Houses of Hermes: True Lineages

Houses of Hermes: True Lineages

Product Information
Rules Edition:	Fifth
Abbreviation:	HoHTL
Product Type:	Sourcebook
Author(s):	Erik Dahl (Mercere), Timothy Ferguson (Tremere), Matt Ryan (Bonisagus), David Woods (Guernicus)
Publisher:	Atlas Games
Product Number:	AG0277
ISBN:	1-58978-074-4
Release date:	October 2005
Format:	Hardcover or PDF, 144 pages
Availability:	In print; PDF available

Houses of Hermes: True Lineage is an Ars Magica supplement that details the four true lineages of the Order of Hermes: Houses Bonisagus, Guernicus, Mercere, and Tremere.

There is an official product page at the Atlas Games Web site.

Errata

There are errata for Houses of Hermes: True Lineages on the Atlas Games web site.

Subject and Contents

In addition to providing details and special rules for four of the Houses, this supplement also introduced several rules and details of the setting that the Fan Community regards as important, including:

• Original Research
• rules for using Intrigue
• the Seekers
• Interpretation of the Code of Hermes and the Peripheral Code
• Tribunal Procedure
• Mythic Companions and Heroic Virtues and Flaws
• Mutantum Magic
• a timeline for the Order of Hermes
• the Schism War

Table of Contents

• House Bonisagus 4
  • History 4
  • House Organization in 1220 9
  • The Magi of House Bonisagus 16
  • House Utilities (new rules) 21
  • Original Research 26
  • Example Discoveries 30
• House Guernicus 35
  • History 36
  • Organization 42
  • the Code of Hermes 45
  • Tribunal Procedures 56
  • Penalties 59
  • Quaesitorial Duties and Powers 61
  • Guernicus Magi 66
  • Running Stories for a Quaesitor 69
  • Allies 70
  • Quaesitorial Magic 70
  • Fenicil's RItuals 76
• House Mercere 78
  • Mercere the Founder 78
  • Redcaps 81
  • Magical Merceres 94
  • Laboratory Rules 99
  • Magic Rules 101
  • Spells 101
  • Virtues and Flaws 103
• House Tremere 110
  • Symbols 110
  • History 112
  • The House in 1220 116
  • Structure 118
  • Promotion by Force 123
  • Designing Magi of House Tremere 125
  • Dueling 134
  • New Spells 139
  • Shape and Material Bonus Table Additions 139
  • New Virutes 141
• Timeline 144

Opinions & Reviews

The first in the Houses of Hermes series, HoHTL is considered very valuable in that it provides important information on Hermetic society, in particular in its depiction of the Hermetic Law and House Mercere. Its depiction of House Tremere was heralded as a great improvement, cleansing the edition from the Vampiric Tremere of Third Edition and presenting a sensible House not bent on tyranny. The Bonisagus chapter presented rules for Original Research that were somewhat criticized, and were later partially supplanted by the Ancient Magic rules.

What This Book Will Add to Your Game

This book has a lot of information on Hermetic Law and on Tribunal Procedure that is not reprinted elsewhere, so it can be very useful in fleshing out the legal and political workings of the Order of Hermes.

It also contains the rules for Mythic Companions.

Why This Book Might Not Fit Your Game

This is a well-regarded book that tells us a lot about the Order of Hermes. Although it's not perfect, it enjoys wide acceptance in the Fan Community.

If you prefer an Alternative Setting or a heavily modified version of the Order of Hermes, or if you tend to stay away from Hermetic society altogether, then this supplement will have less to offer you.

External Reviews

There are some additional reviews at RPGNet.