The Lost Art of Magica

- by E.P. Long, (6 Jul 94),

- edited and adapted for the Order of Draco by R How (Jul 98)

Design Notes

The Tremere seem to be the smallest clan of the original seven, and they are beset from all sides. They have enemies among vampires, garou, and mages. When the Sabbat attack, the Tremere chantry and not the prince is the first to be targeted by the Black Hand. Not even the lovey-dovey Salubri like them. Yet they survive. Undoubtedly, much of this fear and strength dervives from their powerful magic.

It is different and ritualistic, where the other disciplines are not. This solidifies the game in the tradition of Ars Magica, where the Tremere originated. The addition of Certamen can only add drama to the game. Expanded coverage of the various types of supernatural energy help tie the different realms of the World of Darkness together for a more multi- faceted adventure.

Modern Mage-magick shows its roots in the more archaic magic of vampires, yet it is sufficiently differentiated to provide diversity. While magick is admittedly superior to thaumaturgy, it is not overwhelmingly so. Perhaps the most dangerous opponent that Mages can meet is a Tremere with six centuries of experience behind him. With rotes being more necessary, magick use becomes much more colourful, as the sphere powers by themselves inevitably lead to blandness.

Finally, this solves (for me) the complicated relationship between Ars Magica, Vampire, and Mage. According to Mage, the medieval Order of Hermes was really just a cover for the real Order (even though the Order of Hermes supplement lists over 700 magi -- that is a very big cover). Since the "real" order was more powerful, wouldn't it have been more effective in creating a mythic paradigm for Europe? The history contained attempts to explain the different systems of magic between the three games. I apologise for not being able to include the parma magica [isn’t that something to do with ham? - Ed.] but I couldn't get it to fit without distorting the game.

The old magic is system is more versatile and is the foundation for creation of new rituals, but it is demanding of both time and experience.

The Magic Arts

[All Tremere can learn sequences of rituals, following them by rote (so to speak) to perform magical results. But this is not true magick - real Thaumaturgy requires understanding as to how and why the magick works, and being able to adapt and create rituals to serve one’s own needs.] Complete mastery of thamaturgy therefore requires comprehension of the Forms and Techniques, [which are combined to make new rituals, or in the older lexicon, "Spells"]. These spells are derived from the hermetic magics of the Mythic Age, and its predecessor, the Order of Mercury. Modern Mage-magick is similar as Spheres are simply a different way of looking at it.]

[Both Techniques and Forms are learned similarly to Paths, with a rating of up to five in each. The reader can see that there are many forms and techniques, and total mastery of many different types of magick will take a long time. This is not surprising, after all - it is a complicated subject. However, forms and techniques are the basis of disciplines, and for thaumaturges who have levels in directly related disciplines, who are learning related forms and techniques, they will gain understanding much more quickly.

Learning Magic

[One small additional advantage of Techniques and Forms is that they can be learned by private study, as well as through practical experience and tuition by a Mentor. The magus is learning essential magickal principles, rather than just following a set of actions which they learn by rote. The latter is what happens in learning disciplines. The magus must have access to an occult library of a Tremere Elder (or otherwise have access to rare old grimoires of the Hermetic Order not in mortal circulation today). ]

[System: The Magus gains 1 xp for every night (min 7 hours) spent in study, or 0.1 for individual hours, cumulative. At the end the magus makes an Int+Occ roll to see how much of it has sunk in - difficulty is modified according to complexity of the material, though usually 6. (Remember, vampires find it much harder to learn and adapt to new ideas than mortals.) 3 successes are necessary, before it is fully understood. If the roll is failed no xp are gained and the same section must be re-studied. However, this is cumulative; the next time the magus comes to study the same material, her previous successes are added. (The interesting possibilities of botches on learning rolls has been considered - this could be amusing if, for example, a Tremere gets completely the wrong end of the stick on Ignem and scores automatic botches on all rolls involving it - setting himself ablaze. But that is just plain nasty.)]

Fundamentals

 Magic is the power which Thaumaturgists and mages use. As powerful as it is, it cannot create something permanent without something else (quintessence - [the energy of life and reality]). It also cannot prevent (the final) death, nor can it in itself bring the dead back to life. It cannot affect a soul (if such things exist), [although manipulation of vampires is more uncertain because of the debatable state of their own "soul". See treatise on "Avatars" for more information. Also note that whilst normal magick cannot affect the soul, this is only prevented because the soul resides in the Umbra.]

Magic is concentrated in certain areas. These often concentrate at points called nodes [- or what we of the Order of Draco call "Dragon Sites"]. Mages can draw quintessence from nodes; vampire magi cannot [- although the Dracomancy discipline permits this to a certain extent]. Magical areas have a strength between one and five. There are very few areas on earth stronger than this, and they are not generally known. In the past, these areas were much more common, but sadly, with the growth of Reason, they are inexorably shrinking.

Magical areas are more intense than mundane reality: colours are more striking, sounds more piercing, the day brighter, and the night deeper. Mundanes tend to become "weird", living in such areas. At the STs option, Toreador may have to roll Self-Control while in such areas or be enraptured.

