A strong short term strategy but a weaker long term strategy as the experience point will become irrelevant if the character ever hits the level of a summa that he studies. My fifth ed games tend to be full of level 5 quality 15 summa. ( fourth edition on the other hand very much favored putting a point or two in each art because of the three levels per season limit)
I typically let the character's back story overwhelm min maxing concerns but I can't pretend that I don't think about them.
Yeah - we've also got one exactly like that - I think I labeled it "Wise One's Vision of Vis" or some such...
And there are no such thing as stupid questions - except the questions never asked. Askers on the other hand... might with a lot of tenacity.. earn labels (or individual threads). But no worries there.
Be prepared, oh Furion, for further irritable erruptions on my part...
I repeat:
Am irritated with lack of organisation and clarity in the core rulebook.
Think that you lot have a bad case of groupthink on what is 'obvious'.
Michael, magic in the rulebook is NOT based on the spells listed there, but on the descriptions of what can be done with each technique and form. You will find that the guidelines is what you look for.
The spells are only examples of what can be done with the guidelines, but not the guidelines themselves.
Ars magica has a really cool magic system, but it is not easy to grasp. In that sense I would say that Broken CVovenant of Calebais (the one you are playing) is too much "magic oriented" to be a really good starting adventure. In fact I think it is one of the coolest adventures I have ever read/directed, but it is a lousy adventure for startying players. you have to know quite a lot of stuff about the setting to take full advantage of what you will find there!!
I made the same mistake that you have done in the first saga I started: I tried to introduce everything at once to my players. It sucked. Big time. 
Later I have found that starting the saga with a group of grogs going to town and playing a non magical adventure like "GOing Home" (can be found on the web) is a perfect way to introduce players to the mechanics of the game without bnothering them with magic and stuff.
A good resource for this kind of stuff can be found at durenmar.de/ , concretely in
durenmar.de/cenaculum.html#cena_stor
When introducing my current players to our saga (2 were new to the game) I oplayed the following adventures
1.1) You can introduce an ambush by brigands if you want. After all the grogs are still returning to their covenant
The Stormrider. A lot of people consider it a lousy adventure, but I found it worked OK for introducing the magic system into the game. It is an Ars Magica 3-4 adventure, so it should be easy to get it on PDF at RPGnet or get it at discount in a store. This is a stand -off adventure. The players appearing there were notr to appear in the saga and I made it quite clear that this was the case to my players: they were not forced to keep the characters (in fact, I do not like the characters as written in most cases). However, I allowed them to keep their XP for their real characters if they did a good interpretation. TYhe characters sucked in the adventure (failed abysmally) but it was good for what it was suppposed to do: introduce the gaming magical mechanics and concepts like fatigue and combat into the adventure
I used a story in faerie stories (an other 4th edition supplement, and great at that) about a faerie market. I sent the characters there. it is a good adventure to introduce summer faeries (even if those are urban) and concepts like diplomacy and mundane reaction to the Gift (they had a lot of problems with the mundane guards at the door).
After that they were all set to start the "proper" campaign. And here you can start to tweak the world to your wishes. 
Running more mundane adventures at this point is perfectly OK since the 3 previous adventures had been supernatural in my saga! and it was starting to get a little bit too high fantasy. We playe3d a tournament and politrical game, where the magi negotiated with the local lord the rights of exploiting a wild forest in his lands and settle in a nice rocky outcrop (with an aura of +4) that they had investigated during the first hour of the session.
The first adventrues are a single gaming session in length (except Stormrider, that can be 2), so the whole process can be done fairly well in a single gaming month.
In general, there are HUNDREDS of really good stories that can be played in 1 session on the net. Search for them Simple storylines that do not try to cover everything (fatigue, magic, faeries, terror, exploration, investigation AND combat) at once are the best ones for learning the mechanics of the game.
Clear as mud? Hope this did not "stink of groupthink" as you called it 
Cheers,
Xavi
That may very well be. Some people here (I won't name names) have spent a lot of time thinking about Ars.
This is a bad thing, why? 
-K!
And that is what is so great about this place - just tap into big mesh Ars Hybrid Hivemind (AHH!) - all we want is your braaains 
The book might very well be disorganised, but I couldn't judge it myself as I'm too deep in. But on the question on vis-detection I actually think it a poor example as it is right there in the Guidelines.
Which reminds me to get going - my troupe will be here tonight and I've got a dinner to cook up. 
Furion (who didnt take on Calebais untill after 2-3 years of playing Ars)
As a relative newby, I can agree with the unorganised style of the book. But just play the game how you like it best. And you can allways ask here. It is a shame not to play this nice game for that reason!
Well, a magus would have a pretty good gut feeling about what things are likely to be raw vis. Certainly in their speciality, not so much in their neglected arts.
A new player would almost certainly have no idea, however. So the storyguide would do well to give some off-camera hints.
Well, thank you for the offers of support. I'll certainly look up the list of adventures you've pointed to.
