Yeah, I know it happens. Just wanted to point out that maybe Averell might be a bit unlucky. The near-botch on the demonstration for CrAu3 was not cool.
A double botch can actually be a pretty cool thing, because characters with such low warping scores have a very decent chance of acquiring some spells, extra experience or something due to a Twilight experience.
Proposed item:
"The Willful Student's Crown" PeVi, Lesser Enchanted Device
This hat is a gaudily decorated coxcomb (jester's hat), with small bells that jingle with every movement. This is a mark of shame, a reminder of the student's insolence and intractability and will reinforce their responsibility as future magi. While wearing the hat it greatly hampers the wearer's ability to use magic. Anyone wearing to the hat will have a -10 to their spell casting attempts, it is not a large penalty, but usually enough to prevent apprentices from casting anything and if the Aegis is also imposed most would not be able to cast a weak spell in their most powerful Arts.
Base 5, R: T+1 D: S+2 T: I 2 uses/day +1, linked Trigger (Sun) +3 Total level 24, 3 pawns of Vis (Pe or Vi)
General Perdo Vim guidelines always throw me off just a little bit. If' I'm reading it right, you're using the last one: "Reduce the casting total for all magic cast by the target by half the (level + 2 magnitudes) of the spell. If two or more such spells affect one target, only the highest has any effect: the penalties do not add. The spell must penetrate the target’s Magic Resistance in order to have any effect."
If the base is 5, then wouldn't the penalty be -8? (5 + 2 magnitudes is 15, halved is 8 ) Or is it half the level after all the modifiers are in play?
Other than that little nit, I like it.
I have a question that I hope someone can help me with. I get durations and ranges and all, but what are the +1 after them for? For example, the crown spell being discussed has a range of Touch, but it has a +1 noted for it. Does this mean you get a bonus of +1to the spell when casting it at a range of a Touch, but no modifier if the range is greater than Touch?
All effects have a magnitude calculated by adding the base effect to increases in magnitude to range, duration and target.
All base effects are at Range:personal, Duration:Momentaey and Target:Individual. A range of Touch is an increase in 1 magnitude, +1. Duration:Sun is +2, and so on.
What JL said. It's a kind of a short-hand notation, showing how many magnitudes any given change in Range, Duration, or Target (which, btw, is what RDT or R/D/T means when you see that somewhere Ars-related).
For example, the effect in the Jester's Cap of Shame has a Base Level of 5*, at the base Range of Personal, Duration of Momentary, and Target of Individual. Increasing the Range from Personal to Touch adds 1 Magnitude, increasing the Duration from Momentary to Sun adds 2 Magnitudes, while leaving the Target at the base of Individual adds no magnitudes.
Refer to page 111 of the main rulebook if you want to tinker around or more get details as to what all the various Ranges, Durations, and Targets are.
- This is not necessarily the best Guideline to use to explain, as General Levels are different, in that the effect can be as powerful or as weak as you want, within the limits of your magical knowledge. For example, the Rego Ignem guidelines (p. 143) have a General level that allows you to ward against creatures with a Might score whose Might is less than or equal to the level of the spell; however, the Base R/D/T is different than normal (Range: Touch, Duration: Ring, Target: Circle) and you must specify the Realm of the creature(s) you want to ward against (Magic, Infernal, Faerie, or Divine) when you invent the spell or cast a spontaneous version.
Trust me, this does get easier with time, but I've been playing 5th edition since it came out (albeit mostly online) and I'm still learning stuff.
With this effect I'm not sure. I went by the book as well as using the magical item for Philipus Niger. It seemed that for general spells that are especially Vim based, it's the final level? Just not sure myself.
Ok, so then what does an increase in Magnitude mean?
Usually, an increase in Magnitude adds 5 to the Spell Level.
The exception is for spell levels below 5, in which case an added Magnitude only adds 1 to the spell level.
Thus, if you start with a Base Level of 1, and keep adding one Magnitude, you wind up with Spell Levels of 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, etc.
