Ars Magica
Encyclopedia
Ars Magica is a role-playing game
set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe
around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. The game revolves around wizards
and their allies. The game was developed by Jonathan Tweet
and Mark Rein·Hagen
and first published in 1987
.
The current edition was written by David Chart, working for Atlas Games
and published in 2004.
Ars Magica was one of the first examples of a Troupe system
: early editions recommended that the players collaborate to create the campaign world and story. Each player would have an opportunity to be the Story Guide, and each player would have more than one character, so that if they felt their main character would not go on an adventure (for example, if they were busy with their research) a secondary character may be used. Troupe play has been de-emphasised in recent editions, however, and in the latest (5th) edition of the game is relegated to an optional play style described at the back of the book. Many "troupes" opt for a more traditional system with a single story guide, or have one player be the "Alpha" story guide with responsibility for the overall plot, and a few "Beta" story guides who run side-adventures.
In order to produce an "authentic" feel from having such a historical setting, the game uses medieval Latin
for a number of key terms.
. White Wolf published the 3rd edition, which greatly expanded the settings and peripheral rules while leaving the core system intact. White Wolf also published many supplements, detailing specific regions of Europe, or outlining stories that could be played in the original setting. Ars Magica was later sold to Wizards of the Coast
in 1994, who produced several supplements, but just before publishing a 4th edition sold the rights to Atlas Games. Atlas published the fourth and fifth editions, and new source-books and supplements.
The 5th edition was released by Atlas in 2004, including extensive changes to the system, especially the combat system and character creation. Many players felt that the alterations to the combat system were long overdue, especially the rules for armour, which in previous editions made wearers much more likely to die in combat. Ars Magica 5th edition won the Origins Award
for Best Role Playing Game of 2004
.
Many characteristics of the later Storyteller system developed by White Wolf can be traced to Ars Magica and the fact that the Storyteller system was developed by one of Ars Magica' s co-authors; White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension
was envisioned as "Ars Magica in the Modern World," and many of the changes in Ars Magicas 3rd edition were introduced in order to make the game-worlds more compatible.
" - the collection of folk beliefs and superstitions - is correct; this means that the beliefs and superstitions of the medieval period are existent reality: lost children are really abducted by Faeries, sickness and crop failure are caused by Demons, Angels help the righteous, and dragons and other mythical creatures exist. In 3rd edition, to tie the game into the World of Darkness
line, this was the case because those were the beliefs; other editions distance themselves from this interpretation, simply taking place in a world where those beliefs happen to be true.
Player character
s take on the role of both a Magus (or if female, Maga), and of a Companion (in Latin, "Consors"). Companions are select skilled non-Magi (warriors, foresters, castellan
, and so forth) who help wizards conducting their affairs, as Magi tend to be distanced from "mundanes" due to the effects of their magical "Gift". Additionally, there are a number of Grogs (skilled peasants) who can be controlled by any player. The wizards live clustered in specific citadels called Covenants, which are often built in places of power. Covenants are the home base for the Magi, but the Magi tend to roam the Magical Europe for their adventures. Some sources for the game consider the covenant to be the central character of the game.
The Order is divided into Tribunals, which each administer a large country-sized region of Mythic Europe. Once every seven years, the Magi within a Tribunal stage a meeting, also called a Tribunal, where new Magi are presented to the order and the Quæitores judge disputes which cannot be resolved within or between covenants. Once every 33 years, each Tribunal sends a representative to a Grand Tribunal.
Each of the thirteen Tribunals corresponds to a set of modern countries. Each tribunal has a distinct cultural and historical flavor which affects play. For example the Roman tribunal is a densely populated area with a shortage of magical resources but offers high political plots while Novgorod is a hostile environment where barbarian invaders and magical beasts can be a recurrent problem.
Like any medieval border, the territory of each Tribunal is not precisely defined.
The Divine
realm: The God
of the Abrahamic religions and His agents in the world. The Divine realm is opposed to magic (see Christian views on witchcraft
), and magic is weaker in areas where the Divine is stronger (in cities and around churches); yet, the Gift is part of a Mage's soul, and therefore a gift from the Divine.
