Ancient Magic Chapter Four: Fertility Magic

See Also

• The Ars Magica Reference Document
• The Ancient Magic Open Content page
• The Ancient Magic product page on this wiki

Chapter Four: Fertility Magic

Several millennia ago, a fertility cult was ubiquitous across Mythic Europe. Cult practitioners were, through rituals and spells, able to influence conception to promote desirable traits in children. Remains of the cult, in the form of small fetish statuettes carved to resemble a wide-hipped pregnant woman, can be found in remote caves, but are seldom identified as artifacts of a coherent cultic practice, and are often confused with the relics of Figurine Magic (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, page 33).

Other than the fertility fetishes and a few cave paintings, there are no relics or records of the culture that produced the fertility rituals, so it is unclear exactly who the fertility cult members were: certainly they had been wiped out, or assimilated, long before Rome's legionnaires marched through Europe. The fertility cult may have been part of an antediluvian culture that was destroyed in the flood, and credibility is lent to this theory by the fact that some of the isolated mountain caves the fetish statuettes are found in contain shells and the preserved bones of sea creatures. It is also possible that there were several similar cults — rather than a single, monolithic cult — and given the wide distribution of the fertility fetishes and their apparent independence of any ancient empire, this is even likely.

Cultic Fertility Magic

The original cultic fertility practices are irrecoverable: the surviving relics are simply too diffuse and do not preserve enough knowledge about the cult. Despite the paucity of recoverable information about the fertility cult itself, the ancient fetishes provide enough of a magical record for a Seeker to discover their usage and thus attempt to reconstruct the fertility rituals of the cult. The reconstructed rituals — the product of integration with Hermetic theory — are not the original cultic rituals, however, as they are embedded within the Seeker's Hermetic theory.

Integrating Fertility Magic into Hermetic Theory

A magus may gain Insight into fertility magic by studying an ancient fetish figurine, or a cave painting (see Cave Painting Galleries, below). Additional Insights may be gained, as required, by studying other relics, but a fetish figurine that has been destroyed to extract its vis may not be studied for Insight.

Once the magus has an Insight Lab Text he can begin the process of integration with Hermetic theory, by inventing an effect that deals with birth, pregnancy, or the fertility of women, thereby gaining breakthrough points, as described in the Introduction. Possible Hermetic effects that might be usefully invented include an Intellego Corpus effect that reveals a pregnancy (InCo, base 4) or a Creo Corpus effect that restores a woman's body to her pre-pregnant state (CrCo, base 20). With the storyguide's approval, a non-Hermetic effect, chosen from those below, that utilizes the Range Unborn Child, may be invented during this integration process. However, the Fertility Ritual itself may not be attempted until the appropriate Breakthrough has been achieved.

There are two breakthroughs in fertility magic. The first allows the magus to learn the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore; this is comparatively simple and requires only 15 breakthrough points. The second grants the magus the Minor Hermetic Virtue Fertility Ritual Magic, and is more complex, requiring 35 breakthrough points. There is no need to achieve both breakthroughs, although the Fertility Lore Ability is useful in developing Fertility Rituals.

Story Seed: Ancient Fetish Figurines

Characters exploring cave systems may find fetishes made by ancient fertility cult practitioners. Such a discovery is the most likely method by which a character can learn of the ancient fertility cult. The exact shapes and forms of the fetishes vary considerably — some are carved from animal bone or antlers, others from stone or wood — but all represent a female figure, usually faceless, and are about the size of a fist. Each fetish figurine contains one pawn of Creo vis, but extracting the vis destroys the fetish.

Cave paintings (see Cave Painting Galleries, below) are also sources of information about the fertility cult.

Arcane Ability Fertility Lore

This Ability covers the knowledge of fertility, and can be used to determine fertility and blood relationships between characters. The Arcane Ability Fertility Lore is not a supernatural ability, and the determinations are made via a simple visual inspection, which takes about five minutes to perform. If the character wishes to make the inspection surreptitiously, increase the Ease Factors listed here by 3. Note that as the inspections are purely visual, the character cannot make any determinations about an unborn child using this Ability alone.

New Target: Unborn Child

The Minor Hermetic Virtue Fertility Ritual Magic allows a magus access to a new Target Unborn Child. This Target is equivalent to Individual for the purposes of calculating a spell level, and it may be used to make an unborn child, from the moment of conception until birth, the target of a spell. The magus must be able to sense the mother to target the unborn child, and the mother's Magic Resistance (if any) protects her unborn child.

A roll of Perception + Fertility Lore against an Ease Factor of 3 indicates whether a character is pregnant and what the natural due date is, to within 10% of the remaining time. So, the less time until the birth, the more accurate the estimate, although if magic has altered the length of the pregnancy the estimate may be erroneous.

