Ars Magica: A bonfire of tradition (hedge saga) [4-5 players]

I didn't yet read the post fully, but wish to point to GotF p.114 boxes Fenistal and Exsules quickly, which address these people.

Those versions use Hermetic Arts, though.

I really like the above, especially the warping, but I think it will be very limited in what magic it can actually do. I would suggest taking another tradition, and then creating the above as a Forest Path your character is pursuing and integrating.

Yup. Granting Major Virtues + RoP:M Major Virtues lets you do nearly anything.

About the Warping:

It is inspired apparently by the HMRE p.42f Witch Moon. I quite like the idea of merging with the surrounding area - but am still unsure what that means, if that area is e. g. a cathedral or an Infernal regio.

Using the timing and rolls from Witch Moon (which makes the merging last one or more months and makes the Locus Ease Factor: 6 + Warping Score) should otherwise improve the acceptability for the saga.

I fear, that Awakening is not working in a world without Hermetics any more: it uses Hermetic Arts to scale its effects.

The rules for Familiar can be borrowed from the Folk Witches and e, g, use Animal Ken. IIRC you suggested that already.

The other three Virtues (Nature Lore, Wilding, Guardian of Nature) should - on a quick glance - work and interoperate nicely.

Why not a Breton Gruagachan? Then the forest path can build off the Gruagachan Arts. Give Blessing as the numbers behind Awakening make sense to me.

And the game is on!

I will be setting up the threads ASAP. Feel free to open character creation threads of your own.

Remember to join the PBP player group if you are not already in it.

Xavier,

Your new play by post campaign forum is now active! It's live at: https://forum.atlas-games.com/c/play-by-post-campaigns/bonfire-of-tradition .

Be sure all your players join the "Play by Post Players" group, so they can post/reply to the game by going to Play by post players - Atlas Games RPG Forum

You can find advice on how to organize your forum and run your game at PbP Startup Instructions for GMs

Have fun, and thanks for GMing!

Amelia

I apparently have really rotten luck. Just got my work schedule for the next 3 months. I think I'm going to have withdraw my interest for now.

Still better than having to drop after we have started.

Meh. A pity to lose you. Maybe you can join us in the future. the first months will be centered in defining stuff and playing a pair of intro adventures, so you can certainly drop by later if you want. Have fun!

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Thank you, I hope to join you later when I can.
Best of luck

Cool. It looks like I can reply, but I cannot set up my own thread. Could you open a thread? I'll use the name Σοφια (Sophia) for my Greek witch.

On Fenistal and the Exsules

I am very much aware of the Lost Covenant Saga idea. Indeed I molded this, and my character, from stuff written there.

On Locus

It was actually derived from the Storm Wizards hedge tradition, AtD p.128 insert. :grin:

Since Locus has an inherent duration. i.e. Moon, if the wizard fails to reform his body within the duration there are three possible fates for a wizard who merges with a location aligned to a realm other than Magic (as noted in GotF and TC&TC): 1) Survival, 2) Dissolution, and 3) Replacement.

On Awakening

I was aware of that, but we (Xavi) were talking about using Nature Lore to replace Animal Ken in the Folk Witch Familiar binding, so we can use the same rules to scale Awakening since the ritual of binding a Familiar is said to have been derived from Awakening.

On the Gruagachan tradition

That was my Plan B if the troupe decides this character would be too weak. Honestly, I always hear people complaining on how OP Nature Lore is, so I am erring on the weaker side.

On (Hedge Magic) Theory

I was hoping to include Hercynian Theory as the Tradition's hedge magic theory so that I can do laboratory work.

I think we should talk power level. Reading Nature Lore, it's cool, but far from OP, and I really don't think its enough to be the core of a tradition. Ars Notoria is kind of the same way.

In contrast, I know there were complaints about Sihr being too powerful (which it isn't, it's definitely on par with Elementalist/Vitkir/Folk Witch/Gruagachan).

