Ars Magica 5E Standard Edition, Chapter Seven: Hermetic Magic
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In the 8th century the wizard Bonisagus developed a universal theory of magic and the Order of Hermes was born. The most immediate advantage of Hermetic magic was that it allowed wizards of diverse magical backgrounds to share their knowledge. Before Bonisagus’ theory, the practice of magic had been highly individualized and therefore limited in scope. With the ability to share and accumulate knowledge, Hermetic magi gained an immense advantage over other wizards. This universal theory is not without its disadvantages, however. Detractors of the system believe that the strict regimentation of Hermetic magic robs truly brilliant magi of the chance to discover the modes of magic power that best suit them, and that it is truly helpful only to mediocre magi who need an exact system to guide them.
The Order of Hermes is only a part of the greater magical world. There exist nonHermetic magi from European traditions, whose magic can be quite powerful in specific areas but is less flexible than that practiced by the members of the Order. There are rumors that groups of wizards from Araby and beyond use magic that is quite different even from the non-Hermetic magi of Europe. Be this as it may, the rules presented here cover Hermetic magic only. Storyguides should feel free to create non-Hermetic magic that governs monsters, wizards, and magic items that do not fit the paradigm set out in these rules, and thus keep magic a mystery even to those who think they know it all.
Hermetic magic is a highly useful but not entirely perfect theory. These rules reflect the things that magi expect to happen when they work with magic. While the expected usually occurs, the exact effects of magic can be influenced by countless factors, including such vagaries as the phase of the moon, the spiritual nature of the target, and the mental state of the caster. This allows storyguides to occasionally bend the rules and interpret magical effects imaginatively.
The Gift
The capacity to work magic is known as “The Gift” among Hermetic magi. Only people with The Gift can be taught Hermetic magic, but not all of them learn it. Many Hermetic magi say that people with minor mystical abilities have a partial Gift, but it is not clear that the source of their power is the same as that of magi. People with The Gift may be taught nonHermetic magic instead, but it is almost impossible for one person to learn two kinds of magic. (See Learning supernatural abilities for the rules for this.)
The Gift is very rare, appearing in perhaps one person in ten thousand. Magi have many theories as to the cause of The Gift, but none of these are generally accepted.
The Gift has a strong emotional effect on those around the Gifted person, making them suspicious and mistrustful of the Gifted individual, inspiring envy. As a result, social interactions are very difficult for the Gifted. Some Hermetic magi have the Gentle Gift (a Virtue), which does not affect people in this way, while others have the Blatant Gift Flaw, which has much more intense effects. The Gift also bothers mundane animals, which avoid the Gifted individual as far as possible. The Gift only affects those in the presence of the Gifted individual. Letters from a Gifted individual do not have this effect, nor does a messenger from such an individual, unless the messenger himself has The Gift.
When roleplaying a character dealing with a maga, have him act as though she has a well-established reputation for dishonesty and unreliability, and for undeserved privilege of whatever sort is most important to him. Thus, a merchant acts as if he believes that a maga is wealthy through cheating people, while a lord acts as if he believes that the maga is a treacherous vassal who retains her position through bribery or similar. If the maga tries to overcome this reaction through negotiation, she suffers a –3 penalty to any die rolls she must make. Someone without The Gift negotiating on her behalf does not suffer the penalty, but must deal with the mistrust inspired by The Gift. If the maga manages to convince or coerce someone into interacting with her, she suffers the –3 penalty to all rolls and totals based on social interaction, including training, whether the maga is the trainer or the trainee.
The Blatant Gift has a more intense effect. Treat the Blatantly Gifted character as having a well-established reputation for dishonesty and treachery of a dangerous kind, as well as for the possession of ill-gotten gains. People interacting with a Blatantly Gifted maga are extremely wary and rather hostile. Animals treat her as a threat to be driven away from their territory. If the maga tries to overcome this reaction through negotiation, she suffers a –6 penalty to any die rolls she must make. An unGifted individual negotiating on her behalf suffers no penalty, but must overcome the hostility. If a maga with Blatant Gift interacts with someone, she suffers the –6 penalty to all social rolls and totals, as for the normal Gift.
Note that those interacting with Gifted people do not actually think that they have a bad reputation; that is merely an analogy to help you to work out how they would react.
The Gift only has its effects if the maga comes to the attention of someone, just like a reputation. If a Gifted maga dresses unostentatiously, keeps to the middle of the group, does not appear to be the leader, and doesn’t talk to anyone, then the group should be able to travel without suffering from people’s reactions to The Gift, as long as the maga behaves herself. The Blatant Gift makes this a lot harder; these precautions reduce people’s reactions to those inspired by the normal Gift.
People do not get used to The Gift, even if they have lived with magi all their lives. They can, however, get used to individuals with The Gift, just as long association overrides the effects of reputation. The mundane members of a covenant can be assumed to be used to the resident magi, and to react to them as appropriate to their actual behavior. Nevertheless, they will be suspicious of visiting magi.
People who have dealt with a lot of different Gifted individuals do become able to recognize the effect of The Gift for what it is. They still feel the suspicion and envy, but they can act politely anyway. Mundane Redcaps have sufficient experience to recognize The Gift, and a mundane given the job of greeting all visitors to a covenant is likely to get it over the course of a decade or so. Most covenfolk, however, merely become accustomed to “their” magi.
The Parma Magica blocks these effects of The Gift entirely. A maga with a Parma Magica is not bothered by the Gifts of other magi, although other people are still bothered by her Gift. This effect may have been as valuable as magic resistance in aiding the foundation of the Order.
Animals also react badly to people with The Gift. In their case, the reaction tends to be a combination of fear and hostility, with much more hostility if the magus has the Blatant Gift. Gifted characters cannot ride horses without magical aid, as the horse tries to throw them off as quickly as possible. Similarly, they can never train dogs to recognize them as friends.
Creatures belonging to one of the four supernatural realms may have different reactions to the Gifted. Some behave like mundane animals, others like mundane humans, while some appear completely unaffected by The Gift. Demons, in particular, do not seem to be bothered by The Gift, but that may just be because they envy every human being anyway.
First Impressions
A group of characters who appear to be ordinary travelers (rather than an armed band) seek shelter in:
A Typical Village
Gentle (or no) Gift: The villagers are cautious, but may offer the characters shelter in their homes if treated well. If someone has a separate barn, the characters are probably allowed to sleep there.
Gift: The villagers refuse to let the characters into their homes or property, and bar the doors and keep a watch all night if they camp on common ground.
Blatant Gift: The villagers tell the characters to get out of the village, and attempt to drive them off if they do not leave voluntarily. They keep some sort of watch for the next few days to make sure that the characters do not return.
An Inn
Gentle (or no) Gift: Visitors are welcomed if there is space, and the innkeeper can be bargained down from his initial price. Other guests eagerly share news with the characters, exchanging tales of where they have come from for the characters’ stories.
Gift: The innkeeper treats the characters coldly. He sets his prices very high, and will not be bargained down. Other guests ignore the characters as much as possible, and keep a careful eye on them.
Blatant Gift: The innkeeper refuses admittance, and threatens to call the watch if the characters do not move along.
A Monastery
Gentle (or no) Gift: The characters are welcomed, housed in the guest quarters, and fed at the common table with any other travelers. They are encouraged to attend services, and other travelers talk as if at an inn. The characters may stay for two or three nights before the monks start to drop hints that they should move on.
Gift: The characters are welcomed, and housed somewhere isolated in the monastic complex. They are fed at the common table, but one or two monks are always around, keeping an eye on them. The other travelers do not talk to them. The monks start to drop hints that they should move on after one night.
Blatant Gift: The characters are housed in a building outside the monastery walls, and their food is brought to them there. They are watched by at least one monk and enough lay brothers to deal with mundane trouble at all times. If they ask to attend the service, they are escorted to and from the church and watched at all times. They are strongly encouraged to leave, and are no longer fed, after the first night.
A Covenant
These descriptions assume that the visitors announce themselves as Hermetic magi, and are not known to be hostile. They also assume that the guard room is outside the Aegis of the Hearth.
Gentle Gift: The characters are asked into the guard room while the magi are informed of their arrival. The guards chat while they are waiting.
Gift: The characters are asked inside while the magi are informed, but the guards do not talk much, and keep a careful eye on all of them.
Blatant Gift: The characters are made to wait outside while someone brings the magi. The gates are made secure, and all the guards are on high alert.
Established Relationships
A group including at least one magus arrives somewhere where the magus has visited many times before.
An Inn
The characters return to an inn where they have always been polite, tipped generously, and never caused trouble.
Gentle Gift: The innkeeper welcomes them enthusiastically, shows them to the best table in the house, and clears a good room for them to stay in if they want. If there are regulars at the inn, they are happy to see the characters again.
Gift: The innkeeper welcomes them enthusiastically, and shows them to a nice table slightly isolated from the rest of the room, to avoid upsetting the other customers. He clears a good room for them to stay in, and sees to most of the service personally if he has new staff. He tries to make small talk with the magus, but clearly prefers talking to the companions.
Blatant Gift: The innkeeper hurries to meet them at the door, welcomes them politely, and quickly ushers them to a private room so that they don’t disturb the other guests. He serves them personally, but while he is polite to the magus, he clearly tries to have as little to do with him as possible. (This assumes that the Blatant Gifted magus kept a very low profile on earlier visits, so that they were allowed in.)
A Monastery
The characters return to a monastery where they have always been polite, at least apparently pious, never caused trouble, and have donated generously (but not so spectacularly as to be viewed as potential patrons). The descriptions assume that there are no women in the party, and that the monastery can cope with bending the normal rules slightly.
Gentle Gift: The characters are quickly recognized, greeted warmly, and may even be invited to dine with the abbot occasionally. If their normal visits are brief, they are allowed to stay for some time before anything is said, and even then the monks are concerned as to their reasons for the long stay rather than keen to move them on.
Gift: The characters are housed away from the main guest quarters, and they take their meals with the monks, who know them, rather than the other travelers, who don’t. At least some of the monks are just as eager to talk to the magus as to the other members of the group.
Blatant Gift: The characters are kept waiting at the gate while a senior monk is sent for. They are housed away from the main guest quarters, and fed there, although one or two of the monks probably join them, both out of courtesy and to hear the news. The monks clear a side chapel so that the characters can attend Mass there, rather than being in the main body of the church. The characters are not watched, although the magus with the Blatant Gift is expected to keep to himself as much as possible (and, to get to this point, he must have done so in the past).
The Hermetic Arts
The term “Arts” refers collectively to Techniques and Forms — two classes of magical disciplines that work together in spellcasting. Techniques govern the essential manipulations that magic can perform; Forms, the essential natural phenomena that magic can manipulate. Techniques and Forms have Latin names. A Technique is referred to by a verb conjugated in first person, and a Form by a noun. You combine one Technique and one Form to cast a spell, and together their names indicate the spell’s general function. For example, a “Creo Ignem” spell employs the Technique of “Creo” (“I create”) and the Form of “Ignem” (“fire”) and produces light, heat, or fire. A “Muto Ignem” spell (“Muto”=“I transform”) transforms light, heat, or fire in some way, such as by increasing its intensity, its size, or its shape.
Hermetic magi have a score in each Art. Your scores in the Arts represent your aptitude for working with the various types of magic. But Arts are not merely knowledges; your Arts are ultimately ways your very being expresses magical energy. In reflection of this, your score in a Form (in addition to allowing you to cast spells incorporating that Form) helps you resist spells of that type and avoid harm from mundane sources related to that Form. For instance, your Ignem (fire) score gives you a bonus to resist damage from fire and cold. This bonus is equal to one fifth of your score in the Form, rounded up, and adds to your ability to resist any damage deriving from that Form. The most important examples of each Form bonus’s applicability are listed under the Form, but these are not exhaustive lists.
| Form Bonus | Form score/5 (rounded up) |
These bonuses do not stack. If it seems like two would apply to a given hazard, use only the higher bonus.
