There are two aspects to what is being suggested - "selling" Ars, and "teaching" Ars. Mintroll had asked specifically about the latter, the former was implied later.
The "Companions first" suggestion was with regard to the teaching - getting players new to the system accustomed to it so that building a mage would not be such a shock and completely blind hurdle.
Since mage building can often take the whole first session anyway (ime), playing "one scene" with companions is a good investment in practical experience with the game for all the players.
The biggest turn off I can imagine innate to Ars is the task of trying to build a mage with absolutely ~no~ idea what your CharGen decisions mean, and then be stuck with the later realization that what you built was not what you expected. Play that a session or two, and then build a new mage. I'd rather "waste" the first session in acclimatization, and get the later ones right.
Imo, Ars sells itself - it has every time I've pitched it to a new group, or at least one who is imaginative. If no imagination, if the "blow'em up ~real~ good" type, then it's a tougher sell. On that premise, I always go straight to the "teaching" phase.
Well, it started off badly, I managed to bag one player... I was up against stiff competition, including a 1950 Cthulhu, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, the new Dark Heresy 40K RPG, Werewolf and Paranoia. Naturally I wasn't worried, then my two GURPs players from last year turned up and I nabbed them and stole one more from another group (all's fair in... you get the idea).
So, with four players at the table, we sat down and discussed our options. They decided against using pre-made characters... which is fair enough, everyone had roleplayed before and they were willing to just character gen for the evening. So that's what we did. I managed to complete two of their characters, I'll be meeting the other two sometime mid week to finished them off and ten we'll start up next Thursday (the day we play - so expect questions to be posted on Friday).
I've gone for a simple saga beginning I feel, all four will play magi in the first session... they'll be heading out to found their own covenant (I won't bother them with detailed rules on designing a covenant just yet).
It'll let everyone see the magic system for the first week, then in subsequent weeks I'll make challenges that will be one or two magi going off to solve - the rest will be companions and grogs... hopefully this will showcase the other strength of the troupe system.
Current thoughts, find vis sources, meet the local noble and earn his favour and probably the most pressing... get someone to cast ageis of the hearth on their new home.
Luckily, during character gen they've given me some good story flaws to use.
Then, after three sessions I'll hit them with the Lab Rules and let them level up... then repeat the one/two magi (my latin is non-existent, so I'm not sure what the plural should be) with wacky adventure.
So, questions:
can magi work together to cast spells, specifically ritual I suppose? Agies of the Hearth mentions that they have to be present... but can they help?
That's all at the moment.
I'm sorry about my little rant, especially against you PaulM, perhaps a knee jerk over reaction.
Magi IS the plural. Magus or Maga (male and female respectively) are the singular.
Magi can and do work together to cast some spells. "Ritual" does not mean, however, that such spells require more than one magus to cast as a rule.
The Aegis of the Hearth spell is one exception (as might be the Shrouded Glen spell) insofar as its effectiveness is best at quite high levels (given the need for any spells affecting Magic Resistance to penetrate). In this vein, the Aegis and Glen are generally preceded by the casting of a Wizards Communion ritual which divides the subsequent ritual casting total by the number of participants in the ritual so long as the Communion spell is at least twice the level of the subsequent ritual spell (i.e. Aegis or Glen).
The casting of the subsequent ritual itself (again, Aegis or Glen) only requires one caster out of the group even if others know the spell(s).
The downside to group casting via Wizards Communion, however, is that the number of botch dice is increased by 1 for each magus involved in the Communion (both for the communion itself and the subsequent spell cast IIRC.)
Example:
1 of the magi of the covenant knows the Aegis of the Hearth spell at level 20 (generally the starting point for most young magi). All of the magi know the Wizards Communion ritual at level 10.
On their chosen fixed day of the year (often Winter Solstice), they assemble and each casts his/her Wizards Communion spell for a combined total level of 50. This is more than twice the level of the Aegis spell which one of the Magi will subsequently cast, so the magus steps up and uses the gathered magical energies from the successful Communion to cast Aegis as if it were a level 4 spell (20/5). If he doesnt botch the die roll, he subtracts the modified level of the Aegis spell (now cast as level 4) from the actual known level of the spell (20) for a penetration total of 16 + the result of the die used in the casting process. Often the result is a level 20 aegis with 20+ penetration for moderate security against smaller beasts and spirits.
