This chronicle never got beyond the Summer of 1210; it began after the collapse of the Miskatonic
University campaign, and from April to July theoretically ran on Tuesday nights. Ithink we only managed four
sessions; various events and a cheap drinks night and over active social life plus Ian being busy a lot and Jon
being away on conference conspired against us,and I was finding it hard going to run. The notes on the covenant
are pretty thorough however, and may be of use to someone else running Ars Magica. I have a vague plan to
return to this, but it will be next year now as I am completely taken up with Changeling Three Crowns and
Beyond the Mountains of Madness for Cthulhu, and am also looking to start work soon. Anyway, hope it amuses you -
the players generated their covenant as follows...
St. Georges Day, 23rd April 1210
The Covenant Dominae Paganus welcomes it’s Magi with a feast and celebration. Magi choose laboratories, rooms and meet the grogs.
The Covenant was established Hugh by of Jerbiton, a new Magi as of the Initiatory Tribunial of Caer Gadu held at Blackthorn under the
Black Mountains in 1209, and he has worked closely with Byron of Merenita and Gideon of Tytalus to design the Covenant, which is
expected to dominate the vast Brecklands of Suffolk and Norfolk, a gorse covered heath which extends between Kings Lynn and the
coastal villages of Norfolk in the north, the great monastery at Bury St Edmunds in the south, the vast marshes known as the fens in the
West and Silly Suffolk and Norfolk in the East. Silly incidentally is a corruption of the Saxon word selig or Holy; the highly populated
rural areas of Suffolk and Norfolk have hundreds of churches and the Dominion is strong here.
Mundane Politics
The Dominion would be even stronger were it not for the Interdict. In 1204 the Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter died,
and King John, the Bishops and the monks of Canterbury squabbled over who was to be his sucessor. The Pope eventually
appointed on 17th June 1207 Stephen Langton, a sixty year old Englishman who had spent most of his life at the capital of
King John’s greatest enemy, Phillipe Augustus, King of France. Langton was a Professor at Paris university which he helped found,
and to King John he was an impossible choice. John sent the monks of Canterbury in to exile and refused to allow Langton,
now Archbishop and Cardinal, to enter England.
The Pope responded by placing England under the Interdict;
"no ecclesiatical office to be celebrated except the baptism of infants and the confession of the dying"
and all the Churches closed. Many in Britain believe this is a sure sign of the imminent end of the world; mass is not sung,
marriages can not be held and funerals can not occur in consecrated ground. It is a positive blessing to Magi, for it reduces the
Dominion aura severely making magic easier. The King has now widened the rift by confiscating vast tracts of Church land and
Church treasure; their owners may avoid the loss by paying hefty fines. His latest money making tactic is to arrest all parish priests
mistresses, and hold them in jail till a ransom is paid; an amusing way of poking fun at the Church, and an amazingly profitable way
to make money as vast numbers of ransoms are being paid, one priest having to ransom six different mistresses!
This weakening of the Church is definitely in your favour, as by an ancient Charter of King Canute the Abbey at
Bury St Edmunds collects taxes and administers legal courts throughout West Suffolk, making it virtually a kingdom
within a kingdom. The Abbot, Samsom, is a formidable man who can call upon an army of sixty knights and is one of
the five most powerful Clergymen in Britain, and many feel second only to the Archbishop (who as you know is in
France and unable to enter the country!)
The Pope, Innocent III is unlikely to repent. He has recently declared a crusade against the Cathar (Albigensian) heretics
in Occitania (Southern France), the most highly civilised place in the world. When asked how the crusading Northern French
and English knights should differentiate between heretics and pious Christian folk, he simply said - ‘Kill them all; God will know
his own.’ He is also sponsoring a second crusade, by the Teutonic Knights against the heathen Letts and Russians in the Baltic
States. Magi are to him heretics - heretics must die. But at least he is unlikely to make up with King John for a while, though if
he preached a crusade against England the consequences would be as horrific as the holocaust he has unleashed against
Southern France and Eastern Europe.
Hermetic Politics
The Dominion is too strong for mages to normally attempt to create a Covenant in East Anglia, but of the nine English Covenants
which make up the Tribunial of Caer Gadu three are now in Anglia. Firstly, there is you, Dominae Paganus. Secondly, there is Covenant
Fen Tyger, an ex-Miscellanea dominated covenant somwehere west of Ely, whose representative at the tribunial, Rud, seemed completely
disinterested in your plans but nodded assent when it came to the vote for the new covenant. Finally there is Schola Pythagoranis, an
academic covenat dominated by House Jerbiton that meets at Cambridge and seemed supportive of your plans.
The Covenant
Situation
Access +1 you are about half a days ride from Bury St Edmunds
Seclusion +2 the Covenant is well hidden in little travelled heatland, The Brecklands
Environment -1 the Breckland suffers from Blows, or sudden sandtorms
Buildings
Size 0 the Covenant has an impressive Great Library (underground)
Quality 0 the Covenant is reasonably comfortable
Repair 0 the Covenant cost £10 a year to maintain
Defences
Situation 0 the Covenant is surrounded on each side by the heathland and gorse.
Extent 0 the only mundane defences are two small wooden treehouse towers
Repair 0 the defences are in reasonable shape.
Relations
Allies 0 the other Covenants are largely indifferent to you
Enemies -12 the Abbot of St Edmundsbury is a dangerous nemesis; the Red Cloaks, an outlaw
gang, are also furious at your arrival in their area.
Contacts +7 Osric of Thetford, a merchant; Aelwyn, a senior member of the Abbot’s Council and Alderman Piers Southgate of Bury are your friends.
Stores
Vis Stocks 0 you have 100 pawns of vis in store
Supplies 0 you have average supplies
Reputation -1 you have a reputation as green, inexperienced Magi
Improvement
Income +1 you have an income of £50 a year
Vis Supply +3 you can gather 45 pawns of vis a year
Inhabitants 0 you have 6 magi, 50 covenfolk and 20 specialists
Library
Spells 0 you have a reasonable library of spells
Hermetic Books +2 you have an excellent hermetic library
Mundane Books 0 you have a reasonable mundane library
Magical Attributes
Aura +3 the Covenant has a magical aura strength 6
Magical Items 0 the Covenant has no magical items in stock
Laboratories +2 the Covenant has 4 excellent (+2 ) labs and two average (0 rated) labs
The Library
Spellbooks
ReVi20 Aegis of the Hearth ReVi20 Watching Ward ReVi20 Waiting Spell
PeVi30 Demon’s Eternal Oblivion PeVi30 Disenchant MuVi15 Gather the Essence of the Beast
MuVi25 Wizards Communion InVi5 Scales of the Magical Weight
InVi5 Sense the Nature of Vis InVi15 The Invisible Eye Revealed
CrVi15 Te Phantom Gift
CrAn15 Full Health of Beast and Bird InAn10 Shiver of the Lycanthrope
InAn15 Vision of the Marauding Beast InAn25 Opening the Tome of the Animal’s Mind
MuAn15 Beast of Outlandish Size MuAn15 Growth of the Creeping Thing
MuAn15 The Immaculate Beast PeAn5 Alleviate the Serpent’s Bite
ReAn5 Disguise of the Putrid Aroma ReAn5 Soothe the Ferocious Boar
ReAn15 Panic of the Elephant’s Mouse ReAn20 The Gentle Beast
CrAq15 Creeping Oil CrAq15 Lungs of the Watery Death
InAq5 Subtle Taste of Poison and Purity MuAq10 Lungs of the Fish