In the following two sections, each of the Arts is listed with its common two-letter abbreviation, its translation from Latin, a general description, and its Hermetic pronunciation. More detailed descriptions of what a magus can do with various Technique Form combinations are given in the Spells chapter.
Techniques
Creo (Cr) “I Create”
Creo magic makes things that exist independently into better things of their kind, which includes bringing them into existence from nothing. Things that exist independently are called “substances,” and include people, trees, and rocks, but do not include colors, weights, and sizes. Creo can thus both create and heal things.
The kind of thing that something is depends on its form. Natural things, such as plants, animals, flames, and so on, have simple forms, which means that the form is just one thing. This makes them easy to create and heal. Natural things created by magic are always perfect examples of their kind unless the magus wants them to be damaged. Similarly, magic can heal a natural thing even if the caster has no idea what is wrong, as it simply restores the form.
Artificial things, such as bread, swords and books, have complex forms. Their forms are combinations of several natural forms put together in a particular way. Creating an artificial thing by magic requires some skill on the part of the magus, reflected by his Finesse Ability. An Int + Finesse roll is made to determine how good the created thing is. Further, a magus can only create something he knows about. Any magus can create bread or cloth, but in order to create an elaborate mosaic depicting the foundation of the Order of Hermes the caster would need to know what it should depict. If he was wrong, the mosaic would also be wrong. Similar considerations apply to repairing artificial things.
A magus need not be able to create an artificial item by mundane means in order to create it by magic; he only needs to be somewhat familiar with it. A magically created item will always be the right sort of thing unless the magus botches his Finesse roll. Thus, unless the magus botches, magically created cloth will always be a whole piece and keep people warm, but it might not be very attractive if he rolled badly.
A magus can also use Creo to make something a better example of its kind, even if it isn’t actually injured or damaged. Thus, Creo can make a horse as swift as the fastest horse, or a man as strong as the strongest man. Creo cannot make a horse able to run as fast as the wind, because no ordinary horse can do that, nor can it make a man strong enough to lift a castle. Since maturation involves becoming a better example of your kind, Creo magic can make something mature quickly. Aging after maturation involves becoming a worse example of your kind, and thus is covered by Perdo.
Magically created things last for the duration of the spell, but their effects last indefinitely. Thus, the footprints of a magically created horse do not vanish, nor does its dung, if it was fed on mundane food. If a magically created horse was fed on mundane food for a year, it would leave a mundane corpse when the spell expired, as the mundane food has been converted into mundane body. Conversely, magically created food only nourishes for as long as the duration lasts, and someone who has eaten it becomes extremely hungry when the duration expires. Things washed with magically created water stay clean, but people made drunk with magically created alcohol instantly sober up.
Pronounced “CRAY-oh.”
Intellego (In) “I Perceive”
Intellego is the Art of perception. It allows a maga to gather information directly from the forms of things. This information does not deal with the appearances of things, unless Intellego Imaginem magic is used. Rather, it provides information about the actual nature of a thing. Thus, Intellego magic is not deceived by mundane disguises.
Pronounced “in-TEL-le-go.”
Muto (Mu) “I Transform”
By using Muto magic a magus can grant or remove properties something cannot naturally have. Thus, Muto can give a person wings or turn her skin green, or turn a person into a wolf. The difficulty of the magic depends on the extent of the change, so that turning someone’s skin green is easy, but turning someone into a golden statue is difficult.
Muto magic cannot affect the properties that something has naturally, although it can add other properties to them to mask their effects. Thus Muto magic can neither injure nor kill someone directly, although it could render her immobile, by turning her to stone, or kill her indirectly, by turning her into a fish on dry land so that she suffocates.
Pronounced “MOO-toe.”
Perdo (Pe) “I Destroy”
Perdo makes things worse examples of the kind of thing they are. It is the opposite of Creo. Perdo magic can simply destroy things, removing them completely from existence, or it can destroy aspects of a thing. Thus, Perdo Corpus could remove a person’s weight, while leaving the rest of his properties intact, and Perdo Ignem could make a fire unable to burn anything. Perdo alone can only destroy the whole of a natural property; making fire able to burn only wool would be Perdo with a Muto requisite, Perdo destroying the ability to burn anything, and Muto granting the ability to burn only wool, a property that fire cannot naturally have.
Perdo magic is easier if the thing can naturally lose the property destroyed. Thus, it is easier to kill a person than to remove his weight while leaving his other properties intact, because the first can occur naturally while the second cannot. Further, destroying properties that a thing cannot naturally lose falls under the Limits of Essential Nature, and thus cannot be permanent; the destroyed properties return by themselves at the end of the spell’s duration.
Perdo can only make something a worse example of what it is. You cannot sharpen a sword with Perdo, even though sharpening involves removing some of the metal. Similarly, you cannot remove someone’s property of being wounded, because that makes them a better example of what they are.
Pronounced “PARE-doe.”
Rego (Re) “I Control”
The Art of Rego allows a maga to change the state of a thing to some other state that the individual thing can naturally have. Thus, since all things can naturally have any location, Rego magic allows a maga to move things around. Rego can also make a tree blossom out of season, put a person to sleep, shape a piece of stone into a statue, or weave thread into a tunic. It cannot make an animal appear young again, because mature animals cannot naturally become young (although Muto could do this). Rego also cannot make an animal old, because aging is decay away from the form (so Perdo could do this). Similarly, although Rego can make a tree bear fruit out of season, that fruit would not contain seeds, as the seeds are separate substances (potential trees), and thus creating them would require Creo. Equally, Rego cannot turn a brown dog black, because while dogs can naturally be black, the brown dog in question cannot naturally take on that color.
Mundane craftsmen can only change something’s state to another state that the thing can naturally have. Thus, any change that a mundane craftsman can make can also be made by Rego magic. In this case, a Finesse roll is required to determine the quality of the outcome. Rego can make changes that a mundane craftsman cannot make, however, when the craftsman is limited simply by available tools, time, or skill.
Pronounced “RAY-go.”
Forms
Animal (An) “Animal”
Animal concerns animals of all kinds, from the fish of the sea to the birds of the air. Animal spells cannot affect people, and Hermetic theorists still debate the reason for this.
Form Bonus: Soak against animal attacks (claws, bites, etc.), rolls to resist animal poisons.
Pronounced “ah-nee-MAHL.”
Aquam (Aq) “Water”
Aquam concerns water and all manner of liquids, as well as properties of liquidity.
Form Bonus: Rolls to resist drowning and thirst, soak against water jets and the like.
Pronounced “AH-kwahm.”
Auram (Au) “Air”
Auram is the Art of air, wind, and weather. It also governs gaseous forms in general.
Form Bonus: Rolls to resist suffocation, including drowning, soak against weather phenomena such as lightning.
Pronounced “OW-rahm.”
Corpus (Co) “Body”
Corpus is the Art of human bodies. This Art affects dead bodies and the bodies of magical or faerie creatures that look human, as well as those of living humans. Since natural philosophy asserts that these things have no more in common than their appearance, and Corpus does not affect human statues, Hermetic theorists are puzzled by the range of this Form.
Form Bonus: Soak against human unarmed attacks, rolls to resist disease. It does not apply to aging rolls.
Pronounced “COR-poos.”
Herbam (He) “Plant”
This Form concerns plants and trees. This includes plant matter of all types, including that which is no longer alive — like dead wood and linens.
Form Bonus: Soak against wooden weapons, rolls to resist herbal poisons, rolls to resist starvation.
Pronounced “HARE-bahm.”
Ignem (Ig) “Fire”
This Form concerns fire, heat, and light.
Form Bonus: Soak against fire and cold.
Pronounced “IG-nem.”
Imaginem (Im) “Image”
This Form concerns the things in the world that the senses respond to. Natural philosophy calls them species (“Speh-kee-ayss,” to be distinguished from species of animals and such). All things constantly give off species for each of the senses. Those for touch and taste do not travel far, while those for sight require light to get any distance from the originating body. Imaginem spells affect the process by which species are produced, rather than the species themselves. Thus, the species emanating from an illusion are not themselves magical.
Note that Imaginem cannot create actual solidity, although it could make something “feel solid” until you accidentally put your hand right through the surface. Touch illusions are much more effective at changing the way that an already solid surface feels; making a wooden table feel like stone, or a knife feel blunt.
Imaginem only changes the appearance that an object presents to the world. It does not change the actual effects of the object. Imaginem could make a fire feel cool, but the fire would still burn.
Form Bonus: Rolls to resist confusion, deafening, or nausea caused by sights, sounds, smells, or tastes.
Pronounced “ih-MAH-gih-nem.”
Mentem (Me) “Mind”
This Form concerns minds, thoughts, and spirits. Mentem can also affect the “bodies” of noncorporeal beings, such as ghosts, as these are maintained in the physical world directly by a spirit’s will.
Form Bonus: Rolls to resist mundane persuasion, deception, or temptation.
Pronounced “MEN-tem.”
Terram (Te) “Earth”
This Form concerns solids, especially earth and stone.
Form Bonus: Soak against metal or stone weapons, rolls to resist mineral poisons.
Pronounced “TARE-rahm.”
Vim (Vi) “Power”
This Form concerns raw magical power. All the Arts rely on the raw energy and potential of magic, but this Art refines the use of magic itself, allowing magi to assume even greater control of their spells. Vim also affects magical, infernal, divine, and faerie creatures.
Form Bonus: Rolls to resist Twilight, but not rolls to comprehend it, soak total against damage inflicted by your own spellcasting, but not damage inflicted by your own spells.
Pronounced “WEEM.”
The Elemental FormsAquam, Auram, Ignem, and Terram are the elemental forms, dealing with the non-living things in the world. Often, a thing falls under more than one of these Arts. Thus, molten lava is basically Terram, because it is a form of rock, but its liquidity is governed by Aquam and its heat by Ignem. Similarly, ice is basically Aquam, being a form of water, but its solidity is covered by Terram and its coldness by Ignem. As a rule, simple creation or destruction of a non-living thing needs only the basic Art, without requisites. Thus, to create ice you need only Creo Aquam. However, affecting the aspects and properties of a thing might use the other Arts. Thus, making ice warm would require Creo Ignem. A Creo Aquam spell with an Ignem requisite could create warm ice — still solid, but warm. Alternatively, a magus could simply create warmth, and allow it to naturally melt the ice. Mist is a kind of air, so its basic form is Auram, but its dampness means that it is also affected by Aquam in certain respects. Weather phenomena are all basically Auram, including rain storms, but a spell to affect the rain alone would be Aquam. Hail storms, then, are basically Auram, but the hail stones are basically Aquam with elements of Ignem and Terram. |
Limits of Magic
Magic, though a very powerful force, is not omnipotent. There are certain laws it must conform to and certain limits that it can never exceed. The limits to Hermetic magic are described below. Most Hermetic theorists believe that there are only two fundamental limits, the Limit of the Divine and the Limit of Essential Nature, and that the other limits are derived from one or other of these. Some theorists think that the lesser limits are merely flaws in Bonisagus’s theory.
The boundaries of Hermetic magic are well known to the Order, but that doesn’t stop magi from challenging them. Indeed, many magi spend countless years searching in vain for a way to transcend these limits. Certainly, any magus who actually succeeds in doing so will become famous, perhaps as famous as the Order’s very Founders.
