Severing Familiar Bonds

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

I tried searching for threads related to this, but there didn't seem to be any.

Is it listed anywhere what the process of breaking a familiar's bonds would be? However, it's also very clear that this punishment is meted out at Tribunal as punishment for Lesser Crimes ("Magus X was punished by the loss of his familiar"), so clearly there's a means to break it that's not an all-season laboratory.

I'm aware that, generally speaking, such a break would result in the death of the familiar (similar to the death of its master). However, I also recall reading how familiars who have been released tend to flee and never be re-Bondable or found again, due to the trauma of the break. (This may have been written in a previous edition.)

My impression is that it'd be a Ritual at the very least, since it takes a Ritual to disenchant a magical item, which is also an all-season activity. A simple PeVi spell seems to "cheap" otherwise.

2

Most simple way? kill the familiar. That counts as "loss of the familiar" and should be pretty traumative to the magus

3

Well, certainly, that's the most straight-forward way to do it, but I was curious about the non-lethal manner. :slight_smile:

4

Serf's parma, but I think the bit about a familarr fleeing contact with the magus once the bonds are broken is in True Lineages, in the Guernicus section.

I don't recall there being a spell or ritual included, but if i had to make one, I would think it would be a PeVi with perhaps casting requisites of the Technique and Form used to bind the familiar.

Killing the familiar is, I think, an even harsher punishment, and if I recall there is some flavor text in that same section of TL along the lines that it is considered honorable to reject the punishment of death for the familiar and demand to be Marched instead.

5

Hi,

:slight_smile: I did notice that loss of familiar and death of familiar are listed as distinct punishments.

Anyway,

Ken

6

Don't have my books handy, is Disenchant (PeVi Gen) still in the game? As making a familiar is a lab activity I don't think any old spont PeVi will work.

7

There is a specific spell for this in HoH:TL, in the Guernicus chapter. I can't remember any details other than it is Perdo Vim.

Mark

8

HoH:TL p. 75 Cutting the Cords, ritual of varying level.

It requires the cooperation of the convicted magus, and as pointed out earlier, severing the bonds and killing the familiar are actually two different punishments - the later being harsher, of course.

9

Thanks, all. I knew I read something about it somewhere, but after 5 editions, it all begins to blur together. :slight_smile: