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Mari Amwithig of Merinita

by Neil Taylor

Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Pre +1, Com 0, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex -1, Qik 0
Size: 0
Age: 28 (23*) * LP made as a Favour by her parens –14 to Aging (CrCo lab total 20+25+3+7+5 + Mari’s 3+4 = 67)
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 1 (6*) (* her parens had to inflict a warping point on her in order to teach her Faerie Magic)
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Maga; Affinity with Perdo, Book Learner, Cyclic Magic (+3 at night), Faerie Magic (free Virtue), Life Boost, Mastered Spells, Puissant Art (Perdo), Special

Circumstances: touching, Subtle Magic; Driven: prove herself better than the Faerie Blooded magi, Favors (her parens, for LP); Cyclic Magic (-3 by day), Short Lived Magic

Personality Traits: Jealous of Faerie Blood magi +3, Vain +2, Spiteful +1
Combat: Fist: Init 0, Attack 0, Defense +1, Damage -2
Soak: +2
Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20)
Abilities: Artes Liberales 2 (ceremonial casting), Awareness 1 (searching), Code of Hermes 1 (faerie matters), Concentration 1 (spells), Covenant Lore 1 (rules), Faerie Lore 2 (dark winter), Faerie Magic 1 (showy effects), Finesse 1 (precision), Latin 4 (Hermetic usage), Leadership 1 (shield grogs), Living Language 5 (wide vocabulary), Magic Theory 4 (invent spells), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (who’s who), Parma Magica 2 (Corpus), Penetration 3 (Perdo), Philosophiae 2 (ritual spells), Profession: Scribe 1 (copying), Stealth 0+1 (sneaking), Survival 0+1 (woods), Agony of the Beast 1 (dogs), Eyes of the Cat 1 (at night), Grip of the Choking Hand 2 (warriors), Lift the Dangling Puppet 1 (warriors), Curse of the Rotted Wood 1 (doors), Invisibility of the Standing Wizard 1 (inside), Obliteration of the Metallic Barrier 1 (doors), Wind of Mundane Silence 1 (against faerie magic)
Arts: Cr 0, In 0, Mu 5, Pe 15(*), Re 6; An 7, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 7, He 4, Ig 0, Im 0, Me 4, Te 4, Vi 0 (* Includes +3 for Puissant Art)
Equipment: robes, an impressive looking carved staff, elaborate finger rings
Encumbrance: 0 (0)
Spells Known: (* New spell)
- Agony of the Beast (PeAn 15/+25), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
- Eyes of the Cat (MuCo 5/+18@), Mastery 1 (Multiple Casting)
Grip of the Choking Hand (PeCo 25/+26), Mastery 2 (Fast Casting, Penetration)
Slay the Innocent* (PeCo(An) 30/+24)
Lift The Dangling Puppet (ReCo 15/+16), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
Curse of the Rotted Wood (PeHe 5/+25@), Mastery 1 (Still Casting)
Palm of Flame (CrIg 10/+5@)
Invisibility of the Standing Wizard (PeIm 15/+21@), Mastery 1 (Still Casting)
Touch of Shattering* (PeTe 5/+24@)
Obliteration of the Metallic Barrier (PeTe 20/+25@), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
Obliteration of the Traveler’s Barrier* (PeTe(He) 20/+21)
Grasp the Distant Slingstone* (ReTe 10/+12)
Wielding the Invisible Sling (ReTe 10/+12)
Wind of Mundane Silence (PeVi 20/+18), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

(@ These spells have Touch range, so include the +3 “Special Circumstances: Touching” bonus)

Vis: none, alas.
Appearance: A striking young woman with pale skin and raven black hair, which never seems to stay where it should (a mundane problem, which Mari could solve with magic, but does not). While quite

given to sneaking around, hooded and cloaked, in dark places, she much prefers company where she can let her good looks show.

