Realms of Power: Magic Chapter Four: Magic Characters
This page is part of the Realms of Power: Magic Open Content.
Magic Characters
For the purposes of this chapter, “magic characters” are characters that have a Magic Might Score, either because they have been created using the rules for Magic Character Creation below, or because they have somehow gained a Virtue that gives this to them, such as the Transformed (Being) Virtue described below — these characters are different from characters that are merely aligned with the realm of Magic, like magi or hedge wizards. They have many innate advantages beyond those accorded to all supernatural beings in the Ars Magica Fifth Edition core rules (page 191), and these are described here.
As mentioned in Ars Magica Fifth Edition, Magic Might gives the character innate Magic Resistance equal to its Might Score, and this does not stack with other forms of resistance, though it is compatible with the Form bonuses magi receive from their Arts. Magi who become magic characters, for example, can add these bonuses to their Magic Resistance, just as they do with the Parma Magica, but they cannot add their Parma Magica to their Might Scores; they must use either their Parma or their Might for their base Magic Resistance.
Magic characters also have Might Points, which they spend to activate their powers. These are recovered at a constant rate over the course of 24 hours, so that a character with Magic Might 12 would recover one Might Point every two hours. Resting in a Magic aura can also increase this recovery rate (as described in the Auras and Might Recovery sidebar, below).
Certain spells and powers (such as Perdo Vim spells) can directly attack the Might Score of a character. A magic character is destroyed if his Might Score is reduced to 0 or less. Magic characters usually have a Might Score of at least 1, but it is possible for a very weak character to be designed with a Might Score of 0. Such characters are destroyed by any effect designed to reduce their Might Score if it penetrates their resistance. The form of the destruction varies: a spirit might be banished to the Magic Realm, whereas an elemental may simply become inert. A character transformed into a magic being during play may be rendered mundane again. Other characters may simply die. The fate of characters who are destroyed by the loss of their Might Score is up to the storyguide.
Magic characters do not need to eat, drink, or sleep; they do not age, they have no need for shelter, and they do not even need to breathe. However, they cannot benefit from this, because in conditions that would cause a character without Magic Might to suffer from deprivation or exposure, magic characters do not recover Might Points or Fatigue levels, and their wounds have an immediate chance of worsening, just as if they have overexerted themselves while injured. (Some magic characters struggle against this fact, especially if they were not born magical — it may be difficult for a magic human to remember that it does not need to sleep at night, or should not inhale when underwater.)
Magic characters can consume vis, activating it in the same way that magi do. Each pawn of vis from the same Form as the character’s Might Score will immediately replenish 5 Might Points, or 2 Might Points if this vis is associated with any other Art; and when consumed, a pawn of vis will give the character a +2 bonus to its Penetration when activating powers appropriate to that type of vis. Magic characters can also study vis or use it in other ways described under Advancement, below, but the character can never spend more pawns of vis than its Might Score on a single activity.
Finally, by virtue of their Magic Might, magic characters have a mysterious connection to the Magic Realm that allows them to travel through it more easily and to interact with certain of its unusual features while they are there. This is described in more detail in Chapter 3: The Magic Realm.
Magic Character Creation
These rules show how to design characters that have Magic Might, for use as companion characters such as familiars or ghostly warders, as antagonists for a story involving the realm of Magic, or to fill other roles in an ongoing saga such as magical servants, contacts, allies, enemies, or resources of a covenant. They are for characters that begin the game with Magic Might, whether or not they were born with it or were somehow transformed by magic — there are also ways for characters who do not have Magic Might to gain it, but these characters should be designed in the normal way and then given the appropriate Virtue later in the saga, rather than use these rules.
Concept
The first step of making a magic character is determining its essential qualities and shape — what is often referred to as its “true form.” This is basically what the character would be if it were not magical, though it may have natural advantages that make it especially suited to the realm of Magic. True form determines a great deal about the character, including its appearance and instinctive behavior, and also determines the character’s initial Characteristics scores and starting Size.
Once you have the character’s true form, you should determine its base Characteristics. Like any other character, you should begin with all eight scores at 0 and assign 7 points to them — negative points in one Characteristic give positive points in another, though at this stage they should not exceed +3 or –3. These should be assigned as seems appropriate regardless of whether or not the character’s form would be able to use these scores, such as when the character is an inanimate object or even just a figment of the imagination.
You should also decide if the character is intelligent or not. Many magic beings have human intelligence, as the power of the Magic realm often affects a character mentally as well as physically, though it is uncommon in animals and extremely rare in magic things like elementals. While it is possible to play a recurring character that does not reason as humans do, this is generally not recommended (see the Cunning Characters sidebar).
Auras and Might RecoveryMagic characters can recover Might Points more quickly when they rest in a Magic aura, though like mundane characters recovering Fatigue, the magic character cannot engage in strenuous activity while resting. The time in which the character’s entire Might Pool replenishes depends on the strength of the aura modified by the magnitude of the character’s Might Score, as shown below.
Then Refer To Chart
To determine how quickly individual Might Points are regained, divide the Recovery Time by the character’s Might Score.
In a Magic aura of 3, a Might Score 10 character recovers all Might Points in 12 hrs., or 1 Might Point per 1 hr. 12 min. of rest. In powerful auras, characters with low Might Scores recover almost instantly, making them especially dangerous if given even a few seconds to rest. |
Magic Character Creation Summary1. Pick a Character ConceptChoose the character’s true form (animal, human, spirit, or thing), and determine its Characteristics, Virtues and Flaws, and Size. Characteristics: 7 points assigned as in standard Detailed Character Creation (see ArM5 page 29), no Characteristic more than +3 or less than –3. Virtues and Flaws: Assign the character’s Virtues and Flaws as in standard Detailed Character Creation, including a Social Status Virtue or Flaw. Size: Assign Size, with 0 indicating an average adult human. Add twice this value to the character’s Strength, and subtract it from Quickness. 2. Determine Season and Assign AbilitiesSeason determines the magic character’s starting experience points, which are used to assign it scores in any Abilities the character can learn, based on its Virtues and Flaws. A spring character receives 120 experience points, a summer character receives 360, an autumn character receives 720, and a winter character receives 1200. 3. Determine Magic Might Score, and Choose Magic Qualities and InferioritiesMagic Might Score depends upon the power level of the saga and the character’s role within it. (See the table under Magic Might, below.) Then choose Magic Qualities, magical powers, and other advantages, taking a number of Quality points equal to the character’s Might Score. Magic Inferiorities give the character additional points to spend on Magic Qualities; like Virtues and Flaws, Minor Qualities and Inferiorities are worth 1 point, Major Qualities and Inferiorities are worth 3 points. Grog characters cannot take Major Inferiorities or Qualities. 4. Finishing TouchesChoose appropriate equipment, combat scores, Confidence (if applicable), and inherent vis. Choose at least three Personality Traits that describe the character’s behavior, and an Essential Trait that describes its true form. |
During this step, you should also choose the character’s Virtues and Flaws, which represent the natural advantages and disadvantages associated with its true form. First, you should take one of four Special Virtues that describe the type of magic being you are playing, described below. These include Magic Human, Magic Animal, Magic Spirit, or Magic Thing. (There is also a Virtue called Transformed (Being) that gives a character a Magic Might Score, but it is intended for standard characters to gain through play, not for use with these rules.)
You must also assign the character one of five Social Status Virtues and Flaws that generally describe how it interacts with human society and how it will be treated by others in the saga. These are Magical Master (Major Virtue), Magical Champion (Minor Virtue), Magical Covenfolk (Free Virtue), Magical Friend (Minor Flaw), and Magical Monster (Major Flaw), and are described in more detail under Abilities, Virtues and Flaws, below.
You may then take as many additional points of Flaws as the character is typically entitled to, balanced with the correct number of Virtues. If your character concept requires any Virtues or Flaws, you must take them before choosing any others. You can take Virtues and Flaws that are associated with the character’s magical nature later (these are called Magic Qualities and Inferiorities), so these should be natural advantages and disadvantages that describe the character at its most basic level.
Once you have finished choosing Virtues and Flaws, determine the character’s Size and modify its Strength and Quickness, adding two times Size to Strength, and subtracting Size from Quickness. (If Size is negative, you will end up subtracting two times this value from Strength and adding it to Quickness.) Size can also be increased or decreased later in the character creation process, so you should always choose Size based on how the character would look if it were not magical.
Magic Animals
Magic animals are the most common sort of magic characters, having a beast for their true form. For the most part they look like the animals upon which they are based, though they may seem larger, wilder or stranger than mundane animals. To generate a magic animal character, you can use the stats of the mundane animal as a character guide (see the Character Guides sidebar). These might be taken directly from the Book of Mundane Beasts appendix, or generated using the rules in the Bjornaer chapter of Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults (pages 38-43), but note that animals created using those rules have free Qualities that are used to determine their base Characteristics and other natural features, and that these are different from the Magic Qualities described below.
Character GuidesTo quickly describe a magic character intended to fulfill a supporting role in an adventure, or a character that will not regularly associate with the other characters’ covenant, the storyguide can use a character guide instead of a full character sheet. This is a summary of requirements for designing magic characters that conform to a particular type or purpose in the saga, such as a species of magical animal or a race of magical human beings. It specifies what the character must have in order to function in the game session, but ignores other aspects of the character that are unlikely to come into play. A character guide usually consists of: Magic Might: This is the character’s Might Score and the Form associated with the character’s magical nature. It is often listed as a range of values, to accommodate similar characters designed to fill different roles in the saga. Characteristics and Size: These scores are the minimum values after points have been assigned, including modifications from Virtues and other aspects of the character. Virtues and Flaws: These are the character’s required Virtues and Flaws, but these do not have to balance out as with a typical starting character, and if the character guide requires more Virtues or Flaws than that character can have, all of the character’s choices must come from this list. For convenience, required Qualities and Inferiorities (see below) may be listed here as well, with an asterisk to distinguish them from Virtues and Flaws. Personality Traits: Any Personality Traits listed here are required, and those with an asterisk are Essential Traits (see Essential Traits, below). Abilities and Combat Scores: These are the minimum values the character can have in its Abilities, and calculated combat scores based on these values. The character cannot spend experience points on any other aspect of the character until all of its scores have reached these levels. Powers: If the character has any powers, they should be described here. The magic characters listed in the Bestiary section of ArM5 (pages 193–194) may be used as character guides, as can the animals in the Book of Mundane Beasts appendix or those created using the rules in Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults on pages 38–43. Character Guide: A Magic Hound
This is a sample character guide for a magic hound, such as one that belongs to a character with the Magical Animal Companion Flaw. It has everything a storyguide needs to run the creature for a game session, and if it were to join the saga as a permanent character the other details (Flaws, Inferiorities, Season and the rest of its Abilities) could be fleshed out quickly using the Magic Character Creation rules. |
All magic animals have innate equivalents of the No Hands and Mute Flaws. In addition, mundane animals usually have several minimum Ability scores and required Virtues and Flaws, and these are required for magic animal characters based on those animals as well, except that any Personality Flaws are optional — the player can take them as Personality Traits instead. Many magic animals also take the Unaffected by The Gift Virtue (see New and Modified Virtues, below).
During the Magic Might phase of character creation, you must subtract the character’s Size from its Might Score, or add to it if Size is negative. (This does not change the number of Magic Qualities the character receives, as described below.)
Cunning CharactersCharacters with animal intelligence are generally not as much fun to play as characters with human intelligence, because Cunning limits what the character can reasonably know. Unintelligent characters are mostly concerned with their next meal, or what they are going to do that day, but rarely plan for the less immediate future. They do not learn or study except when trained by an intelligent master, so rarely gain experience points through any means other than Exposure, and they cannot increase Abilities that they do not possess naturally. They cannot use Confidence Points unless they have the Ferocity Virtue. They can follow instructions, but if they encounter a situation that requires a decision or a judgment call then they are unable to proceed; they either abandon the task or return to their master for guidance. They may seem to have a personality, but they do not interact with humans or others of their species beyond a superficial and predictable level, as they are motivated only by their natural instincts in response to stimuli. Because the power of the Magic realm tends to improve characters over time, whenever an unintelligent character is significantly changed by the realm of Magic, perhaps by gaining a Virtue or Flaw through Warping or exposure to the Magic Realm, its player may choose to transform its Cunning score into Intelligence. Most players’ regular characters will be intelligent, since there are no mechanical benefits for choosing to play an unintelligent character. |
Magic Humans
Magic humans are typically associated with Corpus, but have otherwise been so changed by the Magic Realm that they can no longer pass for human in their natural forms. They are perhaps the easiest character type to design, because for the most part they are designed like other human characters. However, all magic humans also have a monstrous appearance, giving them a –6 to all social interactions with mundane humans or animals (see Major Inferiorities, below). This does not necessarily mean that the character is ugly, just that it is supernatural in some obvious way: it could shine with a nimbus of golden light, for example, or appear unnaturally skinny or old.
While magic characters that have The Gift do exist, it is difficult to design such a character as a magus using these rules, as the way magic characters learn Abilities and Arts is different from the normal Hermetic apprenticeship and not very compatible with it. It is best to design the magus as a normal character and then allow him to obtain the Transformed Human Virtue (see below) after he has completed his apprenticeship. Note, however, that many magi do not consider magical beings to be human, and may decide that the character is not a true magus once his magical nature becomes widely known.
