This page contains miscellaneous rules, rules clarifications, and general notes which have come up over time, and which have not yet become important enough to cause a major update to the Rules Modifications, Clarifications, And Additions. This page will also be used as a note pad for problems which need to be solved. These comments are generally specific to the game system rules, not campaign play.

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Contents

Humans as Familiars

Effects of Not Having an Ability

Vis in Potions

Magic Food

Magically Dropping Things

Use of Hits Points Verses Body Levels

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Humans as Familiars

A human cannot be bound as a familiar.

Effects of Not Having an Ability

The attention of all Game Masters is drawn to page 91 of the Ars Magica (3rd Edition) rules. This describes what happens when someone does not have an ability and wants to make a test against that ability. People are generally being allowed to make attempts at -3. This is not correct. Please check the rule.

Vis in Potions

The second paragraph on page 250 (starts "Though it is not required, ...") contains a confusing statement (well actually there are two confusing statements, but only the first is important here). In the second sentence it states "...you must put Art-specific vis into each potion ...". Strictly interpreted, this means that regardless of how many doses of the potion are made, only one application of vis, at one pawn per five levels of the spell, is required. This means that potions are a very cheap method for giving spells longer durations.
        One interpretation of this rule is that the word "potion" should have been "dose". This would be consistent with the other rules for casting spells. The problem with this interpretation is that it causes potions to be generally undesirable. It takes the same amount of vis as a spell, and once in the potion, the vis may only be used with that individual potion, instead of being available for use in any spell. Since potions were a common form of magic in Medieval times, this interpretation is not satisfactory.
        Another interpretation holds that the rule is correct as written. This means that potions are excellent methods for casting spells, since someone with a high laboratory total could brew many doses of a potion and have to use only one application of vis to give all of the doses their extended Duration. This is not particularly desirable, since it would mean many magi might become potion wizards, instead of using regular magic for their needs. This is clearly not the intent of the game system.
        A more reasonable way to handle this situation, which will let potions be desirable, but not over powering, is to apply the rule as written, but require the application one extra pawn of Art-specific vis for every dose of the potion beyond the first dose in a batch. All of a batch of a potion must be created in the same manner (i.e., part of the batch cannot have vis in it, and part not).
        Example: A magus is going to brew a potion of The Chirurgeon's Healing Touch (Creo Corporem 20). The magus has scores of Creo 10, Corporem 10, Intelligence 3, Magic Theory 5, and is using his laboratory which is in a +5 magic aura. He has a Laboratory Total of 33. He may brew a batch of the potion which has 3 doses. To give this potion the Instant Duration of the spell would require 6 pawns of Creo and/or Corporem vis (4 for the level of the spell, and 1 each for each additional dose).

Magic Food

Food created magically, without the use of vis to make it Instant or Permanent, acts like normal food when eaten or otherwise sensed. It is satisfying. However, it provides no nourishment.

Magically Dropping Things

An often discussed tactic is to magically create something over someone's head and let it fall on them. Since it is somewhat hard to accurately estimate whether or not one object is over another, the Ease Factor for targeting such a spell should be increased depending on the distance the target is from the caster and the size of the object dropped. For distance from the caster, use the modifiers for archery. For the size of the object dropped, increase the Ease Factor by about +2 for large items (boulders) or +4 or +5 for smaller objects (rocks). Also remember that it is very, very much harder to hit such a target if the target is moving. Obviously, none of this applies if the person making the object to be dropped is somehow standing directly above the target, and the target is not moving.

Use of Hits Points Verses Body Levels

The Body Level loss rules have a significant problem. A single point of damage is sufficient to cause the loss of a full body level. In effect this means that a person can be "scratched to death" by taking a series of one point hits. This is unreasonable and unacceptable.

Instead of the Body Level system of accounting for damage, Hit Points will be used. Damage to a person will be totaled as points, not Body Levels. For every five full Hit Points accumulated, one Body Level will be lost. Any damage which requires the loss of a Body Level will be treated as five Hit Points received. Any healing which results in the gain of a Body Level will be treated as five Hit Points removed.