Hedge Magic Revised Edition Chapter One: Introduction
The Order of Hermes can claim to represent the most powerful human practitioners of magic in Mythic Europe … but they are not alone. Frail crones carefully watch isolated roads and curse passing travelers, rune wizards clash with trolls in the frozen wastes of Scandinavia, and in some villages magical militia wage war against marauding ghosts and faeries. These are the hedge wizard traditions of Mythic Europe.
Most in the Order of Hermes believe (largely accurately) that hedge wizards are inferior to magi, with little to teach a magus. On the other hand, doubt over the precise capabilities of hedge traditions has led to some paranoia in the Order’s dealings with hedge magicians over the centuries, and the investigation of hedge magic and its incorporation into Hermetic theory is sometimes a source of innovation in the Order of Hermes.
What is this Book For?
This book contains examples of hedge traditions that draw their power from the Magic realm, and all these traditions (may) exist in Mythic Europe in 1220.
The traditions in this book are not extinct — extinct traditions are discussed in Ancient Magic. Some of the hedge traditions described here might be the remnants of once-powerful traditions (that’s up to the direction of individual sagas), but they are not intended to be the direct remnants of any of the Founder traditions. Other hedge traditions draw their power from the Divine, Infernal, or Faerie realms, and those possibilities are discussed in the relevant realm books.
The traditions described here have also not (yet) been assimilated into the Order of Hermes, via House Ex Miscellanea, but such an event could form the basis of an interesting saga. Of course, these traditions can also be used as examples for devising your own hedge traditions.
Hedge Traditions & the Order
Over the centuries, hedge traditions have had an uneasy relationship with the Order of Hermes. Historically, Hermetic magi offered those hedge wizards who they encountered the choice to “Join or Die.” However today, unless a hedge wizard is very powerful a magus is unlikely to be chastised by a tribunal for interacting with him more diplomatically. This is at least partly because most powerful hedge traditions in Mythic Europe were assimilated or eliminated in the early years of the Order.
It is also important to note that although in this book the term “hedge wizard” refers to any practitioner of a hedge tradition, the Order of Hermes itself usually only considers those who have The Gift to be “proper” wizards. Thus, weak unGifted hedge wizards are often considered neither worthy of the privilege of joining the Order, nor necessarily the bother of killing. Three groups of magi are really interested in hedge traditions: zealous Hoplites, who sometimes scour the land searching for hedge wizards to best in combat; the Lineage of Pralix (see Houses of Hermes: Societates, page 126), who seek to invite hedge wizards into House Ex Miscellanea; and Hermetic theoreticians who wish to plunder the knowledge of the hedge traditions, and extend the power of Hermetic magic.
Converts to the Order
Sometimes a hedge wizard joins the Order of Hermes, entering House Ex Miscellanea. Houses of Hermes: Societates describes House Ex Miscellanea in detail, including the position of newly converted hedge wizards in the House and the wider Order. If you wish to make an individual Gifted hedge wizard character who has converted to the Order of Hermes, use the character generation rules presented for the hedge tradition up until the point that the character swears the Oath of Hermes. Once the character has sworn the Oath of Hermes he gains the free Social Status Virtue Hermetic Magus (see ArM5, page 43), which replaces any other Social Statuses, and then continue character generation as if he was a Hermetic magus. He may be taught the Parma Magica Arcane Ability and any other Ability accessible to a normal Hermetic magus character; he may also be able to participate in some Mystery Cults. However, he is not able to learn any of the Hermetic Arts unless he has his Gift Opened for the Hermetic Arts. This is frequently impossible and may destroy his hedge magic powers (see below and ArM5, page 106-107).
Swearing the Oath of Hermes is the official point at which the hedge wizard is recognized as a member of the Order. This is purely a social matter, which offers the hedge wizard legal rights, including the right to vote at Tribunal, and it does not have any effect on his mystical powers. Technically, a hedge wizard who joins the Order of Hermes has the same rights and privileges as a mainstream Hermetic magus, and he may leave House Ex Miscellanea to join another House. However, he may find that magi outside of House Ex Miscellanea discriminate against him; and, of course, he can never join a true lineage House. Discrimination against hedge wizard converts is represented by the Minor Hermetic Flaw Hedge Wizard (see ArM5, page 54).
The Order of Hermes is not likely to tolerate a hedge wizard convert who openly maintains ties to his original hedge tradition, due to the danger of independent hedge wizards learning Parma Magica. If a hedge wizard convert does secretly maintain contact with his hedge colleagues, then the troupe may want to assign him the Major Story Flaw Dark Secret (see ArM5, page 52).
Ungifted Hedge Wizards
Membership in the Order of Hermes is restricted to characters with The Gift. Redcaps are notable exceptions, and they are able to remain as honorary magi through the weight of tradition, but most magi would not countenance the admission of any other unGifted character. However, other exceptions are also possible, in very rare circumstances, as the position of the Redcaps has meant that there are no Code rulings explicitly requiring magi to have The Gift. For example, mainstream magi might be persuaded that their dignity does not suffer too greatly if a powerful Mythic Companion hedge wizard is admitted to House Ex Miscellanea. At the extreme, a small, internally coherent tradition made up overwhelmingly of Gifted members might be able to negotiate for the admission of the whole tradition, even if one member is a companion character with only a few Supernatural Virtues. In this case, the unGifted magus may be expected, as an informal condition of membership, to decline to exercise his voting rights at Tribunal, like a Redcap does. Of course, even if he does join the Order, an unGifted hedge wizard cannot learn Hermetic Arts, learn Parma Magica, participate in certamen, or perform any other activity that requires The Gift.
Identifying the Gift
From a pragmatic perspective, what is important in determining the reaction of the Order of Hermes to a hedge wizard is the hedge wizard’s apparent power. If the hedge wizard appears to be a master of powerful magic, he will be accorded more respect than a mere shapeshifter or a dowser of water sources, for example. Of course, as magi are Gifted they naturally tend to assume that the presence of The Gift is a sure sign of magical power. Indeed, the magi are basically right: Gifted hedge wizards are typically much more powerful than unGifted ones.
Magi can determine whether a character has the Gift by using an Intellego Vim spell (see insert, for example). In addition, a hedge wizard with hedge Arts scores can be detected with Hermetic Intellego Vim effects as a target with an effective residual magnitude of his highest Art / 5 (see ArM5, page 158). A Gifted hedge wizard with Supernatural Ability Scores can also be detected with similar Hermetic Intellego Vim effects as a target with an effective residual magnitude equal to his highest Supernatural Ability Score. Of course, other Vim effects (or similar hedge Arts) might disguise The Gift or falsely create the impression that a character has The Gift.
