Chapter Nine: Spells

The Order of Hermes has collected and created hundreds of spells that have been passed down to apprentices and traded among magi for centuries. Those listed here are representative of the most useful, interesting, and exemplary of those spells — in no way are the spells listed here a definitive list of those available. Instead, they should be used as examples so that you may invent spells of your own. Many of these spells serve as good examples for creating other, similar spells. For instance, a spell to turn you into a wolf can be used as a model for a spell to turn you into another animal.

Levels

The level of a spell is a measure of the amount of magical power needed to create the spell effect. The higher the level of the spell, the less of a magus’s power is left over for breaking through Magic Resistance.

Magnitudes

The magnitude of a spell is equal to one fifth of its level, rounded up. This is also the number of pawns of vis needed to cast a ritual spell, and changing the range, duration, or target of a spell generally changes its level by one magnitude (five levels) at a time. Spells of level one to five are all first magnitude, although the rules for changing ranges, durations, and targets work differently for such spells (see page 114XXX).

SPELL MAGNITUDE Level/5 (rounded up)

Spell Design

Spell design is an important part of any magus’ life.

The Central Rule

The storyguide or troupe may always intervene and declare that a certain combination of range, duration, target, and effect warrants a higher or lower level than that described by the guidelines and the system below. The range of effects possible in Ars Magica is so large that any system is bound to allow some effects that strike a given troupe as too hard or too easy (different effects for different troupes). The system gives sensible levels in the vast majority of cases, but storyguides should not let players use the system to force things past common sense.

Level Guidelines

This chapter contains a selection of example spells, and guidelines for what can be achieved with a formulaic or spontaneous spell of a given level. For the guidelines, the range of the spell is Personal, the duration is Momentary, and the target is Individual. These are the lowest members of their classes, so that the given level is the lowest level at which a formulaic or spontaneous spell can have that effect.

SPELL GUIDELINES:

Range: Personal; Duration: Momentary; Target: Individual

Ranges, Durations, Targets

The range, duration, and target of a spell determine what it can affect. The range governs how far the target can be from the magus, the duration determines how long the target will be affected, and the target describes what the spell can affect. Each parameter has a number of possible ratings, which can be arranged in order from least difficult to produce to most difficult to produce. This is done in the chart below. Parameters which are listed together below but are separated by a slash (like Touch/Eye) represent different actual ranges that share the same level of difficulty. They are not interchangeable, simply equivalent.

Each category of range, duration, and target is described below.

RANGES

The range of a spell is the distance to the nearest part of the target of the spell. Thus, if the caster is touching the external wall of a room, he can cast a Target: Room Corpus spell on the people within at Touch Range, even though he is not touching any of those people, and indeed cannot see them. The target of the spell is the room, and thus the spell does not violate the Limit of Arcane Connections. A spell that has a continuing effect remains in effect even if the caster moves out of range. A spell that allows the caster to control the effect only permits that control as long as the caster is within range. However, it does not expire if the caster moves out of range, and he may control it again if he moves back into range. Personal: The spell only affects the casting magus or things that he is wearing or carrying. The target is thus never larger than Individual.

Touch/Eye

Touch: The magus or anything he touches, whether a person or thing. Eye: The magus may target any person or creature that he has established eye contact with. A human being who knows of no reason to avoid eye contact makes it automatically if dealing with the magus in a social setting. The Gift does not make people avoid eye contact. It is impossible to make eye contact with an unwilling human without getting at least two people to hold the victim down. It is effectively impossible to make eye contact with an enemy in combat; they aren’t looking at your eyes. It typically takes a combat round to establish eye contact with a calm animal, before the magus can start casting the spell. (Touch and Eye are the same “level” of range.)

