Sounds like a great idea. Already I have a few ideas that may help you along the way. Have you heard the expression "divide and conquer"? This came up in the aftermath to our last session. The sesson before that, 3 of our young magi got assaulted by a more experienced (but overconfident) magus. They managed to beat him thanks in part to the magus' overconfidence, but they recognise him as a threat. Now they have just come into some magical resources, which they are intent on gurading from this new enemy. Trouble is, so far they have no grogs or contacts that they can call on. When something draws their attention away, they have a choice of either ignoring it, taking everything with them or dividing their forces. Dividing their forces makes it easier for enemies of greater number to overcome them. Where mundanes are concerned, overwhelming numbers may help as magi have to do strange things like concentrate on spells, target them, and of course resist the fatiguing effects of spell casting. If the mundane power in an area wants shot of the magi, he could simply call them to a council and tell them so. If they decide to stay, pressure can be applied in the form of preventing resources reaching them (sanctions if you will), and then building up an army to handle the situation. More likely, the noble will attempt to gain additional leverage over the magi and allow them to stay under stringent conditions. It has been known that water supplies have been poisoned to drive people away from an area. My preferred method is to build up the tension over a period of time. Make the player magi feel threatened. Maybe even have the grizzled old timer laugh it off to give a counter point. Make them want to leave, or at least not want to stay and risk everything. Additional stories and vignettes could help this (the beaver leaving his lodge when it is attacked etc). Perhaps word reaches others in the Order, perhaps a quaesitor comes to investigate and concludes that the the covenant has made its position untenable. After this political nastiness, the fighting begins. Small at first. Covenfolk buying supplies are confronted at market. Grogs are targeted. The church is coerced into lending its support against the magi (remember, a flicker of hope is needed and perhaps not everone is out to get them - can be used as an escape route later). From there, well, what happens if the covenant is assaulted while the player magi are not there? What if the small army is about to return as the magi themselves get back? I hope the above sparks off some ideas for you. I quite fancy doing that myself now. Mark
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