Hermetic Projects Chapter One: Wonders of the Hermetic World

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Wonders of the Hermetic World

The magi of the Order of Hermes are among the most powerful practitioners of magic the world has ever seen. They have the power to reshape the land, bind the elements to their will, and hold life and death within their thrall. But while some magi seek to depart from their Hermetic learning by embracing secret mysteries that twist their Gifts, others use Bonisagus’ great theory to its full potential and achieve the truly incredible. This book is for those ambitious magi who see the power and wonder in Hermetic magic, as passed from master to apprentice for generations.

This book presents six grand Hermetic projects that magi, councils ofmagi, or covenants may undertake. The magi undertaking these endeavors need only know the core magical teachings of Bonisagus as presented in the Ars Magica Fifth Edition core rulebook. They require no Mystery Cult initiations, no studious original research, and no discovery of ancient lost secrets. The projects are presented in such a way that any magus inclined to follow them can achieve the intended results

The Hermetic Projects

The Burning City project sees the construction of a covenant in the heart of a volcano. The project moves from setting out to find a volcano to creating Hermetic rituals that transform mountains into new volcanoes; and from ensuring that magi and covenfolk alike can survive in the most inhospitable of environments to spells and devices to control the volcano and its inhabitants, both natural and unnatural.

The Great Tower is perhaps the most audacious project that the world has ever seen. It is by turn a celebration of mankind’s aspirations, and an arrogant affront to God’s Divine order. This project sees the construction of a tower so tall that it might reach into Heaven itself. Angels, demons, passion, and pride all drive this potentially endless project that could consume not just one magi, but generations of them.

The Hermetic Shipyard describes the founding and construction of an Hermetic laboratory in the form of a shipyard. The laboratory is described as per the rules in the Covenants supplement, and enables the magus to complete the second part of this project: the building of an enchanted ship called The Hermes. Effects are described to allow the Hermetic shipwright to build vessels more quickly and more soundly than his mundane rivals. And exotic ships, which are only made possible through enchantment, are also discussed, including ships that sail the skies, that skim the ocean floor, and even those that tack the void between the Magic Realms.

The Intangible Assassin project gives the maga the tools she needs to dominate her foes in Wizard’s War. The chapter describes effects that gather information about an enemy and provide unseen vectors of attack, discusses how to increase the chances of penetrating Magic Resistance, and, of course, tells how to combat and defend against such attacks.

The Living Corpse is the chapter for those magi who see death as something to be cheated and life as a right not to be surrendered lightly. The achievement of immortality is the aim of this Hermetic project. There are Mystery Cults that jealously guard the secret of immortality, but their number is small and their secrets may soon be lost. The effects described in this chapter are open to all magi of Hermes.

Additional Project Ideas

Attribution

Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.