This is the home page of the Saga of Palatini, an Ars Magica™ saga using the Fifth Edition rules.

The Saga of Palatini is no longer active; our last game was in the summer of 2006.

Covenant of Palatini

Palatini is a covenant in early Summer, inhabited by the second and third generation of magi. It has a bit of an unusual history in that the covenant grew up gradually from the estate of a single magus. Because of its informal origins, the covenant has no official charter, no by-laws or formal council meetings, and fewer covenfolk and grogs than most covenants.

The covenant is located on a hilltop in farming country about eight miles outside the city of Venice. In mundane terms, it is located in the Republic of Venice, which in the early thirteenth century was an independent maritime republic. This proximity to the "city of wizards" puts it in precarious contact with the other covenants of the Roman Tribunal and all their schemes and rivalries.

Covenant Statistics

Library

The library is worth 700 build points. There is a well-rounded collection of intermediate (Level 10) summae in the Arts, with a couple of superior books on the senior founding magus's favorite Arts. Eventually, the library will be posted in HTML format. Until then, there is a PDF version that also includes the spell lab texts.

One special book was discovered during the story of the search for the magus Laertes in 1211. The Book of Seven Stars is a rare Gnostic text assembled and translated from a number of unnamed Greek sources by a Roman named Frontinus Metilius in the second century A.D. This particular copy dates from around the ninth century A.D. and was scribed by Evandros the Thessalian. The book deals with Gnostic philosophy: the idea that the world is a flawed copy of some other, higher world that can be reached through a process of inward contemplation, ritual purification, and the perfection of one's character. The Book of Seven Stars collects together fragments of more ancient Gnostic texts and describes seven inward revelations or transitions one experiences on the road to enlightenment. The text itself is a tractatus on Philosophiae, Quality 8. Its greater value may be in the secret message within the text.

Lab Texts
There are 200 points of lab texts: 181 points of spell texts plus 19 points for the lab texts to many of the covenant's enchanted items (see below)
Vis
The covenant has no regular vis sources. The Troupe decided that it's more fun to play in a Saga where magi have to leave the covenant in order to gather vis. There are some vis stores at the covenant, but they're not accessible to the PC magi.

Enchanted Items
The covenant has enchanted items totaling 148 levels of effects (60 build points), including:
  • An enchanted room, the infirmary, gives everyone inside +9 to recovery rolls from wounds and disease. This is a constant effect. (Base 4 + 1 Touch + 2 Room + 2 Sun + 4 levels for constant use = level 29). The library includes a lab text to make this lesser enchanted item.
  • Two plain-looking wool jerkins enchanted with a constant Doublet of Impenetrable Silk (ArM5, p. 118) effect (level 15 + 4 levels for constant effect = level 19 each, or 38 levels for the pair). The library includes a lab text to make this item.
  • An enchanted arbalest that spans itself by voice command. The bow is steel, so this is a Rego Terram effect. (Base 3 + 2 affect metal + 10 levels unlimited uses = level 15). There is a lab text to make this item, and there is an Arcane Connection to it in case it ever gets lost or stolen.
  • The Boots of Seven Leagues: A pair of boots that let the wearer use Seven-League Stride (ArM5, p. 135) twice per day. (level 30 + 1 for 2 uses/day = level 31). There is a lab text to make this item.
  • An enchanted lodestone that can, once per day, point to any place on land to which the user has an Arcane Connection (level 20: Base 2, +4 arcane connection, +1 concentration, +5 levels maintains concentration). The device will point to the location of interest until the next sunrise or sunset, or until the user commands it to return to pointing south (medieval compasses pointed south). There is no lab text to reproduce this item; it was purchased at Verdi.
  • An enchanted boat, Intrepid, that can move swiftly without sail or oars for an entire day. This allows it to sail a straight course against the wind, to easily go upstream in even a fast-moving river, or even to re-float itself after running aground. The effect is level 15 (base 3, +2 Sun, +2 size) and can be used once per day. The boat is otherwise normal with a lateen sail and four pairs of oars. She can be handled by a crew of two and can carry ten passengers with a month's worth of provisions, plus up to two tons of cargo. The covenant has no lab text to make this lesser enchanted item; Vassenius commissioned a young Verditius magus to make it in exchange for making that wizard's longevity potion.
Specialists
There are no specialists at the covenant.