• A roll of Perception + Fertility Lore against an Ease Factor of 3 determines whether two characters are related or not. The Ease Factor is increased by 1 for each generation of separation between the characters, and modified by a further +3 if the character wants to determine the exact relationship. For example, to identify that two siblings are related the Ease Factor is 3, and to identify a character's grandparent the Ease Factor is 8 (3, + 2 two generations apart, + 3 exact relationship).
• A roll of Perception + Fertility Lore against an Ease Factor of 12 reveals whether a character (male or female) is fertile; remember that characters who use a Longevity Ritual are not fertile.

Books may be written about the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore and it may be studied, practiced, and taught like any other Ability.

Hermetic Magic and Mother and Child

An unborn child, carried in the womb, is difficult for Hermetic magic to target as it is not quite a separate individual. Mainstream Hermetic magic can target a baby in the second trimester, and onwards until birth, as a Part of the mother, but targeting a Part of an Individual increases the magnitude of a spell (see ArM5, page 112). Thus, the Target Unborn Child allows a maga to effect an unborn baby with lower magnitude spells. In addition, mainstream Hermetic magic cannot usually discriminate at all between mother and child in the first trimester. This is a flaw in Hermetic theory, which is circumvented by the integration of fertility magic.

Minor Hermetic Virtue: Fertility Ritual Magic

The magus with this Hermetic Virtue has access to the new Target Unborn Child, and can devise Fertility Rituals that are performed during conception to influence the traits that the child is born with.

New Spells

Some example spells that utilize the Target Unborn Child are printed below. A maga might invent versions of these spells with a Range of Personal to affect her own unborn child, and these spells may be invented during the integration of fertility magic and Hermetic theory.

Midwife's Eye

InCo 5

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Unborn Child

This spell indicates the general health and sex of an unborn child. A Perception + Fertility Lore roll against an Ease Factor of 3 indicates the expected date of birth.

(Base 4, +1 Touch)

The Frozen Womb

MuCo 35

R: Touch, D: Year, T: Unborn Child, Ritual

This Ritual spell freezes the development of an unborn child for a year. The spell does not damage either the child or the mother — although the mother may be seriously inconvenienced by a delayed late-term pregnancy — but both mother and child gain Warping Points due to being under the influence of a constant, high-power mystical effect (see ArM5, page 167).

The spell can be cast at yearly intervals in order to delay a pregnancy for years, or even decades, and versions of this spell with other durations could be used to delay a birth until an astrologically favorable moment.

(Base 10, +1 Touch, +4 Year)

Black Anne's Kiss

PeCo 10

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Unborn Child

This spell wounds an unborn child, causing the fetus to abort. A Stamina stress roll against an Ease Factor of 6 must be made for the mother; if it fails she suffers a Medium Wound.

(Base 5, +1 Touch)

The Promenade of Caesar

ReCo 15

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Unborn Child

This spell transports an unborn child instantly out of his mother's womb, to a distance of up to five paces away. This is normally fatal for the child but does not harm the mother — the spell also removes the placenta. To determine whether the child survives, make a Stamina roll against an Ease Factor of 3 + 3 for each month prior to natural birth. For example, if The Promenade of Caesar is cast on an eight-month-old fetus the Ease Factor is 6. An unborn child has a –4 penalty to his Stamina.

(Base 10, +1 Touch)

New Items

Some example items that utilize the Target Unborn Child are described below. These items may be invented during the integration of fertility magic and Hermetic Theory.

The Mystic's Forceps

MuCo 5

Pen +0, 1/day

R: Touch, D: Conc, T: Unborn Child

These forceps are used during birth, and temporarily reduce the size of the baby as it travels down the birth canal. This greatly speeds and eases the birth process, which means that there is less opportunity for disease-causing demons to wound either mother or child. If the forceps are used to assist birth, they guarantee the birth of a live baby, and prevent any injury or disease from befalling either mother or child due to the birth.

(Effect: Base 3, +1 Touch, +1 Conc; Modifications: None)

Black Anne's Ointment

PeCo 10

Pen +0, charged item

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Unborn Child

When this ointment is smeared over the belly of a pregnant woman, it wounds her unborn baby, which kills it. If the mother is more than one month pregnant, a Stamina stress roll against an Ease Factor of 6 must be made for her, and if it fails she suffers a Medium Wound. Otherwise, the woman suffers no physical harm.

(Effect: Base 5, +1 Touch; Modifications: None)

Potion of Creation

CrCo 30

Pen +0, charged item

R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Unborn Child

When a fertile woman drinks this potion she is guaranteed to conceive if she has intercourse with a fertile man within a day. If the man is not human (a faerie, for example), then the woman still conceives if a stress roll plus her Stamina succeeds against an Ease Factor of 9; such a child inherits some traits from his father.

