Pyrrhus chose his Hermetic name to honor the son of Achilles (also called Neoptolemus). Achilles is widely revered in the Black Sea area, and as a young, brash warrior it appealed to him to fashion himself as the heir of Achilles's legacy.

 

It was only later in his career that he discovered that most people associate the name with Pyrrhus of Epirus, who sustained such heavy casualties while defeating the Romans that winning the battle cost him the war. Clearly, my magus should have spent a bit more time studying before choosing a name. :(

 

 

Pyrrhus's Story

• 1347 (Autumn) The infernal plague in Italy
• 1350 Pyrrhus's First Twilight
• 1350 Letter to Ladislaus 
• 1352 The Siege of Magvillus
• 1352 Pyrrhus and Aeliana make a deal 
• 1352 Letter to Tacita 
• 1356 Letter from Albanus Magunnus
• 1360 Expedition to Mt Dol 
• 1360 Reunited to Aeliana
• 1360 To Flora and Fauna from Pyrrhus
• 1360 to Theosophus from Pyrrhus
• 1360 to Tacita from Pyrrhus
• 1360 Reporting to Terencia 

 

Aging

• 1360: Pyrrhus is 40 years old and looks 35. He has 5 years of Longevity potions left, each of which provides a -9 to his aging rolls (Lab Total = 41)
• 1363: Pyrrhus is 43 years old and looks 36. He has 2 years of Longevity potions left, each of which provides a -9 to his aging rolls (Lab Total = 41)

 

 

Character Creation Questions

What is your name?

There's no way I'm telling you my name. I made the mistake of telling someone my real name once - the rash lasted for weeks. You can all me Pyrrhus, instead. 

 

What covenant were you apprenticed at?  Describe a strange rule or custom of that covenant.

I was apprenticed at Valnastium. If you want to never, ever be bored, that's the place to go! I have no idea why my mater, Terencia, was there, honestly - everyone's so excited about arts and dancing and creating beautiful things with magic, but she was pretty much the only person there who believes that the martial arts count as "arts." Actually, I'm not sure even she believes it, but she needs to justify her position, somehow. Also, whenever people are annoyed with us, they'd mutter something about the Theban League and then look extremely pleased with their own cleverness.

 

There's been a Tremere at Valnastium continuously for the past three hundred years. It turns out that House Jerbiton and House Tremere didn't get along so well after the War in 775, but fighting alongside one another in the Schism War at least opened communication between them again. So Coeris has maintained an ambassadorial presence at Valnastium ever since, and somehow my mater got the assignment. I don't think there's ever been a Tremere raised there, though - I think my mater was grooming me to replace him so she could die in peace, but we all know how that turned out.

 

What Tribunal was this covenant in?  Did you go to Tribunal in 1342, with your mater?

Valnastium is in the Greater Alps, but everyone there speaks an odd dialect of Latin called Rhaetian, so it wasn't actually that hard. And we did go to Tribunal in 1342, along with Kleio. I think she was mad that I didn't spend more time with her, but this was my opportunity to prove myself to the Quaesitors after my little adventure with Aeliana. If I was ever going to escape Valnastium, this was it! Not that I mind the feasting and the pageantry, but I can't help but believe that I'm destined for something greater.

 

Who was your master?  What was your relationship like?  Do you know if they are still alive?

My mater is Terencia of Bulgaria. She's a winter magus - we celebrated her 150th birthday a few years ago! She trained as a scout but eventually became a Lictor so that she could see the world. Now she's an ambassador in Valnastium, so I guess she succeeded in seeing the world and failed as a soldier.

 

She's absolutely brilliant, especially at Corpus magic and swordplay, but she can be pretty grim. She's completely convinced that the End of Days will happen within her lifetime, and she's a bit obsessed with training me to be the tip of the spear for the day when the Archangel Michael casts the Dragon to the earth. Other people in the covenant say that I'm the dragon, but I just ignore them.

 

When I was five, I was found by TBD in Bulgaria, near the Black Sea, and sent to Terencia to be apprenticed to her. I'm not sure if she arranged for this, or if the person who found me owed her a favor, or what exactly happened, but before I knew it, I was on a boat sailing toward my new life.

