Houses of Hermes: Societates Chapter Four: House Tytalus
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House Tytalus
Dullards and idiots created laws to punish success and enslave violence, yet it took someone of wisdom and perspicacity to invent fear of the gods; so introducing the most pleasant of teachings, the hiding of truth within a false account. Still, the truly wise and acute of mind cannot be limited by any laws of human invention. —Tytalus the Founder
House Tytalus is most famously known for their never-ending quest for conflict. They are perceived as troublemakers, cunning politicians, and perpetrators of clandestine plots. They are all these things and much more. For a player interested in characters of House Tytalus, this chapter describes the history, philosophy, and culture of the House, and details the motivations of these strife-seeking magi. For the storyguide, there is a toolkit of rules for running Tytalus-based stories or sagas, including rules for the resolution of public debates, and ideas for stories based on intrigue and nefarious schemes.
Key factsPopulation: 96 Primus: Either Buliste or Harpax (see Primi at War, below) Domus Magna: Fudarus, located on a the Isle of Ushant, just off the coast of Brittany. This flat-topped island rises with almost vertical cliffs 180’ above sea level, and is infamous for its treacherous reefs and violent storms. Fudarus is a sprawling fortress atop the landward cliffs, impossibly draped down the face of the cliff like petrifi ed ivy. The covenant is hidden from mortal view by sea mists and spirits of deception. Favored Tribunals: None Motto: Auctus ex dimicatione (“from conflict, growth”) Symbol: A spiral. Tytalan heraldry is a complex matter, consisting of many variants of this basic symbol (see Spiral Symbolism). The symbol of the House as a whole is the type of spiral called a spira, consisting of four full turns; this symbol turns clockwise currently, but this has not always been so. In recent years, supporters of Buliste or Harpax color the symbol either violet or green respectively (see History for more details of the quarrel between Buliste and Harpax). Famous FiguresTytalus: The Founder of the House. Pralix: The first apprentice of Tytalus, and the Founder of House Ex Miscellanea. Hariste: A beloved pupil of Tytalus, collator of the Analects, and first of the lineage of Leper Magi. Tasgillia: A Prima executed for diabolism in 961 AD. Kalliste the Accursed: The Prima who succeeded Tasgillia. |
History
Some have said that the history of House Tytalus can be divided into eras based on pairs of prominent magi in contention with each other. The early years were dominated by Tytalus’s fi ghts with his mater, with Tremere, and then with his fi lii, who subsequently continued the tradition by feuding with each other. The middle period of history consisted of the corruption of the House, which set the fourth, fifth, and sixth Primi at each other’s throats. Finally, in the current day, the House is still at war, with two magi claiming a right to the leadership of the House.
Tytalus the Sorcerer
In her search for wizards to form an Order united by Hermetic magic and the Parma Magica, Trianoma visited the catacombs of Naples. There she found Guorna the Fetid, perhaps the greatest necromancer who ever lived, and heir to the secrets of death and the dead (see Houses.of. Hermes:. True. Lineages, page 112). Trianoma, with great trepidation, invited the hideous necromancer to Durenmar to study under Bonisagus, in order that her powerful magic could be integrated into Hermetic Theory. Unknown to Trianoma, Guorna’s three pupils — Tytalus, Tremere, and an as-yetuntrained girl called Pralix — had recently fl ed across the Adriatic Sea to Dacia after discovering her horrifi c plot to transfer her soul from her pus-fi lled, leprosy-riddled body into one of theirs.
The three apprentices marshaled forces to kill their former teacher and tormentor. Tytalus took charge; he was the eldest of the three, and had studied under the witch for nearly three decades. He ordered Tremere to fi nd wizards to aid them, while he himself sought out magical assistance to oppose Guorna’s own magic. Her power derived from the gods of the dead (despite the secularization of their religion), so Tytalus sought out those spirits imprisoned in the Underworld by those gods, spirits fi lled with resentment, rebellion, hatred, and vast power — the titans. He forged numerous pacts with these fearful spirits, and, bolstered by the necromantic wizards recruited by Tremere, the two destroyed the remnants of Guorna’s tradition in Naples, and then waited for the witch herself to return from the Black Forest. The trap set by the two brothers was too well-planned for Guorna to survive, despite even her new Hermetic teaching. Tytalus claimed to have inflicting the killing blow against his mater, ripping her heart from her pus-filled chest. Guorna, however, had her revenge: with her dying breath she cursed her matricidal pupil with her own affliction of leprosy.
Tytalus the Magus
After the defeat of Guorna, Tytalus and Tremere (and Pralix) marched on Durenmar, intent on eliminating the wizards they considered her allies and co-conspirators. However, the diplomacy of Trianoma forestalled their wrath, and the brothers were convinced of their innocence; indeed, they were persuaded to accept tutelage under Bonisagus instead. Tytalus found the adoption of Hermetic magic very difficult because of his extensive training and substantial power in his native tradition, although he was able to learn the Parma Magica. Pralix became the joint apprentice of Tytalus and Bonisagus, and she received a full understanding of both sorcery and Hermetic magic from her two masters. When the wizards whom Trianoma had gathered at Durenmar started to formulate the structure of the Order, Tytalus assumed that Tremere would become a member of his House, for his magical training was inferior to all of the other prospective Founders. However, Tremere had long chafed under the dominating yoke of his brother, and, with the support of several other Founders and his cadre of Dacian necromancers, found sufficient political force to form his own House. This was the beginning of the rift between Tytalus and Tremere, which grew wider as time went on.
Tytalus was a skilled politician as well as a powerful wizard. He spent a great deal of effort and time haranguing the other Founders, particularly Guernicus, over the structure and governance of the Order of Hermes. Tytalus became a proponent of a democratic structure for the Order, and much of the early Code of Hermes was framed as a result of public debates between Guernicus and Tytalus. It is largely believed nowadays by his followers that Tytalus maneuvered the Order down a democratic path purely to cut the power base from under Tremere’s feet rather than for any nobler purpose. He felt that giving the governance of the Order to the plebeian class was a better alternative to one where a power-hungry upstart could rule the Order single-handedly.
The writings of Tytalus reveal his numerous schemes in the mundane world. He was at least partially responsible for the establishment of a protectorate over the Slavs on the eastern border of the Duchy of Bavaria, with the intent to drive a wedge between the Bulgars (the allies of Tremere) and their northern kin. There are rumors that he was also active in the Byzantine Empire, assisting Jerbiton in defeating Tremere’s empire-building ambitions. He was likely responsible for the annexation of Brittany (where he had made his home) by the Frankish Empire, for he believed it to be more stable than the fractured Saxon kingdoms of the British Isles. However, House legend also places Tytalus in Britain meddling with the succession of its kings. All the stories told about Tytalus cannot be true because some of them place him in different places at the same time. No accusations of Code-breaking were ever brought against him, but at that time the Order was small, and a skilled intriguer such as Tytalus could easily escape the watchful eyes of the Quaesitores.
The Analects of Tytalus
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In 798 AD Pralix, now a powerful maga in her own right, introduced her master to a young maiden whom she had intended to take as her apprentice. The girl, whose name was Hariste, was enchantingly beautiful, and Tytalus immediately became besotted with her. Overcome with this unfamiliar emotion, Tytalus stole Hariste from Pralix, and retreated to his home at Fudarus to train her. The furious Pralix was left to take his place as acting leader of the House, though she never claimed the title of Prima.
Tytalus’s relationship with Hariste bordered on the obsessive; his leprosy made her forever unattainable, and although he received no rejection from Hariste, he refused to sully her perfection. In frustration, she became determined to punish her master for his reticence, thus giving rise to a tradition of rivalry between master and pupil that persists to this day in House Tytalus.
Spiral SymbolismEach type of spiral employed by House Tytalus has a particular symbolism associated with it. No Tytalan symbol contains intersecting lines; they are all spirals, not knots.
Clockwise turning (from the center out, also called right or dexter) indicates growth and perception, and the Calliclean ethical viewpoint (see Philosophy of Conflict, below). Anticlockwise turning (from the center out, also called left or sinister) represents introspection, and the Hippian ethical viewpoint (see Philosophy of Conflict, below). |
The House After Tytalus
In 807 AD, Tytalus left Fudarus dressed only in a leper’s robe and veil, and carrying a staff. His familiar was nowhere to be seen. He visited every member of his House one by one, offering advice to each, and all agreed that his demeanor was very unusual. His last port of call was to Hariste, and he tarried with her for over a month, where it is rumored that they finally consummated their love. He then traveled to the Maddenhofen Woods in Bohemia, claiming he was going to win his “heart’s desire” from the Queen of the Faeries. He was never seen again.
Hariste moved to Fudarus, and became the first Prima of House Tytalus. She demanded a private audience with every member of the House, and only Pralix refused to see her. She issued to them the last instructions of Tytalus, or so she claimed. She also gathered the wisdom he had given to them all, collating his words into a book called the Analects of Tytalus. On her deathbed, Hariste’s last instruction was that the book should be copied and given to every member of the House, so that they would remember their beloved Founder. The Analects of Tytalus is still popular in the House, and every apprentice copies his master’s for himself at some point during his apprenticeship.
Hariste’s influence on the House was subtle but pervasive. Tytalus was a creature born of the violent wars between wizards, whereas Hariste grew up in the enforced peace of the Order of Hermes. Through the Analects, she reinforced the importance of Tytalus’s philosophy without softening any of its force. She instituted the eristic moots (see below) for the settling of differences, and promoted friendly rivalry within the House. While she did not intend it, Hariste also introduced a culture of heroworship to the followers of Tytalus, placing the Founder at a height he would never have sought for himself.
Pralix never fully accepted Hariste. To her, Tytalus was a harsh but beloved father figure, which cast Hariste in the role of a gold-digging strumpet, and one nearly half her own age. Yet the younger, prettier maga had gained the support of the House through virtue of swift action and a compelling oratory style that made Pralix seem positively flat-footed. With her skills more suited to the battlefield than the Tribunal arena, Pralix aborted her attempt to win control of the House, and instead bent her efforts towards recruiting more wizards into the fold of the Order.
Pralix and Hariste are considered the first pair of “beloved rivals” for which the house is famous. Their rivalry is legendary, and in the beginning was based on envy. Hariste was jealous of Pralix because the older maga had known Tytalus for all her life. Pralix resented Hariste for not being her own apprentice. When Hariste manipulated the Order into sending Pralix to battle Damhan-Allaidh, it was a masterstroke worthy of Tytalus himself. It was only when Pralix had foresworn the Order that Hariste realized how much she missed her “elder sister,” and how much of their antagonism hid true affection. She consequently did everything she could to protect Pralix when the rest of the Houses demanded she be executed for her temerity (see Chapter 4: House Ex Miscellanea, History).
TytalusTytalus was both a tragic and a terrifying figure. It was largely because of the threat posed by powerful sorcerers such as Tytalus that the Order was formed in the first place. He was the true heir to Guorna’s powerful spiritmagic as well as her curse of leprosy, and he shared with her an apparent lack of social compunction. Once convinced to join the Order, he turned his energy towards ensuring that it would stand as a testament to the Founders long after their eventual demise. Tytalus was a powerful politician in the Tribunals of the Order, but not because he was truthful, earnest, or correct. Instead, he answered any question on any subject instantly and without consideration. He sought to entangle, entrap, and confuse his opponents, dazzling them with strange or flowery metaphors — and if this didn’t work, by violence and noise. He genuinely believed that adversity brought growth, and felt that if the Order did not have enemies, it would stagnate. Tytalus was a social chameleon; he had the ability to adapt to nearly any human situation, and pass himself off as a genuine member of the community. He had a spirit familiar with the material form of a huge black dog, who Tytalus claimed was a son of Hekate and brother to Kerberos. Out of humor or spite (or both), he named this dog “Tremere.” Tytalus and TremereIt is dreadful when one who is not wise believes himself to be so. — Critias Tytalus never forgave Tremere for his betrayal before the other Founders. He devoted considerable effort to thwarting the plans of his “little brother” (as he styled him, although the two were not related by blood), and had he not met his end when he did, may well have succeeded in putting him in his place as he had always intended. In his writings, Tytalus often refers to Tremere and his followers as “wolves,” due to their self-adopted symbol, but always in a negative way, emphasizing their savage nature, unpleasant disposition, habit for feasting on the corpses of the slain, and inability to be domesticated. His writings also preserve a number of other unpleasant names for Tremere, which are still used for members of House Tremere by Tytalan magi: Fratrilis (“little brother”), Tremulus (“quiverer”), and Vagitus (“whiner,” “puppy”). |
The Betrayal
I refuse to accept guilt for my deeds, for I do not subscribe to the shackles of morality, which prevent you from understanding my actions. I will admit that I failed and that I have forfeited a greater prize than you can ever take from me, but I cannot and will not regret that which I have achieved. —.Tasgillia, to the Tribunal that executed her for diabolism
The fourth Prima of House Tytalus was Tasgillia. She was despised by her House for possessing a thoroughly unpleasant personality and extremely selfi sh view of the world; this, and her puissance in spirit magic, made her oft-likened to Guorna. Nevertheless, she won the right to lead House Tytalus, which none could deny her. Her feud with her fi lia Kalliste was the most acrimonious and vindictive quarrel in the history of the House. Kalliste believed that Oath provided a culture superior to the lawless chaos that had existed before its foundation, when every magus had pursued his own selfi sh nature. The immoral Tasgillia had no such altruistic tendencies, and let nothing impede her selfi sh nature. The two opposed each other at every turn, and fought no less than four Wizard’s Wars against each other, until the Tribunal threatened to March them both.
The feud ended abruptly in 961 AD when Kalliste brought evidence to the Quaesitores that her mater was amassing power through diabolism, using Guorna’s own lore to summon demons to attend to her sybaritic desires. Tasgillia was executed for diabolism by Archmage Erythravis of House Guernicus later that year. Her whole tradition, the Titanoi (see Characters, below) fell under suspicion, and the subsequent investigation resulted in the executions of 14 additional Titanoi, and three other Tytali, at the hands of the Order’s hoplites. Of the lineage of the Titanoi, only Kalliste and her fi lii survived. With the endorsement and support of House Guernicus, Kalliste replaced Tasgillia, becoming the fifth Prima of House Tytalus, despite never winning that privilege in the time-honored manner of the house.
This event came to be known as the Betrayal to Tytali, although the Order more commonly calls it the Corruption; it is viewed as a dark period in history by modern Tytali but not for the reason that other Houses think. They freely admit that Tasgillia was guilty of the crimes of which she was accused, yet fault Kalliste for betraying the principles of Tytalus by putting custom before nature, which is completely antithetical to the Founder’s philosophy. Further, the Tytalan way would have been to settle the matter behind closed doors; instead the proud House was publicly shamed before the Order, and to this day has not recovered its former reputation. It is Kalliste to whom Tytali refer when they speak of the Betrayal, and her memory is ritually cursed every midwinter at Fudarus.
The Schism War and its Aftermath
Following the Betrayal, House Tytalus underwent a period of relative quiet, concentrating on rebuilding their numbers, as well as their reputation in the Order. The spirit mages, with their command over spirits of confl ict and victory, had been the most combat-worthy members of the House, and with their loss the Tytali turned away from physical confl ict — leaving it to the Flambeau and Tremere — and re-embraced the fine art of debate favored by their Founder. As a result they amassed political power, particularly in the Normandy Tribunal. Kalliste led the broken House during the Schism War, and it became little more than a tool of House Guernicus. On the day of the final battle between House Diedne and the rest of the Order, Prima Kalliste met her demise at the end of a poisoned knife wielded by a member of her own House. The perpetrator of this crime was Marched by his own pater, Klynoites, who became the next Primus of House Tytalus. It is generally believed that Klynoites’s filius committed his crime on behalf of the House and his pater.
