Introduction
The following are a list of the interpretations and ammendments I
use of the RAW (Rules As Written). I've no need to argue, but send
me an email if you feel anything below is fundamentally wrong.
mintroll-arsmagica@2-72.company.unitedkingdom
(obviously, the real address is obscured to stop bots)
There are a couple of qualifiers to this page:
- I will generally follow expansion books and errata. If you don't have the relevant book then some of the follow are left more open.
- Any house rule has two purposes, to fix a perceived problem and to remain fun.
- This is in no way an official FAQ.
I refer you to the Official Errata and the Ars Magica Forum.
Wards
Do Wards (of any type, ring or personal) need to penetrate, with particular reference to Creatures with a Might Score?
Yes. House of Hermes: Societates, p114:
Hermetic Wards must penetrate a being's Magic Resistance to be effective
Done.
Might Score/Pool
What are these?
Each Creature has:
- A Realm (Magic, Faerie, Infernal, Divine)
- A Might Score (number, usually multiple of five)
- A Might Pool, for using powers
- A Form, for warding
The Might Pool refreshes up to the Might Score after a day (may optionally be gradual or after a nights rest).
Might Stripping
Does Demons Eternal Oblivion (and all over Might Stripping Spells) permanently reduce Might Score?
Let's re-ask that question as, does PeVi reduce Might Score? Yes.
Realms of Power: Divine, p21:
Finally, angels can be destroyed permanently by reducing their Divine Might to a negative value.
Realms of Power: The Infernal, p33:
As the demon's Infernal Might is reduced, subsequent Perdo Vim spells penetrate more easily... and a demon that is reduced to an Infernal Might of zero is destroyed, leaving behind no corpse.
...but, they are only destroyed when their Might Score is reduced to zero or below.
Can stripped Might Score be recovered?
The Mysteries Revised Edition, p135:
Might damage, such as from Perdo Vim magics equivalent to Demon's Eternal Oblivion, only result in temporary Might loss if the spirit is not utterly destroyed -- Full Might recovers by the next day.
However, that only applied to Immortal and Unchanging. For creatures with a mundane or physical form, House of Hermes: Mystery Cults, p134:
If all of a creatures Magic Might is drained, it retains a Magic Might [Score] of 0. While it is still a magical creature, it cannot invoke any of its magical powers that cost Might Points.
The above, though specific to Binding, hints that any powers of cost zero could still be used and seems to imply that the lost Might Score is not recovered. Also, a Might Score of zero is still a Magic Resistance of zero, and a zero is better than none at all (Ars Magica Core, p85).
If I feel my creature will be destroyed at zero it is (eg. Demons), else left as
a mundane version (eg. Unicorns).
With regard to Might Score Recovery, I'm torn on the issue,
I'd say it depends on the creature - it's background and importance
to the saga.
Might
One thing that I feel needs addressing (apart from the lack of chapter headings in all the books) is Might. It controls four concepts:
- Magic Resistance (= current Might Score)
- Powers Available (using powers costs points from your Might Pool <= Might Score)
- Penetration (= Might Score - 5x Might Point Cost + Bonus)
- An overall level for creatures (= Might Score), for example 50 is a lot better than 20
It's simple, but in my opinion too simple, it cramps SGs into either low level weak or too hard creatures.
With regard to Wards (and their effectiveness) I like the propsal on on the Forum to give all creatures with a Might Score the major flaw Weak Magic Resistance - the specific weakness could be: Wards, Circle Wards or Wards of a specific Form. [credit to Mark Faulkner] Ars Magica Core, p61:
... do not subtract the level of the effect from casting total before calculating Penetration.
In addition, as SG I would break a creatures into a few more stats, namely ammend Magic Resistance. This has three benefits:
- only the SG need do anything extra (this changes no rules for the players)
- it allows for more varied creatures (hard to stop but not very dangerous, or easy to defeat but deadly)
- finally, it allows the SG to alter a creature over the saga (let it advance) without having to change it's Might Score
Simply give all creatures a resistance modifier for all the ten forms. Typically, all will be zero apart from one. The modifier can be positive or negative. View this as a sort of generalised parma for all creatures.