The Limit of the Divine
Hermetic magic cannot affect the Divine. Any magic attempting to do so simply fails. Everyone agrees that Hermetic powerlessness in the face of miracles is a result of this limit, as is the inability of Hermetic magic to affect the transubstantiated bread and wine of the Mass.
The agents of the Divine, such as saints and angels, are protected from magic to some extent, but are not normally completely immune. As a general rule, it seems that any being with a will separate from God’s can be affected by magic, at least in principle. Only direct action by God is completely immune.
The Limit of Essential Nature
Any magic which violates a thing’s essential nature must be maintained, and when power is no longer supplied the thing returns to its natural state. Thus, Muto magic must always be maintained, while the effects of Rego magic persist after the spell expires. A thing’s essential nature cannot itself be changed. While Hermetic magic can completely change the way a thing appears, it cannot affect what that thing is.
A thing’s essential nature varies depending on what it is. All human beings are essentially human; mortal creatures with reason, senses, and the ability to move and reproduce. The basic shape of the human body is also part of the essential nature, although bits can be cut off. Men are essentially male, and women essentially female, and some people have other factors in their essential natures. For example, some people are essentially blind, whereas others are blind merely as a result of chance. As a rule, any disability purchased as a Flaw at character creation is part of the character’s essential nature, while disabilities acquired later are not.
The Lesser Limits
The Limit Of Aging
Hermetic magic cannot halt or reverse natural aging, although it can slow it down and mitigate its effects. This means that Hermetic magic cannot remove Decrepitude. Most magi think this derives from the Limit of Essential Nature.
The Limit Of Arcane Connections
Hermetic magic cannot affect an unsensed target without an Arcane Connection. This is widely believed to be a flaw in Hermetic theory, as Intellego magic is much less tightly bound by this limit than other kinds. Intellego can determine whether, for example, there are any people behind a wall the magus can see, but Perdo Corpus magic cannot affect those people until the magus is aware of them.
The Limit Of Creation
Hermetic magic is incapable of creating anything permanently without raw vis. This limit affects all uses of Creo magic. However, as Creo magic does not violate the essential nature of its target, Creo magic that does use raw vis does not need to be maintained. Theorists are divided on whether this derives from the Limit of the Divine or the Limit of Essential Nature. A few think it is a flaw in Bonisagus’s theory.
The Limit Of Energy
Hermetic magic cannot restore one’s physical energy (Fatigue levels), nor can it restore Confidence. Most magi think that this is a flaw in Hermetic theory.
The Limit Of The Infernal
Intellego magic is almost completely useless against the Infernal, because it reveals only what the demons want you believe, whether that is true or not.
The source of this limit is fiercely debated. Optimists think it is a limit in Hermetic theory. Pessimists think it is derived from the Limit of the Divine. Moderates think it is derived from the Limit of Essential Nature, in that deception is the nature of demons, so that if you use Intellego on them you only detect their deceptions. Heretical magi point out that, thanks to this limit, there is no way to tell the difference between God and a very powerful demon.
The Limit Of The Lunar Sphere
Hermetic magic cannot affect the lunar sphere, nor anything above it. Most magi think this derives from the Limit of the Divine. The lunar sphere is the innermost of the celestial spheres, which carry the stars and planets on their revolutions around the earth, and so this limit rarely bothers magi directly.
The Limit Of The Soul
Hermetic magic cannot create an immortal soul, and so may not create true human life nor restore the dead to life. Most magi think this derives from the Limit of the Divine, although a significant number think that Hermetic magic’s inability to raise the dead reflects nothing more than a flaw in the theory. Animals have no immortal souls, and so may be created. Magical creatures and faeries are generally believed not to have immortal souls, and there are spells that appear to create them, but some magi believe that such spells really summon existing beings. Angels and demons are nothing but immortal souls.
The Limit Of Time
Hermetic magic is incapable of altering the passage of time. It cannot affect anything in the past, and can only affect the future by making changes in the present. This limit also means that Hermetic magic cannot scry on the past or future. Most magi think this derives from the Limit of the Divine.
The Limit Of True Feeling
A few humans have a love, friendship or faith that Hermetic magic cannot affect in any way. (In game terms, this is indicated by a Virtue or Flaw.) Magi agree that this must derive from one of the two fundamental Limits, because most emotions can be affected by magic, but they disagree as to which one.
The Limit Of Vis
Hermetic magic cannot change the Art to which raw vis is attuned. Most magi think that this is a result of the Limit of Essential Nature.
The Limit Of Warping
Prolonged exposure to active magic or high auras usually causes changes, generally referred to as warping. Hermetic magic is completely unable to affect these changes once they have happened. Wizard's Twilight is one manifestation of warping. Most magi would like to believe that this derives from the Limit of the Divine, as that would make magic a manifestation of Divine power. Others believe that it is derived from the Limit of Essential Nature.
Raw Vis
Raw magic power, known as “vis” (pronounced “WEES”), is sometimes found stored in and partially constituting some physical substance. This can occur either because a magus has trapped it there or because it was deposited there by natural magical processes. Vis trapped in a substance is called “raw vis,” and magi have many uses for it.
Raw vis is always associated with a particular Technique or Form. Thus, there is Ignem vis, Creo vis, Imaginem vis — even Vim vis. Raw vis invariably exists in some kind of matter appropriate to the Technique or Form to which it corresponds. Animal vis might be found in blood, skins, or horns; Herbam vis in plant fiber or sap; Terram vis in crystals; and so on. When raw vis is used its power is permanently lost. When this happens its substance often changes — dissolving, withering, crumbling, shriveling, or otherwise degrading — in whatever way is appropriate to it. This normally doesn’t happen if the vis has been magically transferred to another receptacle (see Vis transfer), and never happens to such artificial receptacles.
Raw vis can be used in many applications. Examples include strengthening a spell, performing a ritual, creating a magical enchantment, or aiding in the study of the magical Art to which it corresponds. Because of its utility, vis is greatly prized by magi. They often use it as a form of currency, measuring it in units called “pawns.” Ten pawns are said to make a “rook,” while ten rooks make a “queen.” A queen of vis is a legendary quantity, and it would be highly unlikely for a given magus to possess even a sizable fraction of such an amount.
Magi often wear sources of vis in necklaces or rings so that other wizards or magical beings can readily perceive that they have vis to use in response to a threat.
Casting Spells
Spellcasting is based on a maga’s casting score:
| Casting Score | Technique + Form + Stamina + Aura Modifier |
When casting a spell, success is determined from the maga’s casting total. This is calculated in different ways, depending on the type of spell.
If the generation of the casting total involves rolling a stress die, a botch is possible. If the casting roll botches, the casting total is treated as zero, in addition to any other effects.
Spell Basics
All Hermetic spells have a Technique, Form, and Level. The Technique and Form are determined by the kind of effect that the spell has, while the Level is determined by how powerful that effect is. Spells also have a magnitude, which is equal to the level divided by five, rounded up. These terms are discussed in more detail in the remainder of this chapter and in the introduction to the Spells chapter.
Formulaic Magic
Formulaic magic is the use of spells that the maga already knows. The casting total is the casting score plus a die roll.
| Formulaic Casting Total | Casting Score + Die Roll |
The type of die rolled depends on the situation. If the maga is not under any pressure, it is a simple die. If she is in a stressful situation, it is a stress die. If the maga has mastered the spell, the die is always a stress die, but in a calm situation there are no botch dice, even if the maga is in a strange aura.
If the casting total equals or exceeds the level of the spell, the spell is cast and the maga suffers no ill effects. If the casting total falls short of the spell level by ten or less, the spell takes effect and the maga loses a Fatigue level. If the casting total falls short of the spell level by more than ten the spell fails to take effect, but the maga still loses a Fatigue level.
It takes only a few seconds to cast a Formulaic spell.
| Casting Total – Spell Level | Spell Cast? | Fatigue Levels Lost |
|---|---|---|
| 0 or higher | Yes | 0 |
| –1 to –10 | Yes | 1 |
| –11 or lower | No | 1 |
Ritual Magic
Ritual spells are like Formulaic spells, but they take longer to cast, and involve both elaborate rituals and the expenditure of raw vis. It takes fifteen minutes per magnitude to cast a Ritual spell, and the maga must expend one pawn of vis per magnitude of the spell.
| Ritual Casting Total | Casting Score + Artes Liberales + Philosophiae + Die Roll |
The more elaborate process of casting a Ritual spell allows the maga to incorporate astrological calculations and to draw on the powers of natural magic. This is reflected in the addition of the maga’s Artes Liberales and Philosophiae scores to the casting total. However, a maga with no experience points in either Ability may still cast Ritual Magic.
The vis used in a Ritual spell must match either the Technique or the Form of the spell. It is possible to use both types of vis at once. In addition, the maximum number of pawns of a given type that a magus may use in spellcasting is his score in the corresponding Art.
The magnitude of Ritual spells, and the need to incorporate many elements, mean that they are always cast using a stress die.
See the table to determine whether the spell succeeds or not, and how many Fatigue levels are lost. Fatigue levels lost to Ritual Magic are long-term Fatigue levels, which can only be regained by a good night’s sleep (see Long-Term Fatigue). If the maga does not have enough Fatigue levels remaining, she takes wounds as well. If she would have taken one more Fatigue level, the wound is minor, if two more, moderate, if three more, heavy, and if four more, incapacitating. For example, consider a maga with two remaining Fatigue levels who is casting a level 30 Ritual spell. She generates a casting total of 22, 8 less than the spell level. The spell is cast, but the maga loses her remaining two Fatigue levels, falling unconscious, and then takes a minor wound.
| Casting Total – Spell Level | Spell Cast? | Fatigue Levels Lost |
|---|---|---|
| 0 or higher | Yes | One |
| –1 to –5 | Yes | Two |
| –6 to –10 | Yes | Three |
| –11 to –15 | No | Four |
| –16 or more | No | Five |
Spontaneous Magic
Spontaneous magic involves the production of effects which do not correspond to a spell the magus knows. Magi may choose whether or not to exert themselves when casting Spontaneous Magic, but this affects the casting total. If a maga exerts herself, she loses a Fatigue level immediately after the spell is cast, so that if this loss renders her unconscious the spell takes effect first.
| Fatiguing Spontaneous Magic Casting Total | (Casting Score + Stress Die)/2 |
| Non-Fatiguing Spontaneous Magic Casting Total | Casting Score/5 |
Before casting the spell, the maga must decide on the effect she is trying to create. If her final total is too low for that effect, the spell fails. The chosen effect may be open ended. For example, the maga may want to create the brightest light she can, with a duration of at least Sun. In this case, the spell will fail if the final level cannot produce any light with that duration, but otherwise greater totals will produce brighter light.
If the maga rolls well, she may choose to increase the range, duration, or target of the spell, but may not change the basic effect. She may also choose to cast the spell at a lower level than her casting total, to increase its penetration.
Modifiers from circumstances that affect the casting score are divided just like the basic casting score. Modifiers that affect the casting total are not divided.
Penetration
The maga’s casting total measures the total amount of power that she can channel to the spell. The spell’s level determines how much power is needed to create the intended effect. Any excess power is used to overcome, or penetrate, magical defenses. It is possible for the casting total to be lower than the spell level, in which case the maga has no spare energy for penetrating defenses, and even the weakest defense stops the spell.
The penetration total measures how effectively the spell can overcome the magic resistance of its targets. It is calculated in the same way for all spells.
| Penetration Total | Casting Total + Penetration Bonus – Spell Level |
The penetration bonus is at least equal to the magus’s score in the Penetration Ability, but may be increased in various ways; see the Penatration section.
