As many of our players no doubt discovered, creating a whole bunch of Ars Magica characters for a campaign can be a daunting task. The idea of creating a covenant, and a covenant charter, and deciding on a covenant library and covenant labs, and equipment for the grog turb and all that can just drive a group up the wall, particularly if they are not experienced Ars players. So I decided that for this campaign I would make up an existing covenant for you all to belong to. Having done that, however, I also wanted to leave the characters an out – it may be that after a few games players aren't interested in Reservo Scientia, and would prefer a covenant with different characteristics. The idea of having the characters associated with a covenant, but not necessarily members, appealed to me. And so the idea of PC magi being graduates and having the opportunity to work for a time for the covenant without having to sign the charter was born.
Edmund
Players initially have a safe base of operations without having to go through the hassle of making up their own covenant. This safe base of operations doesn't last forever, though. The covenant of Reservo Scientia only sponsors graduates for ten years. After that time players will have to make the decision as to whether to sign the covenant charter or go find a new home.
Characters substantially younger or older than graduates affect this 10 year window. For example if there is a character who is 9 years past graduation then the player of that character will have to make decisions about the covenant charter after only one year of game time. Likewise a character in the 5th year of his or her apprenticeship will not even graduate for 10 years and so cannot leave the covenant until that time.
On the other hand,as I mentioned above, it is unlikely that a troop of 7 magi would all graduate the same year. As a compromise I have come up with the following rules for allowing apprentices and experienced magi in the game:
Apprentices: Players wishing to play magi who have not yet completed their apprenticeship may do so, provided that the character has gone through at least the first ten years of his or her training. Apprentices are allowed very little freedom during the first ten years of their apprenticeship anyway.
To figure out how many levels of spells and Arts the character begins with, multiply the number of years that the character has been an apprentice by 10. So if the character has been an apprentice for 12 years, he or she has 120 points to spend on spells, and 120 points to spend on Arts.
Experienced Magi: At Reservo Scientia is is not uncommon for graduates to spend a few years after passing their wizard's gauntlet working at the behest of the covenant. Some do this out of a sense of obligation, some out of gratitude, and some because they simply haven't determined the direction of their life yet and want a bit more time to figure it out. For this campaign I will allow magi to be built with up to five years worth of experience. To give your magus experience, simply divide 30 experience points per year between Arts, Abilities, and level of spells. A minimum of 7 points per year must be spent on Abilities, to represent the character's work on behalf of the covenant.
See the document "Grog Creation in Eight Easy Steps" (PDF).
I HIGHTLY recommend that you do not age your character past age 34.
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