The Advisor

My lord, if I may, the magus Bellatorius is reputed to be a man not given to either forgiveness or forgetfulness. If you really must challenge someone to certamen, perhaps Benedic ex Miscellanea might make for a less resentful target.

This specialist within the covenant has found a niche for himself by learning all he can about his covenant, the Order of Hermes, and the supernatural realms with which his masters so frequently come into contact. This encyclopedic knowledge of the world in which his magi operate makes him an essential companion to the more cloistered magi.

He may have been a failed monk or student, or simply an educated man who fell upon the secrets of the mystical world by chance. With few practical skills, he is left to make a living from his mind. A brush with the Order of Hermes early in his life could have opened his eyes to a world beyond the mundane; perhaps he was the son of a notary who visited a covenant, or a student intrigued by the strange behavior of his tutor.

He researched everything he could about the Order of Hermes, learning things that others tend to ignore. And then he identified a covenant. He was probably able to identify several from the letters and journals he found, and chose the one that best suited his personality. From there, he worked his way into the covenfolk, becoming an uninvited fixture.

The Advisor is most likely the constant companion to one particular magus. Just as the more adventurous magus may have a favored shield grog, so the more political magus may take a weapon of another kind: knowledge. The Advisor specializes in some key Abilities of use to a magus, and in doing so he frees his magus from having to develop those skills himself.

But this has a cost. The position is high-profile, the Advisor never being far from his magus, and costly. The Advisor must be maintained in a manner as befits both him and the magus. This may include creating Longevity Rituals for the Advisor, or enchanted items, or simply ensuring that he is dressed in appropriate finery.

The Advisor most likely attends his master on all matters of business, including Tribunals and covenant councils. Others may object to this, unless the covenant or Tribunal develops a culture of allowing such attendants, and this may be a source of friction.

Given that the Advisor is everpresent, serving his master in matters political and supernatural, it is easy to assume that the character may take on a more important role within the game than his status as a grog might suggest. There are two ways to approach this. The first is to assume that, like other grogs, the Advisor is a tool to be used by the magus when going about his business. Most magi recognize their failings with things martial, and employ sentries and bodyguards to ensure their safety. Others have little time or aptitude for politics, and enjoy the protection afforded by a constant Advisor. In game terms, investing in an Advisor allows the magus character to ignore certain Abilities in the knowledge that a grog will serve that function.

The second way of approaching the Advisor as grog is to simply accept that the character may one day grow in importance and become a companion in its own right. Guidelines on advancing characters from the grog status to companion can be found in Chapter 5.

These advisors may be seen as the start of a courtier tradition within the Order of Hermes and magi may soon take to maintaining their own court of advisors, each with a given speciality.

The following notes provide help on creating an Advisor character.

The Custos Virtue grants access to Arcane Abilities (see later), which means that the Advisor must have lived at a covenant long enough to have demonstrated his ability and worth. He is educated and so must be old enough to have learned at least Latin and Artes Liberales. In later years his master or masters are likely to develop a Longevity Ritual for him, so he can reach a considerable age, with Ability scores to match.

The Advisor is inclined to the mental Characteristics, not the physical ones. By assigning –1 to each of the four physical Characteristics, scores of +3, +2, +1, and +1 are available to assign to the mental Characteristics. Intelligence should be the highest Characteristic, and +2 could be applied to Perception for a more-watchful Advisor, or Communication for a messenger, herald, or ambassador.

Virtues and Flaws for Advisors are: Custos; Educated, Puissant Order of Hermes Lore; Ability Block (Martial), Small Frame, Susceptible to Warping*

* See Chapter 6: New Virtues and Flaws

Advisor to a magus is an honored and respected position, so Custos is the appropriate Social Status Virtue. This allows the grog access to the Arcane Abilities that he will find useful to complement his master's own knowledge. He is also Educated, as per the Virtue, which represents the classical tuition he received during his early years.

The last Virtue is Puissant Order of Hermes Lore. The character has a knack for retaining information learned about his master's House, Tribunal, allies, and enemies.

The Advisor is not physically inclined. He has no aptitude for martial pursuits and is more vulnerable than most, due to his Small Frame.

While the Virtues are almost essential to the Advisor, the Flaws are much more open and you should choose those that fit your own Advisor. He may be Tainted with Evil, explaining why he needs the security of the covenant. Or his many years of academic work may have given him Weak Characteristics.

Lacking in martial prowess, the Advisor relies upon his fastidious memory to show his value to his masters. The main abilities of note are the Art of Memory Ability (as presented in The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 25), used to recall details that his master may find useful at a later date, and Order of Hermes Lore. This latter Ability allows the Advisor to advise his master as to the names of magi he is about to meet, remind him of dealings with other covenants that he is about to encounter at Tribunal, and to steer him the right way in protocol. This is supplemented by a growing knowledge of the Code of Hermes, likely gained through the experience of keeping his master out of trouble.

