TEXT: www.subrosamagazine.org 
  @subrosamagazine 
  Issue 16, March 2015 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  2 
  Authors: Christian Rosenkjaer Andersen, Mark Lawford, Richard Love, Christian Jen-
  sen Romer  
  Cover Artist: Christian St. Pierre  
  Stock Number: AG0311 | ISBN: 1-58978-154-6 | MSRP: $32.95 US  
  Format: 160 pages, hardcover  
  Release Date: March 2015  
  Authors: Timothy Ferguson, Lachlan Hayes, Ben McFarland, Mark Shirley  
  Cover Artist: Christian St. Pierre  
  Stock Number: AG0310 | ISBN: 1-58978-153-8 | MSRP: $29.95 US  
  Format: 144 pages, hardcover  
  Release Date: December 2014  
  Faith & Flame: The Provençal Tribunal 
  Authors: Erik Dahl, Mark Faulkner, Lachie Hayes, Ben McFarland, Christian Jensen 
  Romer  
  Cover Artist: Christian St. Pierre  
  Stock Number: AG0308 | ISBN: 1-58978-149-X | MSRP: $29.95 US  
  Format: 144 pages, hardcover  
  Release Date: June 2014  
  Mythic Locations 
  Authors: Christian Rosenkjaer Andersen, Timothy Ferguson, Richard Love, John Post, 
  Matt Ryan, Mark Shirley  
  Cover Artist: Christian St. Pierre  
  Stock Number: AG0309 | ISBN: 1-58978-150-3 | MSRP: $29.95 US  
  Format: 144 pages, hardcover  
  Release Date: September 2014 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  3 
  Contributors 
  Publisher: Distant Lands Publishing 
  Contributors: Shane Appel, Mark Baker, David Chart, 
  Berengar Drexel, Timothy Ferguson, Vincent Garcia-
  Gomez, Bob Karcher, Pelle Kofod, Ben McFarland, Mark 
  Lawford, Mark Shirley, Tobias Wheeler 
  Cover Art: Angela Taylor 
  Interior Artists: Patrick Demo, Jeff Menges, Elizabeth 
  Porter, Matt Ryan, Angela Taylor, Jason Tseng, Tobias 
  Wheeler 
  Art Coordinator: Ben McFarland 
  Editors: Ben McFarland, Mark Lawford 
  Design/Layout: Mark Lawford 
   
  Contact Sub Rosa 
  Email: subrosa@distantlandspublishing.com 
  Web: http://www.subrosamagazine.org 
  Twitter: @subrosamagazine 
   
  Legal Disclaimer 
  Sub Rosa is an independent publication not affiliated with Atlas 
  Games or White Wolf Gaming Studios. Distant Lands Publishing 
  is not affiliated with Atlas Games or White Wolf. 
  Ars Magica is © Trident Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games. Ars Magica, 
  Mythic Europe, Covenants and Charting new Realms of the 
  Imagination are trademarks of Trident Inc.  
  Order of Hermes, Tremere and Doissetep are trademarks of 
  White Wolf Gaming Studios. Ars Magica was created by 
  Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein•Hagen. 
   
  The intellectual content of Sub Rosa is © and held by the 
  authors. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any issue of Sub 
  Rosa for commercial use by any means without written 
  permission from the Publisher, except short excerpts for the 
  purpose of reviews, is expressly prohibited. 
   
  References to any Trademarks, Registered Trademarks or 
  Copyrights held by any company or individual in Sub Rosa is for 
  promotional and recreational use. Use of these terms should not 
  be construed a challenge to their ownership. 
  Issue 16 
  March 2015 
  Contents 
  Under the Rose  .......................................................................... Page 4 
  From the Line Editor ............................................................... Page 5 
  By David Chart 
  Britannia, 550 AD ........................................................................ Page 6 
  By Tobias Wheeler 
  The Glamorous Swamp ............................................................... Page 32 
  By Pelle Kofod 
  865 AD Voventes Centennales ................................................. Page 36 
  By Berengar Drexel 
  The Journal of Vulcanis Argens ............................................ Page 66 
  1050 AD: The Order Shaken..................................................... Page 70 
  By Shane Appel 
  1050 AD: Rest Assured, an Adventure for Mandati  ........ Page 75 
  By Shane Appel 
  1050 AD: Strange Alliances ...................................................... Page 82 
  By Berengar Drexel 
  Mythic Weapons .......................................................................... Page 94 
  By Vincent Garcia-Gomez 
  The Third Lineage: The Cursed Line .................................. Page 99 
  By Mark Baker 
  1470 Ad: After the Plague ........................................................ Page 106 
  By Mark Shirley 
  Six Strangers Gather ‘Round A Table ................................. Page 120 
  By Bob Karcher 
  The Intangible Enchanter ...................................................... Page 124 
  By Pelle Kofod 
  Mappa Mundi ................................................................................. Page 127 
  Contribute to Sub Rosa 
  Sub Rosa is made up of fan driven content. Contributors 
  receive a complementary copy of the issue their work appears 
  in. 
  To contribute articles or illustrations, visit the Sub Rosa 
  website (www.subrosamagazine.org) and follow the guidelines. 
  Subscription 
  Individual Single Issue: 
  US$4.50 
  Individual Subscription – 4 issues: US$16.00 
  Troupe Single Issue: 
  US$13.00 
  Troupe Subscription – 4 issues: 
  US$35.00 
  It’s taken a while, but once again, thanks to everyone who made this issue possible and also to our fantastic subscribers for being so patient. Special mentions to Matt Ryan and Timothy Ferguson for all their help. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  4 
  Th e req uest for mater ial 
  supporting ages and settings other 
  than the default 1220 Mythic 
  Europe is something that regularly 
  appears in the Ars Magica fan 
  community. 
  It is a testament to the breadth 
  and depth to which Mythic Europe 
  has been covered across five 
  editions of the game that we are all 
  intimately familiar with the setting. 
  While that familiarity engenders 
  confidence it can sometimes mean 
  that one saga may feel very similar 
  to the next; character names, the 
  covenants, the rulers of the local 
  towns all change, but the society 
  remains the same and, crucially, the 
  Order of Hermes stays much the 
  same. 
  Of course, we now have the 
  marvelous Between Sand and Sea and 
  a whole book covering Egypt and 
  beyond still to come. Those 
  certainly expand the scope of the 
  game further than has been done to 
  date. 
  And the Tribunal books have 
  g o n e  t o  g r e a t  l e n g t h s  t o 
  differentiate different regions of 
  Mythic Europe. Each provides a 
  different play style, such that a saga 
  set in Hibernia is now a very 
  different thing to a saga set in 
  Transylvania. But the thirteenth 
  century remains a constant so 
  despite these Tribunal differences  
  and despite the greater medieval 
  world now being supported by the 
  line, there is still a desire to see 
  something that steps away from 
  1220. 
  So with this issue, Sub Rosa 
  gives itself over to different times 
  and places. We are immensely 
  grateful to a host of contributors 
  this issue for giving us their view of 
  Mythic Europe across the ages, 
  allowing us to span the period from 
  about 550AD through to 1470AD 
  and beyond. 
  Tobias Wheeler has built a dark-
  age vision of magic out of the 
  familiar Hermetic mechanics for his 
  Britannia-based saga starting in the 
  year 550AD, long before the 
  founding of the Order of Hermes. 
  Berengar Drexel is playing 
  double duty  in this issue as he 
  takes us to the year 865 in a 
  campaign where your young magi 
  form the future of the Order, and 
  he also forms part of the team that 
  moves us forward to 1050. That 
  team also includes Shane Appel and 
  Timothy Ferguson. The material 
  covering 1050 also includes two 
  scenarios, which provides a great 
  opportunity to pick up and play in 
  the Order’s history as a change to 
  your usual saga.  
  Mark Shirley takes things into 
  the future, as far as the regular start 
  date is concerned, by taking us to 
  the years following the Great 
  Mortality. We find an Order 
  transformed and more integrated 
  with the world than perhaps it had 
  e v e r  b e e n  b e f o r e .  N e w 
  breakthroughs open to the Order 
  are counterbalanced by new threats 
  from unexpected sources. 
  That’s the end of our notional 
  time traveling proper, but Bob 
  Karcher, well-known on the Gen-
  Convention circuit, talks to us 
  about running Ars Magica at 
  conventions and he’s not talking 
  about any old Ars Magica. He tells 
  us of his side-steps into running the 
  game set firstly in 17th Century 
  Paris followed by 18th Century 
  New York. 
  But if the exploration of other 
  times and places is not your cup of 
  tea, we have even more content for 
  you. If you want a dark swamp with 
  a malicious faerie queen, we have 
  just the thing, courtesy of Pelle 
  Kofod. And if you’re looking for 
  mystical, magical weapons, then 
  look no further than Vincent 
  Garcia-Gomez’ article.  
  Mark Baker brings a close to his 
  trilogy of articles as we explore 
  a n o t h e r  B o n i s a g u s  l i n e a g e , 
  complete with more cursed, 
  unstable, and dangerous magi than 
  you might have suspected House 
  Bonisagus could contain. 
  Finally, events take a darker turn 
  in the Journal of Vulcanis Argens 
  as the troubled Verditius sells his 
  soul to the devil. 
  This issue has been an age in 
  development. That’s partly down to 
  the depth of the work done by the 
  contributors, partly down to the 
  sheer size of this issue, and partly 
  down to ever-greater demands on 
  the time available to the editorial 
  team. The final result, though, we 
  hope you’ll agree, is a great 
  resource for those looking to 
  stretch the boundaries of our great 
  game. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  5 
  Ars Magica is set in a world that looks 
  very much like medieval Europe (and now, 
  with the release of Between Sand and Sea, 
  North Africa as well). One defining feature of 
  that world was the dominance of the 
  Abrahamic religions, particularly Christianity 
  and Islam, and that means that we must 
  portray those religions in the game. 
  Obviously, the religions portrayed in the 
  game are not the historical religions, because 
  they exist in an entirely fictional world, much 
  less the contemporary religions, which are 
  significantly different from how they were in 
  historical 1220. Nevertheless, people, 
  understandably, see the religions in the game 
  as reflections of the religions in real life. As 
  the dreadful events at Charlie Hebdo showed, 
  there are people who are willing to kill over 
  the way they perceive their religion as being 
  portrayed. 
  Fortunately, no-one has been killed over 
  the portrayal of religion in Ars Magica. I 
  have been accused of being an anti-Catholic 
  bigot, but that is as far as it has gone. 
  Nevertheless, it is something we have to think 
  about carefully, and our approach to this issue 
  has evolved over time. In early editions, the 
  Divine aura was really for Christian churches, 
  and we had to think about how to handle 
  Judaism and Islam. We chose to bring them 
  under the mantle of the Divine, even though 
  there was probably no-one in historical 
  Europe who thought that all three religions 
  were valid approaches to the same truth. It 
  was, we thought, the best way to be 
  respectful, and we attempt to combine it with 
  the most accurate research we can manage. 
  Even this approach presents difficult 
  issues. The immediate issue that prompted 
  someone to call me an anti-Catholic bigot was 
  my presentation of an aspect of theology, 
  which, I was told, was obviously from a 
  Protestant polemicist. In fact, it was taken 
  directly from St Thomas Aquinas. The 
  historical beliefs of these three religions do 
  not always sit well with their contemporary 
  adherents, and so we try to avoid putting too 
  much emphasis on those aspects. Even so, 
  Mythic Europe is supposed to be "Europe as 
  medieval people believed it to be, plus the 
  Order of Hermes", so we have to make 
  judgement calls. When is it best to maintain 
  historicism, and when is it best to jettison 
  accuracy to avoid giving offence? The blood 
  libel, the claim that the Jews used the blood of 
  Christian children in their rituals, is not true in 
  Mythic Europe despite being widely believed 
  in historical Europe. That, however, is an easy 
  case, and even the Abrahamic religions 
  present us with tough decisions. 
  The position of pagan religions is even 
  more difficult. There are two reasons why 
  there is no Ars Magica supplement for 
  Mythic India. One is that India is just too big. 
  The other is that we would have to address 
  the position of Hinduism. Hinduism is a 
  living religion, but it does not fit into the 
  metaphysics of the game. Making it Divine 
  changes the nature of the Divine, but making 
  it Faerie is an explicit declaration that, in the 
  game, European beliefs have priority over 
  Indian ones. Here, we simply decided not 
  write about India, or sub-Saharan Africa. 
  Individual gaming groups can make their 
  own decisions. 
  This leaves the problem of the pagan 
  religions of Europe. Historically, they did not 
  exist in 1220, outside a small area near the 
  Baltic, but the names of the deities were still 
  part of the culture, and are something that 
  people would expect to see in the setting. In 
  1220, people believed that the deities were 
  either long-dead human beings, demons, or 
  pure fiction. The game could take that 
  approach, but it makes interaction with pagan 
  deities difficult; it is impossible to play out 
  versions of the myths. The same is true if the 
  pagan deities are Divine, because the divine is 
  defined as transcendent. Thus, we made them 
  Magic or Faerie, like most player characters. 
  This preserves the view that medieval people 
  took of their world without erasing pagan 
  deities or making them irredeemably evil. 
  In the end, Ars Magica is a game, and all 
  the religions in it are fictional. We are trying to 
  create a game that reflects a particular artistic 
  vision, while avoiding giving unnecessary 
  offence. When we fail, we can do nothing but 
  try harder. 
  By David Chart 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  6 
  The Western Roman Empire is 
  gone. In its place, migrant hordes now 
  rule – the Franks in Gaul, the Visigoths 
  in Spain, the Vandals in Carthage, and 
  the Ostrogoths battle invading Eastern 
  Romans in Italy. In Britannia, at the 
  northwestern fringe of the former 
  Roman Empire, Saxons, Angles and 
  Jutes have been settling in for over a 
  century. First as foederati hired to 
  protect the Roman diocese there from 
  invading Picts, Scots and other Saxons, 
  and subsequently as permanent 
  inhabitants who were intent on wresting 
  land from the natives. These natives, 
  mostly Romanized Celts abandoned by 
  the Empire, adhere strongly to both 
  Roman ways and to ancient tribal 
  loyalties, and present a disunited front 
  to the invaders. But occasionally, they 
  rally to the standard of a single leader, a 
  High King, and halt or even reverse the 
  loss of their homelands. In this setting 
  of continuous strife, flux, and change, 
  magi find countless opportunities to use 
  their Gift to impact their surroundings 
  and the unfolding of history. Whether 
  they use it for the greater good, to free a 
  slave or save a kingdom – for their own 
  benefit, to secure a resource or rise to 
  power – or solely for the purpose of 
  destruction, it is their choice. There is 
  no Hermetic Code, no Oath, and no 
  Order to constrain their actions. Only 
  their conscience or those who are more 
  powerful can influence them. However, 
  along with this freedom, magi are faced 
  with grave threats. In addition to the 
  upheaval of mundane society, the 
  barbarian invasions bring formerly 
  separate groups of Gifted into contact. 
  With no Parma Magica to smooth 
  interactions, conflict is the likeliest 
  outcome, forcing both invaders and 
  invaded alike to strive for their lives and 
  to fight for their futures. This 
  contribution to Sub Rosa will provide 
  the background and setting material on 
  which to base a saga that is set in 
  Britannia, that focuses on magi of either 
  By Tobias Wheeler 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  7 
  or both the Briton and Anglo-Saxon 
  cultures, and that begins in 550 AD. 
  MAGICAL 
  SOCIETY IN 
  BRITANNIA 
  As the Romans expanded their 
  empire, they reformed the civilizations 
  they encountered by installing Roman 
  political, economic, and military 
  elements in place of those of the 
  natives. They built roads, aqueducts, 
  amphitheaters, baths, villas, cities and 
  fortifications – iconic features of the 
  Roman way of life. Despite these 
  reforms, one class of the conquered 
  people resolutely refused to be tamed: 
  the Gifted, who used their powers to 
  lash back against their would-be 
  governors. In response, the Romans 
  applied a more brutal policy to foreign 
  magical traditions: backed by Roman 
  legions, the Mercurians and other 
  Roman cultists hunted them down. In 
  Gaul and Britain, this policy resulted in 
  the extirpation of the druids and their 
  religious sites, notably the Isle of Mon 
  in 60 AD. 
  As a result of this universal 
  persecution, the population of Gifted in 
  Europe fell drastically. Those who could 
  flee made their way to the periphery of 
  the Empire, where they were out of the 
  reach of the Romans. Of those who 
  escaped, many went north and west. 
  They found scant welcome in the new 
  lands they entered, for these lands were 
  already populated by those with the 
  Gift. After an initial period of struggle, 
  the distribution of Gifted beyond the 
  borders of the Empire equilibrated, with 
  each individual or related group 
  inhabiting comfortably-sized territories. 
  Isolation from one another suited the 
  Gifted well, for they preferred little or 
  no interaction with fellow practitioners 
  of the Magical Arts. 
  Each new generation disrupted this 
  distribution, causing slight shifts in the 
  borders between territories. But overall, 
  the disruptions were typically brief and 
  inconsequential. The Romans easily 
  repulsed the occasional foray onto their 
  soil, and the Limes of the Empire held 
  firm. In their fragmented, secluded little 
  regions, the non-Roman Gifted lived in 
  relative peace for over 300 years, 
  tending to their own matters of import 
  and interest while ignoring all else. 
  And then the barbarian invasions 
  began, the Roman Empire crumbled, 
  and the equilibrium of magical society 
  shattered. With the weakening of the 
  Empire in the late 4th and early 5th 
  centuries AD, the diocese of Britannia 
  was ultimately left to its own defenses. 
  The last Roman legions withdrew from 
  the island in 407 AD, and Emperor 
  Honorius formally abandoned the 
  Britons in 410 AD when he refused 
  their request for aid against Pictish, 
  Scottish and Saxon raiding. 
  As the mundane protectors of the 
  Empire withdrew, so too did the 
  magical; the remaining Gifted Romans 
  retreated to the lands closer to Rome, to 
  assist in their protection. With no 
  professional defenders in place, the 
  probing raids into Britannia became 
  increasingly effective and audacious. 
  The formerly displaced Gifted were free 
  to reassert themselves in their ancestral 
  lands, and they attempted to do so. 
  New groups of Gifted also sprouted 
  among the Britons, in the absence of 
  the stunting Roman influence. With 
  Saxon, Angle, and Jute incursions, 
  Germanic Gifted set foot on Briton soil. 
  Britannia now housed a dangerous 
  concoction of magic wielders. 
  In 550 AD, the consequences of this 
  mixture of magic are apparent. After a 
  century of strife, Britannia is about to 
  be split in two, from north to south. 
  The Germanic invaders control the 
  eastern portion, having displaced, 
  enslaved or killed its former inhabitants. 
  In the west, the Britons still hold on to 
  their lands, though that hold becomes 
  ever weaker, for they not only struggle 
  against the invaders and raiders, but also 
  amongst themselves. As the eastern 
  lands were taken, the surviving Briton 
  Gifted fled westward, and thus the 
  concentration of magi in the remaining 
  Briton lands increased. Although the 
  defenses are stronger as a result, 
  detrimental infighting is also more 
  common. The same holds true for the 
  invaders; as more ships arrive from the 
  Germanic homelands, their numbers 
  swell, but so too does internal conflict. 
  These conflicts are particularly 
  devastating to the young magi who have 
  recently stepped out from under the 
  aegis of their masters. For them, it is a 
  time of extreme peril. With no Hermetic 
  Oath or Code to protect them, they are 
  endangered by the whims of more 
  powerful magi, as well as by the packs 
  of mundane glory-seekers around them. 
  On their own, they must carve out a 
  future for themselves from a cold and 
  hostile environment. But, if they are 
  lucky, they may find themselves in one 
  of two situations in which they can 
  count on the help of others. 
  Pacts Between Gifted 
  When several isolated magi share 
  circumstances that are sufficiently 
  cataclysmic, they are sometimes driven 
  to band together and institute a pact, 
  despite the adverse effects of the Gift. 
  Such pacts do not often persevere, but 
  when they do, they lead to greater 
  success in defense and invasion. And 
  they help keep young magi alive. There 
  is precedence in the history of magical 
  society for formation of such pacts: 
  clusters of Germanic, Gallic, and Briton 
  Gifted did so in the face of Roman 
  persecution. These pacts could not 
  ultimately stem the Roman tide, but 
  failure in the past does not necessarily 
  guarantee failure in the future. Latin-
  speaking magi, including Romano-
  Britons, call such a pact a Pactum Inter 
  Pares; Anglo-Saxon magi call it a Cwid-
  rǽdan Betweonan Dreás (Pactum and 
  Cwid-rǽdan, respectively, for short). At 
  the core of these pacts are agreements 
  between the magi on a set of common 
  goals or on a period of servitude under 
  a lord. The participants draft a 
  document that includes a list of their 
  goals or duties, and most importantly, a 
  list of what actions constitute a breach 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  8 
  of the agreements and what 
  punishments are commensurate with 
  such breaches. 
  Given the right circumstances and 
  the right personality traits among the 
  magi, a pact can be used as a crutch to 
  overcome the mistrust and paranoia 
  that are a consequence of the Gift. 
  Examples of the right circumstances 
  include:  
   
