Heartbeast

The Heartbeast is an Outer Mystery of House Bjornaer. Every Bjornaer magus has an alternate shape into which he or she can transform and which "displays a central aspect of her nature." Most commonly, this is the shape of a noble bird or beast, but some magi instead take the shape a plant.

Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults (HoHMC) pages 18-24 greatly expands the details of the Heartbeast, providing advice on choosing the heartbeast, and the statistics of the heartbeast form. (See also HoHMC pages 38-43 and the Book of Mundane Beasts for animal statistics. Only HoHMC has the descriptions for animal qualities, however.)

When Bjornaer magi enter Final Twilight, they irrevocably assume the shape of their heartbeasts.

The Heartbeast Ability

"Heartbeast" is the name of a Supernatural Ability that all magi of House Bjornaer learn, as well as the name given to the animal form a particular magus takes using the ability. The first is more likely to be used only outside in game conversations, when talking about statistics, while the latter usage would be for in game conversation. Only magi Initiated into House Bjornear have a heartbeast or can learn the Heartbeast Ability. The Heartbeast Ability is rarely used in ArM5, but a magus can use it when transformed into some other shape to return to either her human shape or heartbeast shape. (This could be a way, for example, to prematurely end a Muto Corpus effect like Disguise of the New Visage.

The Heartbeast Ability is also used in inventing spells using the Sensory Magic House Mystery.

Changing Form

In Ars Magica Fifth Edition, a magus does not need to make a roll to change form unless there is some magic working to prevent the transformation. Changing form takes "only a moment," so presumably a magus can change shape and still act normally the same round. (If you are using the optional combat rules from Lords of Men, using the Heartbeast ability to change shape is a fast action.)

The heartbeast transformation affects only the magus himself, not his clothing and equipment. It is possible to design an invested item that can change with the magus.

Communicating in Heartbeast Form

In ArM5, all shapechangers (including Bjornaer magi and characters with the Skinchanger or Shapeshifter Virtues) have the ability to speak with creatures of their kind.

The Heartbeast Form is Natural

Unlike the effects of a spell, the heartbeast form is considered the magus's natural form for mystical purposes. The implications of this are discussed on page 92 of ArM5; for example, that page explains what spells can affect a magus in heartbeast form.

HoHMC elaborates on those rules with some additional detail.

Statistics of the Heartbeast

Statistics for animals may be found in the Book of Mundane Beasts.

Exact rules for how to calculate the statistics of a Bjornaer magus in heartbeast form are found in Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults. If you do not have that book, you'll have to make a House Rule to cover that situation.

See Also

• Shapeshifting

References

Legacy Page

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