In the years that followed the Schism War and the demise of House Diedne, there were rich pickings of vis sources and magical sites all over Mythic Europe, nowhere moreso than in Brittany. The veterans of the Schism War in the Normandy Tribunal, predominantly members of House Flambeau, claimed these vis sources by right of conquest, despite their location within territory traditionally claimed by members of House Tytalus. This tension between individuals intensified as each side was joined by sodales in their respective Houses. It became as much about ideology as resources. House Tytalus accused House Flambeau of demanding to be rewarded for carrying out their self-appointed duties in slaying members of House Diedne. Scorn was poured on the Flambeaus’ self-righ teous protestations of justice and honor; there was nothing honorable, the Tytali claimed, about grabbing resources from other Houses and claiming they were spoils of war. At Tribunal, Primus Klynoites referred to the Flambeau as narrow-minded fools who suborned their magic to the dictates of the Quaesitores rather than reveling in the power of their Gifts.
The inter-House conflict threatened to return the Order to the pre-Schism lawlessness. Certamens over resources and territory escalated into cycles of vengeancedriven Wizard’s Wars until the original disputes were nearly forgotten, at least by the Tytali. It was the Flambeau who ended the conflict at the Grand Tribunal of 1063; in a show of solidarity they refused to fight the Tytali any more. For the Tytali involved, the conflict had become less about issues and more about the struggle itself. By removing themselves as opponents, the Flambeau effected a truce. In Normandy, legal institutions were put in place to distribute all magical resources acquired during the Schism War. Across Europe, the Grand Tribunal sponsored covenants containing followers of Flambeau and Tytalus, often with Bonisagi of Trianoma’s lineage to mediate; and an entente cordiale was eventually established between the two Houses, at least on the surface.
Primi at War
Twenty-five years ago, Prima Buliste entered a protracted Twilight, and she was declared dead by her younger Hermetic brother Harpax, who had previously been defeated by her for the leadership of the House. Harpax subsequently won the privilege of serving as the tenth Primus. However, three years later, in 1198, Buliste recovered from her temporary Twilight (as some suspected she would), and tried to resume her former position at the head of the House. Characteristically, Harpax refused to relinquish control of House Tytalus to his rival. The House held its breath while the two powerful siblings fought a protracted battle, but no victor emerged. Today, in 1220, the matter has still not been resolved. Both magi have won the right to serve the House as Primus, and neither seems able to gain the upper hand over the other. Consequentially, each House-member’s decision whether to become a Decimus (supporter of the tenth Primus) or a Fidelus (loyalist of the ninth Prima) is based on personal choice and/or whim rather than legal merit; only refusing to choose a side invites scorn. Should Tytali from opposite sides encounter one another, they likely as not dispute vociferously about the relative merits of their chosen champion. The domus magna of Fudarus is occupied by both Primi, and has effectively become two covenants under a single roof. While they share the same rooms, barracks, and resources the magi, covenfolk, and grogs loyal to each Primus live separate lives, refusing to acknowledge the existence of the other side. They wear swatches of colored material to distinguish themselves from each other, royal purple for Buliste, and revolutionary green for Harpax, colors which have been adopted as badges by the Fideli and Decimi respectively. Outsiders are perturbed by the seriousness of Tytalan magi in pursuing this conflict, and puzzled that it has been over 20 years and the dispute has still not been resolved. The truth of the matter is that House Tytalus finds the whole business far too enjoyable to be done with it just yet.
Story Seed: Uncivil WarIn 1228 the Grand Tribunal will be held. Both Primi will want to represent the House at this prestigious event, and it is likely that the rivalry between the two factions will escalate. A player character who has declared for one side will find himself the target of numerous plots by the other side to reduce the number of opposing supporters; likewise, he will be expected to instigate plots to do the same to his rivals. What started in friendly competition (for the members of House Tytalus, if not the Primi) might become a matter of deadly earnest as the Grand Tribunal approaches. |
The Philosophy of Conflict
A person would make most advantage of justice for himself if he treated the laws as important in the presence of witnesses, and treated the decrees of nature as important when alone. —Antiphon
House Tytalus seek to emulate its Founder, considering him to have been the finest magus to have ever existed. They dote on the Analects of Tytalus, which describe the route to his power. Philosophers from other Houses have denigrated Tytalus as a true philosopher, claiming he was more a “magpie of wisdom,” collecting only those fragments of philosophy which glittered attractively to him. At this point, the Tytali involved in such debates nod their heads vigorously in agreement — finally, someone who understands the Master!
Of the many schools of ancient Greece which taught philosophy, Tytalus drew most heavily from the teachings of the Sophists; and it is true to say that much of the corpus of Sophistic teaching holds resonance with the members of House Tytalus today. The Sophists were an antagonistic group of scholars who used underhanded tactics to defeat their opponents, and were almost unanimously reviled by later writers. It is clear why their philosophy is so attractive to House Tytalus, for it is based on an underlying conflict — the rivalry between nature and custom.
The Antagonism Between Physis and Nomos
I have made war on my mother, clashed with my brother, argued with my friends, and quarreled with my daughters, yet my worst rival wears my face in the mirror. —Analects of Tytalus
Rivalry lies at the heart of every follower of Tytalus. The foundation of Tytalus’s whole philosophy is that there is a primal moral dilemma faced by each man, which arises from the rivalry between two abstract forces, called physis.and nomos.
Physis translates as “nature,” but its meaning is more complex than this. Physis is everything that constitutes a particular living thing, and thus is often translated as “the self.” It is the urge that causes man kind to eat, drink, find spouses, and have children; but it is also ambition, drive, and competition. Nomos, on the other hand, is “law,” “convention,” or “custom,” a human invention that glues society together. Tytalus, like the Sophists he studied, saw these two forces to be in direct conflict with each other. Human laws, norms, and habits of behavior vary from community to community; because they are subject to change, they are subject to challenge. In contrast, physis derives from a higher, divine authority; it is therefore permanent, unvarying, and not open to question. While Sophists sought to derive human laws from natural laws, Tytalus instead saw physis as a criterion or standard in the light of which ordinary laws might be corrected, improved, or ignored.
The followers of Tytalus believe that custom is directly antagonistic to what is naturally valuable, and a man should not be bound by those things which society dictates if they interfere with the urges of his physis. There are two distinct branches of Tytalan philosophy that differ according to their opinions on whether physis or nomos is the desired ruler of one’s behavior. These branches are named after famed Sophists who espoused each point of view: the Calliclean view champions physis over nomos, whereas the Hippian view holds that some rules are intrinsic to one’s nature and are necessary curbs on the impulses of selfish physis. Over its history, the prevailing attitude of the House has shifted several times between these political camps. Each shift has been accompanied by a change in the House symbol from a clockwise Calliclean spiral to an anticlockwise Hippian spiral. Under Tytalus and his filii the House was fervently Calliclean in its outlook, until the Betrayal, which has been largely blamed on the extreme intemperance of Kalliste. The more introspective Hippian view then held sway throughout the Schism War. The conflict with House Flambeau after the Schism (see History) galvanized the House once more into an era of Calliclean ethics, and both Primi of the House are Callicleans (although their followers come from both sides of the conflict). Some suspect that this era will come to an end with a final confrontation between Buliste and Harpax, as by then, magi of the House will be jaded with the relentless pursuit of the self embodied by their rivalry. These two stances describe only the prevailing attitude of the House; at any time, both viewpoints — and shades of variation between the two — can be easily found within House Tytalus.
Calliclean Ethics
Our unnatural laws mould our best men from their youth up, teaching them that equality is fine and just, but if a character naturally strong enough were to arise, like a young lion he would shake off these fetters, break his cage, and turn master instead of slave. Then nature’s justice would shine forth in all its glory. —Callicles
Laws and justice are merely devices of the majority of weaklings to keep the strong man (who, by physis, is a just man) from his rightful place. It is human nature to behave selfishly, whether as an individual or as a nation, and to be a tyrant who enforces his will on others is both an inescapable consequence of pursuing one’s physis and an ideal state in which to exist. Luxury, wantonness, and freedom from restraint, if backed by strength, constitutes excellence and happiness; all else is worthless nonsense. The downfall of Tasgillia was that this excellence was all she sought, and that her vanity was superior to her prudence.
The Calliclean holds that nomoi are established by the ruling powers to benefit themselves, not those they rule. As a con sequence, the man who acts justly always comes off worse than the unjust man. It is therefore right to seem to be good (i.e., to obey nomos), if it brings genuine social advantage, but there is no point in actually being good when no one is looking. It is always better to seize any opportunities to act unfairly if it results in the betterment of the self, but often the self can be served by playing nicely with others and following the dictates of society.
On the face of it, this philosophy seems to suggest that a man should always act selfishly, and always to the detriment of society. However, Callicleans hold that while self-interest is what every physis naturally pursues as good, nomos constrains it to diverge into respect for equality. Justice depends solely on the equality of power, for without equality, the strong will do what they want, and the weak will submit. Thus, among the Callicleans one can find the root of the belief that from conflict can come growth; a weak man can be taught to be strong by hardship and strife, and thus challenge the limitations of his nature.
Callicleans are driven to force the world to accommodate their selfish aims. They usually show no compunction in breaking rules that do not suit them, although they recognize the need to sometimes do so in secret. Typical roles for these magi are hedonists, bullies, tyrants, duelists, thrill-seekers, and agents provocateurs.
Hippian Ethics
Slander is a terrible thing; because the law provides no redress against slanderers, as it does against thieves. Yet slanderers are thieves of one’s best possession, namely friendship. Hence violence, wicked as it is, is more just than slander in that it is not concealed. —Hippias
Both Hippians and Callicleans would agree that good behavior is not an original or essential part of human nature. However, whereas Callicleans desire to throw off the restraints on their selfish behavior, Hippians maintain that decent behavior is necessary for the preservation of society — and without society, man would perish. They hold that feelings of guilt and shame are proof that there are some unwritten laws that constitute part of the universal nature of mankind. Nature may be corrupt and often has base desires, and men with such a nature will be found doing wrong, but wrongdoers know they are wrong due to the Divine gift of natural justice and conscience. These universal laws — a reverence for the Divine, the requital of benefactors, and a duty of hospitality towards strangers, to name a few — are superior to the misguided laws and customs formulated by mankind. Nomoi are the laws that are divisive, which erect barriers between humans were none exist in nature. They are a matter of human agreement and frequently subject to change, and are tyrants that dictate behavior to man with no acknowledgment of what is good. Hippians seek to reform those laws and customs that are (in their opinion) contrary to the nature of humankind. They happily flout societal norms (and the Code, if needs be) if they consider that such strictures inhibit mankind’s basic nature.
Typical roles for Hippian magi include altruists, social reformers, freedom fighters, double agents, and spies.
Growth Through Conflict
Tytalus adopted the motto of the House for a reason; he believed that adversity brings positive change. A Hippian magus sees this as the purpose of his conflicts and intrigues, whereas one with a Calliclean ethic considers this to be a side effect, albeit a beneficial one. The war with Damhan-Allaidh led to the creation of House Ex Miscellanea. The Schism War ended decades of contention and ushered in an era of peace to the Order as a whole. House Tytalus’s conflict with House Flambeau (see History) precipitated the rise in power of the milites within that House. On a more personal level, a magus who tries to exploit a loophole in the Code of Hermes only serves to promote rulings that eliminate those inconsistencies.
A magus who struggles against his rival amasses personal power in an attempt to overcome that foe. A magus who hood winks another in an intrigue makes his victim more cautious, and less likely to be fooled again. This drive towards constant growth also allows Tytali to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by claiming self improvement when a plan fails.
The PhilosophersThe following Sophists were often quoted in the Analects of Tytalus: Antiphon proposed that man is better off escaping from the constraints of convention. He believed that a man cannot be self-controlled if he has never been tempted, and taught a life of refined and intellectual hedonism, planning the maximum pleasure and the minimum suffering from a brief and imperfect existence. Critias was a leading member of the Thirty Tyrants who ruled Athens following its defeat by the Spartans. He believed that laws were neither inherent in human nature nor a gift from the gods, and that virtue could be imposed by force. Religion was a purely human invention aimed at controlling the masses, and he was a strong opponent of democracy, stating that acceptance of convention was no way to run a nation. He was killed in a civil war against the democrats. Gorgias was a pupil of Empedocles, and taught his pupils to master the arts of persuasion and deceit. He illustrated the corrupting power of words by writing a speech in defense of the salacious Helen of Troy. He alerted the listener to the insidious effects of exposure to rhetoric by using those effects on the listener himself. In another work he propounds through logic that a) nothing exists, b) even if there was something, knowledge of it was impossible, and c) even if we could know about it, we could never communicate it to anyone else. Hippias believed in the fundamental unity of mankind through unwritten laws of divine provenance. He suggested that laws which derive from human agreement and custom build barriers between people, and can equally be a tyrant or a peacemaker. Protagoras achieved a reputation as a political and moral thinker without becoming involved in politics or seeking power for himself. He taught that humans are the yardstick for deciding what counts and what doesn’t count as real. The world is as we make it out to be; there is no independent truth. |
Tools of Conflict
Tytalus personified the weapons with which he fought as the Titans, the mighty spirits he employed against Guorna, match ing each weapon to a spirit. These tools were not just swords and knives, but also magic, and, most importantly, words. A Tytalan maga is expected to struggle with others on the debating floors of the tribunals, on the battlefields of men, in the certamen dueling ring, and anywhere else that conflict can be found. Though she is not expected to excel in every arena, she must be sufficiently equipped with the correct weapons — the right force — to put up a good fight
Rivalry
How fierce a heart has Zelos[Rivalry]! Mightier than nature to behold and possessing the bitter force of fire and a sword of adamant. He preserves not, when he comes; he knows neither comrade nor kin nor cousin; and his. intervention is both grievous and unspeakable. — Analects of Tytalus
Competitive rivalry as practiced by Tytalan magi is not the desire to take power from another (this would be envy, not rivalry); nor is it the desire to deny another of his right (this is malice). Rather, it is driven by the desire to acquire something that is possessed by another, not because the other has it, but because the self is lacking. Some — indeed, many — are driven by more antisocial passions which bring them into conflict with others, such as ruthless ambition, secret greed, or all-consuming lust, and yet there are others whose motivations derive from faith, justice, or compassion. The physis of these latter individuals more rarely comes into conflict with nomos, as human society is constructed on moral foundations. Nevertheless, a compassionate Tytalus does not hesitate to transcend nomos should he witness an innocent suffering; he never feels constrained by the laws of man, for his is a higher calling. The Analects of Tytalus only concentrate on deviousness and underhand dealings because Tytalus believed that his physis was to prove his superiority to the world. Every magus must become aware of his own nature, and how it may be best served.
Persuasion
Peitho [Persuasion] is a terrible goddess, to whom nothing can be denied. —Analects of Tytalus
The Analects of Tytalus teach that words are as powerful as physical force. Being overwhelmed by something beyond one’s ability to control absolves one from all blame. Just as you cannot blame a monk for being robbed by bandits, or a woman from being forced by a stronger man, so you cannot blame a man who is persuaded into a course of action (no matter how heinous) through the power of words.
In ancient Greece, the Sophists made their living by first creating a demand for intellectual skills and then charging a high rate for delivering them to the buyers. To the Athenians, whose politics suffered under the ministrations of the Sophists, the word used for “cleverness” shared a root with the word for “terrible.” They created their own paradox: by supplying the rhetorical skills needed to partake in debate they facilitated the formation of a democratic culture, but by selling these skills to those who could afford them, they secured advantages only for the rich. Tytalus found this paradox delightful, and taught that a magus who considered himself a member of House Tytalus must be prepared to apply his superior force to his foes on multiple fields of battle.