Certamen
No hedge wizard knows how to engage in certamen; certamen is unique to the Order of Hermes. A hedge wizard can only learn certamen if his Hermetic Arts are Opened. If a hedge wizard without Hermetic Arts does accept a certamen challenge, he cannot cause his phantasm to manifest; so, he cannot participate. From a legal standpoint, this is equivalent to a victory to the Hermetic magus due to a lack of concentration in the opponent. The vulnerability to certamen of a hedge wizard who converts to the Order of Hermes means he’s an obvious target for certamen bullying, although sometimes a hedge wizard might be championed by a magus ally. Typically, the fact that the victim is a hedge wizard means that tribunals are unlikely to censure this sort of bullying unless it is very excessive or impacts on other magi. Certamen is similar to the abilities of NightWalkers (see Chapter 6) and this correspondence may be a profitable basis of Hermetic research (see later in this chapter).
New Spell: The Numbness of The GiftInVi Level 20 R: Personal, D: Conc, T: Touch When the caster places his hand on another character who has The Gift, his hand feels numb. This effect must penetrate the Magic Resistance (if any) of the character whose Gift is being sensed, and if that character is a member of the Order of Hermes, casting this spell normally counts as scrying (which is prohibited by the Code). This spell is based on the “detect the traces of powerful magic” guideline. If the target has the Blatant or Gentle Gift, the spell still works. (Base 10, +1 Conc, +1 Touch). |
Allies to the Order
A hedge tradition may be allied to a covenant, or even to the entire Order, without actually joining the Order. They may even act as servants to magi. Using hedge wizards as servants is usually uncontroversial in the Order, unless the servants include Gifted hedge wizards. This exception is mainly because of the risk that Gifted hedge wizard servants could learn Parma Magica. The troupe might choose to represent a covenant allied with a hedge tradition using the Major Covenant Boon Hedge Tradition (Covenants, page 21). Alternatively, the hedge wizard allies of a single magus can be represented with the Minor Virtue Social Contacts (ArM5, page 49), and if the magus trades vis with his hedge allies this could be represented with the Minor Virtue Personal Vis Source (ArM5, page 47).
A lone hedge wizard character living near (or even in) the covenant also opens up interesting possibilities for stories (Minor Covenant Boon Local Ally; Covenants, page 21). However, again the troupe should bear in mind the effect that the attitudes of Hermetic visitors to the covenant will have on the saga.
The Shadow of Hermes
Most hedge wizard characters are neither allies of nor converted to the Order of Hermes. These hedge wizards live in the shadow of Hermes. Some options for introducing such characters into your stories are:
- Hedge wizard traditions can add depth and interest to the places that the characters visit. Perhaps the village wise woman is a member of folk witch coven, or scholars at the local cathedral school are learned magicians.
- A hedge tradition may be the enemy of a covenant (Major Covenant Hook Hedge Tradition; Covenants, page 21). The hedge wizards (who are unlikely to be aware of Hermetic norms) may compete with the covenant for local vis sources. The hedge wizards may have significant mundane influence — perhaps they are members of a noble’s court — which makes overtly attacking them awkward for the covenant.
- Another interesting option is a saga where the characters are all hedge wizards (and their mundane allies). For example, Chapter 3 contains rules for creating a coven of folk witches based on the rules for covenant creation. The troupe could devise similar rules for groups of other hedge wizards.
Hedge Wizards and the Aegis of the Hearth
Many Hermetic sites, especially covenants, are protected by a casting of the Aegis of the Hearth (ArM5, page 161). This affects hedge wizards normally, which means that unless the hedge wizard has a Might Score (which is unlikely) he may enter the Aegis through mundane means without problem. If he is Gifted he feels a tingling sensation as he does, but of course he may not realize what this signifies.
- If a hedge wizard casts an effect towards an Aegis, the effect must Penetrate the Aegis to be successful. This includes transportation effects; for example, a folk witch cannot fly through an Aegis unless her Penetration Total exceeds the level of the Aegis.
- If a hedge wizard casts an effect within an Aegis, half the level of the Aegis is subtracted from his Casting Total.
- If a hedge wizard has a token, or participated in the casting of the Aegis, he is not affected by the Aegis.
These are common rules for hedge magic, although some of the hedge traditions detailed in the remainder of this book do break particular aspects of these rules. Such special cases are discussed in the appropriate chapter. This section is also intended as guidance for troupes devising their own hedge traditions. You may, of course, replace some of these rules, but it is recommended that each hedge tradition only break a few of the common hedge magic rules. In particular, these rules have been formulated with the assumption that hedge wizards are considerably less powerful than magi, which partly justifies the Order of Hermes’ position as the dominant tradition in Mythic Europe.
The Gift
Some hedge traditions are practiced exclusively by Gifted characters, while others include unGifted members. Traditions dominated by Gifted characters are probably geographically isolated (or peripheral to Mythic Europe), small, new, or somehow hidden from the Order of Hermes; otherwise they would have surely been assimilated or eliminated centuries ago. On the other hand, traditions dominated by unGifted characters may be quite widespread, because, as mentioned above, only those hedge wizards with The Gift are usually considered proper wizards by the Order.
Opening the Gift
A Gifted hedge wizard has to undergo a ritual, similar to the Hermetic Opening of the Arts, before he can fully utilize the powers of his hedge tradition. The particulars of the ritual are unique to the hedge tradition, but the following general rules apply. In these rules, the hedge wizard whose Gift is being Opened is referred to as the apprentice, and the hedge wizard who is Opening the apprentice’s Gift is referred to as the master. Obviously, particular hedge traditions may use different titles for these roles.
It takes one season to Open The Gift, which occupies both the apprentice and the master for the whole season. Usually this happens near the beginning of some sort of apprenticeship, but this depends on the particular hedge tradition. Both master and apprentice must have The Gift. The master must also have had his Gift Opened to the tradition previously. This means that unGifted hedge wizards cannot Open The Gift of their Gifted colleagues, and a Gifted hedge wizard cannot Open his own Gift.
If the apprentice has no existing Supernatural Ability or Art Scores, his Gift is automatically Opened at the end of the season. Usually this gives him a score of 0 in the hedge Arts associated with the tradition, or makes a certain set of Supernatural Abilities favored (see later in this chapter). It may also grant one or more Virtues. For details of precisely what Opening The Gift achieves, see each individual hedge tradition. If the master is not fully competent in the Supernatural Abilities and Arts of the tradition, then the Opening of The Gift will be flawed (see insert).
If the apprentice already has Supernatural Ability or Art Scores, these may be lost in the Opening process or it may not be possible for his Gift to be Opened at all. In this case an Opening Total is calculated for the master and compared to an Opening Ease Factor. See the individual hedge traditions for details of precisely how the Opening Total is calculated.
