An Introduction to Ars Magica
An Introduction to Ars Magica
This thread will lay out the main rules systems and important concepts to understand in order to successfully play Ars Magica 5e. Please pose any questions on this or the rulebook (or gameplay) to the Rules Questions thread).
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Basic Mechanics:
The basic mechanic of Ars Magica is a die roll vs. a target number (called the Ease Factor in AM, though the higher the number goes the harder it is--not sure how that works).
The rolls look like: 1d10 + characteristic + ability + circumstantial modifiers. If the result meets or exceeds the Ease Factor, the attempted action is successful.
However, there are two kinds of rolls, and this can impact the end result significantly. The first is a Normal Die Roll. It goes entirely as noted above, and is the default. Then there is a Stress Die Roll. This kind of roll happens when the actor is under stress that could cause the action to succeed or fail in a spectacular fashion.
In this case, a roll of 1 will cause the die to explode by adding a multiplier of 2 to the final roll. This multiplier stacks as an exponent, so if you get 1 then 1, you'd roll a third time and multiply by 4, then by 8, 16, etc. as long as you kept rolling 1s.
On the other hand, you could roll a 10 (or 0, on physical d10 dice) for the result of a stress die, which either indicates failure or a chance to Botch. A potential botch requires you to roll another set of dice hoping to avoid any more 10/0 results. The number of Botch Dice you roll depends on how risky the activity you were involved in is, and the number of 10s you roll determines how bad the botch is. A botch will always cause you trouble, even if you can somehow turn the trouble to your advantage.
Learn the Stress Die rules well. It will feel like you use those a lot more than standard die rolls.
The basic mechanic of Ars Magica is a die roll vs. a target number (called the Ease Factor in AM, though the higher the number goes the harder it is--not sure how that works).
The rolls look like: 1d10 + characteristic + ability + circumstantial modifiers. If the result meets or exceeds the Ease Factor, the attempted action is successful.
However, there are two kinds of rolls, and this can impact the end result significantly. The first is a Normal Die Roll. It goes entirely as noted above, and is the default. Then there is a Stress Die Roll. This kind of roll happens when the actor is under stress that could cause the action to succeed or fail in a spectacular fashion.
In this case, a roll of 1 will cause the die to explode by adding a multiplier of 2 to the final roll. This multiplier stacks as an exponent, so if you get 1 then 1, you'd roll a third time and multiply by 4, then by 8, 16, etc. as long as you kept rolling 1s.
On the other hand, you could roll a 10 (or 0, on physical d10 dice) for the result of a stress die, which either indicates failure or a chance to Botch. A potential botch requires you to roll another set of dice hoping to avoid any more 10/0 results. The number of Botch Dice you roll depends on how risky the activity you were involved in is, and the number of 10s you roll determines how bad the botch is. A botch will always cause you trouble, even if you can somehow turn the trouble to your advantage.
Learn the Stress Die rules well. It will feel like you use those a lot more than standard die rolls.
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Character Elements - Characteristics and Abilities:
Characters have two main types of attributes, no matter what type of character they are - Characteristics and Abilities.
Characteristics represent the innate qualities of your character and it is a set of eight scores that are common to essentially all creatures. They are the equivalent of Attributes from D&D, and they range generally from -3 to 3. Ars Magica does a nice thing and removes the arbitrary "score" from the D&D system, reducing the characteristic right to the level at which it modifies rolls. In the dice rolling example above, basically you just add your characteristic score to the roll. A 0 is average (no modifier), and of course you can routinely go to a -3 or +3 modifier to any action governed by a characteristic.
