Ars Magica 5E Standard Edition, Chapter Three: Characters
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Chapter Three: Characters
Character Types
Player characters in Ars Magica fall into three categories, depending on their role in the story. Magi are members of the Order of Hermes, the powerful wizards around whom the game centers. Companions are important characters who are not magi, while grogs are minor characters.
Most players of Ars Magica have at least two characters, and often more, although they do not play all of them at once. The characters to be played depend on events in the saga, and this is discussed in more detail in the section on troupe-style roleplaying, on page 219.
Magi
A magus (feminine maga, plural magi, feminine plural magae) is a powerful wizard, even when he has only just finished his training. Magi rule the covenant around which a saga revolves, and have the potential to become as powerful as any human being can. A magus player character belongs to a single player, who has complete control over that character’s decisions.
Although magi are very powerful, they are also limited in important ways by The Gift, their ability to work magic (see pages 36 and 75). This means that there are some things that only non-magi can do effectively. In addition, magi are rarely skilled at anything other than magic, which means that they need help in everyday affairs.
Companions
A companion is an important non-magus. Like magi, player character companions belong to a single player, who controls that character’s decisions. Beyond this, companions have little in common with one another. One might be a knight and veteran of the Crusades, another might be a wandering friar, a third an unGifted Redcap, still another a noblewoman. Because the Order of Hermes stands somewhat outside medieval society, it tends to attract those who do not fit in, so a companion could also be a woman who wants to serve as a knight, a priest who sees supernatural visions and has tipped into heresy, or a werewolf seeking someone who might be able to cure her affliction.
Although each player has a magus and a companion, they are almost never played together, and thus should not be linked to each other. Linking your companion to another player’s magus is a good idea, though, as that provides two player characters with a reason to investigate things together. If you do link your companion to another player’s magus, your companion should have abilities that complement those of the magus, rather than overlapping.
Companions should generally not have The Gift, unless you intend them to become magi at some point.
Grogs
Grogs are minor characters, often warriors who protect the magi and defend the covenant, but also including specialists such as bookbinders and teachers who are not important enough in the story to be created as companions.
As minor characters, grogs tend to have bad things happen to them. Warrior grogs die defending the magi, other grogs might be possessed by spirits, forced to marry a faerie lord, or die from a disease that threatens the covenant. In most versions of troupe-style play, grogs are played by many different players, and the storyguide sometimes simply tells the players what happened to a grog.
On the other hand, grogs are a great deal of fun to play. You don’t need to worry too much about the consequences of your actions, because you probably won’t be playing this character next week. You can ham up the acting, and have the grog do something stupidly heroic, or heroically stupid. If a grog charges into lone battle against a dragon, in order to defend a magus, he might die in a couple of rounds, in which case he is remembered fondly, or make some stupendously lucky rolls and kill the dragon, in which case he becomes a hero. With a grog, you can take that risk, while with a companion or magus you will probably want to be more cautious. Of course, it’s also fun to play a grog who debates with the magus about the wisdom of staying to face a dragon.
Grogs are normally generated from the grog templates, starting on page 21. They may be created by detailed character creation, but should have no Major Virtues or Flaws, and no more than three Minor Flaws, balanced by an equal number of Minor Virtues. In addition, grogs should not have Story Flaws, as they are supposed to be minor characters. Finally, grogs can never have The Gift. A character with The Gift is too important to be a grog.
Character Basics
This section outlines the way that the game rules describe characters.
Size
All Ars Magica characters have a Size score. However, almost all human characters have the same Size score, 0, as this represents an average adult human. Every three points of Size represents a ten-fold increase or decrease in mass, and adult humans can range from Size –2 to Size +2, if they take appropriate Virtues or Flaws. The effects of this are described in the Virtues and Flaws chapter. Size is more important for non-human creatures, and is discussed in detail in the Bestiary chapter.
Virtues and Flaws
Virtues and Flaws are features of the character that are not shared by most people; special benefits in the case of Virtues, and disadvantages or hooks into stories for Flaws. They cover supernatural abilities, including The Gift, enemies, obsessions, and aptitudes, as well as much more. All Virtues and Flaws are listed in their own chapter, on pages 38 and 39.
Characteristics
There are eight Characteristics in Ars Magica, each representing one of a given character’s inborn attributes. Each Characteristic has a score that describes the degree of the character’s aptitude. A score of 0 is completely average, therefore positive numbers denote higher-than-average ability and negative numbers below-average ability. All but the most exceptional of individuals have Characteristics that fall between –3 and +3.
Since Characteristics represent your character’s inborn potential, they cannot be increased by normal means. In rare circumstances, the storyguide may decide that drastic events warrant some sort of permanent change to a Characteristic, and powerful magic can also raise them, but for most characters, they are fixed.
Characteristic Descriptions
Intelligence (Int): Intelligence represents the power to analyze and synthesize concepts, as well as simple memory. It is important for Abilities that require thought power and is paramount for the Hermetic Arts. A character with low Intelligence is not necessarily stupid common sense, street savvy, wisdom, and the ability to learn, are not described by Intelligence.
Perception (Per): Perception quantifies the ability to notice things, as well as powers of intuition. While sometimes conscious, Perception often works intuitively — your character simply notices something. The storyguide may also let you roll Perception when checking various Knowledges, to see if you have insight into a certain fact or concept. Perception is important for Abilities such as Awareness, Hunt, and Folk Ken.
Strength (Str): Strength measures physical power: lifting, pushing, shoving, heaving and moving. Strength is important when hefting a melee weapon and when using brute, physical force against something or someone. People with high Strength are often bigger than those with low Strength, assuming they have the same Size.
Stamina (Sta): Stamina represents the limits of a character’s exertion, as well as how much physical punishment he can sustain. It is staying power, both mental and physical, and one of its most important components is simply the will to live. Spellcasting relies on Stamina. Stamina also measures someone’s ability to carry a load for an extended period, ignore fatigue, and withstand wounds.
Presence (Prs): Presence describes a character’s appearance, demeanor and charisma. It is important for making a good impression, as well as for leading people. Presence also measures how imposing or intimidating a person is. Even if not physically attractive, a person with high Presence might still have a demeanor that commands respect.