Magic Things
There are some magic characters made up of otherwise stationary matter from any Form made animate by the raw power of nature and the influence of the Magic Realm. This can include living things such as a magical tree or a statue of an animal made flesh, or nonliving things made up of nothing but raw material held together by magic. In either case, it is dependent upon its Size for its Magic Might — to gain more Might, its true form must somehow become larger. The following chart shows the minimum Size required for each level of Might Score.
| Might Score | Minimum Size |
|---|---|
| 0 | -21 |
| 1 | -18 |
| 2 | -15 |
| 3 | -12 |
| 4 | -9 |
| 5 | -6 |
| 10 | -3 |
| 15 | 0 |
| (+5) | (+3) |
A magic thing can become larger either physically, by absorbing some of its surroundings into itself, or metaphorically, by becoming part of something more magical than itself. This relationship depends upon the magic thing being in constant contact with the larger entity — if they are separated, the character’s Might Score is immediately reduced until they are reunited again. For example, a magical sword could increase its Might by acquiring a human wielder, but if that person should ever set aside or lose the weapon, then it would lose all of the power it had invested in that person by extension of its magical nature until they are reunited.
Magic things do not necessarily have hands to grasp with, or feet to walk with, but they can still move themselves about, though they travel very slowly. They can pick up objects that are smaller than they are, and even carry them as long as they can touch them. This is often frightening and strange to see, and it may appear that an invisible spirit is carrying the objects through the air or dragging them across the ground. Though magic things can speak and make other noises appropriate to their form, few of them do. Many of these characters will have the Crippled, Mute, or No Hands Flaws (or Limited Movement, Limited Speech, or Limited Gestures if they are grogs; see Minor Inferiorities, below).
Like the claws of a magic animal, or a magic person’s fists, magic things are not blocked by Magic Resistance unless they are subject to an active supernatural effect. Since they do have Might, wards against magic things must in turn penetrate their Magic Resistance.
Magi can enchant a magic thing as an invested device just like any other object, and there are said to be secret paths of knowledge that allow magi to take advantage of a magic thing’s Might Score (such as Hermetic Empowerment, page 64 of The Mysteries Revised Edition, or Bind Magical Creatures, page 134 of Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults). It is not possible for most magi to have anything but an animal as their familiar, but there are mysteries for binding a spirit familiar, and there may be variations on these Virtues for bonding with a magic thing instead (see Spirit Familiar, The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 66).
Magic things always have Temporary Might (see Major Inferiorities, below), which means that they do not easily or quickly regain their spent Might Points and their wounds are bound to their Might Scores, so that each injury a character suffers reduces its Might Pool and manifests as vis. All magic thing characters receive the No Fatigue Quality at no cost.
Magic Spirits
Many types of magic characters have an insubstantial form, like ghosts, animate illusions, or Daimons. These characters’ true forms are not physical and cannot generally be perceived or affected except by other magic characters of the same form. Without the power to manifest, they are invisible to all others and can pass through solid objects with ease; but when interacting with other spirits, they are as vulnerable as if they were flesh and blood.
Ghosts played as characters are always aware of their incorporeal nature, and thus recognize their magical limitations (they are not able to unconsciously assume a solid form, for example) and know the advantages and disadvantages of their spectral form (see Chapter 7: Magic Spirits).
To design a spirit as a magic character, begin with the Characteristics for a physical being: a human, an animal, or even an inanimate object. For example, an Imaginem spirit that is based on the sound of a dog’s bark might look like a dog, while the ghost of a human might appear as that particular person did at the moment of his death. A fire spirit might look like a column of smoke and flames. Within the Magic Realm, or among other beings with the same sort of Might, this is the character’s true form.
Spirits are generally considered immortal, though if a magic spirit’s true form is somehow destroyed or banished, it ceases to exist as a character. It may return later and appear exactly the same as it did before, but for the purposes of the game this new spirit is essentially a different being. Magi familiar with the secrets of magical theurgy might call each manifestation an “Aspect” of the original.
Magic spirits always have an innate Magical Air that is very difficult for them to overcome. Even the spirits of magi who possessed the Gentle Gift make others very uncomfortable with their presence.
Example: Aeolus
Neil’s character at Semita Errabunda, Victor of Mercere, rides a magical horse named Aeolus, indicated by his Magical Animal Companion Flaw, and Erik decides to design it as a magic character for him or one of the other players to play in the saga. Neil has already described most of the character’s personality and powers, so Erik will simply be applying those ideas to these rules.
Erik looks up the stats for a horse in the Book of Mundane Beasts, and decides that Aeolus is a charger. For reference, he copies down the charger’s Character istics (Cun –2, Per 0, Prs 0, Com –4, Str +4, Stm +3, Dex –2, Qik +2). These scores give Erik an idea of what Aeolus should eventually look like. He begins assigning points to his Characteristics, and ends up with Int –2, Per 0, Prs 0, Com +1, Str 0, Stm +3, Dex –2 and Qik +3 (the horse’s +2 Size will increase Strength by 4 and decrease Quickness by 2).
Looking at Virtues and Flaws, Erik sees that he must assign Aeolus Long-Winded, Improved Characteristics, and Great (Quickness). With Improved Characteristics, he increases his Presence to +2. He also has to take a Social Status, and chooses the Minor Social Status Flaw Magical Friend to describe his relationship with the covenant and with Victor. He then takes two Minor Personality Flaws: Proud (like all chargers, Aeolus is rather self-centered), and Lecherous (Aeolus is an expert in animal husbandry, so to speak). He must also take Horse +3 as an Essential Trait.
Aeolus is Size +2. After this is applied to his modified Characteristics, his final scores are: Int –2, Per 0, Prs +2, Com +1, Str +4, Stm +3, Dex –2, and Qik +2.
Season
The next step in magic character creation is determining the character’s experience with the world in which it lives. In Ars Magica, the number of experience points a starting character receives is usually determined by his age, since characters generally gain experience over the course of a year. Magic characters can still gain experience and develop like other characters, but it is more difficult and not something that they can do every year. A very old magic character is not necessarily more experienced than one who has only been around a short while, since it may not have advanced as much or as often in the intervening time.
Season is a new statistic that replaces age for magic characters, and indicates how experienced the character is compared to other characters. Much like magi use this concept to explain the development of their covenants, Season divides a magic character’s existence into four distinct stages: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Spring characters are underdeveloped, like children who are still adapting to their forms. They have only recently come into being, and have little practical experience with either the Magic Realm or the mundane realm. A spring human would be approximately five years old. While they have little practical experience, they also tend to seek out knowledge and new ideas.
Summer characters more closely resemble young adults in outlook and maturity, the equivalent of a human being of about twenty years of age. Where spring creatures wish to explore the world, summer characters generally seek instead to make themselves part of it, establishing communities and forming friendships with others of their kind, and embarking upon adventures together.
Autumn characters are more mature creatures; for a human being, this would be similar to a person of about 35 years of age. Their experience tends to be focused in two or three particular areas of knowledge, like a master of his craft, and their involvement with the world is more limited, confined to interaction with only a few worthy of their attention. They often adopt the role of mentors to other characters.
Winter characters are the eldest of beings, ancient creatures with countless years of experience. A mundane human in the winter season would be no younger than 50 years old. They are considered extremely wise and powerful, but also distant and detached, rarely involving themselves in the events of the outside world. Such creatures often retreat to the Magic Realm where they will not be disturbed.
Season is how you will determine the character’s starting experience points. Choose which Season best describes the character, and consult the following table. These points may be spent as you would for any beginning character; you must have an appropriate Virtue or Flaw to purchase Abilities that are not General. If your character concept includes innate Abilities (as many animals do) you will need to spend your starting points on these scores first.
| Character Season | Staring Experience |
|---|---|
| Spring | 120 |
| Summer | 360 |
| Autumn | 720 |
| Winter | 1200 |
This will almost certainly be too few experience points to properly describe the character, but you can gain additional experience in the next step of this process, as part of the character’s magical nature.
Example: Aeolus
Starting with Season, Erik decides that Aeolus is a Summer character. This gives him 360 experience points to spend. As he is a horse, he must take Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Brawl 2, and Survival 3 as innate Abilities. This leaves Erik 235 points. He increases Brawl to 4, and takes Area Lore 5, Charm 3, Folk Ken 2, Living Language 4, Profession: Mount 2, and Stealth 2. He also assigns appropriate specialties to all of these.
Magic Might
You must decide upon the character’s Magic Might Score, and the magical Form with which the character’s Might will be associated (usually based on the character’s true form). Magic Might determines the supernatural strength of the character, and should vary depending upon the power level of the saga and the role that the character will play within it. This is probably the most important score on the character sheet, as all of the character’s powers and everything about its magical nature follow from this, and so here are some guidelines to help you choose an appropriate starting value.
| Power | Grog | Companion | Magus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Medium | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| High | 5 | 15 | 30 |
| Legendary | 10 | 25 | 50 |
In this chart, a grog-level character is about the same power level as a grog, though it does not necessarily protect the covenant or act as another character’s bodyguard. The role works best for characters that will be shared by several players in the troupe, or that will be played as a direct extension of another character — often a good choice for a familiar or a character like a Ghostly Warder.
A companion-level character has special status at a covenant, and is typically played by only one member of the troupe. For many familiars, this might be the most appropriate role, especially if the creature is particularly independent or especially powerful — in these cases, one player typically plays the magus, and another plays his companion. Most characters associated with Magical Animal Companion are designed to fill this role.
A magus-level magic character is a character played instead of a magus, or designed to be approximately equal to a magus of the same power level. It is also possible for an actual magus to transform himself into a magical being, though it is often better to do this with the Transformed Human Virtue (see New and Modified Virtues, below), or through methods described in other sourcebooks.
These values are intended to produce a character that is similar in power to others in the saga, but of course the storyguide should feel free to assign the character any Might Score that seems appropriate to the circum stances. For example, if a magus manages to enchant as his familiar a beast with Magic Might 42, you should design the character that way, even though that value does not appear on this chart. (You could also design it with Might 30 and then increase that value with Magic Qualities.)
PCs and NPCsEvery magic character in Ars Magica is designed the same way, no matter what its role in the saga, so that there really is no practical difference between a “player character” and a “non-player character.” That said, sometimes it is useful to make a character that is more or less powerful than the others, perhaps to act as an antagonist in a conflict or to serve as a temporary ally for other characters in the saga — as a storyguide, you should feel free to assign these characters any Might Score that seems appropriate for their purpose without regard for their role in the saga, and to give them any Virtues or Qualities they like without worrying about whether or not the characters are properly balanced. You can also use character guides (see the sidebar above) to make these stats easier to read, and so that if the character ever becomes more involved in the saga, you can then develop it more fully, so that it is suitable for the long-term. |
Magic Might gives the character its powers, but also limits the character’s development, as described under Advancement, below. You must subtract the character’s Might Score from all Advancement Totals, including exposure, adventure, and other forms of study. This means that it is very unlikely for a character with a Might Score of 10 or more to ever increase any of its Abilities through normal advancement.
Once you have determined the Might Score of the character, you also receive this same number of points with which to buy Magic Qualities. Qualities are supernatural aspects of the character that give it special advantages. Minor Qualities cost 1 point, and Major Qualities cost 3 points. You can also choose to take Inferiorities, supernatural disadvantages that allow a corresponding number of additional Qualities in the same way that Flaws allow a character more Virtues. These are also similar to Virtues and Flaws in that grog characters cannot take Major Qualities or Inferiorities.
See Qualities and Inferiorities, below, for a list of how these points may be spent.
Example: Aeolus
For Magic Might, a base value of 10 seems about right for Aeolus’s role at the covenant (it is a medium-power saga and Erik will play him as a companion), and this Might is obviously associated with Animal. Because he is a magic animal, his Might Score is adjusted by his Size, giving him a score of 8. He also has 10 points to spend on Magic Qualities.
Erik takes a Lesser Power that allows Aeolus to change his appearance, a level 15 effect, and converts the 10 spell levels left over into 2 points of mastery, reducing the casting cost from 2 Might Points to 0. He then takes Gift of Speech, as Aeolus is a talking horse. He also gives Aeolus three more Minor Virtues: Venus’s Blessing, Unaffected by The Gift, and Improved Characteristics, which raises his Intelligence to 0. He spends the remaining points on Improved Abilities, since Aeolus has spent a lot of time with Victor in the mundane world, giving him 300 more experience points to spend. Erik does not see any Inferiorities that seem particularly appropriate to the character, so he decides he is done assigning Qualities.
It would be possible to make Aeolus as a grog instead of a companion, since all of his Virtues, Flaws, and Qualities are Minor. For a medium-power saga, he would have a Might Score of 1 and only 3 points of Qualities to spend, though he could take Inferiorities to make up the difference.
Aeolus, Magical Horse
Aeolus is the Magical Animal Companion of Victor of Mercere, from Semita Errabunda. Out of earshot, Victor might say that Aeolus is “his” horse, but Aeolus would have it that Victor is merely “his” rider. It is Aeolus’ considered opinion that he is the more intelligent and better-looking of the pair of them. It is he who comes up with all the bright ideas, though he allows Victor to believe otherwise as it is less confusing to outsiders. They often spend many hours on the road discussing the meaning of life and the nature of existence. Aeolus shares Victor’s mad passions for the chase and the hunt, and is particularly vain and proud of his superior nature and his “way with the females.” He is an intact stallion (with no intention of ever being gelded), and while he will often attempt to charm any human ladies who admire him or will listen to what he has to say, he generally prefers to put his magical good looks to use on other horses. Victor owns a magical amulet that he has woven into Aeolus’s mane. When someone speaks the command word, the charm grants the horse touching the amulet the power to ride across water, mud, or any other surface once per day. Since Aeolus can talk, he is generally the one who decides whether the charm is used or not. (Aeolus wants a charm that will let him gallop through the skies, but Victor has not yet been able to afford it.) |
Finishing Touches
Magic characters are completed just like standard characters: make sure it has at least three Personality Traits, and that any Reputations are described. If the character is intelligent, is not a grog and does not have the Low Self Esteem Flaw, or if the character has the Ferocity Virtue, give it a Confidence Score of 1 and 3 Confidence Points to start.
Every magic character has a special Personality Trait, typically at +3, that describes its true form. This is usually something simple, like “Raven,” “Person,” or “Tree,” and is distinguished from other Personality Traits with an asterisk (*). This is an Essential Trait (see Essential Traits, below) that helps en sure the character does not go against its fundamental nature; the character cannot act against this Trait, and magic cannot force the character to behave contrary to it.
You should calculate all of the character’s combat scores, including its Soak and Wound level ranges, and assign any equipment you imagine it could have reasonably acquired and maintained, keeping in mind the character’s strength and encumbrance. Finally, calculate the character’s inherent vis, choosing its type, location, and the amount (this is typically equal to its Might Score divided by 5, rounded up).
Qualities and Inferiorities
In much the same way that all characters have Virtues and Flaws, and covenants have Boons and Hooks, magical beings designed as characters have Qualities and Inferiorities. These represent how the character has been altered by the realm of Magic. They are classified as Major and Minor, like Virtues and Flaws, though they differ from Virtues and Flaws in that they can only be taken by characters with a Might Score, and in that they do not have to balance each other during character creation. A character starts with a set number of Quality points equal to its Might Score, and while taking Inferiorities gives the player more points, they are not required. Like Virtues and Flaws, the player spends one point for a Minor Quality, and three points for a Major Quality.
Qualities and Inferiorities are important for characters with Magic Might because they can gain new Qualities and Inferiorities through play more easily than Virtues and Flaws, and they can also lose them over time if they become too distant from the power of the realm. This distinction is unnecessary for characters that do not have a regular or recurring role in a saga, though — Qualities and Inferiorities can be treated as Supernatural Virtues and Flaws when it is not necessary to balance the character’s statistics against other characters.
Most Qualities and Inferiorities can be taken more than once, but characters who are intended to serve a grog role in a saga may not take Major Qualities or Inferiorities, just as they cannot take Major Virtues or Flaws.
The term Qualities is also used to describe the natural advantages that determine a mundane animal’s Characteristics, found in the Bjornaer chapter of House of Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 40-43. These “mundane Qualities” are not necessary for magic characters, and should not be listed on the character sheet to avoid confusion. However, they are especially useful for determining the required scores of a magic animal character (see the Character Guides sidebar, above).
Human characters with Magic Might may take Heroic Virtues and Flaws (Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, pages 104-109) as Magic Qualities and Inferiorities.
Magic PowersThere are four Magic Qualities that give magic powers to a character, and these powers are designed like Hermetic effects of four different types. Each Quality includes a number of spell levels, a Might cost, and an Initiative score, which vary depending upon the type of power. These are summarized here for easy comparison. Note that with the exception of Lesser Power and Personal Power, all of these are Major Qualities. There are also Virtue equivalents for characters who do not have a Might Score (see New and Modified Virtues, below). Like Ritual spells, Ritual Powers are always at least Level 20, and all powers with effects of Level 50 or more must be designed as Ritual Powers. An effect that would require a Ritual spell (such as a Boundary Target or Year Duration) also requires a Ritual Power. A Greater, Lesser, or Personal Power can be made constant, triggering automatically at both sunset and sunrise and continuing perpetually as long as the character has a Might Score and the Might Points needed to activate it. The effect must be designed with Sun duration, and costs an additional magnitude on top of that. If the power has a Might cost, it is subtracted from the character’s Might Pool every sunrise and sunset, whether the character is aware of it or not. If the character does not have enough Might Points, the power is temporarily interrupted until the next activation. A character can also spend a Confidence Point to prevent a constant power from triggering. Penetration for a Magic Power is calcu lated as shown on page 191 of Ars Magica Fifth Edition: Might Score – (5 x Might Point cost) + Penetration bonus. This means that to increase a power’s Penetration Total, you must decrease the power’s cost, increase the character’s Might Score, or improve the character’s Penetration score. If a magic character receives an Incapacitating wound, in addition to the usual effects (ArM5, page 178–179) the character cannot spend any Might points. He can still activate any powers with a zero cost. If the character has constant-effect powers with a non-zero cost they expire at the next sunrise or sunset and cannot be reactivated until the character is no longer Incapacitated. A character whose Might pool has reached zero can no longer activate any powers unless they have a cost of zero. Powers that have already been activated continue until their duration expires; if they are constant-effect powers with a non-zero cost, then they cease at the next sunrise or sunset unless the character has regenerated sufficient Might points in the intervening period to reactivate them. Wound and Fatigue penalties do not apply to powers. However, you can change this to make supernatural creatures less challenging, or to make their powers work more like Supernatural Abilities and other magical effects. One way to do this is to subtract Wound and Fatigue penalties from the character’s Penetration Total. In a similar way, you could treat powers that cost Might Points to activate as spells that require Fatigue when determining whether a magic character’s wounds worsen because of activities undertaken while injured.
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Common Magic PowersThe following powers are common among beings associated with Magic, and are good examples of the sorts of things that a magic character might be able to do. Crafter of (Form)
Duplicates any of a range of non-Ritual Creo or Rego spells pertaining to the specified Hermetic Form, at a cost of 1 Might point per magnitude of the effect. The level of the effect cannot be greater than the creature’s Might, or 25, whichever is lowest. This power affects only one Form, but some creatures have this power more than once, for different Forms. Cr(Form) or Re(Form) 25: Focus Power Enliven the Gross (Elemental Form)
This ritual-like power rarefies (creates) an elemental of the appropriate type (see Chapter 8: Magic Things, Elementals) from a sufficient amount of raw elemental matter. The elemental can have any Might less than that of the creature using this power. The elemental is automatically under the control of the creature; this power can also be used to control elementals which are not of the creature’s own making, but in this case must Penetrate the elemental’s Might. When the creature has no further use for the elemental, its control lapses but the elemental remains. CrFo 30 (base 25, +1 Touch): Ritual Power x2 (30 levels, -2 Might cost, +2 Init) Equine Shape
The character can transform into a horse until the sun rises or sets. MuFo 25 (base 10, +2 Sun, +1 size): Personal Power (25 levels) Flight of the Hummingbird
The character can fly through the air in any direction, simply by concentrating. If distracted, this control is lost but the power still holds the character aloft indefinitely. ReFo 15 (base 4, +2 Sun, constant): Personal Power (15 levels, –2 Might cost) Grant (Major Flaw)
Imposes the named Major Flaw upon a victim. Each creature may have more than one power of this type, each bestowing a different Flaw. The creature can decide to bestow the Flaw permanently or temporarily. If permanent, the power is a ritual-like power and costs points from the creature’s Might score as well as Might pool (see Ritual Power, below). If temporary, the Might points spent on this power are only recovered when its effects are withdrawn. No Hermetic equivalent: Ritual Power x 2 Grant (Minor Flaw)
Imposes the named Flaw upon a vic tim. Each creature may have more than one power of this type, each bestowing a different Flaw. The creature can decide to bestow the Flaw permanently or temporarily. If permanent, the power is a ritual-like power and costs points from the creature’s Might score as well as Might pool (see Ritual Power, below). If temporary, the Might points spent on this power are only recovered when its effects are withdrawn. No Hermetic equivalent: Ritual Power Grant Puissance in (Ability)
Bestows prowess in a given activity. For every Might point invested, ten men can be given a +1 to all rolls in a general situation (such as combat, or woodcraft); or 1 man can be given a +3 to a specific Total or Ability (such as Soak or Hunt). Might points spent on this power are only recovered when its effects are withdrawn. MuCo 20 (base 2, +2 Voice, +2 Sun, +2 Group): Lesser Power (20 levels, +1 Init) Grant (Major Virtue)
Imposes the named Major Virtue upon a target. Each creature may have more than one power of this type, each bestowing a different Virtue. The creature can decide to bestow the Virtue permanently or temporarily. If permanent, the power is a ritual-like power and costs points from the creature’s Might score as well as Might pool (see Ritual Power, below). If temporary, the Might points spent on this power are only recovered when its effects are withdrawn. No Hermetic equivalent: Ritual Power x 2 Grant (Minor Virtue)
Imposes the named Minor Virtue upon a target. Each creature may have more than one power of this type, each bestowing a different Virtue. The creature can decide to bestow the Virtue permanently or temporarily. If permanent, the power is a ritual-like power and costs points from the creature’s Might score as well as Might pool (see Ritual Power, above). If temporary, the Might points spent on this power are only recovered when its effects are withdrawn. No Hermetic equivalent: Ritual Power Guide
Subtly influences a group of beings toward a specific course of action. Some creatures can use this power to direct the movement of a group, taking it to a desired location. Other creatures can guide humans toward rash actions, or brave actions, or wise actions. The storyguide should provide advice to the character in a similar way to the Common Sense Virtue, except that the advice serves the creature’s agenda, not that of the character. There is no compulsion to follow this advice. ReMe 30 (base 5, +2 Voice, +1 Conc, +2 Group): Greater Power (30 levels, +4 Init) Hands of the Magical Animal
This allows an animal to manipulate and carry an item as if it had human hands and a Strength of +5. The character must concentrate to do anything other than carry the object, including dropping it or taking something else. ReTe 15 (base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 constant): Personal Power (15 levels, –2 Might cost) Healing
Heals a human or animal — the worst of the target’s wounds improves by one level. The healing is achieved when the recipient performs a specific action, such as drinking from a sacred spring, or swearing a vow. This is a Ritual Power that subtracts from the creature’s Might Score as well as from its Might Pool (see Ritual Power, below). If possessed by a genius loci and the target creature is indigenous to the spirit’s locus, then all wounds are healed, not just the most serious one. CrCo 30 (base 25, +1 Touch): Ritual Power x 2 (30 levels, -3 Might cost, +1 Init) Human Shape
The character transforms itself into the shape of a normal human being, allowing it to move through mundane society relatively unnoticed. MuFo 20 (base 10, +2 Sun): Personal Power (20 levels, –1 Might cost) Master of (Form)
Duplicates any of a range of nonRitual Muto or Perdo spells pertaining to the specified Hermetic Form, at a cost of 1 Might point per magnitude of the effect. The level of the effect cannot be greater than the creature’s Might, or 25, whichever is lowest. This power affects only one Form, but some creatures have this power more than once, for different Forms. Mu(Form) or Pe(Form) 25: Focus Power Oath-swearing
Enforces the power of a solemnly-sworn oath between two or more parties. All parties must agree to the oath of their own free will, and it must Penetrate the Magic Resistance of all parties to take effect. If a participant in the oath tries to act in direct contravention of it, he immediately becomes aware of this. If he carries on regardless, then he is struck with a Minor Flaw. This Flaw can be removed by re-swearing the oath in front of the original participants. This power persists until there is no further record of the oath, either in the memories of the participants or in written form. New participants may be added to the oath by swearing to it in the presence of the creature, and if it pays the original Might cost again. Unlike the Grant (Flaw) power, the Might points spent on Oath-swearing regenerate normally. No Hermetic equivalent: Ritual Power. Sight Beyond Sight
All five senses of the creature operate at a distance, as far as the creature can see. This gives the creature supernaturally aware of everything which occurs, and it is exceptionally difficult to catch it by surprise InIm 30 (base 5, +1 Conc, +4 Vision): Personal Power x 2 (20 levels, –2 Might cost, +2 Init) |
Major Magic Qualities
Fatigue Mastery: The character can spend its Fatigue levels instead of Might Points. Each Fatigue level is worth a number of Might Points equal to the character’s (Might Score / 5).
Focus Power: The character has a magical power with a narrow range of effects, like the ability to cast spontaneous spells that are associated with a single type of magic. This power is like a magical focus, in that all of the possible effects have to be related to a specialty that is smaller than a single Hermetic Form.
The player receives 25 spell levels to spend on this power, which indicates the highest level effect that the power can produce. You can take it more than once to allow for more-powerful effects, but you are also limited by the character’s Might Score — the level of effects that this power generates cannot exceed it. You can always take the power at a level higher than the character’s Might and increase its Might Score later, and you can also allow the character to create effects of a level exceeding its Might Score with mastery points (see Minor Magic Qualities, Improved Powers, below). This power has a Might Point cost of the magnitude of the effect cast, and an initiative score of (the character’s Quickness – the power’s maximum magnitude). You should also note the Form or Forms associated with the effect, for the purposes of evaluating magic resistance.
Any spell levels that are left over may be used to increase the effect level of other Focus Powers, or converted into mastery points, with 5 full levels of effects equal to 1 mastery point. These may be spent like the mastery points gained from the Improved Powers Minor Quality on any of the character’s Focus Powers. Note that the cost of a Focus Power cannot be reduced with mastery points.
Gentle Air: For those with Gifted or Magical Air, this Quality removes all the social penalties associated with the character’s magical nature, as if it did not have The Gift at all. If the character is both Gifted and has an inherent Magical Air, this lessens the penalty from a Blatant Magical Air to that of the normal effects of The Gift.
Gifted: The character has The Gift, or something very like it, in that it can learn Supernatural Abilities, can initiate new Virtues and Flaws through a Mystery Cult, and has a disturbing magical presence, as if it had the Magical Air Flaw. The character can even be opened to the Hermetic Arts, though its master’s Intellego Vim Lab Total must equal or exceed ((30 + the character’s Might Score) x 2) for the opening of the Arts to be successful. Only intelligent magic characters can take this Quality.
Gigantic: The character’s Size is magically increased, making it obviously superior to mundane creatures. Because of this, the character is also stronger and proportionally slower to react. Consult the following chart to determine the amount by which the character’s Size, Strength, and Quickness should be adjusted. Also note that this Quality does not change the relative shape or apparent age of the character, so that a Gigantic human child (Size –2) would become the size of a large adult (Size +1), but would still have the proportions and features of a child.
Size Size Strength Quickness Increase Bonus Penalty –11 or less +5 +10 –5 –6 to –10 +4 +8 –4 –2 to –5 +3 +6 –3 +1 to –1 +2 +4 –2 +2 or more +1 +2 –1
If the character has other Virtues, Flaws, Qualities, or Inferiorities that modify its Size, you should apply them in this order: Flaws, Inferiorities, Virtues, Qualities. You should determine its Characteristics first, so that they may be modified appropriately. For example, a base Size 0 character with Str 0, Qik 0, Improved Characteristics, Small Frame, and Gigantic would apply Improved Characteristics first, increasing its Str to +2; then Small Frame, reducing Size to –1; and finally Gigantic, increasing Size by +2, Str by +4, and reducing Quickness by –2, for a final result of Size +1, Str +6, and Qik –2.
