Spirit Magic: Binding spirits to places?

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Repeat with me: "Thou shall not read all the hedge wizards of Ars Magica if you want to remain sane and not think too much about cool and alternative character options". repeat it a hundred times. There you go, an Ascetic Ritual prayer. :unamused: :mrgreen:

While I await responses for the Heron of Alexandria Mechanica thread (if any), I was looking at the other characters that I have always found ultra-cool (besides those in HMRE): Spirit Masters. The Witches of Thessaly are one of the paradigmatic summoner traditions out there.... and here is where I found something weird.

In their description it says that their dwellings are protected by powerful spirits. I thought "cool!!"... and then felt quite helpless when it came to see how they would bind them to their dewellings to have them protect them :confused:

There are several options here:

  1. They are not bound. The witches just bargained with them (summoning skill + normal bargain) and they agreed to protect the place

  2. There is a use for Commanding that I am not seeing.... Commanding is limited to protect a particular witch, not a place, and only for Sun duration AFAIK

  3. Some of them have Binding. That would be quite normal IMO*. But then I am not sure that Binding can achieve that either :confused: AFAIK the spirits are bound to persons or items, but you need to carry the item with you to use it: the spirit cannot act on his own initiative when bound. (as a side note, I guess that some of them might have Ceremony as well, to achieve a high casting total to summon and bind powerful spirits)

3.1) Could it be possible to bind a spirit to a location? And have them act on his own desires even if you do not control the item explicitly?
3.2) Could it be possible for that spirit to act as a Guardian Spirit for the place?

I have not checked it, but IIRC Fudarus has the same kind of powerful guardian spirits linked to the place, and so I am curious on how they achieved this.

Thx :slight_smile:
Xavi

2

Serf's Parma, but I think you will find that the sprits protecting Fudaris are actually under constant control of a device that the (a?) Primus holds and that the spirits are bound by the device, not a place.

I supose one could enchant a Room with constant effect to control a spirit using ReMe, ReVi, or related magics. Now, whether you have the Magic Theory to spend that much vis is another thing altogether...

hope this helps.

-K!

3

After checking L&L, you are right. The spirits are bound to the item, not the place. originally at least. they have been around playing with the elements that they have become genii loci of Fudaus. Binding it is, then. From the description it sounds like a voluntary binding, so the bargain process must have been quite epic: each one of the 3 spirits is Might 40, after all.

This just confirms my idea that the Witches of Thessaly would need binding to fit their own background material, and I am not so sure about commanding.... Thx :slight_smile:

Cheers,
Xavi