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    28 views237 pages

    Ars Magica - CORE Rulebook - 5th Ed PDF

    Uploaded by

    Thiago Antonio Xavier Silva

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    rere) ‘Bo ~ “onathan Tweet & Mark Rein: Hagen (Caearors: Jonathan Tweet and Mark Reine Hagen ‘Tecnntcat SuProkr: Matthew Seidl irri Epmow Disc & PROHCT MANAGEMENT: David Chart ‘SPECIAL THANKS: Pete Adkison, Shannon Appel, Steve Bishop, Bill Fiera Ebmion Desicy ConTRBUTIONS: Tom Dowd, Jorg Peter Brickman, Bob Brynildson, Timothy Carroll, Sam Chupp, Jenifer Friederich, Rich Genie, Andrew Gronosky, Mark Shirley, Andrew Clarke Wilkes, Ken Cliffe, Jerry Coriek, Chis Dian, Smith, Kevin Sours, David Woods ‘Christopher Ealey, Woody Eblom, Chris Fretking, Jeremiah PROOFREADING: Sheila Thomas and John Nephew Genest, Geotrey Grabowski, Kevin Hasta, Peter Hentges, Will Lavourr Scott Reeves with Michelle Nephew Hindmarch, Damelon Kimbrough, Scot Lien, Lydia Leong. Nicole Grarmic Desien, Caktoceary, AN: Scott Reeves Lindroos, Aaron Link, Clay Luther, Susann Lyon, Dave P. Mari AboITIONAL ARt: Dave Allsop, Liz Danforth, Brian Dugan, Neil ‘Mare Philipp Messner, Paul Nurmberger, Chris Pramas, Wade Edwards, Chattes Gillespie, Josh Hoops, Eric Hota, Janine Racine, Roderick Robertson, Carl Schnur, John Sead, Robin Johnson, Alexis Lisatos, Wllam O'Connor, Dom Reardon, Steeden, Jeremy Strandberg, Je Tdbll, Robbie Westmoreland, John Seotll, Jock Simpson “Travis Lamar Willams Fifth Edition Plautesters as Ron i Ld Cony Pe i Cet renRoretK Se Dard Vand EG Shon at Sat Rd oy i Kei sling Seon ns ‘at Osa en le fa ie eDaily Se Se en a ens Rd ak Sh ea ‘Wao fone Rohl Chay Paton Ao aod ay Wd ee Dr ioe oc ry kes ere fe Dae Chey Be ‘GPs Re Shs Tome Wn Mtoe ofr each acy Kn OS Uh Wir Cn ta Ds ian ak oer RS shan Dwar Act oy oH Lat Heda Ca lows Kaa Sal, ry sod Sn Sic Res, Nl Cw ery Haver, Kan Bava FD Thonn St Gone Sptonc, DemSry, Reb Sy Ty Kin Bs Cy ie Dates Caml Ae Coy Ni aia i Sb Vos ey, Ave aC Ci, Dear a Ny Hoa, Ae it Ka ve, nom Key Sanne ish Sn Win Spiny, ih as es Clon Cay MMe Se ct Ma a Sve Kavi Roo Ret Ar Sh Fernie ay: ey eM Shy dS, AoW iene Dl Cho Pa aa Nt Ta Shes Tos Wind Nor eg in Caf Ta tech fh Kaela ee Spo hh Wiarton Fes, ban ey ir Del Won, erik Caml I Ramee EP hp Kr, Ser Hien ure Da ea oC a Gs Soran Sa Bags Pt Mey Soe Spero Seen E's ns Loe ke ee ee Seo, Med Fase Dine “To tos. Ld Gan Po ey, Chit he Rams al leche Le is, Ke Sd Wo Try ee ey Calm Deny, Rh er, Ande Caney ‘Coal, Wa rs Aa Mh Ae Wick Grex, Do i, Hanh Wed Re! ie Cin Ec Kah ts cl pee His Chet ot Don cM Da Jn ae ad al Si ng te, Cay NM Sen al Cat etn Shed See ede as ale Nt Sn Ei, Nene Ce abe Ca Mh Sec Js Ore Aran Rie Sea on, ad ya ae hse Recs, Soh ep ‘agua Mate Ce Cs ody Mah hay, Ne Say Ane Wi nd Wh i Coen Dr Chr Pa se ha Een Poe ‘into Som Ww Eo aman Rae lc Jet Sh Fou kn Nl Che Chas ane Pot iy, Po eos tk re dC Kee Sd, Ea Wd ery Bara Kin Baer Ei Dsl ne Sn ae ‘Date ch Cn Adres Gon Vesey Ave Khe Read As ay Red ot Shoe Fi Gy XM So ch iad Se lean ed: Nn Dw Sur te Ree Cee en Cay Sat Secs Cee io Oc tbe Ste egos ge Dane [he ate, po Ha ya Kray Wa, amo Coy aay ae ah Sy Aude Sa, Ae Wi ie Cer Pa Mase Cay Ps, Ret Tike ee ‘ef i hgh sak eg rere, nae, hep he Wt Dal Wok SSeS rn Fy Ron. Nal Cs Cho own Roe P lo Kei it Ib a, Ud Gey. Pa oc ay Dog Sal al, at Dn ln Da, Cis iromeen Mut ot Ete nr Ca Caan Wen yy Ang iD Sa Shak te Wine aya Sane Hs fie Te ee Seo Fig Rema Coe her ar Nay See nema hn Oe Cre Cl Hoy ik Sykes Se te aun ie Chere Fee ‘iy en Neti Shs hom fe Way Anes CCU Cll il oe ea Olan ky Aer Cray Won wey Rode ce a hi ey Aan, Pet oes nm on ns Pay Wt Kec ok Dan Po Ent Rah, Chto a an ‘Ars Magica players participate in athiving fan community by subscribing to email discussion A lists (ke the Berkeley list), compiling archives of game material (uch a Project Redcap), main IN taining fan-created web sites, and running demos through Atlas Games Special Ops program, Toleam more, vsit wwwaila-games com/AaMS Copyright 2004 Trident, Inc. eva Alas Games, All sights reserved. Reproduction ofthis work bby any means without writen permission Irom the publisher, except short excerpts forthe pu pose of reviews, is expressly prohibited. ‘Ars Magica, Mythic Europe, Covenants and Charting New Reams of lmapination ae trademarks fof Tident, Ie, Order of Hermes, Tremere, and Doisetep are trademark of White Wolf, Ine. and ae used with pemission ISBN 1-58978-070-1 CHapTER ONE: Introduction . Qupter Two: The Order of Hermes (CHapTER THREE: Characters Virtues and Flaws . . . CHAPTER Five: Abilities Courrer Six: Covenants... . (CHUPTER SEVEN: Hermetic Magic (Cuaprer EIcHT: Laboratory Long-Term Events. . (Cuarrer ELEVEN: Obstacles . . CHAPTER TWELVE: Realms .. . CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Bestiary (CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Mythic Europe . (CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Stories. . . Fourth Edition Conversion .. . APPENDIX II; Formulae Review. . . ‘APPENDIX III: Spells Index APPENDIX IV; Index. . . APPENDIX V: Character Sheets. . . . (On the day the fares came to burn the village, Walter