The Opening Ease Factor is equal to twice the sum of the apprentice’s existing Supernatural Ability and Art scores of the apprentice, with an additional + 12 if the character’s Gift has already been Opened by another tradition (including the Order of Hermes). Treat each Supernatural Ability or Art derived from a Minor Virtue as if it has a score of at least 2, and treat each derived from a Major Virtue as if it has a score of at least 6.
| Opening Ease Factor | Twice Apprentice’s Supernatural Ability + Art Scores (+ 12 If Gift Already Open) |
If the master’s Opening Total is less than the Opening Ease Factor, it is not possible for him to Open The Gift of the apprentice. If the master’s Opening Total is greater than or equal to the Opening Ease Factor then the apprentice’s Gift is Opened, however unless the Opening Total exceeds twice the Opening Ease Factor the apprentice loses his existing Supernatural Ability and Art Scores. If his Supernatural Ability and Arts Scores are lost, he also loses any Virtues (or Flaws) associated with them.
Even if the master is able to Open The Gift of the apprentice, the Opening may still be flawed as described in the insert. A character whose Gift has been Opened must subtract at least 15 from the source quality when attempting to learn a new Supernatural Ability, just as for Hermetic magi. If the sum of his Abilities and Arts is higher, he must subtract the higher total instead.
For example: Stefano, a learned magician, wishes to Open The Gift of a young Gifted girl named Sarah. Sarah has already developed the Supernatural Abilities Entrancement (2), and Magic Sensitivity (3) of her own accord. Both Sarah and Stefano are Gifted, so Opening Sarah’s Gift is technically possible. However, as Sarah already has Supernatural Abilities the Opening Total must be calculated to see if Stefano is successful. For learned magicians the Opening Total is calculated from Stefano’s Succuro Magicam Lab Total, which is Succuro + Magicam + Intelligence + Artes Liberales + aura. For Stefano, this is 2 + 6 + 4 + 5 = 17. We will take the aura modifier to be zero. The Ease Factor that this is compared to depends on the sum of Sarah’s Supernatural Ability (and Art) Scores. Entrancement is granted by a Major Virtue so it counts as having a level of at least 6, Magic Sensitivity derives from a Minor Virtue so it counts as having a level of at least 2, but as it actually has a level of 3 it counts as level 3. This means that the Ease Factor is (6 + 3) x 2 = 18. As Stefano’s Opening Total (17) doesn’t exceed the Ease Factor (18), he’s not able to Open Sarah’s Gift. What if Sarah had no Magic Sensitivity Ability? In this case, the Ease Factor would be 12 (based on Entrancement only). Stefano’s Opening Total (17) is sufficient to Open Sarah’s Gift, but as it is not double the Ease Factor, Sarah loses her Entrancement Ability. What if Sarah had no Entrancement Ability? The Ease Factor would be 6 (based on Magic Sensitivity only). Stefano’s Opening Total (17) is enough to Open Sarah’s Gift, and as it’s greater than double the Ease Factor, Sarah keeps her Magic Sensitivity Ability, too.
Opening the ArtsThe Hermetic Opening of the Arts is the Order of Hermes’ equivalent of Opening The Gift. Rules for this are given in ArM5 (page 106) and again in Houses of Hermes: Societates (page 128), but they do not address the possibility of the apprentice’s Gift being already Opened by another tradition. If a magus attempts to Open the Arts of an apprentice whose Gift has already been Opened by a hedge tradition, add 30 to the Intellego Vim Lab Total required by the magus. Flawed Opening of The GiftTo be a fully competent master, the character must have a score of at least 2 in each Supernatural Ability and Art of the tradition. For every Supernatural Ability or Art that the master fails to meet this criterion, the apprentice gains a Flaw that affects his magic use. Usually, this is something like Deficient Art, but the troupe may substitute other Flaws as appropriate. |
Social Penalty of the Gift
The Gift imposes a heavy social penalty on a character when he attempts to interact socially with other characters (see ArM5, page 75), including when he interacts with other Gifted characters. Hermetic magi have overcome this difficulty through the innovation of Parma Magica; one of its functions is to shield magi from the social effect of each other’s Gift. Some hedge traditions who have Gifted members have found other ways to overcome this social penalty, while other traditions like folk witches have not solved the social problems of the Gift, and consequently their Gifted members only interact in small, factious, paranoid groups.
The Limits of Magic
The Limits of Magic are Hermetic theories that describe the boundaries of Hermetic magic, although some Hermetic theorists believe that a few of the limits are merely errors in Bonisagus’ theory. The Limits of Magic are described in detail in ArM5 (page 79-80). Hedge magic is likewise normally bound by the Limits of Magic, which adds credence to the theories of Bonisagus, although a hedge wizard might not conceive of his limitations in precisely the same systematic way magi do. Despite this, Hermetic theorists have noted that there are odd bits and pieces of some hedge traditions that do appear to break the Limits of Magic. The discovery of these oddities is very exciting for the Order of Hermes, as it indicates possible errors in (and corrections to) Bonisagus’ theory.
It is recommended that traditions devised by the troupe break no more than one of the Lesser Limits of Magic and do not break the Greater Limits of Magic at all. Hedge traditions should also not break the new Limit of Magic Resistance (see insert), unless the troupe wants the extremely prejudiced persecution of the hedge tradition to form a significant part of the saga.
The Limit of Magic ResistanceNo hedge tradition has a general resistance to magic. This is obviously not a true Limit of Magic, as clearly a Hermetic magus has a general magic resistance from his Form Art Scores (augmented even further by his Parma Magica). However, Hermetic theorists have noted that hedge traditions are constrained by this apparent limit. It is unclear why this should be so, but it is undeniably convenient for the Order of Hermes. In fact, if a hedge tradition did develop a method of breaking the Limit of Magic Resistance, its members would be ruthlessly eliminated by the Order of Hermes. This is because the wider Order fully understands that its hegemony over the hedge traditions relies on magi’s ability to resist the magical effects of hedge wizards, and the hedge wizard’s corresponding inability to resist the magic of magi. Perhaps the historic efficiency of the Order of Hermes in identifying and destroying such challenges to their power is sufficient to explain the apparent Limit of Magic Resistance. |
Hedge Arts and Supernatural Abilities
Some hedge traditions produce effects via combinations of Arts in a manner similar to how Hermetic effects are produced via combinations of Technique and Form Arts. Other hedge traditions produce effects via Supernatural Abilities. Finally, some traditions use both Arts and Supernatural Abilities (although for separate effects). Hedge Arts are not normally compatible with Hermetic Arts (or with the hedge Arts of other traditions), so if a character somehow learns Arts from several traditions they may not be combined to produce exotic effects. However, this could be a fruitful avenue for integration research projects (see later).
