Creating & Maintaining Grogs

Character creation can be a tedious business, and the purpose of this chapter is to make it easier. When you are creating a magus or companion character**,** it is worth putting in the extra effort of Detailed Character Creation (ArM5, page 28), as you can expect to be playing this character for several years or decades of game time. Grogs, however, tend to have shorter life spans and even shorter life expectancies, but simply using the character templates in Ars Magica Fifth Edition results in grogs who are all too similar. This chapter aims to find a middle way between these two extremes.

The rules presented here also allow grogs to be easily maintained, so they are kept up to date and ready for action. Herein also are rules for allowing a character to expand beyond his original concept, and perhaps even transform into a companion character.

Virtues and Flaws

A freshly-created character has as many points of Virtues as she has points of Flaws, but characters are expected to change over time, and an individual need not remain that way forever. In addition to gaining Flaws through misadventure or foolish actions, a character can gain Virtues through exposure (deliberate or not) to powerful magic, and may also gain them as a result of stories.

Sometimes, after a character has been played for a while, it might become apparent that she has the wrong complement of Virtues and Flaws. Perhaps the player decides that Wrathful is an inappropriate choice for his sentry, and thinks that Reclusive might be more appropriate. In cases like this, with the approval of the troupe, these changes can simply be made. If the character is quite new to the saga, then even major changes can be applied with little effect, but changes in an established character should be restricted — a Minor Flaw can be exchanged for another Minor Flaw, and a Major Flaw for a Major Flaw, and the same applies to Virtues. Changes should not be made that affect the Characteristics or Abilities of a character, and one should certainly not discard a Virtue or Flaw that has been a major feature of a story in the past.

These changes are minor in comparison to a character who wants to develop in new ways, and expand himself beyond his original profession. Perhaps a grog aspires to become a priest, or rid himself of a Malediction. The rest of this section describes the process by which these changes can be made.

It is comparatively easy for characters to gain new Flaws. These are often the consequence of player actions, and need no special procedures or effort to allow them to hap-

Among all the alterations to Virtues and Flaws, the Social Status Virtues and Flaws are perhaps the most likely to occur. One of the covenfolk can be promoted to custos after years of service. A freeman can take Holy Orders and become a priest. A knight can be disgraced and take up life as an outlaw. If these changes occur, simply replace the old Social Status Virtue with the new one. Only in some circumstances do characters retain the old social status in addition to the new one, and these are clearly indicated in the Virtue or Flaw description.

pen — most characters will not go out of their way to make their life worse, but sometimes misfortune befalls them.

An important distinction to make is that changing circumstances need not actually generate Flaws, even if there is a Flaw that describes the situation the character is now in. Only if the change in circumstance has an effect on the game, becomes a story seed, or alters how the character is roleplayed should this actually be treated as a Flaw. For example, a character who loses a hand to gangrene always gains the Missing Hand Flaw, because having only one hand always has a mechanical effect on the game. However, a character who gets married does not always gain the Dependents Flaw. Only if the player is interested in having adventures based on his character's wife and children should he acquire the Flaw. The storyguide should be careful not to allow a grog character to gain a Story Flaw, unless it is temporary in nature or the character is destined for transformation into a more central role in the saga (see Transformation, later).

GAINING FLAWS THROUGH MISHAPS

The easiest way to gain a Flaw is through misfortune. Most often, General Flaws are gained through mishap, particularly those that affect the body. Occasionally, chirurgeons have to amputate limbs to save a patient's life (Art & Academe, page 62), and in the heat of battle, horrific injuries occur with startling regularity (Art & Academe, pages 43–44; Lords of Men, page 125). Furthermore, many of the diseases that abound in Mythic Europe can result in permanent injuries such as blindness, deafness, and palsy.

GAINING FLAWS THROUGH ACTIONS

Character actions can easily lead to changes in social status (see insert earlier), with characters becoming branded criminals or outlaws. With the approval of the storyguide, a character can gain Story Flaws by starting a feud, becoming indebted to a powerful individual, or acquiring an animal companion, although grogs are usually prohibited from gaining Story Flaws during the game, much as they are off limits during character creation. Offending a faerie is a good way of gaining a Malediction or disfigurement.

There are some hedge wizard traditions that can impose Flaws on an individual in the form of curses: for example, the Malediction Power of infernalists (Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 109) or the Grant Power of faerie wizards (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 127). These are often used offensively against enemies, but are usually limited in duration.

More damaging are the permanent Flaws that can be imposed by certain supernatural creatures at a cost to their Might Score. These curses are a permanent alteration to the character, although it may be possible to eventually undo the curse (see Losing Flaws, later). Furthermore, Warping induces the acquisition of Flaws in those characters who are not aligned to a Supernatural Realm (ArM5, page 168).

