|
Mystic Halls Campaign
Library |
|
|
Mystic Halls Campaign
Library |
|
|
Purpose
This document provides information about the libraries at the Covenant of the Mystic Halls. Information about the libraries includes descriptions of the libraries, usage information, the covenant's rules for dealing with the libraries, plus local game rules related to the libraries and books.
Also described are the texts within the libraries. The texts include books, scrolls, spells, and potions. Any spells and potions not listed in the standard game reference book are described herein.
Rules Reference
The game rules used as the basis for this write up are the Ars Magica (3rd Edition) rules and The Wizard's Grimoire (1st Edition).
Libraries
The Covenant of the Mystic Halls has separated its written materials into two libraries. Each library contains both arcane and mundane texts. The libraries are known as the Common Library and the Private Library.
The Common Library
The Common Library is open for use by all member magi, apprentices, and some consors. Other covenant folk and visitors may also use this library with the permission of the primus or an appointed representative of the primus. The Common Library is usually referred to as simply "The Library" in the presence of anyone who does not have knowledge of the Private Library.
The Common Library contains slightly less than two hundred individual books, scrolls, folios, and other texts. No complete compilation of the texts included has ever been made.
The Private Library
The Private Library, sometimes called the Mystical Library, is open only to member magi. Special visitors may be allowed to use materials from this library with the permission of the council, but they will never be allowed into the actual library room, or to have knowledge of its location. The existence and location of the Private Library are not discussed with outsiders.
The Private Library contains the listed texts. The Private Library also contains all of the covenant's spell and potion texts.
Covenant Rules
Knowledge of the Libraries
The existence and location of the Common Library is common knowledge. Persons from outside of the covenant may know about and use this library.
The existence of the Private Library will be revealed to only a few notable and very special friends of the covenant. The council or primus may determine who shall be allowed this knowledge. The location of the Private Library is a secret retained by the members of the covenant and those servants of the covenant who maintain the library. It is not normally revealed to outsiders.
Library Access
Covenant members have first call on all books in the libraries, unless the order is modified by the covenant's council. Each magus may select one text from the libraries in order of seniority within the covenant (i.e., the magus with the most time as a member has the first selection). No justification is required for this text; the magus may request the text even if he has no use for it.
Non-covenant members may search for texts from the library after the searches by covenant members are completed. Any conflicts in the requests will be resolved by the primus or a person designated by the primus to handle this situation. Covenant members may search for additional texts after the first request of all covenant and non-covenant members have been filled.
Two Season Limit
No person shall be allowed to retain a text for more than two consecutive seasons if a member shall desire the use of the text as their seasonal text. No non-member shall retain a text for more than two consecutive seasons if anyone else shall desire the use of the text.
Copying Texts
The copying of texts from the libraries is not permitted without the expressed permission of the covenant council. Persons caught copying texts will be punished by the council. The minimum punishment for non-members shall be the permanent loss of access to all Mystic Halls resources, immediate expulsion from the covenant, and the forfeiture of any texts. The minimum punishment for members shall be the loss of library privileges for not less than three years and the forfeiture of all copied texts.
Special Campaign Rules
Scribe (Language) Texts
Texts listed as "Scribe (language)" describe how to improve a character's writing and use of a written language. To use such a text, the reader must already have at least a Speak (language) level 1 and a Scribe (language) level 1 in the subject language to gain a benefit from the text. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scribe (language) texts are written in the subject language. The maximum number of Experience Points which may be gained from such a text is equal to the level of the text or the user's current Scribe (language) ability, whichever is less.
Damaging Texts
Each season during which a text (including a spell or potion text) is used, it may be damaged. At the end of the season, roll a Dexterity + Stress die. On a botch or a result of less than zero, the text has been damaged. Confidence may not be used with this roll. When rolling botches, the number of botch dice will be determined by the form of the text and how the text is being used.
Requesting New Texts
The subjects of many of the texts in the Common Library have never been defined in campaign play. Therefore, it is possible that a text is present in the library but is not on the following lists. The presence of a particular subject will be determined by the Campaign Master. Players may propose new subjects for inclusion. A subject may only be proposed once. Failed subjects will be listed in the Subjects Not Present section, below.