However, I don't think it's practical or wise to start a campaign saying: this isn't the real game yet, we're just warming up and you'll be throwing away the characters and most of the background you learn in the first xx weeks....
It's not wise to introduce a game that is primarily about the magi with adventures that don't involve them at all. If magic is what the game is about then you need to get to the magic. (A case might be made for playing the characters as apprentices.... Hmmm, a 'prelude' book would be a good idea... Call it 'A Wizard's Life' or something like that. A starter mini-campaign...)
And I also don't think (to repeat myself for the umpteenth time) that one line in the InVi guidelines is enough to make this matter clear.
Who said they are throwing away the characters? The only characters being dismissed are the ones in Stormrider, since they are pregenerated characters and quite bad at it. You can think about more interesting characters in a whim IMO and they are there to show you how the magic system works. Having replaceable magi is GOOD here, since noboduy wants to end up with a magus that is crap and will not enjoy playting. Knowing the magic system a little bit before generating your magus is a good idea.
The other characters (grogs et al) can easily be made to be grogs for the saga of the PCs. You can set the campaign in the summer/autumn covenant where the grogs came from, or you can make them gifts to the charactewrs when they declare at tribunal that they want to create a covenant or they can join the covenant ofg the PCs for other reasons later on. The magi sent to the faerie fair were the real magi of the players. And yes, they were apprentices at the time. The players created their magi, and we removed 5 years of experience out of them.
The game is more about a covenant than magi. But the approach can be different. I have played successful campaigns where magi appeared in 1 adventure out of 6 or so. Some players enjoy this and some do not. We have played quite a few sagas of Ars, so it might be that we wanted to explore other aspects than the "dragon hunting megamage" approach. Do what works for your saga.
What I am saying is that Calebais is an amazing adventure, but IMO it is not suitable for beguinners even if it is a dungeon crawl. Too many elements can make people's heads spin of and desire n ot to play the game since will feel lost in the game. Going more slowly it gives players time to adapt to the world and gaming system
But in any case, do what works for you, not us
Cheers,
Xavi
There is a specific, necessary way to look at the magic system. Its not just a system of X spell achieves Y output, like some other systems. One needs to get past this thinking right at the start to make headway.
Magic in Ars Magica is indeed achieved by 'spells' but these are completely flexible and often unique. You need to think of a spell as a designed formula to achieve a result - and therefore when understanding magic you need to be looking at the formula, not just the existing sample spells.
Every spell must have; a Technique, a Form, a Base effect level, a Range (with associated level modifier), a Duration (with associated level modifier) and a Target (with associated level modifier). It may also have some special Extra level modifiers according to requirements.
To achieve an effect with magic (to create a spell), you need to put all these factors together into the formula and come up with a spell to cast. So in the searching for vis example we start with Technique and form. We are trying to learn something (is there vis in the vicinity), so the Technique will be Intellego. The form we are trying to learn about is Vim (vis, pure magic), so now we have a TechForm combo. We need a Base effect level, so we go to the InVi base guidelines and we see... Detect Vis, base level 1. So we have InVi level 1. We need a range to detect at, and want Range: Sight, which is +3 magnitudes taking us to InVi Level 4*. We need a Duration for the spell to last so we pick Duration: Sun, which is +2 magnitudes taking us to InVi Level 10*. Lastly we need a target. This is a bit tricky as the target is not actually the vis, its the person seeing (intellego-ing) the vis we pick Target: Group (so our whole party will be able to spot vis except those who's magic resistance blocks the spell), which is +2 magnitudes taking us to InVi Lvl 20*.
*Magnitudes go 1,2,3,4,5,10,15,20,25,...
So we have a spell (once we give it a name).
Party of Vis Hunters, InVi20, R:Sight, D:Sun, T:Group
All members of a group on which this spell is cast (whose magic resistance does not resist) are able to identify vis until the next sunrise or sunset, whichever comes first. The vis gives off a pearly glow which is identifiable by sight to those who know or are told what to look for.
The italics text is fluff only, to enable the mechanics to be described in action in a story telling manner.
The thing you have to remember, is that every time anyone casts and sort of Hermetic spell, you are going through this process. A formulaic or ritual spell that is pre-described has merely had this done already to save you the effort, however the magical system is so flexible that only a very small amount of the limitless options available can be described for you. Thats the drawback of having such a flexible system.
There are also many different ways of doing the same thing.Consider the following spells.
MuVi(Im) 20 R:Voice D:Conc T:Group
On a word of command from the caster, all vis within earshot of the command begins to glow violet. It continues to glow as long as the caster concentrates.
The idea here is to change a property of vis so that it gives off violet light and thus anyone can spot it. Comparing with MuTe and MuAu I assigned the ability to change a property of vis as a Base level of 3 because there was no Base level available (thats why they are called guidelines). Another SG might give it a different base number. Range and duration are self explanatory, I used target Group this time because the target is all the vis within range, which may be one part or many, but is grouped by being all within the voice range of the castor. The Imaginem requisite is because we are modifying the image of the vis, but its largely cosmetic so I didn't add a magnitude.This spell could surely be refined, but I wanted to show something that affected the vis itself, rather than the hunters.
