The Craftsman

Imagine the wonders that I could create in this place!

From the opulent coronation robes of a king to the simple milking stool used by the farmer's daughter, everything in Mythic Europe passes through the hands of a craftsman. They are the lifeblood of trade and commerce, but all too often they are of low status, forced to eke out a living by crafting the same items day after day, while others profit from their work.

Life in a covenant offers great opportunity. Covenants are often relatively wealthy, which is shared by all the covenfolk by way of a higher standard of living. Covenants also have access to strange and unusual materials, which provide challenges and interest to eager craftsmen. And the presence of magi means that craftsmen are able to work on items and devices with qualities far beyond those found in the mundane world.

More than perhaps any other grog, the role of the Craftsman is one that can evolve through the life of a saga. Assuming that the Craftsman isn't noteworthy enough to be given a longevity ritual, you can expect the son to take over from the father, or indeed the daughter from the mother, during the course of a saga. This may happen more than once over the period of a particularly long or fastmoving saga.

Craftsmen may be particularly important in covenants home to one or more Verditius magi. They have an immediate use as forge-companions, providing assistance in the laboratory that translates into more efficient work, providing a bonus to Lab Totals. And a range of skilled craftsmen can provide training to the generalist Verditius keen to explore more than one craft.

The following notes will help with the creation of a Craftsman.

More than other types of grog, there's a reason to advance the Craftsman from his young apprenticeship years through to being a master craftsman in his own right, with apprentices of his own. The growth of the Craftsman mirrors the growth of the magi and the covenant, and the handing of the workshop from the master to the younger journeyman marks the passage of time in the saga. An apprentice should start around age 15 and progress to journeyman by age 30. In another 15 years, he is likely to be a master craftsman at the top of his game, and will hang up his tools by the age of 60.

Characteristics should suit his craft, so Strength for a blacksmith, and Dexterity for most other crafts. Craftsmen should have a bias toward the physical characteristics.

A covenant blacksmith is likely to have a different set of Virtues and Flaws at the beginning of his career to those at the end.

APPRENTICE VIRTUES AND FLAWS: Guild Apprentice**; Improved Characteristics, Puissant Blacksmith; Independent Craftsman**, Necessary Magic Aura for Craft: Blacksmith*, Animal Companion

At some point in his career, he establishes himself as a craftsman in his own right. Given that the character may take only one Social Status Virtue, he may become a Craftsman, Journeyman**, or Custos. Taking Custos represents his increased status and connection with the magi, and represents the opportunity for additional training and practice in Finesse, the control of enchanted tools and devices, and in Latin. Once the character enters open play, however, the covenant may train him in whatever they see fit, regardless of his Virtues or Flaws.

JOURNEYMAN VIRTUES AND FLAWS: Custos; Improved Characteristics, Puissant Blacksmith; Independent Craftsman**, Necessary Magic Aura for Craft: Blacksmith**, Animal Companion

The life of a Craftsman can often be a grind, either confined to a workshop all day, or out on the road traveling between jobs. So an Animal Companion, as per the Flaw, is common. It might be the butcher's dog, the seamstress' cat, or even a succession of pet rats that have made the thatcher's wagon their home.

* See Chapter 6, New Virtues and Flaws ** See City & Guild, page 53

A Craftsman learns his trade from his years as an apprentice through to his position and rank as a master. Those in the outside world, especially those who live in towns and cities, may find themselves becoming more involved with the respective guilds for their profession or craft, but those who live and work in a covenant are less likely to develop in this way. They are more likely to be one of a handful of craftsmen looking after the needs of the covenant, their fortunes tied to those of their masters.

One skill that a covenant-trained Craftsman may develop that others won't is Finesse. While an Arcane Ability, Finesse governs the use and control of enchanted items. These are specifically useful for Rego Craft Magic (Covenants, page 49).

The following packages support a covenant-based Craftsman: Covenfolk, Craftsman, Local, Trader, Trainer

It is also likely that the Craftsman will pick up some knowledge of supernatural creatures, such as faeries curious about his work. Experience points from the earlier packages can be used to improve (Realm) Lore Abilities.

The sample Abilities listed later include Finesse. Any character can learn Finesse in the normal run of play if he is given the chance. Characters may gain Finesse at character creation if they have an appropriate Virtue granting access to the Ability, such as Custos.