She is often found in the company of assorted night Faeries, goblin and redcaps and the like, which dayfolk consider unsavory… Recruited by her Merinita parens for her intelligence and magical Gift, she nevertheless has no trace of faerie blood in her veins. It was a source of minor shame to her parens that he had to inflict a small warping spell in order to initiate her into the faerie Mysteries.

She is pale and raven haired, in contrast to the ruddy blond, Sidhe-blooded magi around her as she was trained. She is deeply jealous of her sodales in the House, of their ease and grace and good looks, and the common assumptions that faeries are light and fluffy and that Merinita magi should be like that too. She found a strength in the darkness, and discovered more about the dark fae, and the destructive aspects of magic.

She is determined to make herself better than those who have the easy option of faerie blood: she studies spells, arts and skills to wield raw power, and even nagged her parens to devise a longevity ritual for her before she even finished her apprenticeship. Having this potion (combined with her genuine youth) has made her seem not to have aged since her gauntlet.

[In game terms, she makes her aging rolls as normal, but ignores all results other than “no apparent aging (2 or less)” or “apparent age increases by one year (3 or more)”; she will start to make aging rolls normally after she turns 35.]

In her drive, she has also learnt tricks to make herself seem more powerful: elder magi may be so suffused with aspects of their Art as to radiate involuntary effects, and she tries to make it seem as though she does, too. She has learnt minor spells of destruction, and mastered them, so that she might cast them without seeming - one of her favorite tricks is to flounce out "through" a door, shattering it into pieces; or to make plants wilt around her. She also carries an ornately carved staff, which other may take for a talisman, or enchanted device, but which is in truth nothing more than a “stage prop”! If a cast spell is blocked by the magic resistance of an opponent, she will try to obtain a small item, drop of blood, or fallen hair, using her spell Grasp the Distant Slingstone, and using that to boost her Penetration total. If that is not enough, she will draw on reserves of inner strength, and use her own life force to boost the spell casting. So far, this has always proved enough… she may yet fail! She also desires to improve her Penetration ability by study and practice.

Her vain desire to remain young, like the faeries, by the artificial means of a powerful longevity ritual, mean that she began her magical career owing a large favor to her parens, above the normal debt of any filia to parens. She has sent small gifts of raw Vis whenever she has managed; should he ask her to perform some task she knows she must obey even though it inconvenience her considerably.

New Spells

SLAY THE INNOCENT

PeCo(An) 30

R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind

This spell slices open the unfortunate victim, leaving them grievously and horribly wounded: companions of the victim may be horror-struck at the sight of such a happening. The name reflects the likelihood that an unaided victim will die soon after incapacitation.

(Base 20, +2 Voice)

Touch of Shattering

PeTe 5

“Fist of Shattering”, reduced to Touch range. The appropriate Form for the target is a casting requisite.

OBLITERATION OF THE TRAVELER’S BARRIER

PeTe(He) 20

R: Road (Faerie Range), D: Mom, T: Ind

Using the Faerie “Road” range carries the spell beyond the range of the caster’s voice (useful if casting quietly!) so long as there is a path directly to the object. A barrier laid across a road is the most obvious example of such, hence the name of the spell, although the spell can destroy any object (up to 10 Individuals in size) of wood, stone, metal or similar material, not just a barrier. (Base 5, +2 Road, +1 size) (cf Obliteration of the Metallic Barrier)

GRASP THE DISTANT SLINGSTONE

ReTe 10

R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind (based on Wielding the Invisible Sling)

The spell “grabs” a nearby object that could be thrown by a normal person (provides it is not held or fastened down), and moves it rapidly to the hand of the caster. Although the title suggests a sling-stone, an alternative use is to attempt to grab a small, shed, portion of an opponent – so that the caster may obtain an Arcane Connection to said opponent. It may help if an obliging shield grog can make the target shed a drop of blood(e.g. nicking it with a weapon). The Arcane Connection can then be used to boost Penetration of spells cast against the opponent.

(Base 4, +2 Voice)

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