Dwarven Artificer (Template)

This official Verditius tempalte represents a stereotypical Verditius magus, a dwarf-blooded magical smith.

Dwarven Artificer

Characteristics: Int +3, Per 0, Pre 0, Com 0, Str –3, Sta +1, Dex +1, Qik 0 Size: 0 Age: 25 (25) Decrepitude: 0 Warping Score: 0 (0) Confidence Score: 1 (3) Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Affinity with Craft (metalsmith), Affinity with Craft (stonemason), Affinity with Terram, Faerie Blood (Dwarf), Puissant Craft (metalsmith), Puissant Craft (stonemason), Puissant Terram, Verditius Magic*; Dwarf, Weak Spontaneous Magic; Difficult Spontaneous Magic Personality Traits: Disciplined +3, Perfectionist +3, Spontaneous –2 Reputations: None. Combat: Dodging: Init +0, Attack n/a, Defense +0, Damage n/a Soak: +1 Fatigue Levels: Ok, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious Wound Penalties: –1 (1–3), –3 (4–6), –5 (7–9), Incapacitated (10–12) Abilities: Artes Liberales 1 (geometry), Awareness 3 (flaws in stone and metal work), Athletics 2 (endurance), Craft (metalsmith) 5+3 (iron), Craft (stonemason) 4+3 (decorations), Faerie Lore 2 (dwarfs), Latin 4 (Hermetic terms), Magic Theory 3 (Terram), Native Language 5 (talking about metal and stone), Parma Magica 1 (Terram), Philosophiae 1 (natural philosophy) Arts: Cr 7, In 3, Mu 5, Pe 3, Re 5; An 0, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 0, He 0, Ig 0, Im 0, Me 0, Te 12+3, Vi 0 Twilight Scars: None Equipment: Wizardly robes. Encumbrance: 0 (0) Spells Known: Seal the Earth (CrTe 15) +23 Wall of Protecting Stone (CrTe 25) +23 The Crystal Dart (Mu(Re)Te 10) +21 Edge of the Razor (MuTe 20) +21 Pit of the Gaping Earth (PeTe 15) +19 Hands of the Grasping Earth (Re(Mu)Te 15) +21

Character Analysis

The virtues and flaws were selected to reflect the dwarf-theme, and help with crafting magic items.

He took as flaws Weak and Difficult spontaneous magic, essentially meaning he can't cast spontaneously at all. This is reflected in his personality traits too, and also fits well the stereotypical dwarven sensibiltiies.

Note that while the character put XP in the Faerie Lore ability, there is nothing in the character to otherwise suggest his powers derive from faerie blood. He could very well hail from a Magical dwarven background.

Customization Notes

The Verditius can take another three points of Flaws, and a similar number of Virtues. In addition, her Craft Abilities can be changed for different crafts without changing the concept much. Finally, not everyone descended from dwarfs is as small as they are, so that Flaw could be swapped for others without affecting the character on a fundamental level.

Further Customization Notes

The House is described in Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults. According to this official description, Verditius magi often have forge-companions, which you may wish to have in your laboratory, as well as venditores, middle-men to arrange sales.

Roleplaying and Gaming Notes

If you can, you should read the Houses of Hemrmes: Mystery Cults chapter to see the official House culture; this may be how the House is in your saga, or not. It includes many details important for roleplaying, such as the idea of forge-companions, vendetor (middle-man), the oligatory presence in the Contest, vandettas, and Hubris.

It also includes the House's inner mysteries, and cofraternities (inner mystery-cult paths). Consider being within a confraternity lineage, or joining one in-game; notice that each confraternity allows you one extra Virtue as an inner mystery. Consider also acquiring some of the Houses' inner mysteries in-game; particularly suitable are Items of Quality, Reforging, Verditius Elder Runes, and Item Attunement.

Note that the chapter also includes new flaws you might want to consider taking, especially if you want to retain the ability to cast spontaneous magic. These include Spontaneous Casting Tools and Confraternity Member, and the Major story flaw Vendetta.

If you do decide to pursue the idea of a Faerie dwarven ancestry, consider what Realms of Power: Faerie has to say about dwarves, and in particular the Norse Dvergar. You may also want to take Faerie Blood: Dwarf intead of the Dwarf flaw. Inquiring into your fay ancestry may lead you to develop Faerie Sympathy, as described in Realms of Power: Faerie, and possibly deeper Faerie mysteries of House Merinita; as dwarves often guard the entrances to the "underworld", Arcadian Travel is quite appropriate, as are the Folk Mysteries (see here and below).

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.