Customer Reviews

Ancient Magic (Ars Magica)

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This book covers nine non-Hermetic magic systems, all of which predate the Order of Hermes. They can be used in a campaign as models for powers of rivals to player-character magi, but since by the era of the standard game setting they have no living practitioners, their main point is as a set of magical practices that magi might try to learn to expand their own powers.

The introduction offers a set of rules for learning new powers: discover a source of information on an ancient magical tradition (typically through adventuring), investigate it to discover an Insight, invent a spell or magical device that uses the Insight, and repeat until the Insights amount to an extension of Hermetic magic theory. (The Insight rules are a variation on the original magic research rules in the Bonisagus section of True Lineages.) If one makes a breakthrough, it may be taught to other magi or recorded in writing.

Chapter 1 covers the Language of Adam, the language spoken before the Tower of Babel -- the language of true names, more or less. For a Hermetic magus, it grants a penetration bonus to spells equal to the magus's skill in the language. The chapter mostly covers adventures one might take to learn the long-dead language. No Insights are necessary to use the language.

Chapter 2 covers Canaanite Necromancy. It includes a Major Supernatural Virtue, Canaanite Necromancy, a Minor Hermetic Virtue, Canaanite Magic, a list of example spells and items, and a few special powers. It also includes an infernally tainted variation on the power. There are also some adventures one could use to seek Insight into this magical tradition.

Chapter 3 covers Defixio Magic, a tradition that allows its practitioners to perform magic beyond sight range without an arcane connection, and cast spells with built-in triggers similar to Watching Ward. Triggered spells require enough Insight for Event Duration, a Minor Breakthrough. Spells without arcane connections require enough Insight for Unlimited Range, a Hermetic Breakthrough. Much of the chapter consists of mini-adventure descriptions for defexiones that a magus might find and use as sources of Insight. There is also a Major Supernatural Virtue, Defixio Lore, which most most magi would be unable to learn because of conflicts with Hermetic learning.

Chapter 4 covers Fertility Magic, which includes the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore, the Minor Hermetic Virtue Fertility Ritual Magic, the spell target Unborn Child, a few example spells and items, and several adventure seeds.

Chapter 5 presents Grigori Magic, a type of magic originally known to children of angels. Spells developed with Grigori Insight allow magi to substitute different sorts of vis when casting vis-boosted spells, and possibly avoid use of vis entirely. Grigori Minor Supernatural Virtues allow using some types of vis interchangeably; Grigori Minor Hermetic Virtues allow that and bypass some requisites. Much of the chapter is adventure seeds.

Chapter 6 presents Heron of Alexandria's Legacy, a type of magic that allows its practitioners to create Mechanica. With a Minor Hermetic Virtue or Major Breakthrough, magi can create magical devices with mutable powers. With a Major Virtue or Hermetic Breakthrough, magi can awaken a magical device, giving it intelligence and personality. The chapter includes numerous example devices and adventure seeds.

Chapter 7 describes the Hesperides, a simple skill that allows a place's longitude and latitude to be used as an arcane connection to it. Since such arcane connections depend on the Law of Names, they may be copied freely. The skill can only be used if one visits Longitude Zero, in today's Canary Islands. Most of the chapter deals with adventures involved in visiting Longitude Zero.

Chapter 8 presents Hyperborean Magic, a tradition based on hymns to Apollo. It includes the Minor Supernatural Virtues Hyperborean Hymnist and Hyperborean Descent; the latter is also a Major Hermetic Virtue. Also included are the Supernatural Ability Hyporean Hymn, the dead language Hyperborean, the new duration 19 Years, numerous hymn-powers, special Insight rules, and adventures to seek Hyperborean knowledge.

Chapter 9 presents Rune Magic, which includes the Duration Rune, the target Inscription, the Major Hermetic Virtue Rune Magic, and the rune wizards' Rune Magic. Rune magic has the advantage that it can be performed without vis. There is also some information about runes and rune magic, and a few adventure ideas.

If a magus is happy with Hermetic magic only, the player doesn't need this book. But this offers a lot of additional options that might broaden a magus's powers -- and add adventure motivations to a campaign.

Ancient Magic provides nine systems of thematically appropriate (mostly biblical and Roman) magic outside the Hermetic system in Ars Magica. These systems are, for the most part, alternately too powerful or marginal for the players to get their hands on without it being the basic focus of the game, but there are some gems and the others do provide interesting aspects for non-player antagonists.

The best magics in the book are the fertility magic, which is based on Neolithic society, and "defixio" magic, which is based on Roman cursing practices. Both magics add abilities to the mage that are interesting, beyond the limits of regular magic in the book, and won't unbalance the game if allowed into regular play. Furthermore, the "archaeology" required for magi to relearn these lost forms of magic allow for more flexibility on the part of the storyguide, and don't lock the players into a pat adventure in the book. I especially liked how fertility magic encourages players to check out Neolithic cave paintings; this was a creative touch that I wouldn't have thought of on my own.

Most other magics in the book are unbalancingly powerful (Hyperborean magic, for example, which breaks most of the important limits of Hermetic magic) or irritatingly niche (e.g., Canaanite necromancy, which allows one to talk to the dead - and that's it). They also require adventures which drag the players across the globe on monomaniacal quests for this magic - something everyone has to agree on beforehand. In Ars Magica, a game where eveyone spends time working on their own character advancement, it's unfair for the storyguide to drag the players on session after session looking for the biblical Cain (to learn the language of Adam), to the Near East (to learn Caananite Necromancy), or to longitude zero in the Canary Islands (Hesperides Magic).

The bright spot in this adventuring is that the Ancient Magic book does contain extra information on the Mongol invasion, for people who want to work that part of history into their games. And, as mentioned above, a Hyperborean or Grigori mage, while probably inappropriate as a player character, would make a great antagonist.

I've always loved Ars Magica and this recent supplement is just great.

It has lots of material that could be brought into many campaigns. Each type of Ancient magic has it's own section with history and rules on researching. In fact the books primary purpose appears to be to provide research opportunities and goals for your magi. A character could have his life goal to pursue norse rune magic and incorporating it into standard Hermetic theory.

This one was alright in my opinion, but a little lacking in the rules dept. I feel they could have developed some of the specifics of the various forms of magic much more. I found the book to be more like a collection of adventure ideas. Not bad mind you, but not up to par with the rest of the excellent Ars Magica line.