Voice

Anything to which the magus’s voice carries. Typically, firm words carry about 15 paces, while a shout carries about 50. Magical enhancement of the voice does not increase this range, and a spell cast silently at this range can affect only the caster. The range is based on the distance that the caster’s voice carries, not on whether the target can hear it. Deaf targets, stones, targets in a noisy environment, and targets under the influence of PeIm spells that stop sounds from reaching them can all be affected at the normal range. However, if the caster is silenced or quieted by magic, the range is reduced. Such a spell must penetrate the caster’s Magic Resistance. Magic items use the wielder’s voice; independent items need to be given a voice (CrIm) to use this range. The range is established when the spell is cast, and remains the same even if the magus changes the loudness of his voice. Thus, a Voice range spell can allow silent control, but only as long as the target is within the distance that the magus’s voice carried when he cast the spell.

Sight

Anything that the magus can see. If the magus is standing on the highest point for miles, this range can be immense. A blind magus can only affect himself. A magic item uses the wielder’s sight; independent items need to be able to see (InIm) to use this range.

Arcane Connection

Anything that the magus has an Arcane Connection to. Distance is immaterial unless the storyguide chooses to impose some limit. Such limits are usually provided in the example spells. Note that while Arcane Connection is a range, it is different from a physical item that is an Arcane Connection. This distinction is important, because some spells require that the caster have an Arcane Connection, but the spell must be cast as some range other than Arcane Connection.

DURATIONS

If a spell with a momentary effect, such as healing a wound, creating a fire, or opening a pit, is cast with a longer duration, it generally sustains that effect for the duration, rather than having its effect multiple times within the duration. Thus, a wound healed with duration Sun stays healed for that length of time, and reappears at the end. The target can still take other wounds. A fire created with duration Diameter burns for two minutes, and may inflict damage every round over that period. A pit opened for duration Moon with a Perdo Terram spell cannot be filled in with earth for that period; any more earth dumped in it is destroyed as well. Wood, animal products, or water could fill it, though, as they are not of the same Form as the spell. The destroyed earth still does not reappear at the expiration of the spell.

Momentary

The spell lasts but a moment and then dissipates. In many cases the effects of the spell will endure long after the spell itself finishes. For example, a Rego spell that moves a rock from the bottom of the hill to the top might have Momentary duration, but the rock stays at the top of the hill. Similar considerations apply to most Perdo spells; the magic lasts but a moment, but the target stays destroyed. Ritual Creo spells with Momentary duration create things that last as any other thing of that type. The magic is gone in a moment and so cannot be dispelled. This also applies to ritual healing spells.

Concentration/Diameter

Concentration: The spell lasts as long as the magus concentrates. In the absence of distractions, assume that a magus can concentrate for fifteen minutes per point of Concentration ability. If there are distractions, see the rules in the Hermetic Magic chapter, page 82. Diameter: The spell lasts for the time that the sun takes to move its diameter in the sky — almost exactly two minutes (twenty combat rounds). (Diameter and Concentration are the same “level” of duration.)

Sun/Ring

Sun: The spell lasts until the sun next rises or sets. Ring: The spell lasts until the target of the spell moves outside a ring drawn at the time of casting, or until the ring is physically broken. A ring must actually be drawn while the spell is being cast. The magus may use magic to do so, but that magic must not have a range greater than Touch, and the magus must physically trace out the ring. The magus may not move more quickly than ten paces per round (five feet per second) while doing this. The casting of a non-Ritual spell may be extended out to allow the drawing of a large ring. However, the caster must make Int + Concentration rolls of 6+ every round to maintain concentration on the spell, and if someone breaks the ring at any point before it is completed, the spell automatically botches. Really large rings are unlikely to be worth the risk. The ring may already exist, for example as a band laid into the ground. In this case, the magus must trace the full circumference of the ring, moving no more quickly than ten paces per round.

Moon

The spell lasts until both the new and full moon have set.

Year

The spell lasts until sunrise on the fourth equinox or solstice after its casting. A spell with this duration must be ritual.

TARGET

Individual/Circle

Individual: The spell can affect a single discrete thing, such as one person or one object. A huge boulder is a discrete object, a mountain is not (because it is joined to the ground). Clothes on a person or moss on a boulder are part of the person or boulder for these purposes. Circle: The spell affects everything within a ring drawn by the magus at the time of casting, and ends if the circle is broken, even if that is before the duration of the spell expires. The spell also ends when its duration ends. See “Ring,” above, for restrictions on drawing the circle. One circle may serve to underwrite both Ring duration and Circle target. Individual and Circle are the same level of effect.

