Ars Magica 5E Standard Edition, Chapter Thirteen: Bestiary

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Chapter Thirteen: Bestiary

Creatures in an Ars Magica game serve a variety of purposes. The simplest is something to fight, but this may not be the most common. Most mystical creatures are intelligent, and thus can be bargained with, talked to, or even come to the player characters for help. It’s at least as interesting to have a dragon ask the characters to defeat a knight, as to have a knight ask the characters to defeat a dragon. It is best to think of creatures as characters in the game, rather than as obstacles to be overcome.

In most cases, the storyguide will want to create creatures that fit a particular role in his story, so this chapter provides a range of examples from the four realms, to help spark your inspiration. This doesn’t even approach an exhaustive listing of possible creatures, and the creatures given here might well not exist in your game. All but one of the example creatures are individuals, rather than types, although there might be a number of very similar creatures around.

Creature statistics are very similar to human statistics. The main differences are the Might Score, which determines the overall power of the creature and indicates the realm to which it is affiliated, and creature Powers, which work differently from supernatural abilities possessed by humans. Both of these differences are described below.

Creature Might

Mystical creatures have one of Divine Might, Infernal Might, Magic Might, and Faerie Might, depending on the realm to which they are affiliated. Might Score is very important, as it provides Magic Resistance, fuels the creature’s powers, and determines the Penetration of those powers. The higher the Might Score, the more powerful the creature.

All powers have a Might cost, although sometimes it is zero. A creature that hasn’t used any powers recently has a Might Pool equal to its Might Score. To use a power, it spends the appropriate number of points from the Might Pool. If the Might Pool doesn’t have enough points in to use a power, the creature cannot use that power.

Might Pools almost always refresh to the creature’s Might Score over the course of a day. Unless otherwise noted, the Pool refreshes at a constant rate, so that a creature with a Might Score of 25 regains a point in a little under an hour. If a creature’s pool refreshes in a different manner, this is noted in the creature’s description.

Creature Magic Resistance works against all forms of mystical power, just like Hermetic Magic Resistance. It is equally helpless against direct Divine miracles.

CREATURE MAGIC RESISTANCE

Might Score

Creature Powers

Creature powers are not Hermetic spells, and thus are not bound by the restrictions of Hermetic magic. For a start, they do not have levels. Instead, every power has a Might cost, which is deducted from the creature’s Might Pool when the power is used. Further, creature powers need not use the standard Hermetic ranges, durations, and targets. Nevertheless, Hermetic spells are a good source of inspiration for creature powers, and “like this spell, apart from …” is a very good way to describe a new power.

The format for a creature power is as follows:

• Power Name, X points, Init Y, Form: Description.

The name is simply descriptive. X is the number of points the creature must spend from its Might Pool to use the power. Init is the Initiative modifier for the power; this determines when it is used in combat. The Form is the Hermetic Form that provides Magic Resistance against the power.

The description is everything else; what the power does, and the game mechanics, if necessary, for its effects.

The Penetration of a creature’s powers depends on the creature’s Might Score and on the number of points spent to use the power.

REATURE POWER PENETRATION

Might Score – (5 x Might Point cost of the power) + Penetration Bonus

The Penetration Bonus is calculated in exactly the same way as for Hermetic magi (see page 84), so if the creature does not have the Penetration Ability, it is zero. Some creature powers can be dispelled, if they have continuing effects. Their effective level is equal to the Might Score of the creature.

CREATURE POWER LEVEL FOR DISPELLING

Creature’s Might Score

Creature Format

The format for a creature is very similar to the format for a character, and uses a lot of the same rules and values. In most cases, if a line does not apply, it is omitted. Sometimes it is left in, with an explanation of why it does not apply, if that would be clearer.

• (Realm) Might: The creature’s Might Score. For mundane creatures, this line is omitted. The Form with which the creature is associated, for warding purposes, appears in brackets after the Might Score.
• Characteristics: A list of the characteristics and values. Creatures with animal intelligence have a Cunning (Cun) score rather than an Intelligence score
• Size: The creature’s size. Size 0 is the same size (volume, and thus normally roughly mass) as an adult human being. An increase or decrease of three points of Size is approximately equivalent to a factor of ten change in size.

Size Examples

Size	Examples
-10	Mouse
-8	Rat
-5	Rabbit
-3	Baby, cat
-2	Child, medium dog, sheep
-1	Adolescent human, large dog, wolf
0	Adult human, pig
+1	Big human, pony
+2	Horse
+3	Aurochs
+4	Elephant
+7	Small dragon