Players may ask for a determination of whether or not a subject is present in the library. The subject must be consistent with the Ars Magica (3rd Edition) rules and must be notably different from the existing subjects. The Campaign Master will either allow a subject to exist or set an Ease Factor for a stress roll to determine whether or not the subject exists. If a subject exists, the Campaign Master will then determine the number of texts and set the level or set the conditions for a die roll to determine the level of each text. As necessary, the Campaign Master will decide what type the text is (book, scroll, etc.).
Locating Texts
Like all medieval libraries, the libraries at the Covenant of the Mystic Halls are (by modern standards) unorganized and have no indexes or other methods for finding a specific text. Therefore it is possible that a desired text might be present in the library yet not be found. It is also possible that someone else has the text and so it is not available in the library.
A person may search for any one text only once per season and may search for only one text at a time. The searcher may be assisted in the search by any person with a Speak and Scribe skill of in the language in which the sought text is written.
Each day a person searches in a Library, he may make a Library Search Roll. The roll is a Stress die + Search skill. If the roll is successful, the individual will either find the desired text or determine that it is not currently present in the Library.
A botch on a Library Search Roll (one Botch die) causes the searcher to waste the current and next day looking for the text. After that, the searcher gives up the search and may not search for another text in the current season. If this is the primary searcher, all assistants also give up the search after wasting the extra day. Confidence may not be used on a Library Search Roll.
| Type of Search | Ease Factor |
|---|---|
| Basic search | 7+ |
| Searching for damaged texts | 6+ |
| Modifying Condition | Modifier |
| Apprentice performing search | +1 |
| Other non-magus performing search | +2 |
| Used target book within last year | -1 |
| Speak and Scribe of 5 or better in target language | -1 |
| Speak or Scribe of 2 or less in target language (may apply twice) | +1 |
| Seeking a text by Gregor of House Bonisagus | -2 |
| First three times searching a Library | +1 |
| Senior member of the Covenant | -1 |
If two or more persons seek the same text, the one to find it first gets it. Other searchers are not informed of this result.
If two or more persons seek the same text and find it on the same day of searching, the following shall determining which individual actually gets the text. If someone is assisting another in a search, the status of the primary searcher will be used to determine who get the text. Example: An apprentice who is helping her master in a search finds the desired text on the same day as a visiting magus. Since her master is a covenant member, the apprentice gets the text.
If the above list does not resolve the conflict, each searcher rolls a Intelligence + Quickness Quality die, with the higher result getting the text. Repeat the roll until there is a winner.
Handling Magically Protected Texts
Any person using a text which has a magical protection on it, must make a Stress Roll based on Int against an Ease Factor of 6+ (Confidence may not be used with this roll). If the roll is successful, the individual remembers the action which must be performed. Once the required action is remembered, the user may elect not to use the book, but the time which would have been spent using the book is wasted. If the roll is not successful, the individual does not remember the action and attempts to open the book without taking the required action. It may be assumed that the user will remember the proper action after whatever consequences have occurred. If a text is used for consecutive seasons, no roll is required at the start of the following season.
If a text is obtained from a Library for use by another person, then the person obtaining the text must make the memory roll first. If the person using the text has reason to be aware of the magical protection (ex. they used the book before), then the user may also make a memory roll.
The Librarians
One or more of the covenant's magi will be appointed as a Librarian by the Primus. These individuals are responsible for maintaining the general order of the libraries, insuring that damaged texts are repaired, monitoring library usage, and performing any other tasks necessary to keep the libraries and the texts in good condition.
A qualified covenant servant is assigned to assist in the mundane chores of cleaning, minor mending, and other such tasks in the libraries. The Librarians are, however, expected to spend sufficient time in the Libraries to insure that they remain in good condition.
In campaign terms, the Librarians must, between themselves, devote a minimum of twenty-four days per calendar year to general work in the Libraries. Days may be allocated at any point during the year (only the total per year matters). This time represents the minimum needed to keep things working normally. If this time is not spent each year, problems (Campaign Master's discretion) will occur in the Libraries.