  A shared story flaw: Vow (e.g., to 
  protect a particular object or 
  person), Enemies (like a powerful 
  magus and his apprentice(s)), 
  Oath of Fealty (all to the same 
  lord) 
   
  Shared dire events (e.g., an 
  invading army approaches) 
   
  Oversight of a higher authority 
  (e.g., an impartial magical being 
  of great power, the Church, a 
  charismatic and powerful 
  chieftain) 
   
  A shared prohibition geas with, 
  for example, the condition 
  “Never break the Pactum” (see 
  The Contested Isle, page 118) 
  Once such circumstances are gone, 
  however, a pact can easily unravel. Then 
  they typically devolve into a 
  dysfunctional arrangement that ends 
  with only one survivor. The particularly 
  paranoid may resort to magic for 
  enforcing a pact. Of most use are spells 
  with the durations Bargain or Until 
  (pact is broken) (see ArM5, page 92), 
  for those who are trained in Faerie 
  Magic. A Watching Ward with either of 
  these durations could be cast over a 
  Perdo Corpus or Perdo Mentem spell 
  that is then released when the pact is 
  broken. Other useful spells include 
  Intellego Mentem spells to determine 
  when pact members lie to one another, 
  or even, perhaps, when they think 
  thoughts that are detrimental or hostile 
  toward one another. Intellego Vim 
  spells can also be used to determine 
  when pact members cast spells at one 
  another, for without such spells, it is 
  impossible to know if one has been 
  affected by a non-obvious spell. These 
  Intellego spells are usually cast as 
  Rituals that are renewed yearly, along 
  with the terms of the pact. By 
  implementing such magics, the magi 
  sacrifice a great degree of their free will 
  when it comes to their relationships 
  with and actions toward one another. 
  This kind of sacrifice does not sit well 
  with most magi, of course, but 
  sometimes such sacrifices are necessary. 
  Gifted Families 
  A second situation in which young 
  magi band together is based exclusively 
  on the luck of being born into a Gifted 
  family. Extended families with many 
  Gifted members arise when the Gift is 
  passed on to multiple descendants of a 
  maga or magus, for several generations. 
  Gifted relatives afford protection and 
  sources of magical knowledge. But 
  blood isn’t always thick enough to 
  withstand the Gift, and sometimes 
  Gifted relatives become one’s worst 
  enemies. 
  On the Romano-Briton side, a 
  famous and powerful Familia or Teulu 
  (TAY-lee) are the descendants of Coel 
  Hen, a Gifted aristocrat who rose to 
  power in northern Britannia after the 
  Romans left. He assumed the military 
  title of Dux Britanniarum and rulership 
  of the lands that stretched from the 
  Humber and Mersey up to Hadrian’s 
  Wall. Through coincidence and a few 
  strategic marriages, the number of 
  Gifted in the family grew with each 
  successive generation. So too, did the 
  extent of fragmentation of the kingdom, 
  for the descendants of Coel followed 
  the Celtic custom of distributing a 
  father’s lands between his progeny. By 
  the mid 500’s the Coels ruled over 11 
  separate kingdoms, seven of which 
  comprised the original kingdom of Coel 
  Hen. They acquired the other four at 
  the expense of their fellow Britons. 
  Despite the fragmentation of and 
  infighting in the north, the last eastern 
  kingdoms of the Britons to fall to the 
  Anglo-Saxons were those ruled by the 
  Coels. The effectiveness of their 
  resistance is largely attributed to the 
  number and the strength of the Gifted 
  in the Coel Familia. 
  An equally powerful dynasty on the 
  Anglo-Saxon side are the descendants 
  of Hengist and Horsa. These two 
  brothers were Angles who led Jute and 
  Frisian mercenary bands that the Briton 
  High King Vortigern hired for the 
  defense of Britannia, in the mid 400’s. 
  After successfully driving off the Pictish 
  and Irish invaders, they revolted against 
  their employers. Horsa was killed in the 
  first battle against the Britons, but his 
  brother prevailed. After two more 
  victories, the last of which occurred in 
  465 AD, the kingdom of Ceint was 
  firmly in Hengist’s hand. He then ruled 
  jointly with his son, Oisc, after whom 
  the first dynasty of Anglo-Saxon 
  Ceintish kings is named (the Oiscingas). 
  Both Hengist and Horsa had the Gift, 
  and again through fortune, so did many 
  of their descendants. Unlike the Coels, 
  however, the integrity of the land was 
  maintained under a single ruler, who 
  parceled out small regions to his 
  relatives to do with as they pleased. In 
  return, the Gifted of this Cynnred (KIN
  -red) were expected to rally to their king 
  in times of need. 
  Apprenticeship 
  Young Gifted nobles who are part 
  of a Familia, Teulu or Cynnred have a 
  definite advantage over Gifted children 
  who are not. Not only are noble Gifted 
  children treasured because of their 
  blood (and thus less likely to be killed at 
  a young age by a mob because of their 
  ill-favored manner), they also have 
  ready access to Gifted teachers within 
  their family. The knowledge and secrets 
  that their predecessors accumulated 
  over lifetimes of study are passed on to 
  them throughout their childhood. This 
  training nurtures the development of 
  their magical powers and preserves 
  knowledge that is otherwise often lost. 
  Outside noble families, the 
  preservation of magical knowledge is 
  the primary motivation for all magi to 
  subject themselves to the fosterage of 
  creepy children. The relationship 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  9 
  between master and apprentice is rarely 
  a comfortable, warm one. While 
  apprentices in 1220 AD seldom have 
  the misfortune of being trapped in an 
  apprenticeship of servitude to a hostile 
  master, such situations are far more 
  common in 550 AD. In the best case, 
  by the end of an apprenticeship, both 
  parties have had sufficient time to 
  become acclimatized to one another, 
  though this depends also on their 
  personalities. Regardless, the end of an 
  apprenticeship is not always decided by 
  a harmless test, like the Gauntlet. In 
  some cases, both master and apprentice 
  become disgusted with one another and 
  go separate ways. After such 
  antagonistic separations, the apprentice 
  does not often survive for long. In 
  other cases, the apprenticeship does not 
  end until the student overcomes his 
  teacher. Such apprenticeships usually 
  last much longer than 15 years. In the 
  case when the master has their pupil’s 
  interests at heart, the apprenticeship is 
  over when the master deems that the 
  pupil is ready to leave the nest. Young 
  magi then face a difficult choice: stay 
  with one’s master for the sake of 
  protection but at the cost of one’s 
  freedom, or strike out on one’s own but 
  potentially at the cost of one’s life. 
  Proto-Covenants 
  The setting in which a group of magi 
  live is up to the troupe. Anglo-Saxon 
  magi may choose to inhabit an 
  abandoned Romano-Briton city, for 
  example, which their mundane 
  counterparts typically avoid and in 
  which great wealth and resources might 
  be found. Romano-Briton magi may 
  choose to return to an ancestral hill fort 
  that was forcibly decommissioned by 
  the Romans, which provides better 
  protection against current threats and a 
  potential link to powerful magic of the 
  past. 
  The living arrangements for the magi 
  of a Pactum/Cwid-rǽdan or of a 
  Familia/Teulu/Cynnred mimic the 
  Covenant of 1220 AD. For the former, 
  magi often pledge to pool their 
  individual resources for the benefit of 
  all, and to live in the same structure or 
  town. For the latter, magi typically 
  inhabit the administrative center of the 
  lands that their Familia rules. Each 
  Gifted character has a chamber that is 
  large enough to accommodate living 
  space and a laboratory. 
  Living arrangements can be designed 
  by using the Build Point allocation 
  schemes and the Boons and Hooks of 
  the core rules, with two changes. Firstly, 
  no Build Points may be spent on books. 
  Books are not yet widespread (see the 
  section The Dark Ages of Magic 
  below), and should be treated as 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  10 
  extraordinarily rare treasures that can be 
  obtained only through stories. Secondly, 
  the vis sources of 550 AD are 
  significantly more productive than those 
  of 1220 AD – the maximum rate of 
  generation should be increased to 20 
  pawns per year. The cost of this 
  resource remains the same (5 Build 
  Points per pawn per year). 
  INTERACTIONS 
  BETWEEN MAGI 
  AND MUNDANES 
  The Code of Hermes imposes a 
  strong limit on the extent to which magi 
  are allowed interact with mundanes. 
  The Founders put this limit in place for 
  various reasons, chief among them 
  being the desire to avoid involvement in 
  mundane conflicts and politics. In 550 
  AD, no such limit exists and magi often 
  enter these conflicts and exert their 
  influence over politics. The Gifted 
  frequently use their powers to take and 
  maintain positions of rulership, or sell 
  their powers to the aristocracy and to 
  military leaders. With no Hermetic Oath 
  or Code, they are free to set up puppet 
  kings, start wars with the Fae, make 
  deals with demons, and do anything that 
  it takes to stay alive. The repercussions 
  of these actions are up to the storyguide 
  and the troupe, of course, but do not 
  automatically include a Wizard’s March, 
  or a lesser, Tribunal-imposed 
  punishment, as they would in 1220 AD. 
  Magi regularly and overtly practice 
  their Arts among and on the mundane 
  people around them, as they have been 
  doing for millennia. As a result, 
  mundanes are more likely to associate 
  the unpleasant demeanor that the Gift 
  imbues with the ability to use magic. 
  They are therefore more likely to treat 
  magi with an awe- and fear-inspired 
  respect, instead of with the suspicion 
  and hostility that magi in 1220 are 
  accustomed to. In addition, a cultural 
  aspect of both Anglo-Saxon and 
  Romano-Briton civilizations can lead to 
  g r e a t e r  t o l e r a n c e  f o r  t h e 
  “Otherworldliness” of magi – they are 
  both heroic societies. Such societies 
  celebrate legendary deeds, victory over 
  ones enemies, honorable lives, and 
  violent deaths. The actions one takes 
  weigh heavily in how one is judged, and 
  the Reputation one wins can outweigh 
  one’s repulsive demeanor. Mechanically, 
  the Reputation of a maga is added to 
  rolls for social interactions, thereby 
  lessening the effect of the Gift, 
  provided that the Reputation is a 
  positive one, such as “Healer of boils” 
  or “Slayer of bog monsters”. If a magus 
  has a negative Reputation, such as 
  “Roaster of children” or “Stealer of 
  swine”, then it is instead subtracted 
  from rolls related to social interaction. 
  If there are multiple positive or negative 
  Reputations that could apply, then use 
  only the Reputation with the highest 
  magnitude. If there are both positive 
  and negative Reputations that could 
  apply, then subtract the negative 
  Reputation with the highest magnitude 
  from the positive Reputation with the 
  highest magnitude. 
  THE DARK AGES 
  OF MAGIC 
  The magic of 550 AD lacks two 
  distinguishing features of Hermetic 
  Magic, for they haven’t yet been 
  invented: the magical shields that magi 
  of 1220 AD rely on so heavily (the 
  Parma Magica and the Aegis of the 
  Hearth), and a unified theory of magic 
  that applies to all of the Arts. Before 
  Bonisagus developed the Parma Magica, 
  magi had to rely solely on their form 
  resistances and on their ability to fast 
  cast defensive spells to protect them 
  from hostile supernatural powers and 
  magic. See ArM5, page 83 and 85-86 
  and Hedge Magic Revised Edition, page 10 
  for applicable rules. 
  Before Notatus’s innovation of the 
  Aegis of the Hearth, magi could only 
  erect circle wards to defend their 
  buildings of residence. These wards, 
  Rego spells cast with Target: Ring and 
  Duration: Circle (see the Rego (Form) 
  spell guidelines in ArM5 for examples), 
  can be effective, but they lack the 
  versatility of the Aegis of the Hearth 
  since each ward can only protect against 
  one particular threat. 
  EXAMPLE GOALS 
  FOR A PACTUM OR 
  CWID-RÆDAN 
  Protecting the Land 
  Raiders sweep across your region of 
  Britannia, forcing you to band together 
  with your Gifted neighbors to defend 
  your lands and lives, despite your mutual 
  revulsion. 
  Adventure and Pillage 
  You and several other Gifted are 
  recruited by an Anglo-Saxon warband as 
  magical mercenaries. You’ll see much war 
  and encounter many hardships. But 
  strong bonds are forged in these 
  conditions. Are these bonds strong 
  enough to eventually overcome the 
  effects of the Gift? 
  Finding New Lands to Rule 
  Your 
  lands 
  were 
  just 
  overrun, 
  displacing you and your Gifted neighbors 
  westward. What will you do now? Staying 
  together may be your only hope for 
  survival. 
  A Grab For a Kingdom 
  Alone, you are isolated and at risk in 
  your attempt at power. But a group of 
  Gifted, aligned to the same goal, just may 
  be able to exploit the chaos to take over a 
  kingdom. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
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  And before Bonisagus devised his 
  Magic Theory, the Magical Arts were 
  fragmented. This fragmentation is a 
  direct result of the Gift itself: because of 
  its social effects, magi lead largely 
  solitary lives, isolated from one another. 
  Always suspicious of others, magi tend 
  to veil their magical prowess and guard 
  their secrets closely. This reticence 
  limits the spread of magical knowledge 
  severely, and renders the insights that 
  could lead to a unified Magic Theory 
  impossible to make, unless one has the 
  genius of Bonisagus. At best, the 
  magical knowhow that magi spend their 
  lives developing is passed on to a 
  handful of apprentices. At worst, these 
  secrets follow magi into Final Twilight, 
  for the magi of this period seldom 
  reduce their learnings and inventions to 
  writing. Most magi, and particularly 
  those who learned their Arts among the 
  magical traditions of Germania and 
  Britannia, were trained to rely 
  exclusively on memory for storing this 
  information. 
  Learning the Arts 
  There are a very few magi, however, 
  who have begun to generate magical 
  texts, including Summae, Tractatus and 
  Lab Texts. Most of these pioneers of 
  the magical literature are affiliated 
  somehow with one of the monasteries 
  that have begun to populate Europe, 
  and make use of their scriptoria and 
  writing materials. Because of this 
  affiliation, the texts are written in Latin, 
  and this precedent will ultimately see to 
  it that Latin becomes the language used 
  by the Order of Hermes. At this early 
  stage, magical texts are extremely rare – 
  most magi will see only one or two of 
  such texts throughout their lives, if they 
  are fortunate. Thus, the primary modes 
  of learning the Arts are through one-on-
  one teaching and through the study of 
  vis. Arts are learned in the native tongue 
  of the teacher, or of the student if they 
  are self-taught; the table below gives the 
  names of the Magical Arts in both the 
  Latin and Brythonic (for which modern 
  Welsh is used, since so little of the 
  Brythonic language has been preserved) 
  spoken by Romano-Briton magi, and in 
  the Old English spoken by Anglo-
  Saxon magi. 
  Before the breakthroughs of 
  Bonisagus, Forms and Techniques were 
  not parts of a unified set of Arts, each 
  of which could be practiced by an 
  apprentice once their Gift was opened, 
  and each of which could be studied and 
  explained according to a single Magic 
  Theory. In place of such a theory, each 
  Form has its own particular Lore that 
  magi must learn in order to invent new 
  spells, enchant items, and perform any 
  other magical activities that ordinarily 
  fall under the purview of the Hermetic 
  ability Magic Theory. For example, 
  inventing a new CrIg, InIg, MuIg, PeIg, 
  or ReIg spell requires a score in Ignem 
  Lore. Furthermore, without a Magic 
  Theory that links together all the Arts, 
  the rituals used for opening the Gift are 
  considerably less effective: only a single 
  Art is acquired through an opening 
  ritual. Additional Arts can be learned 
  subsequently and require additional 
  opening rituals, but as a maga’s power 
  in her known Arts grows, it becomes 
  increasingly difficult for her to do so. 
  For this purpose, new Arts are treated 
  equivalently to new Supernatural 
  Abilities, and for their magi to gain 
  them, players should follow the rules 
  for gaining Supernatural Abilities 
  (ArM5, page 166). Note, however, that 
  the Arts are not in fact general 
  Supernatural Abilities that any character 
  type can acquire – they are restricted to 
  characters with the free Magical Virtue, 
  The Gift. In order to open their Gift to 
  a new Art, magi must first find another 
  Gifted individual who knows the Art, 
  and who can be convinced to share 
  their knowledge and perform an 
  opening ritual for the Art. When a new 
  Art is gained, the character receives a 
  score of 0 in that Art, and, if the Art is a 
  Form, they also gain the respective 
  (Form) Lore ability with a score of 0. By 
  age 25, most magi have learned the five 
  Techniques and one to three Forms. 
  Rarely do they learn more than one or 
  two more, for finding a willing teacher 
  is near impossible, and they must focus 
  on becoming powerful in the Arts they 
  do know, to stay alive, which makes it 
  much more difficult to open their Gift 
  to new Arts. 
  TRANSLATION OF THE LATIN ART 
  Latin 
  Anglo-Saxon 
  Brythonic (Welsh) 
  Creo 
  Āscieppe (ah-SHYEP-eh) 
  Creaf (CREH-ahv) 
  Intellego 
  Sēo (SAY-aw) 
  Amgyffredaf (ahm-guf-REH-dahv) 
  Muto 
  Forscieppe (fawr-SHYEP-eh) Newydiaf (neh-OOID-yahv) 
  Perdo 
  Forspilde (fawr-SPIHLD-eh) Dyleaf (duh-LEH-av) 
  Rego 
  Āstyre (ah-STÜR-eh) 
  Kymhellwsaf (kuhm-heh-HLOO-sahv) 
  Animal 
  Deór (DEH-ohr) 
  Anifail (ah-nih-VAH-yil) 
  Aquam 
  Wæter (WAH-ter) 
  Duvyr (DIH-vuhr) 
  Auram 
  Lyft (LIFT) 
  Gwynt (GOOINT) 
  Corpus 
  Bodig (BOH-dig) 
  Corff (KORFF) 
  Herbam 
  Plante (PLAHN-teh) 
  Blanhigion (blahn-HIG-yon) 
  Ignem 
  Fyr (FÜR) 
  Tan (TAHN) 
  Imaginem Andgeit (AHND-yight) 
  Delw (DEL-oo) 
  Mentem 
  Ferhð (FERDTH) 
  Deualledd (Dew-AH-hleth) 
  Terram 
  Eorð (EYORDTH) 
  Daearen (Day-AH-ren) 
  Vim 
  Cræft (CRAHFT) 
  Grym (GRUHM) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  12 
  New Rules for 
  Character Generation 
  The following options may be used 
  to create Gifted characters, depending 
  on the preferences of the troupe. Both 
  options retain the Technique + Form 
  structure for the magical abilities of 
  magi, to allow the familiar spell 
  guidelines of the ArM5 core rulebook 
  to be used for designing magical effects. 
  If so desired, troupes may keep this 
  terminology for simplicity and 
  familiarity, as the author does here, or 
  they may alter it (to Method and 
  Medium, for example), to help achieve a 
  further conceptual distinction between 
  the magic of 550 AD and that of 1220 
  AD. The aim with the following options 
  is to emphasize the magnitude of 
  Bonisagus’s breakthroughs without 
  sacrificing most of the well-designed 
  rules and entertaining aspects of 
  Hermetic Magic laid out in the core 
  rulebook, like designing new spells with 
  the guidelines. Thus, magical effects are 
  constructed according to the standard 
  guidelines and there are no suggested 
  changes to the types of spells one can 
  cast, nor to their ranges, targets or 
  durations. 
  Option 1: Similar in Power 
  to Hedge Wizards 
  In 550 AD, most magi have 
  knowledge of only a few Forms. 
  However, the ways in which they are 
  able to magically manipulate the Forms 
  they do know are the same as those of 
  magi in 1220 AD, meaning that most 
  magi of 550 AD have knowledge of all 
  five Techniques. Each Technique is a 
  Minor Arcane Virtue and each Form is 
  a Major Arcane Virtue. Taking these 
  virtues grants the character a score of 0 
  in the respective Technique or Form, 
  and if it is a Form, a score of 0 in the 
  respective (Form) Lore ability. 
  Forms and Techniques advance 
  normally, using the Advancement Table 
  for Arts on page 31 of the core 
  rulebook. 
  By age 25, magi have acquired at 
  most a total of 6 Arts (any combination 
  of Techniques and Forms is possible, 
  though most magi are specialized in one 
  or two Forms and multiple Techniques). 
  Additional Techniques and Forms can 
  be gained through play, as if they were 
  Supernatural Abilities (i.e., following the 
  rules on page 166 of ArM5). 
  As a consequence of the 
  undeveloped understanding of the Arts 
  in 550 AD, casting spells is more 
  mentally and physically arduous. The 
  severity of the required exertion 
  increases with the level of the effect, but 
  also diminishes as the caster’s ability in 
  the Arts grows. 
  Mechanically, this handicap is 
  represented by an adjustment to the 
  rules regarding the expenditure of 
  Fatigue Levels when casting spells. 
  For Formulaic spells, unless the 
  casting total exceeds the spell level by at 
  least two magnitudes, the caster must 
  spend a Fatigue Level to cast the spell 
  successfully. For example, to cast a level 
  4 spell without spending Fatigue, the 
  casting total must be equal to or greater 
  than 10, and to cast a level 30 spell 
  without spending Fatigue, the casting 
  total must be equal to or greater than 
  40. 
  For Ritual spells, add one Fatigue 
  Level to each number of the Fatigue 
  Levels Lost column of the Ritual Magic 
  table on page 81 of ArM5, and if the 
  Casting Total – Spell Level is -16 or 
  more, the caster takes a heavy wound. 
  For Spontaneous spells, a maga 
  may still choose to exert herself when 
  casting and divide her Casting Score + a 
  Stress Die by two. Doing so, however, 
  results in the loss of two Fatigue Levels. 
  To cast a non-fatiguing Spontaneous 
  spell, the maga divides her Casting 
  Score by 10 instead of by five. 
  Option 2: Similar in Power 
  to Magi of 1220 AD 
  For those troupes that would like the 
  power of their magi to be closer to that 
  of magi in 1220 AD, this option relaxes 
  the constraints of Option 1 on the 
  number of Arts that magi can use and 
  on the difficulty of casting spells. 
  The Techniques are all included with 
  the free Magical Virtue, The Gift, and 
  each Form is only a Minor Supernatural 
  Virtue. Taking these virtues grants the 
  character a score of 0 in the Form and a 
  score of 0 in the respective (Form) Lore 
  ability. 
  Forms and Techniques advance 
  normally, using the Advancement Table 
  for Arts on page 31 of the core 
  rulebook. 
  Furthermore, there is no adjustment 
  to the rules for Fatigue Level loss from 
  spell casting, explained on page 81 of 
  the core rulebook. 
  For access to all of the Arts, or to 
  better reflect the mythological 
  dimensions that many of the key 
  personalities of the Migration Period 
  possessed, characters may take 20 
  New Arcane 
  Ability 
  (FORM) LORE 
  Each Form has its own Lore. This Lore 
  includes knowledge of how the Form can 
  be 
  manipulated 
  using 
  the 
  five 
  Techniques, as well as all creatures, 
  places, and traditions of the Magic Realm 
  associated with the Form. (Form) Lore 
  may be used in place of Magic Lore when 
  appropriate. (Form) Lore is also always 
  used in place of Magic Theory to 
  generate Lab Totals and to perform any 
  other activities that would ordinarily 
  involve 
  Magic 
  Theory. 
  Example 
  specializations: a particular Technique, a 
  single manifestation of the Form (e.g., 
  stone for Terram, or lightning for 
  Auram). 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
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  points of Virtues that are balanced by 
  the standard 10 points of flaws. 
  Members of Magical 
  Families 
  For characters who belong to a 
  Familia, Teulu or Cynnred, their 
  background should be counted among 
  their Flaws, depending on the nature of 
  their relatives. A positive, supportive 
  family can prove a boon to one’s 
  character, both in their magical training 
  and through assistance in-saga, at the 
  cost of reciprocated favors in the future, 
  and thus should be counted as a Minor 
  Story Flaw. A negative, hindering family 
  can prove the opposite, and thus should 
  be counted as a Major Story Flaw. If all 
  magi in the troupe are members of the 
  same family, then the relationship is no 
  longer considered a Story Flaw, for the 
  family will be involved in stories by 
  default. 
  Canon Virtues, Flaws, and 
  Abilities 
  In addition to the above options, 
  troupes should follow the below list of 
  recommended changes to the standard 
  rules for the creation of magi (ArM5, 
  page 28-33): 
   
