All rules are assumed to be 4th edition standard unless otherwise noted.
OoH/HoH, and the main rulebook (both 4th and 3rd for the relevant rules sections of each).
We will use 4th edition in all cases save where explicitly noted.
The SG will sometimes not roll dice at all when a PC is attempting a skill, but will make judgments about what you know, etc.
The SG has the right to say "You need to go and get X to continue your study." Or, "X is possible from the rules at this particular level of difficulty, but circumstances are such that you need this additional thing, or to perform this additional task to achieve what you want." Or even that it simply failed, even if it ought to be possible according to Hermetic Theory. Not all problems have obvious paths toward a solution.
Characteristics will be generated using point allocation, not random generation.
Criamon are the only people that can have Enigmatic Wisdom... because that's how we explain why everyone else thinks they're weird.
Your character has spent one extra year in apprenticeship, and has ten extra points of Arts, ten extra points of Spells and one extra EP to show for it. This virtue may be taken more than once (but this can affect your Status/Reputations; see below).
This +1 Virtue will not be allowed, due to the broken rules pertaining to it. Merinita should choose normal spells that reflect their orientation (not necessarily trickstery!) and skills, virtues and flaws that reflect their superior association with Faery.
Keen Eyes provides +2 to visual acuity, not +3, but it does help archery.
This virtue is not permitted.
This virtue does not exist, but a magus with appropriate virtues, flaws and personality traits is obviously a magus who is pious.
Faerie Sight and Second Sight are the same +1 virtue (and therefore the same skill).
You can have True Faith, but no miracle charts.
If you want a formal knowledge in Philosophy, Mathematics, Astronomy, Theology or whatever, just take it.
Penetration adds double its skill level. Skill and Knacks with Penetration add twice their value to Penetration totals.
Encumbrance is as per standard 4th ed. rules, but see "Armor, Knights, and Encumbrance" below.
Your lineage matters a great deal. It's a lot harder to win respect because Mythic Europe is not a meritocracy. A recently gauntleted Bonisagus magus, in an argument with some other magus about matters of theory will get the edge if the debate is brought before others. Note that the other magus might have other reputations that come into play. A newly gauntleted Bonisagus is not likely to successfully win an argument about Ignem with a Flambeau!
Status and reputation can also matter among mundanes. A magus might not care that you are the cousin of the Doge of Venice, but mundane folks probably will.
Magi from Houses whose Latin is very good (base of 5) often look down on magi whose Latin betrays their "inferior" lineage, and respect those who speak Latin beautifully (6+).
Magi incur a cumulative -1 Bad Reputation for every year of their apprenticeship beyond 17, reflecting an obvious lack of intelligence or ability.
Magi characters created with an Animal score of 10+ may begin play with a normal animal as a familiar, without spending extra time or vis to locate and bond it. This costs no virtue points.
A magus who has a familiar can spend one season at any time to reforge the cords and update abilities to reflect higher Arts scores.
Mundanes react negatively to someone with a non-Gentle Gift. This reaction is due to subtle but visceral discomfort, not merely to an unfamiliar sensation. Grogs who have been in a magical aura for a long time often lose this negative reaction to magi.
There are two different kinds of sigils. The first is a characteristic side-effect of a magus' magic. Spells invented by a magus or spontaneously cast by a magus have this side effect, as do magic items and potions he invents.
The second is a physical object a magus uses to provide certain identification. This sigil is considered an Arcane Connection to the wizard it represents. If only one person is touching a sigil, he can cast spells that affect the sigil's true owner at Touch range, though Parma still applies. A magus can cast spells on his sigil, using himself as an Arcane Connection to the sigil. A Hermetic Magus can recognize an authentic sigil just by looking at at it, and know when he has seen a sigil before, as surely as any person can remember the face of someone he has seen before. To a mundane, a sigil is nothing more than an ordinary object. Non-Hermetic magicians can investigate a sigil as they might any other magic item. A sigil can be imbued with magic abilities, like any other item. A magus cannot create a sigil for himself if he already has one. No one may create a sigil for a magus other than the magus himself. A magus knows when his sigil is broken. Creating a sigil involves a simple ritual that takes only one night to perform. The magus need not create the object, and the object can be virtually anything inanimate.
