Character generation

Creating your first magus character in Ars Magica can be a daunting task, since there is so much to read and digest. How best to approach it? Well, building a character that you will like depends on what you are looking for in the game. We suggest two different ways, tailored for two different tastes:

The Narrativist approach is directed at players that are interested in creating a character to participate in a story. It is focused on imagining what your character will be like and the kind of stories that he will participate in, and then proceeding to enumerate the ways you can use the Ars Magica game mechanics to implement this vision. This is accomplished principally by going over the Virtues and Flaws list to better define the character, and then tailoring the wizard's magic and skills to fit.
The Gamist approach is intended to speak to players that want to build highly competent wizards that will be devastating on the field of battle (or politics, or so on). It is a more simplistic approach, that starts by picking defining spells and proceeds to design a character to cast them by considering relatively few options. It is easier to apply, but also gives more standardized and less varied results.

But before we describe either approach, we will give general advice on the fastest way to design an Ars Magica starting character - using templates.

Templates and Archetypes

The core ArM5 book offers twelve templates of magi that can be simply adopted as your starting player character. This is, by far, the swiftest way to create a character - adopting a ready-made one. Each template has customization notes, giving advice on how to easily modify it. Of course, you can also make more extensive changes, but that requires more familiarity with the game rules. Ready-made characters can also be created by more experienced players in your group, or you could adopt one of the starting-characters created by Atlas Games or the fans (see Published Starting Characters).

Each of the core templates belongs to a certain House of the Order of Hermes, and presents a more-or-less typical member of that House. For this reason, it is recommended you read them to familiarize yourself with the magi that are typical in the setting.

Some core-book magus templates, however, are less typical for their House, and certain defining House stereotypes are missing. There are also archetypes that may not be common in the Order, but are common choices for player characters. For this reason, we present here an extended list of archetypes that you can choose from. Like the core templates, each comes with notes on customization. We also provide roleplaying advice on each template, directed at more Narrativist players. All templates use only the rules from the core-book, but notes on alternatives from supplements are added when relevant.

