Ars Magica

[Tyrrell]

Like Grenla, I think that one thing that Ars Magica does well, in fact better than any other game that I've seen, is give characters differing cool abilities. In Grenla's example he (she?) mentioned a character who is good at both creo and ignem. Choosing to throw lots of your time into a technique and a form is a classic way to make a character a master of something but it really doesn't even scratch the surface of Ars's ability to give characters really personalized abilities (heck there are only 50 technique/form combos).

Spell selection is something that Ars does incredibly well. It is a more personalizing choice in Ars than in other game that I've seen because the spells that you create are specifically yours , they relate to your character's abilities to make them, they bear your sigil and they're probably based on a problem that your character invented the spell to solve. I'm hard pressed to think of another game that does this. Many games have a selection of spells for you to choose from, many games have free form spell invention by the players on the fly (ars has this too). But only ars (that I know of) has spells created by the character that are important game world and game mechanics entities. Your character has a limited number of spells that he or she knows, he or she has laboratory texts in his bedroom detailing their development they are concrete entities in both the game world and the game mechanics, but it's not a "choose from a list" system.

Characters develop their magic in many different ways:

• they develop by raising their arts (getting magical horsepower),
• they improve by learning skills associated with magic (Magic theory to more easily develop new spells and enchant items, magical defense, control over the spells that they cast, ability to circumvent magical protections, ability to concentrate
• they improve by learning new spells and enchanting new devices
• They improve by mastering the spells that they already know (so they can cast them silently or cast three spells at the same time or better defend against spells similar to the spell they've mastered or better penetrate magic resistance with the spell they've mastered)
• They improve by undergoing imitation into secret mysteries altering or widening the ways that they can perform magic

So even characters that focus on creo (creating/perfecting) and ignem (light and heat) have very different abilities from one another.

• One might be heavily focused in arts and be able to cast exceptionally powerful spells and spontaneously create some formidable magic
• Another might have a huge selection of spells to draw upon
• A third might be the master of two or three spells able to do tricks with them that no other magician can
• A fourth might have initiated into the secrets of (say) Astrological magic (just one of many many choices) and be able to not only craft enchanted devices that are beyond his power by the utilization of planetary influences but also cast spells with durations determined by astrological events and create horoscopes that show him where and when planetary influences can assist the casting of his spells

And these are all creo ignem mages in fact all "hermetic" creo ignem mages (there are other magic systems in the game)

But that's not much more than half, all characters posses a number of virtues and flaws some of which affect their magic. There are probably dozens that are appropriate for a creo ignem specialist (vis source, affinity with ignem, puissant ignem, minor magical potency:huge fires, deleterious circumstances: when in darkness, etc.) One particular virtue: magical focus is exceptionally important here. The system by nature only splits things up into fifty technique-form categories magical focus allows you to take a theme and run with it for your whole character concept in a mechanically advantageous way. If you want your creo ignem mage to be the magus of candles or bright lights or smoke or shadows or unnatural fires -you can focus on the specific aspect that you want and it is a mechanically advantageous decision based on your character's aptitude rather than just a bit of role playing fluff.