Books

In Ars Magica, texts see heavy use in the communication and study between magi. Books are usually written in Latin, and a basic competency with the alphabet (via Artes Liberales) and language (a score of 4 or 5) is expected to read or write a book.

A given book may be represented mechanically by any number of elements, each providing a benefit from reading it - typically experience points in a given topic. There are three basic kinds books in ArM5, described in the core rulebook:

Tractatus: Allow the reader to gain their Quality as experience points in an Ability or Art.

Summa: Likewise, but only if the reader's level is lower than the Summa's Level.

Laboratory Text: Aids in recreating the magical effect it describes.

Most books probably contain only one element. However, it is possible for a book to contain many. Each element is then treated separately, as if it was an independent book. For example, a troupe might include the following in the covenant's library:

: De arte venandi cum avibus (Tractatus on Hunt, Quality 9; Summa on Animal Handling Level 4, Quality 9; Summa on Magic Lore Level 2, Quality 9.) Written by Frederic II von Hohenstaufen, this is a masterful treatise on falconry and the art of the hunt, and contains a rich illustrated encyclopedia of the beasts (magical and mundae) of Mythic Europe.

Using this book, a reader might peruse the Hunt tractatus within this book for one Season, and later spend another season reading the Animal Handling summa. Note that it is impossible for another reader to read the book while the character is using it, even if he is using another element of it. In-game, the book is usually a continuous whole, and the division into elements is only on the game-mechanics level, so that you can't rip-apart different sections of the book to serve as separate elements and stand-alone books.

While such complicated, many-element books are in canon, for simplicity many sagas may opt to maintain a one-book-one-element policy.

Expanded Book Rules

The supplement Covenants provides expanded book rules, introducing new book types and more options. The new types of works include,

Casting Tablet: Allows the reader to cast a spell from the text (see Covenants ??).

Correspondence: Letters between magi (see Covenants ??), that function effectively as a tractatus.

Commentary: A tractatus written on the basis of an earlier work, usually an authority. Many tractatus would be written as commentaries, as this increases their Quality.

In addition, several new options are presented for writing:

Congregational: A bombastically large book, often written for communal or public reading.

Craftmanship: Low levels of craftmanship can lower the effective quality of a work. Supposedly, well-established covenants use skilled craftesmen to fashion their books, while young Spring covenants use poorer-quality books.

Palimpsest: It is possible to write the book on a poor-quality, reused, parchment.

Resonant Materials: Incorporating exotic materials through magic can increase the Quality of the text. Supposedly, many valuable Hermetic works use resonant materials.

Gloss: It is possible to gloss a summa to increase its quality. Supposedly, most valuable summas have been glossed.

• Folio, collecting Laboratory Texts (see HoHTL 22, Covenants ??).

Florigelium: A carefully-chosen collection of Tractatus (see Covenants ??).

In the post-Covenants setting, then, a book is characterized in many ways. The above book, for example, might be written down as follows:

: De arte venandi cum avibus (Tractatus on Hunt, Quality 10; Summa on Animal Handling Level 4, Quality 10; Summa on Magic Lore Level 2, Quality 10. This book is wonderfully crafted and illustated (+3). Written with (Com +3), in Latin, the summas are Glossed (to Com +4). The Hunt tractatus serves as a Commentary on the Animal Handling summa (+1).) Written by Frederic II von Hohenstaufen, this is a masterful treatise on falconry and the art of the hunt, and contains a rich illustrated encyclopedia of the beasts (magical and mundane) of Mythic Europe.

Covenants also introduced new ways to categorize books, and new books types.

• Branch: A masterful high-level Summa.
• Root: A masterful low-level Summa.
• Vain: A book written to below accepted levels of Quality.
• Fine: A book written to accepted levels of Qualtiy.
• Exemplar: A book written to be copied from.
• Juvenelia: A poor copy, typically by young magi.

The affect of all these expanded rules is that maximum, and therefore effective, Quality tends to increase slightly, as does the book-keeping complexity. However, this is balanced by a lower Quality for starting covenants and a richer, more flavorful, treatment of books.

Many in the Fan Community saw the expanded book rules as somewhat excessive, and introduce them only partially or with modifications to their sagas. The craftmanship rules insert extra book-keeping for very little return, as do the mutually-excluding gloss/commentary/florigelium options. The use of resonant materials seems extravagant and exceedingly expensive to some, and too easy for others. Only the poorest covenants would have cause to produce or purchase books using the lower-quality options such as using a palimpsest, so that this detail too seems redundant. Despite this, the expanded book rules provide a rich mix of options and ideas for those who want to use them.

Other Books and Options

Certain other rules expand on books, adding more options to writing them and new categories of books.

• Vulgar Alchemy allows magi to discover new Shape and Material bonuses. When writing a tractatus on Magic Theory, practitioners of this mystery may write about the new bonus, which allows other magi to read the tractatus and use it.
• Books can be used to disseminate the integration of Original Research, Ancient Magic, or Hedge Magic into Hermetic magic. Lab texts incorporating new ranges and durations which are minor breakthroughs, or fully integrated great breakthroughs, disseminate these discoveries to their readers. A new Ability due to a Major Breakthrough may be taught by a book on it.
• Houses of Hermes: True Lineages offers a new type of book, the Folio. This is a collection of Lab Texts and Tractatus, along with biographical notes and comments. Reading an element in the collection provides experience in Order of Hermes Lore as well the usual benefit.

Canonic Books

There are a number of books detailed in the canon. These include

• The Travels of Fedoso, HoHMC 55.
• The works of Elaine of Flambeau (including works on Ignem, Penetration, Magic Theory, and Philosophiae) on HoHS 9. These include the titles Ars Flambonis, Ultor, liber de Lumine, De Magica Sympathetica, and De Potestae et Obligatione.
• The Analects of Tytalus (covering House Tytalus Lore and Order of Hermes Lore, as well as Philosophiae) on HoHS 74
• The legendary "Herbal of Crateuas" is mentioned on HoHS 124, a work on Medicine, Apothecary, and Mythic Herbalism.
• Principia Magica, the authority on Magic Theory, on GotF 57.
• A number of Christian books are described in Realms of Power: The Divine page 86. These include works on Theology, Church Lore, Dominion Lore, and Philosophiae. Titles include The Bible, Sentences (by Peter the Lombard), The City of God (by St. Augustine of Hippo), Consolations of Philosophy (by Boethius) and The Celestial Hierarchy (by Dionysius the Areopagite).

References

• The core treatment of book is in ArM5 ??.
• Covenants provides the expanded rules in Covenants ??.

See Also

• For related spells see Covenants 96-97, 99-100. For a discussion of magically copying books, see [1].
• Books can also be used for Research. A related concept is Realia.
• For enchanting books, see TMRE 92.
• Any number of things can function effectively like a book. These include supernaturally-flavored libraries like ghosts or reflecting mirrors, and the Final Transmission of a Criamon magus.

Legacy Page

The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:books