This Quality may be taken more than once. If it is, apply the effects one at a time, and base the Size increase on the Size after the previous Qualities have been applied. For example, a base Size 0 character who took Gigantic twice would increase to Size +2 from the first, and then, because his Size is now +2, by +1 for the second, to a final Size of +3.
Greater Power: The character has a spelllike power designed like a formulaic spell. Taking this Quality gives the character 50 spell levels to spend on this power, and these can be combined with the spell levels gained when taking this Quality more than once to allow for greater level effects. The power has a Might Point cost equal to (the magnitude of the effect / 2), and an initiative score equal to the character’s Quickness – (the magnitude of the effect / 2). You should also note the Form or Forms associated with the effect, for the purposes of evaluating magic resistance.
Any spell levels that are left over may be used to increase the effect level of other Greater or Lesser Powers, or converted into mastery points, with five full levels of effects equal to one mastery point. These may be spent like the mastery points gained from the Improved Powers Minor Quality on any of the character’s Greater or Lesser Powers.
Improved (Characteristic): Increase by one a Characteristic that is already +5 or more. This boost is applied before the character’s Strength and Quickness are adjusted for Size, so that a Size +2 and Quickness +3 character (Quickness +5 before Size is subtracted) who took this Quality could raise its Quickness to +4. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Magical Meditation: This Quality gives the character the Supernatural Ability Magi cal Meditation at 1 (see New and Modified Abilities, below).
Major Virtue: The character gains a Major Virtue, usually either General or Supernatural (Magic), to represent an advantage of its magical nature. Note that while this Quality may be taken more than once, only Virtues that allow a character to take them multiple times may be duplicated multiple times. Also, if a Virtue has requirements or restrictions on the characters who may take it, the magic character must meet them. For example, only a magic character with The Gift (or the Gifted Quality described above) can take Hermetic Virtues.
Natural Appearance: The character appears to be a normal human being, with no traces of his magical nature. Just as the Gentle Gift hides all traces of The Gift in a magus, this allows Magic Humans to hide their inherently monstrous appearance, and Magic Things in the shape of humans or animals to seem to be living flesh and blood, rather than animated matter.
No Fatigue: The character is tireless, meaning that it has no Fatigue levels, does not suffer Fatigue penalties, does not need to make Fatigue rolls, and cannot fall unconscious. It also cannot exert itself as other characters do, though the character can still simulate the loss of a Fatigue level by spending a Confidence Point, if necessary.
The character does not need to sleep, which means that it effectively has two additional seasons each year in which to study. However, because of the limitations on magic character advancement, it is unlikely the character will be able to take advantage of this extra time.
Ritual Power: The character has 25 levels of powers that replicate Ritual-level effects, and if this Quality is taken multiple times, these spell levels can be combined to allow for an effect of greater magnitude. Any effect can be designed with this sort of power, even effects that break Hermetic limits. These powers have a Might Point cost, which defaults to the magnitude of the ef fect, and Initiative for the power is equal to the character’s Quickness – (the magnitude of the effect x 2). You should also note the Form or Forms of the effect, for the purposes of evaluating Magic Resistance.
Besides reducing the character’s Might Pool, Ritual Powers also require the player to subtract one from the character’s Might Score for each point in the Might cost, whenever it activates the effect. This lost Might may return over time, at the storyguide’s discretion, but at a much slower rate than recovering lost Might Points. For example, each point of lost Might Score could require the character to rest for an entire season in a Magic aura of no less than (its Might Score / 5), or perhaps to consume vis of the same type as its Might, a number of pawns equal to its original Might Score.
Alternatively, instead of reducing its Might Score, the character can lose one Confidence Point for each Might Point in the activation cost. It can do this whenever it has enough Confidence Points, even if the number of Confidence Points would exceed the character’s Confidence Score. If the character has Confidence because of the Ferocity Virtue, it can only use them to activate the Ritual Power in the specific circumstances associated with that Virtue.
Any spell levels that are left over after the Ritual Power is designed may be used to increase the effect level of other Ritual Powers, or converted into mastery points, with five full levels of effects equal to one mastery point. These may be spent like the mastery points gained from the Improved Powers Minor Quality on any of the character’s Ritual Powers.
Vis Mastery: The character may expend some of its magic as vis. Each pawn manifests as the same Form as that associated with the character’s Might Score, and either costs the character a Confidence Point or subtracts one from the character’s permanent Might Score.
The character may also consume vis in place of Confidence Points. Each pawn is equivalent to a single Confidence Point, and the player may spend them to activate any power the character possesses that requires Confidence Points, but the player cannot spend more pawns at once than the character’s Confidence Score in this way.
Minor Magic Qualities
(Form) Resistance: The character’s Magic Resistance is aligned to a particular form, and it begins with a score of 1 in the corresponding Supernatural Ability (see New and Modified Abilities, below).
Gift of Speech: The character can speak and make sounds as a human. (This Quality allows a Magic Animal to overcome its natural inability to talk.)
Improved Abilities: You gain 50 experience points, which may be spent on any Abilities or Arts that the character can learn. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Attack: One of the character’s natural weapons is magically enhanced, making it more accurate. Increase its Attack value by 2. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Confidence: The character’s Confidence Score is increased by one. A starting character also gains two additional Confidence Points to spend. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Damage: One of the character’s natural weapons is magically enhanced, making it sharper, heavier, or somehow more dangerous. Increase its Damage value by 3. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Defense: One of the character’s natural weapons is magically enhanced, so that the character can better parry or dodge. Increase its Defense value by 2. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Fatigue: The character can last longer before becoming tired, as its resistance to fatigue is magically increased. The character gains an additional Fatigue level each time you take this Quality. The new Fatigue levels are added in descending order, not counting Fresh or Unconscious, so that a character with 2 additional Fatigue levels has 2 Winded levels, 2 Weary levels, and 1 of each of the others. A character with 6 additional Fatigue levels would have 3 Winded and Weary levels, and 2 each of Tired and Dazed.
Improved Initiative: One of the character’s natural weapons is magically enhanced, making it faster. Increase its Initiative value by 3. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Might: Increase the character’s Magic Might Score by 1. Note that this does not give a starting character additional Quality points to spend. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Powers: The character is more skilled with its magical powers, making them more potent, activate faster, or cost fewer Might Points. This Quality gives the character 5 mastery points to spend on any of his powers, and each point can increase Initiative by 1, reduce the Might cost of a power by 1, or give the character 5 experience points in Concentration, Finesse, or Penetration. Also, a mastery point can increase the maximum level of a Focus Power by 5, so that it exceeds the character’s Might. Personal, Lesser or Greater Powers can have a Might Point cost of 0; Ritual Powers have a minimum cost of (the effect’s magnitude / 2, rounded up), and you cannot modify the cost of Focus Powers at all.
At the storyguide’s discretion, this Quality can also be used to modify a power in the same way magi can master a Hermetic spell. Each time this Quality is taken, the character’s mastery score with the power is increased by 1, and this gives the character a spell mastery special ability (such as those listed on page 87 of Ars Magica Fifth Edition). Note that activating powers does not require a die roll, so many of the typical benefits of mastering a spell (such as reduced botch dice) do not apply to mastered powers. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Recovery: The character recovers Might Points in half the normal time. Instead of completely refreshing its Might over the course of 24 hours, the character restores its entire Might Pool in only 12 hours. A magical being with Magic Might 30 and this Quality would recover 1 Might Point approximately every 20 minutes. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Improved Soak: The character’s natural protection is magically enhanced, making it more effective at warding away blows and physical injury. Increase the character’s Soak by 2. This Quality may be taken more than once.
Lesser Power: The character has 25 levels of powers designed like a formulaic spell. If this Quality is taken multiple times, these spell levels can be combined to allow for an effect of greater magnitude. These powers have a Might Point cost, which defaults to the magnitude of the effect, and Initiative for the power is equal to the character’s Quickness – (the magnitude of the effect x 2). You should also note the Form or Forms of the effect, for the purposes of evaluating Magic Resistance.
Any spell levels that are left over after the Lesser Power is designed may be used to increase the effect level of other Lesser Powers, or converted into mastery points, with 5 full levels of effects equal to 1 mastery point. These may be spent like the mastery points gained from the Improved Powers Minor Quality on any of the character’s Lesser Powers.
Minor Virtue: The character gains a Minor Virtue, usually either General or Supernatural (Magic), to represent an advantage of its magical nature. Note that while this Quality may be taken more than once, only Virtues that allow a character to take them multiple times may be duplicated. Also, if a Virtue has requirements or restrictions on the characters that may take it, the magic character must meet them. For example, only a magic character with The Gift (or the Gifted Virtue described below) can take Hermetic Virtues.
Personal Power: The character has a spell-like power, which is designed like a Greater Power (see Major Magic Qualities, above) except that the effect is limited in some way. The effect must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- The effect must be Range: Personal, OR
- The effect must be constant (see the Magic Powers sidebar, above).
Taking this Quality gives the character 25 levels to spend on these powers, which can be combined with the spell levels gained from taking this Quality more than once to allow for a power with a higher level.
Personal Powers have a Might Point cost equal to (the magnitude of the effect / 2), and an initiative score equal to the character’s Quickness – (the magnitude of the effect / 2). You should also note the Form or Forms associated with the effect, for the purposes of evaluating Magic Resistance.
Any spell levels that are left over may be used to increase the effect level of other Personal Powers, or converted into mastery points, with 5 full levels of effects equal to 1 mastery point. These may be spent like the mastery points gained from the Improved Powers Minor Quality on any of the character’s Personal Powers.
Major Magic Inferiorities
Acclimation Prone: It is twice as difficult for the character to protect itself against Acclimation (see Acclimation, under Advancement, below). You must treat the character’s Might Score as double its actual value when remaining in a Magic aura or accounting for pawns of vis consumed, and double the number of seasons necessary to avoid Acclimation with magical effects. For example, each year a character with Might 25 would need to remain in a level 10 aura, consume 25 pawns of vis, or participate in a constant magical effect all year to avoid losing one of its Magic Qualities to Acclimation.
Major Flaw: The character has a Major General or Supernatural (Magic) Flaw, which represents a disadvantage of its magical nature. This Inferiority may be taken more than once.
Miniature: The character has been magically shrunk in size, making it smaller and harder to catch, and much weaker than other beings of its type. It is otherwise exactly the same, simply on a reduced scale. This reduces the character’s Size and Strength, and increases its Quickness, as shown on the chart below.
Size Size Strength Quickness Decrease Penalty Bonus –10 or less –5 –10 +5 –5 to –9 –4 –8 +4 –1 to –4 –3 –6 +3 +2 to 0 –2 –4 +2 +3 or more –1 –2 +1
If the character has Virtues or Flaws that modify its Size, or other Qualities or Inferiorities with a similar effect, you should always determine its base Characteristics first, and then apply the changes for Size in this order: Flaws, Inferiorities, Virtues, Qualities. For example, a Size 0 character with Str 0, Improved Characteristics, Large, and Miniature would first apply Improved Characteristics to raise its Str to +2, then Miniature to reduce Size to –2 and Str to –2, and finally Large for a final result of Size –1 and Str –2.
This Inferiority may be taken more than once. If it is taken more than once, the Inferiorities should be applied one at a time, and the reduction is based on the Size after the previ ous Inferiorities have taken effect. For example, a base Size 0 character who took the Inferiority twice would drop to Size –2 from the first, and then by a further –3 from the second because his Size is now –2, to a final Size of –5.
Monstrous Appearance: Something about the character looks strange and frightening, be it horns, scales, sharp teeth, claws, an enormous head, double-jointed arms, unnaturally colored skin, or other supernatural features. These qualities give the character a –6 penalty in all social situations, or to any rolls involving the trust or loyalty of others. Most people will attack or run away from the character on sight, rather than engage it in conversation.
All Magic Humans have this Inferiority inherently, for no benefit.
Reduced (Characteristic): This reduces a Characteristic that is already –5 or less because of the Poor (Characteristic) Flaw by a further 1. This penalty is applied before the character’s Strength and Quickness are adjusted for Size, so that a character with Size –1 and Strength –5 would have Strength –8. Also, this Inferiority cannot reduce a Characteristic any further than the inverse value of the character’s greatest Characteristic, again before Size is applied, so that a Size +2 character with Stamina +8 could not reduce its Quickness below –10.
Temporary Might: The character does not replenish its Might Pool every day, but instead only recovers Might Points when resting in a Magic aura of no less than (its Might Score / 5), and at an extremely slow rate. It takes the character an entire season to recover all of its spent Might in this way, though like other magic characters it can still regain Might Points immediately by consuming vis: 5 Might Points for every pawn of vis associated with same Form as its Might, or 2 Might Points for every pawn of vis associated with any other Art.
When the character is injured, it loses Might Points equal to the penalty of the wound — a Light wound removes 1 Might Point, a Medium wound 3 Might Points, and a Heavy wound 5 Might Points. When incapacitated, it loses 5 Might Points. Each time the character is wounded, part of its body is separated from the rest, and these pieces contain some of the character’s vis, a number of pawns equal to ((total Wound penalty / 5) – the number of pawns already lost). For example, a Light wound would separate a pawn of vis from the character, and produce another pawn after five more Light wounds.
All Magic Things have this Inferiority inherently, for no benefit.
Minor Magic Inferiorities
Limited Gestures: This Inferiority is similar to the No Hands Flaw, except that the character can still grasp and manipulate objects with its appendages, just like characters with hands. Its control is limited, so that it cannot make more than vague gestures, and cannot wield a weapon with any degree of skill. Magi with this Inferiority suffer a –5 to all spellcasting totals, though this penalty may be offset by taking the Subtle Magic Virtue. (Magic Animals and characters with the No Hands or Arthritis Flaws cannot take this Inferiority.)