It wont protect against big nasties like mid-level or higher demons or power archmagi but its a start.
There is one way to do it. It's a Muto Vim spell called Wizard's Communion (p. 160). Wizard's Communion, just as the Aegis in fact, is one of the few spells that aren't entirely explainable within Hermetic theory of magic (and thus doesn't fit the regular spell rules), but spells that are often either a legacy from earlier magic traditions than the Order of Hermes or invented by one of the Founders of the Order.
By the way, to make things easier, especially in the beginning when Storyguiding Ars, I suggest that you either get hold of or make 3 or 4 prints with the most important part of the rules. That saves you a lot time during game, especially as a storyguide often will have to do the spell calculations when starting out, and you might even be able to let the book circulate among the players as long as you don't need it - besides getting to know the game better it might even inspire some of them to buy it themselves if they fancy it.
There is no "GM screen" for 5th edition Ars Magica, but whether you want to use a screen or not, the stuff that would usually go on such a screen are nice to have at hand. I suggest the following information:
Standard Ranges, Durations, and Targets (for calculating spontaneous magic)
Words and Gesture (modifiers to Casting Totals)
A targets and size summary
Concentration Table
Realm Auras (for possible Realm interaction when casting magic in an Aura)
You can also make a separate sheet on long term mechanics (though that shouldn't be too important right now):
Experience and Advancement
Aging
Warping
Lab work
I know this seems a handfull, but it really makes your job much easier. I've gradually moved away from using a screen - I think it distances myself too much from the players (and since we do most our Ars in evenings at candlelight they really cant read my notes very well after all hehe). Back when I used the screen more often I had a thing about decorating the players side of it (the logo/title of the saga, a title and thematic picture for the ongoing story, and a picture of hand gestures for the magic - from an earlier edition) and I somewhat miss that part of having a screen rather than the inside of it!
Here's the thing - I do have some of the things mentioned above put in a word document already, but come to think of it, I think I'll update it soon with the things not included yet - and you are very welcome to have a copy (of the preliminary version or the coming fuller version).
Finally it is a really good idea to have a summary of the spell guidelines with all the various Technique and Form combinations. You can have one for yourself for quick spontaneous spell moderation and toss one or two of them to the players. I have made one of those - a short one only with the guidelines and a longer one including the text bits - and I'll gladly distribute it. However, it is not complete as it only carries the guidelines from the core rules - which actually is perfect when starting out - but I do believe that Yair has made one with all the guidelines from the supplements (which reminds me that I should remember to ask him for one!).
First and foremost - good luck with the project and enjoy! And as others have mentioned the major part of Ars Magica is the stories and the fabulous setting. Ars Magica is a somewhat a rules-heavy game (at least it's got a high tresshold untill you get used to it), but at the same time it seems, to me, to attract players who emphasises the story.
Altho' it looks like a lot of blather up above, there are also a variety of good suggestions as well (and some speculation as to the obstacles you'd encounter.)
It might be worth a skim, if you have the time.
Good plan. For color, you could simply tell them that some "larger, established covenants" (maybe where they had done their apprenticeships?) were helping to sponsor the effort, providing the access to the location/buildings, lab equipment, library material and manpower - in return, they expect one or more of 1) political support in votes, 2) to be paid back in vis at some future time, and/or 3) general favours and misc aid. This can be formalized in the Covenant Charter, or just an informal understanding. (And it's usually a Bad Plan for new magi to try to screw with larger, established covenants.)
That will give some expanded flavour that you can use, or not, and avoid awkward re-definitions later if/when the campaign continues.
And while not detailing the Covenant right now is wise, remember that in a full Saga/Campaign, the Covenant is ~the~ central character. Magi may come, magi will go, but the Covenant will survive as the constant in the story.