ABILITIES AT AGE 15: Awareness 2 (alertness), Bargain 1 (goods), Craft: Blacksmith 3 (fine work), Brawl 3 (Fist), Carouse 3 (stories), Charm 1 (first impressions), Chirurgy 1 (burns), Guile 1 (tall stories), Living Language 5, Organization Lore: Covenant 1 (names), Single Weapon 2 (Hammer), Stealth 1 (sneak), Survival 2 (camping out), Teaching (blacksmith) 3

ABILITIES AT AGE 30: Awareness 2 (alertness), Bargain 3 (goods), Craft: Blacksmith 5 (fine work), Brawl 4 (Fist), Carouse 3 (stories), Charm 2 (first impressions), Chirurgy 3 (burns), Faerie Lore 1 (fire sprites), Finesse 3 (enchanted items), Guile 2 (tall stories), Leadership 2 (craftsmen), Living Language 5, Organization Lore: Covenant 3 (names), Single Weapon 3 (hammer), Stealth 1 (sneak), Survival 2 (camping out), Teaching (blacksmith) 3

ABILITIES AT AGE 45: Awareness 3 (alertness), Bargain 4 (goods), Craft: Blacksmith 7 (fine work), Brawl 4 (Fist), Carouse 3 (stories), Charm 2 (first impressions), Chirurgy 3 (burns), Faerie Lore 2 (fire sprites), Finesse 3 (enchanted items), Guile 2 (tall stories), Latin 3 (hermetic usage), Leadership 4 (craftsmen), Living Language 5, Organization Lore: Covenant 4 (names), Single Weapon 4 (hammer), Stealth 2 (sneak), Survival 2 (camping out), Teaching (blacksmith) 3

A Craftsman without a workshop cannot conduct his business. It is assumed that all Craftsmen have a basic workshop equipped with tools and supplied with materials sufficient to support his trade. What actually defines the workshop varies according to the craft. For instance, a blacksmith needs a forge to contain the intense heat he works with, a tinker needs a handcart on which to carry his simple tools and wares, while a thatcher has little more

than his tools and a wagon on which to carry his raw materials. The City & Guild supplement provides additional rules for representing and advancing workshops (page 65 onwards).

Each workshop is described through two characteristics, Innovation and Raw Materials, and by increasing these characteristics the the Craftsman can produce work of a higher quality. Workshop characteristics are improved through spending excess Labor Points (City & Guild, page 38) accumulated by the Craftsman.

Any advances in Innovation are retained by the workshop, able to pass to the next generation, but improved Raw Materials have an additional yearly Labor Point cost that the Craftsman must pay to maintain them, and the benefit is not passed on to the next generation. Increasing the Raw Materials characteristic decreases the number of excess Labor Points the Craftsman has available for other advancements.

Although the Craftsman grog archetype describes a craftsman, the covenant may have even more to offer the craftswoman. Crafts, trades, and their guilds are dominated by men in an atmosphere that doesn't necessarily put women on an equal footing. Even those crafts typically associated with women rarely organized into guilds, which prevented the status of such trades from being raised. So what chance does the female silversmith have to practice her craft?

Thanks largely to the iconoclastic nature of the Order, where men and women are, nominally at least, afforded equal status without question, Craftswomen skilled in any craft may find employment as easily as any man.

As a rule of thumb, if you don't want to track grog Labor Points, you can assume the following workshop statistics:

STANDARD WORKSHOP: Innovation 0, Raw Materials 0

JOURNEYMAN WORKSHOP (AFTER 15 YEARS): Innovation 1, Raw Materials 2 MASTER WORKSHOP (AFTER 30 YEARS): Innovation 2, Raw Materials 2

Beyond adding to the Craftsman's Craft Ability for the purpose of producing quality goods, the workshop is something that can be handed on to the next generation and as such becomes a part of the covenant.

A Craftsman may employ a number of assistants equal to his Leadership score, though he may always employ one apprentice regardless of his Leadership score. As well as helping in the workshop, these assistants may be the source of new grogs to replace the old over time, and may initiate stories of their own.

Each assistant adds half his Craft Ability score to the Craftsman's Workshop Total. If using multiple assistants, their Craft Scores should first be totalled and then divided by two.

PERSONALITY TRAITS & REPUTATION

A Craftsman supported by a covenant will doubtless be Hard-Working, but while some may be Kindly or Generous, others might be Strict or Miserly. The Craftsman should have one Personality Trait that determines his outlook on his work and another that shapes his relationship with his apprentices. A third trait can be se-

lected to round out the character.

