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View Full Version : My take on Ars Magica (5th Edition)



Bobbybobby99
2015-10-17, 10:42 AM
One day, I looked at Ars Magica 5th edition, and I thought that it was too complex. So I simplified it. Then I had some miscellanious ideas to change some things around to suit my personal preferences, and changed those. This is the result.

Experience is gained at a flat rate; normally 15 experience points per season. The wealthy and poor traits are downgraded to minor, and don't influence experience. The Genius and Unskilled traits replace them; Geniuses gain twenty experience points per season, Unskilled individuals gain ten experience points per season. Remove all other virtues and flaws that affect experience gains, and don't have an equivalent in character creation.

Magical ability is static, and cannot be improved through experience. Parma magica, and those abilities replaced by Comprehension (see below) are the same. The different Lores are divided into Bogeyman, Faerie, Ghost, Goblin, Demon, Risen, Angel, and Elemental Lores; see Auras. Magical virtues are separate from regular virtues; see Individualization.
Formal title. Tertiary/Secondary/Primary art scores. Ability scores (minimum magic resistance)
Rank 1. 1/2/5. Comprehension/Parma magica 1 (6).
Rank 2. 2/3/10. Comprehension/Parma magica 3 (17).
Rank 3. 3/5/15. Comprehension/Parma magica 6 (33).
Rank 4. 4/10/20. Comprehension/Parma magica 10 (54).
Rank 5. 5/15/25. Comprehension/Parma magica 15 (80).
Rank 6. 10/20/30. Comprehension/Parma magica 20 (110).
Rank 7. 15/25/35. Comprehension/Parma magica 25 (140).
Rank 8. 20/30/40. Comprehension/Parma magica 30 (170).
Rank 9. 25/35/45. Comprehension/Parma magica 35 (200).
Rank 10. 30/40/50. Comprehension/Parma magica 40 (230).
Rank 11. 35/45/55. Comprehension/Parma magica 45 (260).
Rank 12. 40/50/60. Comprehension/Parma magica 50 (290).
Rank 13. 45/55/65. Comprehension/Parma magica 55 (320).
Rank 14. 50/60/70. Comprehension/Parma magica 60 (350).
Rank 15. 55/65/75. Comprehension/Parma magica 65 (380).
Rank 16. 60/70/80. Comprehension/Parma magica 70 (410).

Stamina no longer factors into casting score.

Comprehension, indicating innate understanding, replaces Magic Theory, Finesse, and Penetration for all purposes. It replaces the Artes Liberales and Philosiphae for ritual and ceremonial magic (add comprehension to ritual magic, add 1/2 (rounded up) to ceremonial magic). It adds to three mundane skills, determined at birth (2 general, 1 academic or 1 martial), along with a skill determined by defining virtue (a lore, a single craft, faerie magic, the enigma, and heartbeast, respectively).

Anything that would supply a warping point instead supplies a Dissonance point; local reality balking for just a moment. 7 Dissonance points convert to an actual Warping point, and Two Dissonance points or more acquired at once cause a twilight check as normal. Twilight takes the form of a temporary trip to a wonderful, pleasant, personal place, based on the user's primary noun, meaning that many individuals take in dissonance as a drug.

A spell is considered formulaic or ritual if it involves one of a spellcaster's primary arts. A spell is considered spontaneous if it does not.

Ceremonial spells enjoy all the normal benefits of ritual spells (permanent creation, etc). Ceremonial magic also cost the same amount of Vis as an equivalent ritual spell.

Degrading magic functions as Perfecting magic for the purpose of requiring ritual or ceremonial magic to be permanent.

Spells need not be ritual for reason of grand effect, high duration or target.

Ability score increases of any kind defy a person's innate nature, and must have a duration, alongside attracting flaws or consummate reduced attributes (making them generally not worth it). This generally only occurs if maintained for more than a few days, though exceptions occur.

Additional durations. Decade, Century, Millennia, Permanent until Dispelled.
Additional ranges. Expired arcane connection (x2 after expiration), Expired arcane connection (x8 after expiration), Expired arcane connection (x64 after expiration), No Arcane Connection.
Vis is not found 'in the wild'; there are no Vis Sources, nor any Vis Finds, and it cannot be extracted from auras. The only source of Vis is a process known as Essence Extraction; Vis itself, furthermore, is called Essence. To perform an essence extraction, a spellcaster must perform seven minutes and seven seconds of ritualistic meditation (personalized, of course). This produces a single Bit of Essence, forming a small ball of glowing energy that enters whatever (relatively small) nearby object the caster desires. This reduces the effective level of one of their arts by five for the following week, to a minimum of zero (matching the affinity of the Essence). Most potent mages simply purchase their essence.

The basic unit of the laboratory is 40 hours, not a season. Note that Magic Theory is replaced with Comprehension (see top).