The Infernal
realm: Satan
and his minions. In the medieval context, this includes everything from Satan himself to illnesses and bad smells. Demons tempt the faithful to sin, and while the Order of Hermes refuses to explicitly name the Infernal as their enemies (which could provoke their anger) their laws state that they can "never be allies". Magic is weak where the Infernal is strong, though infernally-tainted magics do exist, and are usually of great power, in order to tempt Magi. Any Magus found guilty of diabolism is expelled from the order and hunted down.
The Faerie realm: Creatures of traditional fairy tales. These creatures are capricious and often malicious as they are addicted to human attention and emotional expression; however, their study can be rewarding, since magic is strengthened somewhat in faerie areas. Magi are allowed to ally with the Faeries, as long as they do not incur their wrath and thereby bring their fellows into danger.
The realm of Magic: A mysterious and largely unexplained force in the world, which the Magi manipulate to create their spells. Magic is distinguished from Faerie largely in that the latter is concerned with humanity, while the former is not.
Additionally, a "Realm of Reason" appeared in the 3rd edition. "Reason" was associated with skepticism and scholarship, and its "rational" aura alleviated the effects of the other four realms. Many fans of the game consider this to be paradoxical and inconsistent, since applying reason and rationality to the world of Ars Magica should really lead to the conclusion that magic exists and fairies are real, and yet the "True Reason" promoted by the realm of Reason claimed the opposite, and thus resembled a delusional state of mind rather than a rational one. The realm of Reason had additional counter-intuitive effects - for example, imposing penalties on wizard's magic use in libraries, despite the consistent portrayal of wizardry in Ars Magica as a scholarly pursuit.
Reason proved a highly controversial addition to the game, and was perceived as part of an attempt by White Wolf to make Ars Magica the backstory for their World of Darkness
role-playing games; neither the 4th nor the 5th edition of the games has included the realm of Reason, and all references to it have been stricken from the canonical
setting.
is added to the relevant skill, and a d10 is rolled. The total of attribute + skill + d10 is compared to a target difficulty. The action succeeds if the rolled total is greater than or equal to the difficulty.
If the action can only result in a simple success or failure, the die roll of 1-10 is merely added to the total (called a "Simple roll"). If there is opportunity for exceptional success or failure, it's called a "Stress" roll. On a Stress roll, results of "1" and "0" have special meanings: a ONE is rerolled, and the result doubled (additional "1"s lead to successive doublings: quadrupling, octupling, etc; the final non-"1" being enlarged by the multiplier); a ZERO is treated as a zero (rather than a ten), AND one or more additional d10 botch dice are rolled. If any of these botch dice show a zero, the character has botched - failed in some disastrous way; if none of the botch dice turn up zeroes, then the die-roll is treated as a zero. Assuming the roll didn't botch, the total is (as above) compared to the difficulty of the action to determine success or failure (and the degree of success or failure).
The focus of the game is the magic system. There are 15 Arts divided into 5 Techniques and 10 Forms. The Techniques are what one does and the Forms are the objects one does it to or with. This is sometimes called a "Verb/Noun" magic-system. The Arts are named in Latin.
The Techniques are named after the corresponding first-person singular present tense indicative
mood Latin verb.
The Forms are named after the corresponding singular accusative
Latin noun.
Thus, Creo Ignem spells create fire, and the normal effects of fire, such as heat or light; a Perdo Ignem spell may drop the temperature in a room. A typical Perdo Imaginem spell is granting invisibility to the caster by making one's image disappear. Rego Aquam could turn water into an unusual, but natural form (e.g. creating a pillar of water), while Muto Aquam could turn water into, for example, oil or wine; or change the nature of water so that it's murky and green but still healthy to drink. An Intellego Mentem spell may permit the caster to understand any language, or to read minds; and so on... A mage's skill when casting a spell is the sum of their scores in the appropriate technique and form.
If a spell involves more than one technique, or more than one form, this is known as a requisite; The lowest technique and form scores are used. For example, a spell to turn a person to stone would involve Muto, Corpus and Terram; The player would add the character's Muto score to the lower of their Corpus and Terram scores to determine their casting total for the spell.