The penetration total may be zero or negative. For example, if a magus with a penetration bonus of 0, because he has no score in Penetration, casts a Formulaic spell with a Casting Total 5 less than the spell’s level, his penetration total is –5. If the penetration is zero or negative, the spell cannot affect any target with magic resistance, even if the score of the magic resistance is 0. However, it can still affect targets with no magic resistance.
If the penetration total exceeds a target’s magic resistance, the spell affects that target. If a spell is targeted at several individuals who have different levels of magic resistance, it is possible for the spell to affect some but not others.
Concentration
A maga must concentrate in order to cast a spell. If she is distracted, she must make a concentration roll.
| Concentration Roll | Stamina + Concentration + Stress Die |
If the concentration roll fails, the spell fails. If the spell casting roll involved a stress die, you must still roll to see whether the maga botches, and you get one extra botch die. The Ease Factor for the concentration roll depends on the distraction.
Some spells are also maintained for as long as the maga concentrates. In that case, the Ease Factors on the Concentration table are reduced by three points each.
There are some things it is possible to do while maintaining a spell, but impossible to do while casting. These still distract magi who are concentrating on maintaining a spell, and so concentration rolls are necessary, but the Ease Factors on the following table are already correct, and should not be reduced by three points.
For a continuing situation, such as injury or maintaining another spell, you must make a concentration roll every two minutes (Diameter duration). If you are undistracted, you can maintain concentration for fifteen minutes for every point you have in the Concentration Ability.
Note that, if a spell is designed to let the magus do something, doing that thing does not interfere with concentrating on the spell. This applies to spells that let the magus talk to animals, plants, or water, or to spells that let the magus run very quickly.
Concentration Table
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Spellcasting Options
These options can be used to enhance spellcasting in your saga.
All Spells
The following options can be used with all spells.
Using Raw Vis
It is possible to use raw vis to boost the power of a maga’s spells. The vis must match either the Technique or the Form of spell, and a maga may only use a number of pawns of a given type of vis equal to her score in that Art.
| Limit on Vis Use in Spellcasting | The maga’s score in the Art of the vis |
For all spells, a maga may expend vis to increase her casting score. Each pawn of vis expended increases the casting score by two.
| Vis Boost to Casting Score | +2 casting score per pawn |
Vis must be used when casting Ritual spells, as noted above. Vis used in this way does not increase the casting score, but it does count against the limits of what can be used.
It is possible to use vis matching both the Technique and the Form in one casting of a spell, and the amount of each type of vis is limited separately. Thus, a magus with a score of 5 in the Technique and 3 in the Form could use up to 8 pawns of vis, no more than 5 corresponding to the Technique and no more than 3 corresponding to the Form.
For every pawn of vis used, the maga must roll an extra botch die if the casting roll is stress and comes up a zero. This includes the pawns used to make a Ritual spell possible. Remember that, if the maga can cast the spell under calm conditions, she can use a simple die and thus avoid the possibility of botching.
| Vis Botch Dice | +1 botch die per pawn of vis used |
Non-Ritual Spells
The following options can be used when casting Formulaic or Spontaneous spells, but not for Ritual Magic.
Words And Gestures
Spells are normally cast with a firm voice and bold gestures. However, the caster may choose to be more or less subtle. Increased subtlety gives a penalty to the casting score, while reduced discretion gives a bonus. If the maga changes the volume of her voice, she also changes the range of Voice range spells.
The total modifier is determined by adding the Words and Gestures modifiers together. Thus, using exaggerated gestures but making no noise gives a total penalty of –9 to the casting score.
| Words | Modifier | Gestures | Modifier | Voice Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loud | +1 | Exaggerated | +1 | 50 paces |
| Firm | 0 | Bold | 0 | 15 paces |
| Quiet | –5 | Subtle | –2 | 5 paces |
| None | –10 | None | –5 | 0 paces (caster only) |
Spontaneous Spells
The following options can only be used when a maga is using Spontaneous magic, but can be used equally for fatiguing and nonfatiguing Spontaneous spells.
Fast Casting
A maga may choose to cast a Spontaneous spell extremely quickly, as a response to an attack or other surprising event. A fast-cast spell is always cast in the way that a maga casts urgent spells normally. In most cases, that means using a firm voice and bold gestures. However, for example, a maga with the Subtle Magic Virtue who almost never uses gestures to cast spells would also cast fast-cast spells without gestures. It is not possible to apply options that affect the spell itself, rather than the way it is cast, as there is not enough time for the maga to think about anything other than the core features of the spell. For example, a fast-cast spell cannot be boosted with raw vis.
There are two stages: determining the speed of casting, and determining the effect of the spell.
The speed of casting is determined as follows:
| Fast Casting Speed | Quickness + Finesse + Stress Die |
The ease factor for this roll depends on the situation. In combat, the Ease Factor is always the opponent’s Initiative Total. Other Ease Factors should be set by the storyguide. Note that, even in combat, this is not an Initiative Total. A maga may be able to cast more than one fast-cast spell in one combat round. However, each spell after the first takes a cumulative –6 penalty to the Fast Casting Speed: –6 for the second spell, –12 for the third, and so on. Once one of these rolls has been failed, that is the roll does not equal or exceed the Ease Factor for that roll, which may be the Initiative Total of another combatant, the maga can cast no further spells in that combat round.
If the roll for a fast-cast spell fails, the maga may still cast that spell. It will be too late to have its intended effect, and the maga may choose to abort the spell without any risk. A maga casting a fast-cast spell must subtract ten from the Casting Score before calculating the Casting Total. In addition, if the player rolls a zero, there are two additional botch dice.
| Fast Cast Penalty | –10 to Casting Score |
| Fast Cast Botch Dice | +2 botch dice |
In order to create a fast-cast defense against magic, a maga must know the Hermetic Form that governs that magic. If the caster is a Hermetic magus and is using words and gestures that she can hear and see, she may determine this automatically. A Perception + Awareness roll may be needed to catch the details of the gestures, particularly if they are subtle.
In other circumstances, the maga must work the Form out. A Perception + Awareness roll against an Ease Factor of 15 minus the magnitude of the effect is needed.
| Determining Form of Magical Effect | Perception + Awareness vs. 15 – effect magnitude |
In general, a fast-cast defense with half the level of the attacking spell is enough to protect the maga herself or one other individual. The spell still takes effect, and the side effects of deflecting the spell may have to be dealt with. A fast-cast defense that matches or exceeds the level of the attacking spell can completely neutralize it, probably in a fairly spectacular fashion.
Fast-cast defenses against mundane threats work if the level of the spell is high enough to neutralize the threat.
Ceremonial Casting
A maga may spend fifteen minutes for every magnitude of the spell performing rituals to invoke the powers of natural magic. As a result, she may add her scores in Artes Liberales and Philosophiae to her casting score. A maga may use ceremonial casting even if she has no experience points in one of the two Abilities, but not if she has no experience points in either.
No matter how good the roll, the level of the spell is limited by the time the maga spent in casting it, to one magnitude per fifteen minutes. However, the casting total may be very high, so the spell may have good penetration. Thus, if the maga spends one hour preparing, the final spell cannot be higher than fourth magnitude, which means its level cannot be higher than 20. However, if she gets lucky and rolls a 64 on the stress die, the spell will have a penetration of 12 (32, which is half of 64, minus the maximum spell level of 20) plus half her Technique + Form + Artes Liberales + Philosophiae + Stamina total.
| Ceremonial Casting Bonus | Add Artes Liberales and Philosophiae to Casting Score |
Arcane Connections
Arcane Connections allow a maga to cast a spell on something she is not currently sensing, as long as she is currently aware of the Arcane Connection. Mystically, the Arcane Connection is still a part of the target, thus making the spell possible. However, the spell must have a range of Arcane Connection, which makes casting spells like this harder than casting them on a target who is actually present.
Something, the connection, is an Arcane Connection to something else, the target, if the connection was very closely associated with the target, often by being a part of it. Once the connection is removed from the target, the connection starts to fade. The length of time that the connection lasts depends on the nature of the connection.
Arcane Connections must be stored carefully, or else they become links to different people or places.
| Duration | Exmaple Connections |
|---|---|
| Hours | Air from a specific place, shed skin from a human being, water from a moving body of water. |
| Days | A frequently used tool or item of clothing, water from a still body of water, something mundane made by the target, excrement. |
| Weeks | Lesser enchanted device, an item designed and made by the target, for example a letter composed and written by the target. An item designed by one person and made by another is an Arcane Connection lasting for days, to the person who made it. |
| Months | Strand of hair, favorite tool or item of clothing, wood shard from a specific place, feather from a bird, scale from a reptile. |
| Years | Invested device, rock or metal from a specific place, blood, lock of hair, group of feathers from a bird, group of scales from a reptile. |
| Decades | Body part. |
| Indefinite | Hermetic familiar (link to master), Hermetic magus (link to familiar), Hermetic talisman (link to creator), fixed Arcane Connections (see “Fixing arcane connections). |
Penetration
Penetration is the ability of a spell or other magical ability to affect something that has Magic Resistance. If something has no Magic Resistance, Penetration is irrelevant. A single spell may have several targets, for example all the members of a Group. In that case, any targets without Magic Resistance are affected no matter what the Penetration of the spell, but a target with Magic Resistance are only affected if the spell Penetrates that target's Magic Resistance.
Any character with the Penetration Ability can use sympathetic magic to increase the Penetration of her magic against a particular target. The Penetration Bonus starts at one times the character's Penetration Ability, and the multiplier can be increased. This requires that the character have an Arcane Connection to the target of the magic.
| Arcane Connection | Bonus to Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Lasts hours or days | +1 |
| Lasts weeks or months | +2 |
| Lasts years or decades | +3 |
| Lasts indefinitely | +4 |
The same Arcane Connection can be used to both allow the use of Arcane Connection Range, and to boost Penetration. Only one Arcane Connection can be used to give a bonus to Penetration against a single target, but it is possible to use Arcane Connections to multiple targets to boost the Penetration of a single spell. The spell might then have a different Penetration against each of its targets. Note that a caster might think she has an Arcane Connection to a target, but be mistaken. In that case, the Arcane Connection does "work", but the increased Penetration is irrelevant as that individual is not targeted by the spell.
Once a character has an Arcane Connection she can use other sympathetic magic to increase the multiplier further. Any number of sympathetic connections may be used, and their bonuses stack. The nearby table provides some examples, but is not exhaustive. Each troupe should specify the kinds of sympathetic connection it allows, but no single connection should give a bonus of greater than +2.
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Penetration Example
For example, Mari Amwithig wants to be able to cast Agony of the Beast on the dragon that has been causing problems for the covenant. She has a Penetration score of 3, specialized in Perdo, so it is effectively 4. That would typically give her a penetration of around 20, because she can expect to exceed the spell level by 16 on most rolls. That isn’t enough to affect the dragon.
The first thing she does is obtain an Arcane Connection to the dragon, and fix it in the laboratory. This gives her a bonus of +4 to the Penetration multiplier, so now her Penetration score is multiplied by 5 (1 + 4) when determining her penetration bonus. Her typical penetration is now around 36, which is better but still not quite good enough, she thinks.
Mari’s player argues that dragons have horoscopes just like anyone else, and the storyguide agrees. Unfortunately, Mari has no idea when, or even if, the dragon was born, so she can only make a daily horoscope. That increases the penetration multiplier by +1, so her Penetration score is now multiplied by 6. This makes her typical penetration total 40.