Limited Movement: The character can move and turn in place, and even move about freely within a limited area, such as in a room or on horseback, but is otherwise unable to transport itself further than short distances without assistance. Magic Things may take this Inferiority; cloaks slither, for example, tables could walk, and a sword jerks along the floor. It is impossible for a character with this Inferiority to carry itself further than about ten paces in an hour’s time, even when pushing itself in a cart or trolley. (Characters with the Crippled or Lame Flaws cannot take this Inferiority.)
Limited Speech: The character cannot speak intelligibly, though it can make noises that allow it to gain attention, and can shape these sounds into words that may be understood with effort. The character is probably silent most of the time, and suffers a –3 to all Communication rolls when it does speak. Magi with this Inferiority suffer a –5 to all spellcasting totals, though the penalty may be offset with the Quiet Magic Virtue. (Characters with the Mute or Afflicted Tongue Flaws cannot take this Inferiority.)
Minor Flaw: The character has a Minor General or Supernatural (Magic) Flaw that represents a disadvantage of its magical nature. This Inferiority may be taken more than once.
Reduced Abilities: Subtract 50 experience points from the character’s existing Abilities — this represents the fact that the character has somehow lost some of its memories or has magically reverted to an earlier stage of life. This Inferiority may be taken more than once, but you cannot take this Flaw unless the character has at least 50 experience points to lose.
Reduced Attack: One of the character’s natural weapons has been magically worsened, making it less accurate and less likely to hit. Decrease its Attack bonus by 2. This Inferiority may be taken only if the character’s Attack bonus for that weapon is greater than 0, though it can be taken more than once.
Reduced Damage: One of the character’s natural weapons has been magically blunted, making it less damaging or dangerous. Decrease its Damage bonus by 3. This Inferiority may be taken only if the character’s Damage bonus for that weapon is greater than 0, though it can be taken more than once.
Reduced Defense: One of the character’s natural weapons has been magically weakened, making it less effective at blocking or dodging other attacks. Decrease its Defense bonus by 2. This Inferiority may be taken only if the character’s Defense bonus for that weapon is greater than 0, though it can be taken more than once.
Reduced Fatigue: Each time you take this Inferiority, the character loses one of its Fatigue levels, removed in descending order and not counting Fresh or Unconscious. Thus, a normal character who takes this Inferiority twice would have only Tired and Dazed Fatigue levels. You cannot take it more than four times unless the character has extra Fatigue levels.
Reduced Initiative: One of the character’s natural weapons has been magically slowed, making the character less able to act quickly. Decrease its Initiative bonus by 3. This Inferiority may be taken only if the character’s Initiative bonus for that weapon is greater than 0, though it can be taken more than once.
Reduced Might: Decrease the character’s Magic Might Score by 1. Note that this does not give a starting character fewer Quality points to spend. This Inferiority may be taken more than once.
Reduced Power: Subtract 5 mastery points from any of the character’s powers. Each lost mastery point increases the number of Might Points spent to activate a power by 1, or subtracts 1 from the character’s Initiative score for a power. This Inferiority may be taken more than once, but the activation cost for a power may not exceed the character’s Might Score, and you cannot reduce a power’s Initiative below 0.
Reduced Soak: The character’s natural protection is magically weakened, making it more vulnerable to physical damage. Reduce the character’s Soak by 2. This Inferiority may be taken only if the character’s Soak is greater than 0, though it can be taken more than once.
Susceptible to Deprivation: Unlike other magical beings, the character cannot survive without air, food, or water, and suffers all the normal consequences when going without them. The character is still immune to aging, unless it has the Age Quickly Flaw.
Magic Abilities, Virtues & Flaws
Here are new and modified Supernatural Abilities, Virtues and Flaws that characters can choose from when designing magic characters or characters that are somehow associated with the realm of Magic.
Unless otherwise noted, all of the Supernatural Virtues and Flaws described below are always associated with the Magic realm, and cannot be used with any other realm of power (with the possible exception of False Powers from Realms of Power: The Infernal, see pages 88-89 of that book).
New & Modified Virtues
New VirtuesSpecial
Major, Social Status
Major, Supernatural
Major, General
Minor, Social Status
Minor, Supernatural
Minor, Hermetic
Minor, General
Free, Social Status
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Atlantean Magic
- Minor, Hermetic
The magus, or an ancestor in his lineage, has studied the magic of exiled Atlanteans and has developed several useful extensions to Hermetic magic. The magus has access to a special Range: Water-way, a special Duration: Storm, and a special Target: Body-ofwater, that he may utilize with Spontaneous magic and in Formulaic or Ritual spells.
Water-way (Range): The magus can target anyone, or anything, on (or in) the same water-way as him. For example, a river, or canal, or lake, or sea is a water-way. Tributary streams of a river are the same water-way as the main river, but are not the same water-way as other tributaries to the main river. In some cases the troupe will need to decide precisely where one water-way begins, and another ends.
The magus must touch the water-way, when casting the spell, and the target must be either also touching the water-way or floating on it (in a boat, for example). A person on the bank of a river cannot be targeted by this spell. The magus need not be able to see the target, but he must be able to sense it in some way, unless the spell is an Intellego effect intended to determine whether something is in the water-way.
For determining the spell level, waterway is the same range of effect as Sight.
Storm (Duration): A spell with this duration must be cast during a storm and lasts until the end of the storm. Normally, a storm lasts a number of minutes or hours, but some large storms may last for days. The form of the spell must be either Aquam or Auram, but the spell is not necessarily cast on the storm itself.
The length of an entirely natural storm can be quickly estimated by rolling a stress die and dividing the result by 2 — this gives the number of hours that the storm will last. A botch has no consequence, excepting that the storm will dissipate in a number of minutes. The storyguide should secretly determine how long the storm will last — although an InAu spell, or Wilderness Sense Ability Roll could easily reveal this information.
For determining the spell level, Storm is the same duration as Concentration.
Body-of-water (Target): A spell with this target targets an entire body-of-water, whether this is a lake, a river, or a sea. Use the same guidelines as water-way to determine where a body-of-water begins and ends.
For determining the spell level, body-ofwater is the same level of Target as Structure (remember to increase the spell magnitude to effect a very large body-of-water, like a sea or the ocean).
Possible Abuses of StormsA ReAu spell with Storm duration intended to “keep a storm raging” will not result in a storm that lasts indefinitely. It will keep the storm raging for whatever its original life-time was. A ReAu spell with a duration of Sun, for example, can be used to keep to a storm raging for a day, of course, and repeated castings of such a spell will keep the storm present until the caster gives up. Similarly, a CrAu spell with Storm duration will not create a storm lasts indefi nitely. It merely creates a storm that lasts for the duration of whatever storm existed prior to the casting of the spell. That is, if no storm previously existed this spell will have no effect. A CrAu spell with a duration of Storm cast on an existing storm will however help to prevent the storm from being dissipated by PeAu effects before it should naturally expire. A CrAu spell with a duration of Sun can be used to create a storm with a duration of a day, of course. |
Composer of Power
- Major, Supernatural
The character is a recognized composer of magical music. This means that he can teach songs of power to other characters. Such a song allows the character that learns it to replicate the effect of a single Power that the composer character knows, by expending vis of the appropriate Form equal to (1 + the Might Point cost of the Power). For example, a bird that is taught to sing Call the Flock must expend 3 Animal vis each time that it sings the song.
In a season, the character can teach a single song to a number of characers equal to his Leadership Ability score, and the students only retain the ability to sing the song for a year.
Essential Virtue
- Major or Minor, General
The character receives one generally beneficial Essential Trait at either +3 for Minor or +6 for Major, which either positively affects rolls associated with a particular Characteristic in certain situations, like Intuitive +3 or Good Aim +6, or gives the character a beneficial Personality Trait that is part of its essential nature and cannot be influenced by magic (see Essential Traits, below).
You can take this Virtue more than once, so long as you choose a different Essential Trait each time.
Extractor of (Form) Vis
- Minor, Hermetic
The magus can extract (Form) vis from a Magic aura, but only if the features of the aura exemplify the Form. For example, an aura on the shores of a lake might exemplify Aquam, an aura at a burial-site exemplifies Corpus, etc. Extracting vis in this way is a Laboratory activity; the magus extracts a number of pawns of Vis equal to a tenth of his Creo Vim (Form) Lab Total (round up). Obviously, he needs to have a Laboratory in the aura too, and of course, the magus can chose to extract Vim vis instead (see ArM5, page 91). This Virtue may be taken multiple times (once for each Form).
Ferocity
- Minor, General
This Virtue may only be taken by magic characters played as grogs, or who do not have Intelligence, or who have the Low SelfEsteem Flaw. The character has Confidence Points, like a magus or companion character, but you may only use these Confidence Points in certain situations where the character’s natural ferocity is triggered. Describe the circumstance that activates the character’s Confidence, and take three Points to use when those conditions are met.
Focus Power'
- Major, Supernatural
The character has a magical power activated at will. This is designed like a Focus Power, as described under Major Magic Qualities, but since the character does not have a Might Score the calculation of maximum level of effect and Penetration is different.
This Virtue grants a pool of 25 points. The maximum level of effect and Penetration both start at zero. It costs 2 points to raise the maximum level of effect by 1, and 1 point to raise the Penetration by 1. Thus, 25 points can allow a maximum level of 10 with a Penetration of 5, or a maximum level of 5 with a Penetration of 15, or combinations in between.
It costs a number of Fatigue levels to activate this power equal to (the power’s Might Point cost divided by 5, rounded up). This means it is always at least one Fatigue level, and if the effect is greater than level 25, it costs two Fatigue levels. This Virtue may be taken more than once, and the points gained may be combined.
Giant Blood
- Major, General (See the Virtue on page 43 of ArM5.)
This Virtue represents a character with both the blood of giants and the blood of humans in his lineage, not a true giant. Full-blooded giant characters use the rules for magic humans, taking the Major Magic Quality Gigantic during character creation.
Greater Immunity (Deprivation)
- Major, Supernatural (See the Virtue on ArM5, page 43.)
Much like magical beings, the character is immune to deprivation, suffering no loss of Fatigue or wounds from going without air, food or drink. However, like magic characters, she cannot regain long-term Fatigue without rest and sustenance, and if she is injured deprivation could cause her wounds to worsen.
Greater Power
- Major, Supernatural
The character has a magical power that he can activate at will. This is designed like a Greater Power as described under Major Qualities above, but since the character does not have a Might Score, it costs him a number of Fatigue levels to activate equal to (the power’s Might Point cost divided by 5, rounded up). This Virtue may be taken more than once. You may trade in levels for Mastery Points, as normal, and use them to reduce the Might Point cost, and thus Fatigue cost. You may also spend levels one-for-one to give the power Penetration; otherwise, it has a Penetration of zero, as the character has no Might Score.
Homing Instinct
- Minor, Supernatural
The character always knows precisely how to get from where they are to a number of locations equal to her Intelligence Score (a minimum of 1). To add a location to the character’s repertoire she must be at that location, the location must be open to the air (so it cannot be inside, for example), and the player must make an Intelligence + Concentration Roll against an Ease Factor of 6. If this would increase the number of known locations beyond the character’s limit, then another location must be “forgotten.”
For example, all Birds of Nephelococcygia (see Chapter 5: Magic Animals) know the location of Nephelococcygia, and this location cannot be “forgotten.” In addition, the character has a fixed Arcane Connection to locations that she knows, which may be exploited in the usual ways (see ArM5, page 84). This Arcane Connection is an artifact of the mind, and so may not be given to another character.
Imbued with the Spirit of (Form)
- Minor, Hermetic
The magus has absorbed some of the powers of an elemental or other magic object (perhaps by consuming it). This act taints the magus, so that any being with a Magic Might associated with the Form of this Virtue can sense his nature when nearby. Typically, weak creatures will be afraid of the magus and powerful ones will attempt to kill him.
Whenever casting a spell or performing a Laboratory Activity that requires vis of the chosen Form, the magus may substitute Long-Term Fatigue Levels for the vis. Each Long-Term Fatigue Level lost reduces the vis requirement of the spell or effect by 1. When casting a spell the Fatigue Levels are lost after the spell is cast. For Laboratory Activities the Fatigue loss lasts for the duration of the Laboratory process (that is, at least a season), and Fatigue Levels substituted for vis do not count towards the magi’s limit of vis expenditure in a season.
Note that studying vis is not a Laboratory activity, so the magus may not substitute Fatigue Levels for vis when studying.
For example, a magus casting an Enchantment of the Scrying Pool ritual (InAq 30, ArM5, page 122), requires 6 pawns of some combination of Intellego and Aquam vis. If the magus is Imbued with the Spirit of Aquam, he may tire himself (losing three Long Term Fatigue Levels), and reduce the vis requirement by 3.
Inoffensive to (Beings)
- Minor, General
Only characters with The Gift or an inherent Magical Air may take this Virtue.
The character’s magical presence does not disturb a single type of being: animals, spirits, or those aligned with the Magic realm.
This Virtue may not be taken more than once; to design a character that is not disturbing to more than one sort of being, instead take the Gentle Gift and the Offensive to (Beings) Flaw, below.
(Land) Regio Network
- Minor, Supernatural
The character has access to an extensive network of regiones, perhaps located in the depths of many lakes throughout Mythic Europe, or hidden above the clouds in the sky, or buried in subterranean caves under the ground. The character is associated with one particular type of regio network.
Once the character is in such a regio he may travel to any other regio in the network; travel time is one Diameter regardless of geographic distance. To determine whether the character knows the location of a networked regio in a particular locale an Intelligence + (Area) Lore roll is made against an Ease Factor of 9. The character knows how to enter these regiones and can, if he chooses, guide other characters into the regiones — although other characters must be able to survive in the environment of the regio.