It is most likely that a Craftsman living at a covenant will remain an unsung hero, the fruits of his labor obscured by the magical enchantments the magi bestow upon them. A grog Craftsman rarely generates a Reputation concerning his work. Craftsmen designed as companion character, as discussed later, can acquire a strong reputation.

Craftsman companions are less likely to be tied to the covenant and may usually pursue their own goals, which means that progression into and through their craft guild is more likely. The City & Guild supplement provides a full treatment of playing through a guild career, for those with Craftsman characters.

The following story seeds have a Craftsman at their heart, but they present challenges that magi and companions may face.

A Craftsman approaches the covenant with something to sell: an apprentice. He considers the boy to be useless to him, but a wise woman told him that there was a touch of the magical about him. He wants five pounds for the boy to cover his lost earnings and his trouble. The apprentice doesn't have The Gift, but it is quickly apparent to the magi that his talents are linked to the Magic Realm, and that the covenant is the only place in which he will reach his potential.

NEITHER APPRENTICE NOR MASTER

A new blacksmith comes to the covenant looking for work. The examples he shows are of the highest quality and he works far faster than the covenant's current blacksmith. With the magi keen to craft everbetter items and expend less on the upkeep of their covenant, do they accept this new blacksmith? And if they do, how can the displaced grog prove that the newcomer's smithy skills aren't all they appear? (See Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 87 for specifics on the Corrupted Abilities Flaw.)

On venturing out to collect vis from a prime site on behalf of the magi, the grogs find that a blacksmith has built a small forge directly over the source of their Ignem vis. The forge is somewhat makeshift and hasn't been there for long. The blacksmith refuses to move on, claiming that this magical place is the only thing that helps him feed his family, and he is willing to defend himself if things get rough. Do the grogs deal with the issue and claim the vis or do they go back to their masters? Can the magi identify the blacksmith's supernatural Flaw, and do they offer him a solution that suits everybody?

An aging covenant Craftsman, ailments weighing him down with each passing year, regrets never having taken an apprentice. These feelings are mirrored by one of the covenant magi. While the Craftsman and a few friends venture outside the covenant to find a youngster with an aptitude for his craft, the magus sets out to find a Gifted child. After false hope given by faeries, does the Craftsman finally find his apprentice? And can the magus overcome Infernal deception to rescue the Gifted child? The stories of both the magus and the Craftsman are mirrored in their searches, but perhaps the resolution lies in the same place.

The problem with covenants is that the strange often goes unnoticed. One of the magi searches the local area for signs of a Gifted child that he can take under his wing and train in the Hermetic Arts. He learns of a craftsman who suspects the abilities of his own apprentice, but this craftsman is worried that, should wizards hear tell of this, the youth will be taken away and subjected to unbearable hardship and unconscionable danger. The trail leads back to the covenant itself. Why has the craftsman really kept this from his masters? Does the magus take the Gifted apprentice? How do the craftsman and the other covenfolk react to this?

A humble thatcher approaches the magi with the aim of discussing and learning magic. The man is not Gifted and is not even educated, but he has been touched by magic. The thatcher explains that, while he is a simple craftsman, he is able to weave magic into the straw he uses. But he has ambitions greater than mere corn-dollies; he wants to enchant the thatch that is his daily trade, something that so far eludes him. Can the magi undertake research to help the man expand his power, or are there other Learned Magicians better suited? And where can they be found?

A companion Craftsman has access to the Touched by (Realm) Major Supernatural Virtue, which in turn allows him to craft Wondrous Items (as per the rules in City & Guild, page 70). These enchanted items are more limited in scope than Hermetic enchantments, but they allow the companion to develop his own career and reputation as a craftsman of note. And as the character is unGifted, he or she may be more easily accepted in society, opening up opportunities not available to magi.

Chapter 8 of the Art & Academe supplement provides rules for artists in Mythic Europe. Production Artists use their Craft Abilities, such as Craft: Stone Mason, Craft: Glazier, and Craft: Silversmith to produce works of art that have a value far beyond that of a mundane example of a craftsman's work.

This path opens up a whole new avenue for the Companion Craftsman, one which can take him into the richest and most volatile levels of society. It also opens up new rules for the creation of art and the acquisition of new benefits.

Guild Craftsmen will want to look at the guild-related virtues and flaws in City & Guild, chapter 3. Those looking for a Supernatural Craftsmen should take the Touched by (Realm) Virtue presented in City & Guild, chapter 4. Production Artists are discussed in Art & Academe, chapter 8, and this includes new Virtues for the Maestro Mythic Companion character.