Canon Description

Age

approximately 160 (Archmage)

Personality Traits

Diligent +3, Touchy +2, Indolent +1

Age

125 (90) (Gauntlet at 21; Archmage)

Decrepitude

2 (2)

Warping Score

8 (5)

Confidence Score

3 (5)

Virtues

The Gift; Archmage; Mythic Blood; Affinity with Penetration, Affinity with Perdo, Great Intelligence (x2), Minor Magical Focus (Dispelling, with Mythic Blood), Puissant Perdo*;

Flaws

Driven, Enemies; Ambitious (with Mythic Blood), Deficient Form (Imaginem)

Personality Traits

Alarmist +3, Condescending +3, Obsessive +2, Cool-Tempered –1, Cheerful –3

Reputations

Master of Perdo 5 (Hermetic), Archmage 4 (Hermetic), Don’t Mess with this Magus 4 (Hermetic)

Twilight Scars

1. when angry he appears to grow in size,
2. his shadow occasionally moves without a corresponding movement from Philippus,
3. he can always tell true gold from false,
4. only male children are born at a place he has lived for more than a year,
5. his presence sours wine,
6. he winces at noises greater than a normal speaking voice,
7. he seems to attract black animals who gather whenever he is outside,
8. flames dim and extinguish when he enters a room

Appearance

Philippus is a smallish but well-built man with a cool and reserved demeanor. His advanced age has left him a little deaf, bowed of back, and creaky-limbed. His cognomen (“the Black”) might equally well refer to the color of his hair or his clothing, his pessimistic outlook, or to the fact that he is an undisputed master of Perdo magics.

He wears a hooded cloak of deep black, over robes (or clothes) of darkest gray. His bone dagger is always on display, either unsheathed at his belt, or in his hand. His familiar is usually close by, but rarely in the same room.

Description

Philippus Niger is an example of a magus who has devoted his whole life to one goal — the defense of the Order against non-Hermetic wizards. In addition to being an archmagus, he holds the position of Protector of Durenmar, a role for which he was personally chosen by Murion, to whom he is a political ally. Now that the threat of Final Twilight looms large in his life, he concentrates mostly on politics, and is the leading figure in the Ash Gild, dominated by Flambeau magi who wish to see the Order strike aggressively against the Norse wizards beyond the Baltic. He is pressuring the magi of Oculus Septentrionalis to install a Mercere Portal (see Chapter 3: Tribunal History and Customs, Tribunal Gatherings) to Durenmar — this would also be a blow to Fengheld — and to be more proactive in their investigation. A magus of his age, aggression, and political nature cannot avoid having enemies; most of Fengheld (and their allies) actively oppose him at every turn due to many previous slights (real or imagined), and several hedge magicians want him dead — fortunately, his Parma Magica keeps their malicious curses from affecting him. His extreme age is fuelled by longevity rituals created for him by members of Durenmar, and in his long career he has trained 4 apprentices. The Wizard’s Bridle, his feared magical item, has only been used once, to restrain a particularly dangerous member of House Tytalus who had been Marched.

Philippus is the eldest surviving member of the direct lineage from Apromar filius Flambeau, the undisputed master of destructive magics. As such, he has a Magical Focus for all destructive spells used against supernatural beings, and can “sniff out” the presence of magic. He is envied by the lineage of Apromar throughout the Order because of his familiar, Sordus. It took him three years to track down a female basilisk, and another year to convince it to give him one of its eggs to become his familiar. Sordus usually remains out of sight, because of his dreadful destructive power, but will sometimes slowly enter a room, casting his gaze left and right, as if to punctuate Philippus’ threats. It should be noted that, from 40 years after Gauntlet onwards, Philippus’ spells were learned as lab projects (see the rule in ArM5, page 32). In the 66 seasons he spent in his laboratory, he has created all his magical items, enchanted his familiar, and gained 720 levels of spells.

Position

**Oculus S*: Philippus is deeply disappointed with the lack of information fed from Oculus. He wants the covenant to refund the resources they received, to pass them on to a new group to found a covenant further North.

He does not care about the interference with mundanes, but he may use recent events for leverage.

Order of Odin: A threat to be eliminated.

**Waddenzee*: If they can provide news about Norse wizards, I’ll back them all the way.

Helena of Flambeau: ask Red

The Wolverine Magus: ask visibleman