Realms of Power: The Infernal: Introduction
This page is part of the Realms of Power: The Infernal Open Content.
Mythic Evil
Welcome to Realms of Power: The Infernal, the second in the series of Ars Magica Fifth Edition supplements dealing with the supernatural realms of Mythic Europe. In The Infernal, you will explore the insidious evil that lurks outside the boundaries of every covenant’s Aegis of the Hearth, that plots the downfall of every person’s immortal soul, and that craves and encourages every sort of vile and immoral activity imaginable. From the demons born in the bottommost pits of Hell to the mighty angels fallen from Heaven, this book explores the armies of the Infernal realm, who seek to bring low the mighty and cover the land in shadow. From the poor souls misled by their wiles to the depraved folk who serve the Devil in exchange for temporal power, this book explores the followers of the Infernal realm, who seek to spread its corruption like a pestilence. And from the magic of the tall and mighty towers of magi to the miracles of the humble parish church, this book explores the enemies of the Infernal realm, whom the Infernal will stop at nothing to defeat.
What is this Book?
Realms of Power: The Infernal is a resource designed to help Ars Magica storyguides and players incorporate the Infernal realm into their sagas. It supplements, expands, and updates the sections The Infernal Realm (ArM5, page 186) and Infernal Creatures (ArM5, pages 196–198) in the main rulebook. While the material is based on real-world beliefs and practices, it is not intended to be an occult primer or historical reference. The stories this book encourages are works of fiction, involving imaginary characters engaging in what may be frightening or immoral activities, shared among players with enough maturity to decide for themselves what is right and wrong.
It is organized to read best from front to back, starting with this introduction, and it breaks up the material by application, so that players can flip to different sections during play depending upon their needs. The first part, The Nature of Evil, includes general rules for dealing with the Infernal realm, including information about sin and redemption, infernal influence, auras, and infernal vis. The legions of Hell and their capabilities are found in part two, That Which Is Evil, with sample demons and ideas for bringing them into a saga. Part three, Those Who Do Evil, includes rules for characters associated with the Infernal realm, infernal Virtues and Flaws, and ways to combine infernal power with Hermetic magic.
For the most part, this book consists of entirely new material for Ars Magica, with setting information and many new rules specific to the Fifth Edition. Those elements of it that were inspired by ideas found in supplements for previous editions of the game have been substantially revised and rewritten for use with this incarnation. Nevertheless, the stories and settings incorporating the Infernal realm into Mythic Europe that have been published before are still compatible with the game suggestions presented here, with only a few generally mechanical modifications.
Using this Book
Ars Magica focuses on myth and magic, in a setting where the Infernal realm is typically less immediate and players are more concerned with study, adventure, enchantment, and discovery. The Infernal realm’s role is usually that of an antagonist, a threat to be avoided or dealt with quickly and decisively. How can this book be used to improve that setting? Here are some suggestions for incorporating the Infernal realm into that sort of game.
Tempt the Characters
Magi are often the driving force behind a saga, and their quest for greater power and more magic can lead them into corruption, for no supernatural powers are as easy to gain as infernal ones. Many may seem like they would be relatively little trouble — distasteful, yes, but distaste is easily overcome. Magi may stumble upon the Infernal while searching for vis, or even studying their magical Arts. Other characters, too, even grogs, may see the Infernal realm as an easy way to improve their abilities and perhaps give them an even footing with their Hermetic masters.
Challenge the Characters
As a source of antagonists, the Infernal realm is unmatched. It is fairly easy to build an adventure simply on the strength of a demon that takes an interest in something near and dear to the characters. Demons can play politics, meddle with people’s heads, and cause an incredible amount of damage when they put their minds to it. If the characters do not have a means for “dealing” with demons, they will quickly realize how badly they need one.
Frighten the Characters
Simply put, the Infernal is terrifying. Horrors gather beyond the boundaries of the covenant, and in the world outside, demons can be anywhere and everywhere. They can even seep past defenses through insidious means such as Personality Traits, curses, and, of course, the stain of sin itself. Dread and fear can dramatically improve a story when appropriate, and the Infernal realm certainly makes for a good scare.