(Effect: Base 15, +1 Touch, +2 Sun; Modifications: None)

The Fertility Ritual

The Fertility Ritual is a special ritual performed during conception. It is similar to the Longevity Ritual: developing the ritual is a Laboratory activity that takes one season, and this produces a Lab Text describing the Fertility Ritual. Any Gifted character can perform a Fertility Ritual for which he has the Lab Text, and the Lab Text is required to conduct the ritual — this is the only benefit of a Fertility Ritual's Laboratory Text.

The first step to devising a Fertility Ritual is to calculate the maximum number of Trait Points of the ritual. The ritual is worth 1 Trait Point for every 10 points or fraction thereof of the magus's Creo Corpus Lab Total. The magus may receive a bonus to his Lab Total if he has a fertility fetish prepared by the intended mother (see below).

Maximum Trait Points: 1 for every 10 points or fraction of Creo Corpus Lab Total

Next, the traits that the child should manifest are chosen. Each trait costs a number of Trait Points, and the total number of Trait Points cannot exceed the maximum calculated for the ritual.

Trait	Trait Point Cost
Major Virtue or Flaw	3
Minor Virtue or Flaw	1
The Gift	3
Specify gender	1
Specify other general features (e.g., red hair, green eyes)	1
Specify precise features (e.g., child's features are those of the king of France)	3

Virtue and Flaw traits are chosen from the list of Virtues and Flaws (ArM5, page 38). Hermetic Virtues and Flaws can be chosen if The Gift is also chosen, but they may not be accessible to the character until after the Arts are opened during apprenticeship (see ArM5, page 106). In any case, Virtues and Flaws may only be chosen that are inherently a part of a

Example: Fertility Ritual Trait Point Cost

A magus is approached by a noblewoman who wants to commission a Fertility Ritual, so that she may give birth to a son who has Improved Characteristics, is Inspirational, and is Strong Willed. The magus has a Creo Corpus Lab Total of 50, and so therefore may invent a ritual with a maximum number of 5 Trait Points. The Trait Point cost of the ritual that the noblewoman desires is: 1 (Improved Characteristics) + 1 (Inspirational) +1 (Strong Willed) + 1 (a son) = 4. So, the magus can create a ritual to fulfill the commission. Being reflexively devious, the magus secretly adds a Minor Flaw to the ritual: the Minor Personality Flaw Prohibition. He decides that if the son disobeys an instruction by the magus, he is struck by a piercing, migraine headache that lasts for a day; to attempt any complex activity while he has a migraine, a Stamina stress roll against an Ease Factor of 12 must be made. The total Trait Point cost of the ritual is therefore 5 (the maximum that the magus can create), it takes the magus a season to develop the ritual, and 5 pawns of vis must be spent during the performance of the ritual.

character's nature. So, for example, the Minor General Virtue Affinity with Ability is appropriate, but the Minor General Virtue Temporal Influence is not. Social Status Virtues and Flaws are not normally appropriate, but the judgment of the storyguide is the final arbiter as to whether a trait is appropriate or not. Virtues and Flaws detailed in other Ars Magica Fifth Edition supplements may also be taken, with the storyguide's approval.

It takes around half an hour to perform the Fertility Ritual, during which conception takes place. Both of the parents must be fertile (remember that the Longevity Ritual sterilizes a character); the ritual may be performed by one of the parents (if either is Gifted), or it may be performed by a third party, who must be present. Conducting the Fertility Ritual consumes an amount of vis equal to the total Trait Point cost of the desired traits. Usually, the vis consumed is a combination of Creo and Corpus vis but, with the storyguide's permission, other types of vis that match the traits of the child may be substituted. For example, a Fertility Ritual that is intended to grant a child the Major Hermetic Virtue Elemental Magic may use the vis of each element.

Nine months later the child is born and manifests the traits determined by the Fertility Ritual. The ritual is specific to the child, so normally a different ritual must be devised for each performance — although it is possible to repeat the ritual (see below).

The Maga's Own Child

A maga may create a Fertility Ritual to influence the conception of her own child. In this case, the maximum number of Trait Points for the ritual is equal to 1 for every 5 points, or fraction thereof, of Creo Corpus Lab Total. However, this ties the ritual to the maga and it may not be performed for another mother. This bonus only applies to mothers.

Balancing Traits

The Virtues and Flaws determined by the Fertility Ritual do not need to balance. However, if the child is a player character it is recommended that the troupe allows the child to develop additional Virtues and Flaws as he ages, so that by the time he reaches adulthood the traits do balance. The acquisition of a balancing trait could make a good subject for a story.