By combining these techniques and forms, the Magus may achieve any effect and spontaneously cast a spell with that desired effect. However, there are often severe limits to the level of power a Magus can generate by casting spontaneously, and so he may also choose to learn a spell with that desired effect. A Magus is further limited in terms of the spell's application: Ars Magica features a set of magical 'laws', similar in concept to those of physics, defining the upper limits of any magical spell (Creo Corpus, for example, cannot create 'true' life, nor can it restore the dead; magic, in general, cannot affect the flow of time, nor can it affect the 'lunar sphere or anything above it')
Magic is treated in this game-system as a serious object of study: Magi are supposed to spend a long time in their laboratories: preparing new spells, studying their Arts, creating magic-items, etc. The game system provides rules for magical research on a timescale of 3-month season
s.
These seasonal activities usually concern learning or lab projects, and are most important for Magi. Although participating in stories awards you Story Experience, the real progress and advancement in the Ars Magica system is from these seasonal activities. Hence, the flow of time is this game system is most often a lot faster than in other RPGs, since you primarily evolve in the down time between adventures. To accommodate this, the system is geared for such a flow of time, allowing the Magi to prolong their lives with Longevity. Secondary characters are meant to come and go, eventually dying in action or even living to retirement, while the Magi carry on.
Learning is mostly done using books to Study from. Every Covenant will have a respectable library, since the magical tradition of the Order of Hermes is a bookish one. One can also learn from Teaching or Training if you can find a suitably skilled individual, or one may Practice by one self. Magi who are able to write good books or teach well can use this as commodities, to trade with another magus for books or seasons of him teaching. Finally, a one may learn from Exposure while working a trade or performing lab activities. This is the least efficient way to learn, but it is a nice side benefit to the result of the work done.
Lab Projects concern magical projects to enhance the repertoire of spells or magical artifacts. The basic mechanics for this are more or less the same for all activities. All projects have a Level of Effect, to which you compare your Lab Total. Lab Totals are calculated as the magus' Intelligence + Magic Theory ability + sum of a Form and Technique + other bonus. Other bonus may be from local Aura, quality and specialization of lab, bonus for assistants, previous knowledge, sympathetic connections from items, or in rare circumstances another ability. Some activities merely require your Lab Total to match the Level of Effect, but mostly you accumulate points towards finishing the project each season. Each point by which your Lab Total exceeds the Level of Effect, you accumulate one point towards the total Level. Thus a Lab total double the Level of Effect means you invent the project in a single season. The following Lab Projects are among the most basic ones:
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. The game revolves around wizards
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
and their allies. The game was developed by Jonathan Tweet
Jonathan Tweet
Jonathan Tweet is a game designer who has been involved in the development of the role-playing games Ars Magica, Everway, Over the Edge, Talislanta and the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as the Collectible Miniatures Game Dreamblade.-Early life:Jonathan Tweet started playing D&D in...
and Mark Rein·Hagen
Mark Rein·Hagen
Mark Rein·Hagen is a role-playing, card, video and board game designer, best known as the creator of Vampire: The Masquerade and its associated World of Darkness games...
and first published in 1987
1987 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1987. For video and console games, see 1987 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1987:...
.
The current edition was written by David Chart, working for Atlas Games
Atlas Games
Atlas Games is a company which publishes role-playing games, board games and card games. Its current president is John Nephew.Games published include:...
and published in 2004.
Ars Magica was one of the first examples of a Troupe system
Troupe system
A Troupe system is a way of playing role-playing games which spreads the game master's responsibilities among each of the players. The term was coined in Ars Magica...
: early editions recommended that the players collaborate to create the campaign world and story. Each player would have an opportunity to be the Story Guide, and each player would have more than one character, so that if they felt their main character would not go on an adventure (for example, if they were busy with their research) a secondary character may be used. Troupe play has been de-emphasised in recent editions, however, and in the latest (5th) edition of the game is relegated to an optional play style described at the back of the book. Many "troupes" opt for a more traditional system with a single story guide, or have one player be the "Alpha" story guide with responsibility for the overall plot, and a few "Beta" story guides who run side-adventures.