was rebir= ing th ba on eo AS he waked be lf a ot strangers who ad ariel the reiouscening. Waller di’ ie the lok of thon, particularly the woman. She looked lik the srt ob sold watered ‘al and seduced mens she could rob and kill he wie they slept. “The group seemed 1 be waiting for something, and wen the fers rode out of the woods Walter thought be knew wha. The grass blackened ‘and snkel in te bofprints left by the shining crimson hore, ad the Tana of the faerie nobles were uated in lames, as alsays. Walter sbout- ced the alarm, and the villagers tan forthe church, He shed to get of the ‘oof, ad bs lg went straight through the damaged thatch, raping im, Hs warning shuts change oo for bp, butt ler olags rey thers Rao straight forthe church, Say in the church wnt te fris have gone. De not came out Ip anyone, no mate tb it os and sound ie Hap Wat watch ded proach tbe ri gant ring the church bell The stranger split wp, the woman mong forard by Pers and cling to the faeras in a language Walter didnt understand Introduction ‘She wasnt. The five that could destroy a house ina moment bad left the woman completely unharmed. She poke agin, mor loully his tne, sgsturing a he faci lader’s hore as she did So. A momeat ltr the horse Shrike, dread, high sound that went on and on, ard bucked ts vider off. The fare gt ois fet as he horse rll, sil screaming in agony, iin Sal fre i ote “The woman spoke again, and this tine the fer listened. Walter couldnt understand oat they were saying. The discussion went on for Sometime as the hore gt is fet, sceminjly unarmed, and the woman’ companions came foroard to join ber. the end, some sort of agreement twas reached, and the faeries tured and rode back int he ors. Walter watched the woman, clearly a witch of some sr, approach be lg we pen ab a ed estrel agai, and Walter fel some force grab bin. He was hie off tra bt then laced ge stung. te god infront of te we She spoke t on ofr escort bo the spoke to Wale “My mistess would like otal to the rit and bali, Please bing them bere” Foran ong seth Jo ear hes de she was merely dead threw @ holt of lame, and Walter though (elcome to Airs Magica Dragos ar inthe mountains, angels watch cover the Church, fees dace in the fore, and demons temp men and women to their ulimate ovefall The magi ofthe Order of Hermes lve Ina world of mythic power, the world of Mythic Europe. Welcome to that word "Welcome to Ars Magica Ars Magica is a roleplaying game, where in-you and your frends tll the stories of a sr0up of powerful wizards, mag ofthe Order fof Hermes, and their alles in the world of Mythic Europe. Mythic Europe is much like the Europe of 1220, the mide ages, but drag- ‘ons, demons, angels, and faeries ae all unques: Uonably real, and ‘no aspect of society is uurtouched by myth ‘Ars Magica isa game about magi, and ts rales for magic ae widely regarded asthe bes in any roleplaying game, They combine flesblity and nig, allowing you to create powerful wiz td who ean do almost anything, while provi the fares were done Ing clear qucines on jst how power a wiz: ard needs tobe to do anything youcan think of ‘The miles alo cover the creation of enchanted devies, binding familias, and raining appre: tices to cary on Your magica legacy. The tine an Ars Magicn mags spend in his laboratory s a Teast as important to him asthe time he spends ‘on adventures. ‘This book is the core rulebook for the ith Editon of Aes Magica. Some of you will have played previous editions ofthe game, and wll find much here that is familar, although Improved. For others, this is your first encounter with Ars Magia, so everything will bbe new and wonderful, Basic Ideas In many ways, Are Magica is very simi Jar to most other pen-and:paper roleplaying games. Players have characters, who are defined by a set of numbers, and control their characters’ actions by telling the other pla’ cers what they do, One player, called the sto Walter did ot feel ie arguing, and ram othe church, shouting that yquide’ in Ars Magica, handles most of the world, deciding what antagonists and extras do. Conflcs, or task that might be beyond ‘a characters capabilities, are resolved accor fing to the rules described in this book, and a die toll “There are aso 2 numberof diferences, None of these features are unique to Ars ‘Magica, bt they ae rare enough that you cn have played roleplaying games for years with ‘out encountering them, Fit, the avallable character types are not cual in power, Hermetic magi are far more powerful than other possible player characters Power does not necessarily correspond to how Sneresting a character ito play, and The Gilt that allows magi to work magic ako causes them problems in most social situations. Second, most players have mare than one character Ths called “troupe style roleplay: Ing and is dread in detain the Sagas ehap- ter The tle of sterypide may alo pas around the group, or trape, and player characters are divided between central characters (magi and companions) and supporting est (rons) pla: «er would nomally only pay one central eharc- ter ata time, bat might ply several grogs at once Third, the game 1 normally centered