stupid question

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Hi all,

Warning : stupid question incoming.

I was not able to determine the answer to the question one way or the other in less than 5 minutes :

Can we spont ritual spells ? Whether with ceremonial casting or not ?

I know Im ashamed, but one of my players is in trouble and I need to figure the answer :wink:
François

2

Hello, the answer is : no you can't. Sponteanous canno't be ritual.
Ritual are a subdivision of formulaic spells which needs vis :wink:

Welcome to the wonderful world of Ars Magica :slight_smile:

3

So is there a way to heal using ceremonial magic ?

Or is ceremonial just a way of trading time and fatigue for bonus ?

François

4

You can always heal with spontaneous: but this won't be permanent.
(And, as a character who suffers a -1 malus from wound can't fatigue in spontaneous, it's difficult to heal spontaneously yourself... but other it's fine)

Example: CrCo base 35 (heall all wounds), pers moon : CrCo 50 => not ritual because not permanent neither > level 50.
This spell will heal all your wounds (at the moment of casting) during the moon... after what they reopen. This is useful to gain time to find a real ritual healer or to come back to your covenant where you can rest in peace.

Ceremonial magic is just a subdivision of sponteanous in the way that:

  1. you have a bonus : artes and philosophiae to your casting
  2. it takes more times than a normal spell.

In a way, it's just a way for bonus.

For fatigue... ceremonial don't add a level of fatigue lost: so if you were not fatiguing in casting the spontaneous spell (EG you divided by 5 (or by 2 if DIedne)), you will not fatigue
If you were fatiguing (dividing by 2 (or by 2 but doubling the lesser art if Diedne)), you still fatigue yourself. But only 1 level of fatigue is lost.

5

I find that Bind Wound, combined with a modified Endurance of the Berserkers with Sun Duration (in the RAW it has Concentration duration, which is silly), is all the emergency treatment my characters need. You usually don't need to heal in the field, unless you are Incapacitated.

6

The Hook was way more basic than that, a noble, which takes a wound, heavy wound, during a hunt, has no chance of surviving. Which happened to the son of the local baron, who sent for help.

The characters having good relations with him, sent a magus to investigate and see what could be done.

So one of my young magui had to find a way to save his ass :wink:

The pact has no surgeon at end neither, so the only fix was a spell.

So, it ended up being the spell that gives +9 recovery rolls, with a circle duration. Which does not help you to get back on your feet faster, but at least gives the character a chance to recover for the wound... The diff to recover at 15 really shows you what a heavy wound is, deadly and one that you only recover from with a lot of difficulties.

The next case being a magus taking a heavy wound and no one in the covenant being able to cast a heal spell to heal a heavy wound. They fixed the issue by asking for help to the closest other covenant, which for a price (in that case a previously negociated deal), sent a willing magus to cast the spell for them, with them providing the Vis. This is what happens when you probe a resting earth elemental sleeping in your vis stores ! (And yes they got into that trouble all by themselves).

The advantage of the Greater Alps is that Vis is NOT scarce, and I have players running with amount of vis that would give shivers to a lot of storytellers :wink:.

François