In order to produce an "authentic" feel from having such a historical setting, the game uses medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
for a number of key terms.
History
The first two editions were published by Lion Rampant Games. In 1991, Lion Rampant merged with White Wolf Magazine to form White Wolf Game StudioWhite Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
. White Wolf published the 3rd edition, which greatly expanded the settings and peripheral rules while leaving the core system intact. White Wolf also published many supplements, detailing specific regions of Europe, or outlining stories that could be played in the original setting. Ars Magica was later sold to Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
in 1994, who produced several supplements, but just before publishing a 4th edition sold the rights to Atlas Games. Atlas published the fourth and fifth editions, and new source-books and supplements.
The 5th edition was released by Atlas in 2004, including extensive changes to the system, especially the combat system and character creation. Many players felt that the alterations to the combat system were long overdue, especially the rules for armour, which in previous editions made wearers much more likely to die in combat. Ars Magica 5th edition won the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Role Playing Game of 2004
2004 Origins Award winners
-Best of Class Awards:-Vanguard Awards:* All Wound Up * Flames of War * Fire as She Bears! 2.1 * Pirates of the Spanish Main -Gamers' Choice Awards:* Legends...
.
Many characteristics of the later Storyteller system developed by White Wolf can be traced to Ars Magica and the fact that the Storyteller system was developed by one of Ars Magica
Mage: The Ascension
Mage: The Ascension is a role-playing game based in the World of Darkness, and was published by White Wolf Game Studio. The characters portrayed in the game are referred to as mages, and are capable of feats of magic...
was envisioned as "Ars Magica in the Modern World," and many of the changes in Ars Magicas 3rd edition were introduced in order to make the game-worlds more compatible.
Setting
The setting, Mythic Europe, is based on Europe of the 13th century; the geography is the same, and the mundane (non-magical) politics are practically identical. However, in Ars Magica the "Medieval paradigmParadigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
" - the collection of folk beliefs and superstitions - is correct; this means that the beliefs and superstitions of the medieval period are existent reality: lost children are really abducted by Faeries, sickness and crop failure are caused by Demons, Angels help the righteous, and dragons and other mythical creatures exist. In 3rd edition, to tie the game into the World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
line, this was the case because those were the beliefs; other editions distance themselves from this interpretation, simply taking place in a world where those beliefs happen to be true.
Player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s take on the role of both a Magus (or if female, Maga), and of a Companion (in Latin, "Consors"). Companions are select skilled non-Magi (warriors, foresters, castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
, and so forth) who help wizards conducting their affairs, as Magi tend to be distanced from "mundanes" due to the effects of their magical "Gift". Additionally, there are a number of Grogs (skilled peasants) who can be controlled by any player. The wizards live clustered in specific citadels called Covenants, which are often built in places of power. Covenants are the home base for the Magi, but the Magi tend to roam the Magical Europe for their adventures. Some sources for the game consider the covenant to be the central character of the game.
The Order of Hermes
Magi belong to one of the houses of the Order of Hermes, a society founded by the wizard Bonisagus who created a consistent way to describe magic, allowing Magi to share information, and the Parma Magica, a magical shield which allows a measure of protection against hostile magics (and, in some cases, non-hostile magics as well) which allowed Magi to trust each other. Magi from outside the order must join or die, though the Order doesn't insist that Magi present both options.The Order is divided into Tribunals, which each administer a large country-sized region of Mythic Europe. Once every seven years, the Magi within a Tribunal stage a meeting, also called a Tribunal, where new Magi are presented to the order and the Quæitores judge disputes which cannot be resolved within or between covenants. Once every 33 years, each Tribunal sends a representative to a Grand Tribunal.
Each of the thirteen Tribunals corresponds to a set of modern countries. Each tribunal has a distinct cultural and historical flavor which affects play. For example the Roman tribunal is a densely populated area with a shortage of magical resources but offers high political plots while Novgorod is a hostile environment where barbarian invaders and magical beasts can be a recurrent problem.