around the place where the characters ive called 4 “covenant.” rather than around a wandering ‘roup of adventurers. This opens up a whole set ‘of new story possiblities, and the covenant i 98 rmich a character i the game as any of the human beings Finally, character in Ars Magica improve cover years of game time, and most sagas cover a least afew years of game time. Adventures ‘re occasional interruption in thei ives, not tveryday activities, and consequences that come years down the road can sill have an Impact on an ongoing series of connected to: ries, called a "saga" In many sagas, families grow, children grow up, and characters de of old age. Ars Magica rules provide plenty of support forthe ways that characters can stud, learn, and improve over time ‘Ars Magica is particularly wellaited to Jong running sagas, butt ean also be played 353 ‘one-off, one-sesion game, oF a miniseries of connected stories, inlay, although the official setting. very simlar to historical medieval Europe, apart from ll the mythic power around the place, the rl syste works well fora magic ‘entered campaign in any fantasy seting, The Mythic Europe, Stories, and Sagas chapter dis ‘ass ways to run the game, and provide hins to help you do whatever you want with Tn the last analysis, Ars Magica is a game. you have fun with you are doing it right. Structure of the ook “This isa big book, as it needs to be 19 cexplain al the rules and bockground for Ars Magica, The first chapter, this Introduction, provides a quick overview of the game, and explains the basic die-rolling mechanic ‘Netwr on th dey Noch ATS GLI waa vo, wducben led nip 1 Recroll, doubling the result. Zeros count as ten. If more ones are role, Continue re-roling and doubling. ‘De rll result isthe number showing on the dle. ‘Chapter 2, Order of Hermes, describes the order of wizatds chat i central the game. ‘Chapters 3, 4 and 5, Characters, Viwes and Flaws, and Abilities contain all the infor mation necessary to creat a character. Chapter 6, Covenants, deals with creating the place where the characters live, Chapters 7,8, and 9, Hermetic Magic, Laboratory, and. Spell, describe Hermetic Magte. Chapter 10, Lon “erm Events, covers things that happen to the characters over months or years, inching character improvement, aging and death, and Warping by mystical power. Chapter 11, (Obstacles, details the things that might hare the characters, most notably combat. ‘Chapter 12, Realms, explains the four dif ferent sorts of mystical power in Mythic Europe, the Divine, Faerie, Infernal, and ‘Magical Realms Chapter 13, Bestiary, provides, 1 sample of creatures from each of these Realms. Chapter 14, Mythic Europe, provides Inns on making your game fee ke it happens in the mythic world ‘Chapters 15 and 16, Stories and Sagas, pro: vides advice on wing the preceding materia 10 actully make a game that the woupe enjoys. Die Rolls ‘The wecess oir of most actions in an ‘Ars Magica sory 8 determined by rolling dice For non-magieal actions, the roll normaly Characteristic Ability > Die Roll against an Ease Factor the total equals or enced the Fase Factor, the action suceceds. The amount by which the esl exceeds the Ease Factor gives some indication of how succes the action was, ‘Mac ses the same bas rule, but here ar pe cal rules for determining what to ad tothe dle role, and the number thatthe total must beat. His Magica Fifth Gcition * Steg. Simple Die Rolla tensed de, ach number counts for is value, except that a zero counts as en Stress ‘Die Sires dice are rolled when a character 1 under stress and thus might suceed spectacular yor wth ua aie Such sigan aire ‘scaled a “botch” and abways has serous effects Fora sires roll roll a tensed die. One and 2ero have special meanings, but the other ‘numbers count for thet valu, as normal. On a toll of one, roll again and double the number rolled. I the reroll sao a one, roll again and quadruple. On second and subsequent rls, a ero counts a8 tn. Ia player elle ten conse tive ones, the number rolled on the eleventh throw would be multiplied by 1024, Stress die totals im the hundreds are Nkely to happen 2 handlul of imes ina long-running saga. (On the fist rol, 210 counts as zero, and {yu must normaly rol fora botch. Rol mum ‘hero tensed dice determined by the situation, called the "botch dice” and if any of them show 1 zero, you have botched, Ifyou roll no zeroes ‘onthe botch dc, the de rol simply a zero, ‘Some tres rolls cannot botch, In that case, zero onthe intl ells simply a rll of zero, Say, fa character has ques that reduce the numbr of applicable batch dice to 2e0, the stress ol cannot batch ‘On a botch, your total for the rol always zero, in addition to any other conse: ‘quences. If you rolla zero but donot botch, the {tal calculated as normal, adding zero from the die rol, For example, considera character with a Chanctenstic + Ability total of 9 making a stress ol I the ol comes up 6, he has a total of 15, ‘9 from the Characteristic + Abilty total, plus 6 From the die rll IF the ist roll comes up a 1, he reroll and doubles the result. I the second result s tlkoa t,he docs so again. So, fhe rolls two