Hybrid/Fusion spell

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Hi,

I'm looking a way to make fusion between my mage and his familiar, for benefits. Any ideas where to start? I was thinking about something like breakthrough, but then again should it be a spell? Or ability? I tried to find similar spells, but nothing close to what i want to do. Any help would be nice :slight_smile:

2

What type of benefits? A mind gestalt, or physical joining? Or...

3

I think all benefits from familiar and mage combine, basically for some period of time become magic/gift creature. And yes it would look like physical joining, from two bodies into one body.

4

You create it effect by effect. The metaphysics underneath don't matter a lot. The basics might be better as cord qualities.

So, first, specify the advantages of the merge.

5

Well I was thinking about like this creature should have: might score of familiar, arts of mage, physical appearance from mage and familiar (ex. wings, eyes, years of familiar body of human), characteristics/virtues/flaws (sum?), abilities (highest score?)

6

I'd probably base it on a shapechange spell, I think, so MuCo(An); but rather more difficult (also likely needing lab-work & a breakthrough).

Mentem req is probably needed, for handling 2 minds' merging.
Vim req for dealing with a creature with Might and/or Powers; plus a magnitude (or more) for anything other than a very few, very minor Powers.
And something (Rego req? Or just a magnitude of effect?) for manipulating the physical forms into one.

We are getting very close, I fear, to having this need to be a Ritual Spell...

YMMV.

7

It probably needs to be several spells. Perhaps as Tim suggested empower the cords of a familiar bond with the powers. That at least avoids warping.

8

What about this approach:

Imagine your magus discusses with his familiar, just which benefits the fusion really should provide them.

  • So the familiar anyway lends the protection afforded by its Might to the magus. The magus lends his form resistance to the familiar, and can take it under his Parma.
  • The typical Mental Communication and Shared Senses powers help to coordinate actions of magus and familiar very closely.
  • A larger familiar can carry its magus, and a magus can carry his smaller familiar also when moving by magic.
  • In the lab the familiar adds its Int + Magic Theory to that of the magus anyway.
    What shall be added to these either implicit or quite readily available benefits?

Cheers

9

You can also inspire you from the work of Markus in MoH (p79 onwards). His project was to find a way to create hybrid species to recreate the minotaur and other creatures of legends.
So he is doing that through a Major Breakthrough and Original Research - it is not done by hermetic magic, but it is not breaking any limits.

Considering that a familiar is already tightly linked to a mage, maybe a minor breakthrough would be enough, however, it means experimenting on a familiar... Possibly you can try to get Insight using the External Soul mystery used by Gruagach, but it won't be an easy feat to find one willing to cooperate.

10

Hi,

One should also not forget to consider the disadvantages: The familiar is a completely distinct being, a true friend of the magus but not the same.

  • What if the dominant personality of the fusion is not the magus?
  • What if the merge combines flaws in addition to (or instead of!) advantages?
    ** Congratulations, you now have Might 15. Yes, PeVi can kill you.
    ** You are no longer plagued by the bad social effects of the Gift, or the Gift itself.
    ** You have a strange urge to chase laser pointers, and you periodically go into heat.
    ** SQUIRREL!!!
  • If your magus is a real person, he might care about what this does to his social life, amorous relationships, the ability to go into town...

Etc.

That said, I think experimentation on oneself in search of a Breakthrough is a fine idea. IIRC, the core book suggests that only a crazy magus would experiment on his familiar, but I think a magus who really wants to go down this route totally fits the bill and then some.

I unreservedly recommend The Fly (the one with Jeff Goldblum) for ideas about how this cannot possibly go wrong.

Anyway,

Ken

11

Since Familiar and Magus share a very tight bond, it is safe to assume that when considering this endeavour, they are both doing it willingly. And there is probably little relationship which are stronger than the one of a magus and his familiar, after decades of sharing thoughts and living almost always together.
So I was wondering if House Bjornaer could not be of some support.
I know that is a bit strange considering that Bjornaers don't want to hear about familiar and reject the simple idea of forming such kind of bonds. However considering the strong bond magus-familiar, it could be seen as almost one mind/spirit/souls splitted in two bodies in some case.
Merging both could be seen as turning the familiar into the Heartbeast of mage.

After all, the Heartbeast of a Bjornaer is a representation of his inner animal.
Magus looking for a familiar, select a companion based on their affinity, and the future familiar accepts the mage because he feels some affinity towards it - the bond cannot be forced upon an unwilling animal. Bjornaers are able to be in touch with their Inner animal thus do not need to have a familiar, whereas other mages cannot reach their inner self, but can find a personification of it through their choice of familiar.

I don't know if my "philosophical" rambling make sense, but I believe it could lead to some interesting stories. A mage could feel incomplete, finding a familiar would be the first step to become whole, with the final step being the merge for those fortunate enough to find their perfect match.

It could be a Inner Secret known by some old Bjornaers, who know from the beginning that the Bjornaer's ways is the "real" way to be whole, whereas other mages can spend their whole existence without understanding what they are missing. And they would welcome into the House those lost souls who finally found their ways.
Probably, part of the initiation would be a vow of secrecy to never disclose the truth, the destruction of the familiar (as both merge) to gain some Innerbeast form directly ?