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1[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ars_magica_revised_784.jpg]]
2%%
3''Ars Magica'' is a TabletopRolePlayingGame set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. It typically centers on the lives of Magi, powerful wizards belonging to the Order of Hermes, and the various [[{{Muggles}} mundane]] folk in their lives. While several details about the world change, sometimes drastically, from edition to edition, the same basic premise applies: the Order is a secret society in a world that believes in magic, founded by the apprentice of a wizard who first developed a unified magic theory and a general defense against magic, the Parma Magica. There are twelve Houses (with a missing thirteenth), each focusing on a particular area of study that the House founder excelled in originally. As of 5th Edition, each of the Houses is also grouped into one of three structures: True Lineages (members must be able to trace their MasterApprenticeChain back to the House's founder), {{Mystery Cult}}s (members must be initiated into the House via special rites), and Societates (anyone who shares the House's ideology may join). The Houses are as follows:
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5[[folder: The Houses]]
6* '''[[{{Animorphism}} Bjornaer]]''' (Mystery Cult): Shapeshifting magi who can change into the form of their "Heart-Beast" (or, in the case of an inanimate natural object, a "Heart-Shape"). They are descended from a Pomeranian Bear-witch named Birna and practice secret magical rites at their Domus Magnus Crintera every twelve years.
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8* '''[[WizardClassic Bonisagus]]''' (True Lineage): The Founder of the Order, though his apprentice Trianoma did most of the leg work. Originally wrote the Hermetic Magic Theory, which is the magic system based on the Platonic forms the book uses and that all Hermetic Magi are expected to know, if not use. Those who consider themselves Followers of Bonisagus are more interested in the study of magic; the Followers of Trianoma are more politically minded. Either way, they have a natural prestige within the Order due to their Lineage.
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10* '''[[MadDreamer Criamon]]''' (Mystery Cult): Magi who pursue The Enigma as the path to true wisdom and power, often prone to prophecy and using [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} unusual logic]] to solve puzzles and riddles. Most insist that the Order is doomed on one level or another.
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12* '''[[{{Druid}} Diedne]]''' (Undefined): Druids who were canonically wiped out during the Schism War and and are source of fear and suspicion even now; early editions simply mention the house as existing at one point, but they provide no information beyond "You cannot play a member of House Diedne" and a Flaw that means Quaesitors suspect your predecessors of being Diedne. Later editions provide rules for Diedne Magic, and detailed history regarding the causes of the Schism War itself (suspicions of human-sacrifice and devil worship, coupled with the house's insular and secretive nature, the nominally Christian allegiance of the rest of the Order, and House Tremere pushing its own agenda against them).
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14* '''[[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Ex Miscellanea]]''' (Societas): Originally created as a "rival Order" to the Order of Hermes, but it didn't quite get there. Many of its mages only nominally practice Hermetic Magic, and it's home to several "converted" hedge-wizards. Most (but not all) members do practice Hermetic Magic, albeit coloured by their earlier training, but as members of the Order they are taught the Parma Magica.
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16* '''[[BloodKnight Flambeau]]''' (Societas): Battle-hungry pyromaniacs who love fire and warfare; probably the most mercenary of the Houses. Later editions have down-played the pyromania and bloodlust, with mixed reaction from fans of the house. Many members of the House specialize as Hoplites (battle-magi who guard Quaesitors from harm and enforce their decisions).
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18* '''[[ByTheBookCop Guernicus]]''' (True Lineage): Also known as House Quaesitoris; Order-keepers and judges, effectively the police. In later editions Quaesitors may come from any House, but the lineage of Guernicus remains dominant due to Guernicus' vow at the First Tribunal.
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20* '''[[TheDandy Jerbiton]]''' (Societas): Socially-oriented mages who love things like high society, the arts, and the Church. Most of the House's apprentices are acquired from noble houses, and sometimes even retain their mundane lives once out of apprenticeship.
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22* '''[[BadassNormal Mercere]]''' (True Lineage): Primarily messengers and the Hermetic equivalent of the Pony Express; most of the House is comprised of mundanes. The Founder Mercere lost his Gift and took up the useful position of messenger. The Gifted members of House Mercere tend to focus on the arts of Creo and Muto and frequently possess the Mercurian Magic virtue.
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24* '''[[FairyTale Merinita]]''' (Mystery Cult): Split into two camps the same way Bonisagus is, with Followers of Merinita focusing on Nature magic, and Followers of Quendalon focusing on Faerie magic. This gives them some trouble, as molesting the Faeries is against Hermetic law. In addition to giving them access to unique RDT parameters, Merinita magi are less inconvenienced by Faerie Auras than other Magi.
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26* '''[[TheChessmaster Tremere]]''' (True Lineage): Rigidly hierarchical and focused strongly on various aspects of war, especially strategy, and notorious for moving sheer numbers across tribunals to gain the majority vote in order to block unfavorable laws from being passed. They operate under strict codes of dominance and submission, and often are not considered trustworthy by the rest of the Order due to their trying to take over the Order. They are usually written as the primary instigators of the Schism War.
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28* '''[[TheGadfly Tytalus]]''' (Societas): The trickster House. Tytalus philosophy states that only conflict can inspire growth, and so they constantly test themselves (and others, whether they like it or not) in various ways, sometimes referred to as The Game. This eventually led to the House's corruption when they tried to outwit the Devil, resulting in widespread diabolism.
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30* '''[[GadgeteerGenius Verditius]]''' (Mystery Cult): Natural artificers who are inept with Formulaic magic, requiring casting tools where other magi of the Order need none; they produce most of the magic items in the Order and are the beating heart of its economy.[[/folder]]
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32The Order of Hermes itself is richly political, with laws governing how Magi must conduct themselves toward each other while at court (Tribunal) and just in general, with secrecy and the right to power being primary tenets of the vow taken by mages at the completion of their apprenticeship.
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34It was one of the first examples of a Troupe system: early editions recommended that the players collaborate to create the campaign world and story. Each player would have an opportunity to be the [[GameMaster Story Guide]], and each player would have more than one character, so that if they felt their main character would not go on an adventure (for example, if they were busy with their research) a secondary character may be used. The game was developed by Creator/JonathanTweet and Mark Rein·Hagen of ''[[TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness World of Darkness]]'' fame and if you look, you will find traces of ''Ars Magica'' in the Classic WOD -- particularly the [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension Order of Hermes]] and the renegade [[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Clan Tremere]]. The magic system of ''Ars Magica'' is generic, based on a combination of Forms and Techniques (to create fire, you'd use the form Ignem for fire and the Technique Creo for create together) and very intuitive. It's also one of the few magic systems that allowed for spontaneous spellcasting, allowing the player to use magic off the top of their head to perform specific tasks, rather than limiting magical ability to a shopping list of immutable conditions and effects.
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36Had an unsuccessful [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackchickenstudios/ars-magica-video-game Kickstarter]] towards a computer game version.
37----
38!!''Ars Magica'' provides examples of:
39[[foldercontrol]]
40
41[[folder:Tropes A--B]]
42* AbusiveParents:
43** While no wizard's apprenticeship is easy (9 months of virtual slavery for 3 months of teaching) the mages of House Tytalus deliberately strive to put their apprentices through the wringer in pursuit of their house's philosophy. Of course, they consider it justified in order to teach their apprentices to question and challenge all rules and to create the kind of resentment that an apprentice needs to initiate the conflict with his master that will mark his Gauntlet (test for full wizard status), a conflict which can continue, sporadically, until the death of one or the other if the master particularly values the former apprentice.
44** The 4th edition supplement ''The Wizard's Grimoire'' includes a list of Hermetic legal trials, one of which regards a magus who tortured and murdered his last three apprentices. The court ruled that the apprentices were his to do with as he pleased, and so he had not committed a crime.
45** The "Tormenting Master" flaw generally results in this. Once a year, your ''parens'' takes a two-week vacation, during which they devote one hundred percent of their free time to finding some way to ruin your life. Tytalus mages might as well have it tattooed across their backsides.
46** Sadly, the [[VeryPunchableMan negative effect]] of the Gift can cause a Gifted child's parents to abuse or neglect them, though their love might be able to allow them to overcome it.
47* AddictiveMagic:
48** Magic Addiction is a Flaw that can force whoever has it to cast spell after spell until they exhaust themselves into unconsciousness.
49** Aurulentus of Jerbiton came up with an spell in order to relieve his wife's numerous aches and pains, but stopped using it after it turned out that the sensation of even minor discomforts returning after it wore off became unbearable, thus making the spell addictive.
50* AlbinosAreFreaks: Albinism is one of the options for the 5[[superscript:th]] Edition "Disfigured" flaw, which substantially penalizes dice rolls related to appearance and getting respect from people. An EmbarrassingNickname is also suggested.
51* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The Code of Hermes forbids a magus to "interfere with the affairs of mundanes and thereby bring ruin upon my sodales [fellow magi]." What this actually means gets complicated[[note]]the key phrase is supposed to be "and thereby bring ruin upon my sodales," and the point of argument is just what point interfering with mundanes becomes a problem for the Order[[/note]], varies from Tribunal to Tribunal (you can get away with a ''lot'' more in Normandy than in the Greater Alps), and is often decided based on one's reputation and political connections. This section of the Code receives more attention from the game designers than most, because any decent group of player magi are going to treat it like toilet paper (which was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] heavily in ''Transforming Mythic Europe'').
52* AllMythsAreTrue: The same Divine power that protects the Christian Church from magic also protects Jews and Muslims. This, naturally, gives the Church fits. It's been pointed out in-universe that, since divination magic gives false information when used on demons, there's no magical way to work out which, if any, of that "Divine" power is actually being granted by the forces of hell to fool people.
53* AloofAlly: Guernicus the Founder was not really on board with the creation of the Order of Hermes, and only accepted his post (and by extension, that of his filii) as Quaesitor to help ensure that the Order would be used as a tool to protect magi rather than drag them into the Order's political agendas.
54* AnchoredTeleportation: Long-distance magic must be cast through an object with a SympatheticMagic connection to the target. Teleportation customarily targets a location but can just as easily use a connection to a person, creature, or object, and a mage can always target their {{Familiar}} because their spirits are permanently linked.
55* AnimalsHateHim: The Gift,[[note]]The potential for magical ability. All Hermetic magi have the Gift, but not all Gifted people can become Hermetic magi[[/note]] particularly the Hermetically-trainable type, tends to naturally disturb mundanes and animals. By default, all magi have this trope as an innate part of their magic, but it can be [[AvertedTrope averted]] with the Gentle Gift or Inoffensive to Animals virtues or amplified with the Blatant Gift flaw.
56* {{Animorphism}}:
57** The signature power of the Bjornaer is the Heartbeast, a personal animal form that they can assume at will and actually counts as a second true form. Because they believe the Heartbeast embodies their spirit, they're quite hostile to other innate shapeshifters, suspecting them of cheating or outright stealing spirits.
58** The minor supernatural virtue Skinchanger lets a character enchant an animal skin so they can take that animal's form. The major version, Shapechanger, lets them learn multiple forms with no need for the skins.
59** Several spells [[SpellConstruction combine]] the ''Muto'' (Transform), ''Corpus'' (Human body), and ''Animal'' Arts to temporarily transform someone into a specific animal. For example, "Shape of the Woodland Prowler" turns the target into a wolf for a day by draping them in a wolf pelt.
60* AntiMagic:
61** The Parma Magica is the universal defense against magic developed by Bonisagus for the Order of Hermes. No other tradition has anything close (except for True Faith, which can't be taught, certain divine magic feats, and an application of the ''Literature/ArsGoetia''), and any tradition that ''could'' would immediately face the full might of the "JoinOrDie" policy.
62** The Lancea Magica was a breakthrough that allowed any magus to freely penetrate the Parma with a lethal spell. For obvious reasons, [[WhatWereYouThinking this was forbidden immediately]] and the inventor burned his Lab Text. It's lost forever. Really.
63** Conscentia of Bonisagus was once commissioned to make an small kitchen knife that could both penetrate the Parma Magica ''and'' temporarily disable a mage's ability to cast it again. She [[AbsentMindedProfessor got halfway through it]] before she realized that she'd been eagerly designing a weapon meant specifically for the purpose of assassinating mages. Whoops. She claims to have destroyed all her notes.
64* AppealToForce: The Order of Hermes ''tries'' to restrain this, but the institutions of [[WizardDuel certamen]] and Wizard's War allow for magi to settle matters by force of arms if a Tribunal doesn't act. Incidentally, it is ''perfectly legal'' to stop a prosecution under the Code of Hermes by declaring Wizard's War against the prosecutor and killing him before the Tribunal, even if that prosecutor is himself a Quaesitor. The latter is tantamount to suicide unless you're of godlike power, however.
65* AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder: House Merinita is based out of Irencillia, a community deep in a [[EnchantedForest faerie forest]]. Irencillia and its faerie staff look exactly like you expect them to, whether it's a simple hamlet, a BigFancyCastle, or, if you don't know the place exists, an uninhabited forest. No one knows what its true form is, or even if it has one.
66* ArabianNightsDays: While typically set in Mythic Europe, the game frequently includes elements of this trope either due to the influence of Islamic culture upon European scholastics and the Fourth Crusade (and Reconquista). In particular, the 4th Edition supplement "Blood and Sand" covers the Levant while the 5th Edition book "The Cradle and the Crescent" details the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Transoxiana.
67* ArrangedMarriage: ''Lords of Men'' and ''City and Guild'' talk about marriages for nobles and merchants, respectively (the Order has no cultural position on marriage). Nobles normally marry at their parents' bidding, but a woman who inherits land on her own normally ''immediately'' becomes a prize for their liege to give to a younger son or supporter, as an effective means of granting land. (Forced marriages are illegal by Church law, but try telling a nobleman that.) Rich merchants also often have arranged marriages, ''but'' marital love is expected as part of the deal for the middle class in a way that's not the case for nobles. Furthermore, merchants often have significant trouble coming up with dowries and appropriate husbands for their marriageable daughters.
68* TheArtfulDodger: There are an array of sample childhoods involving being raised by thieves which may be chosen during character creation.
69* ArtificialHuman: It's mentioned in one book that doing this should be possible for Hermetic magic, sidestepping the sterility caused by the longevity ritual. Nobody's ever figured out how to do it yet, though.
70* ArtificialInsolence: Characters can be given scores in various Personality Traits, which can sometimes require a roll to determine how they act. Most commonly, Grogs might [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere flee battle]] on a failed "Brave" test or turn against them on a failed "Loyal" test, but even innocuous Traits can sometimes come into play to override the player's wishes.
71* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: Defied by Stonehenge and several other Tribunals. Magi are very much aware of the consequences of inflation (most covenants, by being richer than the surrounding area, cause a bit of inflation on their own), so they strictly limit the amount of silver that can be created per magus to avoid melting the mundane economy.
72* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: The law in House Tremere. A Tremere mage, even after theoretically graduating, is still bound to their parens unless they can win their freedom through [[WizardDuel certamen]], and Tremere magi can likewise try to challenge for higher rank within the House if they think they could do a better job.
73* AttackFailureChance: Ordinarily, the attacker and defender make opposed rolls based on their combat abilities; the attack misses if the defender gets a better roll or the attacker [[CriticalFailure botches]]. Direct magical attacks are {{always accurate|Attack}}, so long as the spellcasting roll succeeds, but indirect ones (like magically throwing a non-magical rock) need to be aimed like conventional attacks.
74* AxisMundi: Magi of House Criamon believe that their home base, the [[MysticalCave Cave of Twisting Shadows]], is the fabled Axis Magica -- the hub of all magical energy in the world and a bridge to the realms beyond. This is speculative, as are [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} most quirks of Criamon philosophy]], but the Cave ''is'' an exceptional PlaceOfPower.
75* BavarianFireDrill:
76** The Aura of Rightful Authority spell only sort of counts, as it's magical. It makes anyone who looks at you and doesn't resist consider you his natural superior, similar to the natural Commanding Aura of kings and bishops.
77** There are rules for "false scholars," who are "students" who slip into classes at universities without formally matriculating into the university, thus acquiring an education without paying for it or impressing a master; they just dress in student robes, sit at the back of the room and take notes on the lecture, and attend disputations if they feel particularly bold.
78* BazaarOfTheBizarre: Faerie markets offer strange variants of everyday items, ordinary-looking objects with curious properties, and oddities of WrongContextMagic. Human customers need to be well-informed, well-connected, or (un)lucky to find them, and are advised to study the fay notion of what constitutes fair exchange.
79* BeamMeUpScotty: InUniverse, "[[JoinOrDie Join us or die]]!" became known as Flambeau the Founder's CatchPhrase in Hermetic legend. Actually, there's only one recorded case of him using those words, and that was after he had completely lost his temper at a wizard who'd already made the Order his enemy.
80* TheBeastmaster: Rego Animal spells permit a mage to control animals. There's also a Tradition within House Ex Miscellanea who have a Non-Hermetic virtue that allows them to summon and communicate with animals.
81* BeautyEqualsGoodness: In Faerie, this is usually the case. A faerie taking on an evil role is also ugly, and a faerie taking on a good role is beautiful. ''However'', sometimes a faerie needs to be a beautiful predator. Sometimes this is represented by said faerie acting and being completely good until he puts on his GameFace.
82* BeautyInversion: Aurulentus of Jerbiton, being a BoyfriendBlockingDad, secretly used an illusion spell designed to make his daughters look less attractive when they brought boys home with them, in order to test whether they really ''were'' interested in personality over looks. At least, until his wife found out and told him to knock it off.
83* BewareTheSuperman: Mages are well within their rights to torture {{Muggle}}s to death. They do have a Crime for this, loosely referred to as Interfering with Mundanes. No wizardly court on the planet will convict you for less than bringing actual harm to other mages, however, and not even then if you have enough political power to stop it.
84* BigBadWannabe: Tremere the Founder tried to take over the Order of Hermes for himself by a combination of economics, political intrigue and naked force, but someone (there are several groups who claim the honor, including House Tytalus, the Theban Tribunal, and his own successor Albanus) mind-blasted his lieutenants before he could even try to launch his coup. Even the House that he founded would really rather forget about him, or at least use him as a cautionary tale rather than a hero.
85* BigCreepyCrawlies: The ''Pests of a Colossal Size'' spell turns turns fleas, ticks, mites, etc. present upon a target into very large versions of themselves.
86* BloodKnight: House Flambeau's [[GangOfHats hat]], with the books noting that Flambeau Magi are frequently found fighting with crusader armies at the edges of Christendom or competing in magical tournaments hosted at House gatherings.
87* ButNotTooChallenging: Apprentice mages in House Tremere need to defeat their master in a formal, non-lethal WizardDuel to complete their apprenticeship. The master always puts up a serious fight, but it's bad form to go all-out to avoid losing, as they might if the stakes were higher.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Tropes C--D]]
91* CameBackWrong:
92** The ''best'' result of trying to being someone back to life with hermetic magic is a [[SoullessShell person with a will, but no personality]], with the other results covering the rest of the spectrum or resulting in the destruction of the body.
93** Being brought back by the Divine results in severe Warping that gets worse the longer you were dead before being resurrected and the longer you continue to live. Some subjects also end up with virtuous impulses they can't explain.
94* CanisLatinicus: Mostly [[AvertedTrope averted]]. The Latin terms for the five magical techniques and ten forms all mean what the sourcebooks claim they mean, and the form names are even in the accusative case rendering technique+form names roughly grammatically correct as sentences. However, the creators still made a slight error in having "animal" be pronounced on the final syllable, not the first syllable like it actually would have been.
95* CastFromStamina: It can fatigue a mage to try casting a spell that's beyond their skill to use safely, or to improvise all but the weakest magical effects. This can be shaken off within minutes or hours, but RitualMagic invariably takes bed rest to recover from, and can roll over into CastFromHitPoints if the mage isn't strong enough.
96* CelestialDeadline:
97** Most spell durations in Hermetic magic are linked to celestial events. "Sun" ends on the next sunrise or sunset; "Moon" lasts until both the next new moon and full moon have set; and "Year" ends at sunrise on the fourth equinox or solstice.
98** Practitioners of Celestial Astrology can use much more precise spell durations derived from the movement of zodiac signs, but if their {{astrolog|er}}ical calculations are off, so is the spell's timing.
99* ChainLetter: The ''malleus epistula'' is one that provides detailed instructions for witch-hunting; at the end of the (long) letter is a paragraph that commands the recipient to make [[NumberOfTheBeast six copies]] and distribute them anonymously to other Christians, or (depending on the letter) something horrible will happen. [[spoiler: It's a demonic plot to turn good Christians into [[KnightTemplar psychotic torturers]].]]
100* ChubbyChef: This is the preferred [[{{Humanshifting}} human form]] of the demon Gourmand, complete with food stains and the smell of rotting fruit. He's surprisingly {{Acrofatic}} and [[StoutStrength strong]], and -- when he's not [[LieToTheBeholder using illusions]] to make inedible substances look delicious -- a genuinely talented pastry chef.
101* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: [[TheFairFolk Faeries]] are born from human legend and imagination, though they don't need human belief to survive. There are dark, dangerous forest faeries because people warn each other about [[DontGoInTheWoods the perils of the woods]]; a large mining community could give rise to a realm of underground dwarves; and so on.
102* ClassicalTongue: Latin requires formal education to learn and is the standard language of academic writing and instruction across Europe.
103* CleanPrettyChildbirth: Magi can {{invoke|dTrope}} this, but childbirth ''without'' wizardly assistance averts this [[DeathByChildbirth to often fatal extremes]].
104** One spell instantly ''teleports'' the baby out of the womb. One feels compelled to note that the rules allow an entrepreneurial mage to imbue the spell into a top hat...
105** Aurulentus of Jerbiton devised a spell that widened a woman's pelvis, making childbirth considerably easier and safer for his wife. It seems to have worked out pretty well, as she agreed to keep crankin' out kids until he had the seventh son he was looking for.
106** Solomonic Medicine allows for a guaranteed trouble-free birth if a Solomonic physician is in attendance.
107* ClockPunk: A minor element. The Mechanica of Heron and Verditius' Automata are clockwork devices powered by magic, and if the Order of Hermes takes the brakes off, waterwheels and windmills can be replaced by enchanted millstones that turn forever, which allow for an industrial revolution starting in the 1200s instead of the 1700s.
108* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Criamon. In later editions, they're the only ones who have access to the Enigmatic Wisdom Virtue, which gives bonuses to understand things that normal logic can't process. The classic joke?
109--> How many Criamon does it take to light a candle?\
110 Fish.
111* TheCommandments: The Order of Hermes has a Code of Conduct which (among other things) forbids dealing with demons, endangering the Order, interfering with secular governments and spying on or killing other mages.
112* CompleteImmortality: Aside from {{God}}, there is one known method of attaining a qualified CompleteImmortality, and that's through the Zoroastrian secret ritual of the Saoshyant's Elixir. If it's done right, the mobed cannot age or die at all so long as he complies with the requirements of the ritual, avoids sin and adheres to the tenets of his religion. However, aside from the fact that they can lose the benefits of the Elixir if they open themselves up to evil, at some point the mobed is going to want to move on to their reward in {{Heaven}}.
113* ConsummateLiar: Truth is a [[SevenHeavenlyVirtues Virtue]] that demons, being MadeOfEvil, do not possess. As such, no Hermetic magic can detect a demon's lies or force it to tell the truth, because the very concept is alien to them. However, this also makes them relatively easy to lie ''to''.
114* CourtMage: It's absolutely forbidden for magi of the Order to take this position, but Hedge and Rival traditions are quite happy to take the position of "court wizard." The Augustan Brotherhood, with [[ItMakesSenseInContext magical powers based on reading the Aeneid]], specialize in taking this position, and the Suhhar Suleyman have a mechanism for doing it without getting the Order as a whole involved. Other hedge-wizards sometimes take the job. Notably, however, most court wizards are charlatans or very weak, as any wizard with the Gift will find it almost impossible to maintain a position at court due to the social difficulties caused by the Gift.
115* CourtroomEpisode: The Guernicus chapter of ''Houses of Hermes: True Lineages'' has detailed procedures for how to run a hearing at Tribunal, along with what punishments a convicted magus can expect.
116* CreatingLifeIsAwesome: The awakening mystery of house Merinita's nature magic and the research of the maga Ierimyra (in Broken Covenant of Calebais). Also, golems in Realms of Power: Divine.
117* CreativeSterility: Most methods of achieving immortality also seriously hamper the mage's ability to learn and grow. Magi-turned-faeries are unable to learn new skills or spells; living ghosts and drinkers of the [[ElixirOfLife Greater Elixir]] have to imbue new knowledge into their talismans to retain it; daimons need RitualMagic from their {{Cult}} to grow; and so on.
118* CuteButCacophonic: Finding himself babysitting ten screaming babies, Aurulentus of Jerbiton devised a spell that reduced the noise of a group of people to the level of a normal human conversation.
119* DarkIsNotEvil: [[EverybodyHatesHades Chthonic magic]] is inherently sinister-seeming, but having it immunizes you against TheCorruption, meaning you become ideal for DemonSlaying as Hell cannot actually turn you into a wicked person against your will.
120* DealWithTheDevil:
121** Diabolists are those who have [[YourSoulIsMine sold their souls]] to {{Hell}} for power. They become infernally-themed Mythic Companions, unlocking general character improvements and BlackMagic abilities.
122** The Code of Hermes forbids any dealing with demons whatsoever on pain of death. This applied even when one mage and a demon agreed to leave each other alone: the Order takes no chances with creatures that are immortal, [[MadeOfEvil intrinsically depraved]], and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder compulsively treacherous]].
123* DeckOfWildCards: Being MadeOfEvil, demons literally ''cannot'' be loyal or faithful, or even imagine the concept of a common goal. At most, they can pretend to cooperate out of self-interest -- right up until they [[StupidEvil backstab the other guy out of compulsive spite]]. This is a large part of why {{Hell}} likes to recruit human pawns rather than try to make demons work together.
124* DemonSlaying: Seen as problematic by the Order. Mages are strictly forbidden from [[DealWithTheDevil dealing with demons]], but while destroying an occasional demon is considered praiseworthy, actually making a business of taking demons down is considered extremely bad form for a Hermetic mage, as it might lead to Hell turning on the Order.
125* DesignerBabies: These are possible if a character recovers ancient secrets of fertility magic.
126* DisabilitySuperpower: House Tytalus has a faction of Leper Magi who can inflict damage upon themselves to give their spells extra power, and are renowned for their healing knowledge.
127* DisciplinesOfMagic: The unified magic theory used by the Order of Hermes (and the SpellConstruction rules) fails to explain a ''lot'' of older magical traditions, ranging from MagicMusic and RunicMagic to [[{{Animorphism}} skinchanging]] and [[ReligionIsMagic divine invocations]], each with its own [[SkillScoresAndPerks supernatural Virtue and related Ability]]. Learning more than one magical paradigm is extremely difficult, but some MysteryCult initiation rites facilitate it.
128* TheDreaded: One of the reputations of Philippus Niger, Protector of Durenmar[[note]]That means that he's in charge of defending the Great Library of the Order[[/note]] is "Don't Mess With This Magus." Given that he is the Order's undisputed greatest master of destroying things, this is something of an understatement.
129* DueToTheDead: Bodies that are buried by Church ceremony are immune to {{Necromanc|er}}y thanks to Divine protection. Jewish and Islamic funeral rites grant the same protection, as do some other faiths.
130* TheDungAges: Earlier editions tended to lean toward this trope.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:Tropes E--F]]
134* ElementalCrafting: More precious materials have a progressively higher capacity for spells in ItemCrafting, so a golden ring could hold twice as much spellwork as an iron one, and a single flawless diamond twice as much again. However, many spells get a power boost from a symbolically associated material, which is often more important.
135* ElementalPowers:
136** Aquam (water), Auram (air), Herbam (plant), Ignem (fire/light) and Terram (earth) spells.
137** Elementalists, as described in ''Hedge Magic'', are another (more limited) example. Their spells concentrate on affecting the elements.
138* ExactWords: House Tytalus mages are taught that conflict breeds growth. Often, this takes the form of physical conflict or social intrigue. Maris of Tytalus, however, has elected to battle the ocean itself.
139* EverybodyHatesHades: Underworld gods and spirits of the night are not necessarily evil or Infernal, but they and the Chthonic Magic associated with them do have a very negative and sinister aspect to them, read as Unholy to divine sources and can be used to draw more effectively on infernal powers.
140* ExplosiveResults: The Exciting Experimentation Flaw allows the Storyguide to roll on the experimentation table twice and choose whichever result amuses them most. An exploding laboratory is just one of the many results to pick from.
141* EyeOfNewt: Largely [[AvertedTrope averted]] for spells in the game.
142** A standard spell does not require any components.
