[OOC]Gormenghast, an ArM campaign [full]

[Yair]

I can explain those. Mages make people and animal feel uneasy when they are near them (they have a penalty to social skills); Gentle gift means that you don´t have that problem. Black sheep means that your family rejects you; they oppose your character, and won´t help if anything happens to you. "Stingy master" means that your master did not train you as thoroughly as it should have, and thus you have less magical arts than the average. You can cast spells without making gestures, hence the Subtle Magic virtue.

Allow me to expand on those.
I gave you the Gentle Gift so that you could interact easily with city folk and animals - otherwise, they would have shunned you.
Black Sheep, in your particular case, relates to your relationship with your Hermitic "family" - your former parens (former "master"), and all those who respect her, see your interest as abhorrant and wanting nothing to do with you. This carries over to your political stature, as your parens is highly respected in the tribunal.
Stingy Master comes along with all of this, as Stolizya was as quick to get rid of you as possible, and barely tought you the basics. This also coincides with your exceptionally young age.
Subtle Magic and Quiet Magic allow you to cast spells with little or no words and gestures at a lesser penalty - I admit these are more min-maxing oriented, to allow you to cast spells in animal form with less penalties. They are not essential to the character, and we can remove them if you want.

Then come the others... let me just explain them all.
Affinity with Intellego adds the score of the Ability to any application of the Intellego art, making you that much better at dechipering things out. It goes well with the divinatory nature of crows, and your inquisitive nature.
Follower of Bjornaer allows several things - principaly, through the Will Over Form ability, you can change-shape into a human or crow shape at will. You can also use the ability to resist shape-changing spells. Last, your current shape (crow, human, or any other shape adopted by magic) is always seen as your true shape to magical investigations.

Now to the flaws...
No familiar means you can never bind a familiar.
Weak magic comes from your Bjornaer heritage - your have weaknesses relating to fire-magic, specifically you'll find it difficult to penetrate the "spell resistance" of creatures or characters.
Small Frame means you are small - both in mass and height. The result is that you have one less Body level (-5 hp) and one less Fatigue level (meaning less energy to cast spells).
Uncommon Fear from birds of pray is pretty self-explanatory.
and the Dependent means you have your mother and sister to take care of.

Note also that Shape of the City Prowler allows you to take on the form of a dog (we can change it to cat or something else). The other spells have explanations with them, so should be clear enough.

Hmm. Anymore questions?
I recommend reading the relevant parts of the AM4 book/pdf; it has an excellent index in the back.

 

[Blue_Genie]

I'm still here

Just wanted to say that I haven't checked out, and am still working on my character. I was thinking of having a Volkhv companion character. Would that be OK?

 

[Yair]

Just wanted to say that I haven't checked out, and am still working on my character. I was thinking of having a Volkhv companion character. Would that be OK?

The thing is, Volkhv are very powerful. IIRC, a Volkhv takes the *magus slot*. As I see it, he can be a priest in Gormenghast, either as a Ex Misc or as a non-magus priest serving the pagan community. Or he can be affiliated with a nearby community. If you want him community-less, he will need to be a Koldun.
A hedge wizard Companion would be a Vedun. Or a "bard-guy", forgot how they were called.
I might be willing to allow two or more magus-slot characters for each player in the future... but let's stick with one for now, OK?

 

[Blue_Genie]

The thing is, Volkhv are very powerful. IIRC, a Volkhv takes the *magus slot*. As I see it, he can be a priest in Gormenghast, either as a Ex Misc or as a non-magus priest serving the pagan community. Or he can be affiliated with a nearby community. If you want him community-less, he will need to be a Koldun.
A hedge wizard Companion would be a Vedun. Or a "bard-guy", forgot how they were called.
I might be willing to allow two or more magus-slot characters for each player in the future... but let's stick with one for now, OK?

OK. *Looks back over thread*

Nobody has stated they wanted to play a Volkhv, right?

 

[Yair]

Gormenghast: The City That Is A Dream

OK, so as it seeems we have decided upon Gormenghast, how about the following for decriptions/info? I'll divide them to small crunchy bits. If there is anything you want to change, just say so.