Supernatural Traits

The traits of the parents are irrelevant to the Fertility Ritual, so it is perfectly possible to choose Supernatural Virtues like Giant Blood, or Faerie Blood, even if neither parent manifests these traits. However, the magus can only develop a ritual granting powers that derive from realms he has a connection to. This means that only a magus with the Faerie Magic Virtue can develop spells that grant Faerie Virtues, like Faerie Blood, and equivalent conditions apply to Divine and Infernal traits. The Gift provides a connection to the Magic realm.

Fertility Fetishes

Fertility fetishes are small representations of a pregnant woman crafted by a woman under the tutelage of a character who has the Ability Fertility Lore. A single fertility fetish may be used to add a bonus to the magus's Lab Total when devising a Fertility Ritual spell. If a fertility fetish is used, then the Fertility Ritual so developed may only be used for a child of the woman who made the fetish.

Fertility Fetish Lab Total Bonus: mother's (Dex + Craft Ability) + supervisor's Fertility Lore Ability

A woman must construct her own fertility fetish, but she may use virtually any Craft Ability that produces a physical artifact. The construction of the fertility fetish occupies the woman for a season, during which time she must be supervised by a character with the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore. The creation of a fertility fetish is automatic, but the skill of the mother and the supervisor does affect the bonus that the magus gains. A character only needs to have the Ability Fertility Lore to supervise the construction of fetishes, and may supervise a number of mothers, per season, equal to up to his Leadership Ability Score. This does not distract him from other work during the season.

A fertility fetish can only be made by a fertile woman, and in the process of creating a fertility fetish, the woman imbues it with her fertility, which infuses the fetish with one pawn

Breakthrough Points from Fetish Creation

A maga who has accomplished the first Fertility Magic breakthrough, and therefore has the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore, may create her own fertility fetish (if she is fertile) as an effect worth 5 breakthrough points towards the second Fertility Magic breakthrough. This does not require any additional Insight, and fetishes created by other characters under her supervision do not generate breakthrough points, nor can they be studied as sources of Insight.

of Creo vis, and prevents her from creating another fetish. The fetish is a permanent Arcane Connection to the mother, and to any children conceived under a Fertility Ritual that utilizes the fetish. Like ancient fetish figurines (see above), which were created for similar reasons, the vis may be extracted from a fertility fetish. This destroys the fetish and renders the woman infertile. However, a fetish may be kept indefinitely, depending on the materials used in construction, and used to assist in inventing Fertility Rituals for a number of children.

Repeating a Fertility Ritual

A Fertility Ritual can only be successfully repeated, without risk, if the original child dies. A reckless magus may, however, experiment with a repeat performance of a Fertility Ritual, or a magus may discover a Lab Text for a Fertility Ritual and perform it without being aware he is duplicating the actions of another. In either case, the magus immediately gains a number of Warping Points equal to half the Trait Point cost of the ritual (round up), which may cause him to enter Wizard's Twilight (ArM5, page 88). The new child, when born, has the Minor Supernatural Flaw Corrupt Fertility Ritual (see insert).

Minor Supernatural Flaw Corrupt Fertility Ritual

The character's conception was influenced by a Fertility Ritual that had already been used to influence the birth of another. The character is physically similar to his predecessor(s), but not identical; he could even be of a different sex or race — as long as those factors were not determined by the ritual. The character has a sympathetic connection to his predecessor(s), and they to him, which provides a +2 multiplier bonus to the Penetration of spells or magical abilities that they use on each other (ArM5, page 84). The character also suffers a –3 penalty on all social interactions (as others perceive that there is something not quite right with the character), and every year, on his birthday, he gains a Warping Point. Upon the death of the character's predecessor(s) he loses the Corrupt Fertility Ritual Flaw, although any Warping Points suffered remain.

Cave Systems

The principal sources of information about Fertility Magic are ancient fetish figurines that are normally found in multi-chambered caves systems, once dwelt in by fertility cult members. The caves are often in isolated areas of Mythic Europe, as it is the isolation of the cave systems that has preserved the relics of the ancient Fertility Magic practitioners — more accessible caves had their treasures looted or despoiled over the millennia. To determine whether a character can find the site of a cave in a particular area, make a Perception + Area Lore roll against an Ease Factor of 18. Of course, the character can only find such a site if the storyguide determines that one is in fact in the local area. As the cult was very pervasive most regions of Mythic Europe contain some examples, although obviously not every single cave in Mythic Europe was used by the fertility cult.