[Magick areas are essentially regions where the Gauntlet - the force which keeps the reality of our Gaia realm and the Umbra separate - is weaker. Magick areas can be so for various reasons, including regions of Faith (see article). Here the mind’s force of belief has affected the Gauntlet, altering the potential for Magick in this area.]

Lexicon of Terms 

Techniques & Forms

Before the modern era of Mage-magick, all esoterica was based on the manipulation of elements in a particular way. Most Tremere magick still works on this old system, and all vampiric disciplines can be described in this way. There are five magickal 'Techniques', as follows, ranging from creation to destruction. The Techniques operate on Forms, the forms being an extended set of elements: the first four of earth, air, fire and water, and others such as plants, animals, human bodies etc.

Spells are therefore described by Technique and Form, occasionally with additional form modifier. To describe disciplines in this way, for example Dominate would be Rego Mentem (ReMe), the Path of Fire Creo Ignem. Protean forms of transformation would be Muto Corporem Animal.

Techniques

 [Techniques are the methods of magickal transformation, defined as follows. This is entirely in the Hermetic High Magick tradition - elsewhere and in other traditions, they may be enacted differently. In today’s Thaumaturgy, many of them have actually become Paths, although their deeper meaning is not known to most Outer Circle Tremere:]

Forms  

Casting Spells

[All spells, including creation of rituals and disciplines, requires a combination of Technique and Form. A simple spell for example would be Rego Mentem 2 (I Rule the Mind), which is the first level of the Dominate discipline. By adding other forms and techniques - in descending order of significance - much more subtle powers can be added. Rego Imagonem Mentem for example is second level Presence - Awe - which adds mental images to more subtley control the mind. Level in the forms and techniques is essential in determining the power of the ritual, though normal rules of dice and difficulty apply.]

Magic is further divided into two types: formulaic and spontaneous. Formulaic magic consists of rotes and rituals. These are elaborate magics where repetitions of pre-determined arcana create an effect. It is the more powerful and predictable type of magic. Rotes generally can be cast within a few seconds and require few material components (except for perhaps blood). Rituals take longer, generally 15 minutes/level. Ritual Magic may not be duplicated with spontaneous magic.

Spontaneous magic [is the basis of disciplines - it] is more flexible, but is more difficult to cast. Also it is generally less powerful [than formulaic], and takes longer to perform [- because the magus has to think on his feet and essentially make it up as he goes along. Rote-magick is tried and tested, and learned, and hence easier to activate]. Spontaneous magic is also more taxing to the wizard. Because vampiric magi draw power from their own blood, some rotes require the expenditure of 1 bloodpoint. This expenditure is automatic and does not count against the number of bloodpoints which the vampire may expend in a turn.

Normally rotes may be cast within a turn (Celerity does not allow for multiple spells), but complex spontaneous magics may require several rounds to complete (ST's discretion). In addition, the use of spontaneous magic always requires the expenditure of 1 willpower point.

Modifiers:

 Spending Quintessence:

The magi can use quintessence to lower the difficulty of the spell. For vampires, this means spending blood. Each blood-point spent, lowers the difficulty by one. Note that this counts against the number of blood-points/turn. Beware of low generation Thamauturgists!

Near a Node:

Although vampires cannot absorb quintessence from a node directly, their presence lowers the difficulty by their rating. The same effect occurs in Regios (Magic, Fairie, Domain (Religous), Infernal, Reason - see notes on Faith).

Fast-Cast:

In emergency situations, the magus can cast a spontaneous spell in one round, or a formulaic spell before his normal initiative. The difficulty is +1 for spells of level 3 or less, and +2 for spells of level 5 or less. Normally, the magus cannot fast-cast a spell, if she is completely surprised.

Distracted:

Adds +1-3 to difficulty.

Subtlety:

Magic generally requires bold words and gestures. If the caster attempts to cast a spell subtly there is a +1 modifier. If the caster attempts to cast a spell without any perceptable signs, there is a +2 modifier. Subtle magic requires a roll of Per+Occult (or thaumaturgy), with a difficulty of 8 (6) to see. The most subtle form requires the same roll against 9 (7) and can only be done by people with auspex.

Targeting:

Perception+Thamauturgy

Ritual Magic

Ritual magic is a draining affair. The magus must roll Sta+Fort against a difficulty of the ritual level+3. If the roll fails, the magus loses 1 willpower point. If he botches, the thamauturgist loses a number of willpower=number of botches. Ritual magic often requires the expenditures of large quantities of blood. Ritual magic is easier to perform and can create more complex effects than are normally possible.

Spell Casting Options

Mastering a Spell costs 1 xp for each level of a spell. Rituals cannot be mastered. Mastered spells cannot be botched, unless the caster was distracted when casting the spell or attempting to mutliple cast it. In addition, the caster may multiple cast mastered spells.

Multiple Casting can only be done with mastered spells. The magus must roll Int+Thaumaturgy, with a difficulty of 9. The number of successes required is equal to the number of castings to be performed. If this roll is failed or botched, then the caster loses at least one willpower point. If it succeeds, the magus can cast multiple versions of the same spell. Roll normally, but with a +1 modifier for each spell being cast. This effect is draining enough to cost one willpower point.