As was recommended above as well. Fortunately, in the back of the book (Apdx II), there are a couple of pages with much of this. A couple quick xeroxes, some highlighter pens, all good.
The strength will become apparent when you have one storyline going at the covenant site, and another somewhere else. You can swap between the two storylines, and still keep ~everyone~ at the table involved at all times, just by switching between their alternate characters, or at worst by running a grog.
Be clear on several things re Companions, that may get lost if Players have preconceptions from certain-other-games-whose-names-will-not-be-uttered-here - 1) They are not "henchmen" to the Players' mage. They should be individuals, independently arrived at the Covenant for their own reasons. 2) ~AS~ such, they are Companions to the Covenant, not to the Magi. They can be paired with the magi, long or short term, but don't have to be. There is no rule that says they have to "buddy up" - that can work, but so do more flexible, less formal arrangements. 3) They are not ~necessarily~ totally subordinate to the magi - that can work, but so do other, more creative relations. That is up to the Storyguide, and the Troupe., but remembering that the Magi are why everyone is here. 4) If a Player wants the best chance to get "a character" into a story, they should build their Companion for a different role than their mage. If the mage is combative, the companion should be social. If the Mage is the studious type, the companion should be outdoorsy. Thus, no matter the story, one or the other is ~more~ likely to fit, and fit better. A lab rat mage and a librarian-scholar companion will both be fish out of water in certain adventures, etc.
A season or two should be ample. New covenants typically have a LOT of plotlines that need to be addressed "right now", so Seasons of study often wait until a first week of problem-solving gets RP'd.
And that's another challenge to a StoryGuide - finding adventures that are not epic 6 month-of-game-play death marches. Short and sweet, OR things that can be returned to over Seasons.
Addressed amply above.
Note that the only reason they have to be there is so they don't need the "tokens". If they are not present, they could still be given a token later, so their magic is not crippled by the Aegis, but they'd need to have that with them at all times when in the Aegis - a pain IC. (Tokens are created at the time of casting - they should determine the number created then, and what form they take - ring, stick, belt, necklace, dolmen, whatever.)
Note also that not everyone present need be involved in the Communion aspect of the casting to receive the benefits of being present for the Aegis. Even 1 additional mage w/ Communion would make the casting easier.
Also, I'll toss this out - it's a rule from a supplement (Covenants book, recommended), and very handy. A mage can't cast a spell from a lab text - what would typically make up a library to help a mage learn new spells faster than inventing them. But they can cast a spell from a casting tablet. ~IF~ none of your magi are excited about learning Aegis of the Hearth as an apprentice (don't blame them!), or can't learn it high enough, have the "sponsoring Covenants" include a casting cablet of Aegis of the Hearth in the mix. Don't worry how it works (it works just fine!), just let them cast from that - for now, problem solved, with no one PC bearing that unequal burden. (Oh, and it's permanant, doesn't "crumple to dust" or anything. Even does double duty as a lab text, iirc.)
There are more suggestions - like being cautious about what "Story Flaws" you let in for such a short effort - but don't worry about that right now. Get the game moving, have fun, accept that you'll make mistakes, and don't worry about it.
I'd appreciate hearing about typos on this sheet - it is, after all, supposed to be a "trainer" sheet, particularly for people with a d20 background.
However, there's no typo here - although perhaps it's not as clear as I intended. The box on the upper right of the Base Casting Totals section is marked STA to indicate that Stamina in the base modifier for all of these totals.
I was also wondering in the Grimore section, for each spell there is a 'misc' and 'bonus' box.
I couldn't think of what to put in them... I know things like Major Magical Focus allow you to add the lower of... blah blah (can't be bothered to write it out). I'd put that as a bonus....?
I like your character sheet... and I thank you for putting in the effort to make it. I'm personally not using for my current lot because I happen to find it after I'd already printed off copies of the official (amended) sheet.
Ohh, I must read the spell section again as well, I must have completely skim read the section on Vim Spells.
No worries, I generally don't get worked up about email/forum postings since I feel that without body language (and smilies don't cut it) you can easily end up misunderstanding what someone meant. Or put another way my firm belief is that if WW3 ever starts it will be due to an email message.