Difficult Arts
Some hedge traditions are under-developed, or have theoretical shortcomings, so the hedge wizards find it difficult to improve some (or even all) of their hedge Arts. Other hedge Arts are difficult to improve because they encompass very wide and disparate effects. In either case, such Arts are noted as being Difficult Arts in their description. This means that when generating a character, scores in these Difficult Arts are purchased as if they were Abilities (it costs 5 experience points for a score of 1, 15 experience points for a score of 2, etc). A Difficult Art also uses the Ability Advancement Table (ArM5, page 31) when the character studies or otherwise earns experience points during play. This is the only difference between a Difficult Art and a normal Art: the Difficult Art may be improved through the study of vis (if this is a possibility for the hedge tradition), it is affected normally by Virtues that affect Arts (such as Magical Foci), and it is not affected by Virtues that affect Abilities.
Original research (either by hedge wizards themselves, or by helpful Hermetic allies) could improve a hedge tradition and convert some of its Difficult Arts to normal Arts. This should be at least as difficult as an Hermetic breakthrough, and may not be possible at all for some theoretically naïve traditions. Many magi would frown upon such research, as it could reduce the Order of Hermes’s position of dominance over the hedge wizards.
Difficult Arts MechanicallyDifficult Arts are necessary to prevent hedge wizard traditions from being easily able to generate high Penetration scores to bypass the Magic Resistance of Hermetic magi. The troupe should consider this when developing its own traditions. A good guideline for game balance is that if a combination of hedge Arts can affect magi, then at least one should be a Difficult Art. |
Accelerated Abilities
Accelerated Abilities are the counterpart to Difficult Arts, introduced in Houses of Hermes: Societates. They advance as Arts do, costing one experience point for a score of 1, and are not limited in level at character creation, but are otherwise treated as Abilities in all respects.
Favored Abilities
Some traditions have a set of favored Supernatural Abilities. Gifted characters who belong to these traditions do not have to subtract the total of their Supernatural Ability scores from the source quality to learn other Abilities that are favored by that tradition. Usually, the character has to undergo some sort of ritual — Opening The Gift — before he gains this benefit of the tradition. Favored Abilities have no meaning for unGifted characters, as they cannot learn Supernatural Abilities at all. Characters with favored Abilities must subtract the total of all their Supernatural Abilities, including favored Abilities, from the source quality when learning Supernatural Abilities that are not favored.
Magic Defenses
As noted above no hedge wizard can resist magic, but some do have limited magical defenses that reduce the effect of magic. Magical defenses apply either a numerical bonus to the hedge wizard, or a penalty to an attacking caster, in an area of the hedge wizard’s specialty. If the specialty is a hedge Art, then the bonus is equal to the hedge wizard’s Score in the Art divided by 5 (round up). If the specialty is a Supernatural Ability, then the bonus is equal to the hedge wizard’s Score in the Ability. Difficult Arts are treated as Arts, so for them the bonus is equal to Score divided by 5 (round up), and Accelerated Abilities are treated as Abilities.
| Magical Defense Bonus | Art Divided By 5 (Round Up) Or Ability Score |
Magical defenses usually only assist the hedge wizard, and any companions are unaffected. So if the hedge wizard is part of a Group or large Target then the magic effect may be reduced for him, but any others within range are affected normally.
Magical defenses are not cumulative. So, if a hedge wizard has several possible defenses against an effect, use only the best available defense.
If the troupe is in doubt as to which defense is the “best,” then the storyguide should adjudicate.
Magical defenses are not optional or under the control of the hedge wizard, and work even if he is unconscious. Note that this means that magic defenses apply to friendly effects, too.
Magical defenses do not apply to effects that have a Personal Range.
Each hedge Art or Supernatural Ability grants the hedge wizard a maximum of one defense, although some hedge traditions do not gain any defenses. For example, the folk witch Cursing Ability gives the witch an Accelerated Expiry defense against effects that target her with an Arcane Connection Range, and her Healing Ability gives her a Magical Fortitude defense against effects with a Corpus Form. On the other hand, the runes of the vitkir do not grant them any defenses, unless they actually use spells. Note that it is the training of the tradition that grants these defenses, so an untrained character with the appropriate Supernatural Virtues for one or more of the powers of a hedge tradition would not normally acquire the associated defenses.
Some magical defenses are listed below, and a particular tradition may have access to none, some, or all of these options:
Accelerated Expiry
Spells cast on the hedge wizard, in his area of specialty, expire unexpectedly quickly. Diameter Duration spells expire a number of rounds too early equal to the hedge wizard’s Magical Defense Bonus, but last at least one round. Sun Duration spells expire a number of hours too early, but last at least Diameter. Moon Duration spells expire a number of days too early, but last at least Sun. Year Duration spells expire a number of weeks too early, but last at least Moon. Spells with a Momentary, Concentration, or Ring Duration are unaffected. If other characters are affected by the same spell, the spell lasts its usual duration on them.
Alacritous Fortune
The hedge wizard adds his Magical Defense Bonus to his Defense Total when spells are aimed at him.
Confounding Magics
Add the hedge wizard’s Magical Defense Bonus to the Ease Factor of Concentration rolls made by the casters of effects with Concentration Duration that target the hedge wizard, and are in an area of the hedge wizard’s specialty. Note that if the hedge wizard is part of a Group or large Target effect, only a single Concentration roll is made by the caster. If several hedge wizards with Confounding Magics defenses are in the Group then only the best Magic Defense Bonus is used to modify the Ease Factor of the Concentration roll. This is an instance in which the effect of the hedge wizard’s Magic Defenses can indirectly benefit other characters.
Immovable Object
If the hedge wizard is affected by an effect in his area of specialty that physically or mentally controls him (usually a Rego effect), then each round a roll is made for the wizard to resist the effect, of Strength + Magical Defense Bonus – Magnitude of Effect + simple die against an Ease Factor of 9. If the effect is still active next round, he is still affected by it but another roll is made for him to resist. This defense could be disastrous if the wizard resists a friendly effect that allows him to fly, for example.
Magical Fortitude
If the hedge wizard is affected by an effect in his area of specialty that causes damage, then he receives a Magical Defense Bonus to his Soak Total.
Strength of Form
If the hedge wizard is affected by an effect in his area of specialty that changes his form (usually a Muto effect), then he may make a Stamina + Magical Defense Bonus + simple die roll against an Ease Factor of 9 to return to his natural form. The Bjornaer Heartbeast Ability grants a similar defense that has been retained from the House’s pre-Hermetic tradition.
Warping
A hedge wizard, like most characters, accumulates Warping Points that contribute to his Warping Score. The hedge wizard gains Warping Points via the usual methods (see ArM5, page 167), but as hedge wizards draw their power from the Magic Realm, he does not accumulate Warping points due to living in a strong magic aura. The response of each magic tradition to Warping is unique. Wizard’s Twilight is the response of the Order of Hermes, and no hedge tradition has this particular response. Usually, unGifted hedge wizards react similarly to mundane characters, gaining Flaws and Virtues (see ArM5, page 168), but Gifted hedge wizards react more uniquely and unpredictably (see individual chapters).