Mari has also Mastered the spell (see Spell Mastery) and taken the Penetration Mastery special ability. She has a score of 1 in the Mastery Ability for the spell, and this adds to her Penetration score, so that instead of multiplying 4 by 6, she multiplies 5 (4 for Penetration, 1 for the Mastery Ability) by 6. This raises her typical penetration total to 46, which she thinks will be enough to get the dragon’s attention. Arcane Connection and horoscope in hand, she sets off.
Magic Resistance
Most human beings have no magic resistance. If the target of a spell has no magic resistance, then he suffers its effects no matter how low the penetration total, even if it is negative. Humans can gain general magic resistance from three sources: the Divine, the Infernal, and Hermetic magic. No other magical or faerie powers are able to provide general magic resistance to humans, but creatures with a Might score have Magic Resistance equal to their Might.
Hermetic magi have a base Magic Resistance equal to their score in the Form most applicable to the spell cast. In case of doubt, Vim is a safe default. Thus, a maga attacked with magical fire would have Magic Resistance at least equal to her Ignem score. Since all Hermetic magi have a score of at least 0 in every Form, a maga never has a Magic Resistance of less than zero.
If the target of a spell has Magic Resistance of 0, she is only affected if the penetration total is 1 or greater. Thus, Magic Resistance 0 is substantially better than no magic resistance.
Parma Magica
The Parma Magica, Bonisagus’s great invention, is an Ability that grants magic resistance that adds to the resistance arising from a maga’s Form scores.
Parma Magica adds magic resistance equal to five times the maga’s score in the Ability to the resistance based on her Forms. It takes two minutes to perform the Parma Magica ritual, and the magic resistance granted lasts until sunset or sunrise, whichever comes first. A magus can suppress his Parma by concentrating, and this also suppresses his Form resistance. This suppression lasts for as long as the magus concentrates, which takes the same effort as concentration on maintaining a spell, and leaves him with no magic resistance against anything.
An unconscious magus may not suppress his Parma, and thus has his full resistance against all magic, even helpful magic. His Parma will go down naturally at sunrise or sunset, at which point he has only the resistance based on his Forms. There is no way for an unconscious magus to lower his Form resistance.
A magus may also protect one other person for each point in Parma Magica, with their consent. He must touch each person to start the protection, and it lasts as long as at least one character can see the other. The magus may cancel the protection at will, at any distance. While a magus is protecting others, his effective Parma Magica score is reduced by 3 points, both for himself and for the other people he is protecting. If the magus has a Parma Magica score of 3 or lower, his Parma Magica provides each character, including himself, with a Magic Resistance of 0. In the magus’s case, this is added to his Form resistance, and a magus protected by another magus’s Parma Magica may also add his Form resistance.
Awareness of Attack
If a spell is stopped by magic resistance, the target knows that some effect has been stopped, but knows nothing about it. If a spell penetrates her magic resistance, she gets no warning other than any obvious effects the spell has. A very subtle spell might well go completely unnoticed if cast successfully.
The Functioning of Magic Resistance
Magic resistance keeps magic away from the maga, her clothing, and other items that are very close to her. It does not dispel magic. Spells cast with Personal range do not have to overcome magic resistance. Spells cast with Touch range, even if cast by the maga on herself, do.
If the maga is the Individual target of the spell, a resisted spell simply fails to work. If she is part of a Group or large Target, the spell fails to work on her, but may affect other people within the target.
If the target of the spell is a magical thing, which then attempts to damage the maga, the spell works, but the created thing is unable to affect the maga unless it penetrates her magic resistance.
Things that are created and sustained by magic (anything not created as a mundane thing by a Ritual spell) are magical for these purposes. Things moved by magic can cross the resistance, but their motion cannot, unless the spell penetrates the magic resistance. In all the following examples, the penetration of the magical effect is assumed to be lower than the maga’s Magic Resistance.
- A mind control spell targeted at the maga alone fails.
- A mind control spell targeted at a group including the maga fails to affect the maga, but may affect other members of the group.
- A jet of magical water parts around the maga, and she does not even get wet.
- A jet of normal water driven by magic reaches the maga and makes her wet, but has no force of impact, as the magical power cannot pass her resistance.
- A quantity of normal water magically raised over the maga’s head and dropped makes her wet and strikes with impact, because it is not being moved by magic when it reaches the maga.
- A magical rock thrown at the maga bounces off her resistance, and the maga feels nothing beyond the warning that something has been successfully resisted.
- A normal rock turned into a large boulder by a Muto spell bounces off her resistance, as above.
- A large boulder turned into a pebble by a Muto spell bounces off her resistance, as above.
- A normal rock thrown by magic stops at her skin or clothes. The maga feels the warning that something has been resisted, and also feels the rock touching her (before it falls), but she is not struck by the rock. It is as if the rock had been moved up against her as slowly and carefully as possible.
- A mundane rock launched upwards by magic so that when it falls, it will fall on the maga is not resisted. By the time it strikes the maga, its motion is natural, due to gravity, rather than magical. However, such a rock must be aimed (see below).
- If the maga steps onto a magical bridge, it remains and will bear her weight.
- If the maga falls onto a magical bridge, she is stopped by the bridge, and takes falling damage.
- If the magical bridge falls onto the maga, it is stopped, but does her no damage.
- If a maga falls into a pit full of magical spikes, she either slides around the spikes if there is room, or finishes lying on top of them if there is not. She takes normal falling damage, but no damage from the spikes.
- The maga cannot see an invisible character, as the species (see “Imaginem”) are destroyed before reaching her.
- The maga can see an illusion, as the species emitted are natural rather than magical. She gets no indication that it an illusion.
- The maga can see a magically created object, as the object generates normal species.
- The maga sees something affected by a Rego Imaginem spell in the location intended by the spell, as the species are no longer under magical influence when they reach her.
- An illusion cast on the maga fails.
Aiming
A maga may want to cast a spell that affects something else, and only indirectly affects the target. In this case, the target’s magic resistance is irrelevant, as the spell does not target her. However, while spells always hit their targets, indirect effects may not reach the true target; they must be aimed. If a spell is resisted, as above, it need not be aimed. If it is not resisted, it must be aimed.
| Aiming Roll | Perception + Finesse + Die |
The die is a stress die if the maga is under stress, a simple die otherwise. Treat the total as an attack total (see "Combat”). If the “attack” hits, the spell effect is in the right place; what effect this has depends on the spell.
If the direct target of the spell is a basic Individual for the Form in question (see spell targets and sizes), there is no bonus to the aiming roll. For every step larger, and thus for every magnitude added to the spell, the aiming roll gets a +6 bonus. It is hard to miss a single person when you create a pit the size of a church.
For extreme cases, the troupe should use its judgment and may change the bonus. For example, a basic Individual in Auram could be a cloud 100 paces across, which should grant a large bonus to aiming, while a gemstone created two steps larger than a basic Individual is still only 10 inches or so across, and so should probably grant no bonus at all.
The following are examples of spells that bypass the ultimate victim’s magic resistance, and thus need to be aimed.
- Moving a boulder over the victim’s head with Rego Terram, and then dropping it.
- Destroying the earth underneath her feet so that she falls into a pit.
- Creating a wooden box around her so that she cannot see or move.
- Changing the earth under her feet into mud, so that she sinks. Note that she will not get muddy unless the spell penetrates her magic resistance, as the mud is a magical substance which is kept away from her.
- Destroying all the air around her so that she cannot breathe (briefly, but enough to force a Concentration roll), and suffers some damage from the surrounding air rushing in to fill the vacuum.
Sigils
Every Hermetic maga has a “wizard’s sigil.” All the spells that she casts have something in common, which makes it clear to those who know her that she was the caster. The sigil also appears in the effects of enchanted devices created by the maga.
Some sigils affect the environment where the spell is cast. For example, a maga might have the scent of orange blossom as her sigil. In that case, whenever she casts a spell there is a smell of orange blossom in the area. The spell has its effect as normal. Another maga’s sigil might make everyone nearby feel briefly chilled.
Other sigils affect the maga herself. For example, a sigil might make the maga’s hair stand on end and flash with sparks, or make her eyes glow briefly.
Finally, some sigils affect the actual products of the spell. A maga’s sigil might mean that all her spell effects involve whiteness in some way, whether white fire from Creo Ignem, or a white patch on animals affected by Muto Animal.
Whatever the form of the sigil, it never requires requisites, as it is part of the maga’s magic. Accordingly, it should never be something useful, nor something that imposes major problems. It is a bit of flavor for the caster, nothing more.
All kinds of sigil leave some traces behind in the magic, and skilled Hermetic investigators can use this sigil to find out who cast a spell. Hermetic magi also have a voting sigil, a small physical object which identifies them and is used to vote at Tribunal. This often resembles the casting sigil in some way, but need not.
Spell Mastery
Hermetic magi can study Formulaic and Ritual spells that they know in more detail. This study leads to spell mastery. Magi can write books about spells they have mastered, to convey that knowledge to others. The Spell Mastery Ability can be learned from such books according to the normal rules for study (see “Advancement”).
For every possible Hermetic spell, there is a corresponding Ability. This Ability can be studied in the normal ways, and is called the spell’s “mastery” ability. If a maga has a score of one or greater in a mastery ability, she is said to have “mastered” that spell.
| Mastery Ability | Adds to casting score and subtracts from number of botch dice |
A maga adds her score in the mastery ability to her casting score whenever she casts that spell. In addition, she subtracts her mastery ability from the number of botch dice she has to roll if she rolls a zero. This may bring the number of dice down to zero. Mastered spells are always cast with a stress die, but if the maga is relaxed there are no botch dice, even in a non-magic aura or when using vis.
Mastered Spell Special Abilities
For every level in the Mastery Ability, the maga may also choose one special ability, which applies only to that mastered spell. Thus, a maga with a Mastery Score of two for a spell has two special abilities for that spell. A maga who has mastered more than one spell may have different special abilities with each of them.
Fast Casting
The maga may Fast Cast the mastered spell according to the rules for Fast Casting Spontaneous spells. The maga still takes the –10 penalty to Casting Score and risks the extra botch dice, although the botch dice will be partially offset by her Mastery Ability. Any or all of your Mastery Abilities may be applied to the spell even when it is fast-cast, as these abilities are a fundamental part of your understanding of the spell.
Magic Resistance
Your Magic Resistance is doubled against the mastered spell, and against any spells or powers that count as similar. (See "Similar Spells”)
Multiple Casting
You can cast several copies of a single mastered spell so that it affects more people, objects, or areas (as applicable) than normal. A single target may also be affected more than once. You may cast a number of additional copies of the spell equal to or less than your Mastery Score.
Each spell must be rolled for separately. If any of the spells fail outright, you lose the fatigue and the spell fails, though others may still take effect successfully. If you lose consciousness, any spells that were successful still run their course. If you lose consciousness and accumulate additional fatigue loss, each additional Fatigue level causes an extra hour of unconsciousness.
Subtract the total number of discrete targets from any targeting rolls that are required. Even if all spells are directed at the same target, a –1 applies. The storyguide can further penalize or prohibit multiple casting that is especially difficult, such as casting two spells in opposite directions.
| Targeting | Penalty of one for every separate target, including the first |
Penetration
The maga’s Mastery Score is added to her Penetration Ability score for determining her Penetration Bonus.
Quiet Casting
The penalty for casting a spell quietly is reduced by five. This cannot grant a bonus, although using a booming voice gives the normal bonus. A maga may take this ability twice. If she does so, she can cast the spell silently without penalty. The range of a Voice Range spell is still based on the actual loudness of the maga’s voice.
Still Casting
The maga can cast the spell without gestures, at no penalty. The normal bonus for using exaggerated gestures applies.