Subtle Corruptions
Another way to use the Infernal realm in Ars Magica is to subtly change the focus of an existing saga, making the Infernal a more prominent part of the setting. Since you will be playing this out with a group of players, you should make sure they are willing to accept this new direction, as it may not be what they want to do with their characters. Or, if you play in a troupe with multiple storyguides, you might have one storyguide adopt the Infernal realm as a focus, and this player can oversee evil as one aspect of the shared setting. Here are some methods you might use to “corrupt” the game and make the Infernal a more prominent theme.
Corrupt the Story
Storyguides looking for an Infernally themed adventure will find many suggestions throughout this book, including story hooks and antagonists that can make for interesting conflict with nothing more than a simple set of character traits and Powers. Many demons are active and aggressive, and not inclined to co-exist peacefully with magi or other characters. They also have a way of worming themselves into places where they are not wanted. Their agents are similarly meddlesome, and do their bidding in places where they cannot go. If the players don’t deal with these things quickly, an incidental problem may become a terrible threat. Thus, a single demon or character aligned with the Infernal realm can create an interesting story event that may be addressed in a single game session.
Corrupt the Saga
The Infernal realm can become the focus of a long series of stories, incorporating all sorts of plots, secrets, and murky politics of the underworld. The denizens of the Infernal realm are ideal for introducing a pervasive sense of dread into a saga. This sort of theme creates an exciting mood that is different from the standard feel of Ars Magica, one that highlights the rough, medieval qualities of history in the world before the modern age. The more that the Infernal realm is involved in your version of Mythic Europe, the more the quality of life for the characters becomes nasty, brutish, and short, even desperate.
Corrupt the Characters
It might be that the best way to incorporate the Infernal into your game is through the use of characters who have somehow become aligned with the Infernal realm. These could be story characters only peripherally involved with the saga, or even player characters who have a penchant for evil. Perhaps they have Infernal Virtues and Flaws that cause them to seem unholy to others, or that indicate an Infernal interest in their fate, or that give them greater influence over demons and demonic Powers. They may bear a grudge against the Infernal, and seek to thwart it or destroy its servants at every opportunity. Or perhaps they have an evil secret, and are actually infernalists themselves. There are many ideas in this book for ways in which players can incorporate the Infernal realm into their characters, and these choices often suggest good directions for the saga all by themselves.
In the Dark
An interesting storytelling device in a saga with this sort of direction is to incorporate the Infernal into the setting in such a way that the players are left in the dark as to the specifics of its involvement. A great evil lurking in the shadows inspires paranoia and social politics that can develop into powerful character interaction and new goals for players to pursue.
However, it is a good idea to discuss this sort of focus with the troupe before beginning, so that the players are ready for the experience and can place themselves in the proper frame of mind. In a saga defined to integrate the Infernal from the very start, it is much easier for players to relinquish total control of their characters to allow for exciting surprises later.
A Final Note
As The Infernal is about mythic evil, often you will be focusing on ideas and imagery that many players may find disturbing. This can heighten the tension by increasing your emotional investment in the game, but it can also offend players, making the experience unpleasant or even painful for them. You might want to establish some ground rules for circumstances that require a “fade to black,” where the scene ends without describing certain events in detail. This serves two purposes: it helps make sure that no player will be made personally uncomfortable with playing out a particular scene, and it also gives the storyguide a better idea of what sort of story elements might have a powerful emotional effect on the other players in the game. For example, a player might make it clear that he is very uncomfortable with the idea of human sacrifice. Thus, the storyguide knows not to dwell too closely on that idea in the game, but also knows that the concept of human sacrifice will negatively affect that player. Antagonists who commit sacrifices will seem much more evil to that player, and it will be that much more satisfying for him to help defeat them.
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The following books are cited here as the authors’ source material, and also as suggested reading for players interested in learning more about the various forms of evil that manifested in the Middle Ages and Mythic Europe.
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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.