143** All ritual spells consume vis in order to power the magic. A spell has to be a ritual spell if lasts more than a month, effects an area that is large enough to qualify as a boundary, or a similar target, if it creates something permanently, or if it simply past a certain level.
144** The one time non-ritual spells need a physical component is when it is meant to be cast on someone or something that is not within the caster's senses. This type of component is an arcane connection. It also helps to overcome magic resistance. Again, the item is not consumed.
145** One supplement introduces potent spells that require certain materials to cast a spell. If the caster does not have the material, the spell cannot be cast, but if he or she does have the material, then it grants a bonus to the casting total. The item is still not consumed, however.
146** When making devices that can work magic, the material of the item is considered in determining how much magic it can hold and sometimes provides a bonus to the magus instilling it with magic.
147** Verditius magi create a casting tool when they learn a new formulaic spell. They must use this tool to cast the spell. If it is lost or destroyed, they must spend the time to make another tool for the spell. The tool itself is not consumed in the casting.
148* TheFairFolk: The Faerie Realm contains all manner of different things, many of them easily offended and dangerous; this is the reason why "I will not molest the faeries" is part of the Oath of Hermes.
149* {{Familiar}}: All mages, bar House Bjornaer, can bond themselves to a magical animal as a familiar. Some can bond themselves to spirits and others can bond themselves to faeries. Bonding angels is supposed to be a legend. (Bonding demons is the definition of idiotic.) Whatever it is, a familiar is ''extremely'' useful; just by having one, you can reduce the odds of botching, resist aging, last longer under conditions of suffocation, drowning, or deprivation, and heal faster -- and that's ''before'' you add on special powers in the lab.
150* FantasticCasteSystem:
151** The Three Estates of clergy (those who pray), nobility (those who war) and everyone else (those who toil). Magi are outside this system, though one option in ''Transforming Mythic Europe'' has a movement toward magi becoming the Fourth Estate, with a specific duty to defend Christendom from supernatural forces.
152** The Transylvanian Tribunal is organized based on the "five privileges," which are a way to classify magi in a Tribunal that doesn't employ the covenant system of the rest of the Order, as well as a way of getting around an old ruling against House Tremere.
153*** ''Civites'' ("Citizens") are Tremere magi and "honorary Tremere" who work with the Tribunal, paying taxes, serving as part of the House's organization and living by Tremere customs, and in turn receiving the full benefits available to Tremere magi.
154*** ''Socii'' ("Members") are Hermetic officers; Quaesitores, Redcaps and recognized Hoplites. They receive the support of the Tribunal and are permitted to adhere to their own customs so long as they perform their Hermetic duty.
155*** ''Foederati'' ("Allies") are foreign magi and their Hermetic descendants, admitted to the Tribunal in exchange for specific duties. They're largely allowed to hold their own resources, but have tight restrictions on their trading rights.
156*** ''Hospites'' ("Guests") are magi hired by House Tremere to do specialized work. They're well-paid and not expected to provide general support or taxes, but have no political rights.
157*** ''Coloniae'' ("Colonists") are young foreign magi allowed to settle in underutilized parts of the Tribunal. They receive limited resources, their privileges at Tribunal are restricted, and they may not take apprentices without permission.
158* FantasticScience: Given the Order's strong scholarly tradition, every self-respecting magus has some training in Magic Theory, and it's not uncommon to study the Divine, Infernal, and Faerie realms as well. Magi also pursue mundane sciences that [[BoxingLessonsForSuperman support magical research]].
159* FightsLikeANormal: The School of Ramius among House Flambeau knows that [[AntiMagic Magic Resistance and the Parma Magica]] are a difficult obstacle to magical attacks; thus, they don't use them against magi. Instead, they fight against magi with mail and steel, using magic solely to enhance their defenses and physical capabilities in ways that don't pit them against their opponents' magical defenses.
160* FlatEarthAtheist: The briefly included Realm of Reason was based around skepticism about the existence of the supernatural, despite there being clear evidence that it truly existed. The implication is that magic can only exist where it can be believed in, and progress into Reason eliminates that possibility: this is explicitly a world where weasels give birth through their ears and where amber is formed by bobcats urinating on rocks.
161* FormerTeenRebel: As a youth, Ranulf of Flambeau was a hotblooded warrior obsessed with fire spells and combat. As he aged, he calmed down and started studying Vim and Ignem spells in a scholarly manner, coming up with many non-combat uses for the latter.
162* FullCircleRevolution: Something of a RunningGag with corrupt monasteries. Existing monastic orders are seen as corrupt, so a lot of monks who are sick of the mercantile and impious ways of their old monasteries go and found a reformist order under a new Rule. The pious reformist order receives a lot of support, donations and members, grows rapidly, and eventually starts to bloat and become yet another order of fat, impious monks in the eyes of the next generation of reformers, who start another order under another Rule... The Franciscans are the current crest of the reformist wave as of 1220, but while Francis of Assisi is Europe's greatest living saint, he's in failing health and lacks the organizational chops to run the movement, and his chief understudy is already trying to reform the Franciscans into operating more in line with traditional monastic Rules...
163* FunctionalMagic: Basically every type can be found in Mythic Europe somewhere, though the Order mainly has the Inherent Gift, Rule Magic, and Device Magic. ''The Mysteries (Revised Edition)'' adds Hermetic Theurgy, which is the province of the Order's most deeply-secretive Mystery Cults (since it's a forthrightly pagan practice that could turn the Church against them).
164[[/folder]]
165
166[[folder:Tropes G--H]]
167* TheGadfly: Guernicus the Founder was named this in earlier editions and probably was considered one by some of his peers in the current edition, but Tytalus the Founder and members of his house more readily match this trope.
168* GangOfHats:
169** The Houses, though a rather [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] variant. Each House has its own traditions, and most have some unique magic of their own, but two members of the same House may have completely different magic, attitudes, or both.
170** House Bonisagus has two separate hats. Followers of Bonisagus are the archetypal lab rats of the Order, while the line of Trianoma are the Order's master politicians. This is for historical reasons; Trianoma chose to remain Bonisagus's apprentice rather than found her own House so she could work as the power behind the throne.
171** The hat for [=unGifted=] Merceres is a red cap, but Mercere with the Gift really avert this trope. There are two major subtraditions within the House, a subtradition of one of those subtraditions, and a lot of magi Mercere who don't fit into any of these. Given that there's only about thirty magi Mercere ''at all'', it's safe to say that every Mercere's hat is different.
172** Ex Miscellanea is, as its name implies, another aversion; their hat is being "none of the above." It consists of Gifted wizards adopted from outside the Order (who may or may not practice Hermetic magic), magi who didn't fit in with their old House and didn't find any other House to join, and their descendants.
173* {{Geas}}: A major element of gruagachan magic is the ability to cast a geas upon someone, either with painful consequences if disobeyed, or with benefits as long as it's upheld.
174* GemTissue: When the legendary magus Quendalon [[{{Metamorphosis}} transformed]] into a faerie (or was [[KillAndReplace replaced by one]]), his eyes were replaced with faceted rubies. He claimed that they improved his vision.
175* GenderBender: "The Succubus' Trick" allows a female magus to turn male, and vice versa for the Incubus version.
176* GeometricMagic: Magic circles can be used to set up spells, and there's a Minor Virtue that allows more expert use of geometry in magic.
177* TheGift: The central conceit of Ars Magica. Only those with The Gift may learn and use Hermetic Magic. Magical ability (referred to as the gift) instantly puts the primary player character class, magi, above the rest of the mundane world. One down side of the Gift is the strong emotional effect the Gift has on those around the Gifted person, making them suspicious and mistrustful of the Gifted individual, inspiring envy. Social interactions between Gifted individuals and the mundane are especially difficult. Mundane animals are also greatly unsettled by the presence of someone with The Gift. If you don't have the Gift, then you can't learn hermetic magic. There are other types of magic that can be learned. For instance, the magi of the Order of Solomon, rather than cast spells themselves, summon djinn to do their magic for them, although the non-Gifted use their magic at a significant disadvantage. In addition, there are several possible ways to get the Gift if you're not born with it, but they're all either dangerous, come with strings attached, or otherwise generate stories.
178* GlobalCurrency: The mundane economy runs on Mythic Pounds, which are equal to a pound of silver (and usually take the form of such). This is an explicit abstraction; medieval currency and silver debasement are bewilderingly complex subjects that rarely generate good stories, and most places don't trade in currency directly anyway.
179* UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}: This period was the last hurrah for the Gnostic religions. In ''Ars Magica'', they're about evenly divided between true Divine religions (such as Catharism) and Infernalist Dark Gnosticism. The latter includes Gnostic Luciferianism and those Gnostics who believe that BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad and that the commission of sin is virtuous. In addition, House Criamon's unusual belief system is strongly influenced by Gnosticism.
180* AGodIsYou: One of the spells presented in ''The Mysteries Revised Edition'' can transform a magus into a Daimon, which is (depending on who you ask) either a god of a very powerful spirit. Either way, rules are presented in some detail for continuing to play a Daimonic magus as a PC.
181* GodsNeedPrayerBadly:
182** Faerie gods gain vitality from being worshipped by mortals.
183** The Divine is somewhat tricky. The Divine Aura, a.k.a. the Dominion, grows and is spread by places of worship such as churches, mosques, and synagogues, as well as sites of major miracles. However, it can also appear spontaneously in areas such as high mountains and other areas considered "holy". This is known as the Empyrean, and is active w/out human worship. Also, the monotheistic God has an unlimited Might Score, so He can do anything, and whatever He does cannot be resisted. He is not dependent upon human worship.
184** Creatures of magic, including gods, are defined in large part by not needing human worship or caring all that much about humans. However, magical beings (specifically Daimons) can gain power and benefits from theurgic rites dedicated to them. Some take advantage of this, others don't.
185** While all immortal magi have to take special measures to grow and develop (since immortality, by its nature, makes you highly resistant to any form of change), Daimonic magi are the only ones who do so by casting spells and performing other "miracles" for mortal worshipers. This gets them Daimon Points, which they can either spend on bumping their stats and learning new abilities... or trade with other Daimons in what passes for a godly economy.
186* GreatBigLibraryOfEverything: Just about any book relating to magic or the Order of Hermes can be found at Durenmar, the original covenant of the Order.
187* GreenEyedMonster: One aspect of the negative effects of the Gift makes the affected person feel about the Gifted individual as though they had some sort of greater privilege the affected person would ''love'', but obtained in some underhanded way.
188* GroupedForYourConvenience: {{Tabletop RPG}}s had featured FantasyCharacterClasses since the early days of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', but ''Ars Magica'' was one of the first to give these character types reality in the society of the game world; each House of magicians has its own traditions and personality, as well as its own style of magic.
189* HappilyMarried: Aurulentus of Jerbiton's wife Semira his is True Love (as in the Character Creation Virtue), have been and will be together for decades, and many of the spells and devices he's invented were specifically for the purpose of making her happy.
190* TheHashshashin: Presented largely historically, but mixed with magic as well. They use Solomonic magic like the Suhhar Suleyman, but are not on good terms with that order.
191* HatedByAll: People and {{animals|HateHim}} instinctively dislike and distrust most people with the Gift of magic. Those with the Blatant Gift have it so bad that most strangers want nothing to do with them and might try to run them off; if they want to visit a shop or inn, they'd better keep a low profile and have someone else do the talking.
192* HealingMagicIsTheHardest: Zig-zagged. Instantly, permanently healing someone's body requires ritual magic, or else the wounds will reopen once the spell ends, but regular spells can stabilize a patient or assist the natural recovery process. Recovering from ''fatigue'' on the other hand, is well nigh impossible for Hermetic magic.
193* HeavenAbove: {{Justified|Trope}} by the game's premise that medieval beliefs about reality are true in Mythic Europe. Therefore, the universe is geocentric and the lunar sphere marks the beginning of the Divine Realm.
194* HeavensDevils: This is one theory about why demons do what they do; even though they appear to be enemies of God, they are actually about God's work. The Avengers of Evil in particular claim to be about this, and they can make a fairly good case that they're telling the truth...but no one can ever be sure, since a demon's very nature is to deceive.
195* HermeticMagic: Played with in a couple of ways: the only Hermetic magic as per the trope is Verditius magic, which requires casting tools and is considered a flaw of House Verditius (in some editions), and Ritual spells, which require the use of crystallized magic energy called ''vis'' and a long casting time; the rest of Ars Magica's magic is closer to VancianMagic, but it's named Hermetic Magic after the Order of Hermes.
196* HeroesRUs: The Cult of Heroes in a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] sense, at least as far as any campiness.
197* TheHighMiddleAges: The setting of the game. Worth noting, however, that the default start date of 1220 is about when many of the standard tropes of this period (chivalry, castles, chain mail, big horses and centralized monarchy) are just starting to come into being.
198* HordesFromTheEast: As of the start date, Genghis Khan has just showed up on Persia's northeastern border and commenced the conquering. What the Mongols are in this setting is unclear; they could just be a mundane horde (undoubtedly backed by shamanistic sorcerers), but it's entirely possible that they're the literal Scourge of God (either composed of demons or angels). As a third option, however, Genghis Khan could be the sworn servant of the Great Tengri, a [[OurTitansAreDifferent primal titan]] of Steppe and Sky.
199* HorribleHousing: Characters' living conditions affect their aging dice rolls. Once they hit middle age, people in bad housing are more likely to suffer illness, debilitation, and premature death. Common examples of negative living conditions are unsafe labs and squalid cities.
200* HumanDemonHybrid: Demons can procreate with humans only through deliberate intent, a rare choice they only make to further an infernal plot. The child has Infernal Might and innate magic, [[EatingOptional doesn't need food or water]], and can gain even more powers, but has a human soul and free will.
201* HuntingTheRogue: The Order's most severe punishment for magi who violate its Code is to declare a Wizard's March, a standing KillOnSight order against the transgressor. As an incentive, the magus who kills the rogue gets to [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt keep their stuff]].
202[[/folder]]
203
204[[folder:Tropes I--J]]
205* IHateYouVampireDad: Julia of Ex Miscellanea is descended from a faerie spider prince. Unfortunately, an encounter with him in childhood left her deathly afraid of both him and spiders in general. Even ''more'' unfortunately, said prince finds this offensive and has been sending his little servants to torment her.