Wolf Child (Template): Left to die of exposure, this child was nursed by a she-wolf and raised as one of the pack. In time, he was adopted into House Bjornaer, but still feels more at home in nature. He has a strong affinity to wolves, and a feral spirit that frightens and drives away mundanes. This archetype is based on the Bjornaer template in the core book. It is important to note that the standard Bjornaer is not feral, and is more refined and civilized, more in line with traditional Hermetic magic. The feral magus archetype, however, is a common stereotype of House Bjornaer, and is represented here by this template.
Civilized Bjornaer (Template): This is the Bjornaer template offered in the core book. We offer advice on choosing your heartbeast and related variants.
Corporeal Necromancer: This magus is fascinated by the human body, and conducts eerie and gross experiments on his subject-matter. His ultimate purpose is to accomplish some extraordinary magical feat - perhaps creating a new Adam by magic, for example. A specialist in Creo Corpus, he is often sought after for medicine and antisense. This archetype is based on the core book Bonisagus template, but specialized in a more typical area (instead of Auram).
Storm Witch (Template): This maga hails from a tradition of storm witches, and is working on recovering her tradition and integrating it into Hermetic magi. It is a variant of the core-book Bonisagus template, tailored to better fit the House background presented in Houses of Hermes: True Lineages. It works best with alternatives offered in supplements.
Trianoma Politician (Template): This maga strives to preserve peace in the Order of Hermes, acting to maintain unity and increase cooperation. She also works to contain the ramifications of its more rash members, especially in regards to mundane society. This is an alternate defining archetype of House Bonisagus that is missing from the core book, and is thus supplied here.
The Blind Seer (Template): This magus is endowed with great prophetic powers, and has a special understanding of time and fate. This is an alternative archetype of House Criamon, combined here with the classical blind-seer motif. It is more in line with the vision of the House given in the Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults supplement, and advice is given for altering the template to accommodate supplementary content.
Incomprehensible Mystic (Template): This House Criamon archetype is well-represented by the core-book template. We add notes on relating it to the House background and setting.
Stone Giant (Template): This is the template offered as an example of an House Ex Miscellanea tradition in the core book. While an excellent tradition, it should not be seen as common to the House - this is just one of many small traditions that House harbors. Further possible traditions (including the officially dominant ones) are described on Houses of Hermes: Societates.
Hedge Wizard (Template): This magus descends from a tradition of petty folk witches that is looked-down upon by the modern Order of Hermes. His magic is severely limited in some ways, but he also wields unique supernatural powers Hermetic magic cannot reproduce. This is the stereotypical member of House Ex Miscellanea, more typical than the Stone Giant archetype presented in the core book. However, it is difficult to create using only the core book; alternatives utilizing supplements are highly recommended.
Pyromaniac (Template): The stereotypical Flambeau magus, focused intently on throwing fire at his enemies, is well-represented by the core-book's template. Here we only add some more comments and ideas for development.
Death (Template): This sinister emaciated figure is fascinated by death and decay, and is a master at the art of Perdo. It is very similar to the character of Darius in the core book, or ? from Guardian of the Forest. This is a defining archetype of House Flambeau. (The fire-throwing archetype is well represented by the Pyromaniac template, while this figure represents a magus from the school of Apromor.)
Frost Queen (Template): A maga that feels at home in the cold tundra of the far north, she is a master at Perdo Ignem and related to the Faerie Snow Queen of Winter. It is a member of House Flambeau, that combines the interests of the school of Apromor and Founder.
Inquisitor (Template): This magus is called in to investigate crimes or question witnesses. The core book Guernicus template offers an excellent implementation of this very-popular Guernicus stereotype.
Earth Wizard (Template): Another archetype of House Guernicus, this magus practices earth-magic in the ancient tradition of Mercurian Magic. While still a Quaesitor, he is more an expert at law than an investigator. This is a less-common player choice than the Inquisitor stereotype offered by the core book template, but the background of the House suggests it is a common archetype for actual Guernicus magi.
Magical Artist (Template): This is the template offered by the core-book for House Jerbiton, and indeed seems to represent well much of the House. We make some minor notes and observations.
Noble Noble (Template): Blessed with noble blood, this character exemplifies leadership and nobility. This may actually be a problem, since he is torn between his duties to the Order of Hermes and to mundane society. This is another archetype of House Jerbiton, in some ways more typical than the Magical Artist the core book template offers.
Pious Magus (Template): A pious Christian, this magus works hard to maintain good relations between the Church and the Order of Hermes. This is another archetype of House Jerbiton, that works best with some use of supplements.
Stormy Wanderer (Template): This is a magus from House Mercere that, influenced by his Redcap sodales, is taken to wandering. The strong connection to storms seems an idiosyncracy of the build that is not reflected well in the House background.
Muto Specialist (Template): A master of change and transmutation, this magus is a member of House Mercere descending directly from its Founder. This archetype is suggested by the House's background, and works best with material from the Houses of Hermes: True Lineages supplement.
Faerie-Blooded Illusionist (Template): This is the same template as offered in the core book for House Merinitia, but we added some suggestions for alternatives and roleplaying.
Spirit Necromancer (Template): A forbidding figure, this magus summons the spirits of the dead and commands them. He is also skilled at bargaining or coercing other spirits or beings into his service. It is an archetype of House Tremere, and works best with the Houses of Hermes: True Lineages supplement.
The Puppeteer (Template): This is the same template as the core book Tytalus template, but we offer advice on focusing it more.

Note the core book templates offer two more archetypes: the Tremere warrior, and the Dwarven Artificer from House Verditius.

If one of these archetypes appeals to you, you can just adopt the template, perhaps make a few changes, and you're good to go. If you want to design your character in more detail, however, or to construct one based on a different concept, you should continue on to the more detailed character generation advice, below.

The Narrativist Approach

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The Gamist Approach

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Character generation

Templates and Archetypes

The Narrativist Approach

The Gamist Approach

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