Alternative Magic Resistance Rules for AM5
Here's my first cut at different MR rules for AM5. I think these are ok but I'll probably need another go at it. Please bear with me if something here doesn't quite make sense or work. After all, this is my first try.
If you are happy with the existing rules for MR, this post may not be for you.
If you are not, then these might do the trick. Or not.
Either way, please note that these rules are neither Wrong nor Right, and are simply the result of my failing yet another "Get a Life" saving throw.
There are no actual medieval sources describing the kind of Magic Resistance used in Ars Magica; "real" magic- -including protection- -has a very different feel, usually involving theurgy or "natural" correspondences. However, various medieval sources discuss how the world work, or at least the workings of the world, or at least implicitly make these assumptions. The sources themselves vary, especially in application, but the underpinnings of "the Western tradition" already exist at this time, forming a remarkably consistent and common foundation for apparently antagonistic philosophies and subcultures. Thus, more than one "reasonable" set of Magic Resistance rules can be derived, and such rules systems may differ greatly depending on how Magic Resistance is framed and which sources are emphasized. A remarkable amount of scholarship goes into Ars Magica, more than I know. My own knowledge base is more limited, less diverse and perhaps even not quite as appropriate. I believe, nevertheless, that I have something coherent here.
Canonically, Magic Resistance acts as a shield that prevents magic from impinging on a resisting entity. The primary implicit question becomes, "what is magic?" The motion of Rego is magic, and anything sustained by magic is magic. The secondary implicit questions becomes "what is 'impinging' ?" This vision of Magic Resistance isn't wrong- -in fact, it's official. (My perspective on the canonical view is, of course, not official or canonical or even necessarily correct.)
In these rules, Magic Resistance acts as a shield against acts of magic that involve a resisting entity. The primary implicit question becomes "what is an act of magic?" The secondary implicit question becomes "what the heck do you mean by 'involve'?" I believe these rules address that issue.
In the end, however, all this is handwaving. I really want Magic Resistance to work differently than it does canonically, and improve (in my mind) gameplay. Medievally acceptable philosophical underpinnings are nice, especially if they help maintain the internal consistency of the rules, but are not my lodestone.
Objectives
I have three major goals for these magic resistance rules; the others fall out from these:
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Epic battles between shapeshifter wizards should be reasonable and possible; Parma should not protect against this. A wizard who turns into a hound to chase down a Faerie Fox should not have to worry about bouncing off Magic Resistance. I don't know if any myths or folktales between 500CE and 1500CE support my penchant for effective shapeshifting, but I think it feels right for Mythic Europe.
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Enchanted swords should be effective. Excalibur should be more effective than a lesser sword in every respect.
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"Clever tricks" like circumventing magic resistance by destroying the dirt beneath the target's feet, maneuvering an anvil over his head and then letting go, or trapping him within a giant block of stone created all around him (giving him only the tiniest amount of room to move!) should not be permitted. To me, these seem artificial consequences of game rules rather than a reflection of how magic in a medieval setting ought to work. (I found this sort of magic resistance annoying in Robert Jordan's "The Fires of Heaven" and completely out of place here.)
Magic Resistance
A) What happens when Magic Resistance works?
Whenever an effect is resisted successfully, it dissipates completely and immediately, without affecting the resisting entity. Previous consequences of the dissipated effect may endure or go away exactly according to the rules for a spell that ends. Other supernatural effects are not affected. If the resisted effect was generated by a magic item, the item does not lose its enchantment but does need to be retriggered.
Consequences:
If a magical effect that targets a group is resisted by one member of the group, it dissipates completely and immediately, affecting no one in the group.
When an ongoing magical effect is resisted due to some new interaction between it and another entity, the entire magical effect is dissipated.
Design Notes:
Veterans of Ars Magica will probably notice that this version of Magic Resistance is more powerful than any previous, canonical Magic Resistance. Magical effects are not only resisted but unravelled! This all-or-nothing approach completely eliminates strange but 'clever' magical effects, such as:
Creating a huge block of stone around a magus, not caring if he resists because he remains completely surrounded by the stone.
Using magic to hurl acid or a contact poison at a magus' head, not caring if he resists because when he does it will naturally land on his shoulder.
It also seems appropriate for powerful beings to extend accidental protection in this manner. Thus, when a saintly person lives in a city, his True Faith protects the entire city against supernatural effects that target the whole city, even when he doesn't have time to pray for a miracle.
B) When does Magic Resistance apply?
Magic Resistance applies at the moment when an entity possesses a Magic Resistance score greater than or equal to the Penetration of a supernatural effect, the supernatural effect does not originate from the entity, and at least one of the following conditions is true:
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The entity or part of the entity is the target or part of the target of the supernatural effect.
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The entity or part of the entity is the indirect object or part of the indirect object of a Rego effect
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At the moment the supernatural effect would come into being, the target of the effect would either immediately or eventually and inevitably touch or act upon the entity through natural action in the absence of any intervention as a result of the supernatural effect.