Access to the network may be ultimately controlled by other characters or powers.
Large
- Minor, General (See the Virtue on page 44 of ArM5.)
This Virtue changes a magic character’s Size, but does not modify Strength or Quickness.
Lesser Power
- Minor, Supernatural
The character has a power which is limited in some way, designed as a Lesser power described under Minor Magical Qualities, above. Activating it costs the character a number of Fatigue levels equal to (the power’s Might cost divided by 5, rounded up). This Virtue may be taken more than once. You may trade in levels for Mastery Points, as normal, and use them to reduce the Might Point cost, and thus Fatigue cost. You may also spend levels one-for-one to give the power Penetration; otherwise, it has a Penetration of zero, as the character has no Might Score.
Magic Animal
- Special
The character is a magical animal, either a perfect example of its species that is generally known as a Beast of Virtue, or else some other sort of magical being born in an animal shape. It is designed using the Magical Animal rules for Magic Character Creation, above, which gives it a Magic Might Score and other advantages over mundane creatures. It must also deal with the innate limitations of an animal form, such as having no hands. Subtract the character’s natural Size from its starting Might Score.
Magic Human
- Special
The character is a magical human, maybe descended from an ancient race of magical beings or somehow blessed with magic in his blood, born with a Magic Might Score and the Monstrous Appearance Inferiority (though he is not necessarily ugly). He should be designed using the Magic Human rules for Magic Character Creation, above.
Magic Spirit
- Special
The character is a mind, memory, image or idea somehow brought to life by the power of Magic. It is designed with a Magic Might Score according to the Magical Spirit rules for Magic Character Creation, above. Such characters are insubstantial and always have the Magical Air Flaw, as if they possessed The Gift, and only a Gentle Air can lessen this effect. If the character has the Gifted Quality, this gives the character a Blatant Magical Air instead.
Magic Thing
- Special
The character is a magical thing made up of elemental atoms or possessed by the raw power of nature, something that gives it a semblance of life and provides it with a Magic Might Score. Magical beings of this sort always have the Magic Inferiority of Temporary Might, which means that it takes them a very long time to recover their spent Might Points, and whenever they are injured, some of their Might is separated from their physical bodies as vis. They also receive the No Fatigue Quality at no cost. They should be designed according to the Magic Thing rules for Magic Character Creation.
Magical Blood
- Minor, Supernatural
The character’s essential nature has been improved through exposure to the Magic realm, often from a magic being, which gives her true form special supernatural properties. This typically changes the character’s appearance enough that others can recognize that there is something unusual about her, and people might say that she has magical blood — or “faerie blood” (since many people in Mythic Europe do not understand the differences between the Magic and Faerie realms).
The character may learn Magic Lore during character creation, and is resistant to aging, receiving a –1 bonus to all of her Aging rolls. In addition, she receives a minor physical advantage appropriate to one of the four different types of magic beings (magic animals, magic humans, magic spirits, and magic things), the one that is associated with the character’s background. Some examples are below, or you can make up your own.
Magic Animal: The character has a physical feature normally associated with animals, such as wings, scales, gills, teeth, or claws. These give as much as a +3 bonus to appropriate activities, or may allow the character to perform actions that a normal character could not manage (such as fly, or breathe underwater). This feature is very difficult to hide, making the character obviously different from other humans.
Magic Human: The character may increase one of his Characteristics by 1, but not above +3. This is often Strength or Stamina (to represent the blood of giant ancestors), or Presence (to represent the blood of godlike beings). This often gives the character an otherworldly appearance. The character also has a positive Reputation at level 3 among others of his bloodline.
Magic Spirit: The character gains an appropriate Supernatural Ability (one associated with a Minor Virtue), such as Magic Sensitivity, Premonitions, Second Sight, or Wilderness Sense, with an initial score of 1, though whenever the character uses this Ability, her appearance becomes obviously supernatural. For example, her eyes might turn black, she might rise a foot from the ground, or her hair might be blown about by a wind no one else can feel.
Magic Thing: The character has a Lesser Power associated with an object or thing. Whenever she activates the effect, her appearance also changes in a way appropriate to the form of the power. For example, a power that protects against flames would cause her skin to become dark with soot and smell like smoke, and a power that lets her walk on water might cause her to become semi-transparent, like water.
Magical Champion
- Minor, Social Status
Only characters designed using the rules for Magic Character Creation may take this Virtue.
A small group of individuals considers the character to be their particular representative, by virtue of its magical nature. They might be the grogs at the covenant, or all the animals in a single pack, or all the magical trees in a particular forest. These beings give the character special respect, and so others typically recognize and deal with the character as the leader of the group. Outside of this group, the character does not command any special respect because of its magical nature; if it looks human it will be treated like a person, otherwise it will probably be perceived as either a dumb beast or a monster.
This Virtue may be combined with other Social Status Virtues and Flaws that are appropriate to the character’s form.
Magical Covenfolk
- Free, Social Status
Only characters designed using the rules for Magic Character Creation may take this Virtue.
The character is a magical being that is generally accepted by the other people at the covenant as an equal. The character does not command any special respect because of its magical nature, however, and how outsiders treat it depends upon its appearance; if it looks human it will be treated like a person, otherwise it will be seen as either a dumb beast or a monster.
This Virtue may be combined with other Social Status Virtues and Flaws that are appropriate to the character’s form.
Magical Master
- Major, Social Status
Only characters designed using the rules for Magic Character Creation may take this Virtue.
The character is recognized as a higher power by a relatively large group, and this status depends on its magical nature. This group might be everyone in a particular village or covenant, or all the animals in a single forest, or all of the trees of a particular variety in Mythic Europe. There is something about the character’s powers or physical appearance that allows members of the group to easily recognize the character. Members of this special group generally defer to the character, and perhaps even worship or venerate it depending on their sophistication and beliefs. Outside of this community, the character does not command any special respect; if it looks human it will be treated like a person, otherwise it will probably be perceived as either a dumb beast or a monster.
This Virtue may be combined with other Social Status Virtues and Flaws that are appropriate to the character’s form.
Magical Mount
- Minor, General
The character has a mount, beast-ofburden, or “guard dog,” a creature that has Cunning instead of Intelligence and a Magic Might Score of up to 25. It has an extra Personality Trait (Loyal 0) and will obey simple verbal commands. If it has a positive Cunning score, the creature is also able to perform limited acts on its own initiative. If the character is incapable of training the creature himself, it must have been a gift from another character (probably a powerful magus) and the character must take the Major Story Flaw: Favors, to represent his debt to his patron — in this case, only a companion or magus-level character can take this Virtue.
Magical Warder
- Major, General
The character has a magical being that accompanies him, watches over him, and sees that he comes to no harm. It does not require anything from the character in return for its service, but note that the more powerful the warder, the less willing or able it is to help the character, and the less often it is available to protect him. Design this being as a magic character — a Ghostly Warder is a good example of a companion character; less powerful and it is basically an extension of the character’s will, while a more powerful Warder’s assistance is rarer and even more circumstantial.
(Besides enabling other sorts of warders, this version of the Virtue makes it possible to take a Ghostly Warder designed with a Might Score that is more appropriate to the power level of the saga and the character’s role within it.)
Master of (Form) Creatures
- Minor, Supernatural
The character can tame animals and other unintelligent beings whose Magic Might is aligned with a particular Form. During character creation, the character may take Magic Lore, and this Virtue may be taken multiple times, once for each Form.
Personal Power
- Minor, Supernatural
The character has a power which is limited in some way, designed as a Personal power described under Minor Magical Qualities, above. Activating it costs the character a number of Fatigue levels equal to (the power’s Might cost divided by 5, rounded up). This Virtue may be taken more than once. You may trade in levels for Mastery Points, as normal, and use them to reduce the Might Point cost, and thus Fatigue cost. You may also spend levels one-for-one to give the power Penetration; otherwise, it has a Penetration of zero, as the character has no Might Score. If the Power has a range of Personal, it does not need Penetration, as it can affect the character without needing to penetrate.
Ritual Power
- Major, Supernatural
The character has a magical power that he can activate at will. This is designed like a Ritual Power as described under Major Qualities above, but since the character does not have a Might Score, activating it always costs him a number of Fatigue levels equal to (the effect’s Might Point cost divided by 5, rounded up). In addition, activating the power costs a number of Confidence Points equal to the Might Point cost of the power. This Virtue may be taken more than once. You may trade in levels for Mastery Points, as normal, and use them to reduce the Might Point cost, and thus Fatigue cost. You may also spend levels one-for-one to give the power Penetration; otherwise, it has a Penetration of zero, as the character has no Might Score.
Transformed (Being)
- Major, Supernatural
The character has been transformed by the power of Magic, losing his mundane nature and changing into a supernatural being — see the Special Virtues Magic Animal, Magic Human, Magic Spirit, or Magic Thing, above, for examples of how Magic changes a character.
Initially the character has a Might Score of 0 and no Magic Qualities, though the player may take a number of Magic Inferiorities equal to his maximum allotment of Flaws during this transformation — three points for a grog character, and ten for a magus or companion — and gaining a corresponding number of Magic Qualities. The magic character also gains an Essential Trait at +3 that describes the character’s origin or true form, what the character is at a fundamental level. This should be related to the Form of the character’s Might in some way.
Characters with a Might Score associated with any realm of power other than Magic cannot take this Virtue. If the character has Supernatural Virtues or Flaws associated with other realms, these are also affected by the transformation. Generally, divine powers are lost, faerie powers become magic ones, and infernal powers become magic but tainted with evil (see Realms of Power: The Infernal for more information about tainted powers). For example, a character’s Strong Faerie Blood might become a Greater Power, infernal Entrancement would become magical but would be infernally tainted, and True Faith would be gone forever.
Unaffected by The Gift
- Minor, General
The character is not affected by the negative effects of The Gift or Magical Air in others. Even a Blatant Gift does not especially bother the character.
Variable Power
- Minor, Supernatural
One of the character’s magic powers (Greater, Lesser, or Ritual) becomes more powerful over time, based on either (age / 10), (Might Score / 5), Warping Score, or his score in an appropriate Ability. (Age and Warping should not be allowed as variables if the character is immune to their effects.) For example, an effect that allows the character to change his shape into an animal might be associated with a special Ability, and his score in that Ability would determine how many different animals he could become.
Generally speaking, a single power can have its effect level increased by five, or include another effect of the same level that is similar the original, for each level of variance. For a character with Variable Powers based on his age, for example, this would mean the effectiveness of one of his powers would be increased by a total of five magnitudes after he has lived for 50 years.
This Virtue may be taken more than once, if the character has more than one power, but it only applies once to a single power.
Voice of the (Land)
- Minor, Supernatural
The character can speak with any creature whose natural habitat is a particular environment associated with this Virtue (including animals and magic beings), and the character is not normally perceived as either a threat or a prey object by these creatures.
New & Modified Flaws
New FlawsMajor, Hermetic
Major, Social
Major, Story
Major, Supernatural
Major, General
Minor, Personality
Minor, Social Status
Minor, Story
Minor, Supernatural
Minor, General
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Anchored to the (Land)
- Minor, General
The character suffers from feelings of loneliness and depression when she cannot see or hear a particular type of environment. In game terms, the character has a –3 penalty to all rolls when traveling through any other sort of environment (it is assumed that once the character has time to recover from the journey, she will find some reminder of her natural environment to help her rest). For example, a character who is Anchored to the Sea would suffer the penalty when traveling overland, but once settled can easily comfort herself — with the sound of the sea heard in a sea shell, perhaps.
Age Quickly
- Major, Supernatural (See the Flaw on page 51 of ArM5.)
If this Flaw is taken by a character with a Magic Might Score, or by a character who later gains a Magic Might Score, the character is not immune to aging like other magic characters, but only has to roll for aging once a year. For these characters, this aging cannot be halted with a longevity ritual as it is already slowed by their magical natures.
Baneful Circumstances
- Minor, Supernatural
Something about the character’s supernatural nature weakens him in relatively common circumstances, such as when touching the ground or when in the presence of women. At these times, the character cannot recover Fatigue, heal wounds, or recover Might, and if at the end of the year the character has spent more than half of his time subject to these conditions, he must make an additional Aging roll even if he is normally immune to aging because of a longevity ritual or Might Score.
Blatant Magical Air
- Major, Supernatural
Only characters with a Magical Air or The Gift may take this Flaw.
The character is especially disturbing to others, so much that they can barely tolerate its presence. The character suffers a –6 penalty to social actions, and is immediately hated and feared by members of the mundane population. This effect is the same as the Blatant Gift, and a character may not have both Flaws.
Bound to Magic
- Major, Supernatural
The character is no longer able to survive in the mundane world, and sickens if it is outside a Magic aura for an extended period of time. The character must live in a Magic aura of 5 or greater to remain healthy; if it spends most of a season outside such an aura, make a Stamina Roll against an Ease Factor of (9 – Size). If you fail the roll, the character sustains a Heavy wound, unless the previous season it also failed such a roll, in which case it sustains an Incapacitating wound instead.
Other versions of this Flaw may exist for the other supernatural realms.
(This Flaw is especially appropriate for animals that have been Warped by Magic; see Chapter 5: Magic Animals, Transformed Animals.)
Deteriorating Power
- Minor, Supernatural
Like the Variable Powers Virtue, this Flaw reduces the effectiveness of one of the character’s powers (Greater, Lesser, or Ritual) over time. This penalty is linked to either the character’s (age / 10), (Might Score – Might Pool / 5), or Warping Score. For example, a magic character with Deteriorating Pow ers linked to Might and a Might Score of 25 would have one of his powers reduced by 5 magnitudes when his Might Pool is empty.
This Flaw may be taken more than once, if the character has more than one Power.
Dwarf
- Major, General (See the Flaw on page 53 of ArM5.)
