Spell Mastery

Spell Mastery represents a way to focus on the perfection of a particular formulaic or ritual spell.

Spell Mastery Ability

In ArM5, Spell Mastery is a special family of Abilities. There is one Ability for each formulaic or ritual Spell. Magi can learn Spell Mastery in the same ways they learn any other Abilities: for example, from books.

Benefits

The Spell Mastery Ability adds to a magus's Casting Total when he casts that spell, and decreases the number of botch dice he must roll, possibly decreasing the botch dice to zero.

In addition, for each level in the Spell Mastery Ability for a particular spell, the magus gains one special ability he may use in casting that spell, making its casting easier, more powerful or more convenient in some significant way.

A Note On Terminology

It is easy to confuse the terms when learning about Spell Mastery. There are three related concepts that should nonetheless be clearly distinguished from each other.

The Learned Spell (Formulaic or Ritual)

In Ars Magica Fifth Edition terminology the spells proper are not considered Abilities. They must, of course, be learned (individually) before Mastery can exist. It is possible and in fact usual for Magi to know a number of Spells that they have not Mastered.

The Spell Mastery Ability (for that specific Spell)

Or simply Mastery Ability. It is learned (and bought) separately for each Spell. As noted above, Mastery of a specific spell adds to the Casting Total and reduces the number of both dice applied, potentially removing them entirely. In other words, Mastered Spells are more powerful, safer and more reliable than they would otherwise be.

Each Mastered Spell will have its Mastery bought separately, quite often with varying levels of Mastery for different spells.

Most Magi will also have a number of Spells that they have learned but not Mastered.

The Mastered Spell Special Ability

The operative word is Special; Mastery goes beyond simple efficiency and reliability and always confers at least one special benefit to Casting.

These Special Abilities are not bought separately. They exist as a special effect and benefit from each level of Mastery for a specific Spell, and are paid in full by the Mastery Ability itself.

It is possible and in fact usual to have several simultaneous such benefits for a single Spell, as long as the level of Mastery for that Spell exceeds 1.

Different Mastered Spells can (and very often do) have wildly different sets of Special Abilities, even if they have been learned by the very same Magus.

Mastered Spell Special Abilities

The following special abilities are available to any caster:

• Fast Casting, ArM5 87
• Imperturbable Casting, Houses of Hermes: Societates 33
• Magic Resistance, ArM5 87
• Multiple Casting, ArM5 87
• Obfuscated Casting, HoHS 34
• Penetration, ArM5 87
• Precise Casting, HoHS 33
• Quick Casting, HoHS 34
• Quiet Casting, ArM5 87
• Still Casting, ArM5 87
• Apotropaic Mastery, Realms of Power: The Infernal 122
• Unraveling, HoHS 129, used within the Line of Pralix
• Rebuttal, HoHS 129, used within the Line of Pralix

Cult of Mercury Abilities

The Cult of Mercury teaches certain exclusive spell mastery abilities to its members:

• Adaptive Casting, Houses of Hermes: True Lineages 99, reprinted Houses of Hermes: Societates 34
• Ceremonial Casting, HoHTL 99, reprinted in The Mysteries Revised Edition 38 and HoHS 34; note that this ability has escaped the Cult's clutches, and is "spreading quickly through House Jerbiton" (HoHS 60).
• Disguised Casting, HoHTL 99, reprinted HoHS 34
• Lab Mastery, HoHTL 100, reprinted HoHS 34
• Learn From Mistakes, HoHTL 100, reprinted HoHS 34
• Stalwart Casting, HoHTL 100, reprinted HoHS 34

Mutantes Abilities

The Mutantes can learn additional spell mastery special abilities that simulate the Virtues of their lineage:

• Boosted Casting, HoHTL 99
• Harnessed Casting, HoHTL 99
• Tethered Casting, HoHTL 100

Quaesitorial

Quaesitorial training allows access to a new spell mastery special ability,

• Acute Sense, HoHTL 71

Goetic

Magi who have studied the Goetic Arts may use the following spell mastery special ability,

• Goetic Mastery, Realms of Power: The Infernal 124

Example from ArM5

The core Rulebook for Ars Magica Fifth Edition presents an example Magus, Darius of Flambeau. Darius has the Flawless Magic Virtue described in ArM5 p. 42, and for that reason every single spell that he has learned is automatically Mastered to at least Level 1.

Darius has an unusually high number of learned (and in his case, Mastered) spells for a starting character - well over twenty. His character concept gives him priority to efficiency in combat situations, and therefore many of his spells are based on the Perdo Technique and Mastered with either Fast Casting or Penetration among their Mastered Special Abilities.

There are however exceptions; a few of his learned spells have instead the Mastered Special Abilities of Quiet Casting (sometimes taken twice for the same spell) and Magic Resistance (sometimes combined with Penetration for the same spell when the spell has been learned with Mastery 2 or higher). A couple of spells have been learned with Mastery 3 and taken as their Special Abilities Quiet Casting x 2 and Still Casting.

Spell Mastery in Previous Editions

Mastered spell special abilities were introduced in ArM5. In previous editions, spell mastery existed, but the rules didn't confer any special variations on the effects of the spell

References

• ArM5, p. 42 (Flawless Magic Virtue), 46 (Mastered Spells Virtue), 86.

Legacy Pages

This page is derived from two earlier pages:

• The history of the page "Spell Mastery" before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:spell_mastery
• The history of "Mastered Spell Special Ability" before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:mastered_spell_special_ability