Each player in the saga will play a magus. Each player should also play one Companion character. They may opt to not start play with a Companion, but at no time will they be allowed to have more than one Companion active in the saga at a time (with the exception will be Apprentices, see below).
Mythic Companions (Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, p. 104) are not allowed as such. Specifically, you may not take two points of Virtues for every point of Flaw. Virtues and Flaws must be balanced at character creation for all characters. Characters may not begin play having undergone Mystery Initiations beyond the minimum required for House membership (The Ritual of Twelve Years for Bjornaer, Faerie Magic or Nature Lore for Merinita, Verditius Magic, or a Tradition-specific Initiation for an ex Miscellanea Mystery Cult).
Each Magus and Companion will have their own creation thread. This is not only for input on the creation process itself (sometimes the other players notice something that the I miss, or they have questions that can help flesh out the character more fully), but also a place to discuss seasonal plans, advancement, et cetera. There is a separate thread for Grog characters.
Once the character has been finalized and gotten approval from the Storyguide, either the player or the Storyguide will create a page for the character on the wiki. Be careful, though: if you use the "new page" box on the left, the new page name will start with "wiki:"; so, if you use that, please go in and rename it from "wiki:charname" to "charname" (using the "Options" link on the bottom of the page"). Also put tags on the page, such 'as "PC Bjornaer Peregrine_Bjornaer Magus".
A player may also create/run as many fully statted Grogs as they feel comfortable with. My preference is that a player runs any Grogs that they create, and are responsible for advancing them annually, but this is not a requirement. The "default" condition is that a Grog will be run by their creator or given to someone to run on a "permanent" basis; any grogs that are open for anyone to run will be labeled accordingly. Note that this only applies to fully-statted grogs; any Grogs who are merely a name and a thumbnail sketch (e.g. Mìcheal, a member of the Turb with Single Weapon 6) is available for anyone to use unless/until someone stats him out fully.
There is a thread created for the discussion of new spells and Enchanted Items; any new spells will also go on the New Spells page on the Wiki.
Any House Rules concerning character creation or advancement may be found on the HR Wiki page.
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Character generation uses the rules given in Ars Magica, pages 28-33 (the section entitled "Detailed Character Creation"). Magi may begin play at no more than seven years[sup]1[/sup] post-Gauntlet. Companions and Grogs may be any age. Exception, for players who were in Canaries Are Dying or The Stonehenge Saga ONLY: their magi may begin play at the same age they were when the previous saga stopped, and the player may revamp the magus for a better fit in this saga; they will still be subject to the same XP limits for their age, however, rather than being directly ported across as is.
If you spend a season (or more) in lab activities post-Gauntlet (Ars Magica, p. 32), those lab activities may only be used for activities that do not result in something that you would normally spend points on in character creation - namely, Abilities, Arts, or Spells. Spells invented in post-Gauntlet pre-play Advancement must be bought using your 30 points per year.
If you are creating a character less than 21 years old, than you may use the optional rules in Apprentices (specifically, "Transitions of Maturation" on pages 14-15).
When designing Heartbeasts or Shapeshifted forms, in addition to using the rules on page 23 of Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, you may use the base animal form from the Book of Mundane Beasts PDF (which is reprinted as an appendix in Realms of Power: Magic) or from the Fourth edition book, The Medieval Bestiary. In case of conflict, use the Fifth edition statistics. These conflicts are most likely to be found regarding the animal's size; many are listed on page 39 of Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults.
Magical Familiars (those who had Magic Might before being befriended and Bonded) should be created as either Spring or Summer characters, and either Grog or Companion Level (see Realms of Power: Magic, p. 34).
Note that this saga does usenon-canon player-created forms of the Faerie Blood and Strong Faerie Blood Virtue, as well as a couple of non-canon Virtues and Flaws.
You may use any Virtues, Flaws, and Abilities listed in Ars Magica Fifth Edition and any of the Houses of Hermes books. Any Virtues, Flaws, or Abilities listed in any book that I have will likely be approved (on a case-by-case basis). Any listed in a book I do not have will not be allowed.
Books which will be rubber-stamped
Ars Magica Fifth Edition
Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults
Houses of Hermes: Societates
Houses of Hermes: True Lineages
Books which will probably be allowable
Against the Dark
Apprentices
The Contested Isle
Covenants
Faith & Flame
Grogs
Guardians of the Forests
Hedge Magic Revised Edition
The Lion and the Lily
The Mysteries Revised Edition
Realms of Power: Faerie
Realms of Power: The Infernal
Realms of Power: Magic
Rival Magic
The Sundered Eagle
Books which will be denied
Ancient Magic
Art & Academe
The Church
City and Guild
Hermetic Projects
Realms of Power: The Divine
Magi can bring up to 75 Build Points' worth of their own personal equipment, texts, people, etc – either for their own use or as largess. There is no level limit on lab texts or effect level in enchanted devices purchased with a magus's Personal Build Points.
[sup]1[/sup] This number will change once the saga starts, for new magi; the maximum starting age will be based on a weighted average of the age of the active PC magi; I will update this number from time to time.