Glad things are working out for you and your players.
A really simple question that came up on Thursday.
How do people detect auras?
I know it mentions that they look/feel different (colours in magical auras seem brighter).
Basically though, do magi automatically know they're in an aura... and if so, do they automatically know which type it is?
The Magic Sensitivity Ability (which can be used untrained), states to detect an aura is Per + Sensitivity Vs 12 - Aura Level.
I suppose the simple issue is that, once magi start casting spells I have to tell them the aura modifier... so even if everyone of them failed the above check, a simple casting will indicate there is an aura.
The only other thing I realised I'd forgotten (meaning there is probably more), is that the Parma Magic Ritual must be done each day... important to ask each player what they're casting at sun up.
We had our first brush with spontaneous casting... and yes, it was a bit of a struggle. I really had no idea, so let a few of the things just slid, hopefully it'll get better. I'm going to throw the first combat at them next week... so I'll be brushing up on those rules over the weekend.
We averaged about an hour an a half per character to make in the the end. Which was about as long as I expected... having to teach the rules while making characters otherwise the players can't make informed decisions. Thankfully the last few details were sorted out before our session on Thursday, so we got right down to beginning the saga.
All in all, the start went very well. The Saga has begun, and though I was initially going to set it in Nottinghamshire (footnote: we're the University of Nottingham roleplay society) in the end I decided on the South West of England - starting at Bristol, but 'gently steering' the players to make their way to Exeter.
The three young an impetuous magi have decided to set off on an adventure with vague ideas they might like to strike out on their own, which next week will be helped when I hand them an old abandoned covenant... hopefully they'll ask a few questions - like why it is abandoned, though knowing players I'm not holding out much hope. Though I plan to stick a ghost of one of the old magi in the building.
I might write a little running report of our game, though I'm not sure how much interest it is to people? Perhaps not now though, somehow it's 1am.
It's a ritual, not a spell that needs to be cast. Therefore, there is no "casting total" - instead, it either gets done or it doesn't, just that simple.
Unless you're the sort of SG who asks if characters remembered to "light their torches", it's a good bet that the magi remembered to cast Parma every morning, unless Story specifics interact with that regular practice.
That (of all!) is one thing you, as a SG, don't have to worry about.
I basically concur with CH but would just like to add that it might be a good idea to get a feel of the routines of the individual magi characters. In our troupe some of them always perform their parma, some of them being very aware to do it as closely after the sunrise/sunset as possible (some bordering on OCD), while others actually at times go without the parma for days at a time (either as a choice -our troupe describing the parma as being somewhat numbing on the senses- or just being easily distracted). Ask the players about such things - both as a way to draw them into the setting by talking over daily routines and as a way for them to think over or develop their characters.
And as said - make sure to use it during stories! Just two examples from our last session. One magus traveling in the company of an influental baron, crucial to the characters plans, passing as nobleman (as that character rightly is by birth) and having to find a reason to leave the small camp at the break of dawn - another magus (waiting for his sodalis in a nearby port town) living under the roof of knowledgeable Jew (with a more than passing knowledge of divine powers) and the magus not wanting to be discovered to be more than a merchant waiting for a ship carrying a cargo of glasswares - even moreso as the magus is in town to reclaim his childhood inheritence that happens to be more than a bit infernal...
In another story one of the characters had given a strand of his hair as an arcane connection to a Venetian quaesitor while he was being investigated for a breach of the Code - the magus, normally living in England, travelled onward on a quest to rescue his childhood true love from a misguided Criamon and a horde of vengeful djinns. His travels taking to Constantinople and beyond. As he was crossing the Black Sea, expecting to find his love on its northern shores, he began to feel a tingling on his parma every night barely after he'd done the parma. In a few nights he came to the conclusion that the quaesitor in Venice was trying to Rego Corpus him there and trying to do so by catching him before his parma was up after the setting of the sun... When the magus, Virverus, finally found his love in the Caucasian mountains (in a cloudy realm of the djinn in the.. well... clouds) the sun was slowly setting in the background. The two lovers, who had been parted half a lifetime, only got to speak two or three words and share a kiss and KAZAAAM; Virverus was standing in a Venetian courtyard facing a stern quaesitor and two eager hoplites - his love left weeks of travel away and not yet out of danger! Now, I didn't spring the spell on them and it was no sooner after sunset than the other days nor were the players unaware of the sunset (perched on a cloud even!), but the 'magic' of the moment had been so strong that even the players forgot (even though the other players following the scene knew what was coming and were all on the edge of their seats).