This Flaw represents a human being who is born much smaller than average, but who is still mundane. For a character of magically reduced Size, take the Miniature Inferiority instead.
Environmental Magic Condition
- Major, Hermetic
All of the character’s Casting and Lab Totals are halved in certain common conditions related to his environment. For example, whenever he is inside. Note that this should be significantly more restrictive than the Hermetic Flaw Deleterious Circumstances (ArM5 page 53).
Environmental Sensitivity
- Minor, General
The character is unusually sensitive to an uncommon environmental feature, such as bad air, salt water, or extreme temperatures. Whenever the character is exposed to these conditions, he has a –3 penalty to his Stamina for any debilitation checks (see ArM5, page 180).
Essential Flaw
- Major or Minor, General
This Flaw gives the character an Essential Trait that negatively affects rolls associated with one of his Characteristics in a particular situation, such as Poor Runner, Face Curdles Milk, or Stutter, with a starting score of –3 if Minor, or –6 if Major. The effects of this Flaw are always detrimental to the character. Magical powers cannot help you overcome this limitation because it is part of your essential nature (see Essential Traits, later in this chapter).
You can take this Flaw more than once, but only affecting a different Characteristic each time.
Exiled Atlantean
- Minor, Supernatural
The character is an exiled Atlantean; she is tainted by her contact with the surface world, and cannot return to her magic regio. This exile is enforced by the very nature of the magic regio to which the Atlanteans are native, so there is no authority figure to which she may appeal, or any obvious method of returning to favor. The exile applies even if the Atlantean left her native magic regio involuntarily.
(Form) Monstrosity
- Minor, Supernatural
The character is a monstrosity with a monstrous feature, or mutation, which corresponds to a magical Form. The feature may be beneficial in limited circumstances, but generally gives the character no advantage over its non-mutated peers.
Animals are not usually bothered by monsters — the character still has the correct scent, and behavior — and a single monstrous bull might be found happily living among a herd of otherwise normal cattle, for example. People, on the other hand, are highly troubled by the appearance of monstrosities, which they invariably attribute to malign influence; obviously monstrous animals are usually killed by peasants. Often, 1 pawn of Muto vis may be extracted from the corpse of a monstrous character, found concentrated in the monstrous feature.
Some examples of possible monstrosities are listed below, but the troupe may devise their own, as required:
Form Monstrosity Animal an additional head Aquam gills, or webbing on land animals Auram wings on a land or sea animal Corpus human-like limbs or eyes Herbam a branch for a tail Ignem fiery breath, or an extremely elevated body temperature Imaginem unnatural hide (tiger fur on a horse, for example) Mentem sensitivity to spirits (animal can both sense and is afraid of spirits) Terram teeth or claws of stone Vim sensitive to magic (animal feels pain when in a magical aura)
(This Flaw is especially appropriate for animals Warped by Magic; see Chapter 5: Magic Animals, Transformed Animals.)
Hunger for (Form) Magic
- Major, Supernatural
The character has been repeatedly exposed to magic and has thus become dependent upon magic to survive. The character must consume 1 pawn of vis each season, corresponding to the Form that it has been mostly exposed to. If the character is unable to consume a pawn of vis in a season, it loses a Long-Term Fatigue Level that cannot be regained until a pawn of the appropriate vis is consumed. For example, a character that has Hunger for Ignem Magic and has not consumed a pawn of Ignem vis for a whole year will have lost 4 Long-Term Fatigue Levels, and so be Dazed with a –5 penalty to activities. If the character then consumes 1 pawn of Ignem vis, it will regain a Fatigue Level and become Tired after an hour has elapsed.
(This Flaw is especially appropriate for animals that have been Warped by Magic; see Chapter 5: Magic Animals, Transformed Animals.)
Magic (Being) Companion
- Minor, Story
The character is accompanied by an intelligent magical being, one that is smart enough to follow orders or disobey them on its own initiative, which the character must regularly look after. This might be an animal, a spirit, a human-like creature, or even an animate object. Design this being as a magic character with the Magical Friend Social Status Flaw (see below), and note that the greater the character’s Might Score, the more independent it will be. A grog-level character might be essentially an extension of the character’s will, while a companion-level character might follow instructions but often do what it thinks is best, and a magus-level character might be condescending or wild, and rarely act except on its own initiative.
(Besides enabling other sorts of magical companions, this version of the Flaw makes it possible to take a Magical Animal Companion designed with a Might Score that is more appropriate to the power level of the saga and the character’s role within it.)
Magical Friend
- Minor, Social Status
Only characters designed using the rules for Magic Character Creation may take this Flaw. L
ike a Magical Monster, the character is considered to be less than human, but favored by one or more human characters (or other characters that are generally accepted as human). Among people who know the character’s associate, the character is treated better than it would otherwise be, perhaps as that person’s pet or bodyguard. Others most likely treat the character as an outsider or a brute, or perhaps as a dumb beast or a monster.
This Flaw is intended as the counterpart to another character’s Magical (Being) Companion, but it is also particularly appropriate for Hermetic familiars or any characters with nonhuman forms that are strongly associated with someone at a covenant. Characters created to be Magical Companions cannot themselves have Magical Companion characters.
Magical Monster
- Major, Social Status
Only characters designed using the rules for Magic Character Creation may take this Flaw.
The character is a magical being that has no strong connection to human society, such as a person who looks after it or a community that accords it special respect. Generally people treat it as an outsider if it appears human, or as a beast if it does not. The character might know how to interact with human beings, and might even be good at it, but even a well-spoken and social Magical Monster will never be treated as a person based on its own merits.
Monstrous Blood
- Minor, Supernatural
The character’s essential nature has been changed through exposure to the Magic realm, often because of a relationship to a magic being, which gives her true form unfortunate supernatural properties. This changes the character’s appearance enough that others can immediately recognize that there is something wrong about her, and people might say that she has tainted blood. The character is more resistant to age and receives a –1 bonus to all Aging rolls, and may learn Magic Lore during character creation.
However, the character also gains a minor physical deformity appropriate to the magic being type that is associated with the character’s background. Some examples are below, or you can make up your own. Magic Animal: The character has a physical feature normally associated with animals, such as wings, scales, gills, sharp teeth, or claws. These are not usable by the character, and give a –3 penalty to appropriate activities (such as running or climbing) as these deformities get in the way.
Magic Human: The character must decrease one of his Characteristics by 1, but not below –3. This might be Strength or Stamina to represent weakened blood, or Presence to indicate a dowdy appearance. The character also has a poor Reputation of level 3 among other magic beings.
Magic Spirit: The character has a mental block against many activities that are not supernatural, possibly due to a noticeable difficulty with retaining memories. Subtract 3 from all of the character’s Intelligence and Perception rolls that do not involve a Supernatural Ability or Art.
Magic Thing: The character has a constant Lesser Power that is mostly detrimental to it in some way, such as a ward that prevents it from picking up wooden objects, or that causes books it touches to burst into flame. The effect normally occurs involuntarily, but the character can spend a Confidence Point to prevent it from triggering.
Offensive to (Beings)
- Minor, General
The character has a magical presence very similar to The Gift that is especially disturbing to a particular type of creature: animals, spirits, or characters aligned with Magic. Only characters who are not Gifted (or whose Gift does not affect others) may take this Flaw.
Poor Concentration
- Minor, General
While the character may have a mind that is quick to make decisions, he has a short attention span. The character has a –3 penalty to Concentration rolls.
Restricted Power
- Minor, Supernatural
The character must perform some special ceremony to activate one of its powers, such as drawing symbols on the ground or gesturing and chanting like a magus, or else the power only functions on a limited class of targets (such as men, wolves, sounds, or sand) or in specific circumstances (like at night, under water, when touching iron, or after singing a song). This Flaw may be taken once for each power the character possesses.
Servant of the (Land)
- Major, Story
Some powerful magical creature has saved the character from death and in return the character has been set a task. Possible tasks include: preaching a message, operating a lighthouse, or preventing hunting in a certain area. Usually the task is either difficult or time-consuming, and while it remains incomplete the character has the Minor Personality Flaw: Prohibition (ArM5, page 58), but this does not count toward the character’s total number of Virtues and Flaws. The Prohibition means that if the character does not spend at least one complete season every year working toward his assigned task, a curse afflicts him. Possible curses include: a magical compulsion to return to the land where the character must explain himself to his master, turning into an animal, or acquiring a Supernatural Flaw.
Slow Power
- Minor, Supernatural
One of the character’s powers is very slow, so that it requires an additional round of preparation to activate. This Flaw may be taken more than once, if the character has multiple powers, but not more than once for a single power.
Small Frame
- Minor, General (See the Flaw on page 59 of ArM5.)
This Flaw changes a magic character’s Size, but does not modify its Strength or Quickness.
Wanderlust
- Major, Story
The character feels compelled to travel with a passion that is so strong that he cannot spend more than a season in the same place. The character can only spend two (nonconsecutive) seasons each year in the same Magic aura, and must spend the intervening seasons traveling to different locales — places he has never been. If for some reason he cannot travel, he will become very uncomfortable; this could manifest in many appropriate ways, such as being unable to spend or gain Confidence Points or restore Might Points until he leaves.
Warped Senses
- Minor, Personality
The character has become overly sensitive to environmental conditions, which af fects his behavior in certain uncommon circumstances. Some examples include:
Sensitive (Sense): One of your senses is so sensitive that it is overwhelmed under circumstances that others find normal. If it is sight, normal daylight dazzles you. If it is hearing, sounds above normal speaking volume hurt your ears. If it is taste, only bland food is tolerable. If it is smell, strong odors, good or bad, are nauseating. You suffer a –2 penalty on all activities under relevant circumstances. (It is inadvisable to combine Sensitive Sight with Keen Vision, and Sensitive Hearing with Sharp Ears, and these are incompatible with Blind and Deaf, respectively.)
Weak (Sense): One of your senses is so weak that it is useless under circumstances that others find normal. If it is sight, you can only see well in good illumination (e.g. broad daylight). If it is hearing, you can only hear sounds above normal speaking volume. If taste, only highly flavored food is palatable. If smell, you can only detect strong odors. You suffer a –2 penalty on all activities under relevant circumstances. (Weak Sight is incompatible with Sensitive Sight, Keen Vision, and Blind and you cannot take Weak Hearing with Sensitive Hearing, Sharp Ears, or Deaf.)
Sensitive to Cold: You function normally at temperatures considerably above the norm for your part of the world. You lose 1 Fatigue level for every hour you spend in an environment two steps or more below your accustomed conditions on the Environmental Temperatures chart (see sidebar). Your responses to heat are reduced in intensity by 2 (see ArM5, page 181).
Sensitive to Heat: You function normally at temperatures considerably below the norm for your part of the world. You lose 1 Fatigue level for every hour you spend in an environment two steps or more above your habituated conditions on the Environmental Temperatures chart (see sidebar). Your response to ice is reduced in intensity to 0 (see ArM5, page 181). This is a common Flaw for characters who become Warped by a strong magic environment (see Chapter 2: Auras, Aligned Auras).
Environmental Temperatures
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New & Modified Abilities
Animal Handling
Besides being able to train and take care of animals (as described in ArM5, page 62), you can apply the same principles when interacting with other beings that have Cunning instead of Intelligence. For example, with this Ability you can manage and train elementals, animate trees, or animal spirits.
Specialties: magical beings associated with a particular form, a type of magic being (magic spirits, magic things), a specific sort of handling (training Abilities, inspiring loyalty). (General)
Social Abilities and Magical BeingsWhen a person becomes a magical being, it ceases to be human, and so some social Abilities are no longer useful for describing its behavior or motivations. The same principle applies to social skills that deal with training animals and other unintelligent beings, since when they become magical they often also become intelligent (see Chapter 5: Magical Animals, Training). Here is a summary of how different Abilities apply to magical beings. Animal Handling: This Ability is useful for knowing how to take care of a being with an animal form, though not for social interactions with an intelligent animal. To predict how such an animal might respond or behave, use Magic Lore. As noted above, this Ability may also be used to manage other unintelligent beings. Animal Ken: This is a Supernatural Ability with an effect that allows communication with any animal, magical or not, but does not affect other sorts of beings. It does not give any special insight into the mind of the animal. Bargain: Used with any intelligent being. Carouse: Used with any intelligent being. Charm: Used with any intelligent being. Etiquette: Used with any intelligent being. Folk Ken: This is an understanding of human beings only, though it may provide insight into the motivations of human-like beings or magic characters who were once human. Guile: Used with any intelligent being. Intrigue: Used with any intelligent being. (Language): All intelligent beings can learn to speak languages, and without a common tongue they must attempt to communicate through other means. Leadership: Used with any intelligent being. Magic Lore: This may be used like Folk Ken when attempting to understand the motivations and personality of magical beings. Teaching: Used with any intelligent being. |
(Form) Resistance*
Only characters with a Magic Might Score can possess this Ability.
Through exposure to a particular magical Form, the character has developed a natural resistance to things associated with that Form, in the same way that magi become more resistant by studying the magic of the associated Hermetic Form. You may add the character’s score in this Ability as a bonus to attempts to resist damage from things of that Form (as described in the examples on pages 78-79 of ArM5). For example, you may add your score in Vim Resistance to your Soak total against damage inflicted by your own magical powers.
Like Form bonuses for magi, this also increases a magic character’s Magic Resistance against spells of that Form, but this is only compatible with Magic Might; it does not stack with the Parma Magica.
Specialties: a single source of damage inflicted by that Form. (Supernatural)
Magical Meditation*
Only characters with a Magic Might Score can possess this Ability.
By concentrating, the character enters a trance-like state in which it can absorb magic from its surroundings at an increased rate. This has two effects.
- As long as the character concentrates, it recovers 1 Might Point for each level of the Magic aura over the course of about ten minutes, so that when concentrating in a level 5 Magic aura, a character with this Ability would recover 30 Might Points every hour.
