Houses of Hermes
In most Ars Magica sagas, the Order of Hermes consists of twelve "houses". (Depending on the time period of the saga, there may be thirteen instead, plus any unofficial Houses the players may have invented for themselves)
Houses are groups of magi who are somehow related; they are something like noble families, though their members (usually) trace their lineage through apprenticeship rather than blood.
A French version of this page is available: Maisons d’Hermès
The Twelve Houses
- House Bjornaer : A Mystery Cult descended from Germanic magi and capable of taking the form of an animal called the "heartbeast."[1]
- House Bonisagus : A True Lineage decended from the founder of the Order. This house is a mix of magical researchers and statesmen.
- House Criamon : A Mystery House of enigmatic magi who frequently work in riddles and question the nature of reality.
- House Ex Miscellanea : An eclectic House of magi from many different traditions, some of them non-Hermetic. In ArM5, this is a Societas.
- House Flambeau : A Society of warrior magi, often specializing in the Arts of Ignem or Perdo.
- House Guernicus : A True Lineage of Quaesitors, the judges of the Order. In ArM4 and earlier, it was known as House Quaesitor.
- House Jerbiton : A Society of magi interested in Mundane culture, arts and society.
- House Mercere : The messengers and merchants of the Order, this True Lineage includes many unGifted redcaps and some magi.
- House Merinita : A Mystery Cult interested in the Faerie Realm.
- House Tremere : A highly organized, hierarchical House with strong political influence. In ArM5, it is a True Lineage.
- House Tytalus : A Society of magi whose members share a philosophy of thriving on conflict.
- House Verditius : A Mystery House whose members excel in making enchanted devices.
The Thirteenth House
In addition, earlier in the history of Mythic Europe, there was a thirteenth House called House Diedne. It was destroyed in the Schism War. House Diedne is also referred to as the Nameless House.[citation needed]
References
Fifth Edition
The categorization of Houses into True Lineages, Societates, and Mystery Houses was introduced. (ArM5, p. 223)
In Fifth Edition, House Quaesitor was renamed to House Guernicus.
The following Fifth Edition supplements relate to Houses:
- Houses of Hermes: True Lineages covering House Bonisagus, House Guernicus, House Mercere and House Tremere.
- Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults covering House Bjornaer, House Criamon, House Merinita, and House Verditius.
- Houses of Hermes: Societates covering House Flambeau, House Jerbiton, House Tytalus, and House Ex Miscellanea.
Interim between Third Edition and Fourth Edition
Wizards of the Coast published a supplement that described the Houses in detail: Houses of Hermes. It billed itself as a Fourth Edition source book, but was published before any Fourth Edition core rule book. When Atlas Games began the Fourth Edition line, Houses of Hermes was considered mostly compatible.
Second Edition
Houses were described in the Second Edition supplement, Order of Hermes
First Edition
Houses did not exist in First Edition. Magi were generally categorized by their favored Arts instead.
Citations
- ↑ Ars Magica Fifth Edition, p. 11, "House Bjornear"
The edit history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:houses_of_hermes.