De Architectura
Tractatus Craft: Mason (Quality 8), Tractatus Artes Liberales (Quality 8), Tractatus Mechanica of Heron (Quality 7)
Author: Vitruvius, a Roman engineer Availability: Rare and expensive, acquiring a copy is a story event involving wealthy patrons.
Description: De Architectura is one of very few surviving texts from the ancient world concerning architecture and engineering. It discusses not just the architecture of individual buildings, but also the planning of whole towns and cities. Entire volumes are also dedicated to smaller engineering tasks, such as water wheels, siege engines, and even automata powered by water, steam, and air. Copies of this text, which consists of ten volumes, are rare. Upon its rediscovery, the original text was taken to the Charlemagne's scriptorium, which then controlled access to it and any resulting copies. The full text is a mixture of Latin and Greek. In particular, the material concerning automata is written entirely in Greek. The surviving work has very few remaining diagrams. Vitruvius also makes many references to older and now-forgotten architects who came before him and he lists the virtues that buildings should possess as firmitas, utilitas, and venustas, i.e., they must be robust, functional, and attractive.
Special Rule: Owning a copy of De Architectura provides a +1 bonus to a Mason's Workshop Innovation Score (to a maximum of +3). Given the significant material concerning hydraulics, pneumatics, and automata, the book can be studied to gain knowledge and insight into the lore of Mechanica of Heron, as described in the Ancient Magic supplement (pages 75–88).
The learned magicians detailed in the Hedge Magic Revised Edition supplement have access to the Mythic Alchemy Virtue (page 81). This allows them to create reagents, as described in Art & Academe, that reduce the Ease Factor for crafting Superior and Excellent items (page 74). If using those rules, a Slight Alteration subtracts 1 from the Ease Factor, a Minor Alteration subtracts 2, a Substantial Alteration subtracts 3, and a Major Alteration subtracts 4 from the Ease Factor. If not using the rules, assume a dedicated season spent by the alchemist is enough to process enough raw material using a Minor Alteration to keep the work supplied.
The magus driving the project may seek out and retain one or more learned magicians schooled in Mythic Alchemy to keep his mason supplied with the best possible materials.
of sturdy work, just as a master craftsman may make good on the flaws and mistakes of his predecessor.
The enchantments that follow list a number of devices that contribute to the mason's Workshop Total.
Damage and Disrepair
If using the damage rules in City & Guild, the number of damage levels an item has is dependent on two factors: its quality and its size (page 77). An item of shoddy quality has a base of 1 damage level, an item of standard quality has a base of 2 damage levels, an item of superior quality has 3 damage levels, and an item of excellent quality has a base 4 damage levels. The tower itself has a multiplier of x4 as it is size 10 or greater. This gives the tower 4, 8, 12, or 16 damage levels respectively.
If the tower is built entirely through Creo rituals, assume a standard quality with a base of 2 damage levels if the Finesse roll succeeds, and a base of 1 damage level if any of the required Finesse rolls fail.
As the tower continues to grow, base the total damage levels on the lowest quality work currently represented in the tower. This means that the number of damage levels may decrease as well as increase, representing potential weaknesses introduced into the structure. A season of work by a master mason and his team, dedicated to undertaking repairs and restructuring, can improve a section of tower from shoddy to standard quality.
Certain events that carry the risk of damaging the tower force a stress check.
Stress Check: stress die + modifiers vs. Ease Factor 15
The following table lists some appropriate modifiers:
| Situation | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Craft: Mason | + Ability score |
| Previously repaired | –1 |
| Shoddy | –1 |
| Superior | +1 |
| Excellent | +3 |
Some of the enchantments listed later also provide modifiers to the stress check.
While the Great Tower has fewer damage levels than its great size might suggest, it only needs to make stress checks during the following events:
- • Severe storms and hurricane winds
- • Fires both inside and outside the tower
- • Earthquakes or subsidence
- • Magical or mundane assault
Storyguides may want to assign stress check modifiers based on the severity of the event.
Lost damage levels represent partial collapses somewhere inside the tower, at its outer walls, or even potentially at its foundations. These are significant events and should include story effects. For instance, the covenant's library may be damaged as part of a collapse and the magi and their covenfolk must salvage what they can from the rubble, or race against time to find and rescue the librarian trapped beneath tons of stone.
Damage to the tower can be repaired by the master mason spending a dedicated season for each damage level to be repaired. No other construction work, magical or mundane, can take place during this time.