Appropriate training packages are: Charmer, Covenfolk, Courtier, Cunning Man, Failed Apprentice*

* Experience points against Penetration can instead be invested in the various Realm Lore Abilities that the Advisor picks up over time.

The following abilities represent a typical Advisor at three points in his career:

ABILITIES AT AGE 20: Art of Memory 3 (scenes), Artes Liberales 3 (rhetoric), Charm 3 (first impressions), Covenant Lore 2 (personalities), Etiquette 3 (nobility), Faerie Lore 1 (faerie queens), Folk Ken 3 (nobles), Code of Hermes 1 (interaction with mundanes), Intrigue 3 (gossip), Latin 4 (Hermetic usage), Leadership 1 (covenfolk), Living Language 5 (poetry), Magic Lore 2 (magical traditions), Order of Hermes Lore 2 +2 (personalities), Philosophiae 3 (moral philosophy)

ABILITIES AT AGE 35: Area Lore 3 (politics), Art of Memory 5 (scenes), Artes Liberales 3 (rhetoric), Awareness 2 (alertness), Charm 3 (first impressions), Civil and Canon Law 2 (laws and customs of a specific area), Covenant Lore 3 (personalities), Etiquette 3 (nobility), Faerie Lore 2 (faerie queens), Folk Ken 3 (nobles), Code of Hermes 2 (interaction with mundanes), Intrigue 3 (gossip), Latin 4 (Hermetic usage), Leadership 2 (covenfolk), Living Language 5 (poetry), Magic Lore 2 (magical traditions), Order of Hermes Lore 5 +2 (personalities), Philosophiae 3 (moral philosophy), Theology 2 (local practices) ABILITIES AT AGE 50: Area Lore 4 (poli-

tics), Art of Memory 5 (scenes),

The following story seeds use the Advisor as a hook into situations that the magi and their companions must resolve.

The Tribunal meets and the Advisor lies dying, poisoned by a non-Hermetic potion seemingly resistant to the simple healing spells. Some of the magi race to find a cure for the poison while keeping the Advisor's condition secret from their enemies. The others must conduct Tribunal business and discover the would-be assassin, all without the one man they have come to rely on.

Nobody is entirely sure how long he has been at the covenant, who his parents were, or how he came to know so much, but the reserved and confident young man was right. Investigating the young man's reasoning and examining his information proves it: that trouble with the Church was stirred up by a Tytalus known to the covenant. How had this young man spotted what is now so obvious when all the magi of the covenant failed? What are they going to do with their unexpected benefactor? And what are they going to do about the Tytalus? Their new Advisor may have an idea …

The Advisor has gone missing. He was not seen to leave, and both his chamber and office have been magically cleansed of any Arcane Connections to him.

A week later, a redcap inquires after him, and then reveals that she may have seen him, fleetingly, at another covenant. She got a sense that she'd seen something she shouldn't have. Did this other covenant steal him away? How and why?

Artes Liberales 3 (rhetoric), Awareness 2 (alertness), Charm 4 (first impressions), Civil and Canon Law 2 (laws and customs of a specific area), Covenant Lore 4 (personalities), Etiquette 4 (nobility), Faerie Lore 3 (faerie queens), Folk Ken 4 (nobles), Greek 1 (prose), Code of Hermes 3 (interaction with mundanes), Intrigue 3 (gossip), Latin 5 (Hermetic usage), Leadership 2 (covenfolk), Living Language 5 (poetry), Magic Lore 4 (magical traditions), Order of Hermes Lore 6 +2 (personalities), Philosophiae 3 (moral philosophy), Theology 2 (local practices)

The Ability scores earlier take into account the extra experience points granted by the Educated Virtue.

PERSONALITY TRAITS & REPUTATION

The ideal Advisor is Loyal above all else, and must be Dependable. His third trait is more open to choice: he could be Analytical, a Perfectionist, or be gifted with a Wry Humor.

Regardless, the Advisor is most likely a long-suffering companion tasked with providing the answer his master needs at just the right time, and the Personality Traits earlier help reinforce that outlook.

As he continues in service, he may gain his own reputation, separate from his master. This is especially true where he is tasked with looking after a young, inexperienced magus prone to mistakes.

The Advisor archetype lends itself to the companion category quite easily. Given the increased capacity for Virtues and Flaws, the companion can gain additional starting experience points to increase his Ability scores, and take supernatural abilities such as Second Sight that further increase his involvement in stories. The companion can also take Story Flaws that draw him and his masters into ongoing trouble and can set up moments of crisis where his loyalty is tested.