Physical Appearance
One can almost perceive some design behind the architectural cacophony that is Gormenghast, some hidden logic secreted behind the myriad of domes and towers, courtyards and promenades, balconies and alcoves that, taken together, comprise the City that is a Dream. The complex is dominated by the Tower of Crows, an impossibly tall thin black square tower capped by an aviary. Below the tower lies the Council Dome, a huge silver dome out of which slit-like windows colored light shines out like beacons in the night, each window casting a different hue on the surrounding domes, towers, and rooftops that lie below.Around hundreds of small towers, villas, and other great houses crowed hundreds more shanty buildings, crouching and leaning onto each other as if gasping for air, or perhaps reaching for the great dome's light. This is then the structure that is Gormenghast - a confused and jumbled assortment of impossible architecture drawn with unerring design.
Below the covenant proper sits a small town, perhaps a village. Its cobbled streets are windy but wide, and its houses low yet spacious. Much now is in ruin, and many of the residences stand empty, the streets lifeless, and the people few and far in between.
The village and covenant lie in a valley, surrounded by hills that mark the border of the regio the nests them. By ancient law the valley and hills are unhampered, unspoiled by man's touch. No road connects Gormenghast to the hills, no road to tie it to land or tribunal. Yet somehow the covenant and village carry on, for food and goods do come to Gormenghast is ways more mysterious then mere roads. A hidden power looks over Gormenghast, even onto it long winter.

 

[Yair]

Navigating Gormenghast

Navigating Gormenghast
Space and time mean little in this magical place. Travel through the labyrantine maze that is the central complex is much more a matter of understanding of fleeting moments, unique symbolism, and a keen awareness of your destination than it is a mere game in geography or geometry. Despite its almost mundane, non-changing, appearance, attempting to navigate Gormenghast by map or memory will only get you lost, fast.
Mechanically, the covenant is considered a linked set of regios, each at the same level (+4, although once their aura was more powerful). Finding your way into a certain regio requires a Perception + (Gormenghast) Area Lore check of EF 5, modified for familiarity (from +5 to -5). Enigmatic Wisdom may be used as a bonus to this roll, and it may be a Simple roll when seeking areas of great familiarity.
The lands around the covenant proper, namely the village and engulfing valley, can be navigated normally.

 

[Yair]

The Library

The Library
There are actually three libraries in Gormenghast, but only one is The library, and it is a wonder. It is located in a great square hall, perhaps seven feet tall. High stone walls divide the room into many narrow hallways, and the floor is littered with piles of small books. Its key feature, however, are the huge tomes leaning against the reading stools or lying in the recesses in the walls. Hundreds upon hundreds of books line the walls, each tome taller than a grown man, bound in heavy wooden covers and written on thick leather parchment. The insides are all lavishly illustrated by the librarians, who are always hard at work in the great library, copying, illustrating, and rewriting the great collection. Unfortunately, the thick leather parchment is splotchy, there is no index, and indeed not even titles upon the weighty tomes.
Mechanically, there is no set list of books in Gormenghast's library. Rather, trying to locate a certain spell, lab notes, or book requires some time (1d8 days) with a librarian, and a Communication roll (appropriate social skills or other modifiers may apply), with the EF depending on the likelihood of the library containing the sought after item. The library is more likely to have works connected (even ymbolically) to decay, stagnation, order, stability, coldness, or protection, as well as books on local affairs. There is little chance of there being a book on places far away, or one with themes of instability, heat, or so on, and some works (particularly new, original, or exotic) may simply have no chance of being located. Note that in practice the library is composed of individual AM4 books; this mechanic is used simply for the purpose of us not having to decide what these are in advance.
The secondary libraries are smaller collections of books, largely focused on specific topics. The Rose-Room Library focuses on protection and warding, while the Northern Wing library focuses on mundane works. Mechanically, searching them is subsumed under the general rules above. Also note that a treasure trove of lost books may lie in abandoned, or at least forgotten, laboratories.

 

[Yair]

Ritual and Ceremony

Ritual and Ceremony
Gormenghast is enmeshed with ritual. Everything from the changing of the guard to the scrubbing of the floors is conducted in somber ceremony. Upon joining the covenant you swore to respect and uphold Gormenghast's customs, but you probably weren't aware quite what you were letting yourself into. As a junior magus (or a lesser position) you are expected by custom to be present and participate in certain rituals - from the annual Casting of the Aegis of the Hearth to the infamous Saying Farewell to Those Embarking on this Dangerous Journey ceremony. Attendance is nominated by the Rex Scorum, the master of ceremonies, that personally partakes in the more important ceremonies.
The complex rituals are all based on ancient laws and customs, as detailed in the annals and lawbooks of Gormenghast. So encumbered with age is Gormenghast that precedents for nearly any action or inaction can be found somewhere in these weighty tomes. A successful (Gormenghast) Organization Lore check will always supply such a precedent. Legal arguments between two claimants can be made on the basis of the Lectio skill (with roleplaying modifiers as appropriate). The Pontifex alone has the power to circumvent tradition by declaring a new custom, although she is hesitant to use this power.