Communication (Com): Communication represents the aptitude for self-expression. It is important when attempting to influence or communicate with someone, verbally or otherwise. A positive Communication score suggests a character who is comfortable with or confident in his relationships with other people.
Dexterity (Dex): Dexterity means being able to move with agility and to manipulate objects accurately and skillfully. It includes hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, and bodily grace. Dexterity also helps determine how well your character swings a sword or throws a knife.
Quickness (Qik): Quickness indicates reaction speed and reflexes, and helps determine who acts first when two people are trying to do something with great haste. It also describes how well your character does something in a hurry. Your effective Quickness is usually modified by your Encumbrance. See page 178 for more information on Encumbrance.
Abilities
Abilities are a character’s learned skills. They usually do increase during the course of a saga. Characters in Ars Magica can choose from a wide range of Abilities, listed in the Abilities chapter on page 63, which are divided into five types: General Abilities, which can be learned by anyone, and Academic Abilities, Arcane Abilities, Martial Abilities, and Supernatural Abilities. A character can only learn Academic, Arcane, or Martial Abilities if he has an appropriate Virtue or Flaw, or is a magus.
A character cannot learn or use a Supernatural Ability at all unless he has the Virtue granting it, or has The Gift and has learned that Ability.
Personality Traits
Personality Traits are a short description of important features of your character’s personality. For major characters, such as magi and companions, they should be nothing more than an aide memoire, and a reason to think about the character’s personality during character creation.
For grogs, they are more significant. As grogs are often shared between players, or at least played rarely (see “Troupe-Style Roleplaying” on page 219), the numbers attached to Personality Traits can be used as a concrete guide to playing the character. They can be positive or negative, and normally range between +3 and –3, although there are exceptions. “Loyal” is a particularly important Trait, as it reflects the grog’s attachment to the covenant, while “Brave” is just as important for warrior grogs. A third Trait should be something distinctive about that grog. You may decide to roll a grog’s Personality Traits when you are unsure how he would react, or you may treat the numbers simply as a guide to roleplaying. If you do roll them, add nothing but the Personality Trait, and roll a stress die. Suggested Ease Factors are found on the Personality Rolls table.
Changing Personality Traits
Personality Traits can only be changed by the player who controls the character, and only between game sessions. However, they can be changed freely, possibly to reflect a series of exceptional rolls, or to reflect life events. For example, a cowardly grog who stands his ground and kills an impressive monster might well become more brave.
| Ease Factor | Brave | Loyal | General |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Not really scary. Facing down a barking dog. |
Loyalty & self-interest coincide. Warning the magi that your enemy is planning to attack the covenant. |
Average people would always do this. |
| 3 | Hardly scary. Facing down an angry, but unarmed, peasant while armed and armoured. |
Little loyalty required. Not denouncing the magi to the bishop passing through the local village. |
Average people would usually do this. People noted for a Personality Trait would always do this. |
| 6 | Scary. Facing down an apparently equal enemy. |
Average loyalty. Standing by the covenant when it is threatened. |
Average people do this about half the time. |
| 9 | Very scary. Facing down a clearly superior enemy. |
Loyal. Resisting a large bribe and offer of protection. |
Average people usually don’t do this, and even notable people often fail. |
| 12 | Extremely scary. Facing down a dragon. |
Very Loyal. Staying loyal to the covenant under torture. |
Average people almost always fail. Even notable people do this rarely. |
Reputations
Reputations determine whether people are likely to have heard of the character, and what they have heard about him. They don’t determine how people react to characters they have heard of, as that depends on what they think of what they’ve heard, nor do they necessarily aid in the identification of characters. Indeed, in some cases a high Reputation may make it difficult for a character to convince people that he is who he says he is. (“Oh, sure you’re Sir Robert the Dragonslayer. Of course he’d be visiting my inn. Who are you really?”)
Reputations have a score, a content, and a type. The score is a number, used as described below. The content is what the Reputation is for; a reputation for killing dragons, powerful fire magic, or learned interpretation of the Psalms, for example. The type determines who might have heard of the Reputation. The most basic type is a Local Reputation, which is one that anyone who lives near the character might have heard. The other two main types are Ecclesiastical and Hermetic Reputations, determining a character’s reputation in the Church and Order of Hermes, respectively. The type of Reputation defines what counts as distance.
A random person has heard of a character with a Reputation if a roll of a stress die plus the Reputation equals or exceeds the Ease Factor given on the table above. The more he succeeds by, the more he has heard about the character. If the character’s Reputation is largely accurate, so is what the person has heard. Conversely, a largely underserved Reputation brings lots of false beliefs with it.
Reputations can change over time. See page 167 for details.
| Ease Factor | Local | Ecclesiastical | Hermetic | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Same village | Same parish/monastery | Same covenant | Everyone in these groups has heard of everyone else in them |
| 6 | Same town | Same diocese | Same Tribunal | On average, people have heard of about half the people in this area, and of most people who have any sort of reputation. |
| 9 | Same county | Same province | Entire Order | In general, only people with a reputation are known in this group, but everyone knows a few other people. |
| 12 | Same country | Whole Church | N/A | Most people in this wider world are unknown, but those with outstanding reputations may be. |
Confidence
Important characters have a Confidence Score and Confidence Points. This includes both central player characters (magi and companions) and important Npcs, such as recurring antagonists and allies. These characters start with three Confidence Points. Most such characters start with a Confidence Score of one, but this can be modified by Virtues and Flaws.
There is no limit to the number of Confidence Points that a character can have.
Using Confidence
A player may spend Confidence Points on most rolls to get +3 to the total per point spent. He may decide to spend the point after the
dice are rolled and the putative result of the action is known. He may not spend Confidence on a roll that botched, but he may spend it on a roll of zero which was not a botch. A player may spend any number of points up to, but not exceeding, the character’s Confidence Score.
Once a Confidence Point is spent, it is gone forever. Confidence Points are not recovered.
Confidence may not be spent on rolls which represent a whole season’s activities, such as rolls for studying from vis.
Getting New Confidence Points
The storyguide for a session hands out Confidence Points to characters at the end of the session. To qualify for Confidence Points, the character must have been played for a significant length of time during that session, and must have made a contribution to the session.