206* IKnowYourTrueName: Mages eventually end up with three names. Their True Name (the one given to them by their parents at birth), their apprentice name (used by their master during apprenticeship) and then the Hermetic Name (which they choose for themselves after their apprenticeship is complete). This is all because the True Name is an extremely powerful weapon in the hands of one's enemies, particularly non-Hermetic ones. Demons are especially susceptible to the use of their True Names, and invoking a Demon's true name against them usually doubles the effectiveness of whatever spell or command is being used. In 5th edition, knowing the True Name of a demon (or angel) counts as an ability and forms a powerful (x5) Arcane Connection to it. It should also be noted that, according to ''Realms of Power: The Divine'', a character's Baptismal Name cannot be used as a Sympathetic Connection.
207* ImmortalProcreationClause: The Hermetic Longevity Ritual sterilizes the recipient, as do most other versions (the Solomonic Al-Iksir being an exception, like many things Solomonic). In addition, the Gift does not follow bloodlines, so a magus is likely to outlive any children they do have. At least one mage (Aurulentus of Jerbiton) created a Longevity Ritual which preserved the fertility of himself and his wife. This was necessary because he was a MagicalSeventhSon who needed to sire seven sons himself to continue his Gifted lineage.
208* InconspicuousImmortal: Ephram TheHermit rests by a remote [[AtTheCrossroads crossroads]] to share advice and conversation with travelers. He won't admit it, but he's been there for a millennium: the crossroads is HolyGround that [[ImmortalityField sustains his body]] and grants him innate knowledge of geography and [[TranslatorMicrobes language]].
209* InHarmonyWithNature: Merinita the Founder preferred to roam the wilderness and practiced various forms of nature magic that go beyond Hermetic theory. Followers of her legacy can learn to bond with natural environments and their denizens, create a GeniusLoci, and even transform themselves into guardian spirits of nature.
210* InhumanEyeConcealers: Quendalon took to wearing [[InTheHood deeply hooded robes]] after he transformed into a faerie, as his eyes had turned to [[GemTissue rubies]]. Magi in his lineage commonly imitate the habit, though only for cosmetic reasons, as far as anyone knows.
211* IntangiblePrice: [[BazaarOfTheBizarre Faerie markets]] commonly barter in oddities, services, and favours, but an incautious mortal visitor might ''literally'' pay with [[IKnowYourTrueName his good name]] by mistake.
212* InterrogatingTheDead: The spell "Whispers Through the Black Gate" is cast on a humanoid corpse to converse with its spirit, though it doesn't compel cooperation or truthfulness.
213* JoinOrDie: The official stance of the Order of Hermes towards rival magicians with the Gift. In practice, they usually don't bother unless the hedge-wizard is exceptionally powerful or has learned the [[AntiMagic Parma Magica]].
214[[/folder]]
215
216[[folder:Tropes K--L]]
217* KillItWithFire: The Ignem Flambeau (fire) approach to most things that are in their way. Flambeau specializing in Perdo (destruction) just destroy.
218* KillTheGod: Killing the capital "G" God of the monotheistic religions is impossible, but it is possible (albeit bloody difficult) to kill the daimons, faeries, and spirits that have been worshiped as pagan deities.
219* TheKindnapper:
220** Since the negative effects of the Gift can also affect a child's parents, a number of apprentices come from untenable home situations.
221** House Bonisagus has the right to "head-hunt" promising apprentices, sniping them away from their erstwhile parens. Some take this chance to get a good kid away from a cruel or neglectful master.
222* KnightTemplar: The Flambeau tend to be the first to shoot and the last to talk when dealing with anything that might be an enemy to the Order. They've been behind most of the conflicts with non-Hermetic magi, and enthusiastically supported the Schism War. Dialed back a bit in Fifth Edition, with the house being more focused on chivalry and its Founder not being so enthusiastic about the JoinOrDie policy.
223* LamarckWasRight: The descendants of Bulgars whose eyes were regrown by a particular wizard ''still'' have SupernaturalGoldEyes. There's no indication that this is a usual thing though.
224* LanguageOfMagic:
225** {{Latin|IsMagic}}, for the Order of Hermes, or other ancient languages for other magic wielders both in and out of the Order, although they usually need the Gift if they want to play with power. Other languages used based on magical tradition include Gothic for House Bjornaer and Pictish for the Gruagachan. Classic Greek, as opposed to Romaic Greek, is used by members of the Order of Hermes in the Tribunal of Thebes. In very few cases is the language itself actually magical, but when all of the Order's books and spells are written in Latin, you'd best know the language.
226** Pictish, for the Gruagachan, is the exception to the rule that the language isn't magical. The dead language of the Picts is a sacred liturgical tongue that's as important to the Gruagachan as Magic Theory is to the Order of Hermes.
227** The Ars Notoria is written in four dead languages, each of which is written in a different script. Translating the book would destroy its magic, so a would-be reader of the Key of Solomon must be a CunningLinguist before even unlocking the first of seven tiers of power.
228** The Futhark Runes of the Old Norse language are very much magical, being the core of [[ShapedLikeItself Norse Rune Magic]].
229** Adamic, the first language, spoken by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, is very powerful for magi. One of the benefits is that Anyone who is able to learn it is able to "name" things, allowing the magi to immediately form an Arcane Connection with the named, which boosts any spells used on the target. Of course, learning Adamic is very difficult since it is largely a dead language. It can only be learned in three ways: 1) you can try to study and reconstruct the language by researching ancient languages (much like how modern linguists reconstruct Proto-Indo-European by studying Indo-European languages), which requires to you to find the Tower of Babylon and study the various ancient languages, 2) Somehow sneak into the Garden of Eden and learn from the animals who speak in the Garden, or 3) Find Cain (Cain the Murderer) and convince him, somehow, to teach you.
230* LargeHam: one of the advantages of playing a 'grog' as opposed to a major character, according to the 5th edition rulebook, is that it's acceptable to chew on the scenery a little.
231* LatinIsMagic: Latin is the primary language used for spellcasting by the mages of the Order of Hermes, although other organizations used different languages.
232* LayeredWorld: In addition to the mundane material world, there are four other planes of existence known as Realms of Power. Each supernatural power or creature is associated with one Realm. Each realm interacts with the others in unique ways. In alphabetical order:
233** The Divine Realm: a.k.a. Heaven, the True Empyrean. The realm of the monotheistic, omnipotent God (in game terms, he has an unlimited Might score, meaning that He can do whatever He wants, and that a direct Miracle cannot be stopped) of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, as well as monotheistic cults like that of Sol Invictus. It is also the home angels and divine messengers, saints, and the righteous dead. In keeping with medieval popular cosmology, the Divine is associated with any trans-lunar celestial phenomena, such as the Sun, stars, and planets. Heaven proper lies beyond the lunar sphere, and is therefore beyond the reach of Magi. The Divine appears to encourage moral and virtuous behavior and is absolutely opposed to all things Infernal. In terms of realm interactions, the Divine is the most powerful. The Divine Aura diminishes Magical Powers, considerably diminishes Faerie Powers even more, and practically cripples Infernal powers. Divine powers are not penalized by other realms. It's Aura, known as the Dominion, is associated with holy sites such as churches and mosques, the sites of miracles, as well as naturally occurring holy grounds such as mountain tops. Since the Dominion also penalizes Hermetic magic, getting around it is a major (but not impossible) challenge for magi.
234** The Faerie Realm: The realm of Faerie is the realm of the subjective perception and personal journeys, a constant change that reshapes reality in the most exciting way, only to tell an inspiring story. Whereas the Magic Realm is the static realm of archetypes, the Faerie Realm is a chaotic place that revolves around the creation of stories and narratives. It is the home of Faeries, which include many of the polytheistic deities and spirits of non-monotheistic traditions. Faeries are attracted to, and are in many ways defined by, the beliefs and stories of humanity. Faerie Auras manifest in old pagan temples and sacred sites, and in areas in which stories are set: The more popular and widely known the story, the stronger the aura. Faeries themselves are creatively void, and seek to "play" with humans, often trying to mimic human behavior, all in an effort to experience something new. Realm interactions: Faerie Powers are mildly enhanced by Magic Auras, and are diminished by the Infernal, and heavily diminished by the Divine. Faerie Auras enhance Magic Powers, diminish Infernal Powers, and does not affect Divine Powers. Faeries are vulnerable to iron and obsessed with oaths. Magi are wary of doing any deals with the Fae.
235** The Infernal Realm: a.k.a. Hell. The embodiment of evil and entropy-of physical and moral corruption and the negative counterpart to the Divine. The realm of the Adversary (Satan to Christianity, Iblis in Islam, etc.) and the demons and devils and the damned. Hell is associated with chthonic areas, dark places, lawless regions, as well as sights of atrocities and desecrated holy places. The Infernal encourages immoral and unethical behavior, and Infernal creatures often tempt mortals with Faustian pacts. In terms of realm interactions: the Infernal Auras diminishes Magic powers, and Faerie powers to a lesser extent, whilst unaffecting Divine Powers. Infernal powers are diminished by Magical and Faerie auras, and are heavily crippled by Divine Aura. Whilst many magi may attempt to fight demons, the Order as a whole is careful not to declare all out war on the Infernal, lest Hell unite to destroy the magi.
236** The Magical Realm: In contrast to the Faerie Realm, which is all about personal journeys and subjective stories, the Magical Realm is the objective realm of pure Platonic archetypes, of idealized objects already in existence. Whereas the Faeries are addicted to, and dependent on, human creativity and narratives, the inhabitants of the Magical Realm are more idealized forms of already existent mundane objects and natural phenomena and mundane creatures ("beasts of virtue"), and they tend to be indifferent to humans unless directly confronted. The realm of Magic is home to elemental spirits, as well as humans that have turned into spirits that may have become deities worshiped by humans. Magical Auras often appear at random, although they may show up after the working of powerful magic or the death of a powerful creature, places acquire a magical aura, but most of the time it is unclear why a certain place is magical. Realm interactions: Magical Auras have no effect on Divine Power, slightly enhance Faerie Power, and diminish Infernal Power. Magical Powers are diminished by the Infernal, heavily diminished by the Divine, and is slightly enhanced by Faerie. All magi have a connection to the Magical Realm thanks to their Gift. Some magi are able to ascend into becoming daimons, powerful spirits that depend upon their mortal followers in order to interact with the mortal realm.
237* LegallyDead: When a mage has a prolonged Twilight episode or disappearance, the Order generally waits a few years before declaring them lost. It's an imperfect system -- House Tytalus had a schism when a leader reappeared from not-so-Final Twilight years after being replaced, and some magi still get nervous about the thought that at least one Founder was last seen entering a [[EnchantedForest faerie forest]] with [[YearOutsideHourInside an unusual timestream]].
238* LimitedUseMagicalDevice: 5[[superscript:th]] Edition ItemCrafting allows "charged items" that hold a limited number of "castings" of a spell effect and a preset trigger. In exchange, they're much cheaper to create than permanent enchantments. They were added to the game as a generic alternative to 4[[superscript:th]] Edition's {{Magic Potion}}s.
239* LittleBitBeastly: Muto Corpus spells can allow the subject to only partially transform into an animal, such as growing a squirrel's tail.
240* LongLived: It's fairly common for magical traditions to have some form of life extension, including Hermetic magi. Most such rituals come with [[ImmortalProcreationClause sterility]] as a side-effect, however. Furthermore, most forms of magic have a final Warping that leads to the wizard either disappearing from reality, dying, losing all of their supernatural powers or going irrevocably insane after too much magic use, so the practical limit on lifespan is about 150 years, barring some way around this.
241* LoopholeAbuse:
242** {{Defied|Trope}} in the optional "Silver Consensus" regulation on magically creating wealth. The rule is that only two pounds of magically-created silver (this is a lot of money) may be traded to mundanes per magus per year. Creating gold and gems for trade instead is not only still punishable, but the magi responsible will be [[HumiliationConga mocked for being so utterly unoriginal]].
243** Hermetic magi swear not to "interfere with the affairs of mundanes and thereby bring ruin on my sodales" (i.e.: other magi), on pain of death. However, depending on the region and the specific interference, the second half of the vow tends to undermine the first -- if mundanes disappear or meet unfortunate accidents in ways that don't bring the Order into disrepute, then, well, that's just a pity.
244** The Transylvanian Tribunal is limited to five covenants, as a result of a ruling after Tremere's attempt to seize power over the Order. So except for Coeris, they don't use covenants much at all; they use oppidia, which are outposts in the Tribunal that function differently from standard covenants.
245** When the Order forbade magi to sell enchanted items to mundanes, Verditius magi started hiring mundane middlemen to make sales on their behalf. They also voluntarily limited their sales so as not to push their luck.
246* LostTechnology: ''Ancient Magic'' is about extinct magical traditions that might be integrated into the Hermetic system, if the [=PCs=] can find their lost items and lab texts.
247[[/folder]]
248
249[[folder:Tropes M--N]]
250* MadScientistLaboratory: Magi have laboratories that are modified over time to give the characters bonuses. Laboratories filled with lightning bolts, exotic creatures or enchanted devices that automatically sweep and organize are common. Laboratories that are underwater or located on clouds are not unheard of.
251* MagiBabble: In spades. There are arts, mystery cult initiations, exotically named spells, different types of vis, and a dozen or more exotic traditions to speak about in character. The magic rules are so closely linked to the in-setting magic concepts that it becomes difficult not to talk in magi babble.
252* MagicAIsMagicA:
253** There are several known laws of Hermetic Magic that cannot be broken by any spell. Well, by any ''Hermetic'' spell. There's several mystery cults that can and do ignore the limitations of Bonisagus's theory.
254** Even within the Order of Hermes, no two mages' magic works quite the same. Each and every magus has some area where their magic is flawed, because no magus ever fits ''perfectly'' into Hermetic theory, and there are lots of magical virtues to differentiate magi as well.
255* MagicalGesture: Though not strictly necessary for most practitioners of hermetic magic, there is a penalty for not using gestures or using only subtle gestures. Certain virtues remove this penalty for in specific cases or outright.
256* MagicallyBindingContract: A common element of [[TheFairFolk faerie]] magic, with dire consequences for those who break their word. Merinita magi learn the technique: they can cast a spell upon witnessing an agreement that only takes effect if the agreement is broken. Also a method of binding djinn to a sahir's service.
257* MagicalSensoryEffect: All mages have a personal "sigil" that manifests whenever they cast a spell, which can be a sensory effect like the scent of orange blossom or [[ThermalDissonance a sudden chill]].