• Age: The creature’s actual age, with the apparent age in brackets. (See “Long-Term Events,” page 168, for aging rules and apparent age.) This is often irrelevant for creatures.
• Decrepitude: The creature’s number of Decrepitude points. These are gained from aging, and described on page 170. This is often irrelevant for creatures.
• Warping Score: The creature’s Warping Score, with the number of excess Warping Points in brackets. See “Warping,” on page 167, for more details. Creatures with Might do not have Warping Scores, as they are already part of a realm, but mundane creatures can have one.
• Confidence Score: The creature’s Confidence Score, with the number of Confidence Points in brackets. Important creatures, just like important characters, have Confidence.
• Virtues and Flaws: All the creature’s Virtues and Flaws, if it has any. Creatures commonly do not, as Virtues and Flaws are designed for human characters. These are all described in the Virtues and Flaws chapter. Creatures cannot have Status Virtues or Flaws, so the list starts with the Major Virtues, in alphabetical order, followed by Minor Virtues, alphabetically, Major Flaws, alphabetically, and Minor Flaws, also arranged in alphabetical order. A very few creatures do have The Gift, in which case it appears first, as normal. Only creatures with Magic Might can have The Gift, as it is an ability tied specifically to the Magic Realm.
• Personality Traits: The creature’s personality trait, and scores.
• Reputations: Details of the creature’s reputations, if any.
• Combat: The combat statistics for modes of attack and weapons that the creature uses often.
• Soak: The creature’s Soak score.
• Fatigue Levels: A listing of the creature’s Fatigue levels and penalties, which represent how tired the creature is. A notation of 0/0 indicates that the creature has two Fatigue levels that impose no penalty, –1/–1/–1 indicates three Fatigue levels that impose a –1 penalty. The penalty from Fatigue is always the penalty imposed by the least-tired remaining level, so a creature with three –1 Fatigue levels has a Fatigue penalty of –1 from when it loses its last 0 Fatigue level until it loses the third –1 Fatigue level. Fatigue is described on page 178. Not all creatures can tire.
• Wound Penalties: Shows the penalties for wounds of varying severity, with the number of points of damage required to inflict a wound of that severity shown in brackets. Not all creatures can be wounded.
• Abilities: All of the creature’s Abilities, in alphabetical order. The format is Ability X (Y) (specialization), where X is the score in the Ability and (Y) is the number of experience points spent towards the next level.
• Equipment: The creature’s stuff.
• Encumbrance: The creature’s Encumbrance, with the creature’s Burden in brackets. The rules for Encumbrance are on page 178.
• Powers: The creature’s powers, in the format Power Name, X points, Init Y, Form: Description. (See above.)
• Vis: The type, amount, and location of any vis in the creature.

Creating Creatures

When creating creatures for use in your own saga, you have a great deal of freedom. The first thing to remember is that, if during play you realize that you have assigned the wrong numbers to some of the creature’s statistics, you are allowed to change them during the game. Thus, you do not need to worry about getting the numbers exactly right; it’s much more important to have the concept right, and have powers, Abilities, and Characteristics that do the right sort of thing.

The first step is coming up with a concept. The magical spirit that is the Rhine is very different from a faerie who mends shoes left out overnight, and different again from a demon who tempts people to blasphemy. An important part of the concept is the intended role with respect to the player characters. If the player characters are supposed to be able to defeat the creature in combat, you need to make sure its statistics are low enough. On the other hand, if the player characters are supposed to have no chance in a fight, you should make the statistics high.

Powers should be defined on the basis of what you think is interesting. If a power proves to be a problem, you can easily change it during play, so, again, you shouldn’t worry too much. Creature powers can break the limits of magic, no matter what realm they are connected to, and you don’t even have to explain to the other players how a particular power works. As long as you keep things interesting and fun, the players aren’t likely to be worried about details anyway.

There are a few things worth bearing in mind when picking the numbers.

Might: Might Score is very important. A Might Score of 20 indicates that starting magi will have a lot of trouble affecting the creature with magic. A Might Score of 40 is enough to cause problems for a middle-aged magus, and a Might Score of 60 makes life difficult for even powerful magi. A Might Score of 75 renders the creature almost immune to Hermetic magic; casting totals over 75 are very rare indeed, even before subtracting the spell level.

A Might Score high enough to stop the player magi using spells that kill or inflict serious wounds is a good way to make sure that a climactic battle lasts more than a round, especially if combined with a good Soak score, or other strong combat abilities. A relatively high Might Score is also a good way to motivate the magi to gather Arcane Connections, horoscopes, and images, so that they can boost their Penetration as high as possible.

Combat Statistics: If you do not intend the creature to get into a fight, you don’t need to work these out in advance. If it is intended to fight, these need to be set by comparison with the player character combat statistics. In general, the creature should be a bit weaker than the force likely to attack it; if the grogs fight as a trained group, this means that the creature should be a lot more powerful than an individual grog.

Powers: The Might cost of a power is not determined primarily by how powerful the power is. Instead, it determines how good the power’s Penetration is, and how often it can be used. As a rule, you will want greater powers to have lower Penetration and be usable less often, but that need not always be the case. A dragon that can breathe devastating fire as often as it likes (Might cost 0), but can only heal once or twice per day (Might cost 25), is a perfectly reasonable creature

Creatures of Magic

The strength of these creatures is based in the power of magic.

