There will be soon a new player in our Saga, and she wants to be a Verditius Maga, which will be the first we encounter.
It made me thinking about the casting tools as I haven't found much information in the books.
From ArM5 (p. 93) :
It isn't clearly stated, but a Verditius Mage needs a different casting tool for each Formulaic spell right ? I suppose the different casting tools can be of the same type (e.g. rings) ?
What is exactly meant by
Does a Verditius need to have his casting tool in hands to be able to cast the Formulaic Spell ? Let's say one casting tool is an earring. Do you have to touch the earring while casting the spell or is the fact that you can reach your earring enough ? What is your hands are tied or you are holding an other item (like a weapon or a magical object) ?
Yes, casting tools are a little vague. If you think it's important, use the rules from HoH, Mystery Cults, page 136 (Which is talking about casting tools for spontaneous magic). One casting tool for each Form and Art, fifteen in total. The implication in canon is that you must have the casting tool in hand, and it isn't a ring or similar (Canon mentions how Verditius are mocked for fumbling with casting tools.). You do not need a unique tool for each formulaic spell, and they take about an hour to make in canon. I would also point out the wonderful House Mystery Enchant Casting Tools, HoH, Mystery Cults, page 123. Very nice Mystery. Instead of wasting years mastering a spell, do it in a season with a little Vis. While you can't make them magic items, Items of Quality are not magic, and the ability to summon and dismiss them at will could be very useful.....
That's always been the common interpretation - "a tool for each spell", just what it says.
But "having" one and "holding" one are two different things - or can be. As with so many details, it's (intentionally) left for each Troupe/StoryGuide to interpret - you know your saga best, so decide what will make the best story, for the most "fun" for your group and playstyle.
The best solution I've seen besides jewelry is a "key ring" - a loop of metal that has a long series of small tools looped upon it. Like the "key maker" in the Matrix series - eventually lots and lots, but one for every purpose, and they know where every one is.*
(* There is never a hint in the rules that "finding the right tool" is ever a problem, so one could safely assume that a Verdi' maga has some mystical connection/abilitiy to just "know" - or, they don't have to , that "having" one specific tool doesn't (necessarily) mean singling it out and holding it and only it. ysmv.)
That's just it. It doesn't say "a tool for each spell". It says "Verditius magi need casting tools to cast Formulaic spells." The only place I can find where it talks about what casting tools are needed is HoH, MC, page 136, when talking about casting tools for spon. spells. Casting tools and Hubris are enough grief for Verditius. No need to create more out of thin air......
The closest I can find (searching in a very short period of time) is a reference on page 136, Mystery Cults, where Consumed Casting Tools mentions 'Making a casting tool for a spell', specifically.
This seems like an omission due to familiarity -- Magi Verditii needed casting tools, one per spell, BEFORE 5th edition, and 5th edition still says they need casting tools, so someone maybe forgot to make it explicit (or at least obvious) because they thought it was in the new rules already and it wasn't?
Maybe?
Or it could be somewhere and I've just missed it.
EDIT:
Er. Stupid moment. Also Enchanted Casting Tools is pretty explicit about a tool being a tool for a spell.
Check out p.123 & 124 in HoH:MC. They give details and examples of improving casting tools via house mysteries. They are explicity associated with a particular spell. These allow spell msatery options and that really wold not work for a single tool for each art, it would make them awesome.
Yes, I mentioned that Mystery. Insofar as it is spell mastery in a magic item, those casting tools are for a particular spell. How else could you do it? Other then that Mystery, the only mention of "needed" casting tools is on page 136 of HoH, MC. "The character must use casting tools to cast spontaneous spells, JUST AS HE DOES FOR FORMULAIC SPELLS. He has 15 individual tools, one for each Art, which he must use in various combinations to cast spontaneous spells.". Seems pretty clear that the Flaw gives you the same limitation on your spontaneous spells that all Verditius have on their Formulaic spells. It then spells out the limitation, one casting tool for each Form and Art.
The writeup for Petalichus of Verditius in Magi of Hermes mentions him having one casting tool per spell (at the end of the Petalichus at Gauntlet stat block)
And, again, I'm pretty sure prior versions of ArM had one casting tool per spell.