258* MagicalSeventhSon: Aurulentus of Jerbiton comes from a lineage whose ancestor was told that the seventh generation of seventh sons in his lineage would eventually lead to a powerful magus that would reshape magic. While his forebears relied on charm or love spells/mind control to sire seven sons, Aurulentus decided to specialize in fertility and making childbirth easier on his wife, as well as extending their fertile years with a variant Longevity Ritual. He also came up with a number of spells based around child care. Aurulentus is the fifth, meaning his seventh grandson would be TheChosenOne, but unfortunately for Aurulentus, his own seventh son (Arbus Tutus) doesn't seem interested in having more children than his two daughters...and doesn't seem too keen on women at all, actually.
259* MagicalSociety: The Order of Hermes is the main one in the game, including the most powerful and numerous of magic users in Mythic Europe. Within the Order itself are several more distinct magical societies, including the houses of the Order (listed above), mystery cults (four of which are also houses), leagues, and various individual magical traditions. There are still societies of magical traditions that exist outside the Order as well, some in Mythic Europe and some without. Likely the largest of these is the Order of Suleiman in the Mythic Middle East (which is roughly five times the size of the Order of Hermes, though its individual magicians are weaker). Some magical societies have members both within and without of the Order of Hermes, but these tend to be relatively small groups.
260* MagicCompass: 4th edition supplement ''The Wizard's Grimoire''. One of the magic items in the work is Maris' Golden Compass. It can point to the nearest dry land, the nearest fresh water, and the nearest ship.
261* MagicIsMental: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. Intelligence boosts magical lab projects like inventing spells, representing the scholarly nature of magical practice. However, active spellcasting is boosted by Stamina instead, since it's a physical effort that can [[CastFromStamina inflict Fatigue levels]] if it's near the limit of the mage's capabilities.
262* MagicKnight: Possible, but generally ineffective for Hermetic magi; against mundanes and non-Hermetic wizards, it's far more effective to just [[KillItWithFire Kill Them With Fire]], and the Parma is just as resistant to magically-sharpened steel as it is to explosives. The school of Ramius accepts these limitations and instead develops spells to defend the magus and improve ''his'' capabilities, as well as focusing on a strong Parma Magica; the Ramian magus himself attacks with steel alone, rather than magic.
263* MagicMisfire: As with all actions, spellcasting under stressful circumstances has a 1-10% chance of a [[CriticalFailure botch]], depending on aggravating and mitigating factors. The effects are open to the GameMaster's interpretation based on how badly the dice roll was botched, but the spell might go off-target, have the opposite of its intended effect, invite DemonicPossession, or complicate the magus's day in some other exciting manner.
264* MagicPotion: In 4[[superscript:th]] Edition, magi with laboratory access and a season's free time can create potions that act as bottled spells, "casting" the spell on the drinker. 5[[superscript:th]] Edition replaced potions with "charged items", a different form of LimitedUseMagicalDevice.
265* {{Magitek}}:
266** Given the setting, magical technology is not a part of current standard Hermetic practice, but it's probably only a matter of time. ''Transforming Mythic Europe'' has an entire chapter on the subject of magic as technology, and mentions self-propelled plows and wheels and suggests how they might be useful to replace wind or water power.
267** House Verditius' Automata are magitech ClockPunk robots. It's supposed to be a House secret, but somebody leaked it and integrated it into regular Hermetic practice.
268** The Mechanica of Heron are magical devices developed by Hero of Alexandria and his students. Such things as an aeolipile (a steam engine that does nothing but make people stare in wonder) and a mechanical nightingale with a love for scholarly discourse can be created through this art. It is, however, LostTechnology in Mythic Europe.
269%%%%%* MagnificentBastard: Tytalus the Founder. Especially in the minds of the members of his House. [[invoked]]
270* TheMagocracy:
271** The spice islands of Soqotra are ruled by a caste of sorcerers who use incense magic harvested from the magical trees of the islands, and who use spirit intermediaries to overcome the instinctive hatred that humans (including other Gifted) feel for Gifted humans.
272** The Purple Islands (also called the Canaries) are likewise occupied by a people who are governed by wizard-kings. This is probably not a coincidence; Soqotra and the Canaries are both possible locations for the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Gardens of the Hesperides]], and the magic of each place is governed by a serpent who protects a magical tree. Exactly what is going on is unclear.
273** Several supplements go into detail about how setting up a working magocracy could be done. On a smaller scale, most covenants include magical servants, and many hold land and assets in their own right. The main problem is that doing this is likely to run afoul of the Code's provisions against interfering with mundanes.
274* MakeSomeNoise: The ''Imaginem'' magical form manipulates the five senses, including sound. Practitioners can create, control, or suppress sound in an area or around specific targets; this can be as blatant as trapping someone's voice in a sack, or as subtle as modifying the voice to sound especially noble and authoritative.
275* MasterApprenticeChain: One of the core pillars of Hermetic society is the teaching link, and second only to Code and Covenant in importance. Every magus is nominally descended, parens to fidelius, from the Founder of one of the Twelve (or Thirteen) Houses, although adoption is common from outside the Order; only four Houses (Bonisagus, Guernicus, Mercere, Tremere) require direct descent. This is part of the basis for Hermetic social structure -- if your master is revealed to have betrayed his oath, you have a legal problem. Further, if you go bad, your master has already sworn to hunt you down and slay you.
276* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: The game is literally a fantastic medieval Europe, with the typical campaign starting spring A.D. 1200, but oddly it more subverts this trope than supports it, due to the level of detail and 'reality' of the various campaign source books looking at medieval politics and society. The supplement books that don't focus on the Order and its magic are about as accurate and informative as any regular general-history book, 4th edition's ''Ordo Nobilis'' in particular.
277* MedievalStasis: Averted. The game is set in a period of modestly-fast change (at least if you're not a peasant), and the gamebooks mention areas where, if history proceeds on schedule, new technologies, events and trends will reshape Mythic Europe. Chainmail is currently the height of armor technology, the longbow hasn't quite made it out of Wales yet, and universities are just getting started, but all of these will likely change over the length of a magus' life.
278* MedievalUniversalLiteracy: Mythic Europe is an aversion. Literacy requires some training in ''artes liberales'', an academic [[SkillScoresAndPerks ability]] that most people aren't eligible for. Magi and many of their Companions have a significant advantage in their access to this training. %% (This is an "aversions and inversions only" trope.)
279* MegaMaelstrom: Unlike normal whirlpools, maelstroms are supernaturally powerful and get big enough to suck ships down to the ocean floor. They're incredibly lucrative sources of Aquam ''vis'' -- all the more so, the closer a mage can get to their deadly core.
280* {{Metamorphosis}}: Permanent transformation is beyond the scope of Hermetic magic due to the Limit of Essential Nature, but some Mystery Cults can achieve it with [[PowerAtAPrice intensive preparation]] and specialized rituals. Correctly initiated magi can become faeries, [[DeityOfHumanOrigin daimons]], or living ghosts.
281* TheMiddleAges: The official start dates for all versions of the game are well within TheHighMiddleAges. The history of the Order itself starts in DarkAgeEurope and carries on through TheLowMiddleAges.
282* MixAndMatchCritters: Marcus of Criamon, always embarrassed by his great size, had a vision of himself in a past life creating the [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent minotaur]], and believes that by repeating this feat he can connect with his past self across the Wheel of Time and change his own body. The upshot of all this is that he's dedicated to successfully joining together parts from existing creatures in order to figure out how.
283* MortonsFork: When it comes to marriage, serfs get hit with fines coming and going. Getting the lord's permission to marry usually requires them to pay a fine. Serfs are also fined for being of marriageable age and being ''unmarried''.
284* MuggleWithADegreeInMagic:
285** People with no magical talent can train in Magic Theory, although even the sourcebook warns that it's of minimal value to non-mages. It does, however, make them valuable lab assistants to mages, since their skill scores boost the mage's lab total.
286** House Mercere is unique in the Order for accepting un-Gifted members. They receive the same apprenticeship as Magi, and their role as the Order's messengers and middlemen puts them in a place to learn even more about magic and the supernatural.
287* {{Mundangerous}}: Compared to the ''parma magica''[='=]s all-purpose passive AntiMagic, {{Protective Charm}}s against mundane hazards have much more specific effects and need to be actively developed and cast. A mage might shrug off a magical fireball, then suffer smoke inhalation from the collateral damage to the surroundings.
288* MurderIntoMalevolence: Moros are the vampire forms of [[UndeadChild unbaptized babies]] whose [[OffingTheOffspring parents murdered them]] by exposure. They target their killers in particular, but prey on any of the living, even to the extent of [[EatsBabies draining other infants to death]].
289* MutantDraftBoard: Back and forth. Originally, the Order ran on the principle of "JoinOrDie," and in theory they still do. In practice, however, the Order only drafts Gifted wizards who know the Parma Magica or some equivalent form of AntiMagic, or who are otherwise of great enough power to attract attention, and avoids harassing hedge wizards who don't make trouble. [[ResignationsNotAccepted There's only one way to]] ''[[ResignationsNotAccepted leave]]'' [[ResignationsNotAccepted the Order, though]].
290* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: The 5e ''Magi of Hermes'' supplement offers examples of mages who subvert the expected stereotypes for their Houses.
291* MysteryCult: These are all over the place. While Bonisagus tried to get away from the mystery-cult mentality when he created the Order of Hermes, mystery initiation is the easiest and most common way to gain unique magical abilities, particularly those that don't quite fit into Hermetic magic. Accordingly, four of the Houses and innumerable lesser groups are mystery cults, each dedicated to a unique heritage and practice of magic.
292* MysticalCave:
293** Bonisagus the Founder retreated to a cave in the Alps for ten years to formulate the theory of Hermetic magic.
294** The Cave of Twisting Shadows is a powerful regio with additional strange properties, like keeping its resident ghosts lucid. House Criamon uses it as a home base and believes it to be the axis of all the world's magic.
295* MysticalPlague: The spell "Curse of the Unportended Plague" starts a plague in a city over a period of 6-12 months.
296* NayTheist:
297** Nobody denies that the Divine exists, but there are a few people who want nothing to do with God; some pagans prefer their old faiths and believe the absolute power of God to be a lie, and some magi from Houses Tremere, Criamon and Tytalus (among others) hold to philosophies that denigrate all gods, including the Divine. No currently-existing House is fully pagan, however, not even the Germanic Bjornaer.
298** House Tremere and House Criamon both reject all Faerie and Magical gods as unworthy of worship. House Tremere is descended from a Pluto-cult and collectively feels betrayed by gods in general (the Divine is sometimes an exception), while House Criamon holds to a very esoteric philosophy that holds, among other things, that pagan deities are no different from humans and worship is fruitless. Criamon's membership is very divided on the Divine, but the atheistic Criamon nonetheless believe that JesusWasWayCool and the Criamon who follow the Divine are working to uphold the structure of the universe.
299* NeverLearnedToTalk: Characters with the flaw "[[WildChild Feral Upbringing]]" start without Language skills or any other knowledge of human society.
300* NiceGuy: Although the Gift ''always'' causes revulsion and suspicion in mortals, no matter what, over time a mage may influence a mortal to overcome the effect by giving them no reason to have their ill feelings validated and every reason to like them. Generous tipping is recommended.
301* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Supplement ''Tales of the Dark Ages'' adventure "The Ghoul of St. Lazare". A magic item in the adventure is a potion which, if poured over an area, will give the area an Infernal aura associated with the demons of Hell. The adventure specifically withholds the information of how to create and use the potion because PlayerCharacters should not want to carry out such a heinous, malignant crime.
302* NoEyeInMagic: Some spells have the range "Eye", which means the mage must make eye contact with the target for the spell to take effect.
303* NonHealthDamage: There are ''Creo Vim'' spells to inflict Warping Points on their target. This can be much more debilitating than temporary Wounds because the points are permanent, threaten a magus with Wizard's Twilight on the spot, and can cause irreversible long-term effects to both magi and mundanes.
304* NoOntologicalInertia: Averted for almost all users of magic; Hermetic or not, magic will not suddenly disappear if it is broken. The exception is for those who take this feature as a flaw, or who take a virtue that has this as a side effect.
305** Played straight, to a degree, with familiars. If a magus dies, there's a ''very'' good chance their familiar will die on the spot; if it somehow survives, it's left an EmptyShell, the magic torn out of it with its master's death. If a familiar dies, its magus is not harmed, but is usually left with a ''massive'' sense of loss (in ''addition'' to the usual grief from losing a pet that's become essentially a family member). If a familiar dies of ''natural causes'', the magus should probably start getting their affairs in order, because that means they don't have much time left either.
306* TheNudifier: The ''How God Created Them'' spell causes anything plant- or animal-based that a person is wearing to grow larger and slippery, sliding to the ground.
307[[/folder]]
308
309[[folder:Tropes O--P]]
310* OathboundPower: Some Mystery Cult initiation rites require new members to take specific oaths in exchange for new powers. This follows the PowerAtAPrice principle of those rites, effectively constituting an indefinite, ongoing ordeal, so the powers are revoked if the magus violates the oath.
311* ObstructiveCodeOfConduct: The Code of Hermes exists, in theory, to protect the Order of Hermes from getting into a fight with external adversaries, tearing itself apart in internal warfare, or otherwise bothering the wizards who want to spend all their time in their labs. In practice, it's impossible to either entirely abide by or fully enforce, and it ''really'' exists so that stories happen when it gets broken.
312* OlderThanTheyLook:
313** Once a Longevity Ritual is cast upon a mage, their aging drastically slows at a rate depending on how successful the ritual was. Wizards who aren't confident in their own ability to cast one tend to outsource. There's also a Flaw which makes Longevity Rituals less effective upon the character.
314** One of the benefits of the Fairy Blood virtue makes it easier to resist the effects of aging, giving a -1 to Aging Rolls. Strong Fairy Blood gives a -3, and also allows a character to live 'til age fifty before they start aging, rather than thirty-five as usual.
315** There's also the Unaging virtue, which keeps you looking young and stops aging from affecting your stats, but doesn't actually extend your lifespan.
316* OldMagic:
317** Bonisagus' unified theory of magic became the standard for magical instruction in the Western world. However, his research overlooked many older traditions, including various hedge magics, Norse rune magic, and Canaanite {{Necromanc|er}}y, which are less versatile but can accomplish results that Hermetic theory thinks impossible.
318** Within the Hermetic system, there's a Major Virtue for Mercurian Magic. This Virtue means that your magical tradition dates back to the pre-Hermetic Cult of Mercury and still includes some of its techniques, particularly with regards to RitualMagic. The Neo-Mercurians go a step further, seeking to reconstruct the ancient rites of the Mercurian priesthood within the Hermetic framework, either as worshippers of TheOldGods or simply to seek out their secrets. House Guernicus, meanwhile, retains the secrets of a few true Mercurian rituals that have not been converted into Hermetic form.