Hmm -that was a detour but couldnt help sharing that wonderful story- but basically don't use things like the parma ritual to "police" the players about what they remember to do. To most of the characters the parma should be second nature - establish their habits and use them for flavour and story material rather than mechanics.
Note that 'Magic Sensitivity' is a Supernatural Ability, conferred by a virtue, not an ability anyone can learn/use. ( ArM5, pg 45 & 63 )
You must have the appropriatte virtue in order to learn/use any given supernatural ability. It can detect auras however... so having someone who knows/has it is not a bad idea.
As far as detecting auras... I'd generally say you 'can't' detect them without the appropriatte supernatural ability or InVi spell. Vim spells that detect auras however are very low in difficulty and almost all Magi should be able to spont them. ( ArM5 pg 158 ). It's a base level 1 effect... so all you have to do is not botch, most of the time. Level 2 for determing the rating of an aura is similarly easy. Noticing one's magic is significantly more powerful ( for a high aura ) could be an IC reason to search for an aura, but for low auras I'd usually say it's not that significant of a difference.
I shall write up our little saga asap (which will probably mean sometime in the next week).
Another few questions:
p160 of the core, Demon's Eternal Oblivion, states if spell penetrates, lose magic might equal to spell level.
Yet, the Perdo Vim Guidelines box on the same page, under 'General', states:
Reduce a target's Might Score by the level of the spell + 10, as long as the spell penetrates the creature's resistance.
These seem to contradict each other, I've got the second printing, and there's nothing in the errata.
Ok, Resistance. This is not about the how/when/moose/etc question, just numbers.
Magi get appropriate resistance: Form + 5x Parma + possibly a virtue bonus
This is fixed, it cannot vary during a short time span, unless of course the magus forgets or is unable to perform the parma ritual (I understand it's not a spell or any type, either they do it or don't)
Creatures from a realm have a Might Score, realm and form, for example Magic Might 10 (Terram).
This creatures resistance is 10.
Can this change? Is their resistance based off their current might score or the initial maximum? (I know their might pool decreases as they use powers).
This is a question about wards. Please do not drag my thread into the other (large) discussion going on concurrently.
3a) Assume wards must penetrate. Use my Magic Might 10 (Terram) creature above.
To ward against this, you would need to cast a ReTe Ward of level 10 with a Casting Total of 21 or higher (assume no penetration ability).
Thus Penetration Total is 11 (=21-10).
Thus the Magic Creature walks up to the ward, tries to cross, the spell is level 10 so it can stop it... we then check for penetration... 11 is higher than it's resistance of 10, thus it penetrates... thus the Creature is kept out.
[I refer to question 2, can the creatures resistance drop in any way? If it can, then a tired creature is easier to keep out]
3b) Assume Wards do not need to penetrate. Same as example as above.
You need only cast the level 10 ReTe Ward successfully. Once in place, it will keep out the Creature until it ends.
I would only like to know I understand how this works (no statements that (a) is better than (b) please). Thanks.
is (a) better than (b)? No, I joke.
4')
Thanks for Aura answer... I suppose it's like spell magnitudes. Out of Character, you know you're in an aura... when the SG tells out to modify stuff. In Character, you play along oblivious.
Auras affect:
i) Casting Score (not Total) and Lab Totals
ii) Magic Resistance [This partly answers myself in Qu2] - should read the rules better...
iii) Penetration (but not twice - so really this only applies to non-hermatic magi)
iv) botch dice
[Does any one have a Botch Dice summary? How many to add it all the different situations... it is kinda spread throughout the book. A nice table in the appendix would have been good.]
