocritus?

Darvin (GM): Sorry, my computrr is having an issue. Im on my phone right now. Just need a few mins to figure this out.

Endrite (GM): Oh yeah, please rejoin as a player.

Also, no problemo.

Just tell me when you're ready to start up again.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Looks like I'm stuck on ny phone, oh well!

Endrite (GM): Alright.

Well this is sort of a roleplaying heavy adventure anyway.

Ferris of Bonisagus: So ill find Proclus and ask him if he knows of any Magic Auras nearby that are underground.

Proclus of Rome: "Hello, Ferris. How does the day find you?"

Well?

How does it find you!?

Ferris of Bonisagus: ""Rhe day finds me wanting for a spider queen to start a spy network for us. How does it find you?"

Proclus of Rome: "I'm caught in quite a thorny conundrum myself."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "What troubles you?"

Proclus of Rome: "How best can I woo the lovely lady Hannelore without that interloper Paganacci interfering?"

"Well, do not trouble yourself my friend."

"Do you refer to the Spider Matriarch we encountered almost a decade ago?

Ferris of Bonisagus: "The very same. And to woo the lovely lady, I imagine old man Potom might be able to whip you up a love potion of some sort..."

Proclus of Rome: "A love potion? That would dilute the sacrament of marriage!"

"And this Spider Matriarch you seek is surely an unnatural beast, for it was capable of laying eggs, breaking the rules of its animal order."

"Worms such as spiders grow from the soil. To find one reproducing through copulation is shocking at best and a mockery of God's plan at worst."

"Allying yourself with such a creature will bring nothing but hardship."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "It is this creatures evil ways are what will help us grow. I need to break the creature in and we will all benefit."

Proclus of Rome: "You are my friend, so I will help you, but please take care, lest you imperil your immortal soul."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Isnt turning evil to the light a noble goal?"

Proclus of Rome: "Animals are not humans, they cannot change their natures because they have no free will, only instinct."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "You can help ally this queen to us, and our intentions are good. Therefore this creature will do good."

"As you say, they have no free will, so we must put in our own."

Proclus of Rome: "Interesting theory, though I disagree that such a thing is possible."

"Still, I will tell you what little I know about the subject."

Endrite (GM): "Little" turns out to be an understatement.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Wonderful!

Endrite (GM): You're treated to an lecture on the formation of lacunae that lasts for what feels like the entire day.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ill take notes.

Endrite (GM): Suffice to say, Lacunae are small pockets of Magic Aura that manage to survive even in large cities like Rome, despite the overwhelming magnitude of Dominion or Infernal auras.

These can range in size from an entire house to as small as the shadow of a tree.

There are several competing theories about the creation of these anomalies, but that isn't really relevant right now.

Proclus tells you about some of the ones that he's found.

There's one on top of a roof here:

One under a bridge here.

Endrite (GM): And one in an alleyway here.

Ferris of Bonisagus: (Unfortunately the chat screen takes up almost my full view."

Endrite (GM): Oh well it doesn't matter, just imagine where they are using the theater of the mind.

Which one do you want to visit first?

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ill visit the one under the bridge.

Endrite (GM): Alright, good choice.

Watch out for the troll!

The Tiber is low this month.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ill pay the toll

Endrite (GM): That means there is less water and, consequently, there is proportionally more waste.

No toll on this bridge.

Ferris of Bonisagus: The troll here is nice then.

Endrite (GM): Well, that's the result of living in a city.

The smell of the river hits is particularly strong here, but there is still plenty of foot traffic.

Carts going in every direction, pedestrians from all walks of life, and even an armed man on horseback are crossing the bridge.

The lacuna is under the second bridge arch.

How do you plan to get there?

Ferris of Bonisagus: I would wait until night time when tbe traffic has died down, and then fly down there on my butterfly wings (my fancy float in any direction spell)

Endrite (GM): Ok.

That will put you directly into the drink unless it allows you to fl.

y

Ferris of Bonisagus: I can move in any direction, so yeah, I fly.

Endrite (GM): The bridge doesn't have any underworks, just a set of stone pillars driven into the riverbed.

Alright good.

Alright, you loiter around the area for a while.

The Gift keeps the denizens of Rome from bothering you, though there are more than a few "accidental" shoves.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ill look for any hairs they might have left to track them down i the future.

In the future*.

Endrite (GM): There are some hairs on your robe, but there is no way to tell who, or what, they belong to.

Without some more accurate means of identification, of course.

Anyway, night falls.

No one walks the streets at night.