Additional time is required for a Librarian to locate texts which have been damaged or have other problems. Use the procedure for Locating Texts to find damaged texts. A Librarian may make multiple searches per season looking for damaged texts or problems. Each search requires one day of time to complete.
Campaign Master's Notes
Changes and Corrections
A comparison of the current library contents to the previously distributed materials will reveal numerous differences. The changes were made to update the material based on the many years of actual play, to correct numerous technical errors and inconsistencies, to correct spelling, grammar, and typographical errors, and to document some things which were never previously formalized.
Library Changes
In accordance with the Covenant Council's decision, the various libraries (Arcane, Mundane, Mystical, and Secret) were consolidated into two libraries.
In the libraries, a number of texts were deleted outright. The following items were removed; all texts titled "Speak (language)", the "Scribe (language)" texts for less common languages (Gaelic, Welsh, etc.), all "(language) Alphabet" texts, most of the maps, and the books it would have been impossible for the covenant to possess (ex. Sun Tzu's The Art of War). The reference to the Schism War section in the Hermetic History text was also deleted, because it has not been detailed or used.
The Scrolls of Immortality were eliminated. No information about these scrolls was ever recorded or distributed and the only known use was by Basil Fieryhand to create "Basil's Potion of Longevity". Therefore, it is now ruled that the scrolls were destroyed in the attack on the covenant in the Spring of 1232 AD.
Spell Changes
Overall, the spell list is unchanged. Some of the spells created at the covenant (notably the Ignem and Terram spells) have been modified to bring their effects and levels into line with the spells published in the rules. As no current magi have learned these spells, the changes should not directly affect any character.
Two spells (Basil's Improved Ball of Fantastic Flame and Red Steel) were added to the spell list. These spells had been included in previous spell descriptions but were never actually written down (in play) by their creator. In order to retain the spells, they were arbitrarily added to the list as if they had been written.
Types of Texts
Five types of texts are defined. All texts in the libraries are one of these types.
Sheet
One or two individual sheets of paper. Individual sheets are easily damaged and lost.
Bundle
A bundle of paper with no protection or organization. A bundle is easily damaged and sheets may be readily lost.
Folio
A collection of papers and/or gatherings somewhat like a book, but lacking the binding and attached protective covers of a book. A folio is assumed to be kept between two boards or pieces of leather. Pages may be lost from a folio much easier than from a book.
Book
A collection of gatherings bound together with protective covers. Although not as solidly well bound as most modern books, books offer the greatest protection for the information contained within them.
Scroll
One or more sheets of paper rolled around a wooden spindle. A protective bag made of leather or cloth is normally included with a scroll. A scroll is relatively small compared to a book, and cannot hold as much information.
Listing Information
Duplicate Texts
The covenant has more than one copy of a few texts. Any such texts are listed once for each copy of the text.
Types of Texts
Unless otherwise indicated, all library texts (excluding spells and potions) are bound books. The following notes will be included in the Notes column if a text is not a book.
| b = Bundle | h = Sheet | |
| f = Folio | s = Scroll |
Languages
Unless otherwise indicated, all texts are written in Latin. The following codes will be included in the Notes column if a text is not written in Latin.
| E = English | G = Greek | |
| F = French | R = Rus |
Ars Magica (4th Ed.) Information
The Ars Magica (4th Edition) attributes of Quality and Type values have been added for each text in the list. This has been done for completeness only. Ars Magica (3rd Edition) rules will continue to apply until it is stated otherwise.
The spells and spell related information are listed as per the Ars Magica (3rd Edition) rules and The Wizard's Grimoire (1st edition).
Knowledge Level Limits
The rules include the possibility of increasing the level of a text by improving its physical presentation (see The Wizard's Grimoire, page 161). Unless otherwise noted with a text, the indicated level of the text is its maximum level in the campaign. The level cannot be improved by copying or other changes to the text.
|
|
Updated: 20 June 1999 |
To the Rules Modifications page.