Character Generation

Your characters are part of the hereditary bloodlines of power in the Known World, or servants to those bloodlines. Up to this point, they have not seen much of the world, having been absorbed in their education and training. They have recently come of age, and thus, they are now ready to take the step out into the larger world, and prove that they are worthy of the titles they will be gifted with.

All characters must:

While there will be plenty of opportunities for individual character development, this is an "ensemble cast" game. Characters who are loners will not fit well, and are likely to get themselves killed very quickly.

Character Types

Character creation will use a modified form of Ars Magica, 4th Edition rules. Every player receives only a single character, which may fall into one of the following categories:
Magus
Magi do not belong to a Hermetic House, as they do in the standard rules. The Gift is hereditary, and thus the magi are all part of a magical bloodline. Most will be related to a noble house of one of the Citadels in some way. The magical power they call upon is called High Magic or, sometimes, True Magic, and requires some considerable discipline and formal training to practice.

Cunning-Folk
Hedge wizards, crafters of charms, brewers of potions, often gifted with visions and the ability to perceive things other-worldly. It is said that such people have been touched by Faerie, though the truth of this is open to question. It is, however, known that many of those with the ability to do this magic lack the Gift for High Magic.

Natural Magician
These enchanters are scholars who are capable of channeling the energies of the natural world to produce magical effects. They are skilled alchemists, astrologers, and fabricators of magical items, and their source of power is akin to the magic of the Ancients, rather than what is presently called High Magic.

Spirit Master
These sorcerors are able to summon a vast array of creatures, whether alive or not, human or not, magical or not. They are able to speak with these conjured beings, bargain with them for service, and sense their presence. Some Spirit Masters are capable of coercing service out of these creatures as well. The djinn-summoners of Zakharim are of this type.

Ascetic
Ascetics seek spiritual perfection through mystical practices and isolation from the mundane world. They are capable of performing minor miracles through mystical transcendances, and they are gifted with a mysterious understanding of the world. The North Keep fanatics of Ka are of this type.

Companion
Companions are generated with five additional free points in Virtues. It is expected that these points will normally be used to purchase Items. A Companion can buy the +5 Virtue Magical Dabbler for the ability to use a single Technique and Form combination (with 30 XP to spend on Arts and 60 spell levels) and the additional abilities Speak Ancient Vos 3, Scribe Ancient Vos 1, Magic Theory 1, and High Magic Lore 1; this Virtue may not be taken multiple times. Dabblers may learn arcane abilities normally restricted to magi, with the exception of the Parma Magica.

Character Generation Mechanics

Characteristics are bought on the standard pyramid scale.

All characters, including magi, need to buy a Social Class. The Grog Status Virtues and Flaws may also be purchased, to be applied to those holding significant positions in the service of the ruling family of a demesne. There is an additional +1 Virtue, Blood of the Realm, which buys one heritage that contains the bloodline of the demesne, required in order to be able to do Realm Magic or wear the Circlet of Power.

There is no Gentle Gift or Blatant Gift in this society; magic is so much a part of normal life that magical people aren't particularly unusual.

All characters, except for magi, receive twice their age in Experience Points; magi receive their Age + 3 in Experience Points. It is expected that XP will be distributed over a wide range of skills that the character might have learned in his lifetime. All characters receive Speak Common 4 and Area Lore 2 (for whatever demesne the character grew up in) for free.

All magi begin with the following additional Abilities: Speak Ancient Vos 5, Scribe Ancient Vos 3, Magic Theory 5, Parma Magica 2, High Magic Lore 2.

The virtue Follower of Bjornaer is called Beast-Mage in this Saga. The virtue Follower of Verditius is called Mage-Smith in this Saga. Neither magical bloodline is particularly unusual.

All magi believe themselves to be associated with a particular totem, element, philosophy, etc. They can usually trace their family tree back several generations, if not more, all members of the family sharing the same magical strengths. All magi are required to take a Magical Affinity of their choice.

Character development is not likely to progress seasonally. The initial spell selection and Art scores for a magus must therefore be done carefully. Magi may choose to put normal adventure XP into their Art scores, at the cost of 2 normal XP for every point of Art XP. If scribed spells are found, they can be learned if the magus could normally learn them in a season of laboratory work, at the cost of the spell's Level in normal XP.

All other characters are generated per normal rules (core 4th edition rules, plus the Hedge Magic supplement).

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Maintained by lwl@godlike.com / Created 04.10.97 / Revised 07.08.97