To Find a Suitable Cave System: Per + Area Lore vs. Ease Factor 18

Although there are variations, dictated by the physical structure of the caves, each cave system used by the ancient fertility cult has a similar layout consisting of a series of rooms connected by passageways. Typical rooms include a cooking chamber, sleeping chambers, a birthing chamber, galleries, a refuse pit, and sometimes a burial chamber. The birthing chamber, where fetish figurines are found, is normally at the back of the cave system. Sometimes, there is an aura in the cave system, which is strongest in the galleries, birthing, and burial chambers. The refuse pit is not normally part of the main cave system but is a nearby ravine or pit into which animal bones and other food scraps were dumped. These scraps have decomposed over the millennia prompting the growth of very lush and fertile dells, which are now the telltale sign of a nearby ancient habitation. The super-fertility and the rich diversity of the wildlife in these dells also attracts various nature spirits, and these are frequently found living near the caves once inhabited by the fertility cult.

The ancient fertility magic practitioners were apparently well aware that the fetish figurines they created formed potentially dangerous Arcane Connections to mother and child, and so most figurines were destroyed once the mother passed childbearing age. Other fetish figurines have been destroyed in ignorance to extract the vis that they contain. A few, however, do remain — perhaps forgotten when the cave was hastily abandoned due to some threat, or left untouched when a mother died young and without children — and a typical cave system might contain two or three figurines.

Cave Painting Galleries

Some caves have chambers whose walls are adorned in paintings, drawn in ochre and charcoal, or in some cases scratched directly onto the rock surface. Common representations in these galleries include animals such as deer, ibex, horses, bison, and aurochs; tracings of hands; and abstract diagrams that describe hunting and fertility rituals. These representations were used to teach initiates hunting or fertility skills, and a modern magus can study and learn from these images, too.

A gallery that depicts Fertility Rituals may be investigated by a magus, as a source of the Insight required to integrate fertility magic and Hermetic theory. In addition, a laboratory may be constructed in the gallery, which (in addition to the normal bonuses and penalties for the laboratory) provides a +3 bonus to Creo Corpus Lab Totals (including during the development of a Fertility Ritual). Alternatively, the paintings may be removed from the cave and taken to a remote laboratory (including to a laboratory in another gallery cave), which reduces the Lab Total bonus to +1. Cave paintings that depict hunting rituals provide a +1 bonus to Animal Lab Totals, regardless of where they are installed. A magus may benefit from no more than three different cave paintings, and replications of cave paintings (whether produced via magical or mundane means) cannot be used either as sources of Insight or to provide bonuses to a Lab Total. This is because the cracks, texture, and nature of the cave surface add resonant meaning to the painting, which is not preserved by a mere image. The cave paintings are more than images: they are cultic artifacts.

A mundane mason can successfully remove a cave painting on a Dexterity + Craft Masonry stress roll against an Ease Factor of 15: a botch means that the mason destroys the painting. Once removed, the painting weighs about 400 pounds. Alternatively, a Rego Terram spell similar to Hand of the Antiquarian can be used.

Hand of the Antiquarian

ReTe 15

R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind

The magus traces around a section of stone up to one pace in diameter. That section, to a depth of up to an inch thick, floats out of the wall. While the magus touches the stone, it is effectively weightless.

(Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Stone)

Example Cave Systems

Of course, any magus who starts investigating isolated caves searching for ancient fetishes and cave paintings may encounter the current inhabitants — who may not welcome the intrusion. Anyone or anything may be living in a cave: a faerie, an animal, a magical beast, a demon, or nothing at all. Most are totally unaware of any connection between their cave and the practices of an ancient fertility cult. Exactly what is in any particular cave is entirely at the discretion of the storyguide, but below are some examples of what might be found in different, individual caves.

The Duergar's Cave

This cave has a Faerie aura of 3 and is the home of a bad-tempered faerie named Orpee. Orpee is a Duergar, a race of dwarf faeries who are notoriously malicious towards men, and he works in the smithy of a local faerie lord. Orpee's cave contains two fine galleries; one illustrates a hunting ritual, and the other details a fertility ritual. Orpee is very fond of his galleries and, when he is not at the smithy, spends his time contemplating and carefully protecting the images, which he fears visitors will damage or destroy.

Orpee's wife, a forest sprite named Senna, lives in a fertile dell near the cave, which has a Faerie aura of 2. According to villagers who live in the region near the cave, Senna tends to the plants in the forest and is responsible for planting new trees where old ones have fallen. Senna is jealous of the time that Orpee devotes to his galleries and tries to convince travelers that pass to destroy the galleries while Orpee is at work so he will visit her instead. She is too frightened of Orpee's reaction to attempt this for herself.

The cave contains two ancient fertility fetishes.