  Hermetic Virtues and Flaws are 
  referred to as Magical Virtues and 
  Flaws and characters must have 
  The Gift to take them. 
   
  The Virtue Heremetic Maga/
  Magus becomes simply Maga/
  Magus. 
   
  There are no Artes Liberales or 
  Latin requirements during 
  apprenticeship. 
   
  The following Arcane Abilities 
  are not allowed: Code of Hermes, 
  Parma Magica, Magic Theory. 
   
  Unimaginative Lerner becomes a 
  Major Magical Flaw, because of 
  the increased reliance on studying 
  from vis for advancement in the 
  Arts. 
   
  Incompatible Arts may only 
  apply to Arts that the character 
  learns during apprenticeship, and 
  becomes a Major Magical Flaw.  
   
  The following Virtues and Flaws 
  are incompatible with this setting, 
  and should not be used unless 
  amended as indicated: 
   
  Weak Scholar 
   
  Covenant Upbringing 
   
  Book Learner 
   
  Deficient Form 
   
  Hedge Wizard 
   
  Limited Magic Resistance 
   
  Redcap 
  New 
  General 
  Virtue: 
  Member of a Sympathetic 
  Familia / Teulu / Cynnred 
  You are a son or daughter of Gifted 
  parents and a descendent of a magical 
  lineage. 
  Throughout 
  childhood 
  and 
  adolescence, you were trained in the 
  Magical Arts by one or several family 
  members. Your relationship with your 
  family is a positive one, and you can 
  count on them for support in times of 
  need. They will also count on your 
  support.  
  New Story Flaw: Member of 
  an Inimical Familia / Teulu / 
  Cynnred 
  You are a son or daughter of Gifted 
  parents and a descendent of a magical 
  lineage. While your family may have 
  grudgingly 
  imparted 
  their 
  magical 
  knowledge to you, they are uncaring or 
  unsupportive of your existence, and 
  work to hinder you in whatever way they 
  can. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  14 
   
  Magister in Artibus 
   
  Hermetic Prestige (could be 
  changed to Prestige Among 
  Magi, and becomes a Major 
  Virtue because of the effect of 
  R e p u t a t i o n s  o n  s o c i a l 
  interactions) 
   
  Knight (may change title to 550 
  AD equivalent, such as Retainer 
  for Romano-Briton characters or 
  Gesith for Anglo-Saxon 
  characters) 
   
  Before the existence of Houses 
  Verditius, Merinita, Bjornaer, and 
  Criamon, the mysteries that the 
  magi of these Houses practice 
  had not yet been developed or 
  assembled into a single body of 
  knowledge. However, it is not 
  inconceivable that the individual 
  abilities and powers that 
  constitute the mysteries were 
  known to various magical 
  traditions of the 500’s. At the 
  troupe’s discretion, Hermetic 
  Virtues associated with the 
  Mystery Houses may be taken at 
  character generation. Diedne 
  Magic may also be used, and 
  r e n a m e d  t o  s o m e t h i n g 
  appropriate like Strong 
  Spontaneous Magic. 
  The Glastenning Teulu: 
  Example Covenant and 
  Character 
  The members of the Glastenning 
  Teulu are descendants of Dogfael, the 
  eighth son of the legendary Gododdin 
  warlord Cunedda, who brought his 
  family and warriors to northern Wales 
  in the late 300’s and rid the region of 
  Irish raiders. Kings of Gwynedd and 
  eventually Wales would later claim this 
  great leader as an ancestor. The 
  descendants of Dogfael originally ruled 
  Dogfeilion, a subkingdom in the north 
  of Powys. But in the early 500’s, during 
  the reign of Dogfael’s grandson Glas, 
  they moved south to the area near 
  modern-day Glastonbury in the hopes 
  of escaping the oppressive dominion of 
  their numerous, more-powerful 
  relatives. While officially still rulers of a 
  subkingdom, now within the large 
  kingdom of Dumnonia, they were given 
  free rein to rule their new lands as they 
  pleased in exchange for their military 
  support. This arrangement suited them. 
  For their new home, which they 
  dubbed Caer Glas, they built an 
  enclosure on a large, ancient hill fort, 
  installing wooden ramparts behind a 
  stone wall and restoring the earthen 
  ramparts in front of the wall. They 
  positioned watchtowers at strategic 
  points (see the nearby map), and also 
  built a wooden gatehouse at the 
  southwestern corner. Inside the 
  enclosure, there is ample space not only 
  for the large Glastenning family, but 
  also for their band of warriors and for 
  the metalworkers, the jewelers, the 
  herders, and the livestock that followed 
  them south. Those who enter through 
  the gatehouse immediately notice the 
  imposing timber Great Hall that houses 
  the family. Beyond the hall, to the east, 
  sits a bevy of thatched huts and minor 
  buildings that house the craftsmen, their 
  families, and their workshops. To the 
  north is an animal pen into which the 
  herders drive sheep, pigs and cattle 
  when raiders threaten the area. In the 
  eastern portion of the enclosure, and 
  closest to the gatehouse, live the 
  warriors and their families. 
  The Glastenning Teulu consists of 
  King Glas, his wife Medwyl, their sons 
  Elud (aged 20), Morfael (18), Elfan (12), 
  Gwion (11), and Cynwraidd (10), and 
  their daughters Gwladus (25), Ceinfryd 
  (21) and Gwenddwyn (7). Glas’s father 
  Elnaw, the former king of Dogfeilion, 
  also came south with the family. He is 
  now 100 years old, and has spent the 
  last few decades pursuing the mastery of 
  his hereditary Form of Aquam, having 
  abdicated his power to his son. He 
  passes on his knowledge of the magical 
  arts to his grandchildren, between bouts 
  of Twilight. 
  The children’s mother comes from a 
  Gifted family that specializes in 
  Mentem. With their grandfather and 
  mother as teachers, the children are 
  trained in both Forms. Various distant 
  relatives have also sent their children to 
  train under these tutors. 
  The guest Sanctum is currently 
  occupied by a nephew of Glas, Tudwal. 
  The Glas warband is sizeable, 
  numbering in the hundreds. The family 
  relies on goods created by the multiple 
  skilled metalcrafters in their employ, 
  and on the animal herds to support 
  these warriors. 
  Hooks and Boons 
  Beholden (-1): The Glastenning 
  Teulu must come to the aid of 
  Dumnonia if called by its ruler. 
  Regio (-1): There is an entrance to a 
  Magical regio at the northeastern point 
  of the hill fort. The magi currently don’t 
  know of its existence, much less what 
  lies within. 
  Rival (-3): A strong warband of 
  Saxons, led by several Gifted, is intent 
  on sacking Caer Glas. 
  Aura (+1) x2: The top of the hill has 
  a Magical aura of +5. 
  Fortification (+1): The stone wall 
  and earthen ramparts are sufficient to 
  withstand a mundane assault. 
  Building (+1): The covenant has a 
  strong gate house controlling the single 
  entrance to the walled enclosure. 
  Wealth (+1): Metal goods are highly 
  sought in the region, and can be traded 
  for just about anything the magi and 
  covenfolk want. 
   Vis Sources 
  The vis sources to which the family 
  has access at Caer Glastenning include 
  the following: 
  20 Pawns/Year of Intellego Vis: 
  This source is located a half-day’s 
  walk from Caer Glas, atop Ynys Witrin. 
  Visual species from the surrounding 
  landscape as far as 20 miles away reach 
  the summit of the tor and are 
  condensed there into Intellego vis in the 
  form of perfectly transparent, curved 
  
   
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  crystals that magnify (or shrink) the 
  images observed through them. A 
  Divine aura at the top of the tor, 
  established by the holy thorn tree that 
  sprouted from the walking staff of 
  Joseph or Arimathaea, is slowly growing 
  and displacing the Magical aura in which 
  the Intellego vis collects. It is unknown 
  how long the Magical aura will last, or 
  whether the vis will become Divine 
  over time. At the foot of the tor, a maze 
  of wooden platforms provides a track 
  for traversing the deep marshes and 
  pools that encircle it. 
  20 Pawns/Year of Aquam Vis: 
  This supply is located at the source 
  of the River Cam, to the northwest of 
  Caer Glas. Celtic tribes formerly used 
  this site as a sacred place for religious 
  ceremonies. Hundreds of years ago, the 
  tribespeople created a stone statue to 
  represent the deity associated with the 
  river. Now, all that remains is the head, 
  which sits submerged under the water 
  flowing from the source. The head 
  sheds small flecks of stone that look like 
  fish scales and that can be collected 
  
   
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  Elnaw ap Dogfael ap 
  Cunedda 
  Characteristics: Int +2, Per 0 (-1), Str +1, Sta 0, Com 0, Pre 0 (-1), Dex 0, 
  Qik +4 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 100 (72) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 7(15) 
  Confidence Score: 1(3) 
  Virtues and Flaws: Puissant Rego (free Virtue), Study Requirement, 
  Compassionate (minor),  Humble (major), Weird Magic, Offensive to Animals, 
  Missing Eye, Cautious Sorcerer, Puissant Aquam, Affinity with Aquam, Fast 
  Caster, Puissant Single Weapon, Harnessed Magic, Great Quickness, Warrior, 
  Good Teacher, Improved Characteristics 
  Personality Traits: Humble +3, Caring +1, Reclusive +3 
  Reputations: Crazy Hermit 3 (Caer Glas), Loving Grandfather 5 
  (grandchildren) 
  Combat: 
  Fist: Init +4, Atk +2, Def +6, Dam +1 
  Kick: Init +3, Atk +1, Def +4, Dam +4 
  Longsword: Init +6, Atk +13, Def +14, Dam +7 
  Soak: 0 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20) 
  Abilities: Brythonic 5 (describing water), Dogfeilion Lore 2 (bodies of water), 
  Athletics 3 (running), Awareness 3 (other people), Survival 5 (freezing weather), 
  Swim 3 (lakes), Latin 3 (insults), Ride 1 (meek palfreys), Brawl 1 (fisticuffs), 
  Charm 1 (children), Etiquette 1 (nobility), Folk Ken (nobility), Bargain 2 (food), 
  Carouse 2 (dice), Concentration 5 (Rego), Guile 1 (excuses), Hunt 2 (fish), 
  Artes Liberales 3 (geometry), Philosophiae 3 (natural philosophy), Dominion 
  Lore 4 (angels), Faerie Lore 4 (water fae), Finesse 5 (Aquam), Penetration 5 
  (Creo), Aquam Lore 7 (inventing spells), Single Weapon 8 (long sword), 
  Teaching 5 (Aquam) 
  Arts: Cr 18, In 19, Mu 13, Pe 11, Re 12+3, Aq 30+3 
  Twilight Scars: Eyes continuously weep tears of blue liquid, skin has 
  become translucent so that the blood flowing within him is readily visible. 
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Spells: 
  Creeping Oil (CrAq 15/+51) 
  Mighty Torrent of Water (CrAq 20/+51) 
  Deluge of Rushing and Dashing (CrAq  40/+51) 
  Clear Sight of the Naiad (InAq 5/ +52) 
  Subtle Taste of Poison and Purity (InAq 5/+52 
  Call of the Rushing Waters (InAq 15/+52) 
  Voice of the Lake (InAq 25/+52) 
  Comfort the Drenched Traveler (PeAq 5/+44) 
  Closing the Earth’s Gate (PeAq 25/+44) 
  Calling the Odious Drought (PeAq 50/+44) 
  Ward Against Faeries of the Waters (ReAq 25/+48) 
  Cloak of Duck’s Feathers (ReAq 5/ +48) 
  Break the Oncoming Wave (ReAq 10/+48) 
  Breath of Winter (ReAq 15/+48) 
  Push of the Gentle Wave (ReAq 15/+48) 
  Chaos of the Angry Waves (ReAq 30/+48) 
  Parting the Waves (ReAq 30/+48) 
  Waves of Drowning and Smashing (ReAq 30/+48) 
  Pull of the Watery Grave (ReAq 35/+48) 
  Tower of the Whirling Water (ReAq 35/+48) 
  Upwelling of Sulis (CrAq 20/+51) 
  Causes a geyser to erupt under a target, launching the target 30 feet into the 
  air if the spell penetrates magic resistance. The target takes +15 falling damage 
  (which can’t be soaked, since the target is already wet). 
  (Base 10, +2 Voice) 
  Borvo’s belch (CrAq 20/+51) 
  Creates a cloud of scalding steam around the target that does +20 damage. 
  (Base 10, +2 Voice) 
  Stream of Neighbor’s Anger (MuAq 10/+46) 
  This spell changes the water flowing in a stream into urine, and is best cast 
  upstream from the holdings of the intended target and downstream from one’s 
  own. 
  (Base 2, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 size) 
  Background: 
  Elnaw, son of Dogfael, great-grandson of Cunedda, grew up under two 
  overbearing influences of self-effacing humility: his pious mother and his over-
  looked father. Being the eighth and second-to-last son of Cunedda, Dogfael 
  was accustomed to getting the short, and pointy end of most sticks at the 
  expense of his older brothers. Finding little else to be proud of in his own 
  character, he taught Elnaw to be equally forbearing and modest. As a result, 
  Elnaw had no will to improve his own standing within the growing family of 
  Cunedda’s descendents, neither through statesmanship nor through acquiring 
  personal might. 
  He left the management of his diminutive holdings to subordinates, instead 
  spending his time training with weapons, experimenting in the lab or in the 
  wilderness, and devising new, subtle ways to manipulate water with his 
  inherited Magical Arts. Elnaw’s arranged, loveless marriage produced a wild-
  tempered first son, Glas, two other sons who both died young, and several 
  daughters. 
  When Glas was old enough, Elnaw trained him as an apprentice, but then 
  left him to other tutors for the rest of his development. Again he retreated into 
  the wilds to study his Arts, practically a hermit, until Glas began having 
  children. One of them in particular drew his attention: an un-Gifted girl named 
  Ceinfryd, who kept interrupting her tall, lanky, one-eyed and off-putting 
  grandsire at his studies. Watching her grow up, Elnaw developed a deep 
  affection for his bravest of grand-daughters, and that affection drew him forth 
  from his isolation, and drew him south with the rest of the family when they 
  moved to Dumnonia. He now splits his time between studying his Arts and 
  teaching his Arts to his immediate and extended family members. 
  
   
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  downstream. Each fleck is a pawn of 
  Aquam vis. 
  15 Pawns/Year of Rego Vis: 
  To the west of Caer Glas is a small 
  farmstead that, unbeknownst to the 
  farmer who runs it, is adjacent to a 
  patch of magical dirt. Through accident, 
  the farmer tilled this dirt one year in a 
  particularly orderly manner, which is 
  now repeated each year at the 
  instruction of King Glas. The crops that 
  grow from this orderly planting are 
  similarly orderly – all grow to the same 
  height, have the same number of leaves, 
  etc. Some plants bear a same-sized, 
  spherical red seed, each of which is a 
  pawn of Rego vis. 
  10 Pawns/Year of Mentem Vis: 
  The site at which this vis is collected 
  is just a mile south of Caer Glas. A 
  forlorn and scraggly willow sits near a 
  small wooden bridge that crosses a 
  nearly-stagnant stream. Beyond the 
  stream is a grove of drab and disheveled 
  trees. Somehow, the sky looks greyer in 
  this area, even on radiantly sunny days. 
  This depressing scene causes those who 
  walk over the bridge to think of loved 
  ones they’ve lost, or of the failures and 
  regrets of their life. These sad thoughts 
  collect over time and precipitate in the 
  form of misshapen lead beads that plop 
  from beneath the bridge into the 
  stream. Each bead is a pawn of Mentem 
  vis. 
  Enchanted Items 
  Over the years, the Glastenning 
  Teulu have enchanted many items that 
  were created by their metalsmiths and 
  jewelers. These items range from 
  swords and armor, to farm tools, to 
  brooches, torcs and rings. All 
  enchantments are based on Aquam, 
  except a few Mentem-related effects 
  that were recently created by Medwyl or 
  her children. 
  MAGICAL 
  TRADITIONS IN 
  550AD 
  Both Romano-Briton and Anglo-
  Saxon societies have a rich and varied 
  history of magic users and magical 
  traditions that established themselves 
  over hundreds of years. What follows 
  are but a few examples. Players are 
  encouraged to devise their own 
  traditions. 
  Characters who belong to a magic 
  tradition are granted a free Minor Virtue 
  that is characteristic of the tradition; 
  suggestions are provided for each of the 
  traditions described below. 
  Romano-Briton 
  traditions 
  Derwyddon  
  The Derwyddon (Dair-OOIDTH-
  on), or Druids, were once ubiquitous in 
  western Europe. Members of this 
  tradition were often Gifted, though 
  there were also non-Gifted members 
  who had supernatural abilities and yet 
  others who were so knowledgeable 
  about the world that they seemed to 
  have such abilities to mundanes. The 
  Derwyddon enjoyed a revered status in 
  Celtic society – they could go where 
  they pleased, regardless of tribal 
  affiliations; they were often consulted 
  for political and judicial decisions; and 
  to kill a Derwydd (DAIR-ooidth) was 
  forbidden. In exchange for this social 
  status, the tradition carried with it a 
  duty: to acquire great knowledge and to 
  use it for the benefit of society. Exactly 
  
