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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 1865805" data-attributes="member: 907">While the system is classless, the designers realized that creating characters in a vacuum can be a bit boring. Therefore, they included various "houses" a magus can belong to, a way of tracking training lineage back to one of the founders of the Order of Hermes (of course, not all magi are directly "descended" from one of the originals, most just follow similar traditions). For the most part, the houses don't have any fixed benefits or disadvantages, they're just tips on things members of those houses tend to focus on (there are two exceptions I can think of: House Bjornaer are shape-shifters, and another house (Vydalis?) are great at making magic items but can't cast spells without various trinkets - both are reflected by mandatory virtues/flaws).As for the magic system itself, it is handled via fifteen different arts: five techniques ("verbs": Creo/create, Perdo/destroy, Rego/control, Muto/change, Intellego/perceive) and ten forms ("nouns": Ignem/fire, Auram/air, Terram/earth, Aquam/water, Animal/animal, Herbam/plant, Corpus/body, Mentem/mind, Imago/image, Vim/magic). The cost of improving an art increases at higher levels, so a starting magus could either have one at something really high like 15 or two at 10-ish and a single point in some of the others, or he could spread his points around and get like 5 in all of them. When casting a spell, you usually use a combination of one technique and one form. For example, turning yourself invisible uses Perdo Imago (destroy image). In some cases, more than one of either technique or form (or both) is involved (such as turning someone to a pig requiring Muto Corpus and Animal). In these cases, you use the lowest technique combined with the lowest form.The magic system has four kinds of magic use. The basic spellcasting is Formulaic magic. These are spells you've studied and learned beforehand (or researched). In order to cast one, roll 1d10+Technique+Form+Stamina. If you beat or equal the spell's level, it goes off without a hitch. If you miss by 10 or less, the spell also goes off, but you're fatigued by the effort (which is why Stamina, not Intelligence, is involved). If you miss by more than 10, you are fatigued but don't get your spell - this should be rather rare, though, because you usually don't learn spells that are too difficult for you.The second type of spellcasting is spontaneous magic. This is usually only used for minor tricks, because it's pretty difficult. First you decide whether to exert yourself or not. Then you roll as above (except with Intelligence instead of Stamina), and divide the final result in either 2 or 5, depending on if you exert yourself or not. If you beat the spell's level, you succeed. Note the double difficulty increase: division by 2 or 5, and no 10-point buffer.The third type is the ritual, which takes a couple of hours to use. Rituals can be used to exceed normal formulaic's limits on range or duration, but require vis (see below).The fourth, and final, type of magic is the lab work. This is done on a seasonal basis, and includes studying, research, making magic items, and a lot of other things. Most lab work also requires vis.Vis is basically solidified magic, linked to one of the fifteen arts. There are places where you can harvest small amounts of vis (e.g. a magic spring that lets you harvest three units of Aquam vis per season), plus that you can get vis from many magical creatures (the heart of a dragon has a LOT of vis). Depending on edition, you can also produce vis in your laboratory. Vis is pretty rare, but not obscenely so. It is often used as currency in wizardly interactions. Vis can also be used in spontaneous or formulaic casting for a bonus to the roll, and certain formulaic spells let you use vis to extend the duration or range. Notably, you need vis in order to create something permanent with magic. This includes permanent healing (otherwise, the wounds reopen at sunset/sunrise).</blockquote>

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