 

What is your house?  What is the house you wish you had been apprenticed into?  What is the house you are glad you were not apprenticed into? 

House Tremere! We're easily the most important house in the Order of Hermes, training constantly to prevent demons, monsters, or invaders from destroying the world. Bonisagus works tirelessly to research new magic to put in our hands, Verditius outfits us with the weapons of war, Mercere handles logistics, and the Jerbiton do diplomacy to make sure we're wasting talent fighting unnecessary battles. But House Tremere is the reason the Order exists today, House Tremere is the reason the Order will exist tomorrow, and House Tremere is the reason the Order will exist a century from now. HOUSE TREMERE!

 

Ok, so in a different life it might have been fun to be trained in House Flambeau, because they get to have all adventures they want without ever taking orders from anyone. On the other hand, there's a reason that the Flambeau Milites put themselves under the command of House Tremere during the Schism War; wars are won by disciplined soldiers fighting in formation, not by a bunch of vainglorious heroes running around like children. 

 

Who was another adult who looked after you when you were an apprentice?  What was your relationship like?  Do you know if they are still alive?

There was a man in Terencia's service named Valko who used to train the shield grogs. We used to spend time together on Sundays, when I didn't have any other work to do. Usually, we would train together, and he taught me the basics of formation fighting, polearms, and the other "lesser" arts that Terencia didn't have time for. Mostly, though, he'd tell me stories of Achilles, who's buried on an island in the Black Sea, where we're from. I think he enjoyed having someone to speak Slavonic with. I enjoyed it, too, since Terencia mostly spoke to me in Latin. I wonder if he's still there?

 

You were apprenticed in the same covenant as at least one other PC.  Which PC?  What is your relationship like?

Kleio... where to even begin? She was only two years younger than me, but her arts were opened later than mine so she was several years behind me in her apprenticeship. Between that and the fact that I'm nearly twice her size, I feel a little protective of her.

 

Ok, maybe I feel a little more than protective. But she's a Jerbiton and she'll probably be married off to cement some alliance or other while I'm busy beating a burning salamander to death with my bare hands. It's hard to muster the courtly graces when you're caked in mud, blood, and ash, you know?

 

During your apprenticeship your master was friends with the master of at least one other PC.  Which PC?  What is your relationship like?  Did you visit their covenant or meet somewhere else?

Sooo... this is awkward... but Terencia has some sort of relationship with an elderly Bonisagus, Almeda, who is the mater of Theosophus. I think she was doing research into some borderline illegal stuff - I don't know the details, but whatever it was, it had sufficient military potential that my mater was willing to sweep it under the rug, figuring that she'd rather live with that secret than spend the rest of her life knowing she'd stopped the Order from having this weapon. Terencia never talked about it, but every couple of years we would go and visit her, which is how I got to know her apprentice, Thesophus.

 

Who have you seen die?  Did you try to save them or did you push them into death?

In 1342, I was asked to help Aeliana investigate a spring magus for interfering with mundanes. Apparently, this is a big deal in some tribunals, although as far as I can tell, that's all the Jerbiton do all day long. Anyway, this was a pretty dull affair involving a lot of standing around, and watching Aeliana interview people... until suddenly, this idiot summoned a DEMON. He'd been a diabolist all along! So I killed the magus and the demon ran away.

 

That was a big moment. Hunting magical beasts is fun and all, but there is nothing as exhilarating as going toe-to-toe with another Hermetic magus.

 

You are a Christian.  Do you follow the Western Rite or the Eastern?  When was the last time you went to church?  What happened?  (recall that in the Changed Rules wizards are harshly effected by divine auras)

Of course I'm a Christian. I make sure to take communion at least once a year and I memorized the Pater Noster when I was a kid. What a dumb question.

 

What covenant do you call home?  If it is different from the covenant you apprenticed at  why did you leave?  If it is the same as the covenant you apprenticed at why did you stay?

I live at Seuthopolis in the Transylvanian Tribunal. I moved here shortly after my gauntlet to train as a Hoplite because a) I figured that I'd need to spent some time back home if I ever wanted to amount to anything within House Tremere and b) if you're going to be a Hoplite in Transylvania, Seuthopolis is the place to do it. It was a bit odd to go from a majority-Jerbiton covenant to a majority-Guernicus covenant; they're much more stern here, but being Tremere carries a lot of respect. Also, I'll get to help host Tribunal in a few years, which sounded really exciting before everyone died.