This second kind of sigil is taken for granted, but may be almost as important a breakthrough on the part of Bonisagus (probably with some help from Verditius) as the Parma Magica.
Obviously, it is a bad idea to relinquish your sigil to someone you do not trust.
Rings are the preferred kind of sigil in the Order. They are difficult to steal even when worn openly on one's finger, and can easily be hidden securely on a chain about one's neck. Tremere are especially partial to rings, and elders often show their status by the number of sigils they wear.
Unlike other magic items, a talisman can always have vis or new effects added to it. A magus can thus start play with a simple talisman which he continually improves.
Experimentation occurs when a magus creates something new. This includes inventing a spell or creating magic items without a lab text. When a magus experiments, a simple die is added to his Lab Total, but he must also roll on the Extraordinary Results Chart. Experimentation need not occur in other situations.
A magus can avoid the risks of experimentation in any lab season by halving his Lab Total. A magus can also avoid experimentation when he deliberately invents a spell as a Ritual, when it need not be a Ritual.
A new Extraordinary Results Chart is being developed, which will cause magical effects to often have all sorts of minor quirks or limitations, but sometimes severe limitations.
The Third Edition rules shall be used. Fourth Edition Virtues and Flaws pertaining to books revert to their 3ed counterparts.
There are spell modifiers for where you are and the type of effect you want to produce relative to the nature of the surroundings. E.g.: casting CrIg spells in a rainstorm will be cast at a penalty. But CrAu spells summoning lightning will gain a bonus!
"Demon's Eternal Oblivion" (PeVi) affects lots of things that some people don't consider demons at all!
InVi spells cannot detect whether something is Divine, Infernal or Faerie, but only the effects of an Aura relative to Hermetic Magic. A magus, for example, cannot use InVi to detect what a place does to Infernal Magic, but can use InVi to detect that Hermetic Magic is at a penalty and that destructive magics are especially penalized, while healing magics suffer only a mild penalty. InVi spells so used can get the "feel" of an Aura, and a magus can recognize that "this Aura feels kind of like that one" and make his own deductions.
Similarly, priests, imams, shamans, faeries and others who have similar abilities detect only from their perspective, and must make their own deductions.
Anything that exists is continually generating Imaginem. So a momentary duration causes it merely to blink out and come back. Any perdo effect that affects something visible/sight, add two magnitudes of difficulty from the spells as listed in the rulebook. Additionally, things that are moving add more complexity, and add another two magnitudes. Unless the spell explicitly states, these effects do not have the limitation of still allowing their targets to be reflected in a mirror.
Some magi believe that everything has vis in it, if only in minute quantities. If you gather enough gold, you might have terram vis. If you gather all the peasants' crops, you might have herbam vis. A beautiful, valuable object like a rare pearl or gem may well be vis because it has inherent virtue and value.
A magus using a Focus for spellcasting must spend time readying it if he has not already done so or if it is not naturally ready. This takes a round. Readying magic items and vis is handled in a similar fashion. Items that are in a naturally ready state are exempt from this rule.
Targets of Boundary and Sight do not necessarily require rituals, but they must be cast slowly, as though a bonus for concentration were being applied. This concentration is necessary to cast the spell, and no bonus is gained.
When using books under stress - to cast a spell for instance - you have a chance to learn the spell.
Expensive armor has only half of the listed encumbrance. The encumbrance of armor worn by knights is halved, possibly a second time. Round down.
All bonuses and penalties from Abilities, Knacks, Affinities, Virtues, Flaws and anything else accumulate.
No BDR. It's a delusion.
Most Magi, and certainly the vast majority of the mundanes, are Christian. It makes sense. Everyone does it! Even Aristotle believed in some kind of single god or Prime Mover. Only the ignorant or deluded believe otherwise. Many magi are believing Christians but not all are Catholic or Orthodox.
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Updated on 8 June 1999
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