Orpee

Faerie Might: 15 (Terram)

Characteristics: Int 0, Per 0, Pre –2, Com –3, Str +4, Sta +3, Dex 0, Qik –1

Size: –1

Age: n/a (40)

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: None

Personality Traits: Angry +3, Reclusive +3, Intolerant +2

Reputations: Angry faerie 4 (local)

Combat:

Bludgeon: Init –1, Attack +6, Defense +4, Damage +6

Soak: +5

Fatigue Levels: n/a

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16)

Abilities: Area Lore 2 (iron deposits), Awareness 3 (underground), Brawl 4 (bludgeon), Carouse 1 (with craftsmen), Craft Ironwork 3 (horseshoes), Faerie Lore 2 (Duergar), Living Language 5 (blacksmithing terms), Stealth 4 (underground), Survival 5 (underground)

Powers:

Iron Glare, 3 points, Init +10, Terram: Orpee can inflict a Medium Wound on anyone with whom he makes eye contact (for a description of targeting effects with Range Eye see ArM5, page 111).

Sense of Iron, 0 points, constant, Terram: Orpee can sense and is aware of precisely where any item made of iron is, within the room where he is.

Equipment: leather apron, metal working tools

Encumbrance: 0

Vis: 1 pawn of Terram in each eye.

Appearance: Orpee is a stocky man with muscular arms wearing simple leather clothes and a sooty leather apron that is hung with a number of metal-working tools. In low light his eyes have a warm orange glow, like dying embers.

Senna

Faerie Might: 10 (Herbam)

Characteristics: Int +1, Per +1, Pre +3, Com +2, Str –2, Sta –2, Dex +3, Qik +1

Size: –1

Age: n/a (30)

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: None

Personality Traits: Jealous +3, Canny +2

Reputations: Forest faerie 4 (local)

Combat:

Dodge: Init +1, Attack n/a, Defense +1, Damage n/a

Soak: –1

Fatigue Levels: n/a

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16)

Abilities: Area Lore 3 (plants), Awareness 4 (forests), Charm 3 (men), Folk Ken 2 (travelers), Guile 3 (Orpee), Faerie Lore 2 (forests), Living Language 5 (plants), Profession Herbalist 4 (growing plants), Stealth 7 (forest), Survival 3 (forest)

Powers:

Into the Trees, 2 points, Init +10, Herbam: Senna can move inside any living plant that is bigger than she is. She is aware of everything about her, as normal, and cannot be harmed when she is inside a plant, but if the plant is destroyed Senna is too. A plant can be destroyed by being either uprooted, or totally consumed by fire. She can leave the plant again at will.

Tender to Plants, 1 point, Init +2, Herbam: Senna may duplicate any Hermetic Creo Herbam spell of magnitude 2 or less.

Speaker to the Trees, 0 points, constant, Herbam: Senna can speak with any living plant.

Equipment: Dress made of leaves

Encumbrance: 0

Vis: 2 pawns of Herbam in her hair. This vis can be harvested without harming Senna, although she might not give permission, and it grows back in spring.

Appearance: Senna is a small, lithe woman with a green tinge to her skin, and long, olive-green hair, which is twisted together into several thick strands that have the appearance of the roots of a young tree. She wears a dress made of: in spring, tiny leaves interspersed with small white flowers; in summer, of lush green leaves; and in autumn, of rustling yellow and orange leaves. In winter her dress disappears entirely which forces her, slightly embarrassed, to spend the season sleeping inside a tree.

The Cave of Lights

The ceiling of this cave system is filled with tiny lights that are in fact tiny magical insects, which glow in the dark like stars. The configuration of the insects on the cave roof actually matches the star field outside the cave, but the star field inside the cave includes extra stars that are invisible to the naked eye. A character can use the cave roof as an astronomical aid and gains a +3 bonus to all Artes Liberales (astronomy) Ability rolls made while within the cave. In addition, twice a year, the insects that represent the positions of Jupiter and Mars may each be harvested for vis and contain one pawn of Rego vis and Perdo vis, respectively. The exact time that this occurs varies from year to year and is different for each planet, but can be determined with a successful Intelligence + Artes Liberales (astronomy) roll against an Ease Factor of 9. The cave contains two fertility fetishes and a gallery that depicts the fertility ritual.

The Worm's Cave

A large and ancient worm, almost 100 feet long, inhabits this cave. The local people greatly fear the worm, especially its frequent forays during inclement weather, when it eats stranded stock and even the occasional shepherd. Once, the worm was a sea creature: it swam into the cave during the flood, and became stranded when the waters receded. Since then, the worm has adapted to living far from the sea; in fact, it has thrived by preying on the livestock of local farmers. The worm no longer desires to return to the sea, but when it rains it does remember the enveloping caress of the sea and ventures from the cave so that it can again feel water flowing over its body. The worm has no knowledge of the Order of Hermes or indeed any other human institutions; its only real concern is for itself and its continued survival. The worm's cave contains three ancient fertility fetishes.