Hooks

Superiors (minor)
Arturus and Tristan, the filii of the covenants' founders, are in control of the covenant resources. They sometimes make "suggestions" about what the other magi should do, though they have no actual authority to do so.
Politics (minor)
The Roman Tribunal is a political snake pit in this Saga, and to make matters worse, some of the PC magi have a political agenda to advance. The covenants' founders did an excellent job of establishing independence from mundane authorities, so mundane politics are not likely to become an issue.
Protector (minor)
Arturus is the mundane lord of the manor and he (and by extension, the covenant) is responsible for protecting the village.
Road (minor)
The covenant is located right next to the major trading hub of Venice, so considerable traffic passes by.

Boons

Aura (minor)
The covenant has a +4 magical aura.
Fortification (minor)
The manor house is comfortable, but difficult to break into by mundane means. The windows have iron bars as well as sturdy shutters, and all the doors are heavy timber fitted with expensive locks. There is a rooftop parapet and an 8' stone wall with an iron gate surrounding the grounds. The founding magi had problems with a break-in early in the covenant's history and they took steps to see it didn't happen again.
Hidden Resources (minor, x2)
The PC's do not have access to the personal lab texts and enchanted items of the senior magi. These include, at least, Vassenius' talisman (which belongs now to Arturus). Helena, the other founding maga, took many of her things with her when she departed in 1195, but left behind some cryptic clues so she could eventually be followed.

Covenant History

The Early Years: The Lone Magus Vassenius

In 1090, the wizard Guilio Selucci, known by the Hermetic name Vassenius of Jerbiton, followed local legends to discover a magical aura atop a symmetrical hill outside of Venice - within view of the city, in fact. Local peasants called the place "devil's hill" and said it was frequented by ghosts and witches. At the time, the land was on the estate of Don Alfonso Bonarti but his manor house was located in the valley, not on the hilltop.

Vassenius secured a small townhouse in Venice, which the covenant owns to this day. He operated a prosperous trade as a physician and alchemist and, over time, secured the confidence of Don Alfonso. Vassenius was permitted to build a modest house on the hilltop, where he immediately moved his laboratory. The peasants of the manor did not like this at all and whispered darkly about the suspicious stranger who seemed to have such powerful sway over their lord. Vassenius helped Don Alfonso in his business endeavors and the two grew rich off the brisk commerce of Venice.

Don Alfonso's wife died around 1098, leaving the knight with only one child, his daughter Julia. Julia was married to Vassenius in 1101 in a grand celebration held on the manor. A freak thunderstorm marred the occasion and the peasants whispered it was a sign of God's displeasure at a wizard living in their midst.

Don Alfonso lived to a ripe old age and passed away in 1114. Vassenius, now doubly rich because he had inherited Don Alfonso's wealth in addition to his own, spent heavily. He rebuilt his small house on the hilltop into a stately manor house. He lavished jewels and imported luxuries on his wife, and he was even extremely generous to his peasants. In time, this helped ease his evil reputation, but did not eliminate it altogether. He also kept up good contacts with the magi of the Roman Tribunal, entertaining them often at his Venice townhouse. Although his coffers were decidedly lighter, everything seemed to be going well for Vassenius.

Founding of the Covenant: an Alliance for Justice

Trouble struck in the summer of 1116. A magus calling himself Bardon learned of Vassenius' luxurious house with its strong magical aura. He stormed into the house and drove Vassenius, his wife, and servants off the manor. Vassenius was a humble alchemist, well versed in Muto magic but unable to defend himself in a magical battle. The magus, his household, and half the peasants from the manor fled in terror from the "witch" who had siezed the house.

Vassenius was in a quandry. He couldn't really seek help from any of the covenants of the Tribunal, because they would just want to take the site of his house, with its magic aura in a prime location, for themselves. Through his Hermetic contacts, he gained the help of the maga Helena of House Tytalus. The two formed a daring plan. They infiltrated the stolen house and confronted Bardon in his sanctum. Normally, to invade a magus's sanctum is to invite death, but when two magi attack at once, the defender has scant hope of killing both of them. The two magi offered Bardon a choice: settle the ownership of the estate lawfully by certamen, or face simultaneous Wizards' Wars from both of them. The ease with which they had broken into Bardon's sanctum with drawn swords left little doubt as to who would win a Wizards' War. Bardon agreed to certamen against Vassenius and they eventually settled on Intellego Terram as the Arts for their duel. Bardon lost and left the Tribunal, never to return.