- By concentrating within a Magic aura, the character may prevent Acclimation at twice the normal rate. For example, a character with 30 Might could prevent acclimation as if it had a Might Score of 15.
While concentrating, the character usually appears to be asleep. Magical beings with nonliving forms may appear completely inanimate to outsiders during this time. If disturbed, the character must roll on the Concentration table (ArM5, page 82), using this Ability instead of Concentration. Failure means that the effort is wasted for that period.
Specialties: recovering Might Points, preventing Acclimation, maintaining concentration (Supernatural)
Advancement
For magic characters, advancement is the mystical process of becoming more magical. It is striving toward the truest embodiment of the concept that defines the character, enhancing and focusing the character’s most essential nature. In this way the character can become more like what it already is: more powerful, more knowledgeable, more important, or more mysterious. It does this through a process called Transformation. Magic characters also need magic in order to survive, to feed the part of them that is sustained by magic. If they go too long without refreshing this magical thirst, some of their magical qualities are lost. This process of losing magic over time is called Acclimation.
Being fully part of the realm of Magic, such characters are not as concerned with mundane things. They are bound in a state of perfection, and cease to naturally grow or change over time. For this reason magic characters do not advance as other characters — they do not gain experience points each season or improve their knowledge and abilities through practice and discovery. Upon becoming a magical being, all non-magical learning ceases, and the character becomes only what it already is on a fundamental level: forever, eternal, and immortal, like a memory or an ideal.
This is not to say that a magic character cannot advance. It can, but it is much more difficult. Magic characters can accumulate and spend experience points just like normal human characters, save for one important limitation: the character’s Might Score is always subtracted from its Advancement Total. For example, a character with Magic Might 10 that would gain 15 experience points must subtract 10 for his Might Score, yielding only 5 points to spend. For most magic characters, this is a significant enough penalty that the character will never improve its scores beyond their initial values at character creation, and it is not unusual for powerful beings with Might Scores of 20 or more to live for hundreds of years without significantly changing in the slightest. There is a relatively simple way for the character to circumvent this limitation, however. If the character consumes a pawn of magic vis of any type, he may reduce the penalty to his Advancement Total by two. For example, if the character in the above example were to spend 5 pawns of vis, it could assign all 15 experience points in its Advancement Total. "If the same character consumed 4 pawns, it would have 13 experience points to spend. (Note that this vis lessens the penalty, but does not increase the Advancement Total.)
Characters with the Gifted Virtue may learn Supernatural Abilities like other characters with The Gift, but they must also subtract the sum of their scores in all other Supernatural Abilities, in addition to their Might Score. They may spend vis to offset this penalty as usual, though they can use no more than a number of pawns equal to their Might Score in a single season. Gifted magic characters may also initiate new Virtues and Flaws through a Mystery Cult in the same way as magi (described in The Mysteries, Revised Edition and Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults).
Finally, as stated in ArM5 (page 105), magic creatures bound as familiars to Hermetic magi learn in the same way as humans, and retain those Abilities if the familiar bond is broken.
Transformation
Transformation is the term for bringing about permanent improvements to a magic character’s form, making it more magical without changing what it essentially is. For this reason, these improvements cannot go against the character’s essential nature — a magical dog that becomes more magical must still be a magical dog, even if it gains the power to fly, breathe fire, or change itself into a human shape. Any time a character experiences the process of transformation, the troupe should agree that the change does not fundamentally conflict with its true form, otherwise the transformation cannot happen that way.
The basic mechanic for transformation uses experience points. Magic characters can gain new Qualities and Inferiorities by devoting experience to their study. These can be experience points gained from practice, adventure, or a teacher who possesses the desired Quality. (Practicing a Quality that you already possess with the intention of improving upon it has a Study Total of 5.) You must still subtract the character’s Might Score from the study total, as described above, and as usual the character can offset this penalty by consuming vis. The number of experience points necessary for each type of Quality is shown on the table below.
Experience Points: 0
Transform a Virtue into a Magic Quality of the same type (Major or Minor), a Flaw into a Magic Inferiority of the same type, a Magic Quality into a different Magic Quality of the same type, or a Magic Inferiority into a different Magic Inferiority of the same type.
Experience Points: 5
Gain a Minor Magic Quality and a Minor Magic Inferiority
Experience Points: 10
Gain a Minor Magic Quality
Experience Points: 15
Gain a Major Magic Quality and a Major Magic Inferiority
Experience Points: 20
Transform a Minor Magic Quality into a Major Magic Quality, a Minor Magic Inferiority into a Minor Magic Quality, or a Major Magic Inferiority into a Minor Magic Inferiority
Experience Points: 25
Gain a Major Magic Quality and a Minor Magic Inferiority
Experience Points: 30
Gain a Major Magic Quality'
Magic characters may also consume vis as a transformational study source, and can spend the experience points to gain new Qualities and Inferiorities, without subtracting its Might Score from the Advancement Total. The character must use a number of pawns of vis of any type equal to its Might Score. Then, roll a stress die and add the bonus for the aura in which the character studies. The result is the number of experience points gained. If you roll a 0, you must roll one botch die for every 5 pawns of vis that the character consumed, and each botch gives the character a Minor Inferiority, or a Major Inferiority for every three botches.
Magic Qualities and Initiation ScriptsIt is possible to teach other magical beings new Magic Qualities by writing a book about them, but this is an incredibly rare phenomenon, since few magic characters can read and write. Such a book might resemble an Initiation Script for a particularly esoteric Mystery Cult (see The Mysteries, Revised Edition pages 15-18), and at the troupe’s discretion it may be adapted by a Mystagogue for the Initiation of an appropriate Virtue. Books on other mystic subjects — such as Magic Lore or a Mystery Cult’s Organization Lore — that collect Initiation Scripts may also be treated as transformational study sources if they are particularly applicable to the Magic Quality in question, again with the troupe’s approval. |
Acclimation
Magic characters are nurtured by the power of Magic, and they rely upon it to survive. Over time, those magic characters that do not maintain a connection to the realm of Magic slowly lose some of their magical power. This process is called Acclimation: the character becomes less magical as it becomes more conditioned to the mundane world and more distant from the Magic Realm.
Acclimation is handled as follows. At the end of every year, when other characters make Aging rolls, a magic character either loses a Magic Quality, or else reduces its Might Score by 1 — the player of the character may choose which of these takes place. This loss is permanent. If the character can not do either of these things, it ceases to be a magic character, losing the Virtue that made it a magic character and becoming a mundane being appropriate to its true form.
There are three ways to protect a magic character against this effect, and all magic characters should ensure that they meet at least one of these conditions every year. These are: living in a strong Magic aura, affecting or being affected by others with magic, and consuming a sufficient amount of magical vis.
Which method a magic character chooses to avoid Acclimation depends mostly upon its Might Score, but also upon its temperament. Magic characters with low Might generally rely upon the Magic aura where they live. Intelligent magic characters with low Might Scores often seek out a ward or master with which they can bond. More powerful intelligent characters might seek out people and things aligned to Magic that they can watch over or prey upon selectively throughout the year, or else retreat into the Magic Realm where they do not need to worry about Acclimation at all. Unintelligent characters of all sorts typically have a natural drive to seek out vis and consume it, ensuring both that they avoid Acclimation and grow more magical over time.
Auras
If a magic character lives in a Magic aura, or has a low Might Score and spends a lot of time there, it can avoid Acclimation. The strength of the aura required depends upon the character’s Might (rounded up), as shown on the table below.
| Might Score | Always Within | Half Time Within | Frequeny Visits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 1-5 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 6-10 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 11-15 | 3 | 8 | - |
| 16-20 | 4 | 9 | - |
| 21-25 | 5 | 10 | - |
| 26-30 | 6 | - | - |
| 31-35 | 7 | - | - |
| 36-40 | 8 | - | - |
| 41-45 | 9 | - | - |
| 46-50 | 10 | - | - |
| 51+ | - | - | - |
To be considered “always within” an aura, the character must spend nearly all of its time there, though occasional forays into the outside world are allowed. More than about 40 days’ absence, however, and the aura will not prevent Acclimation that year. Likewise, for “half time within” the character should at least reside within the aura, perhaps going there when other characters go to sleep, or else spending about two seasons each year within it. “Frequent visits” is about a quarter of the character’s time, or one concentrated season every year.
As shown on the chart, a magic character with a Might Score of greater than 50 cannot avoid Acclimation by living in a Magic aura. The most powerful and reclusive magic characters typically live in the Twilight Void, that part of the Magic Realm in which they never gain Acclimation, and only occasionally manifest in the mundane world at all. For the purposes of a character that visits but does not remain there all year, treat the Magic Realm as an aura of 10 and halve the character’s Might Score. For example, a character with Might 20 could avoid Acclimation by spending one season each year in the Magic Realm.
Effects
Magic characters can also protect themselves against Acclimation by being the targets of powerful Magic effects that do not originate from a creature with Might, or by using their own powers to periodically affect an individual that is aligned with the Magic realm, but who does not have Magic Might. This creates a supernatural link between the two that sustains the magic character for as long as it lasts.
Perhaps the most common example of this is the bond between magus and familiar, where the familiar becomes magically bound to the magus through magical cords that help it resist Acclimation — this explains why many intelligent magic creatures are willing to submit to the bond, since it means they will never suffer Acclimation again. Another example is when a magical being acts as a warder for a non-magical character, using its powers to protect and advise its charge throughout the year — by doing so, it ensures its own survival.
The chart below shows the number of seasons each year that the character must affect its counterpart with its powers (based on its Might Score), or must be affected by its counterpart’s magic (based on the level of the effect), in order to avoid Acclimation. The first column shows how many seasons of constant effects are necessary, while the second shows seasons of effects that are applied regularly (approximately once a day), and the last shows seasons of effects applied only occasionally (approximately once a week). For example, a magic character with Might 15 would need to constantly affect a mundane character for three seasons every year, and a level 30 effect cast by a character without a Might Score will protect a magic character if it is constantly active for two out of every four seasons.
| Effect Level or Might Score | Constant Effect | Regular Effect | Ocasional Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | - | - |
| 1-10 | 4 | - | - |
| 11-20 | 3 | - | - |
| 21-30 | 2 | 4 | - |
| 31-40 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 41-50 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 50+ | 1 | 1 | 1 |
At the end of each year, the storyguide should determine whether the magic character affected its partner or was affected by its partner to a sufficient degree to prevent Ac climation. (Magic characters that are somehow associated with a covenant should be able to easily meet this requirement.)
Vis
Magic characters can consume vis to ensure that they do not suffer Acclimation. A magic character is safe any year in which it consumes (Magic Might Score / 2) pawns of magic vis, of any type. For example, a character with Magic Might 15 would need to find 8 pawns of vis every year. This is how many magic creatures survive in the wild, by hunting down vis and feeding on it. With preparation, magic characters with access to a lot of vis can endure being distant from Magic for a very long time.
Whenever a magic character avoids Acclimation by consuming vis, the player must make a roll on the Vis Consumption chart. This determines how exposure to the vis affects the character over time, since subsisting on vis can have interesting side effects and always carries some degree of supernatural risk.
Vis ConsumptionWhenever a magic character avoids Acclimation by consuming vis, roll a stress die and consult the following chart. The number of botch dice is equal to the number of pawns of vis consumed.
Botch: The character gains a Minor Inferiority for every botch, or a Major Inferiority for every three botches, though other negative effects appropriate to the situation are also possible, such as a personal injury, loss of Fatigue, or a ruined project. Side Effect: The character (or something very close to it) is affected by a magical side effect, one that is either positive or negative and is somehow appropriate to the circumstances and the type of vis con sumed. For example, the character might spontaneously generate a magical effect, temporarily gain or lose Might Points, or perhaps increase or decrease an appropriate Essential Trait (see Essential Traits, below). Special or Story Event: This is usually something that involves the whole troupe, or that happens without the character’s knowledge. It could also be an effect that adds to the story or that is not covered elsewhere. For example, perhaps the character becomes pregnant, experiences a vision of the past or future, or gains the attention of a more-powerful magical being. Transformation: The character is changed for the better by the process of magical transformation, and gains a number of experience points equal to the result of the roll, which may be applied to a new Quality (see Transformation, above) or to any appropriate Abilities. The character does not have to subtract its Might Score from this Advancement Total unless the character is Gifted and wishes to learn a new Supernatural Ability. |
Essential Traits
Part of the power of the Magic realm is devoted to the pursuit of unchanging ideals, making things more of what they are at the most fundamental level, and because of this, characters with a Magic Might Score do not easily develop new Personality Traits, or increase or decrease their existing Personality Traits. Their Personality Traits become Essential, meaning that they are an unchanging part of the character’s nature. However, these Essential Traits also define how magic characters behave, and so they become a kind of magical protection — magical effects that would force a character to act against its Essential Traits always mysteriously fail.
Many Essential Traits describe a specialty of one of the character’s Characteristics (this is called a Character Trait to distinguish it from a Personality Trait, though it can be written under Personality Traits on the character sheet). For example, a character might be Sure-footed (Dexterity) +2, or he might be especially Shy (Presence) +3. These Essential Traits modify the appropriate Characteristic in circumstances applicable to the specialty like so: if the Characteristic is positive and the Trait is beneficial, use the greater of the two; if the Characteristic is negative and the Trait is detrimental, use the lesser of the two; otherwise, add the Trait to the Characteristic. (This is the same method used to determine a shapechanger’s characteristics in Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults.)
Characters typically develop Essential Traits upon returning from the Magic Realm, in much the same way that magi gain Twilight Scars (and Twilight Scars are basically Essential Traits for magi). They can also be gained from Virtues and Flaws (see Essential Virtue or Essential Flaw, above), and all Personality Flaws come with a corresponding Essential Trait as well. To make Essential Traits easier to distinguish from Personality Traits, you should always mark them with an asterisk on the character sheet.
Editor's Note: This text includes Errata.
Attribution
Attribution Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.