The Flooded Cave

In the millennia since this cave was abandoned by the fertility cult several earthquakes have struck, disrupting the geography of the region. One of the earthquakes caused the diversion of a river, which flooded the cave. Today, the river runs into the cave and drains through a whirlpool in the rear chamber of the cave. The whirlpool, through a network of tunnels, feeds a nearby lake.

A character exploring the flooded cave notices that the water flows, with a rapidly increasing velocity, towards the rear chamber. If he enters the rear chamber he must, each round, make a Strength + Swim roll versus an Ease Factor of 12 to avoid being sucked into the whirlpool. After about ten minutes of bumping and buffeting through the tunnel network, a character that is sucked into (or voluntarily enters) the whirlpool is expelled into the lake. Every minute a Stamina + Swim roll is made for the character versus an Ease Factor of 12; if the roll is failed the violent buffeting inflicts a +15 injury (see ArM5, page 181). In addition, the character may take damage and drown due to lack of air (see ArM5, page 180). The cave system contains two fertility fetishes that can be retrieved from inside the flooded tunnel network.

The Bone Cave

This cave system has a single entrance formed by a fissure in the side of a mountain, and is currently used as a burial site by a group of villages that are clustered together in the shadow of the mountain. The villagers have been using the cave for this purpose for centuries, and now the cave is filled with the skeletal corpses of their ancestors. Roman missionaries who adapted their own rituals, to ease the villagers' doubts about conversion, preserved this eccentric burial ritual when they converted the region to Christianity.

The villagers would be very displeased to find a magus interfering with the remains of their ancestors. In addition, the priest, who preaches from a church in the largest village, fears that the presence of the characters will annoy the local saint whose bones are also interred in the cave, and so tries to rally the villagers against the intruders. The saint's bones are housed in a shrine at the back of the cave, in what was once the fertility chamber. The villagers' veneration of the saint has generated a Divine aura of 4 in the cave, and it contains three ancient fertility fetishes.

The Worm in the Cave

Magic Might: 35 (Aquam)

Characteristics: Int –1, Per +1, Pre –2, Com –2, Str +5, Sta +7, Dex +3, Qik +3

Size: +7

Age: n/a (30)

Confidence Score: 2 (10)

Virtues and Flaws: None

Personality Traits: Secretive +3, Selfish +2

Reputations: Evil worm that lives in a cave and causes storms 6

(local)

Combat:

Grapple in Coils: Init +3, Attack +10, Defense +5, Damage +10

The worm attacks by attempting to envelope and disable prey by grappling them in its coils. This is resolved using the non-lethal combat rules (ArM5, page 174). Once its prey is unconscious the worm swallows it. This action, when complete, kills the prey. It takes half an hour to swallow a Size –1 character, an hour to swallow a Size 0 character, two hours to swallow a Size +1 character, and six hours to swallow a Size +2 character. The worm cannot swallow larger characters and smaller characters are swallowed almost instantly.

Soak: +15

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0/0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–12), –3 (13–24), –5 (25–36), Incapacitated (37–48)

Abilities: Area Lore 5 (ambush sites), Awareness 5 (movement), Brawl 5 (grapple), Hunt 7 (prey lost in a storm), Magic Lore 3 (worms), Living Language 5 (shepherd terminology), Stealth 6 (hiding), Survival 10 (local area), Swim 10 (great depths)

Powers:

Wound the Sky, 10 points, Init, Aquam: The worm can call up an immense deluge that causes rain to fall from the sky for a duration of Sun, over an area about ten miles in diameter. It is virtually impossible for a normal individual to move about during the deluge, and for each character out in the open, a Stamina roll against an Ease Factor of 12 is made every ten minutes. If the roll is failed the character loses a Fatigue level, and any character that becomes Unconscious likely drowns. The deluge also causes rivers in the area to flood, which can cause damage that lasts for years.

Wisdom of Water, 2 points, Init +2, Aquam: The worm may duplicate any Hermetic Intellego Aquam spell of level 25 or less.

Reform Body, 1 point, Init +5, Animal: The worm can reduce a wound it has sustained by one level each time this power is used: a Medium Wound becomes a Light Wound and so forth. The only way to prevent the worm from repairing a wound is to completely slice through its flesh, by inflicting an Incapacitating Wound and then physically separating the segments before the worm can start to reconnect them — which it does by reducing the Incapacitating Wound to a Heavy Wound.

Vis: 10 pawns of Aquam.

Appearance: The worm is 100 feet long, 5 feet in diameter, and covered in bony, segmented armor that originally protected the worm from the pressure of the ocean depths. The worm has no visible sense organs, but a gaping, toothless maw. In fact, the worm senses through delicate tendrils along the length of its body, which detect changes in pressure. Although these work well, the worm has a –3 penalty when making rolls to sense stationary targets. The worm attacks by enveloping its prey in its coils, constricting the prey until dead, and then slowly swallowing the body.

