Demon's Eternal Oblivion

Demon's Eternal Oblivion is a canonical PeVi Gen spell introduced in ArM5, p. 160.

R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind

Opinions and Commentary

Demon's Eternal Oblivion (DEO) is one of most notorious spells in the fan community, as many believe such "might-stripping" spells (of which it is the prime exemplar) are unbalanced. Might stripping spells are effective even from low levels, so it is highly effective to cast low-level variants and enjoy their high penetration. Combine this fact with Multicasting, and you will see how Might can easily be significantly stripped in a single round, often to the point where the target's Magic Resistance is mostly irrelevant and the creature can be disposed with a single, further, spell.

This is not necessarily a severe problem. Engaging in Might-stripping reduces the vis that can be collected from vanquished foes, and requires an elaborate set-up and investment in learning and mastering the required spells. Magi who invest similar efforts in inventing and mastering a suite of spells can usually be similarly, though perhaps not as, effective in other ways. Nevertheless, many Ars Magica fans find Might-stripping to be too effective, especially as applied to creatures with Magic Resistance at the edge of the character's ability to penetrate.

Another concern is that it should not be possible to permanently kill some creatures, at least not that easily. Arguably, these include at least some demons. Banishing the demon to hell with a powerful spell is fun; permanently ridding the world of a fallen angel that has been plaguing humanity since the dawn of Creation with a measly level-5 spell, is not. Nor is it fun to have the player characters go on a demon-cleansing spree, "Ridding the world of the Infernal, one demon at a time!".

Both these issues can be addressed through house rules. For many fans, however, might-stripping and DEO work just fine.