Much like Flaws, a character need not settle for the Virtues chosen for him at character creation. There are three principle ways in which new Virtues can be gained: through magic, through initiation, and through actions. These methods are described later.

If a Virtue is gained that affects the way in which a character gains experience points, this does not affect any experience points gained thus far. So a character who gains an Affinity with an Ability does not immediately recalculate all the experience points applied to that Ability so far.

GAINING VIRTUES THROUGH MAGIC

There are an assortment of supernatural methods through which a character can gain new Virtues, although many of these methods grant the Virtue on a temporary basis, such as a gruagach's spells (Hedge Magic Revised Edition, page 65), an Object of Virtue (Realms of Power: Magic, page 124), or faerie wizardry (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 127).

However, there are some ways that a Virtue can be granted permanently, through the agency of a supernatural being. The Goetic Arts (Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 114) can rip a power from a supernatural creature and give it to a human, and some magical creatures and faeries have the power to permanently grant Virtues at the cost of reducing their Might score. The acquisition of Virtues in this manner should never be frivolous, and either be guided by the needs of the story, or actively sought as the object of a story.

Finally, severe Warping can result in Virtue acquisition. Typically, the Virtues gained from Warping reflect the source of the supernatural power that caused it.

GAINING VIRTUES THROUGH INITIATION

Initiation is a mystical process through which a character acquires Virtues through the rituals of a mystery cult (see Chapter 2 of The Mysteries Revised Edition for more details) or traditions of hedge magic (Hedge Magic Revised Edition, page 12). The character must develop a score in the Organization Lore of the cult or tradition in question before even being considered for Initiation. The Initiation process itself is balanced internally, requiring the character to pay for her new virtue in ordeals, quests, sacrifices, and study. It is perhaps most common for grog characters to be Initiated into the Ceremony Ability (see any of the Realm of Power books for their specific variants) to enhance the supernatural powers of a companion or magusequivalent character.

Initiation can occur "off-stage" for grogs, but it is unusual for non-magical individuals to partake in a mystery cult or secret society to the degree of achieving Initiation. Joining a hedge magic tradition is perhaps more likely, but also more difficult since they tend to be wary of those associated with the Order of Hermes.

GAINING VIRTUES THROUGH ACTIONS

Sometimes a character's actions through the course of a story results in him acquiring the effects of a Virtue. Typically, Virtues gained in this way reflect social interaction with storyguide characters. For example, a character can gain the effects of the Social Contacts Virtue by recruiting an agent, or the Protection Virtue by making a friend with influence, assuming that these are not just passing associations. The troupe should be cautious about a grog gaining a Major Virtue, unless the character is destined for transformation into a more important role (see later).

Most of the methods by which Virtues can be gained (see earlier) can also rid a character of Flaws, but not all methods are applicable to all Flaws. A character with a Missing Hand cannot grow it back through Initiation, but must instead resort to supernatural means. However, characters may be able to take part in stories that rid themselves of a curse, for example.

A grog character need not remain a grog for life. The dividing line between grog and companion is a conceit of the game mechanics, separating the support characters from those on whom the stories are focused. However, sometimes grogs may grow to transcend their original roles, and become central characters around which stories pivot. The chief game difference between grogs and companions is the number and type of Virtues and Flaws, and while several methods are discussed earlier in this chapter by which a character can change or expand his choices in Virtues and Flaws, converting a grog character into a companion character through these methods would be slow indeed, taking years (if not decades) of game time.

This section presents some ideas as to how a character can be suddenly transformed from a grog character to a companion character. The essential first stage to this process is a reason to do so. The vast majority of grogs do not transform into companion characters, and so for this to happen implies something special has occurred. This is nearly always precipitated by a story. This story should go some way to explain how and why the character has just gained more Virtues and Flaws. The troupe should be careful to ensure that these Virtues and Flaws are appropriate to the type of transformation — it would be very unusual for a grog who has just become the leader of his own mercenary company to suddenly acquire the Large Virtue, for example, while this might be possible for a character who drunk a faerie potion. Remember that a companion character need not take all ten points of Flaws, and do not be tempted to add inappropriate Flaws just to gain more Virtue points.

Those events which result in the investiture of a character with temporal or spiritual authority are termed inaugurations. This variety of transformation is usually accompanied by a change in social status. Typical inaugurations result from attempts at social mobility: a craftsman becomes dean of his guild; a priest becomes bishop; or a scholar achieves his doctorate. However, an inauguration need not be planned by the character involved; it might result from a sudden windfall, or an unexpected turn of events.

Exempli gratia: A character finds a powerful artifact on adventure. It was intended for a companion character, but a grog got there first. To represent the central role of that artifact and its wielder in the saga, the troupe agrees that the character can become a companion.