The 8 Characteristics are:
Intelligence (really useful for Magi or scholar-types)
Perception (useful for scouts, trackers, and Magi)
Strength (useful for manual laborers and soldier-types)
Stamina (useful for anyone except non-Magi scholar-types--spellcasting can drain this when done poorly or in an improvised fashion)
Presence (useful for noble or leader types, or merchants)
Communication (very useful for most types, but especially Magi, scholars and leaders)
Dexterity (useful for soldier and sneaky types)
Quickness (generally useful for needing to do stuff fast or moving quickly)
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Abilities are the things you learn to do that not everyone has figured out or has access to. Reading, writing and speaking various languages, use of specific weapons, tracking, history, astronomy, etc. Unlike Characteristics, these scores start at 1 (if you have learned them) and can theoretically go to an infinite number. In practical terms, you're unlikely to see more than a handful of abilities break 100 in the course of a normal campaign, and these will all be magical abilities. You can learn these from a book or a mentor, and you can practice them to improve or even in some cases do research to unlock new knowledge in these areas.
Yes, magic is dealt with like an Ability. It's just limited in who can learn the relevant skills to use it.
Characters have two main types of attributes, no matter what type of character they are - Characteristics and Abilities.
Characteristics represent the innate qualities of your character and it is a set of eight scores that are common to essentially all creatures. They are the equivalent of Attributes from D&D, and they range generally from -3 to 3. Ars Magica does a nice thing and removes the arbitrary "score" from the D&D system, reducing the characteristic right to the level at which it modifies rolls. In the dice rolling example above, basically you just add your characteristic score to the roll. A 0 is average (no modifier), and of course you can routinely go to a -3 or +3 modifier to any action governed by a characteristic.
The 8 Characteristics are:
Intelligence (really useful for Magi or scholar-types)
Perception (useful for scouts, trackers, and Magi)
Strength (useful for manual laborers and soldier-types)
Stamina (useful for anyone except non-Magi scholar-types--spellcasting can drain this when done poorly or in an improvised fashion)
Presence (useful for noble or leader types, or merchants)
Communication (very useful for most types, but especially Magi, scholars and leaders)
Dexterity (useful for soldier and sneaky types)
Quickness (generally useful for needing to do stuff fast or moving quickly)
---
Abilities are the things you learn to do that not everyone has figured out or has access to. Reading, writing and speaking various languages, use of specific weapons, tracking, history, astronomy, etc. Unlike Characteristics, these scores start at 1 (if you have learned them) and can theoretically go to an infinite number. In practical terms, you're unlikely to see more than a handful of abilities break 100 in the course of a normal campaign, and these will all be magical abilities. You can learn these from a book or a mentor, and you can practice them to improve or even in some cases do research to unlock new knowledge in these areas.
Yes, magic is dealt with like an Ability. It's just limited in who can learn the relevant skills to use it.
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Character Elements - Character Type:
There are three kinds of characters in Ars Magica. Magi, Companions (Consortes), and Grogs.
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Magi are the focus of the game and of any particular Saga (campaign). Each player has one Magus PC and they are reason for the whole social order the game portrays. They make the big decisions, developing their magical powers and driving the agenda of the group in play. In any given Story, there will be only one Magus PC in play at a time. The group will decide collectively at the beginning of a season who will undertake the season's story from among the Magi.
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Companions are the bread-and-butter of PCs. They come from a diverse array of backgrounds and bring specialized and interesting skills to the mix. They are usually folk who have a reason to spend time with Magi and to pursue their interests, and are sometimes (but not always) affiliated with the Covenant in a formal way. Magi generally have a difficult time dealing with common folk, and Companions provide a valuable bridge of communication as well as being potent and skillful allies in their own right. A Companion might be the Master-at-Arms of the Covenant, for example, but it might also be a landed knight from the surrounding region or a parish priest with common aims, or a minstrel who stops through the area once or twice per year. The sky is basically the limit here, but Companions are generally trusted by the magi and the magi trust them in turn. Everyone plays a Companion during a story, except for the person playing their magus. You can elect to have a stable of Companions for your own personal use, rotating through them in conjunction with different magi or different circumstances, but the bigger the group you have, the bigger the logistical headache of downtime will be!
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Grogs are the Ars Magica equivalent of hirelings. Magi generally have some resources at their disposal, and they are fairly vulnerable as they travel, so Grogs are a must for security, cooking, handling pack animals and vehicle repairs, or procurement of items while traveling through civilized areas. Grogs are servants, footsoldiers and other folks who are around to do what they're told. Generally the group will put together a bundle of Grogs with various roles and play them collectively as circumstances warrant.