The game does not break if you make it one item per Art. But 'one tool per spell' is consistent with previous editions, an example character in a recent book (Petalichus) and the rules for Enchanted Casting Tools and Consumed Casting Tools. The 'one tool per art' requires a slightly twisted interpretation of Spontaneous Casting Tools -- my understanding of that one is the reason you have one per Art is because you can't have 'one per spell' for spontaneous magic, which doesn't have spells, and that's why the flaw has to spell it out explicitly rather than just saying 'you need to use your 15 art-tools for spontaneous spells as well'.
EDIT:
I did go back and check: page 26 of Ars Magica 4th edition has the explicit line 'Each spell known requires a separate tool.'
This kind of thing happens sometimes. Probably the authors simply took it for granted that it'd be one tool per spell, forgot that ArM5 didn't say it explicitly anywhere, and playtesters didn't notice because they were used to the ArM4 way too.
I think some of you have confused the idea meant by "unique" in a certain context. The idea of them not being unique is that you can just make another one if you can't get your hands on the one you had for some reason. Meanwhile there is a flaw that changes that, making the tool unique. So each spell has a different tool, but that tool is not unique.
I too believe that it's one casting tool per formulaic spell for Verditius magi. I read the above as saying that the character has to carry around these 15 casting tools to cast spontaneous spells - because you can't have one tool per spell for spells that you make up on the spot.
Check out the next flaw on the same page though. Consumed casting tools. Under your system that magus can only cast 5 formulaic spells before he is totally dry and requires his laboratory. Yet this is only a minor flaw.
Every reference to Casting tools talks about using them for spells not arts. Whilst I agree it is not explicitly stated anywhere in 5th you need one per spell it is strongly inferred. The statement you refer to about spontaneous magic is two seperate sentences. One stating he uses them in the same manner as formulaic spells and another quite seperate one saying he has 15 for his spontaneous spells. Now then - why would that need stating if that was already the case? Someone else already said you couldn't have one per spell for spontaneous so you need a different system.
To repeat though - your game, your troupe, your saga do it however you like. It does impact some aspects of verditius myteries but if you like it that way then go ahead.
Verditius magic is a virtue, not a flaw!
So i would say 1 casting tool for all formulaic spells and all forms and techniques.
That would be balanced enough.
More would set that Verditius is not a good choice for PC... and i don't want to play in a 11 houses PC game.
(And as a new player into ArM5, without needing to refer to ArM4 and without other need than the core rulebook which doesn't speak about casting tool, i wouldn't refer to a supplement book.)
Those Casting Tool for those spell, it's like i read the rule, and in this sense i feel the Verditius chapter from "Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults".
If that not shouldn´t be neccesary cast any and you could make it to your casting tool your Talisman, but it's not possible. Then, you can remake any casting tool in one hour. After, it's the example of a Verditius Magi from "Magi of hermes" that their castings tool are differents and many pins clawed in his un-handed sleeve.
I like this as an explanation why ArM5 doesn't explicitly say that each formulaic spell needs a separate, specific casting tool. It should and I'm surprised it doesn't. I'll have to take a look when I get home. But until then, I am under the impression that every formulaic spell needs a separate, specific casting tool for a Verditius magus to cast the spell. If he looses the casting tools he's screwed, but not permanently, because he can remake the casting tool in an hour.
Hmmm... It doesn't seem to be stated explicitly. However, let's look at notes about it:
Enchant Casting Tools:
"To enchant a casting tool, compare the magus's Technique and Form Lab Total to the level of the spell that the casting tool is associated with." (HoH:MC 123)
"The base effect level of the casting tool equals the level of the spell it is used for." (HoH:MC 124)
"Hephaestion, a Verditius magus five years out of apprenticeship, wishes to enchant his casting tool for the spell The Crystal Dart." (HoH:MC 124)
Spontaneous Casting Tools:
When using tools for Arts, the magus must "use [them] in various combinations," not just use one tool like with formulaic spells. (HoH:MC 136)
Consumed Casting Tools:
"Making a casting tool for a spell..." (HoH:MC 136)
There are a lot of singulars and a lot of references to tools being for spells. I think it's pretty clear that the normal Verditius casting tools are supposed to be one per formulaic spell.