Characters should be awarded one Confidence Point for each of the following that they managed:
- Achieve a personal goal.
- Contribute to achievement of a group goal, even if it wasn’t a personal goal.
- Success in a difficult task. (Only one award per character per session.)
- Entertainingly well roleplayed. This means that the player portrayed the character well, and in a way that entertained and enhanced the fun of the other players.
- Bonus. This point is awarded if the storyguide thinks that the character or player did something that deserves a reward, but which does not fall under the above categories. You should only award one bonus point per character per session.
Typical characters should gain two or three Confidence Points per session.
Raising Confidence Score
A character’s Confidence Score can only be increased by long-term story events which greatly increase the character’s self-confidence and self-reliance. As a baseline, the fifteen gruelling years of a Tytalus apprenticeship are enough to raise a character’s Confidence Score by one point. Raises in play should follow on events of a similar magnitude and duration.
Character Templates
The quickest way to get started playing Ars Magica is to choose one of the characters presented in this section. All are fully generated, and just need a name and a bit of background to fit them into your saga. The second quickest way is to customize one of these characters. Finally, you can use the Detailed Character Creation rules, starting on page 28, to build your own character from scratch.
Format
Each template is presented in the same format, described below.
Characteristics: A list of the Characteristics and values. If the character has any aging points in any Characteristics, these are shown in parentheses after the Characteristic value. (See page 168 for aging rules.)
Size: The character’s size.
Age: The character’s actual age, with the apparent age in parentheses. (See page 168 for aging rules and apparent age.) Decrepitude: The character’s number of Decrepitude points. These are gained from aging, and described on page 170.
Warping Score: The character’s Warping Score, with the number of excess Warping Points in parentheses. Warping Points measure a character’s exposure to magic, and have bad effects if you gain too many. See page 167 for more details.
Confidence Score: The character’s Confidence Score, with the number of Confidence Points in parentheses. Grogs don’t have Confidence, so this line is omitted.
Virtues and Flaws: All the character’s Virtues and Flaws. These are all described in the Virtues and Flaws chapter. The first Virtue listed is The Gift, if the character has it. The next is the character’s Social Class. Then come all other Major Virtues, in alphabetical order, Minor Virtues, alphabetically, Major Flaws, alphabetically, and Minor Flaws, also arranged in alphabetical order.
Personality Traits: The character’s Personality Traits, and scores.
Reputations: Details of the character’s Reputations, if any. Combat: The combat statistics for modes of attack and weapons that the character uses often.
Soak: The character’s Soak score.
Fatigue Levels: A listing of the character’s Fatigue levels and penalties, which represent how tired the character is. Fatigue is on page 178.
Wound Penalties: Shows the penalties for wounds of varying severity, with the number of points of damage required to inflict a wound of that severity shown in parentheses.
Abilities: All of the character’s Abilities, in alphabetical order. The format is Ability X (Y) (specialization), where X is the score in the Ability and (Y) is the number of experience points spent towards the next level. If the Ability is written X+Y (Z), X is the score in the Ability, Y is a fixed bonus from a Virtue (usually Puissant Ability), and Z is the number of experience points spent towards the next level. Arts: The character’s scores in the Hermetic Arts, in the format Art X (Y), where X is the score and Y the number of experience points spent towards the next level. If the Art is written X+Y (Z), X is the score in the Ability, Y is a fixed bonus from a Virtue (usually Puissant Art), and Z is the number of experience points spent towards the next level. The Arts are named according to the standard abbreviations, described starting on page 77.
Non-magi have no scores in the Arts, and this section is omitted.
Twilight Scars: Long-lasting effects of Wizard’s Twilight. This is only applicable to Hermetic magi, and is described in detail on page 88.
Equipment: The character’s stuff.
Encumbrance: The character’s Encumbrance, with the character’s Burden in parentheses. Rules for Encumbrance are on page 178.
Spells Known: A list of all the Hermetic spells the character knows. Obviously, this is omitted for non-magi. The spells are in the format: Spell Name (TeFo X) +Y, where TeFo is the Technique and Form of the spell, X is the spell level, and Y is the magus’s Casting Total with the spell. If the Casting Total is higher than the spell level, the magus can cast it easily. If it’s significantly lower, he might have problems. The spells are described in the Spells chapter.
Customization Notes: Some notes on the character, and what can easily be changed if you want to customize it.
Grog Templates
These templates are intended for use as grogs. You could expand one into a companion fairly easily, though.
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Companion Templates
These templates are for central, but nonmagus, characters.
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Magus Templates
These templates are of a stereotypical member of each House, 25 years old and just out of apprenticeship. The asterisk in the Virtues list indicates the Virtue that the magus gets free from his House. (See page 30.)
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Detailed Character Creation
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The first step in creating a new character from scratch is creating a character concept. Your magus might be a fire wizard, a magical spy, or a magus desperate to get away from the diabolism practiced by his parens. A companion might be a woodsman with supernatural powers, a Muslim scholar exploring western Europe, or a werewolf seeking a cure for his curse. A grog can be any type of warrior, or a member of the covenant staff, such as a washerwoman, butler, or stablehand.
Once you have a concept, decide whether the character is a magus, companion, or grog. It is obvious if the character is a magus; he has The Gift and has been trained in Hermetic magic. Before creating a magus character, you should have an understanding of the magic rules. Without at least a basic grasp of the way that magic works, you may make choices that will weaken your initiate magus and curtail her potential for future development. It’s probably best to use one of the templates for your first magus.
If the character is not a magus, but is intended to be a central character in the saga, he is a companion. If he is intended to be a bit part, he is a grog. A stablehand intended to be a central character is a companion, and a woodsman with one or two minor magical powers might well be a grog. The rules for character creation differ slightly between the three character types, but they are basically the same. However, there are enough separate steps for magi to make it worth treating them separately.
Magi Only: A Hermetic House
The next step in creating a Hermetic magus is choosing his House. The twelve Houses are described starting on page 11, and summarized in the table. Membership in a House grants a particular benefit at character creation, which is listed in the table. A magus can only be a member of one House.
