Hermes' Portal 07.pdf

Hermes' Portal

Issue #7

Hermes' Portal

Issue n° 7

Mars 2003

Who's Who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

News from the Line Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Publisher's corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

H ermetic Law and the Quaesitores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

by David Woods

M ore Merinita Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

by Scott D. Orr

A New Look at Experimentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

by Kevin Sours

O mnibus Grimoire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

by Andrew Gronosky

Le gend of the witches of Tortosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

by Carlos de la Cruz Morales

M ythic Academia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

by Adam Bank and Jeremiah Genest

Dear Abelard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

H oly Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

by Mike Sloothaak

E x Bibliotheca Verdorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

by Eric Minton

H eretic's corner: A Place of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

by Michaël de Verteuil

T he Curious Tale of Vaska Praskovaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

by Robert Hansen

hermes' portal

Publisher: Hermes’ Portal

Contributors: Abelard, Adam Bank, Carlos de la Cruz Morales, Jeremiah Genest, Andrew Gronosky, Robert Hansen, Eric Minton, Scott

D. Orr, Mike Sloothaak, Kevin Sours, Michaël de Verteuil, David Woods

Editorial and proofreading help: Sheila Thomas

Interior illustrations: Alexander White (Cover & p. 5, 6, 10, 45),Angela Taylor (p. 16, 17, 18, 37, 38, 39, 42), Radja Sauperamaniane (bor-

der, back, page numbering & p. 24, 26, 31)

Layout: Eric Kouris

Thanks : All the people who submitted ideas, texts, illustrations or helped in the production of this issue.

Hermes’ Portal is an independent publication dedicated to Ars Magica players. Hermes’ Portal is available through email only.

Hermes’ Portal is not affiliated with Atlas Games or White Wolf Gaming Studio. References to trademarks of those companies are not

intended to infringe upon the rights of those parties. Ars Magica was created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rhein Hagen.

Contacting HP

Email: Hermes.Portal@wanadoo.fr

Web site: www.hermesportal.fr.st

Who’s Who?

The Line’s Future

We are tentatively thinking about releasing a fifth

edition of Ars Magica at the end of 2004. If we do

hit that date, all the remaining fourth edition releases

have been assigned, and most have been written and

edited.

This means that now seemed like a good time to

change the way that the Ars Magica line is organised.

In the past we have asked for book proposals, and

then commissioned people to write the ones that

looked the most interesting. This has produced some

excellent books, but also some oddities. For example,

Kabbalah, while excellent, was not an obvious choice

to release before The Wizard’s Grimoire Revised Edition

and The Medieval Bestiary Revised Edition.

Thus, from now on we are no longer accepting

unsolicited book proposals. Instead, the Line Editor

will decide which books need writing, and contact

people who already have a published track record to

write them. This should allow us to plan a sensible

strategy for the line, and possibly even boost sales.

Those of you who have not yet published any-

thing need not despair, however. I plan to run a cou-

ple of Ars Magica open calls after fifth edition is

released, and, just as with Living Legends, anyone is

welcome to submit to them. In addition, a record of

publication in Hermes’ Portal can count, if the articles

are good and my spies tell me that they weren’t a ter-

ribly heavy edit. We are not interested in closing the

door to new authors, but rather want to avoid hand-

ing important projects to people who can’t cope with

them.

As you have probably gathered from this, the

line’s future is secure, at least at the moment. We have

fairly definite plans for the next two years’ releases,

and less clear plans to continue supporting the game

beyond then. As long as you keep buying the books,

Atlas will keep producing them.

Publisher’s corner

Hello!

Things are almost under control now! Still one

week late… I’m pleading guilty, but I’m asking the

clemency of the jury. Last week, a school inspector

announced that she will pay me a visit on Tuesday.

Four days to put everything in place. On the announ-

ced day and hour, she was in my course… and was

quite surprised and amused to follow a course she’d

never seen before. Forty minutes with 14 year old

students on the content and intent of Boethius’ Insti-

tutio Arithmetica and its influence until 1200. Through

strange ways, Ars Magica’s Mythic curriculum moved

from Adam and Jeremiah’s article into Real Life.

Nonetheless, when Sylvester II made his entrance, he

was just the renowned scholar who introduced deci-

mal notation and the astrolabe in the West and a

pope, not the infamous diabolist and founder Litera-

tus known by every Ars Magica player…

Next issue should be ready at the end of May and

will be largely devoted to Hermetic theory.

Scott D. Orr

Scott lives in Columbus, OH and is finishing a

Ph.D. in political science at Ohio State University.

He has been playing RPG's for a very long time,

though he began to play ArM with the 4th Edition.

Scott shares his apartment with two cats, Loki and

Ramses, who “helped” him type this bio. He should

be finishing his dissertation and applying for jobs

rather than writing articles for Hermes Portal.

Kevin Sours

Kevin is a software developer living in California

and, as is typical, he is looking for work. He has been

a game master ever since discovering an obscure

D&D box set in a thrift store 17 years ago and dis-

covered Ars Magica 8 years ago. Occasionally he gets

to play.