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The target of the supernatural effect is explicitly defined in relation to the entity or part of the entity.
If an entity fails to resist a supernatural effect, it does not get another chance to resist unless its Magic Resistance score increases above the score that failed, and Magic Resistance would otherwise apply.
At the end of its duration, a supernatural effect no longer exists to be resisted.
Probably Not Obvious:
The appearance of an entity is not the entity. A memory of an entity is not the entity. Affecting these do not necessarily involve the entity, even if the memory or image is explicitly "of so and so."
Intellego effects are only resistable under condition #4 or under condition #1. Intellego spells with targets such as "Hearing" or "Vision" do not include any entity, since these targets only include species, not the entities themselves. Knowing something about an entity does not satisfy Condition #3, because nothing has necessarily touched him or affected him. However, many Intellego spells that discover things about an entity will trigger Condition #1.
Any effect cast at a range of Arcane Connection or that requires an Arcane Connection is resistable by an entity thus Arcanely Connected (always #4; possibly #1, #2 or #3).
Consequences:
Things that are created or sustained with magic are not necessarily resistable
The inevitable side effects of magic are always resistable, but not the side effects of the side effects
Magic Resistance is not bounded by distance or time
Design Notes:
I think we better go to some examples first.
C) How does Magic Resistance work in practice?
A magus uses CrAn to create a swarm of wasps, which immediately attack the magus! Not resistable.
A magus uses CrAn to create a swarm of wasps, which immediately attack his sodales. Not resistable.
After he and his friends recover, the magus uses Cr(Re)An to create a swarm of wasps under his control. He sends them to attack a Magical Bear- -who can resist. The wasps vanish if the resistance succeeds.
A magus uses CrAn to create a dragon. Same as the wasps.
A magus uses CrAn to create a dragon, and immediately casts a ReAn on the dragon to control it. The dragon can resist the ReAn. The dragon fails its resistance, and the magus sends it to attack another dragon. The other dragon can immediately resist the ReAn. If it succeeds, only the ReAn is dispelled, not the CrAn, leaving the magus in the presence of a dragon for the duration of the CrAn or the magus' life, whichever comes first. Uh, oh.
A magus sharpens a sword using ReTe. The sword is not resistable.
A magus sharpens a sword to an unnatural degree using MuTe. The sword is not resistable.
A magus uses Cr(Mu, Re)Ig(Te) to create a sword of burning lava that does not harm its wielder. When the wielder picks up the sword, he can resist unless he chooses not to; he is resisting the Rego portion of the effect. If he resists successfully, the sword dissipates without harming him. If he does not resist, either because he did not try to or because he failed, he may use the sword; the target of the sword cannnot resist.
A magus uses ReTe to throw a boulder at a target. The target can resist. If he succeeds, the boulder is not thrown.
A magus uses ReMe to force a knight to attack a dragon. The knight can resist. If he fails, the dragon can resist when the spell is cast! If either resistance succeeeds, the spell never comes into effect.
A magus uses CrMe to enrage a knight, and more CrMe to create unsavory memories of a dragon. The knight can resist each CrMe. Even if he fails, the dragon does not get to resist if the knight chooses to attack.
A magus uses a ReMe ritual to enslave a knight. The knight can resist. The magus commands the knight to attack a dragon. The dragon can resist immediately. If the dragon succeeds, the spell ends, freeing the knight.
A magus uses CrAu to strike a Faerie Lord with lightning. The Faerie Lord can resist.
A magus uses CrAu to strike a group of Faeries with lightning. They can resist. If one succeeds, the lightning doesn't happen.
A magus uses CrAu to create a storm around a Faerie Lord. The Faerie Lord can resist. If he succeeds, no storm.
A magus uses CrAu to create rainclouds above a Faerie Lord, to ruin a Faerie party. The Faerie Lord can resist. If he succeeds, no rainclouds, no rain.
A magus uses CrAu to create rainclouds above a Faerie Lord, not realizing the Faerie Lord is present. The Faerie Lord can resist. If he succeeds, no rainclouds, no rain.
A magus uses CrAu to create rainclouds explicitly "two miles away from that guy." That guy can resist. If he succeeds, no rainclouds or rain.
A magus uses CrAu to create a storm that can be resisted, as above, but no one resists. The storm then takes its natural course, uncontrolled by the magus, and veers toward the Faerie Lord's domain. The Faerie Lord cannot resist the storm, nor any effects of the storm such as lightning or rain. If the magus used a separate Rego effect to move the storm over the Faerie Lord, the Faerie Lord could have resisted, resulting in the termination of the Rego effect but not the CrAu effect, and the storm not moving. If the Rego effect were part of the storm, the spell would end the moment the Faerie Lord successfully resisted.