ts and then 25, he has final total of 29: 9 from Characteristic + Abily, and 20, fom mutply- ing the final 5 by 4 Ik the frst roll comes up 0, he needs to check for a botch. I none of the botch dice ome up 0, his total is 9, the Characteristic + Ability total, plus O from the die roll. If any of the botch dice come up 0, his total is 0. The Characteristic + Ability tral s also negated by the boreh, fof Botch Example Situation 1% ‘Good conditions the default numberof botch dice, 19% Running through undergrowth, 27% Climbing a crumbling cliff in a high win. 3.4% Fighting in driving rain while in running water up to your ankles, 4.1% ‘Translating negotiations between the Pope a Faetie Lord who speaks only ancient Egyptian, and a powerful elemental sprit who speaks no human languages 4.7% Fighting exact faerie copies of yourself and your companions on a crumbling ice flo in a blizzard 5.2% Climbing a sheer wall of ice in a blizzard. (The Ease Factor for this would be very high as well, probably about 21) 5.7% Fighting exact faerie copies of yourself and your companions ina faerie forest where the plant ae actively {interfering with you 6.1% Juggling five full cups of wine while four dancing bears cavort around you 65% Casting a spell in the church ofthe Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem Seu TAs ffs: leave Yass asks fying dil Dock coer nook ecm Niner po wreay cpes of te Aleve gaol Sell An frags charscer eal horn ose tbo TORO! ine Only fee veg igs pieietaie pene ayy, An average character with some skill succeeds about 70% of the time, and talented or skilled characters almost never fail. fom aed ot led chance prced abut 70% fe Une welled charters heel chance osu ep okra sted Creat ir soooea Om three of to Glad iind er ol e0 al ued exe dle! carte ral ofan op ee een Slilled huts al sou half the Very Hard. Even moderate skill gives almost no chance of success, Skilled and talented characters fail about half the tea ey Hie Hy lemed char weed Souk TO of he tn 18 Impress: People at the top of a skill succeed about half the time. Those with lesser abilities have next to no chance. n Era, Very ale, hg led charters only cere ecto a+ Almost impossible. The greatest masters of a skill succced when they get lucky. ‘ows: An average character has a score of 0 in the relevant Characteristic, a highly talented character has a score of +3. Moderate skill {a score of 3 an Ability, “Skilled” means a score of 6, and “Very Skilled” means 9 Botch Dice votre) pomible ancheans paborcdice | ulol eveson he beh ce dears thot beled Dtioehen paaleg wena bie Tie copter meena’ ee eseeycent: Eire ne melee ia thing will go seriously wrong in an activity. The batch die. For example, a person climbing a about as wrong as they could, The consequences: seumber of botch dice should reflect how kkely a cliff in fair weather would get a single botch of this depend on what the character is doing. frien 6 nd the nbc of bocce ht le actor making a deter more icly For cam com he Garcer cb Bt ms doce ow by srng oreo ie cn of bch deus Asem gs bing Sl nahh cd boc, ears wind might aid tage blch de toe kei mde the oot de A Gi rgh schoo este ere coher wild ees wid- cose eri lech coe dt be at nto Ieee cheer cold are we, to) ete wd 6D a (hey wel hs oly ale dee cig Be cay tady a Tooele xt Se The bl trv ger te hrce ole bal nee tb ae orl or fore th curcter malig smcticg, bch os gen rmbe of btch de Noe wile a pe bath nes hat et ea estan oki ihe hee atempe sho as hechumcer asf ral arereon | held es To cogent Bape ert Anwar nih intron se chek Vo ian sve el cepa ecg of cate at Be res ntsc enter k= bags a om erase a Glossary The following terms are some of the more important in the ‘game, and they come up repeatedly in what follows, Bonisagus: The bilant eighth-century magus who devel ‘oped the Parma Magica and, with the help of the other Founders, the whole of Hermetic Magic. The founder of House Bonisagus ‘The Church: All Chnstians, whether priests or not. Alko used to reler specifically to the organizational structures of the ‘Church in Western Europe. ‘companion: A game term, not used by characters, referring to central characters who are not magi ‘Covenant: Strictly, a group of magi bound together by an agreement going beyond the Code of Hermes. By extension, the place where those magi lve, and all the ‘other people who live there with them Almost all Ars Magica sagas center on a single covenant. The Divine: The greatest power in the universe, generally believed to be the creator and sustaner of all existence, It backs the Church, the Jews, and. the Muslims Faerie: One of the four mystic realms Faeries always care about humans, some: times in the way a torturer cares about his filusfiias A magus trained by a sven magus. Only used after apprentice ship. After the Gauntlet, the new magus becomes the fils of the magus who trained him, Formulaic magic: Spells that have been worked out in detail ahead of time They have one effect each, but magi can nly use their full power through Formalaic magic ‘The Founders: The twelve magi who founded the Order of Hermes in the cighth