I think we have two tiers going on right now; the "cool supernatural ability but not really doing magic" tier and the "fully fledged magical tradition" tier. If we tone everything down to the lower tier (which began with disqualifying Sihr) we will have one kind of saga, if we uplift everything to the hedge tradition tier (which would mean adding something extra to the Forest Paths and to Ars Notoria) we have a different saga, still much weaker than a Hermetic Magus saga.

I think if we try to combine both, nobody will be happy. So we should probably settle on one or the other.

(To be clear, I have workable concepts for both. But I'd prefer the fully-fledged hedge traditions.)

I can easily make a Breton Gruagachan or a Renegade Virgilian with Nature Lore and Forest Paths if the troupe decides that we all need to be part of an established Hedge Tradition.

However, as I mentioned, there are comments that Nature Lore by itself is overpowered.
https://www.redcap.org/page/Nature_Lore

I can also do a write up on a full-fledged hedge tradition using Nature Lore as the (Hedge Magic) Theory if you guys want to see it.

I see. I can agree with that assessment, that it's OP in comparison to other single-virtue supernatural abilities; but I think that's not the same as making a character OP. I can think of similarly powered supernatural abilities; Ars Notoria, Mechanica of Heron, various Summoning abilities, many of the abilities that are part of larger traditions; all are way stronger than the baseline supernatural abilities in the main book, but none of them elevate a character to hedge mage status on their own. Honestly I think it's that the main book's Supernatural abilities are a bit weak, rather than that the others are too strong; though I suppose you can call that power creep and hate it.

So far I cannot create a thread in bonfire-of-traditions - but that may be temporary. @Xavi: If you wish to speed things up and set up a character creation thread for me, my character is Frère Sulpice de Reims.

hello! We have a vacant in the saga for another player if anyone is interested in playing a hedge magus.

Setting: The old Order of Hermes disappeared a while ago. it has been replaced by Hedge Magicians, that were able to recover the parma and aegis rituals from the debacle. The Order is now a much looser organization, with ad hoc tribunals (covens, really) taking place when needed, and much more integrated in the mundane world.

Place of play: Triamore, Between mundane politics and the mystical forest of the Ardennes.

Mystic characters so far: A priest of Arduinna (magic pact), a faerie doctor, an Ars Notoria Franciscan and a potential folk witch. Companions are a mason, a knight with a bad reputation and a redcap messenger. Daria la gris is an Augustan Sister, and Remi of Mouseau a folk witch.

If you are interested, drop us a line :slight_smile:

Cheers,
Xavi

Are you still looking for another player? I find the idea interesting. Never played a hedgie, but always found the idea of an elementalist intriguing. I have no idea how one would actually work in play, though. I have this vague idea of one trying to bring back parts of the Flambeau tradition from a different angle.

Hello Arthur. Sure, feel free to join in. We are just starting.
You can bring an external character or be a filius of Aline, Cardrew or Ulisterius. Any of them could have been an elementalist.

However, just to warn you, I tried to make an "original Flambeau" when TMRE came out. It did not fly. Elementalists do not reproduce the powers of Flambeau well. In my troupe we had more success reprudcing him using the hymnists of apollo, centering in the fire chant. We settled for that for our "Pralix saga". Ignes Festi was created using that, while Pralix was a spirit master. Elementalists can be powerful and fun, just not trigger happy firewielding maniacs.

I saw at least parts of that discussion and I know that an elementalist may not have the best mechanics to bring back the whole Flambeau idea. I am just wondering how one could try to recreate some of the aspects of the tradition (not necessarily the mindset). It would be more of an in-character goal to recreate/reinvent some of the things legends say that Flambeau was able to do.

In a way, the character would be something of a Seeker (HoH:TL p.15), attempting to do patch together better elemental magic through Original Research. For example, Elementalist do not have anything similar to Formulaic spells. How could he try to develop that? It may not be possible at all, but he doesn't know that, so he can only try to find a way.

Leaning towards starting him as a elemental philosopher, based on what I've read so far. I am very far from having mastered the rules for Hedge Magic elementalists, so I will have many questions while fleshing him out.

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