This is a function of the spell's Range, Duration, and Target changing. When looking at the guidelines bear in mind that you'll need to change the RDT from the default Pers, Mom, Ind. Because DEO is a range Voice spell, that's two magnitudes up from the default. So that's 10 levels.
If you invented a range Sight version of the spell, it would do level -5 "damage".
Page 184 lists Resistance (as well as Penetration) as being based on the Might Score, not the points. So even though your demon has spent points on turning your grog inside out it still has full resistance to your spells. Of course, if you zapped him with DEO, his Might Score would drop and so would his resistance.
I'll leave you to decide whether you want wards to penetrate or not, but you've described the rules as designed fine. If I wanted to ward against a Might 10 Infernal wolf I would need a level 10 ward and a Penetration of 11 or more.
Sorry, to step through this slowly then.
Perdo Vim Guidelines box states for General: Reduce a target's Might Score by the level of the spell + 10, as long as the spell penetrates the creature's resistance. This is at RDT of Personal, Momentary, Individual.
Are we saying, that the Demon's Eternal Oblivion is a PeVi General with Base Level General and plus two magnitudes for making it range voice. Then, we decrease the effect of the spell by removing the +10 which we say is worth a reduction of two magnitudes. Thus, then final DEO spell is as written.
So, perhaps the DEO breakdown should read:
(Base effect, +2 Voice, -2 Reduced Might Score Damage[-10])
So the spell really does Might Score reduction of 'spell level + 10 - 10'.
Meaning your example, increasing the range another magnitude to Sight, requires another -5 from the Might Score Damage as a counter. (so, spell level + 10 - 15 = level - 5, as you stated).
If that's right, I comprehend, otherwise... well I obviously don't.
If it is right, then I must say I'm happy I'm getting to grips with the spell stuff, though sometimes the breakdowns aren't exactly illuminating.
I know space is at a premium, but the '+2 metal' Edge of the Razor (p154) for example is a little terse in it's justification.
Um... would it? DEO only affects Infernal Might. I'd say, from the way I understand it, that the spell would have no effect on a Magic Might (Terram) creature.
Your breakdown IMO is correct. Note however that there is a PeVi for each Realm's 'Might'. My Vim Mage for example knows a PeVi for all four, and thus can cast against any creature with Might. DEO is only one version of the spell, using that guideline
This is a big one. Can you stop your own spell prematurely?
If I cast Muto Corpus (Req Animal) on myself to changing into a bird, with duration Sun. Can I decide to change back into a human at any point or do I have to wait until the spell ends?
Thus, is the only way to stop one of your own spells to to cast another spell? If so, is there a bonus for stopping your own spell? Afterall, you did cast it. I'd say that's worth some sort of bonus.
[If you can't end spells early, makes the heartbeast a lot better, as you can choose to change at any time]
Fast Casting Spontaneous Spells. I understand the idea, but not the execution, Core p83.
In particular, fast cast defense spells, mentioned as sufficient if the fast cast total is half the level of the attacking spell... but you must cast the right Form. What Technique do you use? Or is that part of the "consequences of the deflected spell".
For example, some naughty magus casts a simple fire damaging spell at me, PeIg. Say it's level 20.
To quick defend, assume I've beaten his initiative and I've recognised the form as Ig (what happens if you fail that roll, would you just try Vi - would make Vi specialist very good at quick defense).
So, am I going to try: a PeIg to destroy the spell, MuIg to make it not hurt, ReIg to turn the attack away from me (to somewhere else).
Then if I make 10, after subtracting the 10 penalty for fast casting and halving for spontaneous (lets assume fatiguing, my group are only newly into magihood).
Advice on a spell, I want to cast a magic icicle at someone. So, the damage is from the the pointy end of the icicle... so it's not a CrIg spell really. It's going to need to be aimed I'd assume, so the Range will be Personal?
I'm thinking it's:
Level 4
Create an icicle that flies towards it's target, must be aimed and does +2 damage (based off knife damage)
(Cr)ReIg with R:Per, D:Mom, T:Ind
(Base 3, +1 Req)