century, Bonisagus, Bjornaer, Criamon, Diedne, Flambeau, Guernicus, Jerbiton, Mercere, Merinita, Tremere, Tytalus, and. Verditus. In many moder accounts, Diedne's name is replaced with Trianomas Gauntlet: In full, the Apprentices Gaundlet The final test administered 10 an apprentice to determine whether he is ready to become a magus, t differs signif ‘cantly between Houses, ‘The Gift: The ability to use almost any form of magic, with proper traning. All magi have The Gift. The Gift makes people around a characte uncasy ron: A game tern referring to supporting player characters Characters also us it, but manly to refer to warsiors employed by a covenant. Hedge magic: A contemptuous term used within the Order ‘of Hermes for any magie other than Hermetic magic, Hermetic magic: The extremely powerful and flexible magic practiced by the members of the Order of Hermes ‘The Infernal: One ofthe four mystic realms. Infernal crea tures seck to corupt and destroy people. Magic: One of the four mystic realms. Magical ereautes often do not care one way oF the other about humans ‘maga/magusdmagi: A member of the Order of Hermes who can tse Hermetic magic. Used by both players and characters, "Maga! is the feminine form, “magus” the masculine, an magi the plural Mythic Europe: The world of Ars Magica, Much like medieval Europe in 1220, except thatthe myths are tru. ‘Order of Hermes: An order of wizards stretching across the ‘whole of Mythic Europe, bound by an oath that keeps them from fighting each other or tying to rule the mundanes, One of the ‘most central organizations in the game. parens: The magus who trained another magus. This ttl is only used after ‘apprenticeship, at Gauntlet, the master becomes the parens of the new magus Parma Magica: A ritual learned by all Hermetic magi at the conchision of their apprenticeship, which allows them to resist magic. The first of Bonisagus’ great discoveries Quaesitor: The investigators of the Order of Hermes, they find Hermetic criminals and present evidence of theit crimes at Tibunal Redcap: One of the messengers of the Onder of Hermes. Most do not have The Git ‘The Schism War: A war in the early eleventh century in which House Diedne was eliminated, and which nearly tore the Order apart sodalis (pl. sodales): The normal term used by magi to reer to other magi I is a term used between equals, and emphasizes that all Hermetic magi are ‘equal within the Order. spell: An individual use of magic, generally Hermetic magic. There is no real lint on the numberof spells a magus ‘ean cast in a day, although casting to0 many in. quick succession Is likely t0 ‘exhaust hi ‘Spontaneous magic: Magic created by a magus on the spur of the moment, 10 ‘meet an immediate need. Generally mich ‘weaker than Formulaic magic, but much mote flexible. ‘Tranoma: The maga who met Bonisagus soon after he fvented the Parma Magica, and took on the political mission of. bringing Europe’ wizards together ina single Order. “Tribunal: 1) One of the thirteen areas into which the Order lof Hermes divides Mythic Europe, 2) The meetings ofthe magi in one of those areas, held once every seven years. ‘Vis: Raw magic. The most valuable thing to most mag “The Onder of Hermes an organization fof magi thac spans the whole of Mythic Exrope, even reaching some distance beyond Jes sboat 1200 members, living in thirteen “Tnbunsls which divide up the continent. nthe saga realm, no single group can even think fe challenge the Order as a whole, but the power of God is fr beyond even Heretic seg Ths chapter lays out the history and cur. fent state of the Order of Hermes, to which ‘Ars Magica characters are alos al afilated fn some wy. The Order's Histon The practice of magic and wizardry woes ack 10 the very begianings of civilization, Gited individuals have always found ways 10 wlize their power, often dominating. the ‘Gite for atime, before che envy, suspicion, fd hated engendered by tyrannical behavior fod the ellects of The Gift brought them down “Tree things worked against the formas fon of magical societies oF orders of wizards The first was the efiect of The Gift. Wizards seho did meet natually mistusted one another, fet could rarely agree to work together. Even A they agreed once, future meetings often planted the seeds of betrayal. This was com: pounded by the sccand factor) the lack of feagic resistance, This almost guranteed that the wizard wha struck frst would destroy his ‘opponent, and thus encouraged pre-emprive senkes, Fly, every wizard had his own Sinderstanding of magic, and sharing this Knowledge was a long and troublesome process. There wa litle that could be shared easly ‘One of the few even partial successes in hos regard was the Roman Cult of Meveury. is teers rarely met i peton, communicating by leter or mesenger except when they need feb to gather to perform the great stuals shat fave the Cult ts power. Funes the Cal specified that anyone who killed a Gale member should be hunted down and killed by the other members. This ule was enforced quite strietly, greatly reducing the Incentive to pre-emptive stkes. Finally, the Cle of Mercury had acces to a number of magical effects which could be learned