27. Artists

1. An Artist may be commissioned to create a painting or sculpture which will generate SP for its owner and the Artist when completed.

2. The work of an NPC Artist costs 2 Ducats per skill level per week, payable upon completion of the commission. The skill of the Artist is randomly determined by a roll of 1d6 when the commission is placed. That roll may not be Influenced.

3. A PC Artist may accept a commission from another PC upon whatever terms those characters agree between themselves. A PC Artist receiving a commission or Small Commission from an NPC will be paid at the same rate as an NPC Artist with the same skill would be for the same commission.

4. When employing an Artist, the scale of the commission is determined by the number of weeks it requires to complete it. All commissions must take at least 4 weeks to complete. There is no maximum time limit upon a commission. The weeks taken to complete a commission do not have to be consecutive or in the same month.

5. An Artist may work on several commissions at once.

6. The base SP from a completed painting or sculpture is the number of weeks required to create it. The SP actually received by both the Artist and the owner when the commission has been completed is equal to the base SP and any SP result from the Art Check. Those SP are only received once the item has been exhibited.

7. Each PC may only commission 2 works per year in total from Artists who are not his Protégés. At least one of the two commissions must have a religious theme.

8. For a commission with a religious theme, the Artist must consult his employer upon certain details. An Artist must ascertain whether his employer wishes his image, with or without those of other family members or influential individuals, to appear in the painting. Similarly, an Artist will require details of the precise location in which a sculpture is to be exhibited. In each case, such consultation will occupy 20% (rounded up) of the time required for the item to be completed, during which time the Artist will be considered to be Toadying to his employer. Thus if a character commissions an altar triptych which will take 10 weeks to complete, he must spend 2 weeks in discussions with the Artist. Those discussions must be ordered by the employer to occur at the same time as the Artist is working upon the commission. This is automatic if an NPC Artist has been employed.

9. Owning or creating a Triumphant Success provides a permanent source of SP for the owner and the Artist respectively. The SP thus gained equal the weeks spent on the commission divided by Artist's Art Skill (rounded down). Thus an Artist with ArtA 7 would have to devote at least 7 weeks to a commission if he were to hope to create an item capable of yielding him and its owner 1 SP every month following its completion.

10. Artists will not reveal the progress of their work as they may subsequently suffer from a lack of inspiration.

11. Once a commission has been completed, its owner must hold a party to exhibit it. If the owner is an NPC, the party will take place the week after the commission is completed. If the owner is a PC, the party must be held by the end of the month following the completion of the commission, unless the owner is absent from Rome, in which case the party must be held within a month of the character's return to Rome. If the item is a painting or small sculpture, it may be exhibited at the owner's Club, his House or his Estate. If it is a large sculpture, it may only be exhibited at the owner's House or Estate. For a sculpture to count as a small sculpture, it must be capable of being easily carried by the owner on foot, without assistance or rests, from the Vatican Palace to the Baths of Diocletian. Thus a glass necklace would be considered a small sculpture, but a chandelier would not. Regardless of the venue for the party, the Artist must be invited.

Artistic Ability Gains and Losses

Art Check Table