There are three kinds of characters in Ars Magica. Magi, Companions (Consortes), and Grogs.
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Magi are the focus of the game and of any particular Saga (campaign). Each player has one Magus PC and they are reason for the whole social order the game portrays. They make the big decisions, developing their magical powers and driving the agenda of the group in play. In any given Story, there will be only one Magus PC in play at a time. The group will decide collectively at the beginning of a season who will undertake the season's story from among the Magi.
---
Companions are the bread-and-butter of PCs. They come from a diverse array of backgrounds and bring specialized and interesting skills to the mix. They are usually folk who have a reason to spend time with Magi and to pursue their interests, and are sometimes (but not always) affiliated with the Covenant in a formal way. Magi generally have a difficult time dealing with common folk, and Companions provide a valuable bridge of communication as well as being potent and skillful allies in their own right. A Companion might be the Master-at-Arms of the Covenant, for example, but it might also be a landed knight from the surrounding region or a parish priest with common aims, or a minstrel who stops through the area once or twice per year. The sky is basically the limit here, but Companions are generally trusted by the magi and the magi trust them in turn. Everyone plays a Companion during a story, except for the person playing their magus. You can elect to have a stable of Companions for your own personal use, rotating through them in conjunction with different magi or different circumstances, but the bigger the group you have, the bigger the logistical headache of downtime will be!
---
Grogs are the Ars Magica equivalent of hirelings. Magi generally have some resources at their disposal, and they are fairly vulnerable as they travel, so Grogs are a must for security, cooking, handling pack animals and vehicle repairs, or procurement of items while traveling through civilized areas. Grogs are servants, footsoldiers and other folks who are around to do what they're told. Generally the group will put together a bundle of Grogs with various roles and play them collectively as circumstances warrant.
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Character Elements - Virtues and Flaws:
These are common ideas for most modern RPGs. They can be extremely potent benefits and drawbacks, and when selected carefully can shape truly interesting characters. There are a LOT of them, however, so just skim through the name lists until you find one or two that strike your fancy or pique your interest and build from there, rather than reading the whole list through and getting overwhelmed.
These are common ideas for most modern RPGs. They can be extremely potent benefits and drawbacks, and when selected carefully can shape truly interesting characters. There are a LOT of them, however, so just skim through the name lists until you find one or two that strike your fancy or pique your interest and build from there, rather than reading the whole list through and getting overwhelmed.
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Mechanics - Magic, Part I:
Only characters that have the Virtue The Gift can use magic. All Magus characters start with that Virtue for free, by default. Only one type of Magus doesn't get it (House Mercere), and they can be tough to play in a Saga with other non-Mercere magi, though they can be good Companion characters if you want to play them that way.
Magic works by taking a thing, and doing something with it. Pretty basic, kind of like building a sentence. In fact, that's how magic is structured. You combine an action word (a Technique) with an object or target (a Form) and then tweak the exact nature of the effect until it does what you desire. For example, if you wanted to create a ball of fire, the combination you use would be Creo (I create) Ignem (Fire). It is, in its own way, very dynamic and free-form.
However, there are only five of these Techniques in total, and only ten Forms, and they govern the totality of what "formulaic magic" (spellcasting by Magi) can do. The combination of techniques and forms is one of the central insights of Hermetic Magic, and the key to its success and propagation over the centuries. The Techniques and Forms are as follows:
Techniques/Action Words:
Creo (I create)
Intellego (I perceive)
Muto (I change)
Perdo (I destroy)
Rego (I control)
Forms/Objects or Targets:
Animal (Animals, non-humanoid mortal bodies)
Aquam (Water)
Auram (Air)
Corpus (Body/Flesh)
Herbam (Plants)
Ignem (Fire)
Imaginem (Images or visions)
Mentem (Mind, consciousness)
Terram
Vim (Power/Magical Energy)
As mentioned previously, the use of magic works like the use of a skill or ability, except that when you roll to attempt something, you add your score in the relevant Technique to your score in the relevant Form to determine what your Ability level is for the current action. Improving these abilities is central to your long-term success as a magus. If you are sufficiently powerful in a combination of Arts (as this collection of 15 abilities are called), you can perform magic with that combination without having learned any spells in that domain, though to cast spontaneously in this manner is both more difficult than casting a known spell and more taxing.