- Greater Alps - The AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, including modern-day SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, as well as parts of northern ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. - Iberian - Modern-day SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... - Normandy - North of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- Provençal - South of France
- Roman - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- Theban - Mainland GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, and Western Asia Minor - Transylvania - South-Eastern Europe
- Rhine - Rhine river, Most of central GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Novgorod - Eastern Europe, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... - Stonehenge - England and WalesEngland and WalesEngland and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
- Loch Leglean - ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
- Hibernian - IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
- Levantine - IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and South-Eastern Asia Minor
Like any medieval border, the territory of each Tribunal is not precisely defined.
Realms of Power
Four "realms of power" influence Mythic Europe:The Divine
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
realm: The God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
of the Abrahamic religions and His agents in the world. The Divine realm is opposed to magic (see Christian views on witchcraft
Christian views on witchcraft
Christian views on magic vary widely across denominational and individual barriers, and are often influenced by Biblical, theological, and historical considerations. Some Christians actively condemn any form of magic as Satanic while others simply dismiss it as superstition...
), and magic is weaker in areas where the Divine is stronger (in cities and around churches); yet, the Gift is part of a Mage's soul, and therefore a gift from the Divine.
The Infernal
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
realm: Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
and his minions. In the medieval context, this includes everything from Satan himself to illnesses and bad smells. Demons tempt the faithful to sin, and while the Order of Hermes refuses to explicitly name the Infernal as their enemies (which could provoke their anger) their laws state that they can "never be allies". Magic is weak where the Infernal is strong, though infernally-tainted magics do exist, and are usually of great power, in order to tempt Magi. Any Magus found guilty of diabolism is expelled from the order and hunted down.
The Faerie realm: Creatures of traditional fairy tales. These creatures are capricious and often malicious as they are addicted to human attention and emotional expression; however, their study can be rewarding, since magic is strengthened somewhat in faerie areas. Magi are allowed to ally with the Faeries, as long as they do not incur their wrath and thereby bring their fellows into danger.
The realm of Magic: A mysterious and largely unexplained force in the world, which the Magi manipulate to create their spells. Magic is distinguished from Faerie largely in that the latter is concerned with humanity, while the former is not.
Additionally, a "Realm of Reason" appeared in the 3rd edition. "Reason" was associated with skepticism and scholarship, and its "rational" aura alleviated the effects of the other four realms. Many fans of the game consider this to be paradoxical and inconsistent, since applying reason and rationality to the world of Ars Magica should really lead to the conclusion that magic exists and fairies are real, and yet the "True Reason" promoted by the realm of Reason claimed the opposite, and thus resembled a delusional state of mind rather than a rational one. The realm of Reason had additional counter-intuitive effects - for example, imposing penalties on wizard's magic use in libraries, despite the consistent portrayal of wizardry in Ars Magica as a scholarly pursuit.
Reason proved a highly controversial addition to the game, and was perceived as part of an attempt by White Wolf to make Ars Magica the backstory for their World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
role-playing games; neither the 4th nor the 5th edition of the games has included the realm of Reason, and all references to it have been stricken from the canonical
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
setting.
System
The game system is based on the d10. When an action is performed, one of the character's eight attributesAttribute (role-playing games)
An attribute is a piece of data that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice...
is added to the relevant skill, and a d10 is rolled. The total of attribute + skill + d10 is compared to a target difficulty. The action succeeds if the rolled total is greater than or equal to the difficulty.
If the action can only result in a simple success or failure, the die roll of 1-10 is merely added to the total (called a "Simple roll"). If there is opportunity for exceptional success or failure, it's called a "Stress" roll. On a Stress roll, results of "1" and "0" have special meanings: a ONE is rerolled, and the result doubled (additional "1"s lead to successive doublings: quadrupling, octupling, etc; the final non-"1" being enlarged by the multiplier); a ZERO is treated as a zero (rather than a ten), AND one or more additional d10 botch dice are rolled. If any of these botch dice show a zero, the character has botched - failed in some disastrous way; if none of the botch dice turn up zeroes, then the die-roll is treated as a zero. Assuming the roll didn't botch, the total is (as above) compared to the difficulty of the action to determine success or failure (and the degree of success or failure).