Ghostly Warder

• Magic Might: 10 (Mentem)
• Characteristics: Int +1, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str 0, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik 0
• Size: 0 (but non-physical)
• Age: n/a (40)
• Decrepitude: Already dead
• Confidence Score: 1 (3)
• Virtues and Flaws: None (may take Virtues and Flaws as a grog, if desired by the troupe.)
• Personality Traits: Protective +3, two others chosen by the player.
• Reputations: None
• Combat: n/a The ghost is non-physical, and so cannot be harmed by combat or harm others in combat.
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 5 (places children get lost), Awareness 5 (where her children are), Church Lore 1 (funerals), Divine Lore 1 (after death), Folk Ken 4 (people lying to her children), Living Language 5 (scolding), Magic Lore 2 (ghosts), Profession (housewife) 5 (cleaning)
• Powers:
  • Kinesis, 5 points, Init 0, Terram: The ghost can move an object as if she were still physically present. One expenditure of Might allows her to move one object until she puts it down again. She has no combat Abilities, so she cannot fight wielding an object as a weapon.
• Equipment: Apparently clothing, tools, and even pots and pans, as if she is in the process of cooking, but these are all ghostly and really part of her.
• Vis: None. Magi cannot render other characters’ Ghostly Warders down for vis.
• Appearance: An older peasant woman, rather gaunt, dressed in simple but well-repaired clothes and carrying the tools used in some part of daily life. This may be a distaff and spindle, or a pot, or a broom; it changes from time to time. Note that she is invisible to characters without an appropriate Virtue.

This Ghostly Warder (see the Virtue, page 43) was the character’s mother, aunt, or possibly grandmother. She still gives him all the advice he received as a child, such as to wear warm clothes and stay away from the river, but she is also quite perceptive, both about people and about mundane events.

A Magical Wolf

• Magic Might: 20 (Animal)
• Characteristics: Int 0, Per +3, Pre +1, Com +1, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +2, Qik +2
• Size:–1
• Age: n/a
• Decrepitude: n/a
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Leader +3, Loyal +2
• Reputations: None
• Combat:
  • Bite: Init +12, Attack +10, Defense +14, Damage +9
• Soak: +7
• Fatigue Levels: n/a The magical wolf is tireless.
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –x (5–8), –x (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16)
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 6 (game trails), Brawl 6 (biting), Hunt 7 (in a pack), Living Language 5 (hunting terminology), Survival 6 (forests)
• Powers:
  • Pack of One, 2 points, Init +10, Animal: The wolf can create five duplicates of himself, who can then fight as a trained group. For these purposes, treat the wolf as having a Leadership score of 5, so that he can get the full +15 group bonus to his attacks. The power lasts until the pack brings down its opponent, which may be a group, or disengages from the fight. As the pack is really all one creature, the nomination of a vanguard is arbitrary. Further, the group does not need to disengage and reform when the vanguard is killed; it can seamlessly transfer the role to another wolf. Finally, the wolf only dies if all the copies are killed. When the duplicates vanish, the least wounded wolf remains.
  • Terrifying Howl, 4 points, Init +0, Mentem: Anyone who hears the wolf’s howl is struck with fear of the wolf and of wilderness places away from the haunts of men. Someone already in a house will merely not want to leave. Overcoming this fear completely requires a Brave roll against an Ease Factor of 12. Acting sensibly while responding to it, such as heading back to the village carefully, requires a Brave roll against an Ease Factor of 6. Those who fail the easier roll simply flee in panic.
  • Wolf Lord, 0 points, constant, Animal: Any wolf the magical wolf strikes in deadly combat dies instantly. In addition, the magical wolf can make mundane wolves follow his instructions even when he is not around, as long as the instructions are quite simple.
• Equipment: None. Magical though he is, he is still a wolf.
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 4 pawns of Animal, in head.
• Appearance: A gray male wolf, slightly larger than normal, but only slightly, and looking extremely healthy. His eyes, in particular, sparkle more brightly than should be possible.

The magical wolf does not care for such human niceties as names, and isn’t particularly interested in human beings. Instead, he watches over all the wolves in his range, doing what he can to ensure their safety, health, and food supply. Sometimes, this means hunting wolves down himself, to keep population down, and in that case he removes the weak from the packs.

While he has no interest in human beings, he does see that they are important, and might be willing to negotiate with a village. On the other hand, he might decide to drive them out. This magical wolf has the same reactions to The Gift as a mundane animal, although other magical wolves may not.

Stellatus, the Dragon

• Magic Might: 50 (Ignem)
• Characteristics: Int +4, Per +4, Pre +7, Com +2, Str +8, Sta +8, Dex +3, Qik 0
• Size: +8
• Age: n/a
• Decrepitude: n/a
• Confidence Score: 3 (12)
• Virtues and Flaws: Second Sight Personality Traits: Proud +3,
• Reputations: The Powerful Dragon who Lives in the Mountains (local) 5
• Combat:
  • Claws: Init +3, Attack +22, Defense +18, Damage +20
• Soak: +20
• Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0/0/0/0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–13), –3 (14–26), –5 (27–39), Incapacitated (40–52)
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 5 (history), Awareness 8 (human beings), Brawl 7 (claws), Divine Lore 1 (saints), Faerie Lore 2 (knights), Folk Ken 2 (scholars), Guile 4 (keeping secrets), Infernal Lore 0 (1) (undead), Magic Lore 8 (dragons), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (Tytalus), Second Sight 8 (magical invisibility)
• Powers:
  • Human Form: 1 point, Init 0, Corpus: The dragon can assume the form of a human being. This is always the same form, a man with dark hair and eyes, in the prime of life. The transformation lasts until he eats or drinks, or until Stellatus uses the same power again to change back. The dragon has all his powers in human form, and the same Characteristics, but he is much weaker in combat and thus changes back if he needs to fight.
  • Instill Loyalty, 5 points, Init 0, Mentem: Stellatus can make any individual whom he can see totally loyal. This does not remove free will, but the victim is completely loyal to the dragon, and this loyalty lasts as long as Stellatus is alive.
  • Fiery Breath, 1 point, Init +5, Ignem: Stellatus can breathe fire. The fire extends in a cone from his mouth, out to a distance of 20 paces, where it is 20 paces across. The fire has an intensity of +15. Dodging it is a Qik + Athletics roll against an Ease Factor of 9. A failure means that the character is engulfed in the flames, taking +45 damage, a success by 3 points or less means that a limb is covered, for +30 damage, a success by 4 to 6 points (that is, success against Ease Factor 12) means that the character is only brushed by the flames, for +15 damage, while success by 7 points or more (that is, success against Ease Factor 15) means that the character dodges out of the fire entirely.
  • Master of Fire, 1 or more Might Points, Init 0, Ignem: Stellatus can control fire. He can duplicate any Hermetic Rego Ignem spell of fourth magnitude or less at the cost of 1 Might point. For every additional Might point he spends, the level of the spell increases by one magnitude.
• Equipment: Ancient treasure piled high in his lair.
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 5 pawns of Ignem vis in each eye.
• Appearance: An enormous lizard with great wings, covered in scales of red so dark as to be almost black. His eyes are lit from within by a smoldering orange glow. Although he is a little on the small side for a dragon, he is larger than most houses.