Spellcasting is a typical roll, with an Ease Factor based on the spell level or power of the effect generated.
Only characters that have the Virtue The Gift can use magic. All Magus characters start with that Virtue for free, by default. Only one type of Magus doesn't get it (House Mercere), and they can be tough to play in a Saga with other non-Mercere magi, though they can be good Companion characters if you want to play them that way.
Magic works by taking a thing, and doing something with it. Pretty basic, kind of like building a sentence. In fact, that's how magic is structured. You combine an action word (a Technique) with an object or target (a Form) and then tweak the exact nature of the effect until it does what you desire. For example, if you wanted to create a ball of fire, the combination you use would be Creo (I create) Ignem (Fire). It is, in its own way, very dynamic and free-form.
However, there are only five of these Techniques in total, and only ten Forms, and they govern the totality of what "formulaic magic" (spellcasting by Magi) can do. The combination of techniques and forms is one of the central insights of Hermetic Magic, and the key to its success and propagation over the centuries. The Techniques and Forms are as follows:
Techniques/Action Words:
Creo (I create)
Intellego (I perceive)
Muto (I change)
Perdo (I destroy)
Rego (I control)
Forms/Objects or Targets:
Animal (Animals, non-humanoid mortal bodies)
Aquam (Water)
Auram (Air)
Corpus (Body/Flesh)
Herbam (Plants)
Ignem (Fire)
Imaginem (Images or visions)
Mentem (Mind, consciousness)
Terram
Vim (Power/Magical Energy)
As mentioned previously, the use of magic works like the use of a skill or ability, except that when you roll to attempt something, you add your score in the relevant Technique to your score in the relevant Form to determine what your Ability level is for the current action. Improving these abilities is central to your long-term success as a magus. If you are sufficiently powerful in a combination of Arts (as this collection of 15 abilities are called), you can perform magic with that combination without having learned any spells in that domain, though to cast spontaneously in this manner is both more difficult than casting a known spell and more taxing.
Spellcasting is a typical roll, with an Ease Factor based on the spell level or power of the effect generated.
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Mechanics - Character Development:
It's important to note that Ars Magica is a classless, level-less system. You have abilities and you improve those or gain new ones. There is a combination of randomness and strategy that goes into character development, based on the types of activities undertaken and the circumstances.
There are three main ways characters improve abilities:
1. Study
2. Practice
3. Adventuring
Study can be reading from a book, being taught by another, or engaging in experimentation on a subject to explore its secrets. This is generally the fastest way to improve your ability, but each type of study comes with drawbacks: it's all-consuming, requires a mentor, or is potentially dangerous.
Practice can be mixed with other kinds of activity, and is safe and predictable but slow.
Adventuring yields a pool of experience points that can be sunk into any ability or combination of abilities that came into play during the adventure, at the player's discretion. This is the most flexible, but rather dangerous and not especially fast (though usually faster than practice).
It's important to note that Ars Magica is a classless, level-less system. You have abilities and you improve those or gain new ones. There is a combination of randomness and strategy that goes into character development, based on the types of activities undertaken and the circumstances.
There are three main ways characters improve abilities:
1. Study
2. Practice
3. Adventuring
Study can be reading from a book, being taught by another, or engaging in experimentation on a subject to explore its secrets. This is generally the fastest way to improve your ability, but each type of study comes with drawbacks: it's all-consuming, requires a mentor, or is potentially dangerous.
Practice can be mixed with other kinds of activity, and is safe and predictable but slow.
