House Rules
Rule Interpretations
Adventure XP is incompatible with any kind of productive work, including teaching, writing or copying books, lab work, etc. The only exception is mundane work which can be seen as an extension of the story.
Personal vis source grants 3p/year if a technique, 4p/year if a form.
We do not use the optional book rules from [Cov]. This was discussed during the previous saga and considered to be too much bookkeeping.
It is possible, in the same season, to invent some spells using a lab text and others without it. The calculations can be made by using lab text levels as a bonus to the lab total, and work out the inventions of all the spells as if not using a text.
Although ring duration allows permanent effects, it should be noted that the ring is fragile. In particular, if the ring is obstructed by something dropping and covering it, the spell ends.
Realm aligned spells to reduce might work on all creatures with might aligned to that realm. However more specific versions can be created to benefit from a magical focus.
To decide if a target is a valid target for a given spell, it is the current, rather than the essential form which matters. That means that Muto magic can be used to change the target into something which can be affected with the desired spell. A person with giant blood (size +2) can be shrunk down to size +1, so that standard Corpus spells (e.g. healing) apply.
Booming voice and exaggerated gestures are impossible with ritual spells. It is too exhausting to keep up for the time it takes to cast the ritual. ` # House rules
Aegis of the Hearth can be invented with different size modifiers, even though range/duration/target cannot be modified. The base size is 100 paces diameter, but +1 (300 paces) versions are common in the Order.
A magus can fix several arcane connections in a season, up to his Magic Theory score. However, it is not possible to fix one in less than a season, or combine this with other lab activities. The fixing process needs to be aligned with celestial cycles, but the process allows some parallellism.
Teleportation is not discontinuous disappear/reappear behaviour, but rather ultra-fast real movement. This means that one cannot teleport out of a complete enclosed room, but has in practice no consequences for the speed of movement. An unobstructed path, not necessarily a straight line, is required.
It also implies that no casting requisite is required to bring clothes and equipment worn or held.
Note We did not really consider the smallest possible opening the target can teleport through. There is also a question of how this applies to teleportation in andout of regione. This should be reconsidered.
Fractional xp carry over. In other words, when an odd number of xp is assigned to an ability/art with affinity, the half xp should be recorded and not rounded up.
Note This can be problematic when several XP/quality modifiers apply to the same trait. Such cases should be checked for future sagas.
Untranslated lab texts can be read, and with a Int+Magic Theory roll, obtain Technique 6+, Form 6+, Requisites (9+ for 1st, 12+ for 2nd, 15+ for third etc) and Magnitude (roughly 9+ exactly 12+) and as such 4 Magic Theory rolls should be made. This whole process takes 1 day per lab text and does not in any way translate the code of the writer.
Copying ability books, the copyist needs to accumulate points equal to 3 times the level (compared to art books where only points equal to the level must be accumulated).
Lesser Enchanted Devices can be created with expiry.
On Rituals and Botch Dice
- Rituals are always cast on a stress dice, no matter how relaxed the situation. (This is RAW.)
- Practice of mastery of ritual spells yields 4xp per season. It is true that practice by repeatedly casting the spell earns 5xp, but this is not practical for rituals, due to the vis cost.
- A Safe Casting mastery option can be learnt, but requires one to study a book which explicitly makes it available. It halves the number of botch dice, before subtracting the mastery score.
- Wizard Communion must be cast. Momentary duration suffices. It can be cast at any level at or below the level known. (ruling made 5 Nov 2020)
Note These conditions makes it either risky or expensive to go seriously into rituals. For better or for worse, a ritual specialist may be unattractive.
Mythic Europe Interpretations
- Most magi dress so that they are easily recognisable as members of the Order. This often includes badges and insignia, which are known to many learned people. Players whose character dresses differently, should be careful to state this.
- The Irish year starts on 1 November (toussaints or Halloween), and the year is divided in two, with Summer starting 1 May. Matching this with Hermetic seasons, it is reasonable to let the year start with Winter 1 November, Spring 1 Februar, Summer 1 May, and Autumn 1 August. This places solstices and equinoxes approximately mid-season. The difficulty is, of course, that the Winter of 1220, starts 1 November 1219 by modern calendar.
Necessary house rules
Ritual Botch Dice
What means are available to reduce botch dice for rituals?
Is there a safe casting mastery option (available from books)?
Regular use spells
Spell use which occurs in session is easy to handle, but daily use is susceptible to abuse.
This applies (at least) to
- Rego Craft Magic for income and/or cost savings.
- Rusticani charged items
- Lab Boosting Spells
The Lab Boosting spells are balanced in canon by causing lab warping, and this seems ok. It accounts for the risk of mishaps and the distraction to keep them going.
Rusticani charged items have a definite time requirement, but even
so, an item/hour is commonly achievable. Using just the ten day
distraction allowance, this gives 80 items/season. A season of reading,
in principle, allows 240 items/season.
This seems excessively powerful, especially if items are sold. To date,
it has been managed by creating a little more than what seems sensible,
and the effects on the game are minor.
Craft Magic in principle are momentaneous spells. In theory, with perfect logistics, the Mystical Carpenter can erect ten houses per minute. However, what does it take him to get the materials in place? Similarly for Elfin Brewer/Baker, Mystical Blacksmith etc. In theory, a couple of craft spells could serve as scores of specialists, saving almost all costs.
- Main question. How much time does this take for the magus? Most of the time is probably spent organising the grogs for logistics. Some may be the disruption of having to cast the spells at particular times.
- Some cap should probably applied to account for the need to acquire and check raw materials. Possibly half the cap of a real craftsman.