News from

the Line Editor

February 2003

I think there is a conspiracy to make the state-

ments I make in this column inaccurate. As people

may have noticed, The Black Monks of Glastonbury did

not come out in January or February.

On a brighter note, Land of Fire and Ice, Mark

Shirley and David Woods’s sourcebook on Mythic

Iceland, is now at the printers, and will most likely

ship to distributors in March. This book combines

extensive background information on Iceland, blend-

ing the mundane and the mythic into a seamless

whole, with an epic saga which gets the player char-

acters to Iceland and involved in its complicated pol-

itics. The background section covers Icelandic cul-

ture, and how magicians fit into that culture. There

are no Hermetic magi on Iceland in 1220, so the

book also provides suggestions as to how they could

integrate themselves. The saga draws on the history

of the Order of Hermes to involve the player char-

acters in a grand conflict which could shape the

future of magic.

Black Monks is now scheduled to ship to distribu-

tors in May, and that really should mark the start of a

roughly quarterly release schedule, as I have already

completed editing on the three books to follow Black

Monks, and have turned the manuscripts over to

Atlas.

People will doubtless be interested to hear that

Sanctuary of Ice is one of those manuscripts. It is

scheduled to be the next release after Black Monks,

and neither John Nephew nor myself can see any-

thing that would stop that. But this is Sanctuary of Ice,

so we are making no promises. The book is, howev-

er, now out of editing. I think Timothy Ferguson has

done a great job, but I will wait until the book is

nearer release to say more about it.

Hermetic Law and the

Quaesitores

by David Woods

intent that was paramount rather than the exact

wording of the Oath. In consequence the intention

behind each part of the Oath is well defined.

Charges under a provision of the Oath are desig-

nated high crimes and can be punished by a Wizard’s

March. However, a successful prosecution involving

a high crime does not always result in a Wizard’s

March. In fact most tribunals are very reluctant to

call on the ultimate sanction and reserve it for truly

serious cases. Although a case may be called a high

crime it may not be very serious. Tribunals always

have discretion to set a penalty they find appropriate,

but to call a Wizard’s March it must be a high crime.

Forfeit Immunity

One key form of defence from Hermetic charges

is one of forfeit immunity. In certain circumstances a

magus steps outside the protection of Hermetic Law,

either partially or totally. Wizard’s War is one exam-

ple of this, where two parties step outside Hermetic

Law with respect to each other. Forfeit immunity is

also gained while a magus is committing or preparing

to commit a high crime. While his immunity is forfeit

other magi may act against him, but the response

should be proportional. As with most aspects of

Hermetic Law forfeit immunity is a matter of degree,

which depends heavily on circumstance. In some cas-

es a response may be seen as justified and in others is

will not. The tribunal will weigh up the claim of for-

feit immunity in the light of the actions of both par-

ties.

The Oath

The following sections give a commentary on the

Oath.

rs Magica does not have a completely

defined game world and each storyguide

must fill the gaps between canon.

Amongst these gaps are Hermetic Law

and the role of the quaesitor. In order to create

adventures involving quaesitores the storyguide may

require more definition to their rights, duties and

privileges. Similarly, if your magi run into trouble

with the law you may need more definition in this

area too.

The most complete source of canon information

on quaesitores is found in House of Hermes or its old-

er version the Order of Hermes. The WGRE has the

most information on Hermetic Law and tribunal

proceedings as well as precedents. This article seeks

to revise and extend the material on Hermetic Law

and tribunal procedure, as well as give suggestions on

how quaesitores may be run.

My thanks to Timothy Ferguson, Eric Grove-

Stephensen and Andrew Smith for their advice and

Mark Shirley for his advice and tribunal ruling exam-

ples.

Hermetic Law

Origins

To those with an interest in the history of law, the

following will appear to draw more from Germanic

and Nordic traditions than Roman. This is a deliber-

ate choice based on two out-of-game reasons; these

are the traditions I have most knowledge of and the

current canon appears to support this approach.

There are also in-game reasons why the Order

might have derived its law from a largely Teutonic

model. The Order was founded in the Rhineland and

so Germanic and Nordic traditions would have been

familiar to most, if not all, of the founders. After the

collapse of the Roman Empire, much of Europe fell

under the control of Germanic kings and nobles.

Roman law persisted in the legal customs of indige-

nous Roman populations, while Germanic peoples

introduced their own rules and procedures. During

the time of the Order’s founding, Germanic tradi-

tions were widely practised in many parts of Europe.

Any European who travelled would have been famil-

iar with both systems. The society of the Order is

disperse, individualistic, unusually level and lacks any

executive; given these properties, a Teutonic model is

more apt than the Roman one. These factors would

have made a Teutonic model likely.

The Oath

Hermetic Law is derived from the Hermetic

Oath, but the interpretation and extension of the

Oath into law was not done in a dogmatic fashion.