rela- tively easily, even by someone who already knew many of them This gave the wizards some motivation o share knowledge retheless, suspicions grew within the ‘Cafe that some members were hourding know ‘edge, ready fora major strike against the other members, Soon after the fall ofthe Western Roman Empire, the Cult tore itself apart in tnteral conic, leaving isolated wizards sea tered across Europe, Magic entered a dark age from which ic emerged with the foundation of the Order of Hermes, more than thee cen tutes later The Foundation of the Order The Onder of Hermes owes its existence to Bonisgs, without question the greatest magical enmus yet to ive, He made two great dscoveis, either of which alone would have ‘ensured his place in magical history The fist ss the discovery ofthe Pama Magia, which defended » wizard from the mage of others, tnd shielded him from the antipathesi effect. (ofthe Gilt, Safe behind a Parma Moya, 2 ‘wizard could ak to another Gifted indvidal swith litle fear of attack and without having to constanly fight the natural tendency t lapse into envy, sspieion, and hostity “The tre potenial ofthe Parma Magica was fist recognized by the sorceress Tranoma, ‘who willingly studied under Bonisagus despite het own power. She realized that the Parma “Magica would make a trae society of magi pos sible, a society where wizards could meet to resolve their diferences, ad live and work together, Bonisagus, already working on is next project, a uniied theory of magic, was happy 10 go along with Tiianomas. grand “Tiisnoma traveled across Europe, seeking ‘out the most powerfl wizards. The Parma Magia made her immane to thei attempts to dive her off, and her demonstrations of her ‘offensive power left many in no doubt that she ‘ould, she wished, eliminate any wizard without fear of consequences, Some ran and hid, hoping to avoid her nefarious plans (Others listened 1 er dream ofa unified order, and agreed vo meet with Bonisagus From these discussions, Bonisagus drew 2 reat deal of knowledge. From the traditions of the Cult of Mercury he developed Formic and Riwal Mog, and from the traditions of the druids, brought by Diedne, a woman cast ‘out from that religion, he learned to create Imagieal effects spontaneously. Vedi taught him the secrets of binding magic ito ites, and Merinia the arts of binding animal. From tach af the eleven wizards who came to him, Bonisagus leamed something, and to each he taught the Parma Magica The result ofthese studies was Bonisagus second great discovery, the theory of lenmetc ‘Mogi In 767 the thirteen wizards gathered a ‘Durermar in the Black Forest, and swore tothe ode of Hermes, creating the Order of Hermes at the fist Tibunal The Twelve Pounders “The fine mag of the Order ae always refered to asthe Twelve Founders, forall dat there were thirteen mag at the fst ‘Tibunal “Tanoma refsed to put here om an equal oot ing with Bonisagus, or the ether magi she had troughs to him, an astute poitial move that left her fee to mediate power struggles rather than being drawn into them. Fach of the Twehe Founders establahed a House. The current House Ex Micelles was founded ltr inthe Orders history, and in the bepining Howse Diedne made up the complement. House Diedne were bound together by their adherence to an ancient pagan religion, which they soon ‘ame to dominate completely ‘The Order immediately entered a period of rapid growth. The founders of the Tive Lineages recruited apprentices, and theit Houses grew organically, The founders of the Mystery Cults initiated more members, recruit ing eagerly from among those other wizards who seemed congenial. House Merinita was not yet @ Mystery Cult, and recruited magi swith an interest in the wilderness, Howse Diedne sought converts 10 Hs religion. House Jerbiton extended the reach ofthe Order into the higher culture ofthe mundane word, even ‘making overtures to Charlemagne himself. And the magi of Houses Flambeas and Tytaks cis crossed the continent, giving all magicians they found a simple choice: Join, or Die. ‘Within forty yeas the Order of Hermes dominated the magical landscape of Europe. rises in the Order ‘That domination persists until the pre sent day, 1220, Nevertheless, an Order that has endured for well over four hundred years has naturally faced its share of crises and problems DaMBUAN-ALLAIDHE AND “THE Onno MIcELLANEA In the early years of the ninth century Damhan-Alligh (DAHLvan ALLath, 8 pow: ceful and evil wizard cesidene in the British aes, Jed an organized resistance to the Order cof Hermes. Rather than face Hermetic wizards in magical combat, his followers cursed and harassed their followers, set traps, and used mundane assassins to halt the progress of the ‘Onder, Fora numberof yeas these tactics were cefective, and some began to think that the Order would be stopped at the English Channel, Tytalus the Founder entrusted Pris, is most gifted apprentice, with the ask of defeat. {ng Darnhan-Allaidh, ‘She brought a8-much cunning to the task as her opponent, and in 2 series of devious raids and spectacular magical bates she was able to defeat Damhan Allsidh and bring many of his