   
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  what would benefit society was up to 
  the individual to decide, and was often 
  heavily debated among Derwyddon.  
  There were numerous sub-traditions 
  among the Derwyddon, each with its 
  own specialization. This specialization 
  was related to the type of knowledge 
  that the sub-tradition sought, and could 
  be either magical or mundane in nature, 
  or both. For example, some Derwyddon 
  were keen observers of natural 
  phenomena, and sought to understand 
  the fundamental principles behind 
  them; others focused on knowledge 
  they could glean from humankind, 
  which ranged from medicine, to the way 
  the mind works, to the theory of 
  rulership and politics; others still 
  pursued knowledge related to the Magic 
  Realm, not just the ways of the Magical 
  Arts, but also the ways of magical 
  animals, of regios, and of the gods. This 
  diversity meant that, among the Gifted 
  members, all Forms are counted as 
  favored, and any related free Minor 
  Virtue is appropriate. 
  With the attempted extirpation of 
  the Derwyddon by the Romans, and 
  with the growing influence of 
  Christianity, the role that the 
  Derwyddon played in mundane society 
  receded. In response to this withdrawal, 
  the activities of Derwyddon traditions 
  turned more to the acquisition of 
  knowledge in their chosen area, 
  allowing Gifted members to focus on 
  their study and practice of magic. 
  However, other knowledge is still highly 
  treasured, and so apprentices must go 
  through a rigorous scholastic training, in 
  addition to their magical one. 
  Educated is thus also a common free 
  Minor Virtue of this tradition. In 550 
  AD, there are still many Derwyddon 
  traditions throughout Britannia, though 
  their influence is not nearly as strong as 
  it once was. 
  Cromlech Tyfwyr 
  Majestic and enduring, standing 
  stone structures of various scales and 
  arrangements are scattered across the 
  landscape of Britannia. They radiate 
  mysterious power, but what is their 
  purpose? And who built them? The 
  answers to these questions have been 
  lost, for the monuments predate even 
  the migrations of the Celts to the island 
  that occurred over a millennia ago. One 
  present-day magic tradition of Britannia, 
  however, is closely linked with the 
  ancient stones – the Cromlech Tyfwyr 
  (TUH-vooeer), or Tomb Growers.  
  These magi are members of a single 
  extended Teulu that has existed for 
  eight or nine generations. Though they 
  were originally from Britannia, many of 
  the early generations spent their lives 
  further north, studying the stones of 
  Caledonia despite the resulting conflict 
  with the territorial Gruagachan. Later 
  generations moved back south of 
  Hadrian’s Wall for uncertain reasons; 
  perhaps it was because of the 
  Gruagachan, or maybe they found 
  something they shouldn’t have and fled 
  from the repercussions. Regardless, the 
  study of the stones and their 
  surroundings continued in the south, as 
  the Cromlech Tyfwyr attempted to 
  uncover and harness their presumed 
  hidden powers. Through this study, the 
  Cromlech Tyfwyr developed an 
  expertise in the Forms of Terram and 
  Vim, the latter of which was learned 
  through uncovering the regio portal 
  aspects of many stone configurations. 
  These portals brought them in contact 
  with many denizens of both the Magical 
  and Faerie Realms. Magi of this 
  tradition often have magical foci 
  associated with the earth and the 
  underground, including materials (e.g., 
  earth, stone, metals, gems), construction 
  (e.g., stone structures, tunnels), phobias 
  (e.g., darkness, claustrophobia, 
  inhumation, fear of underground 
  dwellers), and concealment. 
  Brydyddion 
  The Brydyddion (Bruh-DUHDTH-
  yon), or Bardic tradition is just as 
  ancient as the Druidic tradition, and just 
  as with the Druids there are both Gifted 
  and unGifted Bards. Regardless of their 
  nature, there is no sense of comradery 
  between members of this tradition. 
  Instead, they compete flagrantly and 
  deviously with each other for fame, 
  wealth and glory. Those who are 
  unGifted rely on natural talent or 
  supernatural abilities to sway others 
  with words and music. Those who are 
  Gifted augment their talent with magical 
  effects, incorporating subtle spells into 
  their poetry and songs that typically 
  target the audience or the caster. Many 
  have a Necessary Condition that is 
  linked to their chosen medium of 
  performance. 
  It is also not uncommon for Gifted 
  Brydyddion to be Deft in their two 
  favored Forms, Imaginem and Mentem. 
  As such, they are adept at the covert 
  manipulation of others. 
  Additional Virtues common to the 
  tradition include those associated with 
  artistic creativity, such as Free 
  Expression. 
  UnGifted Bards often have 
  supernatural performance virtues, like 
  Enchanting Music or Enchanting 
  Storytelling. 
  An important role of the Brydydd 
  (BRUH-duhdth) in Romano-Briton 
  society is that of a proto-historian, a 
  collector of stories and lore, which they 
  put to memory and tell to others. To 
  gather these linguistic treasures, they 
  interact heavily with mundanes, either 
  as itinerant poet-musicians or as more 
  permanent members of a lord’s court. 
  In these contexts, Brydyddion attempt 
  to place themselves at the heart of 
  momentous events, to directly 
  experience them and thereby better 
  record them with their art. A famous 
  example of such an attempt occurred in 
  597 AD, when a Brydydd named 
  Aneririn embedded himself with a force 
  of Romano-Briton warriors who rode to 
  take back Catraeth from the Angles. 
  The warriors were killed to a man, but 
  Aneirin survived to extoll the fallen 
  heroes in the elegy Y Gododdin. 
  Brydyddion also seek out beings of 
  the Faerie, Magical and Divine Realms, 
  depending on their topics of interest. 
  Faeries are an interesting puzzle. Some 
  Brydyddion believe that it is possible to 
  
   
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  reconstruct lost legends by observing 
  the Fae, provided that the observation is 
  not a disturbance that alters the stories 
  as the Faeries enact them. 
  Others don’t waste their time 
  peeping on Faeries, claiming that the 
  Fae are an unreliable source since they 
  always know when they are observed 
  and that they then alter their portrayal 
  of stories to extract the most vitality 
  from their audience. Instead, they seek 
  out Magical beings, such as members of 
  the old Celtic pantheon, or Divine 
  beings, such as angels and living Saints, 
  who have knowledge of forgotten and 
  new lore. Brydyddion must take care 
  not to misplace their trust in those from 
  whom they learn, however, for their 
  source may be a demon who wishes to 
  spread its infernal plots by using the 
  Brydydd as a mouthpiece. 
  Anglo-Saxon traditions 
  Deór Dreás 
  This tradition is deeply ingrained in 
  the psyche of Germanic society, and 
  while in decline for centuries, it is still a 
  strong one. Its members are the magical 
  descendants of a caste that was formed 
  back in times when humankind had not 
  yet mastered the manipulation of metal. 
  This caste led their fellow tribespeople 
  in the worship of animals and their 
  spirits, entreating to them in times of 
  need and employing them in times of 
  war. The lore of such rites, as well as 
  the means of magically summoning, 
  controlling, and becoming animals, was 
  passed on and improved upon over 
  many generations, as the Deór Dreás 
  (Animal Magi) developed and refined 
  their magical expertise. 
  In apprenticeship, each member of 
  this tradition chooses a favored animal. 
  This animal can either be mundane or 
  of the Magic Realm. A particularly 
  ambitious apprentice will often choose a 
  legendary animal, such as a griffon, 
  wyvern or a chimera. But typically, more 
  commonly-found animals are chosen, 
  such as wolves, bears, ravens, boars and 
  deer. The apprentice must then study 
  this animal in the wild, and eventually 
  catch and tame one. Throughout this 
  process, they gain insight into the ways 
  and nature of the animal, and as they 
  grow in their abilities, they learn how to 
  change their shape to match that of the 
  animal and how to summon and control 
  it. Thus, Deór Dreás primarily practice 
  the Forms of Animal and Corpus. 
  Appropriate free virtues are those that 
  are related to either of these Forms, 
  such as Inoffensive to Animals, and 
  Deft Animal/Corpus. 
  After apprenticeship, Deór Dreás 
  continue to pursue both the magical and 
  mundane lore of animals, and to capture 
  and tame them. A small subset of this 
  tradition, the Draca Dreás are held in 
  particularly high esteem. These are magi 
  who have mastered the ability to change 
  into dragons. An even smaller number 
  are said to have developed an advanced 
  understanding of the formation of 
  bonds between humans and animals 
  and are supposedly able to have 
  multiple Familiars simultaneously. 
   Scinnthiofas 
  The Scinnthiof (SHIN-theeoff), or 
  Skin Thief tradition was begun on 
  Briton soil in the early 300s, by an 
  Angle maga named Nothgyth. She had 
  only good intentions when she did what 
  she did, but those intentions would give 
  birth to a sinister practice. 
  Nothgyth and her adolescent, Gifted 
  daughter Beorngyth lived with a band of 
  Angle mercenaries in Deira. This 
  warband was hired by the Romans to 
  fight against Saxons who raided the 
  eastern coast of Britannia. Nothgyth’s 
  role was to provide medical support for 
  the warriors, using her facility with 
  Corpus magic to help heal wounds and 
  mend breaks. 
  Through her Gift, she won much 
  respect from the Angles with whom she 
  lived. But the Romans barely tolerated 
  her and her daughter. A newly-arrived 
  tribune took an active dislike to her and 
  would go out of his way to threaten her 
  and attempt to drive her from the 
  community. 
  The mercenaries tried to intervene, 
  but to no effect. One evening, 
  Nothgyth’s daughter came home to find 
  the tribune striking her mother. She 
  killed him with a spell, silently, so the 
  tribune’s guardsmen outside would not 
  notice. Thoroughly shaken, and initially 
  at a loss for what to do, Nothgyth came 
  to the realization that the tribune, a key 
  official of the legion garrisoned nearby, 
  would be missed and that questions 
  would be asked. The legionaries outside 
  would also need an explanation. She 
  didn’t want to kill them too. But she 
  didn’t want the tribune’s murder to lead 
  to the execution of her daughter or of 
  herself. And so she formulated a plan. 
  First, she examined the body and 
  studied its features carefully. With her 
  Corpus magic, she changed her own 
  shape to match that of the tribune. 
  Then she attempted the facial features, 
  which were more difficult. After some 
  practice, she matched them too. The 
  final element was to mimic the tribune’s 
  voice, which she accomplished by 
  changing her vocal cords until her voice 
  sounded passably similar to the 
  deceased’s. Lucky for her, she spoke 
  some Latin. Nothgyth completed her 
  disguise by donning the tribune’s 
  clothing. Then she stepped forth from 
  her house and led the legionaries back 
  to their fort. 
  Nothgyth and her daughter held up 
  this charade for many years. They 
  learned the ways of the Roman military, 
  and her daughter became a master at 
  changing her shape to match those of 
  others. 
  It was Beorngyth who embraced the 
  ability to mimic the shape of others 
  fully, and to take on the roles in society 
  of others for her own benefit. She 
  devised a means of supplementing her 
  ability to copy facial features, a 
  particularly difficult aspect of assuming 
  the shape of someone else, by using the 
  flayed face of the target as a magical 
  focus. 
  Mechanically, this technique adds 6 
  to the Perception + Finesse roll that is 
  
   
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  required to determine the accuracy of 
  the reproduced features. 
  This roll is compared to an ease 
  factor that depends on the familiarity of 
  those who interact with the maga and 
  see her disguise: 
  +15 for a close relative or friend 
  +12 for extended family or a friend 
  +9 for a frequent acquaintance 
  +6 for an occasional acquaintance 
  +3 for a rare acquaintance 
  In addition to this skill, Scinnthiofas 
  often have the free virtues of Puissant 
  Corpus, Puissant Finesse, or Affinity 
  with either. 
  Subsequent members of the 
  Scinnthiof tradition expanded its 
  specializations, though these 
  specializations still mostly involve the 
  favored Form of Corpus. Some found 
  ways to change their physical size by 
  several orders, while others were able to 
  change the substance of their bodies 
  entirely (with elemental requisites). 
  S t i l l  o t h e r s  i n c o r p o r a t e d 
  necromantic aspects into the tradition, 
  building wights from the skin and bones 
  of the dead. The construction of wights 
  requires that the maga must first gather 
  the required components: enough skin 
  and bones (not necessarily from the 
  same body) and a number of pawns of 
  Corpus vis that equals the magnitude of 
  the Rego Corpus ritual that both 
  assembles the components into the 
  shape of the wight and that allows the 
  caster to control the wight (base 4, +1 
  touch, +X duration, +2 group, +1 Rego 
  requisite). 
  Storc Wicce 
  An isolated hut sits, surrounded by 
  dark looming trees. The door opens and 
  a woman exits, carrying a basket with 
  her. She shuts the door and walks the 
  short distance to the mist-shrouded 
  shores of a lake. There, she takes up a 
  slim, three-pronged wooden spear that 
  was leaning against a tree, and wades 
  several steps out into the shallow water. 
  Her movements barely make a ripple or 
  a sound. She pauses, leaning forward, 
  with spear at the ready and her attention 
  entirely on the water before her. 
  Suddenly, the spear flashes down and 
  impales a fish, which she neatly releases 
  from the spear tip and flips into her 
  basket. At least that is what normal 
  sight shows. To those with Second 
  Sight or who are under the effects of a 
  magical equivalent, however, the scene 
  unfolds somewhat differently. Instead 
  of the spear impaling a fish, they see her 
  lips elongate rapidly into a pointed beak. 
  Her head then jerks downward at the 
  end of a long, elegantly stretching neck. 
  The prey is not in fact a fish, but a water 
  spirit that she deftly spears with her 
  pointed lips, tosses up, and gulps down 
  her throat. The spirit falls into a bulging 
  sack at the base of her neck. The sack 
  twitches violently several times, and 
  finally stills. 
  Storc Wicce (Stork Witches) are 
  common to the homelands of the 
  Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. Many have 
  left these lands, and followed the strong 
  sense of direction and nose for the wind 
  that they share with their avian 
  namesakes, to Britannia. Chieftains 
  often sought out a Stork Witch to guide 
  their ships safely across the North Sea. 
  There are non-Gifted Stork Witches, 
  who have similar powers to the Folk 
  Witches described in Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, such as divining, herbalism, 
  cursing, etc. There are also Gifted Stork 
  Witches, who use their Magical Arts to 
  achieve similar effects. What sets all 
  Stork Witches apart from other witches, 
  however, is their ability to render vis 
  from the airy spirits that they catch and 
  consume. This ability is the free minor 
  virtue associated with the Stork Witch 
  magical tradition. 
  