319* OldShame; In-universe. Ranulf of Flambeau was a militant, angry young warrior, and chose a scary-looking dagger as his voting sigil. As he grew older and mellowed out, he found himself embarrassed with it.
320* OnesieArmor: In Fifth edition armor is classified as either partial or full-body, though this only affects its weight and overall DamageReduction. A suit of armor's game stats are determined only by its primary material (from leather to chainmail), ignoring any mix-and-match.
321* TheOrder: Several organizations think they are this, but in practice it doesn't quite work like that; any purpose that an order might be devoted to usually takes second place to personal agendas.
322** The Order of Hermes is an Order dedicated to the study, teaching and development of Bonisagus's theory of magic. In practice, it's more of a MagicalSociety that exists to keep a bunch of egomaniacal sociopaths with too much power from killing each other over vis and library books.
323** The Order of Solomon (Suhhar Suleyman) is both more and less of an Order than the Order of Hermes. They take anyone who can summon a spirit and teach the Suhhar's form of magic, and they don't make anyone join, but they do sometimes act as a group and require their members to contribute to the upkeep of the whole.
324** The Order of Odin is an order of Norse rune-wizards (vitkir) at war with the Order of Hermes. [[spoiler: It doesn't exist, and never did. There were some rune-wizards who fought alongside Damhan-Allaidh during the time of the early Order, and there are still plenty of vitkir running around now, but the idea of an organized group of Scandinavian runepriests out to topple the Order is a boogeyman with little basis in fact.]]
325** The Order of Geonim are a group of [[UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}} Kabbalists]] mentioned in ''Realms of Power: the Divine'' who have a truce with the Order. It's unclear what they are; the supposed "Order of Geonim" could just mean all Kabbalists everywhere, or a specific bunch from Barcelona, but there's rumors of a secret order throughout Europe dedicated to protecting Jews from their enemies. Regardless, the Order of Hermes generally leaves Kabbalists alone.
326* OurGiantsAreBigger: Broadly, Magic giants are big humans with magical characteristics (and there's a lot of variation there, including some giants who are more like spirits than humans, most notably the Jotnar patrons behind the Muspelli), Faerie giants are fairy-tale giants such as the one [[Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk up the beanstalk]], and the Nephilim are angel-blooded Divine giants who have to constantly eat or go into a slumber.
327* OurGodsAreDifferent: Well, monotheists will tell you that there's only one {{God}}, but He only represents the Divine Realm (albeit with infinite power). Aside from the Divine Realm, each Realm produces a kind of god. Magical gods are idealized beasts or natural phenomena, or the functions of the universe given physical form, and they don't necessarily care all that much about humans. Faerie gods are created and empowered by tales and [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly human worship]]. False Gods are the mightiest demons of the Infernal, who pose as deities to lead human souls to Hell.
328* OurMagesAreDifferent: Magi are lottery-winner scholars. A magus must be born with the Gift (which is completely random), but then he will spend years of his life in a Hermetic lab developing new spells or seeking out a means of rewriting the rules of magic. This paradigm applies to most non-Hermetic wizards in the setting as well.
329* OurTitansAreDifferent: One interpetation is that the Titans were the primordial rulers of the universe, aligned with the Magic Realm. The titanomachy, wherein the Olympians overthrew the Titans, could have been a cataclysmic war of usurpation staged by faeries, who often take the form of polytheistic deities, against the Titans, the old primordial embodiments of magic.
330* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They're a form of [[TheFairFolk fairy]] who take the form of the deceased, for one...
331* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Includes were-bears and were-lynxes.
332* OutcastRefuge: The Order of Hermes usually build [[HomeBase Covenants]] away from towns to avoid provoking medieval society's fear and distrust of magic. Beyond the magi, a lot of the employees are people somehow at odds with society, from heretical scholars to lycanthropes.
333* OverlyGenerousFool: Under the game's PointBuildSystem, characters can have "Generous" as a minor or major Flaw, depending on just how indiscriminately they give up their possessions to others. As a Personality Flaw, it isn't framed as a necessarily negative trait, but as a story hook to get them into unexpected situations.
334* PapaWolf: Aurulentus of Jerbiton had the Obsessed Flaw, focused around the protection of his offspring (particularly his daughters). As such he invented a number of spells and enchanted items designed to weed out or discourage unfit suitors.
335* PeoplePuppets:
336** Rego Corpus spells allow one to control the movements of peoples' bodies, with the movement becoming more fine as the spell levels grow higher.
337** Rego Mentem allows actual mind control.
338* PerilousPowerSource:
339** Magic, if powerful or long lasting, warps its targets. This eventually mutates the targets or in the case of magi removes them from the world entirely. Other magical traditions have their own forms of Warping.
340** Magi can spend ''vis'' on a spell to boost both the casting total and the number of botch dice, increasing the likelihood and potential severity of a MagicMisfire.
341** The only form of power that doesn't really qualify is the Divine, and that only for those who know how to use it. The Divine Ascent still changes you, but for its users, the change is seen as a ''good'' thing even if it comes with some drawbacks. Although, spending most of your time whisked away to Heaven, while it hampers your ability to get things done, hardly qualifies as a drawback...even if it can lead to some inconvenient situations when you get back.
342* PhlebotinumOverdose: Characters accumulate "warping points" from exposure to [[PlaceOfPower strong magic auras]], powerful or long-lasting spells (like {{Longevity Treatment}}s), and other sources. Warping progressively increases the danger and effect of {{Magic Misfire}}s, and eventually causes the mage to glitch out of reality forever. {{Muggles}} overexposed to Warping start to pick up permanent character Flaws instead.
343* PlaceOfPower: Places strongly aligned with one of the four Realms gain an aura that enhances powers related to that Realm; a strong enough one can form a ''regio'' with a PocketDimension overlaying the material world. Magical auras are prized for their natural ''[[{{Mana}} vis]]'' deposits and [[FieldPowerEffect boosts to spellcasting and lab work]].
344* PlayerMooks: Grogs are the non-magical side characters who serve the Order in generic roles like guards, manservants, and stablehands, using restricted character creation rules. Players can take one over for a DayInTheLimelight when their Mage and Companion characters are busy and are encouraged to [[RedShirt have fun at the Grog's expense]].
345* PointBuildSystem: With everything, up to and including virtues; there can even be ''negative'' virtues, for those you don't have (which can be a sign of good or bad behavior; negative ratings in Charity mean you're TheScrooge, but negative ratings in Sloth mean you're highly energetic and refuse to consider something SomebodyElsesProblem).
346* PossessingADeadBody:
347** At best, the ritual "The Shadow of Life Renewed" returns a corpse to "life" as a SoullessShell with no personality. At worst, it lets a demon, faerie, or other spirit take control of the body.
348** One vampire variety is actually a dark faerie spirit that animates a human corpse and takes on some elements of its identity. They run the gamut from merciless predators to {{Non Malicious Monster}}s who keep showing up at their old house to do the chores.
349* PotionBrewingMechanic: Potions in 4th Edition are effectively "doses" of a spell that affects only the drinker, so their creation requires only time, the ability to cast the spell in question, and a standard magical laboratory. Any physical ingredients are abstracted.
350* PowerAtAPrice: Mystery Cults provide special abilities that can often bend or break the rules of Hermetic magic, but to Initiate into a Mystery, you nearly always have to pay some kind of price. For the [=unGifted=], doing this for a magic virtue ''always'' leaves you with some kind of flaw for each ability you Initiate, and for the Gifted, most initiations still require a price of some kind.
351* ThePowerOfCreation: The ''Conjure from the Mist'' spells allows a magus to transform a section of air into stone, shaped into whatever form they please.
352* PowerTattoo: Criamon magi spontaneously manifest tattoo-like symbols as they gain magical power and wisdom. They're a mark of accomplishment to each other, but leave them prone to being mistaken for {{Tattooed Crook}}s or [[MarkOfTheBeast worse]] by mundanes.
353* PracticalCurrency: In general, magi don't trade in silver unless they have to; it's fairly trivial for a covenant to get all the mundane wealth it needs (though being too blatant with creating precious metal has economic and legal consequences). Instead, the currencies of magi are vis and time.
354** Vis covers a variety of magical substances that can boost spellcasting and empower ritual magic and the creation of magical items, among other uses. It's the standard currency of magi, coming in a variety of flavors and measured in "pawns" for historical reasons. If you can buy it somehow, you can usually get it at one pawn for ten Mythic Pounds, but selling vis for silver is highly unusual because using vis can usually generate all the money you could ever spend.
355** The cliche that "time is money" is well-understood by magi. The expectation of the Order of Hermes is that magi will want to spend as much time as possible in their laboratories studying new magic; hence, many covenants require that their members spend a season a year doing service to the covenant or pay scutage for the value of that season. Furthermore, many Quaesitorial fines are assessed in community service -- that is, seasons of service to the Order. Inversely, one Tribunal case convicted a Redcap of depriving a magus of power by injuring him, keeping him from working in the lab for a season -- the crime wasn't the injury, it was the loss of time.
356* {{Pride}}: Part of the Verditius flaw is that every Verditius who descends deeper into the Cult develops a degree of hubris, which is intrinsically linked to their magic, as well as adding to the vendetta culture within the House.
357* PrimalPolymorphs: [[MagicalSociety House]] Bjornaer magi have unique powers of {{Animorphism}} and a preference for protecting the wild places of the world. Their HomeBase is an EnchantedForest that they share with powerful {{Nature Spirit}}s, and many Bjornaer [[{{Metamorphosis}} become animal spirits]] at the end of their natural lives.
358* PrimordialTongue: The LostLanguage of the biblical Adam was used to name all the creatures of Earth and could have powerful magical applications. Unless a mage can track down {{Cain}} or somehow reenter the GardenOfEden, their only option is to reconstruct it through an epic feat of historical linguistics.
359* {{Protectorate}}: Redcaps are a protectorate for the Order as a whole. If a mundane messes with a magus, that magus may retaliate (within reasonable limits), but if a mundane messes with a Redcap, any magus can bring down the wrath of God on them.
360* PurposelyOverpowered: Mythic Companions are people born for greatness -- [[SemiDivine champions of pagan deities]], [[HumanDemonHybrid devil children]], and so on. To bring their power level in line with magi, they can start with two points of Virtues per point of Flaws (instead of 1:1) and have a unique Major Virtue related to their nature, which usually comes with extra powers.
361[[/folder]]
362
363[[folder:Tropes Q--R]]
364* RandomizedTransformation: The high-level ritual "Mists of Change" calls up a FogOfDoom that transforms every human in a large area into random animals. The change lasts a year.
365-->On a roll of 10, the storyguide picks a creature; be cruel.
366* RandomlyGifted: The gift appears in people more or less at random. There are ways to reliably get the Gift or have Gifted children, but those are story hooks.
367* RapidAging:
368** The Perdo Corpus spell "Bane of the Decrepit Body" instantly ages the victim 5-15 years.
369** 3rd Edition adventure ''Twelfth Night''. After the Burial Shroud of Christ is warped by Hermetic magic it gains the special power Circle of Decay, which affects all creatures within a half mile. Any creature less than 35 years old will age at a rate of 2.5 years per minute. Any creature 35 or more years old ages at a rate of 10 years per minute.
370** 4th edition supplement ''The Wizard's Grimoire''. When the spell "Eyes of Eternity" is cast, the target ages one year per 15 seconds (four years per minute) for as long as the spellcaster concentrates on the spell.
371* RateLimitedPerpetualResource: Mages can find small amounts of raw vis (solidified magic) in certain natural locations. When it is found and removed, it will be created again over a period of a year. This means it can be re-harvested each year.
372* RedEyesTakeWarning
373** ''Lion of the North'' supplement. Brude Deathless, the oldest and most powerful gruagachan in all Scotland, has a terrible temper and loves to put curses on anyone who annoys him. His eyes turn red when he gets angry.
374** ''Tales of the Dark Ages'' supplement, adventure "Copse of Skulls". The Norke are monsters which reject compassion and morality and engage in deliberate cruelty, inflicting pain and death. They have the brilliant red eyes of fiends from Hell.
375* TheRedMage:
376** At its heart, Bonisagus's magic theory ''theoretically'' gives all Hermetic magi the potential to become this. However, as in ''Ars Magica'', magic is not a science, but an art, different individuals have different ways of working magic. The game strongly suggests that all magi characters have at least some form of Hermetic flaw, to represent imperfect understanding. Nevertheless, one of the strengths of Hermetic magic is that it is very broad in what can be learned, though the greatest heights can still be reached by specializing. In some ways, Bonisagus's theory takes the Red Mage up to eleven. Although certain non-Hermetic traditions can break certain rules of Hermetic Magic, they do so at the cost of extreme specialization, usually also requiring a disproportionate amount of time of study to be able to create such effects.
377** Magi ex Miscellanea are supposed to use both Hermetic magic and remnant magics from their old tradition, though they nearly always suffer a Hermetic Flaw to make up for it. They generally have a poor reputation because of this; there's a reason the House is referred to as "from hash."
378* ReducedResourceCost: Thanks to their CripplingOverspecialization in ItemCrafting, when a Verditius magus enchants an object of their own creation, their Craft ability score (e.g.: Goldsmithing for a MagicRing) is deducted from the ''vis'' cost, to a minimum of one point.
379* ReligionIsMagic: The Divine Realm (alternately, the Dominion) draws its power from God, and divine power can make awe-inspiring effects (though pure divine magic doesn't match up to the power of the Hermetic Arts), and an area influenced by the Divine serves as AntiMagic for any non-divine power. The big limitation is that it cannot be intentionally used to sin, and it's very difficult to learn without True Faith.
380** Holy Magic is a form of Hermetic magic adapted to the Divine Realm. It's difficult to use, because Hermetic magic is based in pagan charms that can't be used with it, and Hermetic magi dismiss it as a joke in poor taste, but it allows for wondrous effects that can bend or break Hermetic limits, and it can also be used safely within a Divine aura.
381** UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}} is Jewish holy magic. It's unusual in that most Kabbalists do not have True Faith, but it's still highly effective and has its own (small) order of users (the Order of Geonim) who have a peace treaty with the Order. Useful for creating [[{{Golem}} golems]] and calling angels through the Chariot Mysteries, but also somewhat dangerous, as its practitioners often become curious about the Infernal or addicted to its power.