Stellatus is an ancient dragon who has laired under the same mountain range for centuries. Most of the time he lies quietly in his lair, contemplating his treasure, or travels the area around in human form (he can go for weeks without eating or drinking). Every couple of centuries, he erupts in draconic form to carry out some plan or seize some item, and every decade or so some would-be hero disturbs him.

The dragon is aware of The Gift, but it inspires him with curiosity, making him less likely to simply kill magi who enter his lair. A Tytalus maga did spend some time challenging the dragon in various ways, and although Stellatus eventually killed her by rigging an entirely mundane rock-fall trap, he quite enjoyed the experience.

He regards himself as superior to all Hermetic magi, and is firmly convinced that he is immune to their magic. With a Magic Resistance of 50, this is almost, but not quite, true.

Creatures of Faerie

Faerie creatures never tire, and so no faeries have Fatigue levels.

Mateos, the Faerie Butler

• Faerie Might: 10 (Herbam)
• Characteristics: Int –1, Per 0, Pre –1, Com +3, Str –2, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik –3
• Size:–2
• Age: n/a (40)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Convivial +3, Generous +2, Careful –2
• Reputations: None
• Combat:
  • Club: Init –3, Attack +4, Defense 0, Damage +1
• Soak: +2
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–3), –3 (4–6), –5 (7–9), Incapacitated (10–12)
• Abilities: Carouse 9 (drinking), Charm 4 (drunk people), Etiquette 2 (parties), Faerie Lore 3 (drinks), Folk Ken 3 (drunk people), Guile 9 (convincing people to drink more), Living Language 5 (metaphors for drinking and getting drunk), Music 1 (drinking songs), Single Weapon (club) 1
• Powers:
  • Heady Brew, 0 points, Init –10, Corpus: Any drink served by Mateos is three times as intoxicating as normal. Drinks that were non-alcoholic to start with become as alcoholic as ale. This does not change the taste of the drink. The extra intoxication is a magical effect, with Penetration 10, and can be resisted.
  • Unending Drinks, 1 point, Init –10, Aquam: For as long as he is serving a particular person, the drink in Mateos’s barrel does not run out, even if he serves other people as well. If the chosen person (who is not the target of the power, and thus cannot resist) leaves, passes out, or stops drinking for any other reason, the contents of the barrel start to run out.
• Equipment: Barrel of alcoholic drink.
• Encumbrance: 3 (3)
• Vis: 1 pawn of Herbam in each hand.
• Appearance: Mateos is the size of a child, with a large pot belly, full beard sprinkled with gray, and a slightly grubby apron. He is always smiling, and offers just about everyone he meets a drink from his barrel.

Mateos lives for parties, particularly parties with lots of drunkenness and stupid behavior. If he arrives somewhere where there isn’t a party, he tries to start one. With his faerie ale (or wine, or cider), it doesn’t usually take him very long. Once people start getting drunk, he tries to convince them to do ridiculous and embarrassing things. He does not usually encourage people to do things that could kill them, however. The parties normally finish with everyone but Mateos passed out on the floor.

The Gift makes Mateos feel that the Gifted individual is a killjoy opposed to parties, and someone to be hurried out of the way as soon as possible.

Tarlan the Wolf

• Faerie Might: 20 (Animal)
• Characteristics: Int –2, Per +5, Pre 0, Com –3, Str +3, Sta +3, Dex +2, Qik +3
• Size:–1
• Age: n/a
• Confidence Score: 1 (3)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Relentless +3, Cheerful –3
• Reputations: Soul-eating demon (local) 1
• Combat:
  • Bite: Init +9, Attack +10, Defense +10, Damage +6
• Soak: +7
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16)
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 6 (hunting tracks), Athletics 5 (running), Awareness 8 (spotting quarry), Brawl 3 (bite), Hunt 10 (human beings), Living Language 2 (threats), Stealth 9 (hunting), Survival 7 (forests)
• Powers:
  • Marked Quarry: 1 point, Init +5, Mentem: Tarlan can pick a single human being whom he can see and who can see him, and mark him as quarry for the hunt. This inspires the victim with a strong fear of Tarlan, requiring a Brave roll against an Ease Factor of 9 to overcome, and specif

ically makes him likely to run.