Vis
Some hedge traditions use vis as described in the tradition chapters. Of course, even these hedge wizards might use a different word to describe vis or may only recognize vis of specific Forms. However, this invites an important question: how do hedge wizards detect vis?
Magic Sensitivity
Any character with the Supernatural Ability Magic Sensitivity (ArM5, page 66) can detect whether an object contains vis; make a roll of Perception + Magic Sensitivity against an Ease Factor of (12 – the number of pawns of vis contained in the object). Some hedge traditions have alternative supernatural methods of detecting vis; for example Folk Witches may dowse for vis (see Chapter 3: Folk Witches).
Non-supernatural Perception
If the character does not have supernatural means of detecting vis, then he may still have an understanding of the types of objects that might contain vis. If the character is presented with an array of objects that might contain vis (for example, he is searching a magus’ Laboratory), make a Perception + (Hedge Magic) Theory or Magic Lore roll against an Ease Factor of 12. If the roll is successful the character has successfully identified which objects are most likely to be vis, but whether the objects really do contain vis or not is unknown (to him) until he tries to use the vis.
Non-supernatural Intelligence
Alternatively, a character can use his understanding of magic to predict where vis might be found. In this case, make a roll for the character of Intelligence + (Hedge Magic) Theory or Magic Lore against an Ease Factor of 15. If this roll is successful, the character has successfully figured out that, for example, the first fruit of the season is likely to contain vis. However, actually finding the first fruit is a trial and error process for the character and may be a significant adventure in and of itself. See Covenants (page 72) for examples of the types of objects and places that the character might suppose contain vis.
Creating Hedge Characters
The chapters in this book describe how to generate characters belonging to specific hedge traditions. The following rules provide a general framework for the game mechanics.
Magi, Companions, or Grogs?
The options for creating hedge wizard characters are:
As a Gifted Companion
The character is created as a Gifted companion, with the free The Gift Virtue. Such a character may have up to 10 points worth of Virtues and balancing Flaws — some of which may affect his ability to use his Supernatural powers, or grant access to additional powers within the tradition. Usually a Gifted character has access to only one free Supernatural Ability, but he may learn others (see ArM5, page 166). Extra Supernatural Abilities that have been learned in this way are represented in character generation by Supernatural Virtues. However most traditions, through Opening The Gift, instead allow Gifted hedge wizards “free” access to an entire suite of powers, Abilities, and/or hedge Arts. This benefit of tradition membership is represented by a free Social Status (similar to the Hermetic Magus Social Status). See each tradition chapter for details on precisely what powers tradition membership allows Gifted characters.
As an Ungifted Companion
The character is created as an unGifted companion character with a suite of Virtues and Flaws that each grant him access to particular powers, Abilities, and/ or Hedge Arts of his tradition. An unGifted companion character may have up to 10 points worth of Virtues and balancing Flaws. Although he may have a Social Status to represent his membership of the hedge tradition, an unGifted hedge wizard has no Gift to be Opened and so does not get free access to the powers of his tradition. This typically means that unGifted hedge wizards are less powerful, especially if the tradition encompasses more than 10 points worth of Virtues.
As a Mythic Companion
A much more powerful unGifted character may be created as a Mythic Companion character. If the character is a Mythic Companion he must be assigned the free Mythic Companion Status Virtue (some traditions have special versions of this Virtue). You may chose up to ten points of Flaws for the character, and each Flaw point balances two points of Virtues. The character also receives an extra Minor Virtue at no cost. This means that the Mythic Companion character has a maximum of 21 points of Virtues. The extra Minor Virtue that the character receives may be specified by the tradition, and the tradition description may also specify a set of minimum Ability scores for a Mythic Companion character.
As a Grog
Finally, a very minor unGifted hedge wizard might be created as a grog character who has up to three Minor Virtues to represent his powers.
Concerns
Of course, you should obey the normal rules for the mix and types of Virtues and Flaws that may be assigned to the different character types when designing a hedge wizard character (see ArM5, page 28). In particular, note that only Gifted companion characters may be assigned Hermetic Virtues and Flaws. In the chapters of this book all of these strategies have been used, although individual traditions may only normally encompass one or two options. In general, hedge wizards who are Gifted companions are the most powerful and represent what the Order of Hermes would consider as true hedge wizards. UnGifted hedge wizards are less powerful, and if they do not have the required Virtues they may not be able to access all the powers of the tradition. In terms of allocating characters to players, your troupe may like to consider Gifted companions and Mythic Companion characters to be equivalent to magi, and unGifted companion characters to be equivalent to other companion characters. However, even Gifted hedge wizard characters are typically not as powerful as magi, thus if a player wishes to play such a character he should understand this. On the other hand, if the troupe is playing in the multi-character style, and everyone is happy with the situation, there is nothing wrong with a player having a Gifted companion hedge wizard instead of a normal companion.
Common Hedge Virtues and Flaws
The following are common Virtues and Flaws for hedge wizards:
Hermetic Virtues and Flaws
A hedge wizard who has the Gift may (like any Gifted character; ArM5 page 28) be assigned Hermetic Virtues and Flaws during character generation. A few make little sense to be assigned to some hedge wizards, so the storyguide should be consulted. For example, an Affinity with an Art is not usually suitable if the hedge tradition does not have hedge Arts. The traditions in this book indicate which Hermetic Virtues and Flaws are suitable for these hedge traditions. In some cases, versions of Hermetic Virtues are available as Supernatural Virtues to unGifted members of a tradition. An unGifted character may only take a Supernatural Flaw of this sort if he has a Virtue that will be limited by it. In addition, the troupe may wish to consider whether a Flaw that is Major for a Gifted practitioner is still Major when applied to someone with a small subset of those powers.
Free Social Status: (hedge Wizard)
The character is a member of a hedge tradition. Each hedge tradition has a different version of this Social Status (Alchemist, Folk Witch, Vitkir, etc). If the character is Gifted he has had The Gift Opened by his tradition, which usually gives him access to the favored Supernatural Abilities or Arts of the tradition. If the character is unGifted he must have the required Virtues to access the Supernatural Abilities and Arts of the tradition, but he still gains the social benefits of the tradition. This Social Status may be compatible with other Social Statuses, and with Wealthy and Poor; see each hedge tradition for details.
Minor Supernatural Virtue: Greater Magical Defenses
The hedge wizard is unusually difficult to affect with magic; double his Magical Defense Bonuses. This is only useful for a hedge wizard whose tradition includes Magical Defenses. If the hedge wizard acquires a Magic Resistance (he learns Parma Magica, for example), it is not affected by this Virtue.
Major Story Flaw: Known Hedge Wizard
The character is known to be a hedge wizard by many in the Order of Hermes. The approximate location of his home is well known, as is something of his capabilities. The hedge wizard is carefully watched by the Order, and if he begins to demonstrates great power he may be required to either “Join or Die.” This Story Flaw is only really suitable for a Gifted or Mythic Companion character.