Example: Darius
Niall is creating an experienced magus for use in a new saga. He decides on the name “Darius,” and his concept is a scary-looking magus who specializes in Perdo magic and in hunting down the enemies of the Order. Looking at the Houses, Flambeau and Tytalus both look appropriate, but Puissant Art (Perdo) fits the concept better than Self-Confident, so he goes with House Flambeau. Darius is now Darius of Flambeau.
| House | Type | Description | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bjornaer | Mystery Cult | Magi who are animal as well as human | Heartbeast (page 91), beginning score of 1 in Heartbeast Ability. |
| Bonisagus | True Lineage | Divided between researchers and politicians | Puissant Magic Theory (researchers) or Puissant Intrigue (politicians) |
| Criamon | Mystery Cult | Mystical philosphers and masters of riddles | The Enigma (page 92), beginning score of 1 in Enigmatic Wisdom. |
| Ex Miscellanea | Societas | Many magi from different traditions, not all fully Hermetic | A free Minor Hermetic Virtue, a free Major non-Hermetic Virtue, and a compulsory Major Hermetic Flaw, representing the particular tradition within the House. These Virtues and Flaws are in addition to the normal allowance. |
| Flambeau | Societas | Martial masters of fire and destruction | Puissant Perdo or Puissant Ignem |
| Guernicus | True Lineage | Investigators, lawyers, and mediators | Hermetic Prestige |
| Jerbiton | Societas | Nobles, scholars, and artists | A Minor Virtue relating to scholarship, arts, or mundane interaction. |
| Mercere | True Lineage | Messengers of the Order | Puissant Creo or Puissant Muto. Note that unGifted Redcaps are created as companions, and take the Redcap Major Status Virtue. Gifted Redcaps take the Hermetic Magus Status Virtue, and do not take the Redcap Major Status Virtue. |
| Merinita | Mystery Cult | Faerie magi | Faerie Magic (page 92). Any magus in this House without a faerie-related Virtue or Flaw has a Warping Point, inflicted to allow initiation into the Mystery. |
| Tremere | True Lineage | A hierarchical and disciplined House | Minor Magical Focus (certamen) |
| Tytalus | Societas | Magi who thrive on conflict of any sort | Self Confident |
| Verditius | Mystery Cult | Crafters of enchanted items | Verditius Magic (page 93) |
Virtues and Flaws
As many Virtues and Flaws deal with the character’s place in the story, they differ the most between the character types.
All characters must take a Social Status. There are a number of default Social Statuses that cost no points; see page 38. In particular, all Hermetic magi take the Social Status Hermetic Magus, which costs no points. No other characters may take this Status, because they are not, after all, Hermetic magi.
Grogs are somewhat limited in their choice of Virtues and Flaws, to ensure that they remain minor characters. They may have up to three points of Flaws, and a corresponding number of Virtues. Grogs should have only Minor Virtues and Flaws. In addition, grogs may not have The Gift (having The Gift makes you an important character), and may not have Story Flaws, as those Flaws make characters central to stories, and that is not the role of the grogs.
Companions may, in principle, choose any Virtues and Flaws. They may have up to ten points of Flaws, and a corresponding number of points of Virtues. Major Virtues and Flaws are worth three points each, Minor Virtues and Flaws are worth one point each.
Companions who do not have The Gift may not choose Hermetic Virtues or Flaws. Companions may have The Gift, and thus take Hermetic Virtues or Flaws. However, this should be extremely unusual; the main reason for creating such a companion is that you want to play through the apprenticeship of a magus. The Gift is, however, free, even if taken by a companion. Bear in mind that, unless the character can get access to magical training, it is almost entirely a Flaw, because of its effects on social interactions.
Like companions, magi may take up to ten points of Flaws, and the same number of points of Virtues. Major Virtues and Flaws cost three points each, Minor ones one point. All magi must have The Gift. Without it, they cannot work magic, and thus cannot be magi. In addition, all magi should have at least one Hermetic Flaw. Nobody fits perfectly into Hermetic theory. The rules for taking Virtues and Flaws are summarized at the beginning of the Virtues and Flaws chapter.
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Niall starts by looking for appropriate Flaws to fit his concept. Driven seems like a good Personality Flaw; Darius cannot help hunting down enemies of the Order at all times. Similarly, those activities are likely to produce Enemies, and Niall picks a Renounced magus and his cronies to be the enemies in question. Blatant Gift fits well with the scary image Niall wants, and he didn’t imagine the character being able to interact much with mundanes anyway. That’s three Major Flaws, so nine points already. Blatant Gift is a Hermetic Flaw, so that requirement is met. Finally, Niall takes Disfigured (facial burns) as a Minor Flaw, reinforcing the image and giving him ten points of Flaws.
Then it’s time to buy good stuff. As a magus, Darius already has The Gift, and Puissant Art (Perdo) came free as a Flambeau. Niall takes Affinity with Perdo to back up Darius’s specialty. He decides that Darius has done his job well, so he takes Hermetic Prestige to reflect his reputation in the Order. Hunting magi is a very dangerous game, so he also takes Premonitions and Second Sight, making it hard to take Darius by surprise. Similarly, shooting first is an advantage, so he takes Fast Caster. That’s five Minor Virtues, leaving Darius with five points to spend. Niall has a look at Major Virtues, and decides that Flawless Magic will be extremely useful. It will let him cast spells more quickly, and with higher Penetration, which is a very good thing when facing other magi. That uses another three points, but he still has two Minor Virtues to buy. He chooses Strong-Willed and Enduring Constitution, which fit the image and provide a bit more breadth.
| The detailed character creation rules allow you to create characters of any age. This is obviously very useful for storyguides, but it raises the question of the appropriate age for new player characters.
