Laboratory text

A laboratory text, sometimes shortened to "lab text", is a set of notes and perhaps diagrams describing how to reproduce a magical invention, such as a Formulaic Spell or Enchanted Device.

Lab texts are important because they allow magi to learn spells or enchant devices much more quickly than inventing them from scratch. Most covenants have many lab texts in their libraries.

Writing Laboratory Texts

In ArM5, magi automatically write laboratory texts whenever they perform regular laboratory work that produces a product -- unless, of course, they were using a laboratory text to make that product!

Using Laboratory Texts

In ArM5, a magus can only use a lab text if his Lab Total is high enough. Rules are given on page 102. If the magus's Lab Total is high enough to use the text, he can reproduce the invention described in the text in one season of work.

A lab text is only useful once the project has been completed; in the RAW there is no way to benefit from a Lab Text for an unfinished project.

Laboratory Texts in Earlier Editions

In Fourth and earlier editions, Lab Texts applied only to enchanted devices and longevity rituals. Lab texts for spells did not exist; if magi wanted to share their formulaic spells, they had to spend an additional season to write them down.

Using a lab text provided a bonus to the magus's Lab Total that varied according to the author's Magic Theory score at the time he wrote the text. As the rules stated,

You must record your Magic Theory score at the time the work was done,
all the information about the types and amounts of vis used in creating 
the potion or device, the effects you created or modified, and all game 
modifiers involved in each step of the creation process.

Under the Fifth edition rules, laboratory texts require a lot less bookkeeping and provide stronger benefits.

References

• ArM5, pages 101-102

See also

• Laboratory
• Learning Spells

Legacy Page

The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:lab_text