Or
Spinning out the Vis
ReVi 20 R:Touch D:Conc T:Circle
All vis within a circle drawn by the magus slowly begins to rise and spin, coalescing into a spinning ball about 6 feet off the ground in the centre of the circle. Note: Requisites may be required if the vis has not been 'extracted' first. Magus Donal D'Uthisatome notes in the margin of this spell that having a live spitting, furiously spinning magical Lynx in amongst your collected vis is in fact a very bad thing.
The key thing to remember is that the Magic System is for you to play around with. The spells in the book are just examples, and shortcuts for the lazy, not the be-all and end-all.
I understood all that about how you create magical effects in ArM. I wouldn't have tried to run a game unless I had a clear grasp on that.
What I am saying and will continue saying is that one line that says 'You can create a spell to find vis' is not enough to say to me 'You must create a spell if you want to find vis'.
Just as a line saying 'You can create a spell to light a fire' does not mean 'You must create a spell to light a fire'.
Errr..... tyou are aware that you seem to be saying that if the rules do not say something cannot be done, you can do it, right? So I fly, breath water and change my form into a might dragon with 100 magic resistance. All those are NOT in the guidelines, and nowhere does it say that I cannot do that (BTW: it would be really cool to be able to do all that at once!! 
)but have example spells that do just that.
Do not think that magi can do more than they can. They can do what is explicitly stated that they can do, and nothing more. it is already a helluva lot of stuff!
Vis is one of those things that could have been explained better (well, a lot of things could, like in most role playing games out there) but it is not difficult to euither infer how it is done, ask about it in the net forums and get an answer or handwave it and make magi know what could contain vis in a certain technique or form if they have a score of 9+ injit. Easy
As always: remember that the rules are a guideline to tell a great story. If they get in the way of the story ditch the rules. The story has preference there. If in your saga you think vis should be shinny like a neon light and have a post-it saying "here be vis" so be it. I have done that on occasion.
Cheers,
Xavi
I'm just saying that I wanted more than one line to infer how this vis stuff (which is pretty central to the mages' life) works.
When your trying to figure out what a magus can or can not do, assume they have the natural abilities of a vegitable and then try the following...
[code]
There will be things that may be beyond your skills but everything is possible. Even the essential limits can be broken if you spend the effort.
Here's an example:
Magus Tim wants to smite the ravenous beast that just killed a series of knights. It seems to immune to all but fire.
[code]
find someone else that can help then.
None of the knights have bows so that idea is out. Fortunately they have an artifact (magical device) that will do the job. They activate the device, smite the beast and move on after feasting.
Agnar...
I like it...
Like dropping leaves and growing seed pods?
Well, lot of answers here, but none for your question. Let me try to cover the basics and some of the advance as well.
What is vis ?
Vis is pure magic in physical form, crystalised magic or simply put : Raw magical power !
Vis is pretty much THE raw magical resource. Vis is used for all the long-term or world-shaking effects : Rituals, Magic Items, Longevity Potions. The vis has lot of other uses but they are the main ones. Vis is aligned with a form, (Animal, Ignem, Vim, etc.) and it is aligned with a supernatural domain (magical, faerie, infernal, divine), if you want to simplify or don't want to learn by heart all the rules and optional rules yet you could use only magical standard vis with no problem (I would recommand it for starters). Rules for different kind of vis are in the Realms of Power books.
Vis in the wild
Vis can be found mostly in supernatural auras, regios or creatures. This is where magic is the strongest. It can take many forms, sometimes very subtle, sometimes very "unnatural". Most of the time, this vis have Other magical properties than simply being vis.
Examples: A golden apple who keeps the eater healthy, would probably contain Creo vis.
Perdo or herbam (or both) could be found in rare and strange deadly poisonous mushroons found at the summer solstice in the magical woods.
Even grogs could find potential vis or vis sources simply by finding magical effects, or simply being witnesses of a magical events. Mages who are most of the time in their laboratory are less-likely to find anything new or unusual in the surrounding region, but are more competent to actually identify it as vis or vis-source. Grogs could well be the initial reason for the mages to start a vis-hunt.
How to identify it ?
Spells are simply the best way to identify Vis, and one of the only method to be perfectly sure on the field, a simple spell of first magnitude could identify it, another to learn a property (Like the form associated or quantity), theses spells are easily learnables and common enough to find lab texts or easy enough to be invented. Other mages don't find them usefull enough so they prefer to cast spontaneous spells to identify it (this works but it's risky in the long term because of the potential botches). Starting mages didn't usually took time to learn theses spells during apprenticeship.
As a house rule I allow a magus to identify vis in a day in their laboratory, as vis must have some magical properties, anyone a little competent could identify it. The day is for the nessessary experiments and tests but could learn it properties as well (quantity, form).
Other questions/unclear points ?
Thank you. That's a lot clearer and would have been useful in the core rulebook. I think it should go into the Newbies' FAQ.
Here's an email that I sent out to the othr players in a game a few years back