followers over ther side, ‘As the Onder prepared to weleome the victor home, it received 4 message. Pralix had established her own Order, the Ondo. ‘Miscellanea, which would serve as a compet tort the Order of Hermes, keeping it strona Flambeau wanced to march against her ine diately, but Tytaks, impressed by his fils nerve, foreed a negotiated settlement. In 817 the Ordo Miscellanea joined the Order of Hermes as a thirenth House, Howse Ex Miscellans, ‘Tite Donaxario oF House Teenene Hoan Tremere had been slowly bulding ts power since the fourdation ofthe Order, with “Tremere himsell keeping close contol over his line. Through the carefl use of certamen aod the bul of politi alhances, the House gine cefecive contol ever several Tibunals, and was posed to tke over more. When the eleventh Founder died, leaving Tiemere as the sole remaining Founder, the House was ready to move to dominate the entire Order uring st {nto tool for thet larger pans A that pont, group of magi whose ide tities are sil unknown broke the minds of ‘Tremere’ closest heutenants. This eveg, known 1s the “Sundering” ako broke the power stn tures thatthe House had built, a abligation to those magi and threats posed by them ceased 19 bbe a concer, Tremere himself met with the mag respomible for the Sundering, or perhaps thei representatives, and some sort of agreement 35 forged. While Tremere hieself ded soon afer. ward, the House has kept wo the agreement, nd has never again wed to dominate the Order ‘Tree Coxsurnow oF House TyraLus House Tytalus has always sought chal: lenges. In che late tenth century, leaders of the House went roo far, seeking to contol demons and instead being comupted by them. They were engaged in a subtle campaign to comupt the est of the Order as well when theie cor ruption was uncovered by another Tytalus maga. She alered the Quacsitores, and the Onder turned with great efficiency to purging the dabolists from their midst. The Prima of House Tytalus, Tasilia, was the most promi nt victim, but the House lost many of 1s members, and never again recovered the res tive size ithad in the early years, “The Sons War Just after the tur of the millennia, che Order of Hermes began to descend int anarchy ‘The comuption of Howe Tytahis made magi ‘more paranoid about the secret activitisof ther ‘magi, even without the incitement of The Ct. Magi also became more concemed. about temps to pry into thei secrets, and thas tebufled attempts at vestigation, Many di putes reached Tabunal, where the voting was deadlocked 35 magi reused to get drawn sn. In this period, many Tibunsls were inquorate, as magi were relctan to leave the security of thet Magi who felt themselves threatened resorted to Weards War, and even to ileal raids on other covenants, The Quaesitors, Redcaps, Bonsai, and other mag) interested sn Airs Magica Fifth Edicion “Eee Aeeping the Order together were stretched too thin, and found that they could not impose order on magi who didnot want it ‘The anarchy grew, and for a while it looked as though the Order of Hermes would fall to the same threat asthe Cult of Mercury before it ‘Then House Tiemere declared war on House Diedne. The pagans of that House had always been somewhat distant from the rest of the Order, which was, a6 i always had been, largely Christian, Dak rumors about thei re tious rites had spread in the wake of the cor ruption of Tytalus, and few tasted chem. When the Primus of House Tremere, Cereistum, called om the Order to help eliminate the da bolss, House Flambeau eagerly joined the bat te, Many members of House Jerbiton, who had Jong been concerned that the Order harbored pagan cult, lo joined in, Members of many Houses stepped forward to join the Tremere, and no one publicly supported the Died, Seizing the opportunity, the Bonisagl and Quaesitor. called an emergency Grand Tribunal, at which the whole of Howse Diedne was declared Renounced, so that it was the sdty of all Hermetic mag to hunt them down and slay them ‘The war that followed was bloody and. destructive, and wiped the House out. Its lea: e's, however, were never fund, and while the ‘Onder hope that their spells killed them, the fear remains that they fled to some magical regio, biding their time and waiting. for revenge With the destruction of the Diedne, the Schism War came to an end. The Quaestores had been abl to enforce the Code during the final stages of the War, a all members of the (Order were theoretically united against a single enemy. The experience of chaos and deste tion convinced most magi that they never wanted to see such a thing again, and once again Tribunals were respected, ad the rule of law returned tothe Order. Since the Schism War, the Order has ested ina state of relative peace and cooper ation. However by 1220 the last magi who ean remember the War have died or passed into Final Twilight, and memories of that terrible time are fading, The Kouses of jee ‘The Onder of Hermes is divided into twelve Houses, all ut Ex Miscellanea descend ced in some way from one of the Twelve Founders. This section provides brief overview ofthe Houses, but its important to remember that individuals