The first thing to bear in mind is that a character over the age of 35 must make aging rolls (see page 168) before the game begins. It is possible for such a character to die of old age before play, although if that happens you can always go back to the previous year. The second issue is that older characters are more powerful than younger ones. This is particularly marked for magi, who gain experience points and spell levels more quickly once they are out of apprenticeship and no longer need to spend timeserving their masters. The final issue is that older characters take longer to create, because there are more experience points to allocate. The troupe or storyguide should make a decision on starting ages, bearing these factors in mind. There are a few guidelines worth following, however. First, new players should create magi who are just out of apprenticeship. Magi have a lot of choices, and until you have played the game a bit you won’t know which choices suit your playing style. Second, in most troupes all magi should be approximately the same number of years out of apprenticeship. Actual ages are relatively unimportant, as magical abilities tend to overshadow mundane. If you decide not to do this, it should be because the whole troupe wants to play in that sort of saga, not because one player has a cool concept for an older magus. Third, it’s a good idea to create companions at a fairly young age (under 30), so that they have several years of play in them. The importance of this varies depending on the speed of your saga (see page 218), but an old companion runs the risk of dying of old age before he’s been played a dozen times. Finally, grogs can be created at any age, and probably should be. Grizzled veterans and eager novices make equally fine concepts, and even characters partially crippled by old age can contribute to stories set at the covenant. Child Characters Creating children using these rules requires the application of a bit of common sense. Abilities can be generated and treated as normal, but a seven-year-old child is not going to be stronger than most adults, even if she has Strength +3.Similarly, some Virtues and Flaws will only become applicable as the child ages, rather than starting out usable. To generate a child, use the normal rules, and then modify all Characteristics as follows:
Virtues and Flaws can only be dealt with by applying your best judgment. |
Characteristics
Characteristics are bought on the following table. You start with seven points to spend. All characters buy Characteristics in the same way.
For Hermetic magi, you should note that Intelligence is central to Hermetic laboratory work, and thus magi should seriously consider tak- ing a positive score in it. Similarly, Stamina is very important for spellcasting, and so a negative score there is best avoided. Communication is vital if you want your character to write good books.
| Score | Cost |
|---|---|
| +3 | 6 |
| +2 | 3 |
| +1 | 1 |
| 0 | 0 |
| –1 | Gain 1 |
| –2 | Gain 3 |
| –3 | Gain 6 |
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Niall starts by giving Darius an Intelligence of +3, spending six of his points right away. Following on with the idea that Darius is hard to surprise and good at hunting, he spends the seventh point on a Perception of +1. However, he doesn’t want everything else to be zero. Fortunately, the con- cept practically demands a negative score in Presence, so Niall drops that to –3, and Communication to –1, giving him seven more points to play with.
Stamina is the other score most useful for magi, so Niall makes a deliberate decision to leave it at zero. The character will be more interesting if he has strengths in other areas, he thinks. Instead, he buys Quickness +2 (good for dodging), Strength +2 (he can hit hard), and Dexterity +1 (making him better than average in com- bat). It looks like Darius will occasionally use physical combat, which makes sense; steel can get through magic resistance without any trouble.
Advancement Table To Buy: The number of experience points required to raise a score from zero to that number. To Raise: The number of experience points required to raise a score by one point to that number.
| Score | To Buy | To Raise | To Buy | To Raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 10 |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 15 |
| 4 | 10 | 4 | 50 | 20 |
| 5 | 15 | 5 | 75 | 25 |
| 6 | 21 | 6 | 105 | 30 |
| 7 | 28 | 7 | 140 | 35 |
| 8 | 36 | 8 | 180 | 40 |
| 9 | 45 | 9 | 225 | 45 |
| 10 | 55 | 10 | 275 | 50 |
| 11 | 66 | 11 | 330 | 55 |
| 12 | 78 | 12 | 390 | 60 |
| 13 | 91 | 13 | 455 | 65 |
| 14 | 105 | 14 | 525 | 70 |
| 15 | 120 | 15 | 600 | 75 |
| 16 | 136 | 16 | 680 | 80 |
| 17 | 153 | 17 | 765 | 85 |
| 18 | 171 | 18 | 855 | 90 |
| 19 | 190 | 19 | 950 | 95 |
| 20 | 210 | 20 | 1050 | 100 |
Abilities
Abilities represent a character’s learned abilities. For grogs and companions they are acquired in two blocks: early childhood, and later life. For magi, there are two more periods to consider: apprenticeship, and life as a magus after that. Your character’s age determines the maximum score she can have in any Ability at character creation. These limits do not apply to characters in play, and there is no cap on Abilities during play. In practice, most Abilities will not rise above 10, but there may be exceptions.
| Age | Maximum Ability |
|---|---|
| under 30 | 5 |
| 30–35 | 6 |
| 36–40 | 7 |
| 41–45 | 8 |
| 46+ | 9 |
Early Childhood
In the first five years of life, characters gain a score of 5 in their native language (see page 66 for the Language Ability), and 45 experience points to divide between (Area) Lore (for the place or places the character is growing up), Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Charm, Folk Ken, Guile, Living Language (other than the character’s native language), Stealth, Survival, and Swim. You do not need to put points into all of these Abilities; choose the ones that best fit your conception of the character. This represents what the character picks up as she plays as a child.
The following Ability packages can be taken to speed up character generation. Each represents a particular sort of childhood. Note that you can spend the 45 experience points for yourself, as well.
|
Later Life
After early childhood, the character gains 15 experience points per year, which may be placed in any Abilities, as long as the character has a Virtue that permits her to learn those Abilities. Academic, Arcane, and Martial Abilities require a Virtue, as do Supernatural Abilities. Characters with the Wealthy Virtue get 20 experience points per year, while characters with the Poor Flaw get 10 experience points per year. Note that only companions can take this Virtue and Flaw.
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Darius has a number of free Abilities from his Virtues, so Niall notes them first: Premonitions 1, Second Sight 1, Mastery of All Spells 1 The next issue is his early childhood. Niall chooses German as Darius’s native language, and, at this point, Uwe as his original name, so that gives him German 5. He then spends 15 exp on Bavaria Lore 2, 15 exp on Awareness 2, and 15 exp on Folk Ken 2, bringing Uwe/Darius to the age of 5.