Example Creatures Using House Rules
Note, the following are not always complete or even sensible - they are used to illustrate the House Rules and Rules Interpretations above.
At first this idea seems overly complicated, and I admit it isn't as elegant as the RAW. However, after a while it isn't that hard.
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Warding Examples
To Ward against Sir Tyne requires a level 5 ReMe (R: Touch D: Ring
T: Circle). His Magic Resistance against the Ward is Magic Might +
Modifier = 5 + 5 = 10.
The Penetration Total must be 11 or more to have effect, however Sir
Tyne has Weak Magic Resistance (WMR) against Mentem Wards, so the
Penetration Total (PT) = Casting Total (CT) + Penetration Bonus (Pen). (Assume
Pen is zero, CT >= 11).
To Ward against the Fire Elemental requires a level 5 ReIg
(T:R:C). His Magic Resistance = Magic Might + Modifier = 5 + 15 =
20.
The Penetration Total must be 21 or more to have effect, so the
Penetration Total = Casting Total + Penetration Bonus - Spell Level. (Assume
Pen 0, Level 5, then CT >= 26).
Now, lets ward against both Sir Tyne and the Fire Elemental with a
ReVi Ward.
Sir Tyne has a Resistance = 5 + 0 = 5
Fire Elemental has a Resistance = 5 + 15 = 20
Thus when casting the ward you must note down penetration (with and
without spell level). Note, Sir Tyne has WMR against Me Wards only,
the spell level is deducted as usual. (Assume Pen 0)
CT < 11 ⇒ no effect
11 ≤ CT < 21 ⇒ stop Sir Tyne
CT ≥ 21 ⇒ stop both
(Note: even though the ReMe and ReVi need CT at least 11 to stop Sir
Tyne, they arrive at this by different combinations of the House
Rules - read the examples carefully)
Power Examples
Squirrel Sorcerer uses Wooden Dart. Might Cost 1 out of the Might Pool (maximum three, so can only use this power three times until pool recharges). Penetration = Might Score - (5xPoint Cost) + Pen Bonus = 3 - (5x1) + 15 = 13.
Fire Elemental uses Hells Furnace. Penetration = 5 - (5x1) + 0 = 0.
The Unicorns Grace and Splender. Penetration = 25 - (5x2) - 10 = 5
Even though the Fire Elemental and Unicorn have higher Might Scores, I'd be more afraid of the Squirrel.
Magic Resistance Examples
We've delt with wards, but what about general spells? Let's try and hurt our sample creatures.
PeMe level 10 to destroy the ghost of Sir Tyne. His MR = 5 + 5 =
10. Thus (assume Pen 0) the CT ≥ 21 to penetrate.
On the other hand for a PeVi level 10. His MR = 5 + 0 =
5. Thus (assume Pen 0) the CT ≥ 16 to penetrate.
Our Unicorn friend will require a very high CT to penetrate its Magic Resistance, 50 against Animal form and 40 otherwise (for non-ward spells).
Advancement Example
In my view, the best part of this idea is that, like Magi, the creature can get better at their Penetration Bonus and Resistance Modifiers over the saga (explain this as you want, say a Demon from Hell got promoted or consumed the soul of a powerful magus). This is only useful if you have recurring creatures - but it allows you as the SG to keep the creature (same powers and might pool) but make it harder to hurt and better at penetrating.
Sir Tyne will remain as he is until his link to the mortal world is
broken. Our Squirrel Sorcerer however can hone his skills,
increasing his penetration ability to 20 (truely terrifying), but
more than that, his magics have increased and now he has a
Resistance Mod of An +10, else +5.
The Squirrels Might Score hasn't changed, so the players wards
(spells) will still be valid (useful).