Adventuring yields a pool of experience points that can be sunk into any ability or combination of abilities that came into play during the adventure, at the player's discretion. This is the most flexible, but rather dangerous and not especially fast (though usually faster than practice).
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Mechanics - Magic, Part II:
There are a number of abilities central to success of a Magus that are mundane or semi-magical. Ignore them at your peril.
Artes Liberales - apart from being a general education skill, this ability offers literacy in one language or writing system per level you have in it, which is essential for someone who reads and writes as much as a magus. Take at least one level in this and become literate in Latin.
Certamen - magi are bound by the Code of Hermes not to employ their magic to harm one another. As a result of that, a culture of dispute resolution based on ritualized magical dueling has arisen called Certamen. This is the knowledge of the rules and techniques of that system, as well as skill and finesse in employing. The difference between having even one level of this skill versus not having it cannot be overstated, though most Magi apart from specialists in this area or troublemakers won't have especially high scores. Watch out for older, politically active and effective magi--they are guaranteed to have a good score in this ability.
Concentration - essential to prevent you from being interrupted while spell casting, or from losing control of your magic while doing something powerful and dangerous. Also has other useful applications. Great secondary ability to have.
Magic Theory - an understanding of the general principles underlying magic and related phenomenon. This is a very practical skill and affects almost everything your magus will ever do in the laboratory. At the highest levels of power, just as with science, a magus' further development is most limited by two things: access to valuable resources, and the magic theory score.
Parma Magica - this magical skill, literally Shield of Magic, provides protection against magical effects for the magus, acting like a passive magic resistance, except that it isn't quite passive. This ability is unique to the Order of Hermes, and a jealously guarded secret, as it was a primary tool to aid in the elimination of hedge wizards and sorcerers of various types with comparatively weak magic that the Order perceived as a threat for one reason or another. Teaching the Parma Magica to a non-Order magician (even one's apprentice) is grounds for expulsion from the Order and a death order on the head of both teacher and student. As a result of these policies, the secret remains solidly in the hands of the order still. Fresh magi always have one point in this, and rarely more.
There are a number of abilities central to success of a Magus that are mundane or semi-magical. Ignore them at your peril.
Artes Liberales - apart from being a general education skill, this ability offers literacy in one language or writing system per level you have in it, which is essential for someone who reads and writes as much as a magus. Take at least one level in this and become literate in Latin.
Certamen - magi are bound by the Code of Hermes not to employ their magic to harm one another. As a result of that, a culture of dispute resolution based on ritualized magical dueling has arisen called Certamen. This is the knowledge of the rules and techniques of that system, as well as skill and finesse in employing. The difference between having even one level of this skill versus not having it cannot be overstated, though most Magi apart from specialists in this area or troublemakers won't have especially high scores. Watch out for older, politically active and effective magi--they are guaranteed to have a good score in this ability.
Concentration - essential to prevent you from being interrupted while spell casting, or from losing control of your magic while doing something powerful and dangerous. Also has other useful applications. Great secondary ability to have.
Magic Theory - an understanding of the general principles underlying magic and related phenomenon. This is a very practical skill and affects almost everything your magus will ever do in the laboratory. At the highest levels of power, just as with science, a magus' further development is most limited by two things: access to valuable resources, and the magic theory score.
Parma Magica - this magical skill, literally Shield of Magic, provides protection against magical effects for the magus, acting like a passive magic resistance, except that it isn't quite passive. This ability is unique to the Order of Hermes, and a jealously guarded secret, as it was a primary tool to aid in the elimination of hedge wizards and sorcerers of various types with comparatively weak magic that the Order perceived as a threat for one reason or another. Teaching the Parma Magica to a non-Order magician (even one's apprentice) is grounds for expulsion from the Order and a death order on the head of both teacher and student. As a result of these policies, the secret remains solidly in the hands of the order still. Fresh magi always have one point in this, and rarely more.