382** Christians and Muslims don't actually have a lot of divine magic. For Muslims, it's pretty much the exclusive province of Sufis, while among Christians, it's pretty much limited to small holy orders and lone saint-mystics. The big joker in the deck are the Cathars, whose Perfecti have already developed some pretty potent magic as a result of their [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} Gnostic]] theological heritage.
383** The most powerful divine magic of all is found in a fairly minor religion off in the East. The Mazdeans (or Zoroastrians) are a minority group in Mesopotamia and Persia, but their mobeds are descendants (theoretically or factually) of the magoi priests of AncientPersia, and they were mighty wizards well before Bonisagus was ever born. Since [[AfterTheEnd the fall of the Sassanid Empire]], nearly all of their greatest magics have [[LostTechnology been lost]], but what they have is still highly impressive. They are masters of UsefulNotes/{{Alchemy}} and [[StarPower astrology]], capable of calling angels and [[KillItWithFire destroying evil with flame]], and their greatest priests [[LongLived live much longer than even Hermetic magi]]. A mobed in full possession of the magic of his tradition would be a match for a Hermetic magus, but mobeds of that power mostly don't exist anymore. It's also notable that there are Zoroastrian sub-traditions within the Order of Hermes and the Order of Solomon, [[TheRedMage wielding Hermetic or Solomonic magic and some of the Zoroastrian power-set]].
384** A particular trick common to House Jerbiton (though anyone can do it) is to invoke the patron saint of a city and ask for "the right to defend the City." This gives a pass to any virtuous use of magic within a Dominion aura.
385* ReligionIsRight: See the trope immediately above. The existence of a Divine power is a demonstrable fact in this setting, although some pagan, polytheistic, and agnostic magi believe that the Abrahamic God is just a very powerful spirit.
386* RenovatingThePlayerHeadquarters:
387** As the {{Home Base}}s of MagicalSociety, Covenants are generated with a PointBuildSystem akin to characters and can be modified through gameplay. Options include construction ([[PersonOfMassConstruction magical]] or otherwise), developing new industries, MagicalLibrary additions, UtilityMagic, and hiring specialists.
388** Magi rely on laboratories for much of their work and can customize the structure, furnishings, and even supernatural features over downtime. This can be as ordinary as organizing the lab for efficiency, or as abstruse as cultivating a greenhouse of [[FantasticFruitsAndVegetables magical herbs]] or sourcing preternaturally perfect gear from a faerie artisan.
389* ResignationsNotAccepted:
390** By the Code of Hermes, all magi are called upon to hunt down and slay any magus expelled from the Order; the parens of the magus so Marched has a specific duty to do so (though this particular requirement is no longer enforced).
391** House Bjornaer, likewise, does not allow its members to join another House. Any magus who leaves or who is cast out of the House will immediately face the wrath of the House through multiple Wizard's Wars.
392* {{Retcon}}: In ''Ancient Magic'', Norse Rune Magic was stated to be an extinct tradition. In ''Hedge Magic: Revised Edition'', however, the tradition's alive and well up in Scandinavia.
393* TheRival: Believing that conflict is necessary for growth, House Tytalus has an institution of "Beloved Rivals", a lifelong commitment for two magi to challenge and undermine each other at every turn. Though it can sometimes cause death, it stems from a genuine desire to bring out the best in each other, and a magus might well [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou turn against]] a third-party enemy of their Rival. A relatively common choice of Beloved Rival is a magus' own former master.
394* RobeAndWizardHat:
395** House Mercere, commonly called Redcaps because they wear silly-looking red pointy hats. The robe is optional, but common, since most major places know not to mess with the guys in the doofy red stooge cap-- those guys have friends.
396** House Jerbiton, in its self-appointed role as 'envoy to the mundanes', tries to spread the idea that this is 'proper wizard attire' so that a) Wizards can be identified as such if they want to be (and are wiling to dress up in a silly outfit) and b) wizards can disguise themselves as mundanes by not wearing said silly outfit. Jerbiton also spreads other false (and true) information which they feel it would be beneficial to the Order for the mundanes to believe.
397* RunicMagic: Norse rune magic is OldMagic that predates the Order of Hermes. While less flexible than Hermetic magic, it can create enchantments that last [[NoOntologicalInertia as long as the rune does]] without some of the usual ItemCrafting requirements, making it a tempting prize for any [[FantasticScience magical research]] to try to integrate into Hermetic theory.
398[[/folder]]
399
400[[folder:Tropes S--T]]
401* ScottyTime: Invoked. Conscientia of Bonisagus, who does commissioned work for other mages, often quotes an inflated estimate of time for her work in order to cultivate her reputation as a miracle worker.
402* SecretTestOfCharacter: House Guernicus employs this as part of a mage's gauntlet. It is an extensive written test on Hermetic law... but the ''real'' test is that apprentices are given a clear chance to cheat. Those who do are told they failed their gauntlet by not passing another, unrelated test. Apprentices who cheat [[RuleOfThree three times]] are allowed to stay a member of the house, but are barred permanently from becoming Quaesitors.
403* ShapeshifterModeLock: Mages who remain in animal form too long can have their human personality replaced with the animal's.
404* SharedLifeEnergy: The {{Familiar}} bond has the side effect of prolonging the familiar's lifespan to match the mage's -- [[RequiredSecondaryPowers very useful]], since most are naturally short-lived animals. If a familiar dies of old age, it means [[YourDaysAreNumbered the mage is soon to follow]].
405* ShapeshiftingHealsWounds: Zig-zagged by [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent lycanthropes]]. Unlike most shapeshifting, their wounds are healed when they revert to human form -- a small mercy from a {{Curse}} that drives them out of their minds in beast form.
406* ShoutOut: 4th Edition supplement ''The Wizard's Grimoire''.
407** One entry says "Lucky is the covenant that can afford to maintain a glassblower, and happy are its magi". This is a reference to a line in H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Festival": "Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes."
408** A small magical stone statue of a pig can learn to sing. The end of the entry says "Not being sentient, the statue is probably not annoyed." This refers to a saying by Mark Twain: "Don't try and teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time, and it annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein included a re-worded version in the "Notebooks of Lazarus Long" segments of his novel Time Enough for Love: "Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig."
409* SignatureHeadgear: As the messengers and middlemen of MagicalSociety, House Mercere members wear distinctive pointed red hats to identify themselves to suspicious magi. "Redcap" is a common InSeriesNickname for them.
410* SleepsWithBothEyesOpen: The supplement ''Lion of the North: The Loch Leglean Tribunal''. The Scottish hare is so alert that it sleeps with its eyes open.
411* SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality: Complicated.
412** The Order of Hermes believes that GenderIsNoObject and has women and men with full equality; this usually trickles down to covenfolk.
413** ''However'', the outside world is in TheMiddleAges. ''Lords of Men'', ''City and Guild'', and ''The Church'' go into detail about the options available for female [=PCs=]. The short form is that Men Are More Equal: most women are expected to obey their betters, but [=PCs=] aren't "most women," and the only hard rule is that women are forbidden to join the clergy. Even women knights exist, though they're extremely unusual.
414** The Suhhar Suleyman grants full status to women, but outside of the ''Ashab al-Qalb'' (Followers of the Heart), women are less common than men. Furthermore, sahirs have to work for a living, and not all occupations in the Islamic world are as open to women as they are to men.
415** Among hedge magicians, it's briefly mentioned that vitkir (Norse rune wizards) are a traditionally male art, but it's not impossible that they might take female apprentices in the twilight of the Norse age. Norse women's magic (''seithr'') is seen as really skeevy, and may be Infernally linked.
416* SoBeautifulItsACurse:
417** The Curse of Venus flaw, which makes the character very attractive to people he or she does not WANT to attract, and who won't take no for an answer, and causing you to fall for those who have no interest in you.
418** The Envied Beauty story flaw from the Jerbiton section of 'House of Hermes: Societies', which is exactly what it sounds like -- your beauty causes (sometimes murderous) envy in others.
419* SoulJar: ''Lion of the North''. The "External Soul" gruagach virtue and the famhairan a'falach "remove heart" ability.
420* SourSupporter: Aside from his faith and sense of justice, Guernicus' most defining trait was his cynicism. He was absolutely certain that the Order would fall apart the first time that some wizard's ambition exceeded his fear. Yet because of that cynicism, he devoted himself and his House to the cause of holding the Order together. Legend has it that he's still alive, just waiting to see the day when the Order finally falls.
421* SpecialSnowflakeSyndrome: There are multiple books full of possible magical characters who are not Hermetic magi and have unique abilities. The Hermetic mages usually are more powerful, though, ''because'' they are more similar and thus can share research.
422* SpellBook: Aside from various and sundry magical texts (the creation and study of which have a sizable section of their own), every mage of any quality makes copious notes while studying in the lab. These notes can be passed to another mage, making it considerably faster and easier for them to replicate the first mage's results.
423* SpellCrafting: It may be the TropeMaker, or at least TropeCodifier, for freeform magic in games. Spells use pseudo-Latin "power words" to create spell effects on the fly.
424* ASpyAtTheSpa: In "The Sorcerer's Slave", Byzantium's famous Baths of Zeuxippus are secretly run by an [[AmbitionIsEvil amoral, ambitious]] mage who spies on the guests for useful information. He's aided in this by an invisible water spirit who can [[EmotionControl manipulate emotions]] and [[{{Telepathy}} read minds]]. In addition, the {{Player Character}}s are expected to disrobe like every other guest, making it quite difficult to keep hidden weapons or equipment.
425* SpontaneousWeaponCreation:
426** The spell "Tooth of the Staff" can create a spear with a polished flint head. Several such spells exist, and magi can invent new ones, or make them on the fly.
427** Hugh of Flambeau is descended from a valkyrie and has inherited the power to convert anything he's wearing into a set of full scale metal armor. His equine familiar has a similar power, creating barding out of thin air.
428* StaminaBurn: ''Perdo Corpus'' spells can inflict Fatigue levels, which cause escalating penalties to the target's actions and can ultimately knock them out for hours. It's especially nasty against other mages, since spellcasting often [[CastFromStamina has a cost in Fatigue]].
429* StarPower: The various forms of astrology. Low-level astrology is used in nearly every Hermetic ritual to empower the effect, but those Hermetic wizards who specialize in it can draw up horoscopes for doing lab work, cause spells to take effect or end exactly when they need them to, empower their magic by casting spells at the correct time, and a number of other effects. The Zoroastrian priests of Persia can also use astrology to enhance their holy magic, and the Suhhar Suleyman have an entire discipline devoted to astrological divinations.
430* StrongerWithAge: Characters advance mechanically only once every season, four times per year. Magi tend to have ways to delay or even stop ageing entirely. Wizards with grey beards are by their nature the scariest things in the whole setting.
431* StupidEvil: Extremely common among demons-they completely lack virtue, including things like Prudence or Faith, which means they literally can't learn from their experiences and are incapable of honest loyalty no matter how well their master treats them. There's a reason Infernal villains are diabolists, not their devils.
432* SuccessThroughInsanity: The signature ability of House Criamon is Enigmatic Wisdom, an esoteric mindset that's completely incomprehensible to the rest of the world but helps them understand puzzles, dreams, and arcane mysteries. Advanced members can even use it in place of certain conventional skills -- like, say, ''surgical training''.
433* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic:
434** Hermetic magic is based on this; indeed, the discipline was created when Bonisagus got the idea of putting together a universal theory of magic that could do anything, though he ended up saddling it with some unnecessary Limits, and the Order built around his theory has since begun to ossify and become [[UnequalRites suspicious of outside knowledge]]. Spells are developed through scientific laboratory research, and the limits of magic are constantly tested in hopes of a Breakthrough that might amend the rules or even remove one of the Limits of Magic. Magi of House Bonisagus in particular are expected to do original research of some form, creating unique spells or chasing after Breakthroughs, and disseminate it to the other magi of the Order.
435** Most other magical schools have some degree of this too, but few have a full discipline of Magic Theory. Folk Witches ''do'' have a certain level of theoretical understanding, as do the koldun of Russia and the vitkir of Scandinavia. Solomonic mages lack a unified theoretical system, but are crack ''empirical'' experimenters, especially when [[TheRedMage blending different magics together]].
436** Ironically, this is averted by Learned Magicians. This most ''academic'' school of magic has no theoretical structure of its own, and the Mathematici get by on practical knowledge and a little help from external powers.
437* SummonMagic:
438** The specialty of the Order of Suleiman, the dominant magical order of the Islamic world. All of their magic involves summoning [[OurGeniesAreDifferent jinn]] (or sometimes other spirits) to power their effects.
439** The Hermetic mysteries of Theurgy also involve summoning spirits, with varying magical effects.
440** The ''Literature/ArsGoetia'' is a distinctly forceful and often brutal method of summoning, which makes sense, as it was meant to control and force ''demons'' into behaving helpfully. Unlike most Infernal magic, [[DarkIsNotEvil Goetic summoners aren't inherently evil]] (though other Goetic Arts ''are''), and in fact the example given is an honorable IntrepidMerchant who mostly uses it to make mystical artifacts (and he actually hates using it to summon the Infernal itself, mostly keeping his stuff restricted to Faerie and Magic).
441* SupernaturalGoldEyes: Amber eyes are a result of being descended from Bulgars who had their sight restored by a Tremere; the amber was part of the sigil of the maga responsible, and the color deepens as a result of magical Warping.
442* SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands: Averted, in theory. Scrying on other mages is a strong violation of the Code of Hermes, with even the most basic obtainable information considered a punishable breach of conduct. That is, of course, if you get caught.
443* SwornInByOath:
444** All Hermetic Magi must swear the Code of Hermes when they are admitted or complete their apprenticeship, an oath that establishes the core principles and rules of the Order.
445** Some Mystery Cults also incorporate oaths into their initiation rites, in which case they often bestow {{Oathbound Power}}s that stop functioning if the magus breaks their word.
446* SympatheticMagic: Specifically referred to as the Law of Sympathy.
447* TallPoppySyndrome: The few magi in House Mercere are expected to put their House before themselves and are shamed if they seem to be flaunting their gifts -- in some cases, even by casting a vote at Tribunal (as un-Gifted Mercere act as TeamSwitzerland) or by using too much magic in public.
448* TeamSwitzerland: Redcaps are generally expected to not vote at Tribunal and generally stay out of Order politics, and in return, harming them is pretty much verboten. Likewise, Quaesitores generally don't vote, but this restriction is looser and their position is ''inherently'' politicized to some extent. In neither case is this a law, though -- just a tradition.