Exempli gratia: The storyguide has planned a long series of adventures that will shape the saga to come for many years, but what it really needs is for the covenant to have a tame nobleman. However, the saga has been going for a few years now, and the players already have companion characters. The storyguide has a quiet word with Elaine, the creator of Sir Edwin, who is a grog character despite his noble birth. With Elaine's agreement, she designs a story where Sir Edwin is able to restore his family fortunes by proving the malfeasance of a neighboring baron. Sir Edwin is awarded the deposed baron's fief, and becomes a Landed Noble and a companion character. The new Flaws and Virtues he acquires are all related to the lands and feuds he has inherited.

The process of metamorphosis is a magical change which overcomes a character and permanently changes him into something else. This power can conceivably come from any of the realms of power, but is probably controlled by non-human inhabitants of that realm rather than by human artifice. Metamorphosis often results in the acquisition of Supernatural Virtues and Flaws from the appropriate realm. Metamorphosis can easily just happen to a character, rather than be specifically sought out or quested for. However, the goal of some secret societies is to effect a metamorphosis of their leader into a supernatural being.

Exempli gratia: The Queen of Winter was an antagonist that the storyguide had intended to be an ongoing foe for the characters, but through the lucky guesses of the player characters, they managed to pierce the faerie's disguise and slay her in the first encounter. One of the covenant's grogs delivered the killing blow, and the storyguide decides that the Queen lays on him her death-curse. Over the next few months, the grog undergoes some odd transformations, each of which forms the focus of a story. By the shortest day of the year, Winter has a new faerie King under the control of the storyguide. After the story arc is complete, she decides that the covenant can reverse the transformation of the grog, but the experience leaves him permanently altered, and he is better off re-envisioned as a faerietouched companion character.

Initiation can simply add Virtues to a character, but initiation into a mystery cult can also be a means to transform a character. A grog can easily remain a grog character as a member of a cult — they can play a support role just as well inside a secret society as they can anywhere else — but seeking to join such a cult displays a level of dedication or selfimportance that is more suited to a companion character. The cult can provide a means to upgrade the character's importance in a saga. Of all the methods presented here, initiation is perhaps the most likely to produce a Mythic Companion, which is a magus-equivalent character. Some Mystery Cults have as their ultimate goal some form of magical alteration of a character; this is more of a metamorphosis transformation than an Initiation as such.

Exempli gratia: A morbid grog who has been a grave-robber under a necromancer for years seeks initiation into the Disciples of the Worm, a Hermetic mystery cult. The standard initiatory path is designed for magi, but the storyguide has determined that the cult also accepts mundanes. As part of his initiation, the grog becomes bound to the ghost of an Old One (whatever that is), and discovers that he has a host of new abilities, many of them supernatural.

Pilgrimage can be a life-changing event. Characters embark on a pilgrimage for all sorts of reasons — not all of them matters of piety — but those who return are usually changed in some manner. Going on pilgrimage can be a good pretext for a planned change in character, whether the journey (physical and spiritual) is played out in stories or occurs behind the scenes. For more information on pilgrimage, see The Church, pages 15–19.

This type of transformation need not be taken literally. Any story or story arc that takes a character out of his normal routine and location, tests his character, and then transforms his life forever is a pilgrimage. This includes such stories as: going on Crusade; embarking on the Grail Quest; undertaking the "black pilgrimage" to the unholy city of Chorazin; or seeing the jinn-haunted streets of Irem of the Pillars. When the character returns from such a journey, he will never be the same again, a change that is particularly well-represented by transforming into a companion character.

Exempli gratia: Peter, a companion character, dies tragically, but the story arc planned for him was never even started. This involved

Starting Characteristics
POSITIVE / NEGATIVE POINTS	CHARACTERISTICS
(+14/–7)	+2, +2, +2, +2, +1, +1, –1, –3
(+14/–7)	+3, +2, +2, +1, +1, 0, –1, –3
(+14/–7)	+3, +3, +1, +1, 0, –1, –2, –2
(+13/–6)	+3, +2, +2, +1, –1, –1, –1, –2
(+13/–6)	+2, +2, +2, +2, +1, 0, –2, –2
(+12/–5)	+3, +3, 0, 0, –1, –1, –2
(+10/–3)	+2, +2, +2, +1, 0, 0, 0, –2
(+8/–1)	+3, +1, +1, 0, 0, 0, 0, –1

Peter's lycanthropy, his wife and daughter, and a rather unpleasant and powerful non-Hermetic sorcerer from their distant homeland. His son, hitherto a grog character, decides to take up his father's quest, and in the process become a companion character for the player who used to play Peter.