   
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  The airy sprits can be of any type, 
  though the vis that is generated is linked 
  to the Form associated with the spirit. 
  Thus a Stork Witch will prefer to 
  consume spirits of the particular Form
  (s) that they favor, which are typically 
  Animal, Auram, Aquam, Herbam, and 
  Corpus. 
  Once consumed, the spirits generate 
  an amount of vis that is equivalent to 
  the amount granted by the Minor 
  Hermetic Virtue, Personal Vis Source 
  (ArM5, page 47). 
  Legends tell of certain “flocks” of 
  Stork Witches who have specialized 
  their ability to consume spirits that are 
  aligned with the Faerie realm or even 
  the Infernal realm. 
  Merlin: Architect of a 
  Legend 
  The most recognizable names of 
  post-Roman Britannia are Arthur and 
  Merlin, or Myrddin. For the former, 
  most historians agree that if Arthur or 
  an Arthur-like figure ever truly existed, 
  it was likely during the Anglo-Saxon 
  invasions. For a significant period of 
  time – almost a century – the Saxon 
  advances in the south and west of 
  Britannia were halted and perhaps 
  reversed by a unified Romano-Briton 
  resistance. 
  Myths attribute the leadership of this 
  resistance to Arthur, a military 
  commander and effective user of 
  cavalry. The culminating victory in his 
  fight against the Saxons was the Battle 
  of Mount Badon (perhaps near or at 
  Caer Baddan), c. 516 AD. After 
  Arthur’s death however, the unity 
  imposed by his great leadership fell 
  apart. The Anglo-Saxon invasion then 
  resumed and consumed all of the lands 
  that had been won back, and more. 
  Early and High Medieval writers spun 
  the Arthurian myths of previous 
  generations into the stories we are 
  familiar with today. But there are no 
  contemporary writings that definitively 
  prove his existence. Nor are there any 
  that prove the existence of a wizard 
  named Merlin. 
  That said, Arthur and Merlin existed 
  in Mythic Europe as surely as did 
  dragons, and faeries, although his 
  origins are unknown. 
  Most believe he came from 
  somewhere west of Britannia – Ireland 
  or the Isle of Mann. These beliefs, 
  however, are merely conjecture based 
  on his close association with druidic 
  traditions and the persistence of those 
  traditions in those regions. His age is 
  also unknown, for he used his Magical 
  Arts to keep his appearance consistent 
  over the course of time. The final 
  unknown, and the greatest mystery 
  about his life, is whether he is in fact 
  dead in 550 AD. Some claim he must 
  be, for the stories about him started 
  over a hundred years ago. Others claim 
  that his apprentice, with whom he was 
  besotted, imprisoned him in a magical 
  cell of stone after stealing all of his 
  magical secrets. 
  What is known, on the other hand, 
  (among magi at least) is that he was 
  Gentle Gifted – an extremely rare 
  Virtue in this period. More able to blend 
  into and interact with mundane society, 
  Merlin broke away from the isolated, 
  clan-like arrangements of Gifted 
  individuals typical of the times. He 
  traveled extensively throughout 
  Britannia, seeking out magical 
  knowledge. Through his travels, he 
  developed a strong sense of patriotism 
  for his adopted (or original?) homeland 
  of Britannia. 
  He also saw what good his Gift 
  could bring to others, and began an 
  altruistic campaign to ease the suffering 
  he encountered. This campaign caused 
  him to run afoul of members of the 
  Church, who did not approve of the 
  non-Divine source of Merlin’s 
  “miracles”. These members of the 
  Church interfered with his campaign 
  and coerced him to stop; Merlin would 
  forever hold these actions against them. 
  To continue his efforts, he was forced 
  to learn how to enact his will from 
  behind the scenes, as the non-Gentle 
  Gifted often do; this lesson would be 
  invaluable in the future. 
  When the Anglo-Saxon invasions 
  began, Merlin put his Gift to use in 
  resisting them. It was difficult to do so, 
  in general – the Romano-Britons only 
  had non-professional soldiers to pit 
  against the well-armed Anglo-Saxon 
  warriors, and there was no collective 
  sense of defensive duty. The typical 
  reaction of the lords of the lands being 
  invaded was to move behind walls and 
  horde their troops to guard their wealth. 
  The invaders overran them one by one. 
  A notable exception to this 
  tendency, however, was the valiantly self
  -less assistance provided by a minor 
  king of Cornubia: Uther, who brought 
  his warbands to the defense of eastern 
  and southern Britannia. After hearing of 
  this man’s efforts, Merlin sought him 
  out, and through a few conversations 
  found that they shared the same vision 
  for their country. That vision was of a 
  strong Britannia, united under a strong 
  High King and that could force back 
  the invaders: a return to Roman glory, 
  but with Britons commanding and 
  Britons fighting. 
  Unfortunately for them, and for 
  Britannia, political and financial support 
  was behind someone else at the time – 
  the weak and flaccid High King 
  Vortigern – and they could not turn 
  their vision into reality. Again the 
  Church stood in the way of Merlin’s 
  aims, spitefully using their influence 
  with the Council of Britannia to block 
  his attempts to put forth Uther as High 
  King. 
  This Council was a misguided 
  political entity that was composed of 
  the prominent men of the southern 
  Romano-Briton kingdoms and that, 
  under High King Vortigern, was 
  responsible for sparking the Anglo-
  Saxon invasions through the hiring of 
  the rebellious Hengist and Horsa and 
  their warbands. Ultimately, however, 
  Merlin was able to outwit the Council 
  and the Church, the Council was 
  dissolved, Vortigern was deposed from 
  the High Kingship, and Uther was 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  22 
  confirmed in his place. But then Uther 
  died the very next winter, at the hand of 
  an unknown assailant. 
  As Uther’s life leaked out through 
  his wounds, he made Merlin promise to 
  serve his son, Medrawt, just as he had 
  served the father. And so Merlin again 
  began laying the groundwork for the 
  elevation of a King of Cornubia to the 
  High Kingship. Merlin tutored the 
  young noble, and attempted to cultivate 
  the skills and perceptiveness required of 
  a great leader. But the young man 
  lacked ability. 
  By happenstance, Merlin came 
  across another potential figurehead, one 
  who showed astounding promise both 
  in the ways of war and battle, and in the 
  ways of politics and rulership. His name 
  was Arthur, and he was also a son of 
  Uther, but an illegitimate one. 
  Nonetheless, Merlin put his faith in the 
  young man, and used his Arts to bring 
  him to power and ultimately to the High 
  Kingship. 
  Arthur was extraordinarily successful 
  in uniting the south and west of 
  Britannia (the east was in the process of 
  being lost to the Anglo-Saxons and the 
  north was under the control of the Coel 
  Familia, who refused to recognize 
  Arthur as High King). His military 
  prowess turned back the Saxon tide for 
  almost a generation. 
  Then cancerous forces within the 
  unified body of his own people brought 
  about his downfall. Irked at the 
  triumphs of Merlin and his prodigy, 
  members of the Church worked toward 
  their undoing. They set up Medrawt as a 
  puppet, claiming with some justification 
  that he was the true heir to Uther’s 
  High Kingship. Arthur had demanded 
  much sacrifice from the wealthy of 
  Britannia, so enough minor kings and 
  aristocrats backed Medrawt that he had 
  a significant following. Two armies 
  assembled, one commanded by each 
  half-brother, and both consisting solely 
  of Romano-Briton warriors. They 
  clashed at the Battle of Camlann, c.537 
  AD. Medrawt was slain and Arthur 
  sustained a fatal wound. And so, in the 
  end, only the Anglo-Saxons won. With 
  Arthur’s death, the unified front of the 
  south and west of Britannia dissolved. 
  Soon thereafter, Merlin was either 
  imprisoned or killed by his apprentice, 
  or he simply absconded. Within a 
  generation of the death of Arthur and 
  the disappearance of Merlin, the Saxon 
  takeover of the south proceeded as if 
  they had never been. But perhaps, if 
  Merlin still lives, and if he can be found 
  and released from his prison or induced 
  to return, then maybe there is still a 
  hope that the south of Britannia can 
  withstand the invaders and take back 
  Lloegyr, the lost lands. 
  ROMANO-
  BRITON AND 
  ANGLO-SAXON 
  SOCIETIES 
  The following two sections provide 
  background information for the two 
  main societies in Britannia in 550 AD, 
  including their historical origins and an 
  overview of their structure and state. 
  Because of a scarcity of contemporary 
  sources, especially for the Romano-
  Britons, there are few descriptions on 
  which to draw directly in forming a 
  picture of what these societies were like. 
  What follows are summaries of 
  reconstructions of the two societies 
  undertaken by two historians, Sir 
  Charles Oman (Anglo-Saxons) and 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  23 
  Professor Christopher Snyder (Romano
  -Britons). The former relied exclusively 
  on literary sources, while the latter used 
  both literary and archaeological sources. 
  See the Bibliography for the complete 
  references to these works. Note that the 
  views described below adhere more to 
  the picture of ubiquitously violent 
  invasion and conquest put forth by 
  ancient writers such as Gildas and Bede 
  and by historians of the 19th and 20th 
  century, as opposed to the more 
  modern and archaeologically-supported 
  view of peaceful settlement and 
  acculturation. The old views provide a 
  more dramatic backdrop for sagas. Feel 
  free to adjust the nature of your version 
  of the Anglo-Saxon takeover as you 
  wish. 
  The Anglo-Saxons 
  The people who braved the North 
  Sea and won themselves land in 
  Britannia were primarily of three 
  Germanic tribes: the Saxons, who came 
  from the area of modern-day Germany 
  that is south of the Eider and north of 
  the Elbe; the Angles, who came from 
  the land north of the Eider, now known 
  as Angeln; and the Jutes, who came 
  from the northern regions of the 
  Danish peninsula. 
  Before their first raids on Britannia, 
  in the 200’s AD, they had no previous 
  interaction with the Roman Empire and 
  thus knew nothing of either civilization 
  or Christianity. Through their raids, they 
  built a reputation for piracy and 
  barbarism. To the exclusively Christian 
  writers of the time (and to the Christian 
  historians of subsequent ages who 
  interpreted their writings, including Sir 
  Charles Oman, whose views dominate 
  the subsequent paragraphs), these 
  reputations and the pagan religion of 
  the Anglo-Saxons meant that the 
  motives of the invaders were largely 
  evil. 
  To them, the Anglo-Saxons existed 
  in the darkest state of barbarity and 
  heathendom, intent only on the 
  destruction of Briton civilization and to 
  replace it with a new society of their 
  own. It is true that the Anglo-Saxons 
  were pagans who worshiped Woden, 
  Thor, Balder, and other ancient gods of 
  their German ancestors. But they were 
  likely not especially religious, for they 
  built few temples, had few priests, and 
  their religion did not appear to influence 
  their lives or their politics heavily. It is 
  more likely that the motives of the 
  invaders were more complex than those 
  a t t r ib u t ed  t o  t h em  b y  t h e 
  aforementioned writers and that they 
  were not necessarily evil. The 
  archaeological record supports such 
  possibilities, for the evidence unearthed 
  to date suggests that, in most areas, the 
  transfer to Anglo-Saxon overlordship 
  happened peacefully. 
  The first Anglo-Saxons to begin 
  settling Britannia were mercenaries led 
  by two brothers, Hengist and Horsa. 
  These two Angle chieftains brought 
  their Jutish and Frisian warbands to 
  Kent at the request of Vortigern, the 
  High King of the southern Britons. He 
  hired them to drive away the Picts and 
  the Scots who raided Britannia, for the 
  Britons could not see to their own 
  defenses. But when it came time for the 
  mercenaries to be paid and leave, they 
  refused to depart, and instead took 
  control over the Isle of Thanet (449 
  AD). 
  A long war followed, the first battle 
  of which, at Aylesford, saw the death of 
  Horsa. But Hengist persisted, and after 
  additional battles, he won all the land 
  between the forest of the Weald and the 
  estuary of the Thames. His followers 
  saluted him as king, and his descendants 
  were monarchs of Kent for over two 
  centuries, until the kingdom was 
  conquered by Wessex. 
  The next warbands to land consisted 
  purely of Saxons, and were led by a 
  chieftain, or alderman, named Aella 
  (477 AD). They arrived near the fortress 
  of Anderida (Pevensey), one of the 
  chain of protective enclosures under the 
  oversight of the Comes Litoris Saxonici 
  (see Romano-Briton section). Aella 
  sacked this fortress, killing all that lived 
  within, and went on to conquer the 
  narrow strip of land between the sea 
  and the forest of the Weald, as far as 
  Chichester and Selsea. Thus he founded 
  the kingdom of the South Saxons 
  (Sussex), and reigned as its king. 
  In 495 AD, another band of Saxons 
  landed on Southampton Water, west of 
  Aella’s realm. The new arrivals were led 
  by an alderman named Cerdic. After 
  overcoming the Romano-Britons who 
  lived in the valleys of the Itchen and the 
  Test and in the Roman town of Caer 
  Guinntguic, he too won himself a 
  kingdom, which he called Wessex. 
  Cerdic continued to expand his 
  kingdom, until coming up against the 
  Dumnonians and Cornubians, who 
  checked the Saxon advances. 
  A third band of Saxons landed on 
  the northern shore of the Thames, 
  while Cerdic was expanding his 
  territory. From there, they spread into 
  the low-lying country between the old 
  Roman towns of Camulodunum (Caer-
  Colun) and Londinium (Caer Lundein), 
  from the Colne as far as the Stour. This 
  kingdom took the name of Essex and 
  was the last Saxon kingdom that would 
  be established on Briton soil. 
  But to the north, in 520 AD, the 
  Angles landed in force. Two warbands 
  conquered Caer Went; one band called 
  themselves the North Folk (Norfolk), 
  and the other the South Folk (Suffolk). 
  Together, they formed the kingdom 
  known as East Anglia. 
  Still further north, Anglian warbands 
  took the lands above the Humber, and 
  s o  c a m e  t o  b e  k n o w n  a s 
  Northumbrians. There, they established 
  two kingdoms: Bernicia (formerly 
  Bryneich), with its central stronghold at 
  Din Guardi (which they called 
  Bamburgh), and Deira, centered on the 
  old Roman town of Eboracum (which 
  they called Eofervic, or York). Both 
  East Anglia and Northumbria were 
  established between 547-550 AD – 100 
  years after the fall of Kent. 
  The last Anglo-Saxon realm, Mercia 
  or the “March”, would not form until 
  584 AD, when at least three Anglian 
  warbands established this realm: the 
  (Continued on page 25) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  24 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  25 
  Lindiswaras (at Caer-Lind-Colun), the 
  Mid-Angles (at Caer-Lerion), and the 
  Mercians (in parts of Pengwern and The 
  Peak). The center of the kingdom was 
  Tamworth (near Caer-Luit-Coyt), which 
  was fortified by King Creoda. At the 
  time of the founding of Mercia, the 
  Romano-Britons still held Caer-Guricon 
  and Caer-Legion and thus the Mercians 
  were kept from reaching the Severn and 
  thereby bisecting Romano-Briton 
  territory. 
  In the early period of the Anglo-
  Saxon incursions, the invaders killed all 
  Romano-Britons who lived in the lands 
  that they came upon. With time, 
  however, they saw the utility in 
  enslaving them and forcing them to 
  tend the land. The Anglo-Saxons called 
  the Romano-Britons Welsh, or 
  “foreigners”, as if these long-time 
  inhabitants of Britannia were 
  themselves the new arrivals. 
  As they settled Britannia, the Anglo-
  Saxons mostly lived in the open 
  country, only entering the old Roman 
  towns to plunder them for building 
  materials. Thus the realms that they 
  established were founded almost 
  entirely on rural communities. Each of 
  the Anglo-Saxon realms were structured 
  similarly. The basis for their 
  administration was the warband of 
  individuals who were sworn to follow a 
  military chief, or alderman. 
  Once a region was conquered, the 
  alderman would distribute lands among 
  his followers, reserving the greatest 
  share for himself. Each of the sworn 
  companions (gesiths) of the king 
  became the ruler of a small community 
  of dependents that included their 
  children, servants and slaves. As new 
  settlers from the Continent arrived, the 
  influence and responsibilities of the 
  initial conquerors grew. The new 
  settlers did not share the same status as 
  the gesiths, but formed new 
  communities that fell under the 
  rulership of the established leadership. 
  Thus the small regions of the first 
  settling expanded in area and in 
  population, and over time became 
  military monarchies. 
  With this transition, the original 
  alderman became king, and the gesiths 
  became aldermen, who each 
  administered one region of the kingdom 
  on behalf of the king. These regions 
  were then further divided into districts, 
  with a “reve” responsible for its royal 
  property and dues. Eventually, as the 
  kingdoms grew even larger, they were 
  cut up into shires, each with its own 
  alderman and a shire-reve (sheriff), to 
  whom all reves of the districts within 
  the shire reported. 
  For important decisions, the king 
  relied on advice from a set of 
  councilors: the Witan (Wisemen). This 
  council consisted of the realm’s 
  aldermen and a number of greater 
  gesiths who served the king directly. 
  When the Wittan convened and the 
  great men of the realm discussed 
  matters of significance, the common 
  people were allowed to gather and 
  shout their support or dissent. But the 
  decisions were ultimately left to the 
  rulings of the king and his advisors. 
  When a king ruled tyrannically, 
  became incompetent, or died, the Witan 
  chose a new king from among the 
  members of the royal family. Succession 
  of all positions of leadership was not yet 
  hereditary, and was instead by election 
  (although the Witan never went outside 
  the royal house in their nominations for 
  the kingship). 
  For less important decisions on local 
  matters, all the freemen of a shire would 
  meet at a monthly shire-moot. The 
  alderman and reve presided at these 
  meetings, and with the aid of the 
  freemen, would settle disputes and law-
  suits. 
  Each freeman had a vote, so the 
  shire-moot was much more democratic 
  than the Witan, where only great lords 
  could speak and vote. Matters that were 
  deemed too minor for the shire-moot 
  were settled by villagers at tun-moots 
  that were attended by every freeman of 
  the village. Most of the disputes that 
  arose within a village were about 
  communal land use; pasture, waste land, 
  and forests around the village belonged 
  to the community. Houses and yards 
  belonged to the individual. 
  The Romano-Britons 
  In the opening decade of the 5th 
  century, Britannia was a diocese of the 
  Roman Empire. As in the rest of the 
  empire, society was based on urban 
  centers in which a majority of the 
  people lived and in which local 
  economies were centralized. The chief 
  civic magistrate of the diocese was the 
  vicarius in Londinium (Caer Lundein), 
  who reported to the praetorian prefect 
  in Gaul. Under the vicarius, there were 
  multiple financial officials and then the 
  governors of the five provinces of the 
  diocese: Britannia Prima (with its capital 
  at Corinum Dobunnorum, which 
  became Caer Ceri), Britannia Secunda 
  (with its capital at Eburacum, or Caer 
  Ebrauc), Flavia Caesariensis (with its 
  capital at Lindum, which became Caer 
  Lind-Colun), and Maxima Caesariensis 
  (with its capital at Caer Lundein). 
  Within each province, local government 
  was administered through the main 
  cities (civitates) of small territorial units 
  that corresponded roughly to the 
  original lands of the Celtic tribes that 
  inhabited the island when the Romans 
  first came (see the nearby map). Each of 
  these civitates was governed by a 
  council of representatives called the 
  ordo or curia. Its members, the curiales 
  or decuriones, were drafted from the 
  local aristocracy (possessores). In 
  addition to the civitates, a province also 
  contained other urban settlements 
  (municipii, vici, pagi) and military forts. 
  After the last regular Roman troops 
  left with Constantine III in 407 AD, the 
  Britons were forced to arm themselves 
  in response to Saxon, Pict, and Scot 
  raids. This arming was an illegal act 
  under the laws of the Roman Empire, 
  and required the overthrow of Roman 
  authority. Magistrates at all levels were 
  removed from their positions. 
  Following this revolt, which was 
  formally allowed to persist by Emperor 
  Honorius in 410 AD, the Britons set up 
  (Continued from page 23) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  26 
  a government of their own. The 
  possessores, who had much to lose 
  from barbarian attacks, were best 
  positioned financially and politically to 
  take up the roles of the magistrates and 
  to fend for their cities and regions. 
  There were no more imperial troops, 
  and so the possessores put their own 
  funds and the proceeds from what 
  remained of the Roman tax system 
  toward hiring mercenaries and toward 
  maintaining their own soldiers and 
  communities. This maintenance 
  included the preservation of the 
  remaining Roman features like 
  aqueducts, amphitheaters, communal 
  baths, roads, etc. 
  The offices and titles of the 
  possessores are hereditary, as they had 
  been under the Empire. However, the 
  authority of the possessores is not 
  sanctioned by Rome, with Britannia no 
  longer being part of the Empire, and 
  those on the continent viewed these 
  upstarts as illegitimate, petty tyrants. 
  Over time, however, these tyrants 
  would become kings. The lands they 
  rule mirror the territories of the pre-
  Roman Celtic tribes. Some kings have 
  kept their residences in large urban 
  centers and have tried to retain as much 
  of the Roman way of life as possible. 
  Others, in response to the Anglo-Saxon 
  raiding, have moved their residences to 
  Roman forts, and others still to the 
  ancient hillforts that the Romans had 
  forced the Celtic tribes to abandon. 
  They re-fortified these hillforts, 
  restoring or adding such features as 
  dressed stone walls with timber fighting 
  platforms, timber gate towers, ditches 
  and banks, and watchtowers, to protect 
  their people from the invaders.  
  The three head military commands 
  instituted by the Romans during their 
  rule survived the isolation of Britannia 
  from the Empire: the Comes 
  Britanniarum who defends the central, 
  southern and western inland regions, 
  the Comes Litoris Saxonici who defends 
  the southern and eastern coasts, and the 
  Dux Britanniarum who defends the 
  northern regions and oversees Hadrian’s 
  Wall. 
  The soldiers who serve these 
  commanders are locals and therefore 
  have strong ties to the community 
  where they serve. They rely on their 
  commanders for their livelihood and 
  their equipment, which typically consists 
  of swords, spears, shields, and helmets. 
  Few are as heavily armed as Roman 
  legionaries. The aristocracy ride horses 
  to war, while some of the tyrant kings 
  have taken up the ancient Celtic 
  tradition of riding chariots. Forts along 
  Hadrian’s Wall continue to be occupied 
  by military forces, as are a number of 
  fortifications on the eastern coast. 
  In 550, the Roman type of city-based 
  economy is no longer present in 
  Britannia. Most people have moved out 
  from the major urban centers, into the 
  countryside. Thus there are no large 
  populations from which to levy taxes. 
  Instead, a major, though still dwindling, 
  source of tax-based wealth for the 
  possessores are tariffs placed on trade. 
  In Roman times, Britannia traded 
  heavily with Gaul, importing wine, olive 
  oil, and fine table wares and pottery; 
  this trade continued into the period of 
  the Anglo-Saxon invasions, but 
  eventually ended. Exports include salt 
  and both raw and worked tin; the 
  importance of these industries grew 
  substantially in the 400 and 500’s, and 
  their products traveled as far as 
  Alexandria. 
  Within Britannia, there is a diversity 
  of industrial activity that includes iron 
  smelting, production of high-quality 
  jewelry, bone pins, and combs, leather 
  working, and wool spinning and 
  weaving. As trade with the mainland 
  dries up, the Britons have begun 
  producing their own fine pottery 
  though on a much smaller scale. Some 
  fortifications, such as the Mote of Marc, 
  are devoted to industrial activities, with 
  craftsmen gathering under the 
  protection of timber-and-stone walls. 
  Other greatly-respected craftsmen 
  (smiths and jewelers in particular) are 
  itinerant, and travel the land in search of 
  the most generous patron. 
  Despite the economic uncertainty 
  caused by barbarian raids, there are still 
  signs of great prosperity. Wealthy villas 
  are common features of the rural 
  landscape. Many have been abandoned 
  for more defensible holdings as the 
  invasions progressed, but some are still 
  occupied and functioning. These 
  country residences and estates are 
  worked both by tenant farmers and by 
  slaves, who together form the bottom 
  of the social pyramid. Though not a 
  slave society (i.e., characterized by large 
  numbers of slaves working on great 
  plantations and in mines), slavery was 
  common in Britannia. Most slaves were 
  prisoners of war or non-Britons 
  captured in raids. 
  Some possessores amass their wealth 
  through slavery and the slave trade. 
  Villa owners generate theirs through the 
  agricultural surplus or industrial goods 
  generated by their slaves, which is now 
  sold in scattered, small rural markets, 
  instead of in the large fora of the 
  nearest urban centers as they once were. 