An example. You want to make a Creo Corpus that gives you a +1 bonus to your Recovery Roll (p. 179). Using the Creo Corpus guidelines on p. 130, your Base Level is 1. Changing the Range, Duration, and Target is detailed on p. 111-113. For this example spell, you want it to affect yourself, so you have a Range of Personal, which is the Base Range. Wound Recovery rolls are made at least one week apart (intervals of one week, one month, or one season, depending on the severity of the wound). So, you probably want a Duration of a Moon, which will normally last three or four weeks. D: Moon is three levels higher than the base of Momentary (Concentration/Diameter, Sun, then Moon), so that adds three Magnitudes. You want it to affect one person (namely, yourself), so the Target is Individual.
Your base level is 1, you're adding three Magnitudes, so your final Spell Level is 4 (base 1, and adding magnitudes one at a time gets you to 2, 3, and finally 4).
Further example. Adding just +1 to your Healing Roll isn't very effective, so you decide to make a more robust healing spell, that adds +9 to your Healing Roll, which is almost guaranteed to improve any wound's condition (barring a botch) if you keep casting it on yourself every moon. The Base Level for a +9 is 4. Keeping the Range, Duration, and Target the same will get you to a final Spell Level of 15 (4, 5, 10, 15).
That makes sense. Thank you for the explanation.
Now I just have to start tinkering with creating my own spells at some point to get this to stick.
Ok, I'm gonna post this here because it's me that's confused, not my character.
How is Averell's suggestion about the wind neither Creo nor Rego as per Fabricus's explanation? Creo would be to create the cushion of air, while Rego would be to control it. Or am I reading the response wrong?
I think you're reading the response wrong. I believe that Fabricus is using Rego Terram (ReTe) to levitate the chair, and that what he's saying is that he is using ReTe to do so and not CrAu (Creo Auram).
The point that he's trying to make is that: yes, you can in this case levitate a chair by using Creo Auram, as with the spell Wings of the Soaring Wind, which is a Cr(Re)Au 30*; but it would be simpler (read: have a lower Spell Level) to do the same thing with a Rego X. Rise of the Feathery Body (ReCo 10) or Lifting the Dangling Puppet (ReCo 10) do something similar, and a quick eyeballing the Rego Corpus guidelines, looks to me like it would be a ReCo 20 to do the same thing at D: Concentration. And moving the chair with Rego Herbam looks like it would be Level 20.
Take Fabricus's word with a grain of salt, however. All things being equal, with no Virtues or Flaws coming into play, it's usually easier to move a body, stone, chair, what have you, using the appropriate Rego + Form. However, if your character has a Puissant or Affinity with Auram or an appropriate magical focus, or has a deficient Art, it may well be easier for the magus to use Auram instead of Terram to accomplish the same means.
One of the fun things about Ars's magic system is that for any given effect, there are often multiple ways to accomplish it, and one way may fit better either with the magus's knowledge (art scores) or ability.
[hr][/hr]* Don't know if you've dealt with Requisites yet (p. 114), but any time you see an Art in parentheses after another art, in this case, Cr(Re)Au, then the spell has another art as a Requisite and you must use the lower of the two Arts. This goes for Casting Totals as well as Lab Totals when you're inventing the spell. Fiona's Curse of Circe is a Muto Corpus spell that has an Animal requisite. Her Corpus score is 16, but her Animal is only 10, so any time she figures her Casting Total, she has to use 10 for her Form score instead of 16.
I'm familiar with requisities, but I truly do appreciate the explanation on them. Being new to the system, I'd rather you assume I know nothing and explain it all instead of assuming I know even the basics and have my fumble about.
If it's me reading the response wrong, then that's on me. I was just confused as to why Averell was told we had to come up with Creo or Rego when I really did come up with one that would be Creo and/or Rego. Again, if it's on me, I'll take it and own it.
Thanks!
Just to make sure we're clear, Fabricus actually accepted the answer, you could use Creo Aurum or Rego Auram to lift an object, the actual spell of Wings of the Soaring Wind is Creo Auram with a Rego requisite. Fabricus wanted to show the different ways to skin a cat that Hermetic Magic offers. The wind spell to lift would work, but is likely more difficult than just using Rego and the Form of the item to lift it.
Yep - it's on me!
Poor Ambrose, he seemed so promising.
Eh?
Like I said, my first response would have been bad.
Clement is going to start teaching the students Chess. Since there is no "skill" for chess I was wondering if they could makes rolls based on certain skills that influence your game. I was thinking Guile, Folk Ken and Intrigue as skills. There would represent different ways of playing. Any thoughts?
He will start doing Certamen training in their 2nd year with a club to follow.