The focus of the game is the magic system. There are 15 Arts divided into 5 Techniques and 10 Forms. The Techniques are what one does and the Forms are the objects one does it to or with. This is sometimes called a "Verb/Noun" magic-system. The Arts are named in Latin.
The Techniques are named after the corresponding first-person singular present tense indicative
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
mood Latin verb.
- Creo is the technique that lets the Magus create from nothingness, or make something a more "perfect" examplar of its kind; this includes healing as healed bodies are "more perfect" than wounded bodies.
- Intellego lets the Magus perceive or understand.
- Muto lets the Magus change the basic characteristics of something, giving something capabilities not naturally associated with its kind.
- Perdo lets the Magus destroy, deteriorate, make something age and other similar effects - essentially, making something a worse example of its kind.
- Rego lets the Magus control or manipulate something without affecting its basic characteristics.
The Forms are named after the corresponding singular accusative
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
Latin noun.
- Animal is used for animals. Since bacteria were unknown in medieval times, illnesses are evil spirits, which come under Vim.
- Auram is used for anything that has to do with the air, including lightning. Weather phenomena such as rain and hail may be covered by Auram or Aquam.
- Aquam is used for water, or any other liquid. This includes ice in the 5th edition; In 4th edition, Ice was Terram, since it is a solid.
- Corpus (the incorrect declension Corporem was used in older editions) is used for the human body.
- Herbam is used for plants and fungi, and their products - cotton, wood, flour, etc.
- Ignem is used for fire, and fire's basic effects of light and heat.
- Imaginem deals with images, sounds, and other senses, though humans' ability to perceive them is part of Mentem.
- Mentem deals with intelligence and the mind, such as human or ghosts. The minds of animals are not affected by Mentem but by Animal.
- Terram stands for earth and minerals, or any other non-living solid.
- Vim has to do with pure magic; many spells to ban or control demons and other supernatural beings also belong to this Art, as such beings often have a form that expresses magically.
Thus, Creo Ignem spells create fire, and the normal effects of fire, such as heat or light; a Perdo Ignem spell may drop the temperature in a room. A typical Perdo Imaginem spell is granting invisibility to the caster by making one's image disappear. Rego Aquam could turn water into an unusual, but natural form (e.g. creating a pillar of water), while Muto Aquam could turn water into, for example, oil or wine; or change the nature of water so that it's murky and green but still healthy to drink. An Intellego Mentem spell may permit the caster to understand any language, or to read minds; and so on... A mage's skill when casting a spell is the sum of their scores in the appropriate technique and form.
If a spell involves more than one technique, or more than one form, this is known as a requisite; The lowest technique and form scores are used. For example, a spell to turn a person to stone would involve Muto, Corpus and Terram; The player would add the character's Muto score to the lower of their Corpus and Terram scores to determine their casting total for the spell.
By combining these techniques and forms, the Magus may achieve any effect and spontaneously cast a spell with that desired effect. However, there are often severe limits to the level of power a Magus can generate by casting spontaneously, and so he may also choose to learn a spell with that desired effect. A Magus is further limited in terms of the spell's application: Ars Magica features a set of magical 'laws', similar in concept to those of physics, defining the upper limits of any magical spell (Creo Corpus, for example, cannot create 'true' life, nor can it restore the dead; magic, in general, cannot affect the flow of time, nor can it affect the 'lunar sphere or anything above it')
Magic is treated in this game-system as a serious object of study: Magi are supposed to spend a long time in their laboratories: preparing new spells, studying their Arts, creating magic-items, etc. The game system provides rules for magical research on a timescale of 3-month season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
s.