Now he needs to decide when the boy became an apprentice, and he picks 10 as a nice, round number. He has 75 experience points to spend from those five years, and he spends 15 exp on Brawl 2, 15 exp on Guile 2, 5 exp on Athletics 1, 5 exp on Concentration 1, 5 exp on Etiquette 1, 5 exp on Intrigue 1, 5 exp on Leadership 1, 5 exp on Stealth 1, 5 exp on Survival 1, and 5 exp on Swim 1. That leaves him with 5 experience points, which he decides to spend on Order of Hermes Lore 1. It’s a general Ability, so he can, and he rationalizes the decision by assuming that his future master took him to the covenant some time before his apprenticeship actually began.
|
Artes Liberales 1 Total Cost: 90 experience points |
Magus Only — Apprenticeship
The fifteen years of apprenticeship give the character 240 experience points, and 120 levels of spells. These experience points can be spent on Arts or Abilities, including Arcane, Academic, and Martial Abilities. Note that magi can only spend experience points on Arcane, Academic and Martial Abilities before apprenticeship if they have a Virtue which allows them to do so. A sensible division is to spend 120 experience points on Abilities and 120 on Arts.
Magi must have the following minimum Abilities: Parma Magica 1, Magic Theory 1, Latin 1. Characters with lower scores would not be admitted to the Order. A character without a Latin score of least 4 and an Artes Liberales score of at least 1 is unable to read the books of the Order. This will seriously weaken the character relative to other magi, and you should be aware of this before designing such a character. A character with a Latin score of less than 5 cannot write books, which may also be important. A Magic Theory score of below 3 is weak, and, in particular, means that the magus cannot set up his own laboratory. Very few magi have a score in Parma Magica over 1 immediately after apprenticeship, as this Ability is the last thing taught. Indeed, the magus is not taught the final secret to raising a Parma until after he has sworn the Oath. Magi should also seriously consider putting points into Code of Hermes, Concentration, Finesse, Order of Hermes Lore, Penetration, and Profession (Scribe).
It is probably unwise to put more than 55 experience points, for a score of 10, into any one Art, as that tends to indicate that your magus is over-specialized.
The highest level spell you can learn is equal to Technique + Form + Intelligence + Magic Theory +3, where the Technique and Form are the Technique and Form of the spell in question. If the spell has requisites (see page 114), they apply to this total as well.
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Spending the apprenticeship Xp is fairly easy. Niall spends 50 exp for Latin 4, 50 exp on Magic Theory 4, 30 exp on Artes Liberales 3, 5 exp on Finesse 1, 15 exp on Penetration 2, 5 exp on Profession — Scribe 1, 5 exp on Chirurgy 1, 5 exp on Faerie Lore 1, 5 exp on Infernal Lore 1, 5 exp on Philosophiae 1, and 5 exp on Magic Lore 1.
Then he looks at Hermetic Arts. He has 65 experience points left. He spends 37 points on Perdo, which his affinity turns into 55 points, so that he has Perdo 10. Then he puts almost all of the rest into Creo and Corpus: 15 exp on Creo 5, 3 exp on Corpus 2.
Darius adds 10 to his Technique + Form to determine the highest level spell he can learn. He chooses to take all Perdo spells, selecting The Wound that Weeps (PeCo 15), Grip of the Choking Hand (PeCo 15), Parching Wind (PeAq 20), Soothe the Raging Flames (PeIg 20), Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20), Calm the Motion of the Heart (PeMe 15), Loss of But a Moment’s Memory (PeMe 15). Because of his Flawless Magic Virtue, Darius has a Mastery Score of one in each spell, and thus Niall has to choose a special ability for each. Finally, just before Gauntlet, he spends his last 5 exp on Parma Magica 1.
Magus Only — After Apprenticeship
If you want to generate a magus who is some time out of apprenticeship, the rules change again. You might want to wait until you are familiar with the game system before doing this, however. There are a lot of options and considerations, which could easily seem overwhelming.
For every year, the magus gets 30 points. Each point can be an experience point in an Art or Ability or one level of spell. The maximum spell level a magus may know is limited as before. A sensible maximum for a magus’ Arts is 10 plus one for every four years since apprenticeship. Thus, a magus who is 20 years out of apprenticeship could have a highest Art of 15, while a magus 120 years out of apprenticeship might have a highest Art of 40. A typical magus also gains an average of 2 Warping Points (see page 167) per year, so there are very few magi much more than 120 years out of apprenticeship. Thus, 40 is about the highest Art possible.
Of course, you may not want your experienced magus to have spent all his time studying Abilities, Arts and spells. If you wish to have your magus engage in other lab activities (such as creating items, enchanting familiars, and in particular creating Longevity Rituals) you will need to know more about the circumstances in which he has been working. These are ultimately up to the storyguide, but a typical situation might be as follows:
- The magus’ covenant (for Aging rolls) gives a Living Conditions modifier of +1 (see “Aging,” page 168.)
- The magus’ lab is of only average quality, giving a modifier to Lab Totals of 0.
- The covenant has a Magic Aura of 3.
- The magus may use a maximum number of pawns per year equal to Magic Theory x
- of the Arts required. It is not possible to accumulate pawns from year to year, because this number already represents vis the magus has saved while studying from books and inventing spells.
Statistics for familiars and apprentices should be agreed with the storyguide, if required.
For each season that your magus spends working on a lab project, the character loses 10 points from the yearly 30 experience points, to a minimum of 0 if three or four seasons are spent on lab work. Thus it is most cost effective to have the magus engage in a full year of lab work at a time. It is suggested that you advance your magus year by year, spending several on study, then taking years out to do lab work as the character’s statistics reach appropriate levels. Older magi can learn spells more quickly than these guidelines suggest. You may therefore want to use these rules to have a magus learn spells as a lab project if you are advancing him more than forty years or so beyond apprenticeship.
Remember that you should also make aging rolls for the character each year from the age of 35. Thus you will probably want your magus to have acquired a Longevity Ritual (see page 101) by then. Some skilled magi offer their services creating Longevity Rituals for others, and you may decide that your character has bargained for one such ritual, especially if you are not interested in studying the Arts of Creo or Corpus. The precise details of such bargains and the bonus given by the resulting ritual should be agreed with the storyguide.