Casting a Spell while maintaing another:

Requires an Int+Meditation roll against a difficulty of 5+level of first spell (or 2+level of the spell if the second is the same as the first). If the thamauturgist fails, the second spell is not cast; if she botches, then the first spell is lost as well.

Using Raw Vis (Tass)

Raw vis is magical power stored in a physical object. It can be extracted and used in the same way which quintessence is used. However, when vis is extracted from an object, all the vis in the object is used. The exception to this are Talismans. They can store vis, and use only a portion of it.

Magic Resistence and Counter-Magic

There are three types of defense against magick: natural resistence, magick resistence, and counter-magic:

Natural resistence is by Willpower and soak rolls. They are always made (unless a player does not wish to risk a willpower roll).

Magic resistence is an intuitive defense against magical attacks. Whenever magic is used to alter a pattern of someone or something with magic resistence, it resists. The magus gets to roll his dice in the form of an attack. Eg. A Ball of Abysmal Flame is thrown at a priest with True Faith. If the priest had a faith score of 3, he would get 3 dice of magic resistence. If a spell were used to cause a wall to collapse on top of the priest, then his magic resistence would be of no use (but he might intuitively move out of the way [in such circumstances his Faith might add to his Wits+Alertness roll]). The difficulty is the level of the attacking spell+4. Each success takes one away from the attacker's roll. Note that this spell affects benign magic as well. This effect can be voluntarily suppressed.

Counter Magic is an active defence against magic. It works as the casting of a normal spell works, with all the normal rules of magic. For example, when the wall is collapsing, the magus could teleport out of the way, or use magic to strengthen the wall and prevent the collapse. Counter Magic is considered an action.

Conversion of Ars Magica Spells to Vampire

* 10-

** 20-

*** 30-

**** 40-

***** 50-

****** 60-

******* 70-

********* 80-

In order for a thaumaturgist to be able to use a spell, she must have a thamauturgy rating of at least equal to the spell's power. In addition, the magus must have both the form and the technique of the spell and a number of dice=1/5 of the Ars Magica rating. If you do not have the Ars Magica rules, simply double the rating to find the number of dice required.

Eg. "The Lungs of Watery Death" is a Creo Aquam spell (CrAq 35). This translates into CrAq 4. The thaumaturgist must have a thaumaturgy score of at least 4, and 7 dots between Creo and Aquam. [This may be complex, but it requires some effort for the player to learn - which can only lend to role-playing authenticity. Magic, after all, is complicated, and requires years of study.]

Many spells have secondary requisites. If a spell has a secondary requisite (either a form(s) and/or a technique(s), the magus cannot use more dice from the primary requisite than he has in the secondary. For example, Lungs of Watery Death has a corporem secondary requisite. This means that the magus cannot use more dice from Aquam than she has in her Corporem rating.

As for rule conventions, +5 damage is normally equivalent to 1 dice of damage. Bonuses to attributes are normally converted +1 to one dice. An Ars Magica attribute of 0 is equivilent to 2 in the ST system. The maximum human potental is 5 for both games. Note that these are only common sense conversions. Mind control spells are resisted by Willpower, not Int.

Ars Magica Score Attribute Ability

-5-4 0 na

-3-2 1 na

-1-1 2 1

2 2 2

3 3 3

4 4 4

5 5 5

Target Numbers:

Ars Magica StoryTeller

3 3

6 6

9 9

12 9, 2 successes

15 9, 4 successes

Simplified Ranges, Durations, and Effects

The Ars Magica game does not have standardized rules for these in the same way that Mage does. Since a copy of Ars Magica may not be available at every game, or just for the sake of simplicity, the following data can be used:

Magical power tends to increase logarithmicly. These are only generalizations. 1 square mile is the equivilent of 36 000 000 ft (apprx). If the magus is attempting to create a storm, then the effect will probably become much bigger. If the magus attempts to create a giant fire, then the area of effect should probably be reduced. Narrative priorites should always supercede numeric calculations. Note that no effect can be made permanent unless quintessence is used. One point is enough for anything less than a pound or larger than an apple. 2pts should be enough for a weapon, 3 would be enough for a television, 4 for a motorcycle, 5 for a car. A house (or tower for traditionalists) would probably take at least 10 (even if the magus could generate this). Food generated without quintessence provides no nourishment, and wounds healed with magic do not really heal without quintessence either. To date no thamauturgist has created a cost-efficient way of magickly generating blood or healing (although aggravated wounds might be healed more quickly).

Damage Effects

 These are often best left up to the ST. There is not necessarily a direct correspondece between the level of a spell and its damage. A weak telekinesis spell on a steering wheel could cause a car to swerve and cause 15 damage dice, even though the spell was only level one or two. Generally however, spells which directly apply damage (such as fireballs), can inflict a max. of:

Related subjects:

Certamen

Faith

"Order of Draco", (c) Robert D How, 1998