Untitled - The Secrets of the Mind & Body Shaping

The Primus, who has attempted to
keep the price of magical items universal
throughout his House, has fi xed these
costs. Prices fl uctuate over time, infl uenced
by such banal economic factors
as supply and demand, availability of
raw materials (vis), and infl ation. Magi
who charge more or less then the current
price may incur the anger of other House
magi, who typically complain that aberrant
prices affect the market as a whole,
devaluing their items and hindering their
prosperity. The typical response is for
an offended magus to declare a vendetta
against the price-gouger.
The price of a magic item is also
dependent upon your saga and the cost
in Mythic Pounds of a pawn of vis.
Many “standard” sagas set the price of a
pawn of vis at 10 Mythic Pounds. The
offi cial House price of an item sold to
a mundane buyer should be 1.5 times
the amount of Mythic Pounds equal
to a pawn of vis. Verditius-enchanted
items should be expensive, and only the
wealthiest mundanes should be able to
afford them.
Mystery Cults
These prices only refl ect House
Verditius’ attitudes toward selling enchanted
items. Other magi may charge whatever
they wish for their enchanted devices,
if they wish to charge for them at all.
Vendettas
Vendettas are personal grudge
matches that two Verditius magi wage
against each other. The term itself is
stolen from Corsica, where it means a
protracted, lethal blood-feud between
families. While Verditius and Gelon participated
in such a feud, Verditius magi do
not. The term “vendetta” is fl ashy and suits
House members’ grandiose conception of
their own identity. Verditius vendettas are
not lethal, nor always hereditary, meaning
that a magus’s apprentice does not necessarily
continue the vendetta once being
Gauntleted.
The House views vendettas with a
certain sense of honor. When two magi
engage in a vendetta, they commit to
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antagonize or outdo each other until one
submits and declares the other a more
powerful magus. While the participants
bristle at their wounded pride, the House
beams as these two engage in such an
honorable tradition.
Vendettas arise when one magus feels
insulted by the actions of another Verditius
magus. Both magi are most likely elder
magi, grown swollen with pride through
their accomplishments. Any perceived loss
of personal honor, social slight, misunderstanding,
or seeming insult can trigger a
vendetta. The magus beginning the vendetta
initiates a malicious or vengeful move
against his opponent, openly declaring that
he is responsible and daring his opponent
to respond. Refusing is a sign of weakness,
and any magus who refuses a vendetta
gains a bad Reputation of Dishonorable
4 in the House, as well as losing enough
experience points to lower his Hubris score
(see below) by one point. He can lose this
Reputation by regaining Hubris experience
points until he regains his original Hubris
score, and waging a vendetta against the
magus who he originally refused.