• • Prey’s Vigor: 1 point, Init +8, Corpus: By breathing on a tired person (anyone who has lost Fatigue levels), Tarlan can restore them to full vigor (i.e. all Fatigue levels are regained). However, the target also ages one year. This power can only be used if the target is close enough to actually feel the wolf’s breath on his skin, and only works on adults.
  • Silent Running: 0 points, constant, Imaginem: Tarlan makes no noise unless he deliberately decides to.
• Equipment: None. He’s a wolf.
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 2 pawns of Intellego in his nose, 1 pawn of Intellego in each ear.
• Appearance: A large, deep black wolf with eyes that glint even when there seems to be no light around. He moves silently and can stay hidden unless he really wants his quarry to see him.

Tarlan exists to hunt people. He picks individuals who are in the wilderness by themselves, marks them as quarry, and then harries them to exhaustion. Once they can run no further, he bursts out of cover, and, somehow, the victims regain their vigor at that moment, finding that they can run away once more. The wolf can keep the hunt up indefinitely, but normally he times a final attack, on an exhausted victim, to happen just before dawn. If the quarry is particularly resourceful, he might keep the hunt up longer.

Tarlan does not always kill his victims, leaving some alive to tell the tale of their ordeal. He likes the idea that people are scared of him even before he uses his power. Indeed, he has occasionally not needed to use Marked Quarry at all.

The wolf does have one weakness. He cannot enter holy ground, so a victim who can run into a church or graveyard is safe. Tarlan knows this, and tries to herd his victims away from such places. In addition, because Prey’s Vigor cannot affect children, Tarlan never hunts them. In fact, he’s come to feel somewhat protective of them, on the grounds that, if he can’t hunt them, no one else is going to.

Finally, The Gift inspires respect in the faerie. He never hunts Gifted individuals, and might even be happy to work with one who let him hunt people.

Lord Marsyne

• Faerie Might: 50 (Aquam)
• Characteristics: Int +2, Per +1, Pre +4, Com +1, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik 0
• Size: 0
• Age: n/a (40)
• Confidence Score: 2 (6)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Proud +3, Just +1, Forgiving –3
• Reputations: Grants eternal youth 2 (local)
• Combat:
  • Dodge: Init 0, Attack n/a, Defense 0, Damage n/a
• Soak: +25 (+5 against iron or steel weapons)
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 5 (nobility), Awareness 3 (in his castle), Charm 8 (human women), Etiquette 10 (courtly), Faerie Lore 6 (cold faeries), Folk Ken 5 (people making requests), Guile 5 (pretending to grant requests), Intrigue 4 (court politics), Leadership (servants) 7, Language (All) 5 (commands), Magic Lore 2 (Hermetic magic), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (Merinita)
• Powers:
  • Commanding Presence, 1 point, Init +10, Mentem: Anyone who can see Marsyne becomes awed by him, and gains a Personality Trait of Respectful to Lord Marsyne +3. Even magi must roll this Trait, if they fail to resist the spell. Disagreeing with him is Ease Factor 6, outright contradiction is Ease Factor 9, and attacking is Ease Factor 15. This power does not force obedience to the faerie’s commands, but it does force you to be subtle about refusing.
  • Entomb, 10 points, Init –10, Mentem: A single human target is entombed in ice. The effect is Mentem because it also suspends the target’s awareness, so that he or she does not need to eat, drink, or breathe, and does not think, dream, or remember while in the ice. Marsyne can break the effect at will, or it can be dispelled. If it is broken, the person returns to awareness without, immediately, realizing that they were unconscious. People do, normally, age while entombed, and can die of old age.
  • Gift of Youth, 10 points, Init –10, Corpus: This power targets a single woman, who stops aging. As long as she remains in Marsyne’s castle, she does not age at all. If she leaves, she has the benefit of the Unaging Minor Virtue, so she might not realize that she is aging again. Once aging has restarted, it does not stop if the woman returns to the castle. The power only works on human women, and Marsyne normally only uses it on his wives.
  • Inner Warmth, 1 point, Init 0, Ignem: The recipient of this gift is unaffected by mundane cold until she (or he) enters an aura aligned with a realm other than Faerie. (Simply leaving a Faerie aura for an area with no aura doesn’t end it, but entering a Magic, Infernal, or Divine aura does.) The gift provides no protection against magical cold.
  • Lord of Ice, 1 or more points, Init +8, Aquam: Marsyne can create any effect he wants involving ice, including effects that would require a Hermetic ritual. For every point he spends, up to a maximum of 5, the effect has three Hermetic magnitudes of power. Thus, if he spends 5 points, he can create a 15th magnitude effect.
  • Lord of the Castle, 0 points, Init +15, Mentem or Corpus: Marsyne can command any one of his servants to do anything, and the command is irresistible. He can also take control of the servant’s body, and move it like a puppet, or even make it fly through the air. The only limits are that he can only target one servant at once, and can only target beings who have voluntarily agreed to serve him. Most are faeries, but

his wives also qualify.

