[size=150]Aegis of the Hearth[/size]
After plenty of stuff in other threads I thought I would compile a list of what is explicitly true, implicitly true, implicitly likely (though not necessarily true), and generally accepted about Aegis of the Hearth, sort of like a FAQ. I'll try to color-code everything. I'll also include some common thoughts. I'll keep notes small and in black. I will update this first post as corrections are pointed out or additional things are found.
Spells
- All spells cast toward the Aegis from outside it, bringing objects into the Aegis, or whose continuing presence is brought into the Aegis must penetrate the against the level of the Aegis unless cast by someone who participated in the Aegis ritual. [size=85]Invitations and tokens apparently do not help with this.[/size]
- All spells cast within the Aegis suffer a penalty to their casting total of half the level of the Aegis unless cast by someone who participated in the Aegis ritual or someone with an invitation and token.
Powers
Explicit:
- All powers used by magical creatures within the Aegis suffer a penalty to their penetration of half the level of the Aegis unless used by someone who participated in the Aegis ritual.
Implicitly true:
- Invitations and tokens can reduce this penalty. [size=85]This is because the penetration penalty is define to be the same as the casting total penalty and the casting total penalty is reduced by invitations and tokens.[/size]
Implicitly likely:
- Powers of beings from other realms suffer the same penetration penalties. [size=85]Nothing else about Aegis seems to distinguish between realms, and "magical" isn't capitalized, so it's probably supposed to be "supernatural" or something like that.[/size]
- All powers sent toward the Aegis from outside it, bringing objects into the Aegis, or whose continuing presence is brought into the Aegis must penetrate the against the level of the Aegis unless sent by someone who participated in the Aegis ritual. [size=85]Powers and spells seem to be treated with the same penalties by the Aegis, so this was probably intended. Invitations and tokens apparently do not help with this.[/size]
Supernatural Abilities
Explicit:
- For a Bjornaer to use Heartbeast within an Aegis opposing it, the Bjornaer must overcome 3+(Aegis magnitude). [size=85]It is interesting that this is not +(magnitude)/2 to be in line with the penalty to spells and powers[/size].
Implicitly likely:
- Since it is stated in HoH:MC that Heartbeast is affected during the transformation because it is a supernatural effect at that moment, it is likely that other Supernatural Abilities used within a resisting Aegis will be similarly penalized. Additionally, HMRE specifies that hedge magician powers "cast" at or within an Aegis must overcome the Aegis similarly how spells noted above must. Many hedge magician effects come from Supernatural Abilities and are not spells, so this general statement likely applies to those Supernatural Abilities as well. [size=85]Note that Parma Magica is not countered by Aegis of the Hearth. This does not imply any Supernatural Abilities are not affected because Parma Magica is not a Supernatural Ability, plus it seems likely Aegis of the Hearth and Parma Magica were designed to be compatible.[/size]
Other Supernatural Virtues/Flaws
Implicitly likely:
- If there's no Ability nor Art, the applied penalties seem irrelevant, so the Virtue or Flaw behaves normally.
Items
Explicit:
- If any of these three apply, the item is not resisted:
[list][*]The item was made by someone who participated in the Aegis ritual. - The item was made by someone who has an invitation and token.
- The item was inside the Aegis as the ritual was cast, regardless of who made the item.
[/:m]
[]All other items are resisted in an unstated manner.[/*:m][/list:u]
Implicitly Likely: - If you put the most weight on the word "resisted," then resisted items must penetrate the Aegis's level regardless of location. [size=85]This probably means Talismans cease to give their bonuses when within a resisting Aegis, too.[/size]
- If you put the most weight on "foreign" vs. "within," then resisted items must penetrate the Aegis if "foreign" or have reduced penetration if within the Aegis. [size=85]This can be interpreted so that Talisman bonuses flicker as the boundary is crossed, being resisted in an essentially irrelevant way.[/size]
Might Beings
Explicit:
- Creatures with Might less than or equal to the Aegis's level cannot move into the Aegis from outside it without an invitation/token or without having been part of the ritual. [size=85][strike]It is not stated whether or not the Aegis itself needs to penetrate like wards do for this effect. By default it would seem like the Aegis should have to penetrate for this effect, however, far more players play without the Aegis needing to penetrate than play with it needing to penetrate.[/strike] Through the Aegis has clarified this, stating Aegis of the Hearth must penetrate.[/size]
- Revoking an invitation does not expel a person. It prevents the person from re-entering.
Implicitly true:
- Persons, things, etc. with Might less than or equal to the Aegis's level cannot move into the Aegis from outside it without an invitation/token or without having been part of the ritual, as above. [size=85]If there is a prevention from re-entering, then it seems "person" and "creature" are interchangeable despite the apparent distinction being made between them.[/size]
- Revoking an invitation does not expel a creature, thing, etc. It prevents the creature, thing, etc. from re-entering. [size=85]See the note above.[/size]
Familiars
Implicitly Likely:
- Powers in the familiar bond are essentially in an invested item and should be resisted in an unstated way (see above) unless one of the item exceptions (see above) is true. [size=85]Even then, due to the nebulous location of the power, there are questions. Who has to be inside the Aegis as the ritual is cast, one of the magus or familiar or both of them? If the one activating the effect is inside the Aegis and the other is outside the Aegis, is it resisted? Finally, what of the cords themselves? The nice thing about the using the "foreign" vs. "within" interpretation for items is that you can be consistent and have the cords remain: the cords will be resisted, too, but that just makes them blink as you cross the boundary, essentially meaning they keep working.[/size]
Longevity Rituals
Generally accepted:
- The longevity ritual is not affected. [size=85]However, the question has come up more than once. The longevity ritual doesn't fit with items very well, though it seems somewhat that way when first done. However, renewed longevity rituals seem more like spells, though without a casting total. As with cords, if you go with the "foreign" vs. "within" interpretation for items you could allow longevity rituals to be similarly resisted in a pointless way, the value of which is that you don't need to worry about more classes of things vis-a-vis an Aegis.[/size]