  For the purchase and sale of goods, 
  there is now a mixture of currency use 
  and barter. The last Roman coins to be 
  In 550, 
   the Roman type of city
  -based economy is no 
  longer present in 
  Britannia. Most people have moved out from 
  the major urban centers, into the countryside 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  27 
  minted in Britannia were struck in the 
  480s. By 550, many are still in 
  circulation, though clipping and 
  counterfeiting are common. As a result 
  of these activities, Roman money has 
  lost much of its meaning, and is instead 
  melted down to make pendants, jewelry, 
  and other objects of value to a heroic 
  society. Jewelry items worn by the 
  wealthy include artistic, enameled 
  brooches (annular and penannular), 
  gold and silver finger rings, metal belt 
  buckles, and silver amulets. 
  Additional indicators of prosperity 
  are the extensive construction projects 
  undertaken throughout the 5th and 6th 
  centuries, both military and civic. The 
  military projects have already described 
  above. The civic projects relied 
  exclusively on timber for larger 
  structures, and wattle-and-daub and turf 
  for modest structures, because of a 
  scarcity of stone and/or skilled masons. 
  Civic buildings range from small barns 
  to multi-storied mansions and are found 
  both in urban and in rural settings. The 
  most characteristic structure of the time 
  is the aisled hall built from timber. 
  These buildings are impressive in size 
  and have internal divisions for private 
  apartments that are situated around a 
  central hall. These halls are used for 
  feasting, on occasions such as when a 
  landlord shares his prosperity with his 
  tenants and when a king rewards his 
  warband or hosts another king. The 
  feasts are often timed to coincide with a 
  religious holiday or a military victory, 
  and consist of foods like pig’s, cow’s, 
  sheep’s and goat’s meat, honey, bread, 
  wine, butter, garden vegetables, eggs, 
  cheese, milk, mead, Celtic beer (cervisa), 
  limpets, and oysters. Interspersed with 
  these periods of feasting, however, are 
  periods of famine and plague that cause 
  severe declines in population. 
  By the early 400’s, pagan religions 
  played no significant role in Romano-
  Briton culture. The vast majority were 
  Christian and had been for several 
  decades. For example, St. Patrick’s 
  family had been Christian for three 
  generations before him. In addition, 
  there is no archaeological or literary 
  evidence that Christians persecuted 
  pagans in Britannia, or that there was 
  even any tension between the two 
  groups. The more likely scenario is that 
  worship at pagan temples simply died 
  out slowly during the 4th century, and 
  these structures then deteriorated. 
  Christians recognized the sanctity of 
  many of these sites and established 
  churches and cemeteries on them. 
  These churches were modest buildings. 
  In contrast, the possessores often built 
  relatively lavish private chapels in their 
  villas, decorated with wall paintings and 
  mosaics. These chapels indicate that 
  many of the land-owning elite had 
  converted to Christianity. 
  In Britannia, the Church itself has 
  no formal hierarchy, but there are 
  betters (meliores) or elders (seniores), 
  and then those beneath them. There are 
  pastors, whose duties include 
  administering baptism and confession, 
  serving the Eucharist, confirming oaths, 
  giving alms, performing sacrificies, 
  serving secular rulers, and sometimes 
  pronouncing excommunication. Clerical 
  interactions include the holding of 
  councils, performing consecrations and 
  ordinations, administering penance, and 
  traveling overseas for church 
  appointments. Celibacy is not a 
  requirement, and women play an active 
  role in the church. Education is an 
  important element of church training; it 
  follows the classical curriculum of 
  grammar, rhetoric, and law, and is 
  founded strongly on the Bible and the 
  writings of the Church fathers. 
  As early as the mid-4th century, 
  monastic communities began to be 
  established, including one at Candida 
  Casa on Solway Firth. The monastic 
  movement in the 500s AD is still 
  fledgling, but is gaining momentum and 
  enthusiastic supporters. There are 
  abbots, monks, and nuns who follow 
  regulae in which they fast, hold vigil, 
  sing psalms and work in fields, but they 
  aren’t wholly removed from their 
  surroundings and the worldly 
  temptations to be found there. 
  In the 400’s, the Pelagian heresy was 
  a strong influence that drew the clergy 
  in Britannia away from the path set by 
  Rome. This heresy taught that human 
  nature is not linked with original sin and 
  that mortal will is capable of choosing 
  good over evil without Divine aid. In 
  response, Rome sent the missions of 
  Germanus to Britannia in 429 AD and 
  Palladius to Ireland in 431 AD. In 550 
  AD, there are perhaps still a few 
  adherents to this heresy, but not enough 
  to influence the Church in Britannia as 
  strongly as before. A resurgence of this 
  heresy might make for an interesting 
  story arc. How would magi react to the 
  Church taking extreme actions against 
  their subjects who hold these benign 
  beliefs? Or are these beliefs in fact not 
  benign – is there a more sinister agent 
  or motive behind them? 
  As a result of spending time in a 
  unified state under Roman rule, Britons 
  regard themselves as Britanni, or as 
  citizens of the country or land called 
  Britannia. Ancient tribal affiliations 
  remained and rose to the surface with 
  the fragmentation of the Roman 
  dioceses into smaller kingdoms. But 
  despite this political division, the 
  common language and common religion 
  shared by the Romano-Britons allow 
  them to see themselves as cymbrogi 
  (compatriots). And for this reason they 
  believe themselves superior to the 
  pagan Anglo-Saxons. 
  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
  Sir Charles Oman, A History of 
  England, Henry Holt and Company, 
  1900. 
  Christopher A. Snyder, An Age of 
  Tyrants: Britain and the Britons A.D. 400-
  600, Penn State University Press, 1998. 
  David Nicolle, Arthur and the Anglo-
  Saxon Wars, Osprey Publishing, 1984. 
  Paul Wagner, Pictish Warrior AD 297-
  841, Osprey Publishing, 2002. 
  UK history files ( http://
  www.historyfiles.co.uk/). 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  28 
  Historical Timeline 
  of Britannia 
  This timeline focuses primarily on events that occurred in 
  Britannia, though it does include some key historical events 
  that occurred in the rest of Europe. It also includes events 
  associated with the fledgling Order of Hermes, for troupes 
  with an eye to the future. 
  200-400: Britannia is continuously harassed by Picts, Saxons 
  and Irish Scots. Their attacks include a massive raid in 367, 
  dubbed “The Barbarian Conspiracy”, a planned and unified 
  assault, in which northern and western Britannia is overrun, the 
  Comes Litoris Saxonici is killed, and the Dux Britanniarum is 
  captured. In response to this raid and others, several successive 
  Caesars bring legions to the island to drive the barbarians back, 
  beyond Hadrian’s Wall. The imperial presence is also 
  occasionally required to put down rebellions among the 
  Britons, and for rebuilding defenses afterward. When such 
  tasks are done, they leave. Despite the barbarian incursions and 
  the rebellious conflicts, Britannia prospers. However, its 
  military forces are gradually weakened by usurpers such as 
  Magnus Maximus (the Macsen Wledig of Welsh legend), who 
  lead armies away to the continent in their bids for the Empire. 
  407: The last regular Roman troops are withdrawn from 
  Britain by Constantine III to fight in his rebellion on the 
  continent. 
  408: Britain is devastated by Saxon raids. 
  409: A coalition of Vandals, Suevi and Alans crosses into 
  Spain. The Britons revolt from the empire and set up 
  independent rule. The Empire can no longer hold on to 
  Britannia. 
  410: Rome officially abandons Britannia. Emperor Honorius 
  refuses to send the aid requested by the Britons, for defense 
  against Pict, Scot and Saxon raiders. Rome is sacked by 
  Visigoths, under Alaric. Franks, Burgundians and Alemanni 
  follow Vandals into Gaul. 
  418: Visigoths are settled as foederati by Romans in 
  Aquitaine, after attacking Suevi, Alans and Vandals in Spain. 
  429: Britons, under St. Germanus of Auxerre, defeat Anglo-
  Saxon and Pictish pagan raiders at “Alleluia” battle. St 
  Germanus begins his fight against the Pelagian heresy. Vandals 
  cross from Spain into North Africa. 
  430s: Huns are used by Rome to impose foederati status on 
  Burgundians and other barbarians in Gaul. 
  432: St. Patrick’s mission to Ireland. 
  439: Vandals capture Carthage, establish a kingdom. 
  441: Huns under Attila rebel, defeat the Romans at Naissus. 
  Witnesses in Gaul observe that some portion of Britannia has 
  fallen into the hands of the Saxons. 
  443-50: Plague infects Britannia and much of Europe. 
  445: St. Germanus makes a second visit to Britannia. 
  446: The Britons again appeal for aid, sending “The Groans 
  of the Britons” to General Aetius in Gaul. “The barbarians 
  drive us into the sea, the sea drives us back on to the 
  barbarians. Our only choice is whether we shall die by the 
  sword or drown: for we have none to save us.” Beset by Huns, 
  Aetius cannot help. 
  449: Vortigern, High King of the southern Britons, hires 
  Jutish/Angle mercenaries led by brothers Hengist and Horsa 
  to stop Pictish raiding. These mercenaries attack Orkney and 
  campaign “as far as the borders of the Picts”. Hengist and 
  Horsa then rebel and begin their conquest of Ceint. 
  450: St. Ninian begins the conversion of the Southern Picts. 
  451: Aetius defeats Attila at the Catalaunian Plain, as Huns 
  invade Gaul. 
  453: Constantinople wins ecclesiastical supremacy over 
  Alexandria at the Council of Chalcedon; Attila dies. 
  454 : Germanic subjects of the Huns rebel, breaking Hunnic 
  power at battle of Nedao. 
  455: Picts attack Britannia in support of the Anglo-Saxon 
  rebellion. Rome sacked by Vandals; Aetius assassinated. 
  456: Anglo-Saxons and Jutes of Ceint defeat Britons at the 
  Battle of Crecanford, Britons retreat to Caer Lundein. 
  457: Ceint lost to Jutes, led by Hengist and Oisc. 
  462-78: Visigoths expand into Gaul and Spain. 
  464: Saxon king Adovacrius rules near Loire estuary in Gaul. 
  470: Caer Lind-Colun (or Linnuis) lost to Angles, becomes 
  Lindisware. Caer Lerion falls shortly thereafter. 
  476: Deposition of last Western Roman Emperor. Italy 
  comes under the rule of Odoacer, a barbarian general, who 
  deposed the “last” western emperor: the puppet usurper 
  Romulus Augustulus, who was still a boy; Odoacer recognizes 
  suzerainty of eastern emperor Zeno. 
  477: Aelle and his Saxon warbands arrive in Sussex. 
  480 : Death of Julius Nepos, the last legitimate western 
  emperor. Dalmatia becomes part of Odoacer’s kingdom. 
  495: Cerdic and his Saxon warbands arrive in Wessex. Caer 
  Went lost to Angles. 
  500: Aelle of Sussex recognized as Bretwalda. Fresh 
  migration of Scots from Northern Ireland to Dal Riada. 
  c.500: The Battle of Mount Badon and slaughter of the 
  Saxons. The birth of Gildas. 
  508-14: The Picts are expelled from the Lowlands. 
  520: Foundation of a monastery at Clonard in Ireland. 
  521: The birth of St. Columba. 
  537: Battle of Camlann and the death of Arthur. King of 
  Scots, Comgall mac Fergus, is killed by Picts. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  29 
  542-49: Bubonic plague devastates Constantinople, eventually 
  reaching Britannia and Ireland. 
  545: Caer Colun lost to Saxons, becomes Essex. 
  547: Bryneich lost to Angles, will soon become Bernicia. 
  550: Angles occupy Bamburgh, formal creation of the 
  kingdom of Bernicia. 
  552: Rhegin lost to Saxons, becomes Sussex. Caer 
  Gwinntguic lost to Saxons, becomes Wessex. 
  558: King of Scots, Gabran mac Fergus, is killed by Picts. 
  559: Deywr lost to Anglian mercenaries, who originally 
  settled in this region c.420, becomes Deira. 
  563-65: St. Columba establishes a monastery at Iona, begins 
  his mission among the Picts and visits the northern Pictish 
  King Bridei in Inverness. 
  570-80: Ebrauc lost to Deirans. 
  571: Caer Lundein lost to Essex. Ceawlin, King of Wessex 
  defeats Romano-Britons at Bedford. 
  577: Ceawlin, King of Wessex, defeats the kings of Caer 
  Gloui (King Cynfael), Caer Ceri, and Caer Baddan at the battle 
  of Dyrham, resulting in the loss of respective kingdoms, and 
  cutting off the Romano-Britons of Dumnonia and Cornubia 
  from those of South Wales. 
  580: Aeden MacGabrain of Dal Riada campaigns against the 
  Picts of Orkney. 
  590: The Peak lost to Angles. 
  595: Dunoting lost to Bernicians. 
  596-97: Foundation of the Benedictine monastery of 
  Canterbury and start of St Augustine’s mission to Kent. Death 
  of St. Columba at Iona. 
  597: Gododdin lost to the Angles, led by Oswald of Bernicia. 
  Battle of Catraeth in which an outnumbered Briton force from 
  Din Eidyn are killed almost to a man by Angles. Aneirin the 
  Bard escapes and composes Y Gododdin. 
  605: Caer Celemion lost to Wessex, led by Ceawlin. 
  613: South Rheged lost to Angles. Aethelfrith, King of 
  Bernicia and Deira, defeats the princes of Cumbria and North 
  Wales at the Battle of Deva (Caer Legion). Host of Briton 
  monks massacred; quoth Aethelfrith, “If they do not fight 
  against us with their arms, they do so with their prayers.” This 
  victory cut off Cumbria from North Wales. 
  616: North Rheged lost to Angles, led by Edwin of Deira. 
  Galwyddel is now under Bernician influence, while Caer 
  Guendoleu is absorbed by Alt Clut. 
  620: Cynwidion falls to Mercia. 
  627-34: Bernicians and Deirans converted to Christianity. 
  628: Anglo-Saxon Hwicce (formerly Caer Gloui) annexed by 
  Mercia. 
  630: Domnall Brecc of the Dal Riadans leads an army against 
  the Irish High King, but is defeated at the battle of Moira. Last 
  dynastic link between the Dal Riadan Scots and Ireland is 
  severed. 
  634: Bernicians and Deirans defeats Gwynedd at Hexham. 
  635: Bernicia and Deira formally united as the kingdom of 
  Northumbria. 
  652-58: Glastenning lost to Wessex. 
  653: Essex converted to Christianity. 
  655: Elmet lost to Northumbria and Mercia. Pagan Mercia 
  defeated by Northumbria and converted to Christianity. 
  656: Pengwern lost to Mercia, led by Oswiu. 
  660: Oswiu of Northumbria claims overlordship of Picts. 
  664: Synod of Whitby. Roman church takes precedence over 
  Celtic church. 
  670: Oswiu dies. 
  672: Ecgfrith, son of Oswiu, attacks and destroys a Pictish 
  army at the battle of Carron. 
  674: Ecgfrith withdraws from Alba to fight the Mercians. 
  679: Northumbria defeated by Mercia at Trent. 
  681: Picts take Dunnottar back from the Northumbrians. 
  681-86: Sussex converted to Christianity. 
  682: Picts retake Orkney from the Scots. 
  683: Picts lay waste to Scottish capital at Dunnadd. 
  685: Northern Picts destroy Northumbrian army at the Battle 
  of Dunnichen. 
  686: Isle of Wight annexed by Wessex, conversion of this last 
  pagan Anglo-Saxon realm to Christianity. 
  690-720: Dumnonia absorbed by Wessex. 
  690: Birth of Bonisagus. 
  698: A Northumbrian army invades the lands of the Picts and 
  is destroyed. Adomnan of Iona makes the “law of the 
  innocents” excluding women from military service. 
  700-10: Lindisware (formerly Linnuis) absorbed by Mercia. 
  705: Birth of Trianoma. 
  711: The Northumbrians rout the Pictish army on the Plain 
  of Manaw, between the rivers Avon and Carron. 
  713: Picts and Northumbrians make peace. 
  714: Birth of Guernicus. 
  715: Approximate year of Flambeau’s birth. 
  717: Nechtan, King of Picts, brings the Pictish church into 
  line with Rome and expels Columban monks “across the spine 
  of Britain.” 
  720: Bonisagus invents Parma Magica. 
  724-29: Southern Pictish civil war over the crown. Oengus 
  emerges victorious. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  30 
  729: Birth of Jerbiton. 
  730: Chiltern-Saeten (Chiltern Hills) annexed by Mercia. 
  Oengus captures and drowns the “King of Atholl”, gaining 
  overlordship of both the Northern and Southern Picts and 
  Scots. 
  731: Trianoma is apprenticed to Bonisagus, and learns the 
  Parma Magica. 
  736: King Oengus of the Picts invades Dal Riada, beheads 
  the Scottish king, and proclaims himself the first King of Picts 
  and Scots. 
  737-67: Trianoma travels throughout Europe, sending some 
  of the magi she meets, including several of the future 
  Founders, back to Bonisagus. 
  738: A war fleet of 150 Pictish ships is wrecked by storm near 
  Ross. 
  741: King Oengus of the Picts defeats Scots of Dal Riada. 
  744: Oengus attacks and defeats the Britons of Strathclyde 
  (formerly Alt Clut). 
  750: Oengus’ brother, Talorcan, is defeated by the Britons of 
  Strathclyde at the Battle of Mocetwawc. 
  753: Valnastium established, future Domus Magna of House 
  Jerbiton. 
  754-57: Bonisagus sets up the first covenant, at Durenmar. 
  756: Oengus makes an alliance with Eadbeorht of 
  Northumbria and attacks Strathclyde. The Britons break the 
  siege and seize Eadbeorht’s northern lands. 
  761: Oengus dies, and the Scots break free from Pictish rule. 
  767: Founding of the Order of Hermes. First meeting of the 
  Grand Tribunal. 
  767-773: Flambeau founds Val Negra. 
  770: Harco founded, Domus Magna of House Mercere. 
  771: Bjornaer begins tradition of holding a council on the 
  island of Ruegen. 
  773: Second meeting of the Grand Tribunal. Crintera 
  founded, Domus Magna of House Bjornaer. Fenistal founded, 
  Domus Magna of House Merinita. 
  768: King of Scots, Aed Finn, invades Alba and fights the 
  Pictish king Ciniod in Fortriu (Fortrenn). 
  782: Causantin Mac Fergus of Dal Riada kills Dubhtollarg, 
  king of the Southern Picts. 
  789: Causantin Mac Fergus defeats Northern Picts and 
  becomes the first Scottish king of both Scots and Picts. 
  780-90: Norwegian settlers arrive in Orkney and overwhelm 
  the local Picts. Orkney becomes the staging point for Viking 
  raids. 
  791: Branugurix founded, Domus Magna of House Diedne. 
  792: Merinita disappears into the wilderness. Fenistal 
  descends into Winter. New Primus, Quendalon, founds 
  Irencillia. 
  793: Lindisfarne monastery raided; first dated Norse attack. 
  798: Fudarus founded, Domus Magna of House Tytalus. 
  799: Third meeting of the Grand Tribunal. Quendalon 
  disappears into the wilderness. Myanar takes up leadership of 
  House Merinita. 
  c.800: Damhan Allaidh attacks the Order. 
  800: Ergyng lost to Mercia. Northumbria loses Dumfries to 
  Strathclyde. 
  801-02: Quendalon reappears. Myanar does not accept him to 
  be who he states, and conflict ensues. Fenistal is lost. Irencillia 
  is now Domus Magna of House Merinita. 
  807: Tytalus disappears into the Maddenhoffen Woods, to 
  challenge the Queen of Faerie. 
  814: South Welsh Dumnonia (Cornwall) conquered by 
  Wessex. 
  816: Welsh kingdom of Rhufuniog conquered by Mercia. 
  817: Fourth meeting of the Grand Tribunal. Certamen 
  accepted as decisive. Red Caps instituted. House Ex 
  Miscellanea joins the Order. 
  818: Death of Mercere. 
  820: Causantin Mac Fergus dies, and Picts re-establish their 
  dynasty over the Scots. 
  831: Birna (Bjornaer) disappears into the wilderness, in bear 
  form. 
  832: Fifth meeting of the Grand Tribunal. Trianoma dies. 
  834: Scottish leader Alpin rebels during a Viking raid, defeats 
  one Pictish army, but is killed by a second. 
  836: Ynys Manaw invaded by Norse. Bonisagus is last seen 
  alive. 
  839: Pictish King and “numberless others” are killed in battle 
  with the Vikings. Alpin’s son Kenneth makes a claim for the 
  throne, but is passed over in favour of Drust IX. 
  841: Norse found city of Dublin. Kenneth MacAlpine 
  becomes Rex Pictorum. 
  843: “Treachery of Scone”, Southern Pict leaders murdered 
  by Scots of Dal Riada. Picts put under Scottish king, formation 
  of united kingdom of Alban. 
  848: Sundering of House Tremere. 
  858: Domnall I unites Picts and Scots under a Scottish ruling 
  dynasty. 
  862: The last remaining Founder of the Order, Tremere, dies. 
  865: Fourth meeting of the Grand Tribunal. 
  865-67: Norse “Great Army” raids across England, captures 
  York. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  31 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  32 
  A powerful faerie makes its 
  home is a swamp near human 
  habitation. 
  It has a strong water aspect and 
  tries to lure people to their death 
  – or better yet into its service. 
  The glamorous swamp is 
  (obviously) not known by this 
  name to the mundanes who live 
  near it. 
  Feel free to invent the local 
  name for the swamp at your 
  own pleasure (a couple of 
  examples could be “The Dark 
  Copse” or “that darn piece of 
  swamp as we can’t get drained”) 
  The glamorous swamp lies near 
  a road. Not a main road but one 
  traveled often enough. 
  There is probably also a small 
  river or several streams connecting 
  with the swamp. 
  Travelers on the road tend to 
  ignore the glamorous swamp and 
  certainly avoid it. 
  By Pelle Kofod 
  This comes to you, gentle 
  reader, from a collection 
  of notes found in the 
  ruins 
  of 
  the 
  fallen 
  covenant 
  of 
  Speculum 
  Petrosa. Once a mighty 
  covenant, it is said their 
  arrogance caused them to 
  fall. Now all that is left is 
  ruins – let the wise learn 
  from this example and 
  take heed. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  33 
  Most are prepared to go to some 
  length to avoid making camp near 
  the glamorous swamp. 
  Yet often enough strangers or 
  young people end up approaching, 
  for firewood, the possibility of 
  catching a meal – or for whatever 
  purposes suit young people. 
  The border of the swamp area is 
  not so bad – not even particularly 
  swampy, so much as a bit of 
  woodland with perhaps unusually 
  soft ground. 
  The faerie of the swamp likes to 
  present a pleasing front in order to 
  lure travelers into its grip. This area 
  has a faint (level 1) faerie aura. 
  This does not last long. Soon 
  visitors are moved into the regio 
  itself, though this is only visible to 
  the very sharp-eyed or those with 
  supernatural senses. This is a faerie 
  regio of 3. 
  To notice this crossing requires 
  a Perception roll of 12+. Should 
  Perception + Second Sight be used 
  instead, the difficulty is the 
  standard 9+. 
  Once mortals enter the regio, 
  things take on a darker feel. All 
  paths seem to lead deeper into the 
  regio and seem to change or close 
  behind travelers. Any attempts to 
  leave incur a penalty of 3 (strength 
  of the regio-level) to any involved 
  rolls. 3 extra botch dice are added 
  as well, though botches are rarely 
  harmful so much as leading deeper 
  into the swamp. Soon intruders will 
  find themselves wading through 
  water up to just below the knee, 
  walking on a soft and giving 
  slippery mess of mud and dead 
  leaves. All animals seem to have 
  vanished except those the player 
  characters may have brought with 
  t h e m .  G o o d  p e r c e p t i o n  + 
  awareness rolls might well locate 
  human bones in the mud beneath 
  the opaque waters. A mist will rise 
  and cover everything. Thin enough 
  at first it will quickly grow too 
  think to see through for more than 
  a few yards. 
  Magi using spells to sense Vis at 
  ranges Smell or Hearing are likely 
  to catch tantalizing scents/sounds 
  of Vis ahead, near the Heart of the 
  Swamp. 
  The Heart of the Glamorous 
  Swamp is a smallish open lake. 
  Dead trees and branches break the 
  surface here and there, as do a 
  patch of bulrushes near one shore. 
  As intruders arrive it will be 
  covered in a thick mist. Here the 
  regio intensifies to level 5 (faerie). 
  Again it is easy enough to enter – 
  leaving might well be more of a 
  challenge though. 
  As intruders enter the inner level 
  of the regio, the mists will appear 
  to lift, exposing the lake to viewers. 
  But more importantly it will expose 
  the Queen. 
  The Queen (find a name 
  appropriate to your location, try to 
  avoid obvious saints’ names) 
  manifests as a mostly human, 
  mostly female shape that never 
  breaks contact with the water. 
  (Continued on page 35) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  34 
   Faerie Queen 
  of the 
  Glamorous 
  Swamp 
  Faerie Might: 35+10 
  Characteristics: Int +1, Per 
  +2, Pre +3, Com +1, Str -3, Sta 
  +1, Dex, Qui +1 
  Size: 0 
  Virtues and Flaws: Feast of 
  the Dead, Place of Power (The 
  Glamorous Swamp), Faerie 
  Sight, Faerie Speech, Humanoid 
  Faerie, 
  Immune to Cold, 
  Intangible 
  Flesh, Negative 
  Reaction (Obvious Faerie), 
  N a r r o w l y  
  C o g n i z a n t * , 
  Traditional Ward (Rest of the 
  world – cannot leave it’s 
  Swamp), Aloof 
  Personality Traits: +1 Proud, 
  +2 Demanding, Manipulative 
  +2, Brave (Physical) -3 
  Combat: (Doesn’t engage in 
  physical combat) 
  Dodge: Init +1, Atk n/a, Def 
  +1, Dam n/a 
  Soak: +1 
  Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –
  3 
  (6–10), 
  –5 
  (11–15), 
  Incapacitated (16–20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Pretenses: 
  Awareness 
  3, 
  Charm 5, Concentration 5, 
  Etiquette 2, Folk Ken 2, Guile 5, 
  Intrigue 7, Leadership 3, Local 
  Language 6, Faerie Lore 5, 
  Magic Lore 4, Second Sight 7 
  Powers: 
  Allure, 
  Guide, 
  Loosely Material, Extended 
  Glamour (Whole Swamp), Sight 
  Beyond Sight. 
  Focus Power x2: Any Aquam 
  effect, up to level 45, but 
  rephrased to be “swamp-
  themed”. 
  Focus 
  Power: Any Rego 
  Herbam effect up to level 25. 
  Lesser Power: Fog (Can cause 
  a fog to cover any part of her 
  swamp – or all of it. This can be 
  a thin mist or a dense pea soup 
  or anything in between. Cost 0. 
  CrAu, level special due to 
  flexibility.) 
  Greater Power: To Wake the 
  Dead. (Can Animate the bones 
  of those who have entered her 
  swamp and died. Base 10, 
  To u ch ,  
  C o n c e n t r a t i o n , 
  “Structure+1” (Entire Swamp, 
  works across Regio levels) ReCo 
  40, Init -3, 2 Points, Intricacy 
  spent to reduce cost). She 
  prefers to use this power only to 
  scare “guests” – if they actually 
  put up a defense, use the stats 
  for Skeletal Revenant, Realms of  
  Power: Magic, page 99 
   