 

Describe three vis sources of this covenant.  Which one is currently too dangerous to collect from?

1. Between the covenant and the nearby capital city of Tarnova, there is a hollowed-out Oak in which Saint Ivan Rilski lived as a hermit for three years. Twice a year, when his dormition is commemorated on August 18 and October 19, the tree drops a number of acorns, each of which contains a pawn  of divine vis.

2. Beneath the town of Seuthopolis lie caverns which once housed an ancient Thracian Cabeiri cult. The caverns have a Magical Aura of 5, and bronze artifacts of the lost cult often contain pawns of vis. Because this is a non-renewable resource, the covenant charter limits the amount of vis any member of the covenant can remove from the caverns in a single year. Also, people who have become too interested in the Cabeiri cult have a tendency to develop madness, so research is discouraged.

3. The Shipka Pass Regio is a major magical regio near the covenant. The first level is where Tribunal is held and contains a number of buildings constructed for that purpose. (Against the Dark, p53). This regio is filled with magical creatures, and as one progresses to higher and higher levels of the regio, the creatures become stranger and more dangerous. The higher levels are sufficiently dangerous that only the head Lictor was allowed to lead hunting expeditions there. Unfortunately, since she died of the plague, that knowledge has been lost, and I haven't been successful in rediscovering them, which is unfortunate since this manner of vis collection is my specialty.

 

Describe three grogs who live at the covenant.  How has the magic of the covenant warped them?  Are there more grogs than these, or just these three?

I'm not really clear if Seuthopolis has grogs who are independent of the town. Is it possible that the entire town are technically our grogs? It's not a very large town, after all. I'd have to ask Aeliana about the legal implications of that. The three of them I interact the most with, though, are.

 

• Miroslav is a former shield grog who worked for the head lictor of Transylvania (may he rest in peace and rise in glory). Now that it's just me and Andrei, I've given him a new assignment, which is to train a militia in the city of Seutholopolis. You never know who might take the plague as an opportunity to attack us, or to steal the Red and Black Libraries. Besides, the whole idea of shield grogs is dumb! Carry your own damn shield, you lazy magus! (Also, weird fact: every time Miroslav gets a scar, it grows hair nearly six inches long.)
• Boyka is the library assistant. She spends a LOT of time with Andrei, and I think they might be lovers. That's not why she got the job, though - she's has a little Latin and Greek and is able to alphabetize stacks of books without being supervised. I'm not sure if she's suffered any warping, but I once saw her light a cookfire without flint or steel.
• Ivo is the head of the town carpenters and represents them on the town council. His main source of income, however, is keeping the covenant of Seuthopolis intact, providing general maintenance on the infrastructure of the oppidum, including the Tribunal grounds in the Shipka Pass Regio. I guess we pay better than anyone else does. Also, most people would never notice, but the irises of his deep, hazel eyes have wood grain. I don't know if they're actually made of wood, though. 

 

Describe the other magical inhabitant of the covenant (there is only one).  Is he or she another magus?  A magical beast?  An angel, demon, or faerie?  Something else?  Are they your friend or rival?

The only other living member of Seuthopolis is Transylvanian Tribunal is Andrei, a Summer Guernicus Quaesitor. (Although technically, I'm a member of Coeris and he's a member Diodorus, since I'm a civis and he's a socius.) We don't really see eye-to-eye, though, since I'm spending all my time and energy trying to keep the oppidum from falling apart, while he's obsessed with cataloging and defending the Red and Black Libraries. Since there are only two of us, it's not entirely clear which one of us is the Aedile.

 

Describe three quirky rules or customs of the covenant.

1. The number of pawns of vis that magi can remove from the Thracian Caverns is determined by the number of mekici they can eat in a single diameter. Magi are generally taken at their word regarding this number, but any member of the oppidum can challenge any other member to prove their ability at any time. Before 1257, the rule was that all magi were restricted to five pawns per year, and I'm not sure why that changed.
2. All magi are required to rest in the octave after Tribunal ends. It's considered a crime against the oppidum to do research, enchantments, or even chores during those eight days, although magi can get away with it if they're willing to pay a vis tax, but I don't know why anyone would do that when you can just take your work to your sanctum, where no one can spy on you.
3. It is a HIGH CRIME to worship the Chthonic gods of the ancient Thracians. Three Guernicus magi have been removed from the oppidum for exactly that crime in the last century. I don't know happened to them after they were sent back to Magvillus.

