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Ars Magica: Difference between revisions
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'''Bjornaer''': Shapeshifting magi who can change into form of their "Heart-Beast" (or, in the case of an inanimate, natural object, a "Heart-Shape"). They are descended from a Pomeranian Bear-witch name Birna and practice secret magical rites at their Domus Magnus Crintera every twelve years
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The Order of Hermes itself is richly political, with laws governing how Magi must conduct themselves toward each other while at court (Tribunal) and just in general, with secrecy and the right to power being primary tenets of the vow taken by mages at the completion of their apprenticeship.
It was one of the first examples of a Troupe system: early editions recommended that the players collaborate to create the campaign world and story. Each player would have an opportunity to be the [[Game Master|Story Guide]], and each player would have more than one character, so that if they felt their main character would not go on an adventure (for example, if they were busy with their research) a secondary character may be used. The game was developed by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein·Hagen of ''[[Old World of Darkness
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* [[Beware the Superman]]: Mages are well within their rights to torture [[Muggle|Muggles]] to death. ▼
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▲* [[Beware the Superman]]: Mages are well within their rights to torture [[Muggle
** They have one Crime for this, loosely referred to as Interfering with Mundanes. No wizardly court on the planet will convict you for less than bringing actual harm to other mages, however, and not even then if you have enough political power to stop it.
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Criamon. In later editions, they're the only ones who have access to the Enigmatic Wisdom Virtue, which gives bonuses to understand things that normal logic can't process. The classic joke?
{{quote|
Fish. }}
* [[The Commandments]]: The Order of Hermes has a Code of Conduct which (among other things) forbids dealing with demons, endangering the Order, interfering with secular governments and spying on or killing other mages.
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* [[Hermetic Magic]]: Played with in a couple of ways: the only Hermetic magic as-per the trope is Verditius magic, which requires casting tools and considered a flaw of House Verditius (in some editions), and Ritual spells, which require the use of crystallized magic energy called ''vis'' and a long casting time; the rest of Ars Magica's magic is closer to [[Vancian Magic]], but it's named Hermetic Magic after the Order of Hermes.
* [[I Know Your True Name]]: Mages eventually end up with three names. Their True Name (the one given to them by their parents at birth), their apprentice name (used by their master during apprenticeship) and then the Hermetic Name (which they choose for themselves after their apprenticeship is complete). This is all because the True Name is an extremely powerful weapon in the hands of one's enemies, particularly non-Hermetic ones. Demons are especially susceptible to the use of their True Names, and invoking a Demon's true name against them usually doubles the effectiveness of whatever spell or command is being used. In 5th edition, knowing the True Name of a demon (or angel) counts as an ability and forms a powerful (x5) Arcane Connection to it. It should also be noted that, according to ''Realms of Power: The Divine'', a character's Baptismal Name cannot be used as a Sympathetic Connection
* [[Kill It
* [[Large Ham]]: one of the advantages of playing a 'grog' as opposed to a major character, according to the 5th edition rulebook, is that it's acceptable to chew on the scenery a little.
* [[Magic A Is Magic A]]
* [[Medieval European Fantasy]], The game is actually a fantastic medieval Europe, with the typical campaign starting spring A.D. 1200 but oddly it more subverts this trope that supports it, due to the level of detail and 'reality' the various campaign source books looking at medieval politics and society. The supplement books that don't focus on the Order and its magic are about as accurate and informative as any regular general-history book, 4th edition's ''Ordo Nobilis'' in particular.
* [[Mystical Plague]]: The spell "Curse of the Unportended Plague" starts a plague in a city over a period of
* [[No Eye in Magic]]: Some spells have the range "Eye", which means the mage must make eye contact with the target for the spell to take effect.
* [[Our Werebeasts Are Different]]: Includes were-bears and were-lynxes.
* [[Point Build System]]
* [[Robe and Wizard Hat]]: House Mercere, commonly called Redcaps because they wear silly-looking red pointy hats. The robe is optional, but common, since most major places know not to mess with the guys in the doofy red stooge
* [[Shapeshifter Mode Lock]]: Mages who remain in animal form too long can have their human personality replaced with the animal's.
* [[So Beautiful It's a Curse]]: The Curse of Venus flaw, which makes the character very attractive to people he or she does not WANT to attract, and who won't take no for an answer.
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* [[Sympathetic Magic]]: Specifically referred to as the Law of Sympathy.
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Arguably what makes the Tremere as dangerous as they are; they are ALL [["Well Done, Son" Guy|Well Done Son Guys]], out to please no one but their parens (the mage who trained them), who wants to please ''their'' parens, who wants to please ''their'' parens...
** Also carries over into the Tremere clan of ''[[
* [[Witch Hunt]]: The reason the Order of Hermes is a secret. While most people in Mythic Europe don't think too hard about the occasional wise woman who lives in the woods or weird magician in a tower, the idea of open conflict between the Church and the Order is a headache no one wants to deal with.
** The Church is cognizant of the Order and prefers to leave it alone. It's not so much a secret as it is something that isn't widely bandied about. The Church know that the mages can wipe them out if angered enough, so they ignore them. The Order know that God can wipe ''them'' out if angered, so they leave the Church alone. It's a beautiful balance of power.
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[[Category:Tabletop Games]]
[[Category:Ars Magica]]
[[Category:Tabletop
[[Category:Tabletop Games of the 1980s]]
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