Major Story Flaw: Pagan
Some hedge wizards are pagans; they don’t follow the teachings of the church and have never been baptized. This upsets those in authority in Mythic Europe and frightens common people who learn of it. The character doesn’t observe Christian holidays and he avoids churchmen and the Dominion. The character can’t pretend to go along with society, as he believes that this would displease his gods and incur their wrath — he might suffer supernatural consequences if he takes Communion or appears to worship gods other than his own. The character may be correct in this belief. The character may begin with either Magic Lore or Faerie Lore depending on the specifics of his faith. Note that this Flaw should only be taken for the character if the troupe wishes to tell significant stories about the character’s pagan religion. This Flaw is not appropriate for a character who is a “non-practicing” pagan.
Minor Supernatural Flaw: No Magical Defenses
There is something flawed in the way the hedge wizard’s Supernatural Abilities and Arts were developed. He has no Magical Defense Bonuses. This is only appropriate if the hedge tradition has magic defenses. This might be a suitable Flaw for a Gifted hedge wizard whose Opening The Gift ritual was flawed.
Common Hedge Abilities
Common abilities for hedge wizards are:
Arcane Abilities
The (Hedge Wizard) Social Status Virtue that represents the hedge wizard’s tradition gives him access to at least the Arcane Abilities Finesse, Magic Lore, and Penetration. Many hedge traditions also have an Arcane Ability analogous to the Magic Theory Ability of the Order of Hermes.
(hedge Magic) Theory
This Arcane Ability deals with the technical details of how a particular hedge tradition practices its magic. It is possible that some technically naïve traditions have no practitioners with this Ability, which means that the tradition is likely to be poor at innovating, creating new effects, and teaching. Specialties: particular activities.
(organization) Lore
There is an (Organization) Lore General Ability for each hedge tradition. This includes knowledge of the legends, history, structure, and goals of the tradition. Some traditions use this Ability in initiations. A character does not need to be a member of the tradition to have this Ability. Note that this is not a new Ability (see ArM5, page 66). Specialities: personalities, history, politics.
Acquiring Hedge Wizard Powers
There are several ways to get powers:
Inherited and Learned Powers
Some powers are inherited. This does not mean that a character’s parents must have had these powers, but rather that the character was born with one or more Supernatural Virtues that enable access to the powers of a hedge tradition. Usually this birthright is not in and of itself sufficient to be a member of the tradition; the character must also be discovered and trained to utilize his talents by an existing member of the tradition. In this sense, a character with The Gift can be thought of as a character with an especially broad inheritance. He has the raw capacity to develop the powers of any tradition, if he receives the appropriate training.
Other powers are learned, and the character must acquire the Supernatural Virtues necessary for the tradition via some kind of teaching, usually through initiations or a type of Opening the Gift if the character is Gifted. When you’re developing your character you should decide how he developed the powers necessary for his tradition. Was he born with power or did he learn? If he learned powers via initiations, he may have Flaws that were inflicted as ordeals. If he was born with power, how did his tradition find him? If he learned, why did his master teacher him?
Of course, an individual character may have some inherited powers and some learned powers, and the chapters of this book offer some suggestions (and restrictions) as to how and why characters might become members of each hedge tradition.
During Character Generation
If your character is a Gifted companion, once his Gift has been Opened he will have access to some (or all) of the tradition’s powers, and you may spend experience points on the Arts or Ability scores associated with these during character generation. The individual chapter descriptions specify for each tradition what Arts or Abilities Gifted characters may access, and from what age and under what conditions this access begins. If your character is an unGifted hedge wizard, you may only spend experience points on those Supernatural Abilities and/ or hedge Arts for which he has the corresponding Virtues; some may be inherited, and others may be taught to him during the years covered by character generation.
For example, if your character is an unGifted folk witch, you may only purchase a score in the Flight Supernatural Ability if she has the Minor Supernatural Virtue Flight.
During Play
During play, a hedge wizard character may learn Abilities and Arts in the normal ways (unless his tradition places additional social restrictions on how its supernatural powers may be learned and improved). Normally this means that your character may improve his existing Supernatural Abilities and Arts, but may not learn new ones unless he somehow acquires Virtues that enable him to do so (typically via some kind of initiation; see below). Gifted companion characters usually still have the same broad access that they did during character generation, although existing scores in Arts and Abilities may make things difficult for them.
Initiations
Some hedge traditions teach a few of their powers through Initiation rites. These are similar to the Initiation rites of Hermetic Mystery Cults; full rules for these are printed in Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults and The Mysteries Revised Edition.
The general procedure for a hedge tradition Initiation is that a member of the hedge tradition (the Mystagogue) directs the character (the Initiate) in a task or series of tasks that have mystical significance for the tradition, and usually occupy at least a season of time. Upon the completion of the task(s) an Initiation Total is calculated and compared to an Ease Factor. If the Ease Factor is exceeded, then the Initiation is a success and the Initiate gains a new power (usually represented by a Virtue). If the Mystagogue does not personally know the power then the Ease Factor is increased by 3 (if the power is a Minor Virtue), or by 9 (if the power is a Major Virtue). This is most often the case if the character is acting as his own Mystagogue and attempting to Initiate himself. Some hedge traditions lack the capacity for characters to Initiate themselves — even though the founders of the tradition may have known how.
The sequence of required tasks for the Initiation — which may include Quests, gaining Flaws (Ordeals), and spending time on mystically significant activities — is known as the Initiation Script. Each initiation rite has a specific Script, and the Script has an associated Script Bonus that depends on the exact tasks involved. The Script Bonus is added to the Initiation Total. Although referred to as an Initiation Script, the Script for a hedge Initiation is not necessarily a written document; it may be a memorized list of instructions known by the Mystagogue. If the Script is written, it is treated as a Lab Text of level equal to the Script Bonus, and may be used by a magus as source of Insight into the tradition (see later). See each hedge tradition for details on what Initiation rites and Scripts those traditions can access, how each tradition generates an Initiation Total, and what Ease Factor the total should be compared to.
Hedge traditions are often much less flexible than Hermetic magic and thus hedge Mystagogues may not be able to vary Initiation Scripts or initiate different Virtues. However, if the troupe does want to vary a hedge Initiation, the standard Hermetic Mystery Cult rules can be used for guidance.
UnGifted InitiationsUsually, only Gifted characters may be initiated. However, some hedge traditions can Initiate unGifted characters. These Initiations follow all the usual rules except:
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Integration of Hedge Magic
Some Hermetic magi, particularly Bonisagus Seekers, eagerly hunt down rumors of hedge traditions so that they may gain insights into magic theory. This is because some hedge traditions accomplish unusual effects that could, with considerable difficulty, be integrated into the Hermetic theory of magic, and thus duplicated by Hermetic magi. A new effect might even break a limit of magic, and much prestige would accrue to the Seeker responsible for extending the power of Hermetic magic in this way.