449* TestOfPain: One WizardDuel variant has the contestants stand in a field of MagicFire until one of them forfeits or collapses. As a formal duel, it's legally binding in MagicalSociety, but is unpopular outside the more pyromaniacally inclined magi of House Flambeau.
450* TestedOnHumans: One image in ''Magi of Hermes'' has Marcus of Criamon switching the heads of a doe and a human female. Probably a corpse. Possibly. Hopefully.
451* TrainingFromHell: Many apprentices have a rough time, but Tytalus apprentices in particular suffer fifteen years of enslavement, continual overt and {{secret|Test}} tests, and arbitrary punishments, ending only when they can defeat the master at a challenge of the master's design. Tytalus magi start with a higher [[HeroicWillpower Confidence score]] and, often, a lifelong rivalry with their masters.
452* TrainingTheGiftOfMagic: A major element of the setting. "The Gift" is an absolute prerequisite for the practice of Hermetic magic, and identifying and training prospective magi is considered a social duty in the Order. Gifted but untrained individuals cannot generally work magic, but tend to be disliked and distrusted by other people anyway.
453* {{Transmutation}}: A spell with the ''Muto'' [[MagicAIsMagicA magical technique]] grants the target properties it would not naturally have, which can mean transforming it into an entirely different substance. For example, a ''Muto [[DishingOutDirt Terram]]'' spell could turn dirt into gold, or, with an ''[[{{Biomanipulation}} Animal]]'' prerequisite, turn dirt into badgers.
454[[/folder]]
455
456[[folder:Tropes U--V]]
457* {{Ubermensch}}: The philosophy of House Tytalus, in a nutshell, is that a person should subvert or ignore laws and customs whenever possible if they violate his own nature. In the more extreme form, MightMakesRight and the ideal state of being is to impose your own whims on everyone else; a rival position[[note]]If House Tytalus ever comes to agree on a single position about anything, someone will ''make'' another side to have something to argue about[[/note]] holds that natural law comes from the Divine and is an inherent part of human nature, but that custom and law developed by men are inherently divisive and tyrannical.
458* UndeadTaxExemption: Zig-zagged as a [[RuleOfDrama potential hook]]. Some Covenants are far enough removed from mortal society that magi don't need to worry about their legal identities, but others need to be much more careful. One story hook draws the Domus Magna of House Miscellanea into a legal dispute because the local prince has finally noticed that the landowner is [[WizardsLiveLonger impossibly old]].
459* UnequalRites: The Order of Hermes looks down on mages who don't practice Bonisagus-standard Hermetic magery. There's plenty of odd magic around Mythic Europe, and by and large the Order wants ''nothing to do with it''. The current leadership of House Bonisagus (who are in charge of advancing Hermetic magic) are particularly conservative and distrustful of hedge magic, and their ally Philippus Niger is actively involved in hunting down and murdering German hedge wizards.
460** The Bonisagus Seekers try to avert this, to a point. Their schtick is going out and finding ancient forms of magic or meeting non-Hermetic mages, discovering their abilities, and trying to find ways to integrate useful abilities from them into Hermetic magery. That said, this research is out of a desire to improve Hermetic magic, not foster good relations; it's just sometimes easier to steal someone else's secrets than to invent one's own breakthrough.
461** Even within the Order, some Houses' magic is seen as inferior to others'. Verditius gets a bad rap because they require tools to use their magic, Merinita is distrusted because their magic is linked to TheFairFolk, and having Diedne magic in your legacy is ''still'' grounds for having a Wizard's March called against you. Part of the reason for the Schism War was that House Diedne descended from a Celtic druidess, while nearly all of the other Houses descended from Latin traditions; unsurprisingly, the Germanic Bjornaer have been keeping a low profile ever since.
462** The Order of Suleiman in the Islamic world tries to avert this. To be a member, a sahir has to prove that they can summon a spirit and be willing to help out the Order. That's it; while most sahirs do use Solomonic summoning, the yatus of Persia, the Kurdish Mulhidun infernalists, and other weirder wizards all have places within the Order. They're at war with the Order of Hermes, but that's because Hermetic magi (though not the Order itself) have become involved in the Crusades.
463** House Bjornaer looks down upon those who shapeshift using a different method than theirs, as their heartbeasts represent an aspect of their souls/nature. Few of them ever learn other shapeshifting spells and those who do are treated with disdain by their fellows (mages outside the house "don't know any better"). Innate shapeshifters are regarded with superstitious horror as the Bjornaer basically believe they've stolen other souls to gain their forms, and lycanthropes are pitied. As such, calling one of them a shapeshifter is a mortal insult.
464* UnevenHybrid: There are supernatural Virtues for various forms of non-human ancestry with associated perks, including faerie, giant, or even [[SemiDivine Nephilim]].
465* UnknownItemIdentification: Magic alone can't reveal the exact properties or trigger conditions of an enchanted item; it takes at least a season of laboratory study, using the Arts of ''Intellego Vim'' (i.e., knowledge of magical power).
466* UtilityMagic: It’s a fair sign of an old, powerful covenant (wizard community) that they have a lot of this around the place. Magic is difficult and time-consuming enough that low-end wizards tend to feel they have better things to do with their time; they can always recruit grogs (mortal servants), and flaunting too much magic invites suspicion and persecution from the mundane world. Their elders, though, can toss off spells with relative ease, and may have accumulated quite a few utility items over the years through trade or as exercises in enchantment -- and are generally either too powerful or too out of it to worry about persecution. So their homes tend to be full of weird and trivial wonders.
467* VeryPunchableMan: The Gift automatically causes others to regard mages (or those with the Magical Air Flaw), the same way they'd regard a person reputed for a lifetime of dishonesty and unreliability, with privilege obtained in the most illegitimate manner they can imagine. This jealousy and mistrust makes the ''mage'' a VPM in their eyes. The Blatant Gift Flaw magnifies this effect into thinking the mage is an actively dangerous person and can lead to being physically attacked. The ways around this include being unnoticed (doesn't work for the Blatant Gift), being a NiceGuy every time they see you over the course of several encounters so they recognize their gut reaction is inappropriate and unwarranted and fight it down (lie down and be an ExtremeDoormat, Blatant Gifters), being born with the Gentle Gift (incompatible with Blatant Gift), or the other person being protected by the Parma Magica. Since this includes other mages, the invention of the Parma Magica is what finally allowed mages to actually start and maintain a society among themselves.
468* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Most Hermetic magi can do this with spells, and there are other ways to change shape that those inside and outside of the Order of Hermes can use, but members of House Bjornaer have their own particular style that lets them more truly change into one animal. Unlike other shapeshifting, no form of magic can discern their human shape when in animal form. Also, if some other power changes their shape, they may continually try to change back into their own human or animal shape.
469* VowOfCelibacy: As of the start date of 1220, all Western priests are supposed to be celibate. The rule has been reiterated at three separate Lateran Councils, but is still laughed at in many areas.
470* VoteEarlyVoteOften: In the Rhine Tribunal, ghost voting is legal. When a magus who has given a proxy vote to another magus dies, the magus' death is not recorded and the magus who's got the sigil gets to keep it forever (and may transfer it to another magus), resulting in the Rhine's elders having a massive amount of sway and being essentially above Hermetic law. When the Quaesitors told them to cut it out, the Rhine's elder magi responded by "voting" to declare the practice legal, and followed up by [[AppealToForce threatening Wizard's War against the Quaesitors who prosecuted them]]. The Quaesitors have decided to let the Rhine's elders do what they want, but keep the practice from spreading to other tribunals and wait for a chance to knock the system down in the Rhine.
471[[/folder]]
472
473[[folder:Tropes W--Z]]
474* WeakToMagic: Characters with the ability Magic Sensitivity can [[SupernaturalSensitivity innately detect magical phenomena]], but apply their score as a penalty on magic resistance tests.
475* WellDoneSonGuy: Arguably what makes the Tremere as dangerous as they are; they are ALL {{Well Done Son Guy}}s, out to please no one but their parens (the mage who trained them), who wants to please ''their'' parens, who wants to please ''their'' parens...[[note]]This is also carried over into the Tremere clan of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''. There's no ''official'' link between the World of Darkness and Mythic Europe, but it's fairly obvious where to connect the dots. Ceoris, the center of Clan Tremere's politics, is not a happy place. Of course, Clan Tremere's origin is canonically House Tremere of the Order of Hermes... whom the clan exterminated to the last during the Middle Ages.[[/note]]
476* {{Whatevermancy}}: With the exception of {{Necromancy}}, which has a few definitions, this is generally only used for divination schools, hewing closer to the original meaning of the word.
477* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve
478** 3rd Edition adventure "The Pact of Pasaquine". The night the {{PC}}s arrive at Pasaquine they hear wolf howls in the woods. At midnight there is a sudden silence in the village and the Faerie wolf Hrulgar and thirteen other faerie wolves pad into town to confront the villagers.
479** 4th Edition adventure "The Fallen Angel". The demon Crom Vruach falls to Earth in meteorite form at midnight on the winter solstice. Six months later, at midnight on the summer solstice he hatches out in his new NighInvulnerable iron body and summons two more demons.
480** ''Mythic Perspectives'' fanzine #9 (Autumn 1999)
481*** "Draugadrottin, The Norse Necromancer". A necromancer begins her ritual to raise a dead body as a draug (powerful zombie) at midnight.
482*** "More on Exceptional Abilities". In an example, a woman has Second Sight (the ability to see the supernatural) because she was born at midnight on All Hallows Eve, and thus stands between the worlds of tha living and the dead.
483* WildChild:
484** "Feral Upbringing" is a Flaw you may take at character Creation. It provides a number of wilderness related skills, but among other issues, the character has no native language.
485** House Bjornaer used to frequently recruit those with feral upbringings, but of late they've been trying to improve their image, so it's less likely.
486** Abandoning a child apprentice in the wild for long periods of time so they develop an affinity for animals is an integral part of the training for the Beast Master tradition within House Ex Miscellanea.
487** "Feral Childhood" is an ability package (basically a pre-set allotment of skills) which may be taken during character creation.
488* WitchHunt: The reason the Order of Hermes keeps a low profile. While most people in Mythic Europe don't think too hard about the occasional wise woman who lives in the woods or weird magician in a tower, the idea of open conflict between the Church and the Order is a headache no one wants to deal with.
489** The Church is cognizant of the Order and prefers to leave it alone. It's not so much a secret as it is something that isn't widely bandied about. The Church know that the mages can wipe them out if angered enough, so they ignore them. The Order know that God can wipe ''them'' out if angered, so they leave the Church alone. It's a beautiful balance of power.
490** The Order of Hermes also enforces its own "Join or Die" policy with regards to other magical traditions; though admittedly this is rarely invoked unless the other tradition has somehow learned the secret of the Parma Magica or some similar means of Magic Resistance...
491** Occasionally, some mundane noble or bishop gets the idea to declare a general hunt for wizards. However, this is very much a case of BullyingADragon, and the usual reply from the Order is the death of the noble and his entire army.
492* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity:
493** Some forms of Warping lead to madness.
494** Elementalists gradually become dominated by the [[FourTemperamentEnsemble humours]] aspected to the elements they can use, until they become as uncontrollably insane as elementals themselves.
495** Al-Iksir, the Solomonic youth ritual, can lead to the user going very mad very quickly if misused.
496* WizardDuel: It's considered lower-class and embarrassing to simply hurl curses at a mage you're angry with (unless you're House Flambeau, in which class it's considered standard practice). The socially-accepted way to deal with such issues is to challenge the offending party to certamen, a form of standardized magical combat where the two parties involved attempt to magically knock each other unconscious.
497* WizardsLiveLonger: Thanks to the effects of spells like the Longevity Ritual and virtues like Fairy Blood, it's possible for some mages to top two centuries, although not usually too much beyond that.
498* WizardsWar: The Order of Hermes has formalised the rules of these conflicts, in order to prevent the disastrous consequences that usually come with this trope. Any magus in the Order may declare a Wizard War against another member. The attacker must give a month's notice to their victim, the war lasts precisely a month, and both sides are required to follow certain restrictions designed to minimise collateral damage. Disobeying these rules will get you Marched -- essentially, the whole order will go after you until you're dead.
499* WizardWorkshop: Every mage needs a laboratory for long-term projects. They can be [[RenovatingThePlayerHeadquarters extensively customized]] to the mage's specializations and personal circumstances -- the classic MageTower gives a boost to [[BlowYouAway air magic]], but other magi might include operating rooms, {{astrolog|er}}ical apparatus, teaching theatres, ItemCrafting showrooms, {{Pocket Dimension}}s, or just really good glassware, to say nothing of the concessions a mage might make to a sub-optimal location.
500* WordsCanBreakMyBones: Rune Magic involves writing spells in the Futhark. Each rune embodies a concept, which can either define the target or the effect, and a spell is created by using a rune for either an effect, an effect with a target, or in a particular use, a target without an effect.
501* WouldHurtAChild:
502** House Bjornaer's ancestral foes were/[[GenocideBackfire are?]] a group of baby-sacrificing, shapeshifting, gothic witches.
503** Because of this, people with innate shapeshifting abilities horrify members of Bjornaer, and in the rare occasions shapeshifting children are taken on as apprentices, they tend to meet "unfortunate accidents" and are never seen again. Which is totally different from their old enemies, of course.
504* WrongContextMagic: In ''Ars Magica'', all rules apply at all times, except the times that they don't. Even within Hermetic magic, the Limits of Magic and the verb/object rules only apply until someone comes up with a breakthrough or a Mystery that changes how the rules work. Outside of Hermetic magic, nearly anything goes.
505* AYearAndADay:
506** House [[TheFairFolk Merinita]] magi have access to "a year+1" as a spell duration. This has the same difficulty as the standard "year" duration everyone can use, but lasts for exactly a year and a day as opposed to ending on the fourth equinox/solstice after its casting like a "year" spell does.
507** Supplement ''Tales of the Dark Ages'', adventure "The Inheritance". A PlayerCharacter receives an inheritance of land and a title as a knight. The character has a year and a day to claim their inheritance. If they don't, it will go to the Catholic Church.
508* YearOutsideHourInside: A regular danger when dealing with the Fae. Tytalus was last seen entering a faerie wood to challenge them; one of the plot hooks in ''Houses of Hermes'' is him emerging from the wood, claiming he's had a very enjoyable four days, only to be shocked when he's told ''centuries'' have passed, while the rest of the Order is shocked to have a living Founder among them again.
509* YourDaysAreNumbered: If a magus has a {{Familiar}}, and the familiar dies of old age, this indicates that the magus's own life is almost at its end.
510[[/folder]]

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