within a House can vary widely ‘The twelve Houses fall inc tee groups Four (Bonisagus, Guernicus, Mercere, and Tremere) ate true hneages, made up of those truned by someone trained by someone (ete) ‘ruined by the founder of the House es not possibly to join those Houses later. Four (Bjornaer, Cramon, Merinta, and. Verdivs) are Mystery Cals, and magi can join those Houses by being initiated into the cult. Such timtiations teach the Outer Mystery ofthe cult, the only cult ability that # not hepe lagely secret The las four (Ex Miscellanea, Hambeau, Jerbiton, and Tytalus) ate gatherings of mage with common interests. I is relatively easy to join these Houses after traning, and magi who Fee that they do mot fit nto thei le Houses, ‘often do, Ex Miscellanea, n particular, will tke anyone with The Gift, a smattering of Latin and Magic Theory, and the ability to raise a Parma Mayica — and many members wil each the las three to potential remus Tks only possible to be a member of one House at a time House Bromsaen, Mast of Bjornaer (BYORE.nayr) concern themselves primarily with beats and the ani mmalistie sie of human nature, Because of this ‘mphass in their taining, each Bjornaer magus ‘an fake the form of a9 animal, known as is “heartbeast” Understanding the heartbeast in particular and animals in general's considered ‘more important shan Hermetic magic by many in this House. Due to their nature, Bjornaer magi are tunable 4 forge the necesary links to have a familiar and the very concep alien to them, Some Biormaer devide magi who tke friars, ‘which they call substitute’ heartbeasts. On the other hand, her magi are wary of followers of Bjornaer because oftheir faseination with the bestia. Furthermore, House Bjornaer is less respected than it might otherwise be becuse its founder was from a Germanic rather than a Roman magical tradition. This House is a Mystery Cut, and the aby co take the form ofthe heathens the Outer Mystery (sce page 9). ceeammepaaeee His Magia Fifth Edin House BoNssacus Bonisagus (BOH-nee-SAH.goos) invent od the Hermetic theory of mag, and his tur dent, the maga Trianoma, masterminded the formation of the Order. House Bonisagus i 4 true lineage; all ofits members can trace their heritage back to Bonisagus himsel ‘House Bonisagus i pit nto two strands, the politcal and the theoretical. Theoretical Bonisagus magi concentrate on pushing, back the boundaries of Hermetic may, and ae the undisputed masters of Magic Theory: Political Bonisges magi, often called Followers of ‘Tranoma concentrate on keeping the Order together and excel at polis, House Cuawon “This very secretive House known forts cute philosophy, ts din fr simple power, and its members’ habit of marking the faces And bodies with arcane symbols, Followers of ‘Gramon (KREE ah mone) ae an enigmatic and ‘otherworldly group of magt, generally having Tle steres inthe polis ofthe Order Magi of Crlamon seck the “Enigma,” which other magi characterize a some sort of mystical experience. For fllowers of Criamon, tinderstanding the Enigma has a great deal 0 do with discovering the rue nature of Wizards “Twilight and of mage iself ‘This House js a Mystery Cul, ad the Mystery atthe heart of the elt the Enigma (see page 92). House Ex MIscELLANea This is large, diverse, and highly disor sanized collection of mag. Though originally founded by Prix asa rival to the Order of Hermes, this association was accepted as a House of ts own. ie accepts wizards ofall Kinds, some only nominally Hermetic, whose magic comes from many disparate traditions ‘Magi Ex Miscellanea (EKS mis-kel: LAH. nay ah) are often called hedge wizards’ by their many detractors within the Order, although most can use Hermetic magic jus swell as any other magus of Ex Miscellanea have very lite in common, belonging 19 many diferent tad tions within the House, each tradition having its own strengths and weaknesses House FLasrat While most follower of Flambeau (ab BOH) specialize in fire map, some study spells of simple annihilation as 2 more subtle alternative. These aggressive and ferocious rag often cause trouble within the Order and Frequemily anger mundanes. However, their feaessness and lve of destruction make them invaluable when the Order requites the appli ‘ation of mana force, ‘House lamba isa gathering of kindred. spits House Gurrcus House Gacenicas (GWAIR-nee kus) 153 tnve lineage, all ats members descended from ‘Caericus the Founder, who believed that the (Oder needed strictly enforced rules it was to survive, Member ofthis House are dhe jadges Of the Order, investigating wrongdoing and bringing eases aginst those who transgres the Code of Hermes and the Peripheral Code. ‘They believe the Order wil ellapse through literal confit without their fierce steward- ship, The House i sometimes known informal ly ax House Quaesitor (KWAF-se-tor, as "aunesitor isthe tle of those mag empowered by the Order to investigate crimes, Akhough Howse Guernicus. tains. and Induct ther own apprentces, ther magica aso Join the ranks ofthe queues, and one ofthe highest honors inthe Orders tobe invited by the

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