Aura changes. Every spellcaster can choose the alignment of their magic; as in, what aura they are treated as. This decision is typically made with regards to the type they typically deal with. Divine and Arcane mages can belong to multiple auras.
.... Bogeymen. Apprehension/Fear/Terror.
+1/rank Bogeymen, +1/2/rank Faerie/Elementals, +0/rank Angels/Ghosts, -1/2/rank Goblins/Risen, -1/rank Demons.
.... Faerie. Distraction/Surprise/Amazement.
+1/rank Faerie, +1/2/rank Bogeymen/Ghosts, +0/rank Elementals/Goblins, -1/2/rank Angels/Demons, -1/rank Risen.
.... Ghosts. Pensiveness/Sadness/Grief.
+1/rank Ghosts, +1/2/rank Faerie/Goblins, +0/rank Demons/Bogeymen, -1/2/rank Risen/Elementals, -1/rank Angels.
.... Goblins. Boredom/Disgust/Loathing.
+1/rank Goblins, +1/2/rank Ghosts/Demons, +0/rank Risen/Faerie, -1/2/rank Angels/Bogeymen, -1/rank Elementals.
.... Demons. Annoyance/Anger/Rage.
+1/rank Demons, +1/2/rank Goblins/Risen, +0/rank Angels/Ghosts, -1/2/rank Faerie/Elementals, -1/rank Bogeymen.
.... Risen. Interest/Anticipation/Vigilance.
+1/rank Risen, +1/2/rank Demons/Angels, +0/rank Elementals/Goblins, -1/2/rank Bogeymen/Ghosts, -1/rank Faerie.
.... Angels. Serenity/Joy/Ecstasy.
+1/rank Angels, +1/2/rank Risen/Elementals, +0/rank Bogeymen/Demons, -1/2/rank Goblins/Faerie, -1/rank Ghosts.
.... Elementals. Acceptance/Trust/Admiration.
+1/rank Elementals, +1/2/rank Bogeymen/Angels, +0/rank Risen/Faerie, -1/2/rank Demons/Ghosts, -1/rank Goblins.

Familiars are unrestricted in type. If they are not natively of animal shape, they can acquire one; if they are natively of animal shape, they gain another form suiting the favored arts of the caster. The familiar bond cannot be empowered, and the three cords cannot be improved after the initial casting.
A person has one primary verb, two secondary verbs, and two tertiary verbs.
A person has one primary noun, three secondary nouns, and six tertiary nouns. A person has a single secondary noun from each of the three noun categories, though their primary and tertiary categories are likely unbalanced.

Verbs...
Perfect.
Sense.
Control.
Transform.
Degrade.

Nouns...

Living..
Animal.
Plant.
Body.

Ethereal..
Soul.
Image.
Mana.

Physical..
Fire.
Air.
Water.
Earth.


The default state is akin to everyone having gentle gift.

Everyone has one of the following virtues, including a major magical focus (often referred to as (specialty) magic), a stylistic virtue, and a defining virtue.

Characteristic......
Major magical focus.

Stylistic......
Subtle magic. (quiet/subtle)
Flexible magic. (deidne)
Commanded magic. (tamed)
Specialized magic. (formulaic)
Ritualized magic. (mercurian)

Defining......
High magic. (puissant)
Craft magic. (verditus)
Arcane magic. (faerie)
Divine magic. (enigma)
Primal magic. (heartbeast)

High magic, rather than adding a flat +3, instead adds an amount equal to the practitioner's rank. It always applies to one of the caster's primary arts.
Craft mages can still cast spells from their primary arts without their casting tools, they just cast them as spontaneous spells.
Arcane mages are devoted to two different auras at once, and take the better of the two; these two auras must be allied.
Divine mages are devoted to three different auras at once, and take the best of them; these three auras must be allied. They are not particularly good with riddles.
Primal mages gain an inner Heartbeast at rank 9 in the Heartbeast ability, and gain a refinement to the inner Heartbeast every three levels after.


... Options for Major Magical Focuses.
Animal. Mammals, Birds and Reptiles, Fish and Amphibians, Invertebrates.
Body. Blood and Mucus, Bone and Hair, Flesh and Organ, Skin and Eye.
Plant. Trees, Bushes and Grasses, Flowers and Mosses, Fungus Ferns and Algae.
Soul. Trust and Disgust, Anger and Fear, Joy and Sadness, Surprise and Anticipation.
Mana. Solid mana, Fluid mana, Dissonance and Auras, and Wards and Bindings.
Image. Sight, Hearing, Smell and Taste, Tactile and Miscellaneous.
Water. Salt water, Fresh water, Steam and Mist, Ice and Snow.
Air. Weather, Air and Wind, Electricity, Gaseous substances.
Earth. Metal, Stone, Soil and Dirt, Artificial solids.
Fire. Light, Flame, Heat, Reaction.

Does anyone see any potential problems with these changes, if played in an actual game? Or general advice?