 

[Yair]

Other Resources, Rights, and Duties

Other Resources, Rights, and Duties
It is said Gormenghast hides a hundred wizard laboratories within its depths. Knowing its nature, it wouldn't surprise you to learn there are more. Wizard's councils, however, are attended by only a few - although there always seems to be one old member you never have seen before. The covenant keeps no record on which member is dead, or passed to final twilight, and the number of magi that resided within its great halls over the centuries is in the hundreds. You can only hazard a guess as to how many are still active.
Each magus receives a laboratory and with it a stipend of (Gormenghast-minted) coin, lab supplies, and may call upon the services of the artisans, experts, and grogs of the covenant (with seniority determining underling duties in case of conflicting instructions). Raw vis is not supplied automatically; rather, a raw vis stipend may be alloted in a council meeting, as can other desirable resources. The council is convened on each equinox and solstice, but must be attended only by those the Rex Scorum determines - if you desire to attend one, you must notify him at least a season in advance.
Junior magi are often invited to council meetings and various minor ceremonies. They are also frequently tasked with collecting raw vis, or with various missions and problem-solving duties by the senior magi. While you may vote in council, senior magi may veto or ignore your vote... sometimes, according to precedent.
You are not aware of the covenant's accounting of mundane equipment, lab supplies, or magical vis and resources. From the neglect of entire wings and the poor maintenance of those used you gather resources are limited. Yet food is plentiful and diverse, lab supplies never seem in shortage, and all its many grogs are adequately, if inexpensively, equipped. Everything seems to functional, but only barely so - except, that is, to the food, which is extravagant.
In terms of raw vis you believe the covenant has more then adequate resources, and has over the years accumulated vast stockpiles. Certainly you have never heard that the covenant lacked the vis to grant someone any request - objections were always, it seems, made on some other ground.

 

[Yair]

Personas

Personas
In addition to the PCs, Gormenghast has a large cast of NPCs. These include hundreds of covenfolk (librarians, cooks, servants, and so on) and grogs, as well as a dozen or so specialists (carpenters, masons, tailors, tanners, bookbinders, and so on). The following are just some of the more prominent and active members of the covenant. Yes, these are the active ones.
Pontifex Lydia is the ruler of Gormenghast, a Tremere maga struck by old age and twilight. He frail body can no longer carry her, and she is carried around in a small carriage by a large fawning entourage that attempts to rule the covenant directly, especially when Lydia sinks into sleep (which she does often). To their annoyance, Lydia always seems to wake up in the wrong moments and disrupt their petty despotic schemes. From the little you know of her, she seems a fair ruler genuinely interested in Gormenghast's interests, but beset by fools and incompetence.
Rex Scorum is the master of ceremonies of the covenant. You have gathered he is a Mercere by the name of Janus, though you are not certain if he is Gifted. He is a fat old man, that seems interested in little more than the minutiae of the endless ceremonies he is in charge of.
Rex Nereiim is a mystery to you. He was present at each of your acceptance ceremonies, and at many ceremonies since, yet you are not clear on his task and duties in Gormenghast, and he had never attend a wizard's council. Stranger still, you can't seem to remember his appearance, although you always recognize him when you meet him.
Skylos of Criamon is an aging Criamon magus, chitterish and giggling. He seems to find just about anything amusing and interesting, yet nothing seems to hold his attention. His votes usually goes with the flow, or with the more elder magi in the council.
Kerrus of Verditius is a reclusive Verditius magus. Even at council he is always prying over some research notes or sketches, and resents simply having to vote. He often votes Nay, and you have the distinct feeling he doesn't always know what he is objecting to.
Adendein of Merinitia is a relatively young senior member of the covenant, or at least seems to be younger and less afflicted then most. He is adamant in pursuing plans to invigorate Gormenghast, but his plans and suggestions often fail for lack of support. You suspect that he is the driving force behind the recent acceptance of young magi (the PCs) to bolster the covenant.