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Darius will be out of apprenticeship when the saga starts, so Niall takes him further. For the eight years from 26 to 33, inclusive, he just lumps all the experience points together. This gives him 240 experience points to spend in various ways. First, he spends 25 exp raising Parma Magica to 3, as a magus-hunter needs decent Magic Resistance. Then he spends 5 exp on Great Weapon 1, and gives Darius a spear. Next, he spends 88 exp to raise Corpus to 13, which is a bit high for his age, but will balance out before he’s finished. He reasons that Darius wants to devise his own Longevity Ritual, and have a decent Penetration with PeCo spells. Next, he goes for a bit more versatility, spending 30 exp to raise Creo to 10, 60 exp to raise all of Aquam, Ignem, Imaginem, Mentem, Terram, Vim to 4, and 1 exp each on Rego and Intellego, for scores of 1 in each. That leaves him 20 exp, which he spends on a level 20 version of Rusted Decay of Ten-Score Years (PeTe 10, Target increased to Group = +2 Magnitudes). Again, he needs to pick a mastery ability for the spell.
Niall then decides that Darius will spend the next year in the laboratory, so he gains no experience points in that year. See the Laboratory chapter for the details of these activities. Season 1: Opens spear haft (staff) for enchantment (8 pawns vis); Season 2: Attunes spear haft as a talisman; Season 3: Creates Longevity Ritual (7 pawns vis, Lab Total 35, for a +7 bonus against aging); Season 4: Instill the talisman with the effect “The Wound that Weeps” (PeCo 15), with 0 penetration and 50 uses per day. Open the talisman to the attunement “+4 Destroy things at a distance,” because a spear is still basically the shape of a staff.
From this point, Niall advances Darius a year at a time, because aging results might have an impact on his study and development. In Darius’s 35th year he spends 15 exp on Hunt 2, 5 exp on Civil and Canon Law 1, and 10 exp on raising Animal to 4. At this point, Niall decides that Darius would have risked suffering a Twilight, as he is the sort of magus who is likely to botch from time to time. Darius has a Warping Score of 2, with five Warping Points left over, because he is ten years out of apprenticeship. He makes the roll to control the magic, and succeeds, so that Darius does not actually go into Twilight at this point.
Niall then continues aging Darius to the age of 87, but that’s enough example.
Personality
Choose three words to describe your character’s personality, and attach a value between –3 and +3 to each. These are your character’s Personality Traits (see page 18). Grogs should have a score (positive or negative) in Loyal, and warriors should have a score in Brave. Most warriors will have a positive score in Brave, but not all.
For companions and magi, they are nothing more than a guide to roleplaying, although you can roll them if you really want to, so you shouldn’t worry too much about them.
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Niall picks Brave, Dedicated to Cause, and Efficient as Darius’s Personality Traits, and gives him scores of +3 in each. Darius is quite an extreme individual, but the numbers are unlikely to have much impact on play.
Reputations
Characters only start with a Reputation if they choose a Virtue or Flaw that grants one, but all characters can develop them in play. See page 19 for rules on Reputations.
Example: Darius Of Flambeau
Darius does have a Reputation, thanks to his Hermetic Prestige Virtue. It’s a reputation with Hermetic magi, and it has a level of 3. Niall picks “Dedicated Hoplite” as the content. (The Hoplites are the enforcers of the Order of Hermes. It’s an informal grouping, but its members are respected.)
Confidence
Grogs do not have Confidence Points. Like Story Flaws, Confidence Points indicate a central character.
Companions and Magi start with a Confidence Score of 1 and 3 Confidence Points, unless they have a Virtue or Flaw that indicates otherwise.
Confidence Points can be spent to gain a one-off +3 bonus to any die roll, and a maximum number of Confidence Points equal to the character’s Confidence Score may be spent on a single roll. More details on Confidence can be found on page 19.
Equipment
Your character may start with any equipment or possessions she might reasonably have acquired and retained over her career. You need not list all her possessions.
| It is possible to generate a character by working out exactly what he has done in every season he has been alive, and using the rules in the Laboratory and Long-Term Events chapters to determine the results. This is how magi and important companions are normally advanced in play, but it takes a very long time for character generation. It tends to produce characters who are close to those generated using the detailed rules, but with a lot more character.
Even if you do generate a character this way, you should still use the normal guidelines for the first five years of life, and you assign Virtues, Flaws, and Characteristics in the normal way. However, age-based limits on Abilities do not apply, and all Virtues and Flaws have their normal effect on character advancement. You must discuss with your troupe the resources that the character has available; with sensible choices, it is usually hard to raise Abilities above the agebased limits, which is why they exist in Detailed Character Creation. |
Example: Darius of Flambeau
Darius starts with the normal Confidence Score of 1 and 3 Confidence Points. His only noteworthy piece of equipment is his talisman-spear; Niall can assume that Darius has any mundane material he needs. With the statistics completed, Niall finishes filling in the details of Darius’s appearance and background, preparing him for play in the saga.
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Str +2, Sta 0, Prs –3 (2), Com –1, Dex +1, Qik +2
Size: 0
Age: 87 (64), Hermetic age 62 yrs past Gauntlet.