Force
Kratos [Strength] and Bia [Force] are my constant companions; the first I stole from my mater, the second I gave to my followers. —Analects of Tytalus
The strength of a Tytalus is a full understanding of his own physis, and the recognition — taught during apprentice ship — that nomos is arbitrary and often contrary to this physis. A Tytalus has been taught to acknowledge his faults, and to turn them into strengths. Defeats may come as often as victories, but failure is an important source of knowledge regarding the limitations of the magus. The wisdom that the goal of a conflict is the conflict itself was acknowledged by Tytalus to be one of the major turning points in his life.
Crushed by defeat again and again, an apprentice to a Tytalus magus must learn to strive against injustice to fulfill his nature. This struggle builds the necessary mental armor to survive almost anything that life throws at him. The strength of will that drives every Tytalan magus though life is perhaps their most distinctive feature. Some members of House Tytalus turn this philosophy against others, supplying the hardship and denying the pleasure so as to forge steel from crude iron. Most subjects of this treatment do not appreciate the attention.
Culture
Remember me for this, if nothing else — I can forge your weapons, I can strap you into your armor, I can even choose the battlefield; but only you can win the fight. — Analects of Tytalus (last page)
For a House that teaches that there is nothing morally repugnant in acting selfishly at the expense of others, and that actively encourages conflicts between its members, House Tytalus is remarkably coherent. It is centered strongly around the “family unit,” and is very jealous if anyone intervenes in its personal rivalries. It is considered right that brother and sister should be at odds, but interfere with that, and both siblings will combine forces to make you regret it! In a twisted sense, the rivalries within House Tytalus are one of the reasons it has such strength as a political force.
While rivalry plays a major role in the life of a Tytalan magus, there are other things that bind the house together.
Reverence for the Founder
There is a general belief among his followers that Tytalus was the most perfect mortal being the world has seen. Bonisagus might have been more intelligent, Flambeau more powerful, and Merinita more wise, but Tytalus was a polymath who embodied all these traits and more. Tytalan magi are hungry for new stories about the Master that they have not yet heard, and are keen extemporizers of his myth, often plagiarizing other legends to make Tytalus the hero. The intent is not to deceive, but to inform. The twisted moral tales used to instruct apprentices into the correct behavior of the House usually have Tytalus as the protagonist, Guernicus as his co-conspirator, and Tremere as the dupe.
Some take this hero worship to extremes, making visits to places known to be important to Tytalus, even making pilgrimages to the Maddenhofen Woods in Bohemia where he met his end. Dogs are popular pets and familiars in the House, because Tytalus himself had a dog familiar (although no-one risks calling her dog Tremere, like that of the Founder!). But the most obvious manifestation of this cult of personality is the devotion of the House to the Analects of Tytalus, his collected writings, recorded speeches and sayings, spanning his entire life. Virtually every member of the House owns a copy of this tome.
RumorsThe following is a small selection of the current rumors surrounding the Founder. There are many more, on all kinds of topics:
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Equality
Both the Calliclean and Hippian standpoints recognize that barriers between men due to class, birth, race, or sex are products of custom, not of nature. As a House, followers of Tytalus do not hold that age brings superiority; rivalry between parens and filius would be unconscionable if it did; indeed, the whole point of the Apprentice’s Gauntlet of the House is to break down the barrier between master and pupil. As a consequence, a Tytalus pays no respect to rank or titles, and there is no internal structure to the House. The role of Primus exists purely because the Order expects it, and because a member of the House has forced others to accept his right to that position. The Primus is not the leader of the House, however, merely the most skilled. Other Tytali listen to his opinions, but feel no compulsion to do what he says, unless it suits their own physis.
Most Tytali apply this equality across the board, and do not look down on mundanes purely because they do not possess The Gift. They despise those who fail to use their natural talents to their greatest extent. The main issue that Tytali have with the followers of Flambeau is the perception that these magi constrain their great store of natural talent behind pointless concepts of honor and duty.
Pedagogy
Victory without Battle is like training a wolf; a pointless waste of effort for all concerned. — Analects of Tytalus
The Sophists of the ancient world were teachers of rhetoric, and some Tytali continue this tradition by teaching their philosophy of conflict to anyone who is willing to hear it. Their prime purpose is to train their opponents sufficiently to make the fight a worthy one; no glory is gained from an easy victory. A secondary benefit from this willingness to teach is the potential for recruiting new members (see Joining House Tytalus, below).
A Tytalus gives his instruction either to small circles of pupils (which may include apprentices, magi, or mundanes), or else in public displays at eristic moots (see below). The instructor might invite questions from the audience, then answer not with wisdom but with rhetoric. The point is not to pass on knowledge, but technique. There is a difference between rhetoric and true philosophy, which is akin to the difference between seeming and being, or between persuading and proving. Truth is not important, nor is justice, and yet a Tytalus can often still win verbal debates through the force of his personality. A Tytalus would say that it is impossible to speak falsely, for that is to say what is not, and what is not cannot exist. As a corollary, no one has the right to contradict another.
Personality
Our brothers the Tytali fight alongside House Tremere and House Flambeau, and bring as much blood and fire to the Plain of Wolves as we do. And yet, I cannot shake the notion that they fight a different battle to the one to which we pretend. — Cercistum, Primus of House Tremere during the Schism War
Members of House Tyalus are clearly a contentious bunch, but this does not make them unpleasant. When meeting in public they usually appear to be friendly to each other; only when they are excruciatingly polite to each other can an undercurrent of a rivalry be detected. By no means are all Tytali cut from the same cloth as the argumentative and unpleasant stereotype. However, because of their love of intrigue, many Tytalan magi are inveterate gossips who love nothing better than to discuss with each other the foibles of a third party. As well as besmirching the reputations of others, they are keen to enhance their own, and a magus may often be boastful and prone to self-aggrandization when in the company of others of his House. This combination of gossip and intrigue also makes them purveyors of conspiracy, and they tend to see the hand of a clandestine cabal in the hand of every major event in society, both Hermetic and mundane.
Magi of House Tytalus are also prone to obsession, occasionally to the point of psychosis. In the pursuit of his rivalry a magus can become excessively focused on the target of his intentions, and develop a deep emotional bond disturbing for outsiders to behold. Taken to extremes, a maga might begin to stalk her target, obsessively collecting his refuse and even sneaking into his sanctum when she knows her rival is not there. She may severely threaten his life by arranging dangerous challenges so that she can derive vicarious pleasure from his triumph. This darker side of Tytalan rivalry is mercifully rare in its most extreme form, but every Tytalus who undertakes a rivalry shares in it to some extent.
It is rare for a member of this House to fall for the same trick twice; a vanquished Tytalan magus is driven to develop weapons to prevent it from happening again. For example, a magus who survives defeat at the hands of a demon might spend the next few seasons inventing (or reinventing) spells specifically to defeat demons. He replays the events that lead to the defeat in his head, perhaps even revisiting the scene, and evaluates all the actions of himself and his companions which lead up to the defeat. The greater the personal consequences of the defeat, the more obsessive the Tytalan can be about investigating the failure. The purpose of this analysis is not to lay blame or provide excuses for failure, it is to ensure that the same mistakes are not made again.
A follower of Tytalus is rarely gracious in victory. It is important to his ego and his reputation in the House that a defeated opponent fully recognizes the winner’s superiority, and the more public the defeat, the better. To other Houses, crowing over a victory often appears to be unnecessarily arrogant, but Tytalan magi cannot feel shame over such a thing. As Tytalus said, “To be forgotten is a crime, to be recognized for a crime is a victory; but to be recognized for great victory is to touch godhood.”
Beloved Rivals
Hate is as powerful as Love. Who is to judge which is the most noble? — Analects of Tytalus
A Tytalan apprenticeship is not a pleasant experience (see below), and the competition that develops between master and pupil is often the most intense relationship of a magus’s career. The resentment built up over a 15-year apprenticeship is not easy to shed, even if the magus realizes why he had to suffer at the hands of his master. Resentment (and even hatred) often matures into rivalry, as the former apprentice uses his newfound freedom to lash out at his tormentor. That spark of contention never subsides, even if (or perhaps because) the magus grows to respect his master, and it is not unusual for a Tytalus to have a protector and a foe who are the same person!
Should this hostility not resolve itself naturally, then a magus can make an official declaration of rivalry by declaring that they are Beloved Rivals. This is not a thing to be entered into lightly, for once declared — usually ceremonially, with the issuance to the rival of a spiral drawn in the magus’s own blood — the rivalry will persist until the death of one or other of the opponents. Formally declared rivalries extend throughout one’s life; at every turn, the rival is there, waiting for signs of weakness. The two magi do everything they can to hinder each other, even putting each other’s lives in danger. However, when they meet in person, they are often inseparable, like a doting father with his beloved son.
Beloved Rivals most commonly exist between master and pupil, but could potentially exist between any pair of Tytali who have sufficient cause. Beloved Rivals use formal modes of address to signify this relationship, and to warn spectators not to get in the way. Between members of the same Hermetic “family” — master to pupil, or between filii of the same master — Tytali use the adjective carus (feminine cara, “beloved”) to indicate a rival. Thus a maga and her former pupil might refer to each other as mater cara (“beloved mother”) and filius carus (“beloved son”). Between unrelated magi, the terms used are cognatus praeclarus or cognata praeclara (for men and women, respectively), meaning “honored kinsman/woman.” When these terms are used, other Tytali know not to interfere in their rivalries. The comparatives (praeclarior, “more honored”; and carior “more beloved”) and superlatives (praeclarissimus/ a, “most honored”; and carissimus/a, “most beloved”) of these adjectives are used to ironic effect.
House Tytalus is seen by its members as a large family, with the Primus at the head of the family, but with every magus having a role to play. Largely speaking, there may be quarrels between the members of the family, but in a crisis, they close ranks and support each other — blood is thicker than water, after all. House Tytalus prefers to police itself rather than being subject to the scrutiny of the Quaesitores, which it does through either clandestine means or the rather more obvious vehicle of Wizard’s War. If members of House Tytalus are seen to routinely break the Code of Hermes by the Order, then another Betrayal (or, worse still, another Schism War) might result, which cannot be allowed to occur.
Eristic Moots
O powerful Nike, by men desired, with adverse breasts to dreadful fury fired, Thee I invoke, whose might alone can quell contending rage and molestation fell. ‘Tis thine in battle to confer the crown, the victor’s prize, the mark of sweet renown, For thou rulest all things, Nike divine! And glorious strife, and joyful shouts are thine. Come, mighty goddess, and thy supplicant bless,with sparkling eyes, elated with success. May deeds illustrious thy protection claim, and find, led on by thee, immortal fame. — Orphic Hymn to Nike
House Tytalus does not hold regular meetings of the House. Whereas other Houses feel the need for periodic meetings to share knowledge, determine political agendas, and reinforce bonds with other members of the House, Tytalan magi eschew all of these things, and thus have no need for meetings. This is not to say that members of House Tytalus never hold meetings; it is just that these meetings are never regular, and rarely include even a substantial fraction of the House. Occasionally, two Tytali feel the need to publicly resolve their differences, and they call for an eristic moot.
These moots are public disputes between competing speakers. Announcement of the moot is carried by Redcap to all local covenants, and any member of the Order is entitled to attend. Public debates are a common form of entertainment in Mythic Europe among the intellectual cognoscenti, and if the opponents are famous, then the crowd can be quite large. If one of the opponents demands a “subtle contest,” then the invitations to attend may even include non-magi such as local clergy or scholars, and it is considered a test of great skill for two magi to dispute publicly before witnesses who are ignorant of their status as magi.
Most commonly there are two participants, and up to a dozen observers, but participants might form teams to defeat powerful rivals, or each magus might find himself facing multiple individual opponents. Further, it is not unknown for the observers to become participants over the course of the dispute. By convention, the minimum attendance for an eristic moot is five — two participants and three witnesses.
As the name might suggest (deriving from eris, Greek for “strife”), these moots are not places where disputes are settled peacefully. Each participant in the moot does his utmost to defeat his opponent through any means necessary. The “weapons” allowed in a moot must be decided in advance; battles of words are the most common, and rules for adjudicating debates are given later on in this chapter. Occasionally opponents agree to physical or magical combat, although the latter is disallowed in a subtle contest. If magic is employed in the moot, then certamen is frequently used, although some opponents find this overly constraining. In front of the witnesses, both opponents may publicly declare that their intent is not to threaten the life of their counterpart with their spells, and permit each other to use whatever scrying magic is at their command. With these declarations in place, the opponents are free to use any magic against each other that they see fit, and only the death of an opponent results in a prosecution under the Code of Hermes.
There are two special kinds of eristic moot practiced by the House. The first is an Apprentice’s Gauntlet, where an apprentice uses the formal procedure of the moot, in front of witnesses of the House, to force his master to accept his status as a full member of the Order. The other specific moot is held one year after the death or Final Twilight of the Primus of House Tytalus. This moot is always hosted by the covenant of Fudarus, and all Tytalan magi do their very best to attend; all other witnesses are excluded. Everyone who considers himself worthy of the position of Primus is an opponent, and it is a “sudden-death” tournament that lasts until there is one contestant left — the new Primus. In such a high-powered expression of the eristic moot, the most skilled members of the House have eliminated some of their competitors even before setting foot in Fudarus, already outmaneuvering their opponent on a social level through blackmail, rumor, and other dirty tricks.
Stories Arising from Eristic MootsMoots are a great place to further one’s own ambitions within the House, even if just as an observer. Whether one of the participants in a moot is an ally or an enemy, a player character might discover something about that participant that he would rather had been kept hidden. A subtle contest of arms presents an interesting legal issue: does this count as “attempting to slay another magus” under the Code, or is preserving the ignorance of the mundane witnesses more important? A rival allows himself to be defeated at a moot; his contrite admission of weakness inflicts more damage to his opponent than his victory ever could. |
Apprenticeship
Education is not implanted in the soul, unless one reaches a great depth. — Protagoras
House Tytalus is infamous in the Order of Hermes for its treatment of its apprentices. Compared with the masterpupil paradigm of most Houses, House Tytalus appears to operate on a master-slave (or even owner-beast) system. Grim stories are told among the apprentices of other Houses about the practices of Tytalan magi in training the next generation, and these make an effective threat when used against unruly apprentices.
Tytalus suffered greatly during his training under Guorna the Fetid — perhaps more so than is acceptable in the modern Order — and he hints that he tried to end his suffering more than once. After the fact, Tytalus reasoned that through his suffering he was able to reach deeper into himself and find reserves of magic and strength that would have remained untapped. Tytalus believed that he did an injustice to Tremere by mitigating Guorna’s cruelty, leaving him “half-baked” — more than a man, but less than a magus.
Tytalan magi usually choose older children than other Houses, and ensure that they are well-schooled in Latin, Artes Liberales, and Athletics (the subjects favored by the Sophists) before apprenticeship begins. This education usually comes from enrollment in a good cathedral school, or else employs private tutors, perhaps even the magus himself, under the disguise of a persona (see below). The child is kept oblivious of the magical destiny ahead of him. After at least four years of this schooling, the student is retrieved from his tutors and informed of his true path. The master then opens the apprentice’s Arts, and begins his Hermetic training.