• Equipment: Anything he wants, although particularly elaborate items gained particularly quickly will be faerie glamor rather than real.
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 10 Aquam, in his blood.
• Appearance: Tall, well-built, and handsome, with white skin, pale blond hair, and eyes the clear gray of sea ice. He wears fine clothes in white and blue, and a crown of diamonds rests on his brow. He almost looks like a human being, but the authority in his voice belies that, as does the fact that literal ice water runs in his veins; when he bleeds, there are small crystals of ice in the water that flows out.

Lord Marsyne is the ruler of a faerie domain in the far north or in a range of high mountains. His home is a castle of fantastic beauty, made entirely of ice, and he has an extensive faerie retinue. Marsyne and his faeries act out an elaborate charade of the routines and festivals of mundane noble life, hunting strange creatures, holding tournaments, and even passing judgment on criminals within the court.

Most of the time, the court has little direct contact with humans. However, Lord Marsyne always has a human wife, and every so often he needs to find a new one. He always chooses a beautiful, young woman, and looks for some spark of creativity, independence, and spirit. He is quite taken by The Gift, and any beautiful, young Gifted woman in the area he is searching is very likely to be wooed. The wooing is utterly sincere, as the wife must return of her own free will.

Marsyne’s wife plays an important role in the politics of the court, having her own set of faerie ladies-in-waiting and servants, and presiding over many of the tournaments. She also plays an important mystical role, as her presence and creativity allow the faeries to do new things. One thing she is not, is a physical wife to Lord Marsyne.

As long as the wife follows the rules of the court, everything is fine. Marsyne makes her unaging, and protects her from the cold. If she breaks the rules, however, Marsyne judges her, entombs her in ice, and seeks out a new wife. He has many entombed wives, as some of the rules are along the lines of the classic “Do not go into this room. Here is the key.” It is also possible for a wife to win her freedom, either through a successful challenge by an external champion, or through her own wits. Lord Marsyne remains fond of any wife who wins her freedom fairly, because that is part of the rules, but any who simply flee are brought back and entombed in the ice.

Infernal Creatures

Infernal creatures are sometimes called “demons” or “devils.” These terms refer to the same group of creatures, and the choice of which to use is purely a matter of personal preference. In game terms, any creature with Infernal Might may be called a demon, a devil, or an infernal creature.

All infernal creatures can put off their physical forms and revert to being pure spirits at will. In combat, they can only do this on their action, but while they are not physical, they cannot attack or be attacked physically. They can also move as quickly as they like, and are not hindered by physical barriers, but they remain fully aware of their surroundings.

Demons are never noticeably bothered by The Gift. This may be because they try their best to damn everyone, so hostile behavior towards The Gifted looks no different.

Michael

• Infernal Might: 10 (Corpus)
• Characteristics: Int +2, Per +2, Pre –2, Com –2, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex +1, Qik +1
• Size:–2 to +1
• Age: n/a (varies)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Cruel +3, Wrathful +3, Enjoys complex plans +1
• Reputations: None
• Combat: Michael does not normally fight, and if he does he uses whatever weapons are suitable for his current disguise.
• Soak: +0 (unless wearing armor)
• Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20) (Michael always takes wounds as a Size 0 creature, even if his current Size is different.)
• Abilities: Athletics 5 (running away), Awareness 4 (victims), Craft (practical jokes) 8 (painful and humiliating ones), Folk Ken 5 (figuring out what will make someone most angry), Guile 10 (pretending to be someone else), Intrigue 3 (maneuvering people into his plots)
• Powers:
  • Change Form, 0 points, Init +0, Corpus: Michael can change his appearance to match that of any human being. The change includes clothes and other equipment, as necessary.
  • Working Material, 1 point, Init +0, Terram: Michael can create whatever he needs to set up a particular practical joke.
• Equipment:Whatever appropriate to current role.
• Encumbrance: Varies
• Vis: 2 pawns of Muto in his heart (Infernally tainted)
• Appearance: Michael appears as he needs to for his latest role. As a demon, he doesn’t need, nor does he have, a “natural” form.

Michael (he likes taking the name of a famous angel) is a minor demon who tempts people to wrath. He sets up elaborate, painful, and humiliating practical jokes, and makes sure that he is seen in the form of one of the victim’s friends while doing so. If possible, he ensures that the victim sees him, in the form of the friend, laughing at their misfortune before running away.

He normally stays around to watch the resulting confrontation, because if it isn’t heated enough he sets up another, even more hurtful, joke. He is especially happy if both friends become angry, and the friendship is ruined. Since both parties feel that the other was unreasonable, sometimes they can nurse their anger for years, which is exactly what Michael wants.

While Michael’s jokes are normally painful and humiliating, they are almost never fatal. He wants people to sin so that they damn their souls, not die and possibly go to Heaven.

