Learning Spells
Synopsis
Magi need to learn formulaic spells before they can cast them. Note that a magus can always spontaneously cast a spell even if he has not learned it.
Learning Spells in ArM5
At the time of character creation
At character creation, spells are learned by choosing a sum total of 120 levels of spells before the Gauntlet, and then as many of the additional 30 points earned for each additional year of study as desired.[1]
After character creation
Learning spells is an activity that requires at least one season. A magus can sometimes learn more than one spell in a single season, if the spells are relatively simple compared to his skill in the Arts.
There are several ways to learn spells:
Magi most commonly learn their spells from lab texts. Apprentices learn spells from their parentes, of from lab texts their parentes give them.
Grimoires
A book of spells is often called a grimoire. In ArM5, a grimoire is simply a Lab Text (or set of Lab Texts) written by the spell's inventor. In earlier editions, grimoires were special texts that had to be written separately from the process of inventing the spell.
References
- ↑ Ars Magica Fifth Edition, core Rulebook, pp. 32