 

What Tribunal is your covenant in?  Did you plan to go to the Tribunal meeting of 1349, your first as an independent magus?  How did you feel when word was passed that Tribunal was canceled due to the threat of demons and the plague?

Go to it? I was supposed to be hosting it! What a miserable experience that was going to be! Everyone will probably be too dour for a good promenade, and I didn't think we'd have very many people setting up displays, anyway, but it was a real relief to hear it had been canceled. My plan was to beg Kleio to come and help - she's much better at that sort of thing than I am.

 

After your apprenticeship you went on an adventure with another one of the PCs, one who you have not previously had a relationship with.  Who was it?  Were you out for your own gain, or to help someone else?  Describe your adventure.

Soooo remember that story about the demoniac that Aeliana and I accidentally discovered? The one that I managed to kill? I'm still really proud of that. Sure, he was only a spring magus, but so was I! I told Aeliana that I'm more than happy to be her Hoplite any time since trouble seems to follow her around.

 

Describe the object that you found during the adventure.  What magical power does it have?  Do your adventuring companions know about it?

Well, the demoniac did have a talisman, which is unusual for a spring magus. It's a rat skull with a bunch of carvings on it in a script I don't recognize. I know that talismans are often the most powerful magic items in existence, but I haven't figured out what this one does yet. I should probably show it to a Verditius, but I don't really know any well enough to do me a favor. After all, I forgot to tell Aeliana that I took it...

 

Merits and Flaws:

Merits

Dragon Blood (3) - General. Size +2, takes wounds in 7-point increments. +1 Strength and Stamina.

Puissant Parma Magica (1) - General. Parma = Parma +2.

Puissant Single Weapon (1) - General. Single Weapon = Single Weapon +2

Affinity Parma Magica (1) General. XP spento on Parma = XP*1.5

Affinity Single Weapon (1) - General. XP spent on Single Weapon = XP*1.5

Lightning Reflexes (1) - General. Whenever surprised, roll Quickness + Stress Die vs 3 to respond reflexively. Gain +9 to initiative if the response is to attack. 

Tough (1) - General. +3 to soak.

Improved Charactistics (1) - General. 3 additional points to spend on characteristics.

 

 

Flaws

Deficient Intellego (3) - it's a good thing I'm friends with Aeliana.

Overconfident (1) - I've never lost a fight.

Study Requirement (3) - Hermetic. I can't study from books alone, but need to be in the presence of the thing I'm studying.

Guinea Pig (1) - Story. My blood brings all the Bonisagus to the yard.

Stockade Parma Magica (1) - Hermetic. Cannot suppress Parma, and friendly spells must penetrate my Parma to affect me.

Magical Animal Companion (1) - I happen to be in possession of Xanthos, which makes Balios's owner none too happy...

 

Gear

Pyrrhus's Wishlist

 

XP Log

Childhood XP (45):

• Athletics 2 (15xp)
• Transylvania Lore 2 (15xp) 
• Brawl 2 (15xp)

 

Later Life XP (60):

• Ride 2 (15xp)
• Survival 2 (15xp)
• Concentration 3 (30xp)

 

Apprenticeship XP (240):

• Latin 4 (50xp)
• Magical Theory 3 (30xp)
• Parma Magica 3 (24xp)
• Artes Liberalis 1 (5xp)
• Code of Hermes 2 (15xp)
• Single Weapon 3 (24xp)
• Creo 8 (36xp)
• Corpus 7 (28xp)
• Perdo 5 (15xp)
• Vim 4 (10xp)
• Rego 2 (3xp)

 

Post-Apprenticeship (180xp):

• Single Weapon 3>5 (36xp)
• Parma Magica 3>5 (36xp)
• Creo 8>10 (19xp)
• Corpus 7>9 (17xp)
• Perdo 5>7 (13xp)
• Vim 4>5 (5xp)
• Rego 2>3 (3xp)
• Ignem 1 (1xp)
• Muto 1 (1xp)
• Herbam 1 (1xp)
• Terram 2 (3xp) 
• Awareness 2 (15xp)
• Penetration 2 (15xp)
• Magic Lore 2 (15xp)

 

Risky Study (10xp):

• Finesse 1 (5xp)
• Spell Mastery 1 (Demon's Eternal Oblivion) (5xp) 

 

 

Build Brainstorm - comments welcome

 

The Tremere book puts most of its attention on Certamen rather than actual combat, so I'm drawing pretty heavily from the Flambeau book, which does care about fighting. The three main schools of fighting within the Flamebeau are based on Ignem (burning people to death), Perdo (destroying people to death), and Perdo Ignem (freezing people to death). There's another, slightly less popular tradition, however, that focuses on pairing magical defenses with mundane attacks, because Parma Magic is useless against a well-swung sword.

 

I think it's a pretty cool idea, and would certainly give Pyrrhus's magic a different flavor from everyone else's. I'm trying to figure out if the mechanics actually support that as an effective combat build, though. While I certainly don't need to be a min-maxed murder hobo, it would be nice if his sheet allowed him to be good at the things he's supposed to be good at.

 

Abilities

Taking the Warrior virtue would give me 50 extra xp to spend on things like shooting arrows and swinging a sword. Abilities get expensive pretty quickly, though, and attempting to get really effective at swordplay would certainly diminish the amount of xp I had available for magic. It might be worth it, though, if the damage potential of a sword can equal the damage potential of Pilum of Fire, but I haven't run the math to check. Also, while a Perdo specialist who wanted to be able to fight people, dragons, and demons would need to learn Perdo Corpus, Perdo Animal, and Perdo Vim spells, respectively, Pyrrhus could use the same sword on everything, which might make this build slightly more efficient.

 

For magical abilities, a really strong Parma Magica seems crucial - I can't fight if I'm being magicked to death, after all. Penetration would be a second important ability, because I will occasionally need to attack someone with magic. The other magical abilities (Finesse, Code of Hermes, Lores) are less important.

 

Arts

Every Tremere specializes in four arts: two "tines of the fork," which are used for Certamen, and two backup tines in case your preferred art is vetoed. I'm thinking I'd focus on Creo, Perdo, Corpus, and Vim:

• Creo Corpus: used to make himself stronger, faster, and more resilient. Also useful for healing injuries and crafting longevity potions, which is the main thing he has to offer other magi in exchange for favors.
• Perdo Corpus: if something is immune to swords, it'd be good to have some hexes to fall back on.
• Perdo Vim:  Used to disspell other magi's defenses. A Rego Terram ward against metal seems like a really easy way to ruin my day, and it'd be good to get that out of the way.
• Creo Vim: Mostly used to give people warping, which seems like a really slow way to murder someone. Also good for extracting vis from slain magical creatures, which is the primary way Pyrrhus helps out around the covenant.

 

Items

When it comes time to make a talisman, it seems like a shield would be a good candidate for defensive magics. Plus, if it were a round shield, it could hold circle/ring effects: "As long as you're standing on my shield, the demon can't touch you!"

 

A really well-made sword would also be good, as long as it wasn't magic since Parma defends against magic weapons.

 

Weaknesses

• Wards against metal and wood aren't that hard, although they're super annoying. (You can't pick up a spoon if you're warded against metal.) Would wards render this entire build irrelevant?
• The pink dot effect - if someone starts the fight by using a level 1 Creo Imaginem spell to create a pink dot on my sword, then suddenly their Parma would shield them from said sword. This cheesy as all get out and there's a lot of ink spilled on the internet trying to figure out how to prevent it without breaking the game mechanics. A lot of groups just agree to ignore this loophole, while others let it stand - where are we?
• Using magic to self-buff on regular basis would eventually lead to a lot of warping, I think. Also, I'm pretty sure that Creo Corpus can only make you as strong as the strongest human, so supernatural strength might require different arts.
• Physical attributes and martial abilities could eat up a lot of XP, but I'm not familiar with the system enough to know whether it would be so inefficient as to undermine the build.
• Anything else I'm forgetting?