Polandrus

• Infernal Might: 20 (Animal)
• Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Pre 0, Com +2, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +2, Qik +3
• Size: 0
• Age: n/a
• Confidence Score: 1 (3)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Envious +3, Proud +2, Calculating +2
• Reputations: None
• Combat:
  • Bite: Init +18, Attack +11, Defense +9, Damage +8
• Soak: +6
• Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1/–1/–1, –3, –5, Unconscious
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –x (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 3 (livestock), Bargain 7 (for sins), Brawl 5 (bite), Charm 4 (frightened people), Folk Ken 3 (peasants), Guile 8 (when making deals), Hunt 6 (livestock), Language 6 (making deals), Leadership 4 (wolves), Survival 5 (woods)
• Powers:
  • Calm Person, 1 point, Init +18, Mentem: Makes the target person unnaturally calm about talking to a large wolf. It doesn’t lessen their fear, just the sense that it is something they should act on immediately.
  • Dominate Wolves, 0 points, Init +18, Animal: Polandrus can establish absolute control over any wolf. The wolf doesn’t like it, but Polandrus doesn’t care. This power applies to mundane wolves, wolves with Might scores, and to characters who can naturally take the form of a wolf, including shapechangers, lycanthropes, skinchangers, and Bjornaer with wolf heartbeasts, but not including magi who change using spells. Once established, the domination lasts until Polandrus decides to drop it, the dominated wolf enters a Dominion aura of level 3 or higher, or someone dispels the power.
• Equipment: None
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 1 pawn of Animal in each of four large canine teeth, all Infernally tainted.
• Appearance: An extremely large, jet black wolf, with red eyes.

Polandrus targets livestock farmers. He dominates a few wolves, and then kills some livestock, making sure that someone sees the wolves do it. A little later, he confronts the peasant in question, offering to ensure that the wolves do not attack for a week if the farmer does something innocuous, such as not wear a particular tunic. Polandrus comes back every week, and the requirements gradually become sinful, and more and more heinous. By the end, the wolf relies more on the threat to expose the farmer’s deeds than on the threat to the livestock.

Polandrus never attacks people unless he is attacked first.

Bartholomew

• Infernal Might: 50 (Mentem)
• Characteristics: Int +3, Per +2, Pre +3, Com +5, Str –1, Sta 0, Dex –1, Qik –1
• Size: 0
• Age: n/a (50)
• Confidence Score: 2 (9)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Slothful +3, Gregarious +2, Retiring –2
• Reputations: Excellent adviser on money matters 5 (local)
• Combat:
  • Fist: Init –1, Attack –1, Defense –1, Damage –1
• Soak: +8
• Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)
• Abilities: [Area] Lore 6 (trade routes) (Three of these, for the area where he lives, the larger area including it, and the whole of

Europe), Artes Liberales 2 (arithmetic), Bargain 10 (trade goods), Charm 5 (merchants), Etiquette 4 (merchants), Folk Ken 8 (merchants), Guile 10 (trading), Intrigue 5 (market politics), Language 6 (trade talk), Latin 6 (ecclesiastical), Profession (merchant) 10 (cloth)

• Powers:
  • Merchant’s Blessing, 2 points, Init +0, Mentem: The recipient of this blessing seems trustworthy to most people, and gets a +3 bonus on all social rolls to do with trading. People react to him as if he has an excellent reputation for honesty, fair dealing, and getting high quality goods cheaply. The blessing lasts for a week, unless Bartholomew chooses to renew it.
  • Merchant’s Curse, 1 point, Init +0, Mentem: The inverse of Merchant’s Blessing, this curse makes people treat the victim as if he had a strong reputation for dishonesty, cheating and reneging on deals, and selling shoddy goods at inflated prices. He also has a –3 penalty to all social rolls to do with trading. The curse lasts for a week, unless Bartholomew chooses to renew it.
  • Merchant’s Knowledge, 0 points, automatic, Mentem: Bartholomew knows what someone in receipt of his curses or blessings is doing with their business.
  • Project Blessing, 2 points, Init +0, Vim: Bartholomew can bless a particular commercial venture, so that chance favors it whenever possible. This results in a very successful trading venture. The blessing only lasts for one day, which isn’t normally long enough to have an effect, but Bartholomew can renew the blessing every day, if he so chooses.
  • Project Curse, 1 point, Init +0, Vim: The inverse of Project Blessing, this effect makes everything that could go wrong, go wrong. It takes at most a month to drive someone to bankruptcy through this power. Just as the blessing, the curse only lasts for one day at a time.
• Equipment: Fine clothes, a nice house, trade goods.
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 10 pawns of Mentem vis, one in each of his fingers. Infernally tainted.
• Appearance: Bartholomew appears as an older, but still vigorous, merchant. He is plump, but not fat, and while he never appears positively cheerful, he also never seems angry, or impatient, at least not with other merchants. His clothes are of excellent quality and taste.

Bartholomew is a well-established and moderately successful merchant in a trading city. He is known for being lazy, but still making an extremely comfortable living from his trade. He also willingly gives advice to other merchants, and they have noticed that following his advice makes them rich, while disregarding it makes them poor. Most people in the city also think that Bartholomew attends church regularly. In fact, being a demon, he has never set foot inside a consecrated building. He has, on the other hand, made substantial donations to the Church, and those donations are well known.

The advice he gives is good business advice in itself, but he normally backs it up with his blessings, at least for a while. If his advice is ignored, he uses his curses to make sure that people suffer. The demonic features of his advice are very, very subtle. Merchants following them often find that they need to work on Sundays, although Bartholomew does not explicitly suggest that, and that they are often away from home on religious holidays, and thus unable to attend their local church.