  Please note that the faerie does 
  not have the Binding Oath 
  power – the characters can 
  promise her anything they like, 
  and once they have left the 
  swamp, the faerie has no way of 
  enforcing these promises. Of 
  course they don’t know that… 
   
  In case it need said: The 
  Queen is not balanced for use as 
  a player character. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  35 
  If all of her guests are 
  mundanes, things are easy. If they 
  cannot protect themselves from her 
  powers and cannot persuade her of 
  their usefulness, she will simply 
  imprison them within the region, 
  leaving them to starve thus letting 
  her slowly harvest their vitality. 
  Boring. 
  So the trick is to convince the 
  queen that you are more useful 
  alive than dying. 
  Fortunately, this is not too hard. 
  The queen straddles the lines 
  b e t w e e n  n a r r o w  a n d  f u l l 
  cognizance. It understands that it is 
  playing a role, that it can become 
  more powerful and that its role can 
  c h a n g e .  H o w e v e r ,  i t  l a c k s 
  understanding of how. 
  Clearly if the swamp can be 
  expanded, the faerie will posses a 
  larger domain. If the swamp could 
  be expanded to include some 
  inhabited area, even more humans 
  would fall under the sway of the 
  faerie and again it is clear how its 
  powers will expand. 
  This could be done e.g. by 
  blocking a river or other stream of 
  water, flooding the nearby area – or 
  so the faerie is convinced. 
  If any of the intruders are 
  Gifted, the game changes a bit, for 
  the faerie recognizes the Gift. 
  This faerie cannot leave its 
  lands. It cannot simply expand 
  without aid. And none of its 
  powers will reach beyond the edge 
  of the soft ground and wooded 
  patch surrounding the swamp. 
   This is because it was bound 
  here long ago by a Gifted magician. 
  The faerie recognizes the Gift, but 
  while it hates being bound like this, 
  it also recognizes that those who 
  have the Gift have enormous 
  potential to change the world 
  around them. If a Gifted person is 
  among the intruders, the faerie will 
  always talk. But it will not demand 
  land, it will demand people. 
  One conceit the faerie has 
  learned from a previous encounter, 
  is to claim that she used to be a 
  goddess among men, “back when 
  this land was covered with Ice” (or 
  water, if you’re playing south of the 
  alps). If the faerie is invoking this 
  story, it will try to get the 
  characters to promise to convert 
  worshippers to the service of the 
  queen. 
  While the faerie would prefer to 
  be rid of the bindings, it cannot 
  speak of this (as part of the 
  binding) and so cannot explain 
  what it truly wants. Not directly 
  anyway. Perhaps with time, it can 
  manipulate Gifted magi into 
  releasing it. This is its ultimate goal. 
  Should the characters simply 
  refuse to bargain with her, she will 
  harry them with the bones of the 
  dead and the branches of the plants 
  of the swamp, but will generally 
  avoid direct confrontation and 
  certainly direct attacks. She can 
  take vitality from fear – and even 
  the relief of those who escape her, 
  though the taste does not become 
  her – but dead give her nothing but 
  more bones. 
  She will try to pressure the 
  characters into a dark bargain, but 
  for those who understand regions, 
  it is possible to leave against her 
  will. 
   
  (Continued from page 33) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  36 
  About a hundred years ago the 
  twelve Founders of the Order of 
  Hermes composed the Oath of Hermes, 
  and took it for the first time here. Now 
  it is your turn to step into the forest 
  glade, called the Fane of the Founders 
  ever since, before the assembled Primi 
  of the Houses. 
  You have been chosen among many 
  apprentices groomed for this occasion, 
  for the prestige of your parentes and the 
  trust in you that they expressed. This 
  will be the last time that a Grand 
  Tribunal will swear in a group of 
  apprentices: tomorrow, it will confirm 
  eight regional Tribunals, and afterwards 
  concentrate on resolving inter-Tribunal 
  disputes and issues affecting the whole 
  Order. 
  The last century saw the Order of 
  Hermes grow. A new House was 
  admitted, and with a subtle strike a 
  takeover attempt by its youngest 
  Founder, Tremere, was foiled. Now all 
  the Founders are gone, as is Pralix, 
  founder of the young House Ex 
  Miscellanea. 
  Today, on the spring equinox 865 
  AD and 1004 AA, the magi of the 
  Order of Hermes wish for a bright 
  future built upon solid foundations: and 
  you, who have been chosen to embody 
  it, for the first time after nearly a 
  century will take your Oath of Hermes 
  By Berengar Drexel  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  37 
  at the Fane again, and thereby become 
  the Voventes Centennales. 
  SCOPE 
  This article describes a campaign 
  setting for a group of magi just out of 
  apprenticeship, based on the ArM5 
  Order of Hermes at 865. 
  While describing Mythic Europe, the 
  Order of Hermes, its magic and its 
  rivals, it adheres as closely as possible to 
  both history and published ArM5 
  material, so that it can be used as 
  material about the history of the Order 
  for the canonical setting at 1220 as well. 
  Neither the mundane history 
  described, nor that of the Order, can be 
  complete by any standard: choices have 
  been made in favor of material that – as 
  the author believes - might motivate 
  troupes and storyguides to delve deeper 
  and thereby define their own campaign. 
  MUNDANE 
  HISTORY 
  The Frankish Empire, as 
  consolidated by Charlemagne, since 855 
  is split into five separate kingdoms, 
  ruled by his far less talented and 
  energetic grandchildren and great-
  grandchildren. Currently the king of 
  Lotharingia and the king of Italy divvy 
  up between themselves their deceased 
  brother’s kingdom of Provence. And 
  everybody expects a further 
  redistribution in just a few years. 
  Byzantium has just come out of the 
  iconoclastic crisis, when Emperors 
  imposed onto the reluctant Greeks – 
  often by immediately executed decree – 
  a strict, intellectual theology inspired by 
  the Eastern part of their Empire. But 
  during the reconciliation of Emperor, 
  Greek population and Church, two 
  eminent churchmen contend each other 
  t h e o f f ic e o f  P at r iar c h  o f 
  Constantinople, and draw the Pope - as 
  the largely undisputed leader of 
  Christendom - into their conflict. 
  This Pope has recently been 
  besieged in Rome by the king of Italy 
  and Roman Emperor, in vain trying to 
  force him to annul the contract of an 
  infertile marriage about to extinguish 
  one Carolingian bloodline. 
  The Abbasid Caliphate – recognized, 
  but not necessarily obeyed, in parts of 
  Persia, in Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia, 
  Egypt and some of the Maghreb - goes 
  through a period of violent anarchy, 
  with four Caliphs in a row within ten 
  years deposed and killed by their Turkic 
  military ‘advisors’.  
  The Scandinavian people – the 
  Vikings – start their settlements and 
  conquests in Britain, Neustria, Iceland 
  and the Rus', which in the next decades 
  will transform these countries forever. 
  While the Saxons and Frisians in the 
  Frankish Empire have been fully 
  integrated and Christianized, most Slavs, 
  Balts and Scandinavians stick to their 
  old religions and deities. 
  Technology 
  The only plough in use is the ard, 
  which makes bad use of good soil, as it 
  doesn’t invert it. The only crop rotation 
  scheme is two-field, where land lies 
  fallow for a year or more after having 
  been planted. And there is not yet any 
  large-scale transhumance. Altogether, 
  this makes cultivated land and pastures 
  support few people per square mile. 
  And this causes the need for small, 
  scattered settlements, mostly connected 
  by unmaintained paths. Means of 
  transport on these are pack animals, and 
  two-wheeled carts drawn by oxen. 
  There are no wheelbarrows yet. 
  Water mills and norias are found all 
  over Muslim and Christian countries. 
  Mosaics, frescoes, small bronze casts 
  and glass can be made around larger 
  towns – or where holdouts of classical 
  technologies still exist. Nobody makes 
  precision instruments any more. Luxury 
  fabrics come from the East, mostly 
  from Byzantium. Generally there are no 
  church bells or belfries, but hand bells 
  can be cast. 
  Crossbows are nowhere in military 
  use, though known since antiquity. As 
  for armor, the Carolingian byrnie is best 
  treated in ArM5 as ‘Metal Reinforced 
  Leather’ or ‘Metal Scale’, but Byzantine 
  soldiers may have mail armor instead. 
  Nailed iron or bronze horseshoes 
  are very unusual, and there are no 
  farriers. Stirrups, introduced by the 
  Eastern horse people (Magyars, Avars, 
  Turkic), are already widely used in 
  Byzantium, the Carolingian kingdoms 
  and the Muslim countries. In Britain 
  and Scandinavia they are still a novelty, 
  and most uncommon among Slavs and 
  Balts. To get the Attack and Defense 
  bonuses of ArM5, page 174 Mounted 
  Combat derived from one’s Ride score, 
  one needs to use stirrups. 
  New Virtue: 
  Vovens 
  Centennalis 
  (Minor Hermetic Virtue) 
  The magus took his Hermetic Oath 865 
  at the Fane during the Grand Tribunal 
  (see Guardians of the Forests, pages 61 and 
  62) and has the Hermetic Prestige for it. 
  This links him to the destiny of the 
  Order through the Fane: he gets a bonus 
  of +3 to Personality rolls, which involve 
  securing a future for the Order.  
  The sodales expect him to advance it 
  where the Founders and Pralix left off. 
  The magus knows of the existence and 
  location of the Fane of the Founders, 
  thereby holds a position of trust, and 
  likely will at some time be asked to 
  perform the ancient rite at the Fane for 
  his House. 
  For PC magi in the 865 campaign this is 
  a free Virtue. In this campaign Guernicus 
  PCs get Puissant Art: Terram as their free 
  House 
  Virtue, 
  since 
  their 
  specific 
  Hermetic Prestige is overridden. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  38 
  Carolingian Society 
  The Carolingian kingdoms are not 
  yet built on fief and vassalage, but on a 
  simple administration centered on the 
  traveling court of the king with its 
  dignitaries and judges, the resident 
  counts and bishops with their local 
  courts, and the assemblies of the free 
  men. To integrate existing strong local 
  authorities, or establish them where 
  needed, margraves and dukes are 
  appointed. 
  Charlemagne unified currencies on 
  the base of the pound of silver (librum, 
  l.) split into 240 pennies (denarii, d.). 
  This single metal standard with a single 
  type of coin is very successful all over 
  middle and Western Europe. Even the 
  Pope uses it now. This is also the 
  system Covenants (page 56) uses. 
  The early Carolingian court has 
  generated an elaborate style of figurative 
  arts and architecture, embracing the 
  functional needs of a new society while 
  emulating forms of late antiquity with 
  new expressivity in architecture, 
  frescoes, book illumination, carved 
  ivory, bronzes and jewelry. At the same 
  time the first ‘neume’ notations for 
  music appear. 
  Carolingian minuscules constitute a 
  widely followed calligraphic standard 
  for Latin texts. Other standards for 
  Latin characters remaining with some 
  following are the Cassinese (also 
  Beneventana) used in Southern Italy, 
  and the Visigothic script in Iberia. 
  Medieval Latin adapts to Germanic- 
  and Latin-based vernacular sensibilities, 
  often following their word ordering, 
  grammar and construction of clauses, 
  and starting to differentiate “u” and “v”. 
  Sticking to classical grammar instead is a 
  sign of distinction few can follow or 
  even appreciate: so its champions often 
  exaggerate it. 
  Byzantine Society 
  Having seen the Western Empire 
  decline into barbarism, the people of 
  the Byzantine Empire see themselves as 
  the last heirs to Rome. They certainly 
  still keep many of its customs alive. 
  The hippodrome in front of the 
  Imperial palace is the gathering place of 
  the people of Constantinople. Their 
  political parties (Demes) and militia are 
  organized as supporters of several 
  racing teams. 
  The large column on the Forum of 
  Constantine, carrying his statue holding 
  an orb, is supposed to hide in its base 
  and the orb the relics he brought when 
  founding the city: among them the 
  Palladium of Troy and a part of the true 
  cross. And they inherited the strict, late 
  Roman law and tax systems, rigidly 
  applied to both country and city people. 
  M a n y  p l a c e s  a r o u n d  t h e 
  Mediterranean still are pro forma under 
  Byzantine administration: there local 
  office holders (like hypatoi) with 
  growing independence often turn into 
  local nobility. 
  Court life – with its eunuchs, its 
  many honorary and functional ranks – 
  ideally is supposed to demonstrate 
  harmony and order, so that the Empire 
  proper can “reflect the motion of the 
  Universe as it was made by the 
  Creator". Currently it is a hotbed of 
  ambition and strife, where regent and 
  Emperor, their favorites and assassins, 
  wives and paramours ruthlessly struggle 
  for power – and still that court pacifies 
  and consolidates the Empire. In 860 the 
  Rus’ attack Constantinople by surprise 
  with some 200 ships, plunder the 
  suburbs and are repulsed only at the 
  return of the Emperor, but in 863 his 
  troops under Petronas decisively defeat 
  an army of the Caliph in the battle of 
  Porson in Asia Minor. 
  Greek is the only language for 
  administration and government of the 
  Byzantine Empire, and the language of 
  the Church there as well. The currently 
  written Greek is not really different 
  from that of the New Testament and 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  39 
  Plutarch – so it is recommended to just 
  treat it as Classical Greek (Attic) in 
  ArM5. The language spoken by the 
  inhabitants of the Empire, however, has 
  developed into a vernacular of its own: 
  the Romaic Greek from The Sundered 
  Eagle, page 41, with the -2 Penalty to 
  mutual understanding with Classical 
  Greek from page 42. So the average 
  man of Constantinople wouldn’t 
  understand official Imperial documents 
  read to him any better than the average 
  man of Rome documents of the Pope. 
  The Imperial, the Patriarchal and the 
  s ev er al p r iv at e libr ar ies  o f 
  Constantinople after the loss of the 
  library of Alexandria constitute by far 
  the largest repository of the knowledge 
  of antiquity. In 855 the Caesar Bardas 
  instituted a high school under Leon the 
  Mathematician, also a renowned poet 
  and polymath, in the Magnaura palace 
  near the Hagia Sophia. 
  Muslim Society 
  Islam is very explicit as to how its 
  believers shall behave. Still, organizing 
  an Islamic society required transfer of 
  authority to legal scholars and judges 
  (ulema) and to religious and political 
  leaders.  
  An Islamic philosophy of law and 
  legal practice is being created since 
  about 800.  
  At that time the Caliphate of 
  Baghdad in fact has already been 
  transferred twice to new dynasties, and 
  the principle by which to determine a 
  Caliph – consent of most Muslims (the 
  Sunnite claim) or Divine Appointment 
  from the right bloodline (the Shi’ite 
  claim) – is hotly contested and has split 
  Islam forever. 
  Before 865, the Shi’a is in minority 
  everywhere, with the exception of 
  Morocco ruled by the Idrisids. The 
  Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad struggled 
  for a century, but now their huge 
  domain is crumbling: Iberia never was 
  under Abbasid rule, Africa and Egypt 
  already have politically independent 
  rulers, Persia is about to break away. 
  And the Byzantine military advances in 
  Anatolia. 
  Earlier Abbasid Caliphs like Harun 
  al-Rashid or al-Ma'mun were eminent 
  patrons of arts and sciences: the former 
  founded the Bayt al-Hikma (house of 
  wisdom) in Baghdad, and the latter 
  requested and received from Byzantium 
  important Greek books for translation. 
  Both thus laid some ground for the 
  work of famous scientists, e. g. the 
  mathematicians: 
   
  al-Khwārizmī, who taught at the 
  Bayt al-Hikma, but whose work 
  is rather based on Hindu sources 
  than Greek ones 
   