The Integration Process1. Find a source for information about the hedge magic tradition, such as spell texts, items, captured laboratories, books, or similar. This typically involves a quest or adventure of some sort. |
The Breakthrough
An ambitious magus may attempt to incorporate the effects of a hedge magic tradition into Hermetic theory and achieve a Breakthrough in Hermetic theory through research and experimentation. Any magus may, at any time, attempt a breakthrough; there are no minimum Arts or Ability scores required. To successfully integrate the magic of a hedge tradition into Hermetic Theory, the character must accumulate a number of breakthrough points determined by the type of Breakthrough the magus is attempting. Each chapter of Hedge Magic details the number of breakthrough points required to integrate specific parts of each hedge tradition into Hermetic Theory, and no single breakthrough encompasses all powers of a single tradition. These examples are a good model for the troupe to follow when devising breakthroughs that might result from a magus integrating your own hedge traditions.
There are three kinds of Breakthrough: Minor, Major and Hermetic, and it is recommended that the storyguide vary the exact number of breakthrough points required, for each. This is so the players don’t always know the precise number needed for the Breakthrough, preserving a sense of unpredictability to the extension of Hermetic magic.
A Minor Breakthrough is a development that is immediately useful and applicable in the existing framework of Hermetic magic, such as a new Range, Target, or Duration. It improves or adds upon existing theory without truly reaching the limits of magic. (Typically requires around 30 breakthrough points.)
A Major Breakthrough pushes those limits, but does not break them; these include Hermetic Virtues for Gifted characters. Incorporating most hedge magic into Hermetic theory is a Major Breakthrough, and the incorporation can then be taught to others as Supernatural Virtues (see below). (Typically requires around 45 breakthrough points.)
A Hermetic Breakthrough is research that breaks one of the Hermetic Limits of Magic, such as a new Arcane Ability or the ability to cast permanent duration spells without vis. Hermetic Breakthroughs re-write the theory books; the only Hermetic Breakthrough in 450 years was the development of the Parma Magica by Bonisagus. (Typically requires around 60 breakthrough points.)
Insight
Insight is gained from studying some feature of the hedge tradition. Every insight the magus gains allows him to produce a partially Hermetic effect incorporating some aspect of the tradition in question. As he produces more of these effects, he gains the broader understanding necessary to incorporate that aspect into Hermetic theory as a whole.
The seasons spent gaining insight produce Lab Texts. Any magus may study these Lab Texts over the course of a season in order to gain the same insight for himself, even without direct access to the hedge tradition. Summaries of Lab Texts are not useful in this way, however; only the whole thing can be used. For purposes of copying, insight Lab Texts have a level equal to the typical number of breakthrough points needed for the type of Breakthrough in question.
For every season a magus spends investigating a source of insight, make a stress roll of Intelligence + Magic Theory against an Ease Factor of 18. Inventive Genius adds 3 to this roll, and some sources of insight may add their own modifiers. If the roll succeeds, the magus gains an insight. If it fails, he learns nothing now, but may try again in another season. He may do other things before returning to his study. On a botch, the magus thinks he has an insight, but does not. He realizes this if he creates an effect, as described below, in an attempt to use the insight; the final product is entirely Hermetic, or simply non-functional.
There are three sources of insight: texts, relics, and teachers.
Texts are books, Lab Texts, or other explanatory sources that describe how to learn, perform, or cast a hedge magic effect. A text generally only provides a single insight and the same text provides the same insight for any magus who studies it. Texts are unlikely to be given away by hedge wizards and would usually need to be stolen or found abandoned. Of course, the magus must be able to read the language in which the text written, and many hedge traditions are oral and do not generate texts. If the text contains the information needed to gain a Supernatural Ability, a character could use it to learn the Ability as per the normal rules (ArM5, page 166). Most Hermetic magi however, cannot learn Supernatural Abilities due to prohibitive penalties from their Arts scores.
Relics are mystical devices or items enchanted by practitioners of the hedge tradition, which incorporate unique aspects of that tradition, and may be investigated by a Hermetic magus. A relic may be an on-going mystical effect caused by the hedge tradition, and a laboratory used by a hedge wizard is also a relic, in this sense. Relics normally provide a single insight and the same relic provides the same insight for any magus who studies it. Even a laboratory normally only provides a single insight, although of course a laboratory will often contain texts and other relics that provide independent insights.
Teachers are individuals who are members of the hedge tradition who are able and either willing or persuaded to instruct a Hermetic magus. A teacher can provide a number of insights equal to his (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability, in each Breakthrough associated with his tradition. A hedge wizard who has no (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability cannot act as a teacher, as he does not have the sort of theoretical understanding of his magic works that is helpful to a researcher — although he may, of course, be able to produce relics or texts that can be studied as sources of insight. If a magus has learned the relevant (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability he may act as his own source of insight, but he may not take a bonus to the Insight roll for assisting himself. In addition, a Gifted teacher can act as an assistant to the Hermetic magus, in which case add the teacher’s Intelligence + (Hedge Magic) Theory to the magus’ when making the roll to produce an Insight Lab Text. A teacher may only assist one magus in a season, and a magus may only be assisted by one teacher each season when attempting to find an Insight — this is because additional teachers tend to confuse the issue with their own interpretation.
Story Seeds: Stories About TeachersSome stories that could arise if a hedge wizard works with a magus to create Insight are below. Of course, if the hedge wizard is an NPC character, the magus may also have to go to considerable trouble to find a teacher in the first place. The SaboteurThe hedge wizard does not want to assist the magus and may be providing Insights under duress. The hedge wizard can choose to sabotage any experiment he assists with; treat this as if a Botch is rolled on the Extraordinary Results Chart (see ArM5 page 107). More subtly, the hedge wizard can choose to waste the season spent looking for an Insight on a wild goose chase; make a Guile roll (see ArM5, page 65) to determine if this duplicity is successful. Of course, the hedge wizard may be unable to ruin the experiment in either way due to either controlling Mentem magic or merely because he fears the magus too much. The ProtégéOther magi become aware that the magus is learning Insights from a hedge wizard teacher, and they try to entice the hedge wizard to work on their own projects. If this enticement fails, particularly jealous magi might try to certamen for the right to the hedge wizard’s knowledge, or they might try to kidnap or even assassinate the hedge wizard. This story is particular suitable if the hedge wizard is a player character. The SpyThe hedge wizard uses his access to the magus’ Laboratory to secretly learn the secrets of the Order of Hermes, which he intends to bring back to his own tradition. If the hedge wizard chooses, he can earn 2 Exposure experience every season in either Magic Theory, Parma Magica, Order of Hermes Lore, or any Mystery Lore that the magus knows. Alternatively, the hedge wizard could merely try to steal a book about one of these subjects. The danger of a hedge wizard learning Parma Magica in this way is sufficient that other magi will be suspicious of the wisdom of hedge wizard teachers. Note that a hedge wizard cannot learn Hermetic Arts in this manner (as his Gift has not been Opened by the Order of Hermes). The PlagiaristOther magi become aware that the magus is learning Insights from a hedge wizard and are derisive of his methods. Even if the Breakthrough is important and successful, the magus is not revered as its creator. The magus gains a reputation for poor-quality research and a Bonisagus magus gains no Acclaim for completing this Breakthrough (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, page 21) unless he can convince his peers that the hedge wizard was only a minor contributor to the project. This story is particular suitable if the hedge wizard is a player character. |
Creating the Effect
A particular insight allows the researcher to create one specified effect. This effect might be a spell or an effect enchanted into an item. It could, conceivably, be another laboratory project; anything that uses a Lab Total and creates something. However, spells are by far the most common, followed by item enchantments. The researcher does not get to choose the effect for which he receives insight, and as the level of the effect is fixed, the insight might be for an effect he cannot yet invent. For example, the effect might be level 40, while the researcher has a Lab Total of 32. In that case, the researcher can increase his Lab Total and then work on the effect.