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 6 (17)
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Puissant Art (Perdo) (free Virtue); Flawless Magic; Affinity with Perdo, Enduring Constitution, Fast Caster, Hermetic Prestige, Premonitions, Second Sight, Strong-Willed; Blatant Gift, Driven (Hunt Enemies of the Order), Enemies (Renounced Magus and his Lackeys); Disfigured (Facial Burns)
Personality Traits: Brave +3, Dedicated to Cause +3, Efficient +3
Reputations: Dedicated Hoplite +3 (Hermetic magi)
Combat:
Fist: Init +2, Atk +5, Def +6, Dam +2
Kick: Init +1, Atk +4, Def +4, Dam +5
Long Spear: Init +5, Atk +9, Def +8, Dam +9
Soak: +0
Fatigue Levels: Ok, 0, 0, –2, –4, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20) (* accumulated wound penalties reduce by 1 for Enduring Constitution)
Abilities: Artes Liberales 4 (Grammar), Athletics 2 (Running), Awareness 3 (Alertness), Bargain 2 (Books), Bavaria Lore 2 (Geography), Brawl 3 (Punching), Chirurgy 2 (Bind Wounds), Civil and Canon Law 1 (Local Customs), Code of Hermes 3 (Wizards’ Marches), Concentration 3 (Spells), Dominion Lore 2 (Divine Creatures), Etiquette 2 (Merchants), Faerie Lore 2 (Faerie Forests), Finesse 4 (Precision), Folk Ken 2 (Peasants), German 5 (Merchant Slang), Great Weapon 4 (Long Spear), Guile 3 (Fast talk), Hunt 2 (Tracking), Infernal Lore 2 (Demons), Intrigue 3 (Plotting), Latin 4 (Hermetic), Leadership 3 (Intimidation), (Local Area) Lore 3 (Personalities), Magic Lore 2 (Creatures), Magic Theory 5 (Inventing Spells), Order of Hermes Lore 4 (Criminals), Parma Magica 5 (Corpus), Penetration 6 (Perdo), Philosophiae 2 (Moral Philosophy), Premonitions 3 (Enemy Magi), Profession — Scribe 2 (Speed), Second Sight 3 (Invisibility), Stealth 2 (Shadowing), Survival 2 (Forests), Swim 2 (Rough Water)
Arts: Cr 10, In 6, Mu 4, Pe 18+3 (15), Re 9; An 5, Aq 6, Au 6, Co 15, He 6, Ig 6, Im 5, Me 6, Te 6 (4), Vi 8
Twilight Scars: The shadows in Darius’ hood are unusually deep, hiding his face; Nearby, non-magical items decay when Darius uses magic (as the Warped Magic Flaw).
Equipment: Long Spear with haft enchanted as a talisman, instilled with the effect The Wound that Weeps (PeCo 15, penetration 0, 50 uses per day), attuned to a +4 bonus to spells that destroy at a distance, Longevity Ritual: Lab Total 35, +7 aging bonus
Encumbrance: 0 (2)
Spells Known:
Cripple the Howling Wolf (PeAn 25/+27*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Parching Wind (PeAq 20/+28*), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
Curse of the Desert (PeAq 25/+29*), Mastery 2 (Penetration, Magic Resistance)
The Chirurgeon’s Healing Touch (CrCo 20/+26), Mastery 1
(Penetration)
Whispers through the Black Gate (InCo (Me) 15/+13), Mastery 1 (Quiet Casting)
The Inexorable Search (InCo 20/+22), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
Gift of the Bear’s Fortitude (MuCo 25/+20), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Dust to Dust (PeCo 15/+37*), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
The Wound that Weeps (PeCo 15/+37*), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
Incantation of the Milky Eyes (PeCo 30/+37*), Mastery 1
(Penetration)
Twist of the Tongue (PeCo 30/+37), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Clenching Grasp of the Crushed Heart (PeCo 40/+38*), Mastery 2 (Penetration, Magic Resistance)
Endurance of the Berserkers (ReCo 15/+25), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Lifting the Dangling Puppet (ReCo 15/+25), Mastery 1 (Penetration)
Seven-League Stride (ReCo 30/+25), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
The Leap of Homecoming (ReCo 35/+25), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
The Great Rot (PeHe 25/+28*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Soothe the Raging Flames (PeIg 20/+28), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Ward Against Heat and Flames (ReIg 25/+16), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20/+28), Mastery 2 (Quiet Casting x 2)
Tip of the Tongue (PeMe 5/+29), Mastery 2 (Fast Casting, Magic Resistance)
Calm the Motion of the Heart (PeMe 15/+28), Mastery 1 (Quiet Casting)
Loss of But a Moment’s Memory (PeMe 15/+29*), Mastery 3 (Quiet Casting x 2, Still Casting)
Blessing of Childlike Bliss (PeMe 25/+30), Mastery 3 (Quiet Casting x 2, Still Casting)
Rusted Decay of Ten-Score Years (PeTe 20*, Target increased to Group/+28*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Demon’s Eternal Oblivion (PeVi 30/+30*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)
Wind of Mundane Silence (PeVi 30/+30), Mastery 1 (Magic
Resistance)
* If Darius is holding his Talisman, he has a +4 bonus to cast spells that “Destroy things at a distance.”
Appearance:
Darius is a frightening individual. A bony figure swathed in a black, all-encompassing robe and carrying a black-hafted spear, he is reminiscent of medieval perceptions of the physical embodiment of death. This image is further emphasized if his hood falls away from his face, for Darius is bald, with a mass of scar tissue for a face and no eyes.
Darius is content to cultivate his sinister image; he is a hoplite and an expert with Perdo magic, dedicated to the discovery and execution of traitors within the Order. However, it was not always thus; Uwe, the boy who would eventually become Darius, was born into a merchant family living in Bavaria. He enjoyed a comfortable life in a moderately prosperous household. However, shortly after Uwe reached puberty strange things began to happen. His books would fall apart, furniture he sat on would break, and the family cat died in his arms. His family became aware that there was something unsettling about the boy and were only too happy to see him taken away as an apprentice by the mysterious scholar who visited them soon after.
Thus Uwe became the apprentice of the hoplite Xerxes, who indoctrinated his filius to become a hunter of evils within the Order of Hermes. A lab accident early during apprenticeship burned away Uwe’s eyes and the flesh on his head, but Xerxes restored Uwe’s sight, although he refused to do anything about his filius’ appearance. Fifteen years later Uwe became a magus of the Order of Hermes named Darius and joined the ranks of the hoplites, its guardians. He has continued to maintain contact with his (aging) pater, but they only see each other on rare occasions when they can share information; Xerxes is now too frail to take part in combat.
Darius travelled to the covenant to establish a base from which he could seek out and destroy its enemies. He pursued this vocation with an enthusiasm that impressed his colleagues, and when the previous leader of the covenant recently passed into Final Twilight he accepted the position of head, seeing in this an opportunity to instill his values into the new, younger members swelling its ranks. Darius has been too busy to train an apprentice, but now he feels the need to pass on his legacy soon, as he suspects that he may have encountered his bane; he recently fought a powerful Renounced magus and his followers and was nearly killed, only “escaping” when a magical maelstrom sent him physically into Twilight. The traitor is still at large; Darius intends to kill him in the next confrontation and is even prepared to sacrifice himself to achieve this aim.
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Attribution
Content originally published in Ars Magica: Fifth Edition, ©2011, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("Cc-By-Sa 4.0