Part

The spell can affect a part of a discrete thing, such as a person’s arm or a section of the ground. This target refers to spatial parts, parts that you could, at least in theory, cut off and put in a bag. A person’s mind is not a part of him in this sense, nor is his sense of humor. His heart, however, is. Something is only a Part target while it is actually a part of something else; things, like severed arms, that used to be part of something, or, like bricks, which could become part of something, are Individual targets as long as they are not currently part of something else. Part is harder than Individual because whole things are metaphysically important. It is easier to affect a thing as a whole than to affect a part of it.

Group/Room

Group: The spell can affect a group of people or things. The components of the group must be close together in space, and the group itself must be separated from any other things of the same type. Three grogs huddled together or a ring of standing stones are a group: six people out of a crowd are usually not. The things in the Group when the spell is cast are affected for the entire duration, even if they split up. Things that join the Group during the spell duration are not affected. It is possible to target a “Group” with a single member, although an Individual target will always be lower level. Room: The spell affects everything within a chamber. This room can be very large (the nave of a cathedral, for instance, or a natural cave), but it must be enclosed and have definite boundaries. A courtyard would often count, a valley would not. A spell with target Room is useless if there is no Room containing the targets; it cannot affect a “roughly room-sized volume” in open space. Group and Room are the same level of effect.

Structure

The spell affects everything within a single structure. The structure itself counts as within the structure for these purposes, as the limit is the outer edge of any walls. The structure can range in size from a hut to a castle keep, but it must be a single, linked edifice. As a rule of thumb, if it is all covered by one roof, it is one structure, but storyguide dis- cretion applies. As with Room, target Structure is no use if there is no pre-existing structure bounding the target.

Boundary

The spell affects everything within a well-defined natural or man-made boundary. This could be the wall of a city, the edge of a village, the shores of a lake, the edge of a forest, or the bottom of a mountain. Since the ocean is not obviously bounded, it cannot be affected in this way. As with Room and Structure, there must actually be a boundary for this target to be useful. It cannot be used to simply affect a really big area. A spell with this target must be a ritual.

BOX Targets and Creo The target of a Creo spell that actually creates something is the thing created. The target is thus always Individual or Group. A spell to create a part of something is either a healing spell or a Muto spell, depending on the part created. A Creo spell with target Room cannot be used to fill a room with something. Instead, use target Group with an appropriate size modifier. The Creo guidelines for each Form give the level required to create different kinds of thing. The size is determined using the standard rules for target sizes. /BOX

BOX Targets and Sizes The Ars Magica spell targets depend on the kind of thing that the target is, not how big it is. A pebble and one of the stones at Stonehenge are both Individuals, and the inside of a tiny hut and the nave of a cathedral are both Rooms. However, the size of the target does make a difference to the level of the spell, with the sole exception of Intellego magic. Every Form has a base size for Individual targets, and targets of that size or less can be affected by a spell of the basic level. Adding one magnitude (five levels) to the spell multiplies the maximum size of its target by ten. This depends on the mass of the target, so a five level boost to a Corpus spell would allow the magus to affect a giant up to fifteen feet tall, not sixty feet tall. A spell designed to affect a certain size of target can affect any target up to that size. However, it is not possible to invent lower level spells that affect smaller targets; the level of the spell to affect the base target is an absolute lower limit. This rule should not be applied with absolute mathematical precision. A rough guess by the storyguide is fine, as long as the troupe agrees. In the event of disagreement, however, a precise calculation can be made to resolve the issue, although as this takes time it is probably best reserved for working out exactly what a formulaic spell can do. A 'Part' targeted by a spell can be up to the size of the base 'Individual.' Again, every five levels added increases the size that can be affected by a factor of ten. Note that a spell to affect an Individual is five levels lower than a spell to affect a Part of the same size. A base 'Group' contains about as much mass as ten standard Individuals of the Form. This can be split up in any way desired, so it could be two Individuals, each of five times standard size, or ten Individuals of standard size, or ten thousand individuals, each one thousandth of standard size. Every five levels added multiplies the size affected by a factor of ten. Note that a spell to affect a large Individual is five levels lower than a spell to affect a Group of the same total mass. A base 'Room' is large enough to fit a hundred standard Individuals with some squashing. For Corpus, this means that a base room is about four hundred square feet in area. Because the Room already exists to create a boundary, this is easier than affecting a Group, and a spell to affect a number of Individuals within a Room can be lower level than a spell to affect an Individual of similar mass. Note also that, because a Room cannot be internally divided without becoming two Rooms, the height of the ceiling does not normally matter. For every five levels added to the spell level, the area of the Room is multiplied by ten. A base 'Structure' contains ten base Rooms, spread over one or more floors. For every five levels added the size of the Structure is increased by a factor of ten. A base 'Boundary is the same for all Forms, and is one hundred paces (three hundred feet) in diameter. As for Rooms, every five levels added multiplies the area by ten, or the diameter by a little over three.