Books on Spell Mastery
A book on spell Mastery can be studied by anyone who knows the spell that the book is about. For the purposes of spell Mastery, two spells are the same if they have the same Arts, level, Range, Duration, Target, and effect; essentially, if the game rule versions of the two spells are identical. Different wizard’s sigils are not a problem.
Because magi reinvent spells for themselves, rather than actually learning another magus’s version, a magus studying spell Mastery from a book may learn any special ability, not just the abilities known by the original author. The book provides insight into the structure of the spell, but that insight may differ slightly between the author’s and reader’s versions of the spells.
Dangers
Despite the Order’s attempts to regulate it and make it a science, magic remains an art. No matter how skilled a practitioner you are, and no matter what precautions you take (short of not using magic at all), your magic will sometimes get out of your control. From the danger of casting a spell improperly to the danger of the enigmatic Wizard’s Twilight, magic is filled with hazards.
Botches
The most common danger magi face when performing magic is a botch. The results of a given spell cast under stress are not entirely predictable, and a botch on a spell roll means that the maga has made a mistake that, rather than just causing her spell to fail, causes her spell to produce different effects than she intended. Though the effects of botches can vary widely, they are almost universally detrimental. The storyguide should use his imagination when determining botches.
As noted previously, a botch automatically gives a maga a Casting Total of zero. However, this does not mean that nothing happens; in general, the spell still goes off. The magic is beyond the maga’s control; almost anything could happen. More powerful spells should have more powerful botch results, in general, but as usual the number of botch dice that come up zero should determine just how badly things have gone wrong.
Magi gain one Warping Point for every zero that comes up on the botch dice when casting a spell. (This does not include the original zero that meant the botch dice had to be rolled. If the roll does not botch, the magus gains no Warping Points.) If a magus gains two or more Warping Points from a single spell botch, he may enter Wizard’s Twilight (see below).
Botch Suggestions
- Attract unwanted attention: The attention of someone or something, perhaps the target of your spell, is drawn to you.
- Caster addled: You are rendered insane, confused, or demented. You acquire the Flaw Simple-Minded for an indefinite duration.
- Caster overwhelmed: You are overwhelmed by your own magic. Make a Stamina stress roll of 6+ or be knocked unconscious.
- Connection with target: Your target becomes aware of your investigations, and may learn something about you through the arcane link that is temporarily established.
- Debilitating: The spell pushes the target too hard and does permanent damage: for example, a Rego Animal spell might forever leave a beast without its natural instincts and urges.
- Flawed creation: A creation is heavily flawed, though the flaw may not be obvious until the creation is expected to serve the function it was created for.
- Incomplete or improper effect: For example, a spell intended to transform you into a wolf might only transform your head and hands.
- Out of control: The spell creates or calls forth something beyond the caster’s ability to control.
- Related but unwanted effect: For example, a spell intended to transform you into a wolf might turn you into another animal.
- Reverse effect: The spell does exactly the opposite of what is intended.
- Spell affects caster: You, instead of the intended target, are affected.
- Too powerful: The spell does more than it should and thereby causes problems.
- Undying spell: The spell does not end at the normal time, and it proves resistant to being dispelled.
- Wrong target: Pick a new one at random.
Warping
Warping affects everyone, not just Hermetic magi, so it is described in the Long-term events chapter. Note that magi gain one Warping Point for every zero on the botch dice when they botch a spell.
Wizard’s Twilight
Wizard’s Twilight is unique to Hermetic magic. Most magical traditions have a unique reaction to Warping, and Wizard’s Twilight is the reaction of magi trained in the Hermetic tradition.
Entering Twilight
Whenever a maga gains two or more Warping Points from a single event, rather than from prolonged exposure, she must add them to her current total, possibly increasing her Warping Score, and then roll to avoid Twilight.
| Twilight Avoidance | Stamina + Concentration + Vim Form Bonus + stress die vs. Warping Score + Number of Warping Points gained + Enigmatic Wisdom + local aura + stress die (no botch) |
If the roll succeeds, the maga spends two minutes (one Diameter) bringing her magic under control, but there are no further effects. If the roll fails, the maga enters Wizard’s Twilight. If the maga botches, she enters Twilight and cannot comprehend the experience.
A maga may choose not to resist Twilight, in which case she makes no roll and automatically enters Twilight. In some situations, such as combat, taking two minutes to control the magic may be very dangerous, and in such cases a maga may wish to enter Twilight in the hope of comprehending it and thus getting through the experience more quickly.
Comprehending Twilight
A maga within Twilight must comprehend her surroundings in order to get out.
| Twilight Comprehension | Intelligence + Enigmatic Wisdom + stress die vs. Warping Score + stress die |
| Botch Dice | 1 + 1 per Warping Point gained to trigger the Twilight |
The time that a maga feels that she spends in Twilight is completely independent of time passing in the real world. The time that passes in the real world depends on the maga’s Warping Score, and the success of her Twilight Comprehension roll.
| Warping Score | Base Time in Twilight |
|---|---|
| 1 | Diameter (2 minutes) |
| 2 | Two Hours |
| 3 | Sun |
| 4 | Day (24 hours) |
| 5 | Moon |
| 6 | Season |
| 7 | Year |
| 8 | Seven Years |
| 9 | Seven plus a Stress Die Years (no botch) |
| 10+ | Eternal: Final Twilight |
If the comprehension roll botches, the time the maga spends in Twilight moves one up the table for every zero on the dice, and she suffers a bad effect from the experience.
If the comprehension roll fails, the maga spends the base time in Twilight, and suffers a bad effect from the experience.
If the Twilight side of the comprehension roll botches (same botch dice as the maga’s side), the maga need only beat a total of zero to comprehend the Twilight. The botch has no other effect. This means that, all else being equal, a maga is slightly more likely to comprehend a Twilight caused by gaining a lot of Warping Points.
If the comprehension roll succeeds, subtract the maga’s Enigmatic Wisdom score from the result, and compare that total (that is, the maga’s Intelligence plus the stress die result) to the Twilight’s result.
| Twilight Time | Intelligence + stress die vs. Warping Score + stress die |
Note: The die rolls are the rolls already made to comprehend the Twilight
If the two match exactly, or the maga’s score is lower, the maga spends the base time in Twilight. For every additional point by which the maga’s score exceeds the Twilight result, move down one step on the duration table. For example, if a maga with a Warping score of 7 makes her comprehension roll by three points, the Twilight lasts a day. If this lowers the duration below Diameter, the whole Twilight lasts a mere moment in the real world.
During Twilight
The experiences of a maga in Twilight vary enormously. Some experience a dreamlike copy of the real world. Others encounter strange creatures, or copies of themselves, or feel an infinite benevolence watching over the universe, or an infinite malevolence likewise. These may be played out if desired.
The effects are equally varied in the outside world. The simplest effect is that the maga falls unconscious until she emerges from the Twilight. This is most common with low Warping scores. Magae with moderate Warping Scores often seem to resist Twilight, but act without real initiative. They are easily led while in this state, and have no memory of their actions when the Twilight finishes. Magae with high Warping Scores sometimes disappear physically into the Twilight Void. If they do so, their bodies reappear in the same place, near enough, when they come out of Twilight.
If the maga’s body remains in the real world while she is in Twilight, it is completely immune to magic, mundane damage, aging, and hunger. In many ways it seems to be outside the world although it still appears within it. A maga’s body is also unable to perform magic while she is in Twilight.
While these are the most common effects, others have been observed. Bjornaer often take the form of their heartbeasts, and Flambeau magi have been known to turn into large fires which burn without fuel.
Effects Of Twilight
Every Twilight experience marks the maga. The strength of the mark is random. Roll a simple die. The maga gains that many Warping Points, in addition to the points that triggered the Twilight.
If the maga comprehended the Twilight, the effects are good.
Twilight Scar: Something minor and magical, and also neutral or beneficial. For example, the area around the maga always smells faintly and pleasantly of roses, the maga’s eyes glitter with many colors, the maga walks a fraction of an inch above any surface. In the case of a maga who wants to keep her magic inconspicuous, the effect may not be obviously magical: people around her become slightly more cheerful, insects don’t bite her, and so on.
In addition, the storyguide should pick one of the following effects:
Increased Knowledge: A number of experience points in an Art, Magic Theory, or Enigmatic Wisdom, equal to twice the number of Warping Points gained.
New Mystical Virtue: Minor (if between 7 and 10 Warping Points, inclusive), or major (if more than ten Warping Points). Virtues cannot be gained if the maga gains fewer than seven Warping Points.
New Spell: The maga knows a new Formulaic spell, with a magnitude equal to the number of Warping Points gained. This spell is chosen by the storyguide, and the maga need not be able to cast it. She may write a Lab Text about it as normal.
If the maga failed to comprehend the Twilight, the effects are bad.
Twilight Scar: Something minor, magical, and annoying. For example, the area around the maga smells faintly of sulfur, the maga’s touch stains skin black (it washes off, with effort), the maga’s footprints create myriads of fine cracks in any surface. At the storyguide’s discretion, a maga who tries to keep her magic inconspicuous might get a scar she can hide. For example, the smell of iron makes her feel nauseous, or insects always bite her given the chance.
In addition, the storyguide should pick one of the following effects:
Lost Knowledge: Lose two experience points for every Warping Point gained in an Art, Magic Theory, or Enigmatic Wisdom. This cannot reduce the score below zero.
New Mystical Flaw: Minor (if between 7 and 10 Warping Points, inclusive) or major (if 10 Warping Points or above). The maga can only gain a mystical Flaw if she gains at least seven Warping Points.
Lost Spells: The maga loses the knowledge of spells, chosen by the storyguide, with magnitudes totaling the number of Warping Points gained.
Twilight Example
Darius of Flambeau, played by Niall, botches a spell while hunting a Renounced magus. There are two zeroes on the botch dice, so he gains 2 Warping Points, and must check for Twilight. Darius has a Warping Score of 6, and his enemy is not immediately present, so he chooses to try to resist the Twilight.
As a member of House Flambeau, Darius does not have an Enigmatic Wisdom score, so that doesn’t affect anything.
Darius has a Stamina of 0, Concentration 3, and a Vim bonus of 2. He thus gets +5 to his roll to resist the Twilight, and Niall rolls a six on the stress die, for a total of 11. Not bad, but not great.
The Ease Factor is 6 (for his Warping Score) +2 (the number of points gained) + 4 (for the local Faerie aura, a major contributor to the botch in the first place), or 12 + a stress die, no botch. The storyguide doesn’t bother rolling; even if he rolls a zero Darius has failed to resist and will enter Twilight.
When it comes to comprehending the Twilight, Darius gets his Intelligence, +3, plus a stress die.
The Twilight has a base of 6, Darius’s Warping Score, plus a stress die. Niall rolls a 7, but the storyguide rolls a 5. Darius has a total of 10, and the Twilight has a total of 11. Darius has failed to comprehend it.
The comprehension roll simply failed, so Darius spends the base time in Twilight, and has a bad experience. At a Warping Score of 6, the base time is one season.
The storyguide rules that Darius feels his magic destroying his body and mind from the inside. He can’t tell how long it takes, although he is fully aware of every step of the process, and as the last trace of his awareness is about to vanish, he comes out of the Twilight. To the outside world, Darius’s body appeared to dry up and decay to dust over the course of a few seconds. At the end of a season, Darius reappears, and finds that two of the covenant grogs have been camping here to see whether he was coming back from Twilight.
The simple die for additional Warping Points is a 1, so Darius gains 3 Warping Points in total. He loses 6 experience points in Corpus, 2 for each of the 3 Warping Points he gained. He didn’t gain enough Warping Points to gain a Flaw. He also gains a Twilight Scar, and the storyguide rules that any dead meat Darius is touching looks, tastes, and smells rotten, although the effect passes when he releases it, and the meat is actually perfectly good. It looks like Darius will be becoming a vegetarian.