Re: An Introduction to Ars Magica
Mechanics - Many Systems:
Although the basic formula of die roll + characteristic + ability + circumstantial modifiers will consistently hold across all systems, odd quirks arise in how almost everything is done. Do NOT try to front-load all of these systems. Instead, focus on a few things:
1. How does Formulaic Casting work? How does Spontaneous Casting modify that basic system?
Formulaic Casting requires the Magus to already have learned a specific spell, and builds on the Casting Total (a typical formulation that you find across a wide variety of activities). That is the Technique + Form + Stamina + Aura impact (this would be a circumstantial modifier, based on location). Add a die roll (either normal or stress) and compare it to the Level of the spell to be cast as your Ease Factor. If you meet or exceed the Level, the spell is cast as desired. If you fail by ten or less, the spell is still successful but the Magus takes a Fatigue Level of damage.
Spontaneous Casting allows the Magus to alter some conditions (like Range, Duration, or Area of Effect) of a known spell, or to come up with a new effect on the fly using their Arts. The choice of effect, range, duration, and area of effect will create a Level for the "spell" like with Formulaic magic, but the total roll for casting is much lower: you divide your total roll (per the Formulaic casting, above) by two if you don't mind taking Fatigue Levels of damage even if successful, or by five if you want to cast so cautiously that you won't be injured if you succeed. In either of these cases, a failed roll means no spell is cast and a Fatigue Level in damage is taken. Basically, the division by two means the caster is exerting him or herself, pouring physical strength into powering the spell.
2. What does a basic Laboratory Total look like? That basic idea will govern 95% of what you do in your down-time.
A Laboratory Total is based on a Technique + Form + Intelligence + Magic Theory + Aura modifier (circumstantial, again) die roll. This basic total applies to a wide range of activities, with modifications added to it based on the specific activity:
-Learning Spells (via whatever process)
-Inventing Spells
-Enchanting Items
-Investigating Enchanted Items
-Longevity Rituals
-Working from Laboratory Texts
-Bonding with a Familiar
3. How does Combat work?
This one is more complex. Since there is so much to go over, let's leave this one for another post, plus significant Q&A in the rules questions thread.
Although the basic formula of die roll + characteristic + ability + circumstantial modifiers will consistently hold across all systems, odd quirks arise in how almost everything is done. Do NOT try to front-load all of these systems. Instead, focus on a few things:
1. How does Formulaic Casting work? How does Spontaneous Casting modify that basic system?
Formulaic Casting requires the Magus to already have learned a specific spell, and builds on the Casting Total (a typical formulation that you find across a wide variety of activities). That is the Technique + Form + Stamina + Aura impact (this would be a circumstantial modifier, based on location). Add a die roll (either normal or stress) and compare it to the Level of the spell to be cast as your Ease Factor. If you meet or exceed the Level, the spell is cast as desired. If you fail by ten or less, the spell is still successful but the Magus takes a Fatigue Level of damage.
Spontaneous Casting allows the Magus to alter some conditions (like Range, Duration, or Area of Effect) of a known spell, or to come up with a new effect on the fly using their Arts. The choice of effect, range, duration, and area of effect will create a Level for the "spell" like with Formulaic magic, but the total roll for casting is much lower: you divide your total roll (per the Formulaic casting, above) by two if you don't mind taking Fatigue Levels of damage even if successful, or by five if you want to cast so cautiously that you won't be injured if you succeed. In either of these cases, a failed roll means no spell is cast and a Fatigue Level in damage is taken. Basically, the division by two means the caster is exerting him or herself, pouring physical strength into powering the spell.
2. What does a basic Laboratory Total look like? That basic idea will govern 95% of what you do in your down-time.
A Laboratory Total is based on a Technique + Form + Intelligence + Magic Theory + Aura modifier (circumstantial, again) die roll. This basic total applies to a wide range of activities, with modifications added to it based on the specific activity:
-Learning Spells (via whatever process)
-Inventing Spells
-Enchanting Items
-Investigating Enchanted Items
-Longevity Rituals
-Working from Laboratory Texts
-Bonding with a Familiar
3. How does Combat work?
This one is more complex. Since there is so much to go over, let's leave this one for another post, plus significant Q&A in the rules questions thread.