Consequences of Fertility Magic

The introduction of the Fertility Ritual to the Order of Hermes could result in interesting stories, and some possibilities are described below. Exactly which, if any, of these stories come about in your saga should depend upon the actions of the magi who develop fertility magic, and on the scope of your saga. In any case, there are probably factions within all of the Houses of the Order of Hermes that will want to take advantage of the development of Fertility Ritual spells.

• A Bonisagus Archmage offers a large amount of vis, or a number of valuable books, in return for being taught the Fertility Ritual Magic Virtue. The Archmage wants to breed a number of Gifted apprentices with interesting combinations of traits.
• A wealthy noble seeks out the magus to commission a Fertility Ritual to assist in the conception of an heir. His brother, who otherwise stands to inherit, learns of this and tries to prevent the magus from successfully inventing or performing the Fertility Ritual. Obviously, the magus also runs the risk of censure for interference in the affairs of the mundanes.
• A Mercere magus learns the Fertility Ritual Magic Virtue and develops a new Breakthrough to create Creo Animal Fertility Ritual variants, which he uses to create fantastic riding mounts for Redcaps.
• The magi of an isolated covenant learn the Fertility Ritual Magic Virtue and set about creating and training an array of servants with optimal traits — including guards, assassins, courtesans, spies, and merchants. Depending upon the breadth of their ambitions the magi may have also researched a method of insulating themselves from the Warping effect of repeated performance of a Fertility Ritual. When the plans of the magi are brought to the attention of the broader Order they claim that this veritable army is a defensive contingency only, but an investigating Quaesitor fears that a massive attempt to interfere in the mundane world has been uncovered.
• Rumors of the Order of Hermes's discovery of the Fertility Ritual reaches the Papacy in Rome, and a Dominican monk, carrying a letter of Inquisition, is tasked with investigating the Order of Hermes. The Church is concerned at both the revival of what it sees as pagan birthing rituals, and the prospect of an alarming explosion in the number of Gifted.

St. Anna-Marie

St. Anna-Marie was a girl who lived in one of the nearby villages 200 years ago. At the time, the local lord had imposed a harsh tax regime on the villages, which they were unable to meet, due to a poor harvest. Unconvinced, or unmoved, by the villagers' claims of poverty, the lord sent his soldiers into the village to collect the unpaid taxes by force. A tense stand-off between the soldiers and the men of the village was miraculously defused by Anna-Marie's offer to return with the soldiers to the lord's castle so that she could plead for the village. Several weeks passed and then, to the villagers' delight, Anna-Marie returned accompanied by the lord's stonemason. Anna-Marie had prayed for the deliverance of her village on the journey to the castle and, upon her arrival, she not only shamed the lord into granting the village a tax reprieve, but also convinced him to send his stonemason to build a church for the villagers. All the villagers helped with the construction of the church, and it was rapidly completed. Over the next few years, the harvests improved and the village was able to meet the more reasonable tax demands of the lord, who frequently attended mass at the new church. Anna-Marie spent the rest of her life cleaning the church and cooking for the itinerant priests who preached to the village. Upon her death she was interred in the bone cave, and since then she has been venerated by the villagers.

Divine Might: 25

Characteristics: Int +5, Per +5, Pre +5, Com +5, Str n/a, Sta n/a, Dex n/a, Qik n/a

Size: 0

Age: n/a

Confidence Score: 2 (10)

Virtues and Flaws: None

Personality Traits: Pious +3, Attentive +2, Benevolent +2

Reputations: Saint 6 (local), Saint 2 (ecclesiastical)

Combat: n/a

Soak: n/a

Fatigue Levels: n/a

Wound Penalties: n/a

Abilities: None

Powers:

Tomorrow's Bounty, 2 points, Init +0, Herbam: This power allows the saint to instantly create enough food to feed a large crowd — often sacks of grain or baked loaves of bread.

Terrify the Unbeliever, 2 points, Init +18, Mentem: This curse causes fear in the target, making him terrified of the saint and her power and forcing him to flee. A Brave or equivalent Personality Trait roll of Ease Factor 12 is needed to overcome this terror, which lasts until dawn.

Acknowledgement of Evil, 1 point, Init +10, Vim: This power forces any demon within Voice Range of the petitioner to declare his Infernal nature, loudly stating that he is a demon. The Penetration of this miracle (Divine Might – 5) must equal or exceed the demon's Infernal Might for it to be effective.

Equipment: white robes

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Vis: 0

Appearance: St. Anna-Marie does not usually appear to the faithful, but when she does choose to it is as a young girl, aged about 13, dressed in a simple, pure white robe, accompanied by a delicate, but unidentifiable, perfume.

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