MuAq15 Incantation of the Putrid Wine PeAq20 Curse of the Desert
PeAq10 Parching Wind ReAq5 Cloak of the Duck’s Feathers
ReAq15 Gift of the Gentle Wave ReAq10 Break the Oncoming Wave
CrAu5 Chamber of Spring Breezes CrAu25 Clouds of Rain and Thunder
CrAu15 Wreaths of Foul Smoke CrAu35 The Incantation of Lightning
InAu15 True Sight of Air PeAu10 Thief of the Stolen Breath
ReAu15 Circling Winds of Protection ReAu20 Wings of the Soaring Wind
CrCo25 Free the Accursed Body CrCo15 Gentle Touch of the Purified Body
CrCo20 The Chirugeons Healing Touch CrCo25 Restoration of the Defiled Body
CrCo30 The Severed Limb Made Whole InCo20 Sight of the True Form
InCo5 Physician’s Eye InCo15 Whispers through the Black Gate
MuCo5 Eyes of the Cat MuCo15 Disguise of the New Visage
MuCo25 Gift of the Bear’s Fortitude MuCo35 Curse of Circe
PeCo5 Touch of the Goose Feather PeCo15 Dust to Dust
PeCo15 The Wound that Weeps ReCo5 Curse of the Unruly Tongue
ReCo5 Spasms of the Uncontrolled Hand ReCo5 Gift of the Frog’s Legs
ReCo35 The Leap of Homecoming
CrHe20 Restoration of the Corrupted Plant CrHe20 Wall of Thorns
CrHe20 Wall of Living Wood CrHe30 Bridge of Wood
InHe 10 Intuition of the Forest InHe15 Hunt for the Wild Herb
MuHe20 Twist the Living Tree MuHe25 Piercing Shaft of Wood
ReHe10 Repel the Wooden Shafts MuHe25 Stir the Slumbering Tree
ReHe15 Strike of the Angered Branch ReHe25 Lord of the Trees
CrIg10 Heat of the Searing Forge CrIg15 Flash of the Scarlet Flames
CrIg20 Pilum of Fire CrIg25 Arc of Fiery Ribbons
MuIg10 Show of Flames and Smoke MuIg10 Hornet Fire
CrIm15 Restoration of the Lost Image CrIm25 Phantasm of the Human Form
MuIm5 Notes of a Delightful Sound MuIm10 Aura of Ennobled Presence
MuIm15 Disguise of the Tranformed Image PeIm10 Veil of Invisibility
Pe1m10 Silence of the Smothered Sound
CrMe20 Return of Mental Lucidity CrMe15 Panic of the Trembling Heart
InMe20 Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie MuMe5 Vision of the Haunting Spirit
MuMe20 Emotion of Reversed Intentions PeMe20 Lay to Rest the Haunting Spirit
PeMe10 Trust of Childlike Faith PeMe10 The Call to Slumber
MuTe5 Edge of the Razor PeTe10 Rusted Decay of the Ten Score Years
ReTe10 The Unseen Porter MuTe10 The Crystal Dart ReTe5 Unseen Arm
Hermetic Books
There is one summae on each technique and form, each level 10, quality 8.
There is a single tractatus, Malachai’s Treatise on Ars Rego, quality 3.
Mundane Books
There are quality 5 tractatus on Magic Theory, Finesse, Penetration, Certamen, Faerie Lore and Reading English.
Covenfolk
The Magi are
Stowric of Criamon (Jonathan Elcock)
Guy of Bjornaer (Ian .Prestidge.)
Gideon of Tytalus (Chris.Hale.)
Hugh of Jerbiton (C.J.)
Byron of Merenita (Polly)
Juliana Ex Miscellanea (Q)
The companions are
Cedrik the Merchant (P.D)
Lady Annabelle (C.J.)
Rosy the girl (J.E.)
Alfred the Verderer (I.P.)
Sir Ralph de Noir (C.H)
The Grogs are
Horsa the Bow, an archer
Fran the Servant, the goose girl.
Tom the Scout, who hates monks
Dick the Guard, whose mother dropped him in the fire as a baby.
Harry the Archer, with his dog Dave
Simon the Sentry, ex-Mercenary in the French Wars
Cheers
CJ
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Last Updated 1st September 1999; 22:48