Houses of Hermes Book
Houses of Hermes is an Ars Magica supplement that describes the twelve current Houses in the Order of Hermes, plus House Diedne.
Rules Edition: ArM3 Author(s): Jonathan Tweet Publisher: White Wolf ISBN: 1-880992-54-X Release Date: 1994 Format: Softcover, 152 pages Availability: Out of print; electronic version available
Subject and Contents
This book is dedicated to describing all twelve of the Houses of Hermes. It therefore develops each House in more detail than the earlier supplement, Order of Hermes, but less detail than the later Fifth Edition Houses of Hermes series of supplements.
Houses of Hermes was written for Third Edition. It was never updated or replaced for Fourth Edition. Since the magic rules were quite similar between Third and Fourth Edition, Houses of Hermes remained perfectly usable and was the official sourcebook on the Houses from the time it was published in 1994 until the release of ArM5 in 2004.
Differences from Fifth Edition
The portrayal of several Houses in Houses of Hermes differs from Fifth Edition canon:
- House Flambeau is both less orderly and less diverse and has a more violent image. Flambeau the Founder in particular is depicted as a very violent figure.
- House Criamon has a more vague concept of the Enigma and is more preoccupied with visions, riddles, and symbolism
- House Tremere is less respectable and is portrayed as very conspiratorial.
Each of these Houses received a make-over when Fifth Edition overhauled the Ars Magica canon. There are, of course, some players who liked each of these Houses as they were in Houses of Hermes. The good news is that, since an electronic version of Houses of Hermes is available, players who liked the Houses the way they were before (or who just want to compare the treastment of the Houses between editions) can still buy and use this earlier book.
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