During the next 15 years, the apprentice’s life is exceptionally hard. No luxury is afforded the apprentice; he enters a life of virtual slavery from his hitherto privileged schooling. Only meager provisions and squalid conditions are supplied, and when not receiving direct instruction or providing assistance, the tasks assigned to him vary from the monotonously tedious to the downright dangerous. While many of the practices employed by a Tytalan master seem cruel, the purpose is not cruelty for its own sake. Rather, the master seeks to reveal the injustices of the laws (nomoi) imposed by an arbitrary society, and make the apprentice rebel against custom and embrace his physis. To this end, a master often employs the Book of Instruction, a text written by Tytalus himself, which lays down explicit rules as to the correct behavior of an apprentice, and the punishments applied to infractions of these rules. The penalties are both arbitrary and seemingly random, and have absolutely no instructional value: the Book of Instruction does not legislate upon how to train an apprentice, but rather how to treat him. A master often pretends to sympathize with her pupil, appealing to the iron law of the Book of Instruction as her excuse: “I don’t want to do this to you, really I don’t. But the Book of Instruction dictates that washing on a Thursday is prohibited. I have no choice.”
In the latter years of the apprenticeship, the master deliberately exposes her pupil to the culture of the House through the eristic moots, stressing the huge inequality between his current situation and the rule-flouting attitude of the House, while continuing to punish any sign of complaint or dissatisfaction. Many apprentices run away at least once during apprenticeship, others take out their frustration on other children in the covenant through bullying. Some harbor fantasies of murder, although few act on these urges. Nevertheless, it is a foolish master who does not take precautions against harm from the person who stands at her back, cooks her food, and shares her sanctum when she is sleeping.
The point of this treatment is not to crush the apprentice’s ego but to forge it into an iron will. That spark of rebellion, a surliness or disobedience which is the first sign of an emerging will, is be fanned into a raging turmoil of emotion in the adolescent’s mind, and then honed by resentment into a dangerous weapon. A Calliclean master tries to provoke that rebellious streak into active conflict, whereas a Hippian master guides her apprentice towards avoiding penalty on technicalities, and flagrantly disregarding the rules when he thinks his master is not watching. Both types of master exhibit public disapproval of her apprentice’s actions while privately reveling in them.
If the teaching methods of Tytalus fail to produce the right caliber of student, the master does not continue his education. A failure to react against the harsh training leads to a life outside House Tytalus; such an unfortunate is passed off to another House, or abandoned altogether (resulting in the Failed Apprentice Social Virtue).
Excerpts from the Book of InstructionAn apprentice in his first two years of training must keep his head below the level of his shoulders while cleaning laboratory equipment. An apprentice who has passed his sixth year of instruction must hold an object of wood between his teeth when performing this task. Making eye contact with a magus other than the master before the sun has set is to be punished by having to carry a pig’s head on his back for a month, unless there has been thunder that morn, in which case the head will be from a goat, and the period will last one season. An apprentice is allowed a halfhour’s rest every four hours, except on Thursdays, when he will receive five minutes every hour. In the months where the Ides fall on the 15th day, these rest periods are reversed. Touching the fur or scales of a familiar is to be punished by having three clay marbles inserted into the shoe of the left foot until they have been ground into powder through the action of walking. Surliness is to be punished by holding two bowls of water at arm’s length following every meal, for a total time of one day, divided up into as many periods as it takes to complete this penalty. Obduracy is to be punished by the collection of 144 pinecones. Intransigence is to be punished by wearing clothes soaked in vinegar for one week. Eschewing the Book of InstructionThe Book of Instruction is the most hated object of a Tytalan apprentice, and having suffered for 15 years under its dictates, a newly-Gauntleted magus often swears to never use it on his own apprentices. Almost invariably, however, when the time comes to begin such training, he procures a copy and sticks to it rigidly, now convinced of its true utility in producing apprentices of the highest caliber. A maga deciding not to use the book should employ a similarly harsh regime designed to build self-confidence and harden the spirit, for her apprentice must learn the value of choosing physis over nomos, else he cannot call himself a follower of Tytalus. |
The Apprentice’s Gauntlet
Apprenticeship ends when the apprentice decides that he has had enough. After 15 seasons of training, instruction ends, but the status of the apprentice does not change, as he might suspect. If he asks when the Apprentice’s Gauntlet will be administered, he is told “not yet.” Undoubtedly the apprentice is keen to escape from his master’s control, but what he is not told is that he must force his master to accept him as a magus; simply asking is not enough. Only when he makes a serious attempt to force acceptance does the master convene an eristic moot to determine, in front of witnesses, whether the apprenticeship is truly over. The apprentice passes his Gauntlet if he can make his master accept him as an equal. The apprentice can choose the type of struggle, but if he does not introduce magic into the conflict, the master will. By tradition, the master is not supposed to struggle too hard against her apprentice, but must give him a proper challenge. The Self Confident Virtue that is shared by all magi who have suffered a Tytalan apprenticeship is earned upon finally defeating this tormentor.
An apprentice who succeeds in killing his master at any point in his apprenticeship is elevated to the status of magus immediately, regardless of the state of his training. Since the Code states that the master is responsible for everything an apprentice does, provoking your apprentice to murder you is tantamount to suicide. It is rare, but not unknown. Apprentices who make the mistake of murdering their tormentor too early may well end up with the Weak Parens Flaw, reflecting their incomplete apprenticeship. The same occurs if the apprentice forces the Gauntlet (and passes) before his 15 seasons are up because he cannot stand his master’s treatment of him any more. More than a few masters are never satisfied by their apprentices’ “proof,” no matter how many times they are faced at a moot. After the third failed attempt, another Tytalan magus usually advises the apprentice to seek out a Quaesitor to administer the Gauntlet instead (ArM5, page 107), but this is considered an ignoble way in which to join the House, and often results in the Tormenting Master Flaw. The same happens if an apprentice needs to be told the conditions under which the Gauntlet is administered; no master will have respect for an apprentice who accepts the nomoi of apprenticeship without question.
Tytalan NamesWhen Tytalus adopted wizards into his House, he gifted each with a Hermetic name for everyday use, using the names and titles of the Titans as his inspiration. Clearly, this list was limited in size, and Tytalus was not above creating false names with fabricated meanings. The Primi of House Tytalus still reserve the right to confer a magus’s name upon his initiation into the Order, but in modern times the magus is permitted to choose the name himself; the written endorsement from the Primus is merely a formality. Many Tytali still choose for themselves a name styled after the Titans of ancient time; alternatively, magi might manufacture names for themselves by combining a prefix with a gender-specific suffix. For female names, the last consonant of the prefix is often doubled. Example names: Perrene, Iapatia, Hypeppo, Okeanibe, Helletis, Klyome. For male names, the last consonant of the prefix is often deleted if it clashes with the initial onsonant of the male suffix. Example names: Perion, Iaprax, Hydas, Okealas, Hertheus, Klyses. Female titan names: Ankhiale, Asteria, Dione, Eos, Eurynome, Klymene, Kybele, Metis, Mnemosyne, Phoibe, Rhea, Selene, Tethys, Theia, Themis Male titan names: Adanos, Astraios, Atlas, Epimetheus, Helios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Koios, Krios, Kronos, Menoites, Okeanos, Pallas, Perses, Prometheus.
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Joining House Tytalus
Any member of another House, or a hedge wizard, can join House Tytalus if he can accept the philosophy of the Founder expounded in the Analects of Tytalus, and succeed in forcing a Tytalan magus (of a similar or greater age) to accept him as worthy, as in an Apprentice’s Gauntlet. However, a general lack of wizards seeking to join the Order of Hermes in the 13th century, and the difficulty in passing the Gauntlet, means that most modern Tytalan magi have been raised within the House.
It is not even necessary for a magus to renounce membership of his former House to join House Tytalus; anyone who has proved himself worthy is entitled to call himself a Tytalus, regardless of what others call him (or even what he calls himself). Of course, since House Tytalus is the only one of the 12 Houses that permit dual membership, the Order of Hermes does not look kindly on such magi, and they are rare.
Winning recognition as a member of House Tytalus is considered to be the highest accolade afforded to non-Tytali, for they consider themselves to be the best among magi. Because of the somewhat loose definition of “a member of House Tytalus,” a magus may find that he has earned that status unwittingly, having unequivocally defeated a Tytalus administering the Gauntlet of the House to him. Henceforth, members of House Tytalus persist in referring to that magus as being of House Tytalus, often to the frustration and embarrassment of the magus involved. Of course, forcing the House to rescind the honor of membership only convinces the Tytali more strongly that the unwilling member of the House is deserving of that status!
From this attitude it also follows that a magus ceases to be a member of House Tytalus if he becomes disillusioned with its philosophy. It is virtually unheard-of for a Tytalan magus to be cast out of the House without his consent, but a magus occasionally requests that the Primus of Tytalus allows him to relinquish his status as a member of the House. The magus then has a year to join a new House before he is punished for vagrancy (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, House Guernicus). Many Houses do not trust a magus who renounces House Tytalus, assuming it is all part of some grander plot.
Story Seed: The Unwilling KingA non-Tytalus character makes an enemy of a Tytalus. She fights him for years in all arenas. Finally, when the non-Tytalus manages to inflict the final blow that lays her opponent low for good, he welcomes her to House Tytalus. By defeating him, she has passed the Gauntlet of the House. From then on, all Tytali of the Tribunal refer to the maga as a member of their House, much to her embarrassment. |
Cabals
Tragedy creates a deception in which the deceiver is more just than the nondeceiver, and the deceived is wiser than the undeceived. — Gorgias
Tytalan magi clearly maintain a culture within their House that is focused on clever schemes and plots, to advance both their own power and, through their conflict, advance the power of the House and perhaps even the Order of Hermes. However, few followers of Tytalus pursue their more lofty schemes without assistance. When a group of followers of Tytalus seek to change society in a coordinated manner, they form a cabal. A magus’s personal rivalry — with “family” or otherwise — is his own business, but a magus need not stand alone when his schemes could benefit others.
A cabal is usually initiated by a single magus, who decides that he needs support in completing a specific goal. He then anonymously issues invitations to other Tytali to discuss the execution of schemes to achieve this goal. Most Tytalan magi invite all other members of the House who live within a fortnight’s travel from the chosen meeting place, even their enemies. The invitation is always written, and outlines the desired goal and a meeting place and time. It is considered a matter of style to deliver the invitation in an inventive manner, or to manage to secrete it within another’s sanctum without detection.
All parties interested in the proposed goal attend the meeting. Attendance is also anonymous, with magic routinely applied to disguise the identities of the attendees.
Even the convener does not know which of the invitees have chosen to attend, and the convener himself does not identify himself as such to the others. Everyone present has his say as to the merits of the scheme, and how it might be pursued. A maga might attend with the express intention of preventing the formation of the cabal, because it might interfere with her own schemes; alternatively, she might decide during the meeting that the goal is either untenable or not as interesting as she first thought, and withdraw. All parties interested in continuing and contributing to the scheme may take a slip of parchment from a bowl prepared by the cabal’s instigator, which describes the location of the next meeting.
This next meeting is the inaugural meeting of the new cabal. Only those who are willing to take part know the location of the meeting and attend. Anonymity is preserved at this and all subsequent meetings of the cabal; unless a magus errs, he will never be known to another member of this or any other cabal. At cabal meetings, tasks are assigned by consensus, and plans drawn up to achieve the stated goal of the cabal. Of course, some or all of the cabal members are pursuing their own agendas instead of those of the cabal itself, and there are commonly spies and counterspies, but most cabal members have at least some interest in the stated outcome of the cabal.
Once formed, cabals usually have a closed membership, but a magus who publicly displays adherence to a goal pursued by a cabal may receive one or more invitations to join from current members; of course, he might be a member already! A magus typically receives an invitation to form a new cabal once every few years, or more frequently if the local area has a substantial Tytalan presence. A typical cabal consists of 3–6 members, and meets once every few years. Many followers of House Tytalus are active members of one or two cabals, and less active members of several others; these cabals may even have conflicting goals, with those who are members of each deliberately manipulating both to eventually face each other to determine which one is the stronger. Most Tytali find such political games highly entertaining.
Current CabalsDetailed below are some examples of cabals that are currently active or soon to form. Note that the goals of these cabals vary enormously, from the straightforward to the ambitious, and some might have aims that exceed the limits prescribed by the Code of Hermes. The names of cabals are usually somewhat esoteric and mysterioussounding, and they employ a symbol with which to identify anonymous communiqués from cabal members. The Cabal of the Broken Ocean (Symbol: A clockwise turbo of four lines, making one quarter-turn each). Provides covert support to the pagans of Lithuania against the Teutonic Knights. The Cabal of Erigone (Symbol: a triangular clavicula). Determined to prevent Caecilius of Durenmar from becoming praeco of the Rhine Tribunal (see Guardians of the Forests, page 27), although only half of its membership are members of that Tribunal. The Cabal of the Lance (Symbol: a helix made from chain). Covertly shielding a newly formed covenant from the intrigue of its tribunal, though to what purpose is unclear. The covenant protected by this cabal are unaware of their guardians. The Cabal of the Shining Eye (Symbol: A concha with an eagle at the center). Dedicated to maneuvering the Roman Tribunal into colonization of North Africa. The Unnamed Cabal (Symbol: a counterclockwise swirl of five lines, which double back on one another and create a vertex). Spoken of in hushed tones, the Unknown Cabal’s goal is to ensure that the other cabals are kept in conflict with each other. It is supposedly composed of the most powerful Tytalus Archmagi, and, some claim, Tytalus himself! There may even be more than one cabal with this goal. . . . |
Intrigue
As gold is tried in the fire, so acceptable men are tried in the furnace of adversity. — Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach, 2:5
The natural environment of a Tytalus magus is in the midst of an intrigue, whether of her own making, or another’s. In Ars Magica Fifth Edition, these stories present different challenges to the storyguide in design and execution than do most stories, but to neglect intrigue stories in a saga which contains one or more Tytalan player characters is to deny them their strengths. Conflict can be (and is) found in other arenas too — in combat or in certamen — but the handling of intrigue stories is different.
The sections below provide a toolkit of elements that play a part in pursuing intrigue, including rules for deep-cover disguises called personae, which are used by Tytalan magi, and rules for the cut-andthrust of political debate. Rules for running agencies of spies, thieves, and other useful lackeys are provided in the Appendix to this book, as members of House Jerbiton also use such agents.
Intrigue-based adventures are difficult to frame, because player actions can be so variable under different stimuli. It is usually best to present an overall picture describing the situation, with a number of different resolutions, each with its own consequences. It is far more important to know the goals of the antagonists rather than the intricacies of a plot. As long as the storyguide has a good conception of the designer of an intrigue, and knows his motivations and intent, then as long as he acts consistently in the pursuit of his goal, a good story will result even if the player characters throw him a curveball. A good trick, but one which must not be overused, is to use hindsight as a surrogate for a well-formed plot. The instigator of an intrigue is potentially more intelligent and devious than the storyguide himself, but a way around this is to change the actions of the antagonist as a result of the player characters’ actions. In reality, you retroactively decide, the intriguer had planned these actions from the very beginning, and thus the ability to predict character actions is simulated. However, it is important not to thwart the actions of the characters too many times with this trick, nor to deny them a hard-won victory.