These seasonal activities usually concern learning or lab projects, and are most important for Magi. Although participating in stories awards you Story Experience, the real progress and advancement in the Ars Magica system is from these seasonal activities. Hence, the flow of time is this game system is most often a lot faster than in other RPGs, since you primarily evolve in the down time between adventures. To accommodate this, the system is geared for such a flow of time, allowing the Magi to prolong their lives with Longevity. Secondary characters are meant to come and go, eventually dying in action or even living to retirement, while the Magi carry on.
Learning is mostly done using books to Study from. Every Covenant will have a respectable library, since the magical tradition of the Order of Hermes is a bookish one. One can also learn from Teaching or Training if you can find a suitably skilled individual, or one may Practice by one self. Magi who are able to write good books or teach well can use this as commodities, to trade with another magus for books or seasons of him teaching. Finally, a one may learn from Exposure while working a trade or performing lab activities. This is the least efficient way to learn, but it is a nice side benefit to the result of the work done.
Lab Projects concern magical projects to enhance the repertoire of spells or magical artifacts. The basic mechanics for this are more or less the same for all activities. All projects have a Level of Effect, to which you compare your Lab Total. Lab Totals are calculated as the magus' Intelligence + Magic Theory ability + sum of a Form and Technique + other bonus. Other bonus may be from local Aura, quality and specialization of lab, bonus for assistants, previous knowledge, sympathetic connections from items, or in rare circumstances another ability. Some activities merely require your Lab Total to match the Level of Effect, but mostly you accumulate points towards finishing the project each season. Each point by which your Lab Total exceeds the Level of Effect, you accumulate one point towards the total Level. Thus a Lab total double the Level of Effect means you invent the project in a single season. The following Lab Projects are among the most basic ones:
- Invent Spells. The magus invents a new magical effect from scratch. Inventing a variation of a known spell is easier than a completely new one. These Formulaic Spells are somewhat rigid in their definitions, but are more powerful than the more flexible Spontaneous Magic.
- Enchant Device. The magus may create a magical artifact which may hold a magical effect like those of Spells. These can be used by anyone, not just magi, and to not suffer the usual modifiers to casting which spells do. Usually these cost vis to make, but the Lab Total gets a bonus based on the sympathetic Shape & Material bonus of the material used. E.g. a staff gives a bonus to enchant effects that control things at a distance. They can be made as Charged Devices, which cost no vis but have a limited number of uses. As Lesser Devices which require the magus to be able to enchant them in a single season, and may only hold one effect. Or as Invested Devices, which require that the magus spends additional time to prepare in advance. These may be enchanted over several seasons, and may hold several effects based on the size and material.
- Longevity Ritual. A Creo Corpus effect that prolongs the magus' life by granting him bonus for Aging Rolls, making it more likely that he will avoid crippling effects of age until late in life. Magi may very well live to be 200 years old, or more barring other mishaps. Magi often pay specialist magi to perform this for them, to get the best ritual they can afford.
- Enchant Talisman. A Talisman is a special and personalized form of Invested Device, with many additional features. Talismans have a much higher capacity for the number of effects which they may be enchanted with, and are easy to enchant. Furthermore the magus may attune some or all of the Shape & Material bonus the item has, to give the bonus for his spellcasting. Should a Talisman fall into the wrong hands they will leave the magus very vulnerable.
- Bond with Familiar. The magus may find and attract an animal - magical preferably - which he somehow connects with. Usually this will be an animal which thematically is in syncs wth the magus' personality and most of all his magical arts. An Auram magus might bond with a bird, while a Herbam magis might find a squirrel. The Bonding process is long and hard, but may very well be worth the effort. The animal learns to communicate with the owner, and while it does not become intelligent per se, it is more enlightened than a normal animal of its type. One boon is that the Familiar might be enchanted with almost limitless amounts of enchantments, with a few restrictions about what the enchantments can affect and who activates them. But the primary benefits are from the Bond Scores; The Gold Cord concerns magic, and helps the magus avoid magical botches. The Silver Cord concerns the mind and helps the magus against mental effects among others. The Bronze Cord concerns the physical connection and helps the magus be more enduring and tough. The better Lab Total the magus can muster, the better Cord score he will forge.
External links
- Ars Magica homepage at Atlas Games
- Project:Redcap an online Ars Magica community