No one with any honest business, that is.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Butterfree, I choose you!

Endrite (GM): Alright, what's your casting score and target for your spell?

Ferris of Bonisagus: (1 sec)

Endrite (GM): No problemo.

Ferris of Bonisagus: 37 to hit a 30, assuming no aura.

Endrite (GM): There is, in fact an aura.

Typically the Dominion Aura present in a city changes to Infernal at night.

But that does pass without incident.

Ferris of Bonisagus becomes a beautiful butterfly man.

Endrite (GM): Alright.

You fly down to search for a giant spider.

And what luck, you find her!

A grotesquely large (about the size of a mouse) spider sits nestled in a a comparatively tiny web.

No eggs are in evidence.

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Greetings."

Spider Matriarch: "Interloper! Who dares enter my lair?!"

Ferris of Bonisagus: "I assumed you would remeber me, but I believe I was closer to your size when we first met. I am part of the magi who saved you a decade ago from the rat king."

Spider Matriarch: "Another magus come to pillage what is rightfully mine!"

"Tell me why I should not destroy you for your impertinence."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "I believe we can help each other. When I last saw you, you had a brood at your command, what has become of you?"

Spider Matriarch: "Your gang of raiders is what happened to me! You and that treacherous Rat King plotted to destroy me!"

"Now you assault me in my last stronghold!"

"I will never yield to you, Son of Hermes!"

Ferris of Bonisagus: "You have become pitful and weak. Cowering under above your kingdom of trash. Instead of blaming others for your failures, I want to see you reclaim your former glory and grow to new terrifying heights."

"I come to you with an offer."

Spider Matriarch: "Speak, human."

She gives you a spiderly look.

Her overall countenance suggests that she is a spider.

Ferris of Bonisagus looks back spidery.

Spider Matriarch: Your paltry number of eyes and lack of pedipalps make you a poor imitator.

Ferris of Bonisagus: "We sit upon a massive catacomb, one which will sustain your life and give you plenty of room and opprounty to grow the largest brood ever known. I will make you stronger, and destroy any enemies that threatern your kingdom. In return, you will devote your life to me as my chosen comapinion. You will help me destroy my enemies as I help you destroy yours. Our futures will become intertwined in a partnership that will see us both grow."

Spider Matriarch: "I will not be imprisoned by the Order of Hermes again, magus. I give you a counter-offer: I will allow you to serve me in the human realm and in exchange I will grant you my considerable powers."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "And what considerable powers do you offer here.."

Ferris of Bonisagus motions to the river garbage

Spider Matriarch: "I am the most powerful spider on life! This is merely a temporary home from which I will hatch my vengeance on all who have wronged me."

"That includes you, magus."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Do i wrong you by offering you the greatest glory you have known? Know your friends from your enemies."

Spider Matriarch: "As if a human knows anything of true glory."

"My brood reached throughout the lands when I was at the height of my power."

"From the Aventine Hill to the Tiber river, I held dominion."

Ferris of Bonisagus goes to the wall and casts Spilio's Fanged Transformation, turning unto a spider.

Endrite (GM): That's about a mile, by the way.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Thats a 40 to hit a spell level 20.

Spider Matriarch: "If you had my counsel, your false form would not be so ungainly."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Your dominion will extend to all of Rome, and grow much farther than that. I am the only one who will help you reach this goal."

"I will make one last counter offer."

"I have recently aquired a fishery, one which you can begin your ascent until you grow brave enough to move to te catacombs."

"There is a basement that will conceal you well."

Endrite (GM): A fishery?

Ferris of Bonisagus: The last session. We bought the fishery with the wll of Bonisagus in it. It had a magic aura and it was put under Ferriss name.

Endrite (GM): That isn't a fishery.

It had a fishmonger on the first floor.

Also it didn't have any aura.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ah. My mistake. K could have swore the basement had a magic aura though because of the well...

Spider Matriarch: "Bravery? Another word for human foolishness."

Endrite (GM): No it had no aura at all.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Gorcha

Endrite (GM): There wasn't anything of value in there at all besides some shelves and a fresco.

Ferris of Bonisagus: "What fooliness is it to have access all of the catacombs, you will be free to leave on your own free will."

Spider Matriarch: "Without my assistance, you will continue to make the same mistakes as all your kind. Trust, love, bravery, these will all lead to your demise."

"I will offer you this human, if you agree to heed my words, I will swear to aid you in your aspirations to cover these lands in your web."

Ferris of Bonisagus: "Then we have a deal."