The Oath was agreed between the founders, based

on specific intentions and fears. So when the

founders first framed Hermetic Law, it was their

“I will not deprive nor attempt to deprive a

member of their magical power.”

Any act that detrimentally affects a magus’s abili-

ty to use, practice or study magic is illegal. The most

serious offence under this provision would involve

the victim’s Gift. The destruction or serious maiming

of another’s Gift is likely to result in a Wizard’s

March.

Any physical injury that affects the voice, ability

to gesture or general mobility is also illegal and quite

serious as it substantially affects his ability to work

magic. A magus’s magical property is also considered

part of his magical power. Vis, vis sources, magical

sites, invested devices, familiars, apprentices, books

and lab equipment are all protected under this provi-

sion.

Beyond this a covenant’s mundane resources,

including personnel are also protected to a degree.

To study, a magus needs a laboratory and a library.

These require mundane resources to support and so

the entire covenant is part of a magus’s magic power

to an extent. However, any prosecution for the theft

or destruction of mundane property must show that

the owner’s magical power had been affected. For

instance, that an attack on a covenant’s source of

mundane income caused a shortage of lab equip-

ment.

“I will not slay, nor attempt to slay a member

of the Order, except in a properly declared

Wizard’s War.”

If a magus slays or attempts to slay another

magus, there are a number of possible defences.

If the other magus was engaged or preparing to

engage in an illegal act that seriously threatened his

life, magic or covenant, he can claim forfeit immuni-

ty. To claim forfeit immunity, the defendant needs to

satisfy the tribunal that the threat existed and was

serious enough to warrant a lethal response. If there

was some justification, but the tribunal is not con-

vinced it was sufficient for an acquittal, the punish-

ment will make up the difference.

If a magus is found to be a diabolist or to be oth-

erwise engaged in clearly marchable activities, their

immunity is forfeit. In such cases the attacker does

not need to show that his life, magic or covenant was

specifically threatened. The fact that the Order is

threatened is sufficient to provide justification. Of

course he will need to convince the tribunal that this

was the case. A magus who slays another (outside a

Wizard’s March or War) must always come before the

tribunal for judgement. In many cases this is a for-

mality, but it ensures the entire tribunal is fully

informed and involved in the process.

Being within another’s sanctum automatically

confers forfeit immunity with respect to the owner of

the sanctum. In this circumstance the sanctum own-

er can attack the intruder legally, but any aggressive

response by the intruder is usually illegal. If the

intruder finds evidence that forfeits the owner’s

immunity (like diabolism), he is free to act however

he chooses.

In cases where there was an escalation of aggres-

sive acts, matters may become very cloudy. Many

spells (or physical attacks) would not endanger a

magus’ life or magic and so would not be sufficient

for forfeit immunity. However, casting humiliating

magics on other magi or physically assaulting them, is

clearly provocative. Also, it will not always be clear to

the victim that an assault (magical or not) is not seri-

ous.

In the case of an exchange that becomes lethal,

the magus who was first to physically assault or cast

magic on the other will be seen as the aggressor. If

an offer of a truce was issued but was ignored, than

the party that continues will then be considered the

aggressor. If the aggressor survives, they are likely to

be given a Wizard’s March. If the survivor is not

counted as the aggressor, they will receive a lesser

punishment in proportion to the degree of provoca-

tion. This might still be a Wizard’s March if the

provocation was trivial.

A.A 1023 (A.D. 884), Rome Tribunal

Magus Gravis of House Flambeau was charg-

ed with slaying Talus of House Merinita.

Gravis claimed forfeit immunity as Talus had

cast a spell on him. Renowned for his practi-

cal jokes, Talus had cast a spell that made

Gravis’s voice sound like that of a little girl, to

the great mirth of the all others present.

Gravis responded with a Ball of Abyssal Flame,

which slew Talus. As Talus’s spell was clearly

not a threat to Gravis’s life or magic the tribu-

nal found him guilty, but due to the clear

provocation refrained from calling a Wizard’s

March. Gravis was punished by the loss of his

familiar.

A.A. 1030 (A.D. 891), Rome Tribunal

Magus Immanitos of House Jerbiton was

charged with the slaying of Gravis of House

Flambeau. Immanitos claimed forfeit immu-

nity, as Gravis had thrown a Ball of Abyssal

Flame at him after a council discussion at his

covenant had become ‘heated’. Witnesses tes-

tified that Gravis had made the first attack,

with only verbal provocation from Immani-

tos. After Immanitos surprisingly resisted the

attack he replied with Clenching Hand of the

Crushed Heart, instantly slaying Gravis. A

member of Immanitos’s covenant claimed

that Immanitos, an amicus of Talus, had tak-

en a powerful fire-warding potion that morn-

ing and then orchestrated the confrontation.

Immanitos did not dispute this accusation and

maintained that Gravis had attacked him, for-

feiting his immunity. The presiding quaesitor

ruled that Immanitos’s intention did not

excuse Gravis’s action and the charge was dis-

missed after a close vote. Immanitos was con-

victed of the low crime of breaching his

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