A magus uses MuCo(An) to transform his grogs into lions. The grogs can resist. After not resisting, they attack some Faeries- -who cannot resist. Later that day, when they encounter a dragon, the lion-grogs are afraid to attack so the magus PeMe's their fear- -which the grogs can resist- -and after failing their to resist they attack the dragon- -who does not get to resist the grogs. The battle isn't going well, so the magus transforms the grogs into dragons. Resistance occurs or does not as for the lions.
A magus uses PeTe to obiliterate the ground beneath a demon's feet. The demon can resist; the ground is not destroyed if the demon succeeds.
A magus uses MuAn to transform himself into a mole. He can resist, but chooses not to. He burrows deep beneath a house where a demon lives. The demon does not resist. The magus then uses PeTe to obliterate the earth beneath the house, causing the demon to fall. The demon can resist. If the magus had transformed himself into a giant mole and then undermined the foundations, the demon would have nothing to resist.
A magus casts PeTe(Co, An, He, Aq) to create a pit of doom on a (hithertofore) flat plain, duration Sun, that will destroy anything that steps inside! A Faerie tries to fill the pit with earth: The earth could resist but not the Faerie. The Faerie jumps into the pit and can resist. If he succeeds, he is not harmed and his stuff is not harmed and the spell dissipates, but the pit remains.
A magus creates a Pit of Doom as above. Then, using a specially designed ReVi(whatever) effect, moves the pit of doom beneath a Faerie. The Faerie resists the ReVi effect, which dissipates if the resistance succeeds. The PoD remains where it was.
A magus uses PeAn to obliterate some feather pillows beneath a falling Faerie. The Faerie does not get to resist.
A magus uses ReAn to move some feather pillows away from beneath a falling Faerie. The Faerie does not get to resist.
A magus uses MuAn(Te) to transform the feather pillows beneath a falling Faerie into sharp iron spikes. The Faerie can resist, whether or not the magus knows he is there.
A magus uses MuAn(Te) to transform the feather pillows beneath a hovering Faerie into sharp iron spikes. The Faerie does not get to resist. A sudden, natural downdraft blows the Faerie onto the spikes. The Faerie cannot resist.
A magus uses ReAu to shove a Faerie onto iron spikes. The Faerie can resist.
A magus uses CrIm to create an illusion of a Faerie. The Faerie cannot resist, whether or not he is there to see it.
A magus uses PeIm to make a Faerie invisible. The Faerie can resist.
A magus uses CrIm to create an illusion that touches a Faerie. The Faerie can resist.
Using an Arcane Connection to a lake, a magus casts an Intellego spell to see everything in the lake. The lake itself can resist but none of its inhabitants.
Using an Arcane Connection to a lake, a magus casts a PeAq spell to destroy the lake. The lake and everything in it, on it and touching it can resist.
Design Notes:
Magical actions are resisted, not magical effects. Rego may seem like a special case, but every use of Rego is itself a magical action, even though the magical effect is ongoing. I had originally preferred to have Magic Resistance triggered by condition #3 go into effect only when "in the presence" of the resisting entity, imagining a knight magically compelled to attack a saint (yes, yes, not Saint(tm) but Generic Holy Person Otherwise Confused with a Saint(tm)) making a journey bent on destruction, only to lose the impulse in the presence of successful Magic Resistance. However, I could not find a satisfactory definition of "presence" that did not require all sorts of special cases. In the end, the simplicity of having Magic Resistance trigger the moment it involved a target worked best, mirroring the simplicity of having Magic Resistance end the effect that triggered it.
Intent is also not relevant. In Condition #4, it is not the intent of the effect's originator that matters. Using an entity as the focal point for the effect involves the entity, even if it is not the actual target. The entity resists as soon as it is involved.
The magical action that creates a magical sword does not involve the entity at whom the sword is swung. Rather, it is the perfectly mundane action of swinging the sword that involves the entity. Magic Resistance does not apply, because there is no magical action to resist. Similarly, a wizard who transforms himself into a hound has performed an action that involves only himself. The spell that transformed him can be dispelled with a PeVi effect, but he himself is irresistable (from an MR perspective; a magus who transforms himself into a Golden Retriever still enjoys the adverse effects of the Gift and of being an anachronism).
Perhaps the least clear area of these rules involves Condition #3, but even this is tractable. Inevitable actions of a magical action are considered part of the action for the purposes of Magic Resistance. These "inevitable" side effects can sometime be averted through some other action, but the entity affected by the side effect is already involved. The examples involving the feather pillow may shed light on this matter. Transforming the pillows into spikes that will inevitably affect the Faerie involves the Faerie. Destroying or moving the pillows may prove unfortunate for the Faerie, but the Faerie is not targeted by the action, the Faerie is not the indirect object of the action, and the Faerie is in no way acted upon by the target of the action. The involvement of the Faerie is too indirect to matter. Destroying the earth beneath a building, causing it and its inhabitants to fall, acts on the inhabitants: the supernatural effect caused the inhabitants to fall.
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We in fact use that same rule, but simply disregarded the naming of the HR 