Certamen
Certamen (“Care-TAH-men,” Latin for “duel”) is the ceremony by which two magi conduct a magical duel. It serves as a nonlethal way for one magus to establish dominance and precedence over another, and has formal restrictions to keep it from disrupting the unity of the Order.
The most important is that certamen cannot be used to overrule a Tribunal, require a violation of the Code, or require a magus to overlook a violation of the Code. Beyond that, however, certamen can be used to settle any dispute, and the result of the certamen is binding.
One need not accept a challenge to certamen, but that is the same as conceding defeat. You may challenge anyone to certamen over a certain issue once, but the Peripheral Code prohibits you from challenging the same person again over that issue unless he challenges you in the meantime. If another issue comes up, you may challenge him again.
Bullying magi with certamen is a Low Crime in almost all Tribunals. Certamen is solely an institution of the Order of Hermes; non-Hermetic wizards do not have the ability to participate in the ceremony, as it relies heavily on the Hermetic Arts.
Both participants specify in advance what the other magus will do, or refrain from doing, if he loses. The two requirements are expected to be symmetrical, and Tribunals do over-ride the results on asymmetric certamens. This gives magi some motivation not to bully with certamen; even the greatest archmage can botch.
To engage in certamen, you and the other magus must agree on one Form and Technique combination you will both use. By tradition, the aggressor in the duel chooses the Technique and the defender chooses the Form, and it is considered good form to go along with this choice. However, each magus may veto the other magus’s first choice. If he does so, he must accept the second option.
Once the Technique and Form are chosen, you and your opponent concentrate for a moment, both entering trances. While entranced, competing magi have no defense against physical attacks. Each becomes attuned to the magical forces surrounding them, shaping them into phantasms representing the Technique and Form of the duel. If the Technique and Form are Muto and Animal, the phantasms might be two animals, one controlled by each magus. During the course of the duel, each animal changes into various other animals in an effort to defeat the other. A Creo Ignem contest could consist of two fiery beings fighting. In an Intellego Aquam contest it might appear that the combatants are in hazy water, each trying to reach some goal. The illusionary battle is a representation of the more subtle magical battle which affects the minds of the combatants.
Mechanical resolution of certamen is based on six totals.
| Initiative Total | Quickness + Finesse + Stress Die |
| Attack Total | Presence + Technique or Form + Stress Die |
| Defense Total | Perception + Form or Technique + Stress Die |
| Attack Advantage | Attack Total – Defense Total (if Attack Total is higher) |
| Weakening Total | Intelligence + Penetration + Attack Advantage |
| Resistance Total | Stamina + Parma Magica |
Initiative is rolled only once, at the beginning of the duel. This initiative is the same as combat initiative, and if a certamen is taking place during combat each magus acts at the point in the sequence determined by his initiative total.
On his action, a magus rolls a stress die to generate an Attack Total. His opponent rolls a stress die to generate a Defense Total. Unlike initiative, the dice for attack and defense are rolled every round. If the Defense Total equals or exceeds the Attack Total, the attack does no damage. If the Attack Total exceeds the Defense Total, the amount by which it does so is the Attack Advantage.
Each magus must use both the Technique and the Form in each round of certamen, using one for Attack and the other for Defense. The two magi may use different Arts for Attack or Defense, and may change which Art they apply to which total from round to round. Subtract the defender’s Resistance Total from the Weakening Total. For every five points or fraction left over, the defender loses a Fatigue level. Note that the magus’s Parma Magica score is added to the Resistance Total; it is not multiplied by five as it is for magic resistance.
| Weakening Total – Resistance Total | Fatigue Levels Lost |
|---|---|
| 0 | None |
| 1–5 | 1 |
| 6–10 | 2 |
| 11–15 | 3 |
| 16–20 | 4 |
| 21–25 | 5 |
| 26–30 | 6 |
| etc. |
Certamen itself never causes wounds, merely exhaustion. If you lose more Fatigue levels than you have, you spend one more hour unconscious for every additional level lost.
You can use raw vis at any time during certamen, even if your opponent doesn’t use it or doesn’t expect its use. For every pawn you expend, add 2 to your Attack Total or Defense Total for one round only. Raw vis used must be attuned to the Art used for Attack or Defense in the duel. The number of pawns you can use in one round is limited to your score in the Form or Technique the vis is attuned to.
All members of House Tremere have a Minor Magical Focus with Certamen. This means that they always double the lower of the Technique and Form when engaged in certamen. Other Magical Foci do not apply.
There are three ways to win certamen. The first involves wearing your opponent down until he falls unconscious. When this happens, the victor is entitled to cast a single spell at the loser. This spell, which must be of the same Technique and Form as the contest, circumvents the loser’s Parma Magica (though the loser still gets Magic Resistance based on the Form of the spell). In most certamen contests, this “free” spell is unnecessary, because your opponent’s collapse already designates your victory. However, some duelists use it anyway to intimidate and embarrass those who fight them. This free spell can be used to harm your fallen opponent, but remember, certamen is intended to be a harmless way to resolve disputes, and the winner is still bound by the Hermetic Code.
The second way to win certamen is by surrender. If your opponent realizes he is outmatched, or wants to walk away from the duel, he can concede the contest. Such a submission means that the loser is still capable of defending himself, so he has full Parma Magica and Magic Resistance against any final spell cast at him.
The third way to win certamen is to maintain concentration in the face of distraction when your opponent does not. Concentration rolls are not necessitated by the loss of Fatigue levels during certamen. Sometimes, however, conditions surrounding the duel necessitate that the duelists make Concentration rolls. If one of the duelists fails a Concentration roll, the fight ends. The duelist’s loss of concentration causes his phantasm to disappear, indicating the opponent’s victory. A victor through loss of concentration does not get a free spell.
Loss of concentration, however, does not necessarily mean that certamen is over and that a victor is decided. If the victor under these circumstances refuses the honor, and the combatant who lost concentration agrees, the battle may resume until a clear victor emerges. A magus might refuse a victory by loss of concentration for reasons of honor, or because he intends to do more harm.
Certamen Example
Moratamis of Guernicus harbors suspicions about what Carolus of Tytalus gets up to at night. She asks him to tell her what he is doing, and he refuses. She doesn’t have enough for an official Quaesitorial investigation, so she challenges him to certamen, demanding that he tell her what he has done if he loses. Carolus agrees, with the condition that Moratamis will not ask him about his activities again unless she is on official Quaesitorial business. (He has to add the condition, although he would prefer not to, or else the Tribunal is unlikely to uphold a result in his favor.) Carolus suspects he will lose, as Moratamis is older and thus more powerful.
Moratamis’s Arts are: Cr 1, In 12, Mu 1, Pe 7, Re 8; An 5, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 5, He 0, Ig 0, Im 10, Me 13, Te 0, Vi 5
Her Characteristics are: Int +2, Per +3, Pre +2, Com +1, Str –2, Sta +1, Dex –2, Qik –1
Her relevant Abilities are: Finesse 2, Parma Magica 5, Penetration 3.
Carolus’s Arts are: Cr 2, In 0, Mu 5, Pe 10, Re 7; An 3, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 5, He 0, Ig 0, Im 10, Me 7, Te 6, Vi 4
His Characteristics are: Int +2, Per –1, Pre –1, Com –1, Str 0, Sta +1, Dex +4, Qik 0
His relevant Abilities are: Finesse 2, Parma Magica 3, Penetration 1.
Moratamis challenged, so she picks the Technique. She is fairly sure that the only Technique she is much better at is Intellego, and she’s also sure that Carolus knows this too. She thinks that her scores in Rego and Creo are fairly balanced with Carolus’s, though. She knows that, if she proposes Intellego first, Carolus will veto it. On the other hand, if she proposes Rego first, Carolus might have other reasons to veto that, and thus let her use Intellego. Thus, she proposes Rego.
Carolus accepts, knowing full well that he’ll be stuck with Intellego if he doesn’t. For the Form, he proposes Imaginem. He knows that Moratamis studies that, but also that he has a reputation as a bit of an Imaginem specialist. He hopes that she’ll think he thinks he has an advantage she doesn’t know about. It works; Moratamis vetoes his first choice. Carolus then settles on Terram, where he is fairly sure he is better.
The two now have the following statistics: Moratamis: Initiative: +1 (Qik –1 + Finesse 2), Attack: +10 (Rego: Rego 8 + Pre +2) or +2 (Terram: Terram 0 + Pre +2), Defense +11 (Rego: Rego 8 + Per +3) or +3 (Terram: Terram 0 + Per +3), Weakening +5 (Int +2 + Penetration 3), Resistance +6 (Sta +1 + Parma Magica 5)
Carolus: Initiative: +2 (Qik 0 + Finesse 2), Attack +6 (Rego: Rego 7 + Pre –1) or +5 (Terram: Terram 6 + Pre –1), Defense +6 (Rego: Rego 7 + Per –1) or +5 (Terram: Terram 6 + Per –1), Weakening +3 (Int +2 + Penetration 1), Resistance +4 (Sta +1 + Parma Magica 3)
The phantasms for the contest are the stones of the floor under their feet, which try to rise up and engulf them.
The two roll Initiative. Moratamis rolls a 2, for a total of 3, and Carolus rolls a 5, for a total of 7. Carolus acts first.
On the first round, Carolus chooses to put Rego into attack and Terram into defense, while Moratamis chooses to defend with Rego and attack with Terram. Carolus attacks first, and rolls a 12 (lucky!), for an Attack Total of 18. Moratamis rolls a 7, for a Defense Total of 18. On a dead heat, the defender wins, and Carolus cannot get through. Then Moratamis attacks. She rolls a 5, for a total of 7, while Carolus rolls a 2, also for a total of 7. Another dead heat, so nothing happens. The stones jump around a bit, but nothing happens.
On the next round, Moratamis switches her Arts, in the hope of breaking through Carolus’s defenses. Carolus still attacks first, and rolls a 10, for an Attack Total of 16. Moratamis rolls a zero, but doesn’t botch, for a Defense Total of 3. Carolus has an Attack Advantage of 13. This adds to his Weakening Score of +3, for a Weakening Total of 16. Moratamis subtracts her Resistance of 6, so the final damage is 10. Moratamis thus loses two Fatigue levels, giving her a –1 penalty on Attack and Defense.
On her attack, Moratamis rolls a 2, for an Attack Total of 11, including the –1 penalty. Carolus rolls a 6, for a Defense Total of 11. Thanks to having already weakened Moratamis, he beats off the attack. The stones have climbed up to around Moratamis’s knees. Moratamis decides that her switch of strategy was a mistake, and switches back. Carolus rolls a 20 (lucky again!) for an Attack Total of 26. Moratamis rolls a 7, for a Defense Total of 18. Carolus has an Attack Advantage of 8, which translates into a single Fatigue level lost. Moratamis now has a –3 penalty to Attack and Defense.
She rolls a 7, which gives her an Attack Total of 6. Carolus rolls a 4, for a Defense Total of 9, easily safe. Moratamis is now hoping for a lucky break, and Carolus only rolls a 6, for an Attack Total of 12. Moratamis rolls a 6, for a Defense Total of 14, including the penalty. She is safe this round. For her counterattack, she rolls a 5, for an Attack Total of 4. Carolus rolls a zero, but doesn’t botch, and still has a Defense Total of 5. He is safe, and the stones are swarming up around Moratamis’s waist.