Stories of IntriguePresented below are examples of typical Tytalan intrigues. In common with the fables told in House Tytalus, they feature Tytalus as the protagonist, and other founders fill other iconic roles: Guernicus as the co-conspirator, Tremere as the dupe, and Flambeau as the dupe’s ally. These are fables, not history, but should be used to provide inspiration for intrigue-based stories. Deliverance: Tytalus rescues Tremere from danger. Tremere later discovers that Tytalus put him in danger to begin with. Is it too transparent to assume that Tytalus merely wanted Tremere to owe him a boon? Crime Pursued by Vengeance: The dishonor of Guernicus by Tremere provokes a furious reaction from Tytalus. But wasn’t it Tytalus that gave Tremere the evidence against Guernicus? Disaster: Tytalus appears to be constantly suffering defeat, but it is secretly self-inflicted. Why would he want others to see him as a victim? Murderous Adultery: Tytalus persecutes Guernicus after he supports Tremere, treating him to worse than he’s ever inflicted on Tremere. Is this a true split between the former allies? Madness: After a Twilight, Tytalus muddles up his intrigues by employing the wrong agents in the wrong plots. Or does he just want to appear to be weak? Involuntary Crimes of Love: Tremere’s new filius turns out to be Tytalus in disguise. Self-Sacrifice for Kindred: Tytalus appears to commit all his resources in a hopeless effort to protect Guernicus. This is possible, but very unlikely to be the real story. Adultery: Tytalus abandons Guernicus in favor of Flambeau. Is this a true change of heart? Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One: What is the reaction of Tremere’s mortal family when Tytalus shows them what their child has become? More importantly, how does this affect Tremere? Mistaken Jealousy: Tytalus tells Tremere that the latter’s ally Flambeau is actually allied to Guernicus. Is Tytalus seeking an alliance with Flambeau, Guernicus, or Tremere? Remorse: Tytalus confesses his crimes to Tremere in uncharacteristic contrition. In doing so he implicates Flambeau in treachery. Loss of Loved Ones: After the disappearance of Tremere, Tytalus frantically seeks to reveal the crime. Using zeal to hide guilt is too transparent for Tytalus. However, the alternative is that his grief is real. |
Tytalan Agencies
A human being is the measure of all things — of things that are, that they are, and of things that are not, that they are not. — Protagoras
The Appendix presents rules for recruiting and maintaining agents, mundanes who are controlled in some way by a principal. Agencies are extensively used by followers of Tytalus in the pursuance of their schemes. The political Tytalus finds them a useful source of both information and disinformation, whereas the selfish Tytalus can employ them to amass resources or fulfill her every desire.
Story Seeds for Tytalan AgenciesRather than increasing an agent’s Bond Strength with favors, a magus, using a classic Tytalan ploy, makes him more indebted to the magus. The more convoluted and involved the plot, the greater the reward in experience, and therefore the bigger the gain to the Bond Strength of the agent. An agent comes to his principal with a story that another has tried to recruit him as a double agent; further investigation reveals that the recruiter never existed. A magus’s rival becomes one of his agents, either by impersonating a current agent (who has been disposed of), or by possessing a persona who is newly recruited. Someone is targeting a magus’s agents, eliminating the source of their Bonds, or simply eliminating the agents altogether. The enemy must have inside knowledge as to the identities of these agents — so who is the snitch? |
Spies
Perhaps the most common use for agents among House Tytalus is as spies. Simply having a source of information in the local town or church can provide an early warning of any potential problems directed at a covenant, which a Tytalus can use to his personal advantage. A more dangerous game is placing a spy among the covenfolk of a rival covenant; only if the agent acquires his information with magic is this prosecutable under the Code of Hermes.
Criminal Agents
Almost as popular as spies in the House, Tytali often recruit thieves as agents, and employ their larcenous skills in return for protecting them from the authorities. A “Thieves’ Guild” is a trope of fantasy literature rather than a historical phenomenon, but in Mythic Europe a member of House Tytalus might very well form the focus for such a guild. Of course, as well as stealing wealth, thieves are excellent at acquiring Arcane Connections to people and places, and those with no morals might be persuaded into a side-line of assassination.
Thugs
If working subtly, it is often inconvenient to maintain a turb of grogs. Having agents who fulfill that role is more advantageous. Further, agents such as these are harder to trace back to the magus than a turb-member would be. Thug agents are not only useful for situations where combat is necessary; intimidation can be as much a part of their task as weapon-play.
Double Agents and Hostile Takeovers
Occasionally, a Tytalan magus will come across (or seek out) an agent in the employ of a rival. This agent might be courted by the magus so that he has a mole inside the rival agency. Recruiting the agent follows the usual rules (see Appendix); as soon as the Bond Strength of the agent reaches zero, he becomes a double agent, working for both agencies, but most loyal to the principal with the highest Bond Strength. Should the original principal become aware of the subordination of his agent, he can maintain him as a triple agent, feeding back false information.
Conducting a hostile takeover of another’s agency can be done one agent at a time, but there are quicker methods available to magi. Using appropriate magics, a Tytalan can disguise himself as the principal and establish a persona (see below) among the agents as the original principal. The interloper can then use the Bond Strength of any agent built by the principal as if it were his own. The agent believes that he is still working for the same person, and is often relocated to keep him away from his former principal. This process only works if the original principal does not have regular contact with his agents, else the deception is too easily discovered.
Example Agencies with Tytalan PrincipalsFudarus maintains an immense spy network. The covenant directly controls a number of agents, who themselves maintain their own agencies, and so on through several layers of interaction. These agents are spies, largely petty criminals, who keep a close eye on the mundane interests of the covenant, although the Primus sometimes uses them on behalf of the House. It is unclear to what extent the members of this network are secretly agents of Tytali other than the Primus. A Tytalan magus operates a network of merchants on the Mediterranean Sea. All the merchants have access to ships, and the magus can often arrange passage on these ships on behalf of other magi, for a price. A solitary member of House Tytalus maintains several mercenary captains and outlaw leaders as agents instead of having grogs, and he can call upon them at short notice, should his plans against his rival come to fruition. A Tytalan maga maintains several scholars in Rome, Bologna, Salerno, and Paris as agents. She has never met these agents; all communication is written, and they believe she is another scholar (and a man). The maga seeks to subtly introduce Tytalan philosophy into the ethics, law, and theology these scholars write about. Several of the employees of a brothel are agents of a Tytalus. They not only serve his needs, but also supply a ready source of blackmail material with which to recruit further agents within the local community. |
Disguises and Personae
One’s own character inevitably comes to resemble the things one spends most of one’s day with. — Antiphon
In pursuing his interests, a Tytalan magus often finds a need for a disguise. Apart from the inconvenience of being recognized, it is often useful for him to seamlessly meld into a community and be accepted as something he is not. Magical disguises have their disadvantages (see The Magic of Impersonation, below), and consequently many Tytali have perfected the art of developing a mundane disguise. Magi rarely adopt disguises on a permanent basis, for this would severely interrupt in their magical studies. However, a maga whose covenant resides within or close to a population center may be able to maintain a disguise without substantial loss of her time, although she needs a good story explaining why she is not always available to partake in the normal aspects of town life. More usually, a Tytalan magus adopts an identity with no fixed abode, either a wanderer such as a tinker or musician, or someone who travels a lot due to his trade, such as a merchant or huntsman.
Short-Term Disguises
A short-term disguise is intended to be used a handful of times at most, and employs mundane props to change the magus’s appearance. It is almost impossible to adopt the disguise of a specific person without the use of magic, but a skilled impersonator can use clothing, hair dye or wigs, and even makeup to affect a substantial change in appearance. Use of a disguise is a function of the Guile Ability. Given sufficient suitable material and time, a character can make himself look different enough to fool others. To determine the success of a disguise, make an Intelligence + Guile roll, with a base Ease Factor of 9, modified according to the magnitude of the desired change, as laid out in the nearby insert.
| Disguise Roll | Int + Guile + Stress Die Vs. Ease Factor 9 + Modifiers |
The storyguide should make the roll on behalf of the character, so that the player does not know how good the disguise is. If successful, the disguise is sufficient to not raise any questions in those who see the character on a casual basis, but should the disguised character wish to interact with another, the player must make a Presence + Guile roll opposed by an Intelligence + Folk Ken roll on behalf of the person whom they are trying to deceive. If the disguised character’s roll is successful, then he manages to fool the other. A character must have the appropriate Abilities to pull off the disguise; the Disguise roll covers speaking German like a peasant rather than a well-educated magus, but the magus must be able to speak German in the first place! Rolls for short-term disguises are not affected by The Gift, but any social rolls made while in disguise are penalized as usual, and people still react to the disguised magus with suspicion and distrust.
| Circumstance (Use All That Apply) | Modifier | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Change social status | +3 | magus disguising himself as a peasant |
| Minor alteration in physical appearance | +1 | changing hair color with dye |
| Major alteration in physical appearance | +3 | becoming obese, or an inch taller |
| Change sex | +6 | male magus becoming female maga |
| Minimal preparation | +3 | less than five minutes to make the disguise, or limited costume available |
| No preparation | +6 | less than five rounds to make the disguise, or very basic costume available |
Deep Cover Disguises
Occasionally, a magus needs to establish a long-term presence in a specific community to pull off one of his intrigues. He might be spying on a rival covenant, gathering gossip in a bishop’s palace, or even hiding from his enemies. In such situations, a physical disguise is often insufficient; over the long term they tend to be uncovered. Instead, a character can disguise himself by adopting a totally different identity among the target group. He chooses a role to play, complete with personality, history, and quirks, and then establishes this new identity among his chosen community.
Deep cover disguises have names, jobs, and personalities that are separate from those of their creator. Once the personality has been developed, the magus gets into an appropriate costume, enters the community where the cover is to persist, and performs a noteworthy act in front of witnesses, which establishes the character in the minds of the residents. This act grants a new Reputation as the disguised individual, at a score of 1 (see ArM5, page 167). Establishing the Reputation in the fi rst place often requires a Disguise roll to be successful, but once established the Reputation replaces the need to make further Disguise rolls. However, if it is ever necessary for the magus to convince others of the validity of the cover — if he is questioned by a suspicious priest, or tries to cover up the slip of a comrade — then the Ease Factor of the Disguise roll is reduced by the value of the Reputation.
Example: Carolus Furax decides to develop the persona of a mercenary. He figures that this job gives him sufficient reason to be absent from his home village for long periods of time, but also gives him the opportunity to swap war stories with the town guard and — more importantly for his current schemes — with the soldiers of the baron who frequent a certain tavern in town. He therefore chooses the name “Reynard,” procures some arms and armor, and after spending some time studying his covenant’s grogs, swaggers into the tavern and orders himself a drink. He has arranged for some “robbers” (actually his grogs) to attack, who allow him to beat them back in defense of the townsfolk. Once this is accomplished, Carolus has acquired a Local Reputation of Reynard the Mercenary, at an initial score of 1.
The only limit to the disguise’s role in society is the ability of the magus to get himself into a situation where he can convincingly establish the desired role. If a magus is capable of convincing the local clergy and townsfolk that he is a priest, then he could potentially lay claim to that parish, but most Tytali opt for less conspicuous roles. In general, a deep cover disguise that normally requires a Minor Social Status Virtue (such as Priest) incurs the effects of acquiring a Minor Story Flaw, as the character has to pursue the obligations of his role, but also enjoys some minor benefi ts. A disguise that normally incurs a Major Social Status Virtue (such as Landed Noble) requires the attention that a Major Story Flaw normally requires to maintain that disguise, and even then, the disguise is not tenable in the long term. A deep cover disguise that needs Virtues other than Social Status Virtue to support it, such as Temporal Infl uence or Wealthy, is impossible to develop.
Every time a character performs an action that confi rms the role he is playing in society, he gains 1 experience point in the Reputation, which increases as if it was an Ability. Actually living in a community for a season and having regular contact with its members is usually suffi cient to earn 2 experience points in the Reputation, whereas regular visits throughout a season earn only 1 experience point. A magus who makes a brief visit every season (avoiding penalties to lab work, for example) gains only 2 experience points per year. A magus can speed the process of establishing the Reputation by staging noteworthy events for the benefit of those he is fooling (1 experience point per event), but he must display the appropriate Abilities (or be able to hide his lack with subterfuge or magic) or else his efforts are wasted. Events that enmesh him closer in the community — such as getting married, having children, or taking on a role such as reeve — are also worth 1 experience point in the Reputation. In any case, a Reputation increased by more than 2 experience points per season is likely to arouse suspicion because the magus is trying too hard.
The Gift is the biggest impediment to a magus wanting to run a deep cover disguise; however, as the fake identity becomes wellknown in a society, the effects of the distrust and envy engendered by The Gift diminish (assuming that the character does nothing to confirm them), as people around him become used to him. A character therefore subtracts his Reputation from the penalty to social rolls caused by The Gift, but only when dealing with those with whom he has regular contact. This diminishing effect of The Gift does not apply to strangers, only to those that come to know the magus well; this is a formalization of the effect seen normally over prolonged contact with the Gifted (ArM5, page 75). Example: Carolus becomes a regular visitor to the village (particularly its tavern), regaling the patrons with stories of all the battles he’s fought in while he’s been away (although in reality he’s been back at the covenant studying magic). After two years, and another demonstration of his martial abilities, the persona of Reynard has a Reputation of 2. In this village, he suffers only a –1 penalty to social interactions from The Gift.
Because deep cover disguises involve such a total change in the mannerisms and personality of the magus, those who know him as a magus may not recognize him when he is in his disguise, because recognition is based so much on context. Should a magus enter the locality in which his cover lives without first adopting the disguise, he may be recognized by the townsfolk, but it is amazing how situation can make one blind to the obvious. Without the mannerisms and distinctive costume of the disguise, the magus appears to be a different person, even if he shares the same facial features. However, the effects of the Mistaken Identity Flaw could temporarily apply to a magus in this situation. Naturally, the chances of being recognized depend very much on the level of interaction he has, how well he is known by the observer, and so forth. There is little chance that any mundane who is familiar with his cover will ever encounter the same individual in Hermetic circles; the reverse is a little more likely, but a magus is granted the right of privacy by the Code of Hermes, and need not explain to another magus why he is pretending to be a mundane. As long as interaction between the magus and characters who know him in his other life is kept to a minimum, it is unlikely that the disguise will be uncovered, although if conversations ensue, the player of the undercover character must make a Disguise roll, as detailed above.
Deep cover disguises have a limited life span. If a magus ceases to expose the community to his disguised identity, then it forgets about him and the Reputation dwindles. After being dormant for a number of years equal to the Reputation score, the Reputation loses one point per year. Further, the negative Reputation of The Gift becomes re-established at its original strength if the magus tries to use the persona again after this dormancy period.
