Stats for a unicorn?

I have been looking for the stats for "western" unicorn (typical fairytale unicorn) and not an african unicorn (a rhinoceros). Does exist in any of the source material for Ars Magica?

We have a sample Divine Realm Unicorn in Faith & Flame. However, not all Unicorns would be attuned to that realm. Hermetic Projects hints to magical variants, and RoP:F hints to Faerie ones with Might 10.

3 Likes

I remember thisncoming up some time ago.

I would add that converting the Divone unicorn to a magical or faerie one is fairly simple if you are just looking to make one an NPC. Of course, if you want a familiar then its stat generation would need to be a bit less hand wavey.

There is a Divine Might 30 unicorn in Sub Rosa issue 6 in the adventure The Unicorn's Ransom (which is also really good)

2 Likes

Thank you very much for the answers! Didn't even occur to me to check the tribunal books for unicorn stats. Followup question: how would you based on the available stats "balance" the stats of a unicorn in order for it to be suitable as a familiar?

Are familiars supposed to be balanced? A magi out of gauntlet can usually a might 10-20 cat, and an older sorcerer might bind a lesser drake. It's only balanced in regards to the magi's age. The Unicorn from F&F, if you merely switch the realm to Magical wouldn't need a ton of adjustment to be in a game - in fact, it was created with RoP:M rules. With 20 Might, +3 size, you would need a lab total of 60 to bind with an appropriate lab total, probably Creo or Intellego, Corpus or Animal. And it would probably be suitable for a virgin female magi only, unless the lore was adapted.

1 Like

That's a very good point, thank you very much. :slight_smile:

Yes. They are not supposed to feel like a free lunch, so their power has to be balanced against the challenge of befriending them. But I suppose that is what you do, too :slight_smile:

2 Likes

What I do is from time to time, I include stories with Magic Animals, which may or may not fit as a familiar. If the player's interest is sparked, that's a bonus - the animal isn't designed as a possible familiar at the start. Although if a player express interests in spending a season to find a familiar, we discuss. I look at his primary arts and design accordingly. Things like magic lore and region lore (or a companion with those) help finding something close to what he's looking for, especially required for something exotic. The player's give me an idea (e.g. I want a bear, I want a fire-breathing familiar). I'll then design the stats and plausibly a story or two. In my game, I calculate the lab total. The book says players should expect to be able to find a familiar for their primary arts, and I take that to heart. What that means is that I'll often design a familiar that's very close to their max lab total. Smaller = higher might. But I might say no to the player based on a submited concept. A male character asking for a unicorn probably would get a no due to the lore, but I'd probably offer alternative concepts.

1 Like