Helena moved into Vassenius's house and the two decided that they now formed a de facto covenant. They named their covenant "palatini", Italian for "the palatines." In Imperial Rome, a palatine was a palace guard who protected the Emperor; this meaning applied to Helena, who protected Vassenius and his estate. In France under the Merovingian kings, a palatine was an official who ruled an area by royal authority. As lawful owner and lord of the manor, this meaning could be said to apply to Vassenius. The name "palatini" is therefore a bit of a double entendre that the two magi thought was humorous. The motto for their new covenant was "audacibus fortuna iuvat" - "fortune favors the bold." They renamed the manor itself to Fortuna in honor of this motto. Vassenius, formerly a mild-mannered researcher on a solitary quest for the Philosopher's Stone, was forever transformed by his victory over the bullying Bardon. Instead of continuing to hide his small covenant from the avaricious, stronger covenants of the Tribunal, he delved into Hermetic politics with gusto and carved out a niche for himself and his descendants.

Vassenius's wife took umbrage at a strange young woman moving into her house. The peasants rumored that Helena had seduced, even bewitched Vassenius and was now his paramour. In 1119 Julia could stand no more and abandoned her husband, trying to run off to join a convent. Since her marriage to Vassenius was barren - no doubt because of the magus's longevity potion - she sought an annulment from the Bishop. This jeapordized Vassenius's ownership of the land, since the property would revert to Julia if the annulment were granted. Vassenius, with few mundane political allies and all the social disadvantages of the Gift, braved the uncertainties of the canon law system to oppose the annulment. He managed to strike a deal with Julia that would keep them legally married, but allow her join the convent anyway and pay the convent an annual sum from the proceeds of the estate.

Growth of the Covenant

After a while, both Vassenius and Helena took apprentices. Vassenius adopted his apprentice Arturus as his son, so Arturus eventually inherited the estate. Arturus was accepted into the Order of Hermes in 1140 at the age of 26. He continues his pater's quest for the Philosopher's Stone, though with a boldness tempered by wisdom and keen political insight. Helena's apprentice, Tristan, is a great traveler and explorer. He was inducted in 1156 at the age of 30. Vassenius' second apprentice, Penelope, joined the Order in 1168. Due in part to a personality conflict with Helena, Penelope did not remain at Palatini and instead moved to the Provençal Tribunal after passing her Gauntlet.

Vassenius and Helena carefully built up the covenant's library, making a number of trips to Durenmar covenant in the Rhine Tribunal where they copied a number of well-known summae and some of the classic tractatus of the Order.

Because of its proximity to Venice, "the city of wizards," Palatini became well-known within the Roman Tribunal as a small but self-sufficient covenant that stayed outside the political machinations of the larger covenants. At first, the Quaesitor Corvus of Magvillus (now passed on into Final Twilight) spoke some harsh words at Tribunal, suggesting Palatini must have mundane political connections in order to have acquired such a desirable location so close to the city. Magvillus's political rival, Literatus, eagerly stepped in to offer support to Palatini, but Vassenius gained the respect of the Tribunal by refusing Literatus's offer of an alliance. Instead, he invited a panel of three Quaesitores from Magvillus to examine the covenant's records, history, and land deeds. The Quaesitores found nothing suspicious, and though Corvus long harbored a grudge for the humiliation of being proved wrong, Palatini's claim to its site has been officially upheld by the Tribunal as legitimate. This is just as well, for several covenants would be glad to grab Palatini's land if they thought they could get away with it.

Passing on the Tradition

In his later years, Vassenius spent an increasing amount of time in his laboratory, experimenting in his search for the Philosopher's Stone. He developed a wide web of correspondents throughout the Order. Sometimes, strange visitors would arrive from distant lands and hold long, secret discussions with Vassenius or even assist him in his laboratory for a season or longer. Helena and, increasingly, Vassenius' filius Arturus began to represent the covenant in political affairs.

Like his pater, Arturus is an introspective magus and took his first apprentice comparatively late in life. In 1192, Marcus, filius Arturus, was inducted into the Order and joined House Jerbiton.

Vassenius passed away into Final Twilight in 1194. The grogs say that a magical accident transformed his body into living gold - though how they could have seen this inside his locked sanctum is a difficult question. It does appear that some portion of Vassenius, whether his body or his spirit, remained in the physical realm at least for several months after his Twilight. His laboratory was said to be "haunted" in those days: some nights, a light would show from under his door even though everyone knew the magus had passed away months before. After a while, Helena decided that it was time to dismantle Vassenius' laboratory and move it away. She did not explain this decision and threatened certamen against the younger magi if they tried to stop her. She departed in the spring of 1195, taking her laborartory with her. Many of Vassenius's books and lab texts were donated to the covenant library; indeed, Helena left most of her own lab texts as well, for the benefit of the founding magi's filii.