New Supernatural Ability: Persona*The character with this Ability (and the appropriate Virtue, see New Virtues) can alter his appearance to adopt a different identity. He can alter any aspect of his appearance: hair and eye color, complexion, shape of nose, build and height (within the limits of his Size), apparent age, and even gender. These changes are total, proof even to the most intimate mundane scrutiny, but do not change the character’s essential nature. Consequently, all Characteristic scores remain unchanged, Virtues and Flaws are transferred to all new forms, and a male character cannot become pregnant when adopting the persona of a woman. Adopting a different identity requires one round of concentration and a roll of Stamina + Persona against an Ease Factor of 9. Changing back to the character’s natural form requires the same concentration and the same roll. Each identity has its own Personality Traits and behavioral quirks, and no Disguise roll is necessary to convince others of the role; this is not a disguise but a whole different person. The character gains one identity for every point he has in the Persona Ability. Every time the Ability increases by one point, the character must design a new identity. Specialties: priests, peasants, magi Hermetic Disguises and PersonaeIt is entirely feasible for a Tytalan magus to maintain a deep cover disguise or persona in another covenant, if he divides his time between the two covenants and has a plausible explanation for his absences. He also needs to ensure that his identities could never meet each other, and that his two sets of sodales never come into contact. Unless a covenant’s charter explicitly forbids a magus from being a member of more than one covenant, there is nothing contrary to the Code in such an action, although once discovered it might raise a few questions regarding the motives of the Tytalan magus who perpetrated this double life. No Tytalus has been caught impersonating a Quaesitor, but if one was, then every decision that the “Quaesitor” had made would have to be reconsidered, and it is unlikely that the Tytalus would escape censure from the Tribunal. A case was brought to the Normandy Tribunal of a magus who impersonated a Redcap, thus gaining access to private communications between his rivals. This magus was successfully prosecuted for scrying, because he used magic to take the appearance of the Redcap, but had he not done this, there is no provision in the Code that would make this a Hermetic crime. Story Seed: The Reborn IdentityA Tytalan magus enters a protracted Twilight and becomes one of his personae. All memories of his life as a magus are lost, and he cannot use the magic to which he is unaware he has access. Perhaps the magus was privy to a particularly important piece of information that the player characters need. Should the player characters — unaware of his condition — reveal to him the existence of the Order, the persona might react badly to this knowledge and start telling the world their secrets. |
Personae
A magus with the Persona Minor Supernatural Virtue has a Supernatural Ability of the same name (see insert), which grants the power to create a small number of flawless disguises. Every one of these personae automatically gains a Reputation of 1 when it is first created, and any experience points applied to the Persona Ability also apply the same number of experience points to the Reputations of all of the magus’s personae. A persona is more than just a physical disguise; every persona has its own distinct speech patterns, personality, and quirks. A persona cannot impersonate a specific individual — a magus cannot become Duke Tybol, for example — but he can develop a persona who has sufficient physical and behavioral mannerisms of Duke Tybol to convince others that he is his illegitimate son. Although magical, the Persona Supernatural Ability involves a very subtle form of magic; at the moment of transformation it can be detected as if it were a Muto Corpus spell of 10th level, but for every sunset or sunrise that passes after adopting the persona, the magnitude drops by one. Negative magnitudes of spells can only be detected with powerful Intellego Vim magic (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, page 71). If an equivalent spell level is needed for other purposes (such as for Sight of the True Form, or Wind of Mundane Silence, for example) the equivalent spell level is equal to five times the score in the Ability.
The Fine Arts of Debate
One should destroy the seriousness of one’s opponent with laughter, and his laughter with seriousness. — Gorgias
The rules given below present a mechanic for settling an argument through debate. They are broken down into two sections: the testing of the strength of each other’s positions in a debate, and the consequences of winning the debate on the opinions of the observers. Naturally, if there are no observers, or the issue is one of little consequence, then the second step is unnecessary. However, they become of vital importance to a magus who is prosecuting or defending a case at Tribunal.
Using Certamen Instead of DebateFor personal issues at Tribunal, certamen is often used to resolve differences. If a certamen takes the place of a formal debate, then the result of the certamen is binding no matter how erudite or persuasive the loser. However, certamen may also be used to resolve single issues that are part of a bigger case, in which case the winner of certamen may not automatically win the vote as well. For example, conflicting testimony regarding what was intended by an action might be resolved with certamen, but this does not settle the entire case. In this situation, simply use the actual Fatigue Levels lost rather than debating Fatigue Levels when calculating the Argument Strength of the winner. |
Resolving Differences
The rules for debating are very much like the rules for certamen in Ars Magica Fifth Edition, and the purpose is very similar. Instead of exhausting your opponent, you instead attack his arguments. Each round of a debate may last a few minutes or a few hours, depending on the complexity of the issue at hand. Before the debate begins, the opponents must decide how long it will continue; an independent arbiter (such as the praeco at a Tribunal) might allow the debate for continue for a preset number of rounds (typically 5–10), or else decide arbitrarily when it is over. A debate ends in any case if one debater’s position is left “unconscious” by an attack of his opponent.
In each round of the debate choose which of the three Attack Abilities (Folk Ken, Intrigue, or Artes Liberales) and which of the three Defense Abilities (Charm, Guile, Leadership) you are employing. Much like a certamen, the debate rules depend on six totals.
| Initiative Total | Perception + Stress Die |
| Attack Total | Communication + Attack Ability + Attack Modifier + Stress Die |
| Defense Total | Intelligence + Defense Ability + Stress Die |
| Attack Advantage | Attack Total – Defense Total (If Attack Total Is Higher) |
| Weakening Total | Presence + Attack Advantage |
| Resistance Total: Highest Positive Reputation + Confidence Score | {{{2}}} |
Fatigue inflicted by the debate is not physical fatigue, but affects all the arguments of the opponents in an identical manner. If a debater has the Clear Thinker Virtue, then decrease the penalties for reduced Fatigue Levels by one point, for debate fatigue only. If a debater has the Strong Willed Virtue, then he receives a +3 bonus to his Resistance Total. Virtues and Flaws that affect physical fatigue (e.g., Long-Winded) do not influence debate fatigue.
The Ability chosen for the Attack Total determines the style of the debater’s oration in that round, whereas the Defense Ability determines what argument or tactic he is employing. For example, a threat holds no weight unless the character has the Leadership to make it worthwhile, and a direct lie from a character with no Guile is too transparent to damage his opponent. Examples are given below; players are encouraged to paraphrase their characters’ words, explaining how they are using these particular tacks in the debate.
Folk Ken relies on the understanding of human behavior and motivation to secure an advantage.
- Charm: You offer a compromise or a disarming compliment.
- Guile: You support your point with a complete fabrication of the truth.
- Leadership: You issue a personal threat or insult against your opponent.
Intrigue represents the ability of the debater to manipulate his opponent into traps, and to employ dirty tricks.
- Charm: You misdirect your opponent, or baffle him with an obtuse comment.
- Guile: You hint that you know things that your opponent would not want publicly known, or cite false authority.
- Leadership: You scare-monger over your opponent’s points, or hint at friends in high places.
Artes Liberales, particularly the specialty of Rhetoric, determines the debater’s ability to use sophisticated verbal techniques against their opponents.
- Charm: You employ hyperbole and rhetoric to confuse your opponent with erudition, distracting him from the matter at hand.
- Guile: You tease your opponent with wit, or play to the crowd by using premises based on popularity rather than fairness.
- Leadership: You forcibly interrogate your opponent, or question whether he has followed proper procedure.
Particular styles of debating are more effective against some tactics than others, and a debater is often required to adapt his debating style several times during the debate to try to secure the biggest advantage. For each Attack Total, the attacker gains an Attack Modifier based on the Defense Ability used by his opponent. Refer to the following table:
| Charm | Guile | Leadership | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folk Ken | +3 | –3 | 0 |
| Intrigue | 0 | +3 | –3 |
| Artes Liberales | –3 | 0 | +3 |
Example: In this round of a debate at Tribunal, Moratamis is trying to interrogate Carolus regarding his activities, whereas Carolus is infuriating her (and pleasing the crowd) with disarming words. Moratamis is attacking with Artes Liberales and defending with Leadership. Carolus is attacking with Folk Ken and defending with Charm. Carolus won initiative and attacks first. His Folk Ken Attack Total gets no bonus against Moratamis’s Leadership defense, but when she counter-attacks, she receives a –3 penalty to her Artes Liberales Attack Total because Carolus is employing a Charm defense. In the next round she tries to continue her interrogation, but Carolus has switched tactics, suddenly changing from compliments to obtuse comments loaded with meanings that confuse her (he is still using Charm, but this time with Intrigue). Carolus now enjoys a +3 bonus to his Attack Total, as well as inflicting a penalty on his opponent’s Attack Total as before. Moratamis will probably switch tack herself next round.
Winning Arguments
The debate rules can be placed in a wider context, if the outcome of the debate may convince onlookers of the merits of the opinions of the debaters. The debate tests the strengths and weaknesses of each opponent’s position over the issue, but it is down to any outside observers as to which opponent truly won the argument. At a Tribunal, this distinction becomes even clearer, because decisions are made by voting, and the way an observer votes on a case is not solely due to who won the argument, but also determined by alliances and enmities.
If a debate ends because one opponent’s argument loses 5 or more Fatigue Levels, then the winner is clear. Otherwise, the opponent whose argument has the smallest Fatigue penalty is deemed to be the technical victor. To convert winning an argument into winning a vote, the storyguide must first divide the observers of the debate into factions, depending upon whether they were initially inclined towards the defense principle, the prosecution principle, or neither. Where there are more than two opponents in a debate, this factioning becomes more complex, but the overall concept still applies. The number of votes available in each faction should be detailed by the storyguide, for this is not necessarily the same as the number of magi. The neutral faction is the vitally important one; the main purpose of any debate at Tribunal is to win those over to one’s side, and these voters abstain unless swayed one way or the other. Once the spectators have been divided into three camps, calculate the Argument Strength of the victor:
| Argument Strength | Difference Between the Number of Fatigue Levels Lost |
Refer to the table at the bottom of the page for the effects of the Argument Strength on the voting pattern of the audience. Note that if a debater roundly defeats his opponent, then some of his opponent’s allies are so swayed by the force of the winner’s debate that they abandon their faction and vote for the winner.
| Argument Strength | Description | % of Neutral Vote | % of Hostile Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inconclusive | — | — |
| 2 | Edge | 10 | — |
| 3 | Upper Hand | 20 | — |
| 4 | Clear Victory | 30 | — |
| 5 | Triumphant Victory | 40 | 10 |
| 6 | Momentous Victory | 50 | 20 |
| 7+ | Landslide Victory | 60 | 30 |
Having determined which way the Tribunal votes, the storyguide should tally up the results to determine the final outcome of the debate. Note that those neutral votes that remain unassigned abstain from voting.
Example: Moratamis the Quaesitor is a popular figure at Tribunal. Of the 55 votes present, the storyguide estimates that 20 are her solid allies, whereas Carolus has the certain support of only ten other magi. Nevertheless, he won the debate with an Argument Strength of 3, which means he wins 20% of the 25 neutral voters, for a total of 5 other votes. This still gives him only 15 votes; not enough to win the case. He would have needed to have had an Argument Strength of at least 5 to have won this issue; that would have given him 40% of the neutral vote (ten extra votes) and 10% of Moratamis’s faction (two extra votes). Instead, Carolus mentally rehearses his “contrite” plea for mercy.
The Power of TruthA character who wishes to debate a patently flawed thesis, or one held in overwhelming contempt by the audience, might begin the debate already “fatigued”; the severity of this fatigue should be judged by the storyguide. A Tytalus may take the most preposterous stances against a demonstratively false proposition at an eristic moot to prove his skill rather than to determine the truth of the issue. If a character knows that the side he is taking is false, then his Defense Totals are penalized by his Truthful Personality Trait, if any. No benefit from deceitful Personality Traits is gained in such situations. |
Case Rulings
As detailed in Houses of Hermes: True Lineages: House Guernicus, most cases (i.e., those with clear legal merit) do not make it to a public hearing, instead being mediated by a Quaesitor prior to the Tribunal. Those cases that do make it to the Order’s debating floor are those in which the interpretation of the Code is not cut and dried, and it is here where political magi such as the Tytali excel.
Once the evidence has been presented by both principles in a case in the form of testimonies, the two sides engage in a debate contest in front of the Tribunal. The praeco typically ends the debate if the battle extends past 10 rounds. Each testimony possessed by an opponent may be used once per debate to support an argument. The prosecution principle may use a testimony to increase her Attack Total, whereas the defense principle may use a testimony to support his Defense Total. Once used in a round, the testimony may not be used again in the debate. The player should describe how he is using the witness to support the debating technique they are using, and then receive the bonus described on the following table:
| Type of Testimony | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Written testimony | +1 |
| Testimony of a mundane | +1 |
| Testimony of a social inferior (apprentice, familiar, etc.) | +2 |
| Testimony of a peer (another magus) | +3 |
| Testimony ratified by Quaesitorial examination | +3 (cumulative) |
Proposal Cases
Proposal cases are ones in which a magus seeks a correction, clarification, or addition to the Code of Hermes. In such cases, the debate is held between the proposer and the rest of the Tribunal. Any magus may enter into a debate with the proposer, and once the praeco feels that the case has been fully discussed, he stops the debate and calls for a vote. In game terms, the debate continues for a preset number of rounds, typically 5–10 (although the players do not know in advance how many rounds will eventually take place). Each round, the proposer faces a question or objection from a member of the audience. The storyguide should present each opponent’s argument, allow the player magus to respond, and then make a debate roll. The storyguide should assign Attack and Defense Ability scores to each interrogator, but the proposer is fighting against a single opponent — the whole Tribunal — and the blows he lands are counted against that single entity.
Example Proposal CasesClarification: A magus wishes it to be made clear that a particular hedge wizard is an enemy of the Order. Addition: Currently, a magus must provide his name and home Tribunal when asked by another magus. The proposer wishes that apprentices should also be accorded the privilege of receiving this information. Alteration: Some magi within the Loch Leglean Tribunal want to add a provision to their Peripheral Code allowing them to steal from each other’s vis supplies, to keep up their time-honored traditions of raiding. |
Once all the points have been debated, the proposer’s Argument Strength is used to determine the margin of victory in the usual way. However, the Argument Strength may suffer a penalty determined by the type of modification required to the Code. Magi are wary about making drastic changes to the Code of Hermes, and thus the more alteration required, the more difficult it is to win the case. A clarification does not propose to change the Code, it merely asks for a clear statement to be made about the Tribunal’s attitude towards a specific position. An addition doesn’t change the Code of Hermes either, but it expands the meaning of a specific case to cover a more general situation. An alteration of the Code actually suggests that a previously made ruling was incorrect, and should be replaced with a superior version, authored, of course, by the proposer. Note that a regional Tribunal can only make modifications to the local Peripheral Code, although they can recommend that a successful proposal case be taken to the next Grand Tribunal, where it may modify the Code as practiced in all Tribunals.
| Type of Case | Penalty To Argument Strength |
|---|---|
| Clarification | 0 |
| Addition | –1 |
| Alteration | –3 |
| Case being heard at the Grand Tribunal | –1 (cumulative) |
Other Uses for the Debate RulesDebates do not only have their purpose in the Tribunal halls of the Order. Mundane courts of law can also be persuaded by a strong argument, regardless of the evidence either way. For most of Mythic Europe, the winner of a debate is judged the winner of the case, unless the arbiter of justice is corrupt. In the Kingdom of England, Common Law prevails, which institutes a jury (of 12, 24, or 48 peers) to judge the case; such trials should be judged according to the voting system described above. However, jurors should be randomly assigned to the friendly, neutral, and hostile factions. If a character with The Gift is on trial, only 10% of the jurors begin the case sympathetic towards that character’s position. Furthermore, the social penalty of The Gift is applied to the Defense Total of a magus when debating with mundanes before witnesses. |
Characters
A magus who does not have at least one disgraced magus in his ancestry has displayed a distinct lack of enterprise. — Erik von Ribe, filius Tasgillia
House Tytalus is a diverse group. Unlike other Houses, they do not demand lineage from the Founder or adherence to a Mystery Cult to be a member, just adherence to the House philosophy. In the early decades of the Order it was a fastgrowing House, attracting fully-fledged wizards from aggressive traditions who were capable of besting a Tytalus in an eristic moot. After the founding of House Ex Miscellanea, this stream of new recruits dried up, and yet there has still been cross-fertilization from other Houses, as one of the few available destinations for a magus who has abandoned his lineage or renounced his cult. As a consequence, magi of House Tytalus often do not bear much resemblance to one another; they have no favored type of magic, and few defining Virtues and Flaws save for the Self Confident Virtue, which is a product of their hard apprenticeship.