The next round remains evenly balanced, neither magus managing to weaken the other. In the next round, Carolus rolls a 9, for an Attack Total of 15, while Moratamis only manages a 4, for a Defense Total of 12. This gives Carolus a Weakening Total of 6, which Moratamis is just able to resist. Still, she feels it.and a few stones boil up to her chest for a moment. She rolls a 7 for her attack, for an Attack Total of 6. Carolus rolls a 6, for a Defense Total of 11, and easily blocks the thrust.
In the next round, Carolus rolls a 10, for a total of 16, while Moratamis rolls a 0, but doesn’t botch, for a Defense Total of 8. This gives Carolus a final advantage of 2 points, enough to clip a further Fatigue level from Moratamis. Now that she has a penalty of –5 to Attack and Defense, she decides that she cannot win, and concedes the contest so that Carolus cannot cast a spell on her. Carolus goes off feeling that he wriggled out of that one quite nicely, and Moratamis turns her attention to other matters.
Mysteries
Mysteries are paths to greater magical power requiring sacrifices beyond the time for study. Many magi within the Order of Hermes pursue mysteries, and four of the Houses are Mystery Cults — organizations that teach a mystery. Full details about the mysteries of those Houses and other organizations will be published in future supplements. This section gives the necessary information for a character at the outermost level of the Houses that teach a mystery.
Mystery Mechanics
The game mechanics for progressing in a mystery are extremely simple: the character takes on a General Flaw, usually Minor, and in return gets one or more Virtues. The Flaw represents the sacrifice he has made for access to the deeper power.
Mysteries should, however, always be roleplayed. Being a member of a Mystery Cult always functions as a Story Flaw of sorts, although no more so than being a member of any other House for the Hermetic cults. Similarly, the quests for deeper power should involve at least some steps played out as stories.
Bjornaer: The Heartbeast
Bjornaer magi can take the form of a single mundane creature. This is usually an animal or bird, but it can be a plant. The heartbeast is always a living thing, and usually a noble creature. No known magus has had an earthworm heartbeast, for example. A maga’s heartbeast displays a central aspect of her nature, so that her personality, even in human form, will resemble that of the creature. Initiates of the Bjornaer mystery gain the Ability Heartbeast. This Ability cannot be gained by any character who has not been initiated into the mystery. For initiates of the Outer Mystery, the Heartbeast Ability is only used when something tries to stop the magus changing forms. In that case, a roll of Stamina + Heartbeast against an Ease Factor set by the storyguide allows the character to change anyway.
A Bjornaer maga can only change into one kind of animal, and that kind cannot be altered by Hermetic magic. The transformed Bjornaer can be changed, by Muto Animal magic, for example, but the kind of animal that her heartbeast is cannot be changed. A Bjornaer maga really is her heartbeast, and so remaining in that form does not count as being under an active mystical effect (see “Warping”). Of course, she is really human as well, so remaining human does not cause warping either. Hermetic magic is unable to tell whether an animal is actually a Bjornaer, and the same applies to most other kinds of magic. (This assumes that the maga is trying to hide her nature, of course.) As a result, a Bjornaer in animal form is affected by Animal spells, not Corpus or Mentem spells. Spells already in effect before the transformation remain in effect, however.
Bjornaer magi can cast spells while in the form of their heartbeast, but they cannot speak or make the appropriate gestures, and thus normally take a –15 penalty.
The transformation takes only a moment, and affects only the maga. None of her possessions are transformed. A Bjornaer who has been physically changed by magic may try to assume her normal form or her heartbeast form. She must roll Stamina + Heartbeast against an Ease Factor set by the storyguide. As a rule of thumb, 3 + the magnitude of the transforming magic is a reasonable number. If she does resume one of her natural forms, the other magic is dispelled.
Bjornaer magi do not treat physical transformations as major magical effects for the purposes of gaining Warping Points. However, a magical transformation which is maintained over time will grant one Warping Point per year, as it is still a continuing mystical effect. Finally, Bjornaer magi cannot bind familiars. The reasons for this are debated, but the fact is uncontroversial.
Criamon: The Enigma
No one outside House Criamon really understands what their mystery is about. All Criamon magi have a score of one in the Ability Enigmatic Wisdom, and may place experience points in it at character creation. This Ability assists with the comprehension of Wizard’s Twilight, but it also makes the experience more likely. Characters may not learn Enigmatic Wisdom without being initiated into the mystery of the Enigma.
Enigmatic Wisdom
A far-reaching perception of strange and baffling phenomena that helps you understand their nature, though you may seem strange or even ludicrous to the uninitiated. Your score in this Knowledge is added to rolls to interpret dreams and riddles, and to understand phantasms and arcane or mysterious situations. Thanks to this Ability, Criamon magi go into Wizard’s Twilight more often, but survive it better than most. Specialties: interpreting signs, explaining the Enigma, Twilight.
Merinita: Faerie Magic
A character may not be initiated into this mystery unless she has been touched by the fay.
A character is touched by the fay if the powers of faerie have interfered with her life in a substantial fashion. Anyone with a Virtue or Flaw related to the fay qualifies, as does anyone who has gained a Warping Point from a faerie source. Merinita characters without a faerie Virtue or Flaw start with one Warping Point, caused by their parens to qualify them for the mystery.
Characters initiated into Faerie Magic are attuned to both Magical and Faerie auras, and so gain Warping Points from neither. Further, they gain full benefit from both kinds of aura. Magic cast by these magi counts as a fay power, so anyone who gains a Warping Point from one of their spells can be initiated into the mystery.
Initiates of the Outer Mystery gain access to special Ranges, Durations, and Targets. They may use these with Spontaneous, Ritual, and Formulaic magic, although some of them require Ritual magic. Spells created using these parameters can only be learned by characters with Faerie Magic.
Road (Range): The maga may target anyone or anything on the same road or path as her. The identity of roads and paths is not always clear, and the troupe must decide if things are difficult. Two paths may cross each other, but two paths may not become one. In that case, either one path joins the second, or the junction is actually the joining of three paths. The maga need not be able to see her target, but she must be able to sense it somehow, unless the spell is an Intellego effect intended to find out if something is there.
People are only on a road if they are actually between the edges of the path, at least partially. Buildings are on a road if the primary access to the building is from that road. Plants and small objects must be between the edges of the path. For the purposes of spell level calculation, Road is the same level of range as Voice.
Bargain (Duration): A spell with Bargain duration can only be cast on someone who has just concluded a bargain or agreement with the maga. The maga’s Penetration total is doubled, and if the spell penetrates the target’s magic resistance, nothing happens unless the target breaks the bargain. If he does, the spell takes effect without the need to bypass magic resistance again. Bargain spells have a second duration which determines how long the spell lasts after it takes effect. To calculate the level of a Bargain spell, calculate the level of the spell that takes effect when the bargain is broken, and add three magnitudes. The spell can only enforce a bargain for a maximum of a Year.
Fire (Duration): Spells with this duration can only be cast on fires, and they last until the fire targeted goes out. Because the fire is the target, the form of the spell must be Ignem or Imaginem. It is possible that the spell could persist indefinitely if the fire is carefully maintained. Fire is the same level of duration as Moon.
Until (Condition) (Duration): The spell lasts until some condition is met, such as speaking the name of God, or some item is touched with iron, or until a word in a list is said out of place (the days of the week are spoken out of order, for example). Until (Condition) is the same level of duration as Year, and also requires a Ritual spell. Until (Condition) spells cannot normally be dispelled by magic unless that is part of the condition. The ending condition must be specified when the spell is cast. Spells with this duration expire if the caster passes into Twilight, even temporarily, and also expire when the caster or primary target dies.
Year + 1 (Duration): The spell lasts for a year and a day. This is the same level of duration as Year, and also requires a ritual, but the duration is determined by the actual time that passes, rather than by the turning of the seasons. Year + 1 spells can be dispelled according to the normal rules.
Bloodline (Target): A bloodline is all the people descended by blood from a given person, the immediate target. Only the immediate target need be within the spell’s range, but all members of the bloodline are affected immediately. Spouses do not count as part of the bloodline. The spell applies to all members of the bloodline born during its duration, as well as those already living when it is cast. As with all spells that target multiple people, every individual gets magic resistance, if applicable. The category is the same level as Structure. It is possible to design a spell with Bloodline target so that it does not warp any members of a particular bloodline (see “Warping”).
Verditius: Verditius Magic
Verditius magi are initiated into the Outer Mystery of Verditius Magic, which allows them to incorporate craft abilities into their magic. To do this, the magus crafts the item from raw materials as part of the first season of enchanting it. For a talisman or standard invested device, this is the season in which it is opened for enchantment. For lesser enchanted items and charged items, this is the whole process. If crafting the item would normally take the magus a season or less, this does not increase the time required for the enchantment. If crafting the item would normally take more than a season, the process takes a whole number of seasons that is at least as long as the time it would normally take the magus to craft the item. For example, if it would normally take the magus four months to craft the item, then it takes him two seasons to craft and enchant it. No matter how long this takes, it only includes the first season of enchantment.
As part of this process, the magus may add details that enhance the Shape and Material bonus of the item. These details give an additional bonus to all the item's existing Shape and Material bonuses equal to the creating magus's Philosophiae score, for the purposes of enchantment. These bonuses apply in the season that the details are added, as well as in the future. Other uses of Shape and Material bonuses, such as the casting bonuses from a talisman, use the standard bonus. Other magi refer to these details as Verditius Runes, but they are far more complex than that suggests, and do not normally look like actual runes. Other magi get this bonus if they instill appropriate powers into an item created by a Verditius. The total bonus from Shape and Material and Verditius Runes is still limited by the magus's Magic Theory score.
The magus uses the magic of the enchantment to shape the item. This does not require any Craft Ability, although most Verditius magi will use an Ability that they have, and the final form may be impossible to make by mundane means. For example, a Verditius magus could set a gem in a wooden lattice so that the gem cannot be removed without breaking the wood, without having any breaks in the wood to get it in. The final form must be able to sustain itself by mundane means once created; in particular, it must be strong enough to bear its own weight. If the magus is not using Craft Ability and an Ability score is needed, use the magus's Finesse in place of Craft.
However, most Verditius do use mundane craft as part of this process. This is because a magus who does so may add his score in the relevant Craft Ability to all Lab Totals for enchanting that item, both in the first season and in the future. Thanks to his mystical link to the item, this bonus is always his current Craft Ability, even if it has improved since he crafted the item. Note that only one Craft Ability can be added to the Lab Total in a given season, even if the magus has more than one applicable to the item. The applicable Ability may, however, change over time — the magus should add his highest applicable Craft Ability. Other magi adding enchantments to an invested device do not get this bonus, even if they have the same Craft Ability as the creating magus, and even if they are members of House Verditius.
If the magus creates the enchanted item in this way, the number of pawns of vis needed to open the item for enchantment is reduced by the magus's Craft score, to a minimum of one pawn. The magus, or any other magus, may invest effects in the device as if he had paid the full, normal cost to open it.
A Verditius naturally reinforces Verditius Runes as part of the enchantment process, even when working on an item that has already been enchanted, and so if a Verditius working on an enchanted item has a higher Philosophiae score than the earlier Verditius enchanters, the Verditius Rune bonus increases. This also applies if a magus increases his Philosophiae score between seasons of enchantment.
Verditius magi need casting tools to cast Formulaic spells. They make these themselves, in a form that appeals to them, and it only takes an hour or so to make a new one. However, if they lose or cannot reach their tools, they cannot cast their Formulaic spells. Spontaneous spells do not require casting tools, although Flaws hampering Spontaneous magic are very common among the Verditius.
Attribution
Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, 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.