The troupe should decide on the effects that result from particular pieces of insight, choosing ones that advance the saga without upsetting play balance. The following chapters give some examples of possible effects for the traditions detailed in this book. Player characters can vary things as much as they like once they fully integrate the system, so the restrictions at this stage should be accepted with good grace. The researcher must invent exactly the effect inspired by the insight. He may not vary the Range, Duration, or Target, or any other parameters. As the magus must experiment while inventing the effect, the result may be slightly different as a result of rolls on the Extraordinary Results table.
If the researcher has a teacher, that teacher (and other similarly skilled individuals) may assist in the invention process, acting as laboratory helpers (see ArM5, page 103): use their Intelligence + (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability as a bonus to the invention laboratory activity.
A spell is cast like a normal formulaic spell, and characters with Flexible Formulaic Magic may vary it at casting time in the normal way. The spell may also be Mastered, again in the normal way.
The effect created may bend or break the limits of magic, as it incorporates nonHermetic elements. Setting the level of the effect may well require a judgment call by the troupe, as it may do something for which there is no Hermetic guideline. If the effect is successfully created, the magus gains a number of breakthrough points equal to the magnitude of the effect. This applies even if the final effect is warped or has a side effect. These points are added to the magus’ running total, and he must find another source of insight before repeating the procedure.
The effect produced in this way can be reproduced by other Hermetic magi. However, they can only do so if they have access to a Lab Text describing it, and it is not possible to vary the effect in any way; it must be reproduced exactly as it was initially created. Reproducing the effect in this way does not grant breakthrough points unless the reproducing magus also gains the relevant insight, whether from investigating the same item or from reading the original investigator’s Lab Texts. It is possible to reproduce the effect first, and study the insight Lab Texts later.
After the Breakthrough
Minor Breakthroughs are usable immediately in the game, and are understandable by all Hermetic magi. New Ranges or Durations may be incorporated into new spells or items, and the Lab Texts distributed for a spell that may be used by another Hermetic magus without his needing to research the Breakthrough. Any magus who has created an effect using the Breakthrough can then use that Range of Duration freely in his other spells, and any magus trained by that magus, in either Arts or spells, may also do so.
Major and Hermetic Breakthroughs must be taught to Hermetic magi directly. An Ability may be taught in the usual way, either in person or through books. The discoverer converts his breakthrough points into experience points in the new Ability, so that a magus who accrued 50 breakthrough points to integrate an Ability would start with a score of 4.
A new Virtue may be Initiated according to the normal rules for Mysteries. The discoverer gains the Virtue when he completes the integration, and does not need to be Initiated. He does need to design an Initiation Script, following the rules in The Mysteries Revised Edition.
Inventing a Major or Hermetic Breakthrough that does not require teaching takes another Major Breakthrough, which may be achieved by these rules or the original research rules. If this succeeds, any magus may create an effect using the Breakthrough as long as he has a Lab Text, and then may use the Breakthrough freely. As for Minor Breakthroughs, the same applies to any magus taught Arts or spells by a magus who understands the Breakthrough.
Integration By Hedge Wizard Researchers
Some hedge wizards have recovered artifacts of other hedge traditions, and even some of Hermetic origin, and have attempted to replicate the effects they have discovered. Except for the invention of (Hedge Magic) Theory itself, a hedge wizard may only attempt research if he has a Score in the (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability. The possible effects of such activity by hedge researchers are too numerous to list here, but usually (due to the theoretical inferiority of hedge traditions) a hedge researcher requires double the number of breakthrough points that an equivalent Hermetic researcher would require. In addition, few hedge traditions have a culture that encourages innovation, and a hedge researcher’s peers are as likely to condemn as commend him for his achievements.
Hermetic Use of Hedge TheoryIf a hedge tradition lacks a theoretical foundation (and therefore a (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability), a Hermetic researcher may invent such an Ability as a Hermetic Breakthrough. A Hermetic researcher may also invent a (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability if he lacks access to teachers with the Ability, and a hedge wizard may attempt to invent this Ability for his own tradition. This Breakthrough normally requires 60 breakthrough points, but the researcher reduces this amount by his greatest existing (Hedge Magic) Theory or Magic Theory Ability Score. Once he has completed this Breakthrough, the researcher converts his break through points into experience points in the relevant Ability. He may then go on to act as his own source of insight for subsequent Breakthroughs (based on the same hedge tradition), as described above. If the researcher wants to integrate several effects from a single tradition, this is efficient as it reduces the overall amount of original material from the hedge tradition (texts and relics) that the researcher requires. If a hedge wizard invents (Hedge Magic) Theory for his own tradition, he gains the benefits of having a theoretical understanding of magic. For example, he can improve his laboratory, adds his (Hedge Magic) Theory Ability Score to his Lab Totals, etc. Original Research and Ancient MagicHouses of Hermes: True Lineages includes rules for original research — adding features to Hermetic magic based purely on a magus’ own inspiration. Integrating hedge traditions tends to be faster and safer, but it does have two disadvantages. First, the magus can only aim for the Breakthroughs available in the hedge tradition. Second, he has to get out of his laboratory and find (possibly uncooperative) sources of insight. From the storyguide’s perspective, these may be advantages, of course. The two sets of rules are similar, and both approaches may be taken to a single Breakthrough. That is, breakthrough points from integration may be added to breakthrough points from original research to determine whether a Breakthrough has been achieved. Ancient Magic also includes similar rules for integrating extinct, ancient traditions into Hermetic magic. Technically, breakthrough points gathered from integrating ancient traditions are compatible with those gathered from integrating hedge traditions, and vice versa. However, in practice it would be very rare for an ancient and hedge tradition to share a common Breakthrough: ancient traditions are meant to be extinct. |
Attribution
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.