However, there are two groups within House Tytalus that practice a specific type of magic, both descended from Tytalus. The Titanoi are a Mystery Cult who are heirs to the Founder’s magical tradition, whereas the leper magi are a lineage who draw strength from the terrible disease that has passed to pupil from master right back to Tytalus himself. See below for details of these two groups.
There are some general themes that one should keep in mind when designing a magus of House Tytalus. It is very important to have a clear idea of his inner nature, because the conflicts he faces in life are geared towards its betterment. Most Tytalan magi therefore have a Major Personality Flaw, for they have been taught to be ruled by their passions, not constrain them to suit society. For magi interested in politics, Virtues that assist them in this arena include: Affinity with or Puissant Artes Liberales, Folk Ken, or Intrigue; Clear Thinker; Famous; Inspirational; and Piercing Gaze. For those more interested in the clandestine world of cabals and personae, the Gentle Gift is a major boon, as is Affinity with or Puissant Stealth, Gossip, Light Touch, or Social Contacts.
If Tytali could be said to have Flaws in common, they would be related to internecine struggles. The new Flaw of Beloved Rival (described below) encapsulates the love-hate relationship that Tytali often maintain with their sodales. Enemies and Feud can both be used to represent a rivalry that relates more to persecution than the normal competition. Tormenting Master and Weak Parens can both result from apprenticeship (see above).
New Virtues
Leper Magus
Major, Hermetic (House Tytalus only)
This Virtue describes the mystic legacy passed on from Tytalus to Hariste’s line through the vector of leprosy. This Virtue can only be bought if the character also has the Leprosy Flaw. It allows him to draw upon the strength of his body to increase the power of his magic, granting the Life Boost Minor Virtue. He can also draw even deeper into this power if he desires, mortifying his disease-ridden flesh to produce vis to power his own spells. The vis generated in this way can only be used by the magus himself, in spellcasting or laboratory activities (but not study), and cannot be stored in any way — in fact, it never leaves his body. By accepting a Light Wound, the magus can infuse a single magical working with three pawns of vis, of any Technique or Form. A Medium Wound supplies six pawns, a Heavy Wound nine pawns, an Incapacitating Wound 12 pawns, and a Deadly Wound (killing the magus) 15 pawns. Any vis that is produced beyond the magus’s capacity to use in the current magical activity is lost, as is any vis surplus to the requirements of the activity to which this power is applied. Leprotic wounds open on the magus’s body as he calls upon this power, but not quickly enough to affect the Casting Total of a non-Ritual spell affected by this power. All Lab Totals suffer the wound penalty as normal, as do the Casting Totals of spells that take more than one round to cast (such as Ritual spells). These wounds do not start to heal until the magical activity that they are being used for is complete (i.e., at the end of the casting of the spell, or the end of a season for lab work), and since the power is expressed from the pain of these wounds, magic used to negate that pain also negates the benefits of this Virtue. A wound taken in this fashion must heal completely before the power may be used again, and any character using this power more than three times a year must make an extra Aging roll in winter.
Persona
Minor, Supernatural
The character may adopt one or more flawless disguises, changing both his physical appearance and mannerisms. Choosing this Virtue confers the Supernatural Ability Persona 1 (see Personae, above).
New Flaws
Leprosy
Major, General
A leper has a permanent –2 modifier to her Living Conditions (with an additional –1 if she lives in a leper colony), and whenever she undergoes an Aging Crisis (ArM5, page 170) the leper sustains a Heavy Wound in addition to any other result. Lepers cannot gain a positive Reputation due to a pungent rotting smell that they emanate.
Beloved Rival
Minor, Story
The character has a rival who is both fiercely protective of him and obsessed with opposing him at every turn. For Tytalan magi, this rival is usually an older maga, most likely the magus’s former teacher, or possibly an elder apprentice of the character’s master. Much like the Enemies Flaw (ArM5, page 53), the rival periodically causes trouble for the magus; however, she jealously guards the privilege of making the magus’s life a misery, and often steps in to remove obstacles that are not of her own making. The rival genuinely believes that her opposition benefits her victim, and desires to see him prosper through adversity.
Titanoi
Symbol: A labyrinth of two joined key-spirals, one turning left, the other right.
The Titanoi of House Tytalus are a Mystery Cult that preserves the knowledge and history of Guorna and Tytalus’s magic. Trained in a goetic tradition (see Infernal Taint, below), Tytalus explored beyond the necromancy taught by Guorna, and delved into the roots of his tradition for ways in which to defeat her. He contacted the shades of the Titans who were trapped in the underworld, and through their power he was able to rid the world of his former teacher. Those magi who were taught this magic by Tytalus and Pralix became known as the Titanoi, the Children of the Titans. They believe that the name of their Founder is a corruption of Titanis talus, meaning “gaming piece of the Titans,” a name he only took upon himself after the defeat of Guorna.
The Betrayal (see History, above) nearly saw the end of the Titanoi. Only a handful of its magi survived the purge, and they were mostly young magi who were poorly versed in the Ars Goetia. After the Schism War, the remaining members of the lineage convinced a small sect of Greek theurgists to defect from House Ex Miscellanea and join Tytalus, to revive the Titanoi. These theurgists reformed the Titanoi into a Mystery Cult, but it subsequently lost most of its religious elements due to the strong Sophist leanings of House Tytalus. The cult now serves to offer praise and honor to the governors of the Universe, rather than give them worship. Consequently, not all the members of the cult are pagan, but all have decidedly heterodox views about how the universe was created and is run.
The Titanoi excel in the summoning and control of spiritual entities. They concentrate on the Titans and their children (see insert), but no Titanos is adverse to spells relating to other spirits, such as ghosts, elemental spirits, and the like. A magus raised in the cult develops a Major Magical Focus in Spirits during his apprenticeship, which applies to all supernatural entities that have a naturally insubstantial form. This includes ghosts, but does not extend to other aspects of necromancy such as the animation of corpses. He is also taught Magic Lore and Titanoi Cult Lore. Many Titanoi do not seek further Initiation into the Mysteries of the cult due to the social stigma attached to its practices since the Betrayal. Nevertheless, the lure of more powerful magics offered by the cult often attracts a Titanos after he has had the chance to develop a few powerful enemies. The cult can Initiate the following Virtues: Hermetic Theurgy, Invocation Magic, Names of Power, Theurgic Spirit Familiar, and Student of Magic Realm. For details of these Mystery Virtues, see The Mysteries Revised Edition.
The taint of Tasgillia’s trial still runs deep in this lineage, and a Titanos who is open about his membership of this tradition might suffer from the attentions of a suspicious member of House Guernicus, determined to uncover the diabolic roots of the magus; thus, Titanoi characters frequently have the Enemy Flaw.
The TitansThe Titans (according to House Tytalus) were the means by which the world was created. The elder generation of Titans were the rulers of the universe before the gods of Olympus usurped their position. The gods fought with and eventually imprisoned the Titans, leaving them capable of ordering the universe, but only with the permission of their captors. According to legend, the Titans also created man and his base nature, but it was a god who brought justice, conscience, and laws from heaven to man — Hermes. There were 12 Elder Titans, children of the Earth and the Sky. Their offspring, the Younger Titans, were of more interest to Tytalus than their vastly more powerful parents, and they fathered a host of Daimons, spirits of primal concepts such as love, war, and envy. Included in this group are famous members such as Helios the Sun, Selene the Moon, Hekate the Witch, the four winds, the Muses, the Graces, and the Fates. However, one particular family of Titans was employed to great effect against Guorna, and they are summarized below. Pallas is the Titan of war-craft. He is the son of Krios, the Elder Titan of leadership, and is a goat-like spirit who was eventually defeated by Athene, who formed her aegis (shield) from his skin. Styx is the wife of Pallas, and represents the underworld river that bears her name, and upon which the most solemn oaths are sworn. Her name means “hatred.” With Pallas she had two sons (Zelos and Kratos) and three daughters (Peitho, Nike, and Bia). Zelos is the Daimon of eager rivalry, emulation, envy, and jealousy. Tytalus saw this spirit as his personal patron, and by extension, the patron of his House. Nike is the Daimon of victory, in both battle and peaceful competition. Bia is the Daimon of force, power, and compulsion. Kratos is the Daimon of might, bodily strength, and sovereign rule. Peitho is the Daimon of persuasion and charming speech, and with her sister Bia she represents forceful inducement. |
Infernal TaintThe magical arts practiced by Guorna and Tytalus included the Ars Goetia (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, Chapter 11: Ars Goetia), which deals with the summoning, binding, commanding, and punishment of spiritual entities of all realms except the Divine. While these powers are not inherently evil, their association with spirits and the underworld make them tainted, socially and supernaturally. Modern Titanoi claim to employ only Hermetic practices, and thus avoid any sorcerous taint of the Ars Goetia. They do not admit to also preserving the original magics of their Founder (in the form of Goetic Magic), but it is known for a certainty that Tasgillia did, and it seems unlikely that this knowledge was completely purged from the House by the Quaesitores. At the option of the storyguide, the Mystagogues of the Titanoi can also Initiate the Goetic Arts of Summoning, Ablating, Binding, and Commanding as Major Mystery Virtues, and teach Goetic Spell Mastery. |
Leper Magi
Symbol: A hedera made of two intertwined ribbons or snakes.
Tytalus contracted the dread curse of leprosy from his mater Guorna, but managed to spare all but one of his followers from the contagion. To his great chagrin, it was Hariste, his cherished fi lia, who was the unfortunate victim of this disease. Hariste herself took the knowledge that she had contracted the curse with remarkable sangfroid; secretly she rejoiced, for the disease identifi ed her even more closely with the man whom she loved and respected, and it removed the last barrier between the two of them. When Tytalus disappeared, Hariste was over-wrought with grief, and only the consolation of her devoted pupil Epimetheus saved her from self-destruction. However, in consoling her, he contracted the disease himself and the lineage was born.
The magi aegroti, as they are known, are a distinct minority in the House; there are usually fewer than a dozen at any one time, for it is hard for them to fi nd apprentices. Leper magi are treated with a certain amount of ambivalence in the House and the Order. They are known to be powerful healers and experts in longevity, but the appearance of one in a region is accompanied by dread, due to their affl iction. Despite the stringent rules regarding the conduct of lepers, magi aegroti feel no compulsion to follow them, although many do in deference to the sensibilities of their sodales. Even if a leper magus can persuade a covenant to let him join, his sanctum is often placed outside the walls (and possibly the aura) of the covenant in accordance with the seclusion laws; as a consequence many magi aegroti are wanderers. Most leper magi enjoy the mystique that surrounds them, and tend to play up their role somewhat, wearing the tattered leper’s outfit and enchanting the bell or clapper they carry with protective charms against disease. Most hold Hippian ethics with respect to the House philosophy, and consider caring for the sick and healing their ills to be one of the universal, unwritten laws. They take their conflict within the human body, struggling against contagion and ill-health. Magi aegroti have the same combative spirit as the rest of their House, and they can be dangerous when roused.
All magi aegroti must buy the Leper Magus Virtue and the Leprosy Flaw. Should they ever somehow lift the curse of leprosy, they lose the Leper Magus Virtue. All also have a Minor Magical Focus in either disease, wounds, or aging. They are inevitably specialized in Corpus magics, and usually have either Affinity with Corpus or Puissant Corpus. The Painful Magic Flaw is unfortunately common; those who are lucky enough to escape it developing with their leprosy may acquire it through Twilight episodes later in life.
|
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. —Exodus 20:5 Leprosy in Mythic Europe is a Divine Curse (see City & Guild, Chapter 1: Towns & Cities, Disease), meted out to those betray God. It cannot be cured, and is only contracted by those who are spiritually impure. While this description certainly fi ts Guorna, and probably Tytalus, it is not clear why the curse propagated itself to Hariste and Epimetheus, although some have cited the above passage from Exodus as a possible reason. The fi fth and subsequent generations of leper magi have been found by their masters among lepers rather than contracting the curse from the elder magus; upon being opened to the Arts they acquire the Leper Magus Virtue. The small size of this lineage is testament to the rarity of lepers with The Gift, and magi are lucky if they can fi nd one in their entire lives. In Mythic Europe, lepers are legally and spiritually dead, separated from society by a rite called the Office of the Seclusion of the Leper. This rite sets out stringent rules governing the conduct of lepers and their contact with the healthy, although civil laws impose other rules, which differ between regions. They cannot enter any place where people assemble (such as a church or market), or where food is prepared. They cannot touch objects that do not belong to them, and can neither own property or inherit it. They are even enjoined to stand downwind of anyone who wishes to talk to them. They must live apart from the healthy; always wear a gray or russet leper’s robe, elbowlength gloves, and either a mask, hood, or veil; and carry a clapper or bell, which they must ring to alert others of their presence. Many lepers are wanderers or live in leper colonies, but they may also elect to remain in their home communities, in a separate dwelling outside the bounds of the village or town. Despite being legally protected from harm (so long as they follow the seclusion laws), lepers were frequently subjected to beatings and even murder, often by being burned alive. |
Magic
Critias said that more men are good from practice than from nature. A magus who does not practice will never be good, no matter what his nature. — Analects of Tytalus
Tytalus magi have different interests, and thus may have very different tastes in magic. However, all show a fascination for intrigue, which lends itself well to the practice of Mentem magics. The following sections describe some useful spells for activities in which Tytalan magi usually excel.
Magic for the Debating Arena
The use of magic in the debating arena is heavily frowned upon by the Order of Hermes. Several Tribunal meetings take place under an Aegis of the Hearth cast by the praeco and the presiding Quaesitor specifically to inhibit magic that might influence the democratic processes of the Order. In other Tribunals, the Quaesitores specifically request that enchantments not be used in the debating arena, and run periodic checks against them. Not all Tribunals take such precautions, however, and a member of House Tytalus can often benefit from some judicial use of debating magic. Magi taking this perilous route should concentrate on magic that enhances their own abilities rather than directly affecting the audience. For example, Aura of Ennobled Presence changes the magus’s image so that he emits species of sight and hearing that make him appear more convincing, granting a +3 bonus to all debating Defense Totals that use the Leadership Ability. Tytalan magi have developed similar spells that make them seem more likeable (and thus affect Charm defenses) or more believable (and thus improve Guile defenses); see the spells Aura of Beguiling Appearance and Aura of Childlike Innocence below. At the option of the storyguide, Aura of Ennobled Presence might warp the manifestation of The Gift in the same way as these two spells; while still giving the usual bonus against mundanes, the character expresses his enhanced leadership as a harsh taskmaster or cruel lord.
Other magi are quick to cry foul if they discover that such spells have been used during a Tribunal meeting, but there is no provision in the Code of Hermes to prevent these tactics. Of course, should their use become widespread then either the advantage will be lost to the Tytali, or magical or legal countermeasures will be taken to negate them. Tytalan magi are warned by their parentes to use these spells with care (or with a good Masking the Odor of Magic spell!).
Aura of Beguiling Appearance
MuIm 10
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell is a variant of Aura of Ennobled Presence, except that it causes the target to appear more friendly, conciliatory, and credible. The character gets a +3 on rolls to win trust and make friends. In a debate, the target receives a +3 to Defense Totals based on Charm. The social penalties caused by The Gift are not negated by this spell; the caster merely seems to be suspiciously over-friendly.
(Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun)
Aura of Childlike Innocence
MuIm 10
R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell is a variant of Aura of Ennobled Presence, except that it causes the target to appear more guileless, gullible, and naïve. The character gets a +3 to rolls to deflect suspicion or convince others of his innocence. In a debate, the target receives a +3 to defenses based on Guile. To those affected by the caster’s Gift, his apparent innocence and unblemished honor appears sanctimonious and self-righteous.
(Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun)
The Magic of Impersonation
Those magi who have spent time and effort developing personae often learn or invent spells that assist them in maintaining these separate identities. Most Tytalan magi do not rely upon a magical disguise when using a persona because of the need to renew it on a regular basis, and the fact that some individuals are gifted with Second Sight or Magic Sensitivity, and can destroy their cover easily. Nevertheless, a magical enchantment can overcome these limitations with a constant effect in an enchantment, particularly if coupled with Mask the Odor of Magic. Despite the problems associated with a magically maintained persona, some magi do employ such tricks. Occasionally it is necessary to create a persona of the opposite sex, with a specific characteristic such as red hair or dwarf stature, or even with all the particular features of a certain real person. In such cases, spells such as Disguise of the Transformed Image and Disguise of the New Visage can prove very useful. Members of House Tytalus even trade Lab Texts of such spells that cause the caster to become a specific individual; those versions can only be used to adopt the guise of the person determined when the spell was invented, but that disguise is flawless, and does not rely on the caster knowing the individual whom he is copying.
The Tytalan spell Donning the Mask of Another allows a magus to acquire a deep cover disguise by stealing one from another. This spell is most commonly used to pass a cover on to another magus once it is no longer useful to the magus who initially developed it, perhaps because he has finished with the schemes that precipitated its creation. In this case the spell is often cast through a Wizard’s Communion, and the caster extends his Parma round the donor (ArM5, page 87) so that only the Form Resistance of the donor needs to be overcome by the spell’s Penetration. Such an arrangement usually places the new owner in the debt of the former owner. However, this spell may also be used to steal a persona from another; with a Perdo requisite added to the spell during its invention, it can even remove all memory of the identity from the donor’s mind.
The Succubus’s Trick
MuCo 5
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell causes a female caster to adopt male physical characteristics. A similar spell (The Incubus’s Trick) turns a male caster into a woman. Eye color, hair color, hairstyle, stature, build, and similar characteristics are not changed by this spell, so anyone familiar with the caster’s original appearance can easily recognize her after the change (although the enchanted maga is sometimes instead assumed to be her own “twin brother”). The names of these spells derive from demons of lust who can change their gender.
(Base 3, +2 Sun)
The Far-speaking Voice
CrMe 20
R: Arc, D: Diam, T: Ind
The caster can deliver two minutes of conversation directly into the mind of the person to whom he holds an Arcane Connection, although the target cannot communicate back. This spell is often placed within an enchantment (either a charged item or one with an effect which expires) with the caster’s own Arcane Connection, allowing a spy to communicate with him.
(Base 3, +4 Arc, +1 Diam)
Donning the Mask of Another
MuMe 35
R: Touch, D: Year, T: Ind, Ritual
This spell creates a persona from the identity of another (henceforth called the donor). The donor must be present during the Ritual spell, but need not be willing or even conscious for the correct operation of the spell, though it must penetrate any Magic Resistance as usual.
The caster acquires the full memories and personality of the donor as a deep cover disguise with a Reputation score of 3, but which offers no reduction in the social penalty of the caster’s Gift. This spell can also be used on characters who have established a deep cover disguise of their own, in which case it confers the Reputation at the same score as the donor’s, with the same reduction in The Gift’s effects that he enjoyed. If, in the year that the caster maintains this foreign identity, he is able to apply at least 5 experience points to the Reputation, then the Reputation persists once the spell’s Duration expires.
The caster must employ further magic to acquire the physical resemblance of the persona. The caster could even fool close friends and family, if his physical disguise is good enough. This spell inflicts one Warping Point on both the caster and donor when it is cast (from the powerful mystical effect), and the caster suffers an additional Warping Point at the end of the spell’s duration (from the constant mystical effect).
(Base 10, +1 Touch, +4 Year)
The Magic of Intrigue
Magi of House Tytalus often employ magics that assist them in their intrigues. Scrying on the agents and antagonists of one’s plots is an important facet of a Tytalan intrigue, although naturally the magus should take care if he has embroiled other members of the Order of Hermes in his schemes. To be on the safe side, a Tytalus maga may employ forceless casting (Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, page 72), ensuring that her magic has no ability to penetrate even a Magic Resistance of zero. Spells such as Prying Eyes and Whispering Winds can prove very useful, as can The Invisible Eye Revealed, to foil the scrying of one’s rival. Tytalan magi often need to discover what plots they have become embroiled in without their knowledge, which is the purpose of the spell Betraying Whispers of the Jealous Mind, detailed below.
Tytali rarely control the mundane agents of their schemes directly with magic; these spells tend to inhibit freedom of thought, and Tytalan magi prefer agents who are capable of adapting to a situation over mindless automata. Furthermore, Rego Mentem spells that are powerful enough to be of use usually cause Warping, which is an annoyance for any agent who is to be used more than once. More subtle spells, such as ones to induce feelings of loyalty, or to spread malicious gossip about a rival (see Burning Issue of the Day, below), are far more popular.
For meeting with co-conspirators, Tytalan magi often preserve their anonymity with face-changing or face-blurring magic (see The Clandestine Mask, below), or else meet in total darkness. Some do both, just in case one concealment method is negated by treachery. Spells can be employed to ensure the secure transfer of information between conspirators (see Enchantment of the Pedestrian Pigeon, below), or else communications can be written in Tytalan ink (see below).
Tytalan Ink
Tytalan ink is a charged item that takes the form of colorless ink. A Dexterity + Artes Liberales roll of 9 or more is required to write legible text with ink that cannot be seen. Upon uttering the command word, the ink becomes black (or any other color determined at the ink’s creation) until the Duration expires, at which point it reverts to its colorless state. Each charge produces enough ink to for approximately two pages of writing; alternatively, multiple charges can be placed in the same vial of ink, allowing the message to be read multiple times.
Reveal the Hidden Words
MuAq 5 Pen +0, 1/day, Charged Item
R: Per, D: Diam, T: Group
Any group of words written in the enchanted, colorless liquid becomes visible upon activating its magic, as the ink turns black for Diameter Duration.
(Base 2, +1 Diam, +2 Group)
The Clandestine Mask
MuIm 4
R: Per, D: Sun, T: Ind
This spell blurs the face and distorts the voice of the caster, so that she may not be recognized by anyone who knows her. The caster’s sigil determines what form this disguise takes; Carolus of Tytalus, whose sigil is darkness, has his face cast perpetually in shadow and his voice echoing and deep. Harpax, whose sigil is multiplicity, acquires a new face every few seconds, and his voice changes randomly between accents and pitches. A magus with a particularly obvious sigil must create a more powerful version (+1 magnitude for higher complexity) to blur this distinction further.
(Base 2, +2 Sun)
Betraying Whispers of The Jealous Mind
InMe 30
R: Per, D: Conc, T: Hearing
This spell allows the caster to hear the dominant emotion regarding himself from those who come within his earshot. He does not sense any emotions other than those which pertain to himself, and each emotion manifests as a muffled voice in his head, repeating again and again a word or short phrase which indicates that emotion. Thus, if his rival is jealous of his reputation, the caster might hear “Your fame should be mine” whispered over and over. The volume of the voice indicates the proximity of the emotion. By concentrating, the caster can single out one voice among any others within earshot; as the caster approaches the owner of that emotion, he hears an increase in the volume of the voice.
(Base 5, +1 Conc, +3 Hearing, +1 complexity — only detects emotions concerning the caster)
Enchantment of the Pedestrian Pigeon
MuMe 15
R: Eye, D: Moon, T: Ind
After telling a person a piece of information, this spell is cast to occlude the memory of that information. A key phrase or word is also set at the time of casting, and subsequently uttering this phrase unlocks the memory. If the message has not been delivered by the time the Duration expires, then the memory of the information is restored to the target. A spell to read the thoughts of the target does not reveal the protected information unless its Penetration exceeds the spell’s level.
(Base 2, +1 Eye, +3 Moon, +1 complexity)
Burning Issue of the Day
ReMe 30
R: Eye, D: Sun, T: Group
After casting this spell, the caster utters a piece of information (true or false) to the target Group, and must speak in a language that the targets understand. The members of the Group are then strongly inclined to repeat that information to anyone they meet for the Duration of the spell.
(Base 5, +1 Eye, +2 Sun, +2 Group)
The Magic of the Titanoi
Spirits abound in Mythic Europe, spirits are akin to animals and plants, have no personal names, and do not involve themselves in the physical world unless forced to through magic. Spells of a specifi c Form can command any spirit tied to that Form, for example, Ignem can command any fi ery spirit. Mentem spells (using the Rego Mentem guidelines, ArM5, page 151) can command any spirit with an Intelligence score, but some spirits have no Intelligence, and those are affected by Rego (Form) spells.
The Titanoi are also interested in the named spirits, the Daimons. Such spirits are not so easy to control, and only those versed in the Mystery of Theurgy are truly skilled in doing so. Unlike simpler spirits, a Daimon can manifest in several places simultaneously, by projecting only one Aspect of itself in each. Instead of summoning such a spirit, the Titanos instead forms a pact with one, causing it to send an Aspect to the magus to perform some task on his behalf in return for the spiritual sustenance provided by casting a ritual spell.
For more information about spirits and Daimons, see The Mysteries Revised Edition.
Coerce the Spirit of Anger
ReMe 20
R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
This spell makes a spirit of anger obey the caster as long as he can coerce it with threats. The more lurid and dramatic the threats, the more cooperative the spirit is. If the spell penetrates the spirit’s Magic Resistance, make a stress roll of Communication + Leadership to see how effective the threats are. The storyguide should always give a bonus or penalty depending on the potency of the threat, but note that any roll other than a botch compels at least minimal obedience, while increasing rolls indicate a more cooperative spirit. Note that the caster must be capable of sensing the spirit to use this spell, unless it is reinvented at Range Arcane Connection.
(Base 5 [see The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 28], +2 Voice, +1 Conc)
Summoning The Spirit of Anger
ReMe 40
R: Arc, D: Conc, R: Ind
This spell calls a spirit of wrath to the magus’s current location, if he has an Arcane Connection or knows its full name, and overcomes its Magic Resistance. The name can be a non-magical name, and need not be a magical True Name. A wrathful person serves as an Arcane Connection to any spirit of anger; if he has a Major Personality Flaw such as Wrathful, then the spirit has a Magic Might of 30. A Minor Personality Flaw attracts a spirit of Might 20. Otherwise, the spirit has a Might equal to (5 x Angry Personality Trait). Casting this spell infl icts a Warping Point on the source of the anger, unless it is the caster himself.
Similar spells exist for summoning the spirits of other emotions.
(Base 15 [see The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 28], +4 Arc, +1 Conc)
Reveal The Lurking Watchers
InVi 30
R: Per, D: Conc, T: Vision
This spell allows the caster to see any creatures of the Magic realm within his field of view and identify them as possessing Magic Might. The spell does not distinguish between what is spiritual and what is not, so if a spirit has an animal form, the caster may mistake it for a magical animal. The caster receives no information about the type of creature except that which can be deduced from its appearance. This spell must penetrate the Magic Resistance of the creature; if it fails to penetrate a spirit’s Might, then the spirit cannot be seen by the caster.
(Base 5, +1 Conc, +4 Vision)
Invoke the Pact of Zelos
ReVi Gen
R: Arc, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual
This spell represents the formation of a pact with Zelos, the Daimon of rivalry and contention. It targets a duplicate (called an Aspect) of Zelos, rather than the spirit itself, and if the spell penetrates the Aspect’s Might (see insert), that Aspect appears before the caster to perform a specific service. This spell does not exert any control over this spirit.
Without the Mystery Virtue of Hermetic Theurgy, this spell must have a level of at least 40 (twice the Might of the Daimon’s Aspect), and it usually needs to be cast using Wizard’s Communion, to achieve sufficient Penetration. As a spell adapted from non-Hermetic theurgic practices, it requires knowledge of a Mystery, or a Hermetic Breakthrough, to invent, although nontheurgist Hermetic magi can learn the spell from a Lab Text or from a teacher. Acquiring an Arcane Connection to a Daimon such as Zelos is no simple task, and may be the focus of a story in its own right.
(General effect, +4 Arc, see The Mysteries Revised Edition, Chapter 9: Hermetic Theurgy for more details)
An Aspect of ZelosMagic Might: 20 Characteristics: Int +3, Per +4, Pre +2, Com +2, Str 0, Sta +1, Dex +1, Qik +2 Virtues and Flaws: Puissant Intrigue Personality Traits: Sly +3 Abilities: Folk Ken 4 (rivalries), Intrigue 6+2 (competition) Powers: Incorporeal, 0 points, Init Constant,Mentem: The spirit is both invisible and intangible, and cannot be influenced by the physical world. Magic may only directly target the spirit if the caster can sense its existence. The physical characteristics of the spirit are only used when dealing with other incorporeal creatures. Grant Incorporeality, 5 points, Init +1, Corpus: Zelos can share his incorporeal nature with another; this Power lasts until he breaks contact with the target. This Power must penetrate, so a magus usually has to drop his Parma for it to work. Navigate Contention’s Ocean, 2 points, Init +5, Mentem: The spirit can perceive all the plots currently surrounding an individual, and instantly travel to the location of any active rival. He can take any incorporeal being with him when he travels in this way. Appearance: Zelos appears as a Greek youth dressed in a simple tunic, with a huge pair of black-feathered wings. He holds a laurel crown. Zelos is the Daimon of rivalry, envy, and competition, and as such he never assists a character to resolve a conflict with another, but he has no difficulty with providing assistance to propagate contention. To Zelos, the network of rivalry and jealousy around a person appears as a web of intrigue, and he can follow those threads back to their sources. A Spirit of a Person’s AngerMagic Might: 20 (Mentem) Characteristics: Cun –1, Per 0, Pre +1, Com +3, Str +3, Sta +1, Dex +2, Qik +1 Virtues and Flaws: Wrathful Personality Traits: Angry +6 Powers: Incorporeal, 0 points, Init Constant, Mentem: The spirit is both invisible and intangible, and cannot be influenced by the physical world. Magic may only directly target the spirit if the caster can sense its existence. The physical characteristics of the spirit are only used when dealing with other incorporeal creatures. Fury, 3 points, Init +2, Mentem: The target of this power must roll 9 or higher on a stress die to avoid flying into a destructive, uncontrollable rage. He gets another roll every round to try to calm down. On a botch, he tries to kill everyone around him. Appropriate Personality Traits add to or subtract from the roll. Appearance: To those with Second Sight (or similar magic), a spirit of anger appears to be a red-faced man. His muscles and tendons are taut with his furious anger, and he is constantly bellowing his rage at the world. |
The Magic of the Leper Magi
The leper magi employ all of the magical techniques of other Tytali, but they also have a strong focus in spells of health and healing. Nearly every magus aegrotus knows Chirurgeon’s Healing Touch, as well as other spells that heals more serious wounds. It is the combating of diseases at which they excel, however, as well as the prolongation of life through the creation on Longevity Rituals and the resolution of Aging Crises.
New Corpus GuidelinesCreo Corpus Level 25: Improve all wounds by one level of severity. |
Spells
Ward The Cruel Touch oF Pestilence
CrCo 20
R: Touch, D: Moon, T: Ind
The target gains a +9 bonus to Stamina rolls to avoid contracting diseases (see ArM5, Debilitation, page 180).
(Base 4, +1 Touch, +3 Moon)
Gentle Caress oF Aesclepius
CrCo 30
R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual
All of the target’s wounds immediately improve by one level of severity; an Incapacitating Wound becomes a Heavy Wound, a Heavy Wound becomes a Medium Wound, and so forth. Light Wounds are healed instantly.
(Base 25, +1 Touch)
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