Spider Matriarch: "Excellent human, deliver me unto your covenant post-haste."

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ill do that

Endrite (GM): I assume you have some way to get her back to the covenant and the resources to perform the familiar binding ritual.

FAMILIAR BONDING LAB TOTAL:

Any Technique + any Form + Intelligence

+ Magic Theory + Aura Modifier

FAMILIAR BONDING LEVEL:

Familiar's Magic Might + 25 + (5 x Size)

Endrite (GM): FAMILIAR BONDING COST:

the binding Lab Total

1 pawn of vis per five levels or fraction of

Vis must match Technique or Form

Or you can handle it later when you get back on your computer.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Ill do it now, sorry, was just looking up numbers.

Endrite (GM): No problemo.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Whats the spiders might?

Endrite (GM): 10.

Size is -10

It'll be a snap.

You can use Animal or Perdo vis here.

Darvin (GM): so 10 + 25 + (-50) = -15?

Endrite (GM): Yes.

Darvin (GM): I'll use Animal vis

Endrite (GM): Good idea.

What's your lab total?

Ferris of Bonisagus: Would my Magical focus apply here?

Endrite (GM): You et.

bet

Ferris of Bonisagus: Rego Animal + Bonus = 47

Endrite (GM): Alright.

That's a whopping 10 vis.

Ferris of Bonisagus: It seems like the higher the lab total, the higher the Vis cost. So wouldn't I want to pick the lowest?

Endrite (GM): No.

The lab total also controls how many bonuses you can give to the Three Cords.

The strength of each of these cords is

rated from 0 to +5. To determine all the cords’

ratings, divide the points of the magus’s Lab

then use the points allocated to each to buy

Endrite (GM): Total among them however you choose and

cord scores. A cord strength of 0 costs nothing,

a strength of +1 requires 5 points, a score of +2

requires 15 points, a score of +3 requires 30

points, a score of +4 requires 50 points, and a

score of +5 (the maximum) requires 75 points.

Endrite (GM): The total cost of the cords you buy cannot

exceed the magus’s Lab Total.

If you want to take your time to decide how to spend all your points that's ok.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Where is the list of things to choose where to spend the points?

(And it looks like we have plenty of Animal Vis in the ledger)

Endrite (GM): The Golden Cord: The familiar helps

you avoid magical errors, letting you roll fewer

botch rolls when using magic. Your golden

cord score is the number subtracted from the

number of botch rolls you would normally

make (though you must always roll at least

Endrite (GM): one).

The Silver Cord: You can apply your silver

cord score as a bonus to all rolls that

rolls against mental magic, and to rolls to protect

involve Personality Traits, to natural resistance

you from a natural mental influence like

Endrite (GM): intimidation or verbal trickery. In addition, if

your mind is ever overcome by another force

your familiar may be able to free you. To be

successful, it must roll 9+ on a stress die with

the silver cord score as its bonus (one attempt

per day). If the roll botches, the animal’s mind

Endrite (GM): is overcome along with yours.

The Bronze Cord: You can apply your

healing rolls, to rolls to withstand deprivation

bronze cord score as a bonus to Soak totals, to

(such as to holding your breath or resisting

sleepiness), and to rolls to resist aging. It does

Endrite (GM): not help you withstand Fatigue.

The magus binds a familiar by forging the

cords, so both the initial bond and the forging

of the cords take place in the same season.

Oh yeah for sure.

Ferris of Bonisagus: So with a 47, I can just take a +3 in all three cords (15 + 15 + 15) < 47, is that correct?

Endrite (GM): Yes.

You still spend 10 vis.

Ferris of Bonisagus: That's basically the only option since I can't take a +4

Sounds good.

Endrite (GM): Alrighty.

Good adventure!

Ferris of Bonisagus: Thanks for running it, I really appreciate it.

Endrite (GM): You gain 2 XP for turning to your sodales for help finding the Spider Matriarch, 1 XP for thinking of a magical solution to meet it, and 2 XP for humbly coming to an accord with it.

That's 5 XP total.

Ferris of Bonisagus: One last quick question, I know familiars are useful in the lab, and looking at the cords it looks like their main benefit in the lab is helping you reduce botches (I assume from experimenting), is that correct?

Endrite (GM): It's any magic-related botch.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Thank you for the XP. What season is it?

Endrite (GM): Fall I think.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Okay, sounds good. Thanks again.

Endrite (GM): It was a pleasure.

Ferris of Bonisagus: Have a good night!

Endrite (GM): You to!

o

You too.

See you on Sunday.

Darvin: See you then.