Further, he gives advice about charity, suggesting that the merchant give money away to reinforce his social standing. He also gives extensive advice on how to calculate how much to give, so that it doesn’t cause the merchant financial problems.

This has the effect of making the merchant feel that he is doing a lot of good by giving alms, while removing any actual virtue it has. Anyone following Bartholomew’s advice gives only for their own glory, and thus earns no merit. They are sinners, but they don’t realize that they are, and thus they do not see the need to repent and reform. Bartholomew’s strategy is subtle, but it wins many souls for Hell.

Creatures of the Divine

Creatures with Divine Might use the normal rules for determining Magic Resistance, Penetration, and whether their powers can be dispelled. Although they are acting on behalf of God, they are not direct interventions by the deity, and thus are not omnipotent.

Creatures with Divine Might cannot have True Faith. That blessing is limited to beings who are not already part of the Divine Realm.

Creatures with Divine Might are never bothered by The Gift. They judge people based on their actions and hearts, not on the powers that they might have. If you decide that magic is inherently sinful, they are inclined against magi, but because of their sins, not because of The Gift.

Lupersus

• Divine Might: 20 (Animal)
• Characteristics: Int 0, Per +3, Pre +3, Com n/a, Str +2, Sta +3, Dex +1, Qik +2
• Size:–1
• Age: n/a
• Confidence Score: 1 (6)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Loyal +3, Patient +2, Helpful +2
• Reputations: None
• Combat:
  • Bite: Init +8, Attack +11, Defense +16, Damage +8
• Soak: +7
• Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0/0/0/0/0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16)
• Abilities: Area Lore 5 (food sources), Awareness 5 (threats to his charge), Brawl 4 (bite), Divine Lore 5 (saints), Hunt 8 (rabbits), Stealth 8 (hiding from humans), Survival 8 (hills)
• Powers:
  • Perfect Defender, 1 point, Init +20, Animal: If Lupersus is acting as a defender to another character in combat, he can use this power to get a +10 bonus to Defense for the duration of the combat. For these purposes, the combat lasts until Lupersus is disengaged.
• Equipment: None
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 4 pawns of Animal, in the whole body.
• Appearance: A silver-gray wolf, with a noble bearing. No matter what terrain he runs through, Lupersus never gets dirty.

Lupersus has been sent by God to guard a holy hermit, provide him with food, and, occasionally, lead those in need of advice to the hermit who can provide it. He cannot speak, and has no wish to do so. While his main focus is on the hermit, Lupersus is generally compassionate, and helps those in trouble whom he finds within his range. Sometimes he leads them to safety, but most people do not trust a wolf. In those cases, he chases them to safety.

Seferiel

• Divine Might: 50 (Corpus)
• Characteristics: Int +5, Per +5, Pre +5, Com +5, Str +5, Sta +5, Dex +5, Qik +5
• Size: +1
• Age: n/a (30)
• Confidence Score: 3 (18)
• Virtues and Flaws: None
• Personality Traits: Just +3, Curious +2, Merciful +2
• Reputations: None
• Combat:
  • Flaming Greatsword: Init +18, Attack +21, Defense +18, Damage +25 (Note that both the greatsword and the fire are natural, because God made them that way, and thus not magically resisted.)
• Soak: +20
• Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0/0/0/0/0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
• Wound Penalties: –1 (1–6), –3 (7–12), –5 (13–18), Incapacitated (19–24)
• Abilities: Awareness 5 (casting magic), Charm 3 (magi), Divine Lore 10 (angels), Great Weapon 7 (greatsword), Leadership 7 (magi), Magic Theory 10 (theological implications), Order of Hermes Lore 10 (interactions with the Church), Theology 10 (angelology)
• Powers:
  • Magic, 1 or more points, Init +18, by effect: Seferiel can duplicate any effect of Hermetic magic, at a cost of 1 Might Point for every two magnitudes of the Hermetic effect. There is no limit, other than his remaining Might Pool, on the number of points he can spend on a single effect. This includes ritual effects, for which he needs neither vis nor long periods of time.
  • Spirit Form, 0 points, Init +30, Vim: Seferiel can become a creature of pure spirit as he wishes. This means that he is unable to affect things physically, or be affected physically.
  • Subtle Form, 0 points, Init +0, Corpus: Seferiel can change his appearance to look like any human being. His statistics do not change.
• Equipment: Shining white robes, flaming greatsword
• Encumbrance: 0 (0)
• Vis: 10 pawns of Ignem in the sword.
• Appearance: A large man, with golden-tinged skin and burning-bright hair, dressed in a white robe that shines like the stars. He carries a burning greatsword.

Seferiel is an angel with special responsibility for Hermetic magi. Most of the time, he seeks to draw them closer to God, but sometimes he acts as the instrument of God’s vengeance against those who are particularly wicked. His attitude depends slightly on whether magic is inherently sinful in your saga; his suggested courses of action depend on this more strongly. However, either way he likes Hermetic magi, in general, and finds them fascinating people. He often pretends to be a magus in order to get to know people better, and find out what they are really like.

Seferiel sometimes takes an interest in a particular magus, one whom he sees has great potential, and is a suitable antagonist for the Plagued by Angel Story Flaw. His divinely appointed mission is, however, to the Order as a whole, and he travels across Europe to bring God’s message to as many magi as possible.

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.

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