INTELLEGO SPELLS: Not affected by Target size BASE INDIVIDUAL: Determined by Form BASE PART: Same as Individual BASE GROUP: Mass of ten standard Individuals BASE ROOM: Large enough for 100 standard Individuals BASE STRUCTURE: Ten base Rooms BASE BOUNDARY: An area 100 paces in diameter INCREASING SIZE: Multiply size by ten for each magnitude added to the spell. /BOX

MAGICAL SENSES

Intellego spells can grant magical senses to a person. These spells allow the recipient to detect things that he could not normally sense, and they have different targets, corresponding to the kind of sense that the recipient gets. The range of the spell is the range to the recipient. It is possible to grant magical senses to many people at once, but this requires Muto Mentem magic, with Intellego Form requisites. Each magical sense target grants the recipient information through one of his senses. This information is easily distinguished from mundane information coming through the same sense, but it is subject to the same limitations as the mundane sense. Thus, a magical sense that works with the sense of smell is very bad at giving direction, and can be avoided by staying upwind of the sensor, while a magical sense that works with vision is no good in the dark. Magical senses must penetrate the Magic Resistance of creatures sensed, as well as the Magic Resistance (if any) of the person granted the sense. Thus, the Penetration of a magical sense should be recorded for future reference. The mundane sense through which the magical sense grants information does not need to penetrate Magic Resistance. A single spell grants a single magical sense. To gain several magical senses, you must cast several spells.

Taste

The information comes through the sense of taste. This target is equivalent to Individual.

Touch

The information comes through the sense of touch. This target is equivalent to Part.

Smell

The information comes through the sense of smell. This target is equivalent to Group.

Hearing

The information comes through the sense of hearing. This target is equivalent to Structure.

Vision

The information comes through the sense of sight. This target is equivalent to Boundary, but, unlike Boundary, it does not require Ritual magic.

MAGICAL WARDS

Rego spells can create wards which protect the target from things of the appropriate Form. These use the normal targets, but the target is the thing protected, rather than the things warded against, and the range is the range to the target, not to the things warded against. Wards with a Circle target are of particular note. They prevent things warded against that are within the circle from leaving, and prevent things warded against that are outside from entering. Warded things cannot act across the circle, no matter which side they are on, nor can they damage the circle, directly or indirectly. It is quite common to create such spells with a duration of Ring, as then the ward can be made to last indefinitely, with care. However, this is not required, and the spell can be created with any duration. The spell guidelines for wards against magical things are listed with a base range of Touch, base duration of Ring, and base target of Circle, because a ward with these parameters wards against creatures with a Might equal to or less than its level. The parameters of the spell can be changed in the normal way, so that a ward which only protected the magus (Range Personal, Target Individual) for a duration of Moon would have the same final level.

Changing Ranges, Durations, and Targets

Attribution

Content originally published in various Ars Magica publications, 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). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.

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