  Thābit ibn Qurra al-Ḥarrānī, with 
  Pythagorean leanings, who 865 is 
  in his late 30s, and whose time in 
  Baghdad is yet to come after the 
  current anarchy. (See Thabit ibn 
  Qurra as Sabi' al Harrani below.) 
  Arabic, the language of the Quran, 
  holds together the Muslim world. Many 
  educated Muslims from cultures with 
  other languages (like the Persians al-
  Khwārizmī and Omar Khayyám) use 
  Arabic for their literary, scholarly and 
  scientific works – just like ninth century 
  Irishmen or Franks use Latin. 
  Personalities in 
  Context 
  The current Roman Emperor is the 
  Carolingian king of Italy, Louis II, 
  groomed for both functions since his 
  youth. After in vain switching alliances 
  within the family to enlarge his 
  inheritance, he now champions the 
  family interests in Italy. His brother, 
  king Lothair II of Lotharingia, will die 
  without a legal heir, unless the Pope 
  confirms a Frankish synod that voided 
  his marriage with an infertile woman 
  and allowed him to legalize his children 
  from a second wife. The Emperor took 
  up his cause in exchange for some shift 
  of common borders, and after inheriting 
  also their brother Charles’ kingdom of 
  Provence laid siege to Rome until an 
  unfortunate fever caused him to 
  withdraw. He is more efficient when 
  fighting Langobard dukes and Saracens 
  in Italy. 
  The uncles of these three brothers, 
  king Louis “the German” and king 
  Charles II “the Bald”, were allies 
  victorious in battle in the internal war 
  after their father’s death, and in the 
  Treaty of Verdun secured Western and 
  Eastern Francia as their kingdoms. 
  Louis the German early quelled the last 
  uprisings with some pagan background, 
  and is currently fighting off not only 
  Viking raids, but also the first Magyar 
  incursion into his kingdom. In 858, 
  however, he nearly succeeded in ousting 
  his brother with the help of disgruntled 
  nobles. Charles the Bald had lost two 
  battles against the Bretons and in 851 
  recognized their factual independence. 
  In 858, after 15 years of reign, he was 
  too unpopular to even raise an army. He 
  fled, but was sheltered by his mother’s 
  family and upheld by the bishops of his 
  kingdom. Recently he has – after 
  decades of Viking raids – released an 
  edict reorganizing his kingdom’s 
  defenses, ordering bridges to be 
  fortified against their longships and a 
  large body of cavalry formed to engage 
  and repel them. The head of Charles’ 
  Palatine Academy is Johannes Scotus 
  Eriugena, an early translator of Greek 
  texts (obtained from Byzantium) and 
  neo-platonist defender of the concept 
  of free will and the fundamental unity 
  of philosophy and religion. 
  Sub-king Charles “the Child” of 
  Aquitaine, second son of Charles the 
  Bald, is a young rascal at the head of a 
  rebellious province. Married against his 
  father’s will, he captured his rival for the 
  Aquitainians’ favor and had him 
  disappear. Recently he took a grievous 
  wound in the head in mock-combat 
  with a hunting companion. 
  Pope Nicolaus I, born in Rome and 
  a close collaborator of three other 
  Popes before being elected himself, is 
  an energetic, unrelenting defender of 
  Papal prerogatives with respect to 
  churchmen, nobles and kings. He does 
  not tolerate concessions beyond the law 
  by church officials, even by his own 
  envoys. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  40 
  When archbishop John VII of 
  Ravenna exercised the authority of a 
  Byzantine exarch in and around his 
  archdiocese and repeatedly refused 
  Papal summons, the Pope himself went 
  to Ravenna to investigate, and 
  maintained John’s excommunication 
  against the Emperor and Charles the 
  Bald. 
  Even the assertive, generally 
  successful politician and partisan 
  Archbishop Hincmar of Reims, 
  protector of the Eriugena, has to back 
  down before Papal authority: in 
  particular in the matter of the 
  annulment of the marriage of Lothair II. 
  Nicolaus’ intransigence led to a 
  serious rift between the Eastern and 
  Western Churches, when 863 he had a 
  synod in Rome reject the decision of 
  one in Constantinople, that with the 
  consent of Papal envoys instated 
  Photios as Patriarch. 
  After his death in 867 he is followed 
  by the aged Pope Adrian II, who will 
  continue his politics, but with less 
  energy. Adrian also has to handle the 
  excommunication of the Pope for 
  heresy by a Council in Constantinople, 
  organized by Photios. 
  Since it repelled a Carolingian siege 
  in 810, Venice is de facto an 
  independent city state with close 
  cultural ties to Byzantium and 
  widespread trade connections. In 828 
  two Venetian merchants stole the relics 
  of St. Marc from Alexandria, who thus 
  became the patron saint of Venice.  
  Under the long reign of its doge 
  Pietro Tradonico - who followed a 
  Partecipazio doge ambushed, tonsured 
  and enclosed in a monastery - Venice 
  fought Slavic and Saracen pirates, and 
  its independence was formally 
  recognized by both Franks and 
  Byzantine. When Tradonico was 
  assassinated in 864, Venice managed to 
  quickly apprehend and judge his 
  murderers and elect a new Doge, Orso 
  I, a Partecipazio again. 
  Two further maritime states with 
  fleets and trade interests in the 
  Mediterranean currently exist in Italy: 
  the republic of Amalfi and Gaeta under 
  the hypatos Docibilis, founder of a local 
  dynasty. 
  After over a century of iconoclast 
  Emperors, Theodora, widow of the 
  Emperor Theophilos and regent for her 
  infant son Michael III, and her brothers 
  Bardas and Petronas 843 gave up on the 
  subjugation of the Church under the 
  Emperor, made peace with the Greek 
  population, and restored the veneration 
  of icons.  
  Restoring a fragile inner peace 
  allowed the court of Theodora to come 
  to terms with the Abbasids and get free 
  hand against their protégés, the 
  Paulicians (see The Sundered Eagle, page 
  142 for the ArM5 perspective) on the 
  Empire’s Eastern border, killing them 
  by the thousands. 
  When reorganizing the Church, 
  initially great care was taken to retrieve 
  iconoclast followers: but that enraged 
  the zealot monks. So a eunuch, monk 
  and son of an Emperor, Ignatios, 
  became Patriarch to mediate.  
  In 856 Michael III had a favorite of 
  his mother killed and himself declared 
  reigning Emperor, sending Theodora 
  and her daughters into monasteries, 
  appointing her brother Bardas Caesar, 
  and finally forcing Ignatios to abdicate.  
  Bardas had him replaced with 
  Photios: then a layman, a gifted 
  politician and diplomat, owner of an 
  excellent library, author of the 
  Myriobiblos, a famous collection of 279 
  book extracts and reviews, and of works 
  on difficult and controversial 
  theological issues. The questionable 
  legitimacy of this replacement created 
  two parties – Photians and Ignatians – 
  in the Eastern Church, and drew the 
  Pope into the conflict.  
  Bardas is murdered in 865 by a new 
  favorite of Michael III, the devious 
  Basileios “the Macedonian”, who is 
  made Caesar in 866 and in 867 will have 
  Michael III murdered as well, to 
  become himself Emperor and founder 
  of a dynasty. (See also Eudokia Ingerina 
  below.) 
  In 862 prince Rastislav of Greater 
  Moravia sent an embassy to 
  Constantinople, requesting help in 
  organizing the Church in his countries: 
  this was a move to limit the influence of 
  Louis the German, who had helped him 
  reach his position, and whose 
  missionaries were in Moravia already.  
  The Emperor’s court consented, and 
  decided to entrust this mission to two 
  brothers from Thessalonike, learned 
  churchmen who had already absolved a 
  mission to Byzantium’s Khazar allies, 
  failing to keep them from adopting 
  Judaism: they are best known by their 
  monastic names Cyril and Methodius.  
  Before going to Moravia, they had 
  already translated the psalms and parts 
  of the New Testament into a Slavic 
  language that became Old Church 
  Slavonic (in ArM5: South Slavonic 
  (Church Slavonic)), written with newly 
  invented Glagolitic letters adapted to 
  Slavic phonetics. Arrived there, they 
  hold the services in their Slavic 
  language. German bishops object, and 
  867 the Pope will call the brothers to 
  Rome. 
  Knyaz Boris I of Bulgaria has to 
  maneuver his large realm between 
  Byzantium and Eastern Francia, 
  threatening, promising, compromising, 
  suffering an invasion by Louis the 
  German and losing territory to the 
  Byzantines. He was negotiating with 
  both Louis and Michael III, when a 
  Byzantine threat during a famine in 
  Bulgaria made him come to terms with 
  Michael III: he was baptized with his 
  family and some high nobility by an 
  embassy of Byzantine clergy in 864. In 
  this way, he also improves his standing 
  among European royalty, makes them 
  powerful allies in interior conflicts, and 
  on the long run might Christianize and 
  thereby unify his mixed people. 
  Scandinavian colonists and 
  merchants moved into the Rus’ already 
  in the 700s, and might have taken part 
  in the raid on Constantinople 860. But 
  the Varangian chieftain Rurik is a near-
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  41 
  legendary figure. He might in 862 or 
  864 have become lord of the place 
  called Holmgard, and later Novgorod, 
  already settled with Finno-Ugric or 
  Slavic people, but his name is preserved 
  as the ancestor of a dynasty. (Yes, this 
  allows storyguides to script a fantasy 
  Viking career of eagle-eyed leader for 
  Rurik: first inspiring the raid, then 
  plundering Constantinople, finally 
  returning with his faithful crews to 
  found Holmgard and raise little 
  Rurikids.) 
  Until lately, the strong man in the 
  Abbasid Caliphate was Bugha al-
  Sharabi, a Turkic military leader, who in 
  861 led the rebellion of Turkic troops 
  that killed Caliph al-Mutawakkil. The 
  next Caliphs were little more than figure
  -heads of the Turkic military, who 
  suffered decisive military defeats in 863 
  and thereafter had to quell uprisings in 
  Baghdad and Kufa. In 865 there are two 
  Caliphs: each representing a faction of 
  the military, with one besieging the 
  other in Baghdad.  
  At the same time, the solidly 
  established Umayyad Emir Muhammad 
  I of Córdoba successfully fights native 
  rebellions and Christian kings. (A 
  classical, gritty ArM5 campaign full of 
  small scale politics, wars and the 
  exploration of local supernatural sites 
  can be started by establishing the first 
  Hermetic covenant in hold-out 
  Christian Asturias – around Oviedo and 
  León – among Visigothic nobles and 
  Iberian natives.) 
  Forty years ago Sicily and Crete have 
  been invaded by Saracens based on the 
  African coast, and since then are 
  contested between Byzantine and 
  Saracen forces. In many years of siege 
  warfare, the latter took Palermo in 831, 
  and the central Sicilian fortress Enna in 
  859. Currently Khafaja ibn Sufyan, 
  Sahib of Sicily on behalf of the 
  Aghlabids, consolidates his hold onto 
  the center and the South of the island, 
  and plans to oust the Byzantines from 
  Syracuse and Catania as well. Crete in 
  the meantime has become a Saracen 
  corsair base, currently staging attacks 
  against undefended coasts of Greece. 
  Sardinia suffers as well from the Saracen 
  raids, which caused its inhabitants to 
  give up some places at the coast and 
  withdraw to an impoverished life in the 
  interior, turning their Byzantine 
  administration into one by local 
  families, while retaining its basic 
  structure. 
  The current ruler of most of Wales 
  is Rhodri ap Merfyn, also Rhodri Mawr 
  “the Great”. Ascended by subtle 
  pressure and creative use of the Celtic 
  laws of inheritance, he owes his 
  nickname to the vigorous, successful 
  defense of his lands against Vikings and 
  the Anglo-Saxons of Mercia and 
  Wessex alike. 
  In 865 a large, coordinated Viking 
  army, reputedly led by the sons of 
  Ragnar Lodbrok, the berserker Ivar “the 
  Boneless” and Halfdan, lands in East 
  Anglia, quickly subduing the kingdoms 
  around by show of numbers or force.  
  So in the way of the invasion soon 
  stand only Mercia, and Wessex with 
  young Æthelred just crowned king, and 
  his still younger brother Alfred as 
  ‘secundarius’ – lieutenant and heir. (This 
  is of course the occasion for heroic 
  covenants, shrugging off accusations of 
  “meddling with mundanes” while 
  defending their covenfolk and vis 
  sources, to pick protégés and enemies.) 
  Currently Vikings have discovered 
  Iceland, and the Swede Garðar 
  Svavarsson is starting to explore it. 
  (This is the occasion for a campaign 
  which sends magi alongside the Vikings 
  to explore unknown lands – maybe 
  inspired by texts of Irish monks, or just 
  by a fierce desire of independence from 
  old Mythic Europe.) 
  Brief Outlook 
  Unless a troupe will significantly 
  modify history during their campaign, 
  the following will happen in the future – 
  and should be kept in mind for 
  campaign planning. 
  The subsequent deaths of Lothar II 
  (869), Louis II (875), Louis the German 
  (876) and Charles the Bald (877) lead to 
  internal wars and two more treaties, that 
  partition and further weaken the 
  Carolingian heritage. In 884 Charles III 
  “the Fat” once more holds the Imperial 
  and all the Carolingian crowns together: 
  for three short years. 
  Then their reign declines. The 
  Western Carolingians remain pro forma 
  still kings for a century, with the actual 
  power in the hands of the lords of large 
  territories in a beginning feudal system. 
  The Eastern Carolingians retain the 
  Imperial crown, but, under increasing 
  pressure from Vikings and Magyars, 
  lose most power to the dukes of the 
  major German tribes. In any case nobles 
  (and some magi) profit by establishing 
  allods. 
  The popes following Nicolaus I 
  cannot resolve the rift he caused with 
  the Eastern Church, even after the 
  death of Ignatios in 877. In the 
  meantime, the “filioque”-controversy 
  about the proper meaning and wording 
  of the creed – basically caused by 
  different connotations of ‘origin’ (Latin: 
  processio, Greek: ἀρχή) in the 
  languages of the two Churches – tears 
  In 865  
  a large, coordinated Viking army, 
  reputedly led by the sons of 
  Ragnar Lodbrok, the berserker 
  Ivar “the Boneless” and Halfdan, lands in East Anglia, 
  quickly subduing the kingdoms around by show of 
  numbers or force.  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  42 
  them further apart and leads to mutual 
  excommunications.  
  With the power of the Roman 
  Emperors also the position of the popes 
  deteriorates, which makes them depend 
  on local potentates and involves them in 
  squalid intrigues. 
  Even after his brother’s death in 
  Rome and his imprisonment in Bavaria 
  until 873, Methodius is upheld by Pope 
  John VIII in the jurisdiction over 
  Moravia, Serbia and the Avar March. 
  Svatopluk I “the Great”, successor of 
  Rastislav, defeats an East Frank army in 
  871 and establishes the independence of 
  Greater Moravia – relying for 
  recognition of his status on the Pope. 
  So the Slavic liturgy is celebrated in 
  these countries, until in 885 Pope 
  Stephen VI finds himself allied to an 
  East Frank king and requests Svatopluk 
  to turn to the Latin liturgy. Priests 
  refusing to comply have to flee, and 
  some are received by Boris I of 
  Bulgaria, who had managed to get some 
  autonomy for the Bulgarian Church 
  from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 
  870. 
  Basileios I “the Macedonian” is the 
  founder of the Macedonian dynasty of 
  13 Emperors and 3 Empresses, which 
  rebuilds Byzantine administration and 
  power, retakes Anatolia, Crete and even 
  parts of Southern Italy, and defeats 
  many external enemies. Sicily, however, 
  is conquered by the Saracens: its last 
  major fortress, Taormina, falls 902. 
  Otherwise the Saracens lose all their 
  footholds in Italy. When a Turkic leader 
  in 870 wins the power struggle in 
  Baghdad, he finds a close associate in al-
  Muwaffaq, vizier and brother of the 
  Caliph. In close cooperation with the 
  Turkic military, al-Muwaffaq 
  consolidates the Caliphate, accepting 
  the Tulunids in Egypt. His son in 892 
  becomes Caliph with the name al-
  Mu'tadid, and continues his policy. 
  Later the Caliphs become mere figure-
  heads again, and the Caliphate 
  disintegrates finally into separate realms. 
  The Scandinavians colonize the 
  islands around Scotland, many coastal 
  spots of Ireland, Pomerania and along 
  the Baltic. They trade from the Baltic 
  Sea through the Rus’ to the Black Sea 
  and Constantinople, and on the Volga 
  route to the Caspian Sea and as far as 
  Baghdad. They found Reykjavik in 870, 
  establish the Danelaw in a treaty with 
  Alfred of Wessex in 886, and finally one 
  of theirs, Rollo, in 911 becomes Duke 
  of Normandy, as a vassal to the king of 
  the West Franks. There were Danish 
  kings during all the ninth century, but in 
  its last third, according to the 
  Heimskringla, Harald Fairhair rules as 
  first king of Norway. 
  THE ORDER OF 
  HERMES 
  Twenty years ago most magi 
  expected the Order to fall under the 
  power of its last surviving Founder, 
  Tremere. His House, by mastery of 
  certamen and by fear-mongering, had 
  enmeshed many sodales into a web of 
  obligations and alliances. He prepared 
  to formally take power in a special 
  Grand Tribunal, when in 848 his web’s 
  vulnerability was revealed and exploited 
  by still unknown magi, who sundered its 
  strands by breaking the minds of his 
  closest lieutenants at Dorostolon – 
  leaving Tremere open to the retribution 
  of those he had believed to control. 
  As purposeful as they had struck, the 
  unknown magi then negotiated the 
  resolution of the real problem, while 
  staying within the constraints of the 
  Code of Hermes: 
   
  Tremere promised to give up his 
  attempts to dominate the Order. 
   
  Fenicil, the Primus of Guernicus, 
  received access to Tremere’s 
  mind, erasing from it the 
  identities of his vanquishers, and 
  monitoring it for the rest of the 
  Founder’s life. 
   
  And in exchange the minds of 
  Tremere’s lieutenants were 
  restored. 
  Now also Tremere is dead, and 
  Pralix is gone. All the Founders are 
  honored. And their legacy, the Order of 
  Hermes, is passed on quite unblemished 
  to their descendants. 
  The Houses 
  The main sources on the history of 
  the Houses in the ninth century are the 
  Houses of Hermes books. The 
  following shall not replace them, but 
  only stress, interpret and expand certain 
  facts – especially those relevant to 
  design magus player characters and 
  campaigns for 865. 
  In 865 there should be altogether 
  around 400 magi in the Order (see Mark 
  Shirley’s article on Demography of the 
  Order of Hermes in Sub Rosa issue 
  14). 
  Bonisagus 
  Primus: Notatus since 836 
  Most Bonisagi treasure Magic 
  Theory now as the legacy of their 
  Founder, to be fully understood first, 
  and only then extended or modified. 
  This was quite different, when 
  Bonisagus himself created this Magic 
  Theory with the help of the other 
  Founders in the first place - enabled by 
  his knack for cooperation. Some 
  younger Bonisagi still have a similar 
  House benefit. 
  Notatus, however, is a shining 
  champion of the superiority of 
  Hermetic magic, was never seen 
  cooperating with non-Hermetics, and 
  ach iev ed  h is  f am ou s  M ajor 
  Breakthrough, the Aegis of the Hearth, 
  by rigid Original Research in the 820s 
  (building on Mercurian rituals he already 
  knew and never talks about). Magi of 
  his lineage all get Puissant Magic Theory 
  as House benefit already. 
  Many magi in the House, that rather 
  look for ancient secrets to integrate, 
  currently follow Lucian, the founder of 
  the Seekers. While Irmele heads a 
  lineage of wandering Trianoma 
  politicians out to stabilize the Rhine 
  Tribunal. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  43 
  Guernicus 
  Primus: Fenicil since 832 
  As his favorite pupil, only Fenicil 
  knows the last musings of skeptical 
  Guernicus about the Order’s chances 
  for continued existence. When he took 
  over as Primus while Tremere was 
  about to be declared overlord of the 
  Order, Fenicil showed a grasp of the 
  responsibilities of the Quaesitores, but 
  little talent for assuming them. He 
  backed preparations for the 
  assassination of Tremere by Guernicus 
  magi, allied with the Diedne leaders for 
  the conflict to come afterwards – and 
  was certainly relieved when all this was 
  not called for, and the preparations 
  could be kept a close secret. 
  Since then, Fenicil tries to create a 
  sense of unity, stability and common 
  tradition within the Order, expecting it 
  to catch on and thus become reality. 
  Hence he holds Quaesitores to strict 
  observance of the Code and respect for 
  the privacy of a magus.  
  Following personal interests and 
  studies from before his appointment to 
  Primus, he sponsors secret research by a 
  group of Guernicus magi into ancient 
  rituals and the history of magic – in 
  particular of Hermes Trismegistus and 
  Mercurians. Being a part of that select 
  group is a Mentor: Fenicil Minor Story 
  Flaw for Guernicus magus characters. 
  Fenicil reserves for himself the decision, 
  which results of that group to reveal to 
  the Order and how to do so. 
  Mercere 
  Primus: Priamitus since the late 
  820s 
  House Mercere is led by the two 
  sons of Mercere, Priamitus and Mutans, 
  both self-taught after some initial 
  apprenticeship with their father. As 
  most Redcaps organize themselves 
  around a Mercer house in the region 
  they work in, the two have some time 
  on their hands to pursue their own long
  -term projects.  
  Priamitus sees himself as the heir to 
  the priests of the Roman Cult of 
  Mercury, obliged to venerate the ancient 
  divinities of natural powers and civic 
  concepts by customary sacrifices, 
  ceremonies and festivals, and to lead it 
  into the Order of Hermes. In this, he 
  allies with Apromor, Primus of 
  Flambeau. 
  Priamitus is also a teacher of 
  Mercurian Magic (ArM5, page 46, Faith 
  & Flame, pages 26 to 28) and the Spell 
  Mastery Abilities associated with it 
  (Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, page 96). 
  Mutans is the current specialist in the 
  Order of Muto Vim magic, a field still 
  largely undefined (see Recent 
  Discoveries below). 
  Mercere’s last apprentice, resourceful 
  and duteous Belin, is the role model of 
  Redcaps and mother of a large lineage, 
  all having the Legacy Minor Heroic 
  Story Flaw (Houses of Hermes: True 
  Lineages, page 109), and possibly further 
  Heroic Virtues and Flaws. 
  Tremere 
  Primus: Albanus since 863 
  For most Tremere, the death of their 
  defeated Founder three years ago was a 
  relief, finally opening up new alleys for 
  their and their House’s development. 
  The House had until then retreated to 
  its Domus Magna Coeris, its lands, and 
  some all-Tremere covenants like 
  Blackthorn – wondering whether there 
  was a further strike to come.  
  Some Tremere think, that the 
  current Primus, Albanus, was in league 
  with the magi who sundered Tremere’s 
  web – and many don’t mind if he were. 
  Indeed, Tremere magi have already 
  been quietly working for over a decade 
  to overcome distrust inside and outside 
  their House, and rebuild social and 
  political positions lost in the Sundering. 
  Bjornaer 
  Primus: Wilkis since 831 
  When Birna the Founder finally 
  became a Great Beast, she left her 
  House organized into clans led by her 
  six pupils, who now form the Bjornaer 
  Council: Midusulf and Mahrus (bear 
  and stallion, remnant Gothic), Ilfetu 
  (swan, Frisian), Wilkis and Arelie (wolf 
  and eagle, Prussian), Sirnas (stag, Baltic). 
  She already had appointed Midusulf as 
  the leader of the House and the 
  Council, and Wilkis as its spokesperson 
  to the Order and hence Primus.  
  The Bjornaer know these mysteries 
  already, and how to initiate them: 
   
  The Outer Mystery Heartbeast,  
   
  The Ritual of the Twelve Years,  
   
  Mystery of the Epitome.  
  New Virtue: 
  Cooperative 
  Hermetic 
  Integration 
  (Minor Hermetic Virtue) 
  The magus has a special talent for 
  Hermetic Integration (as described in 
  Ancient Magic, pages 7 to 9 and Hedge 
  Magic Revised Edition, pages 14 to 16) 
  while working with a teacher, who knows 
  the magic to be integrated. 
  If such a teacher spends a full season to 
  answer questions and help the magus, in 
  that season the magus gets a +4 bonus to 
  rolls to gain Insights related to the 
  teacher’s magic, or a +6 bonus to lab 
  totals when creating the effect allowed by 
  such an Insight. Both bonuses are 
  cumulative with eventual bonuses from 
  the Inventive Genius Virtue. 
  This Virtue is available only to newly 
  created Bonisagus researchers, and then 
  replaces their Puissant Magic Theory 
  Virtue as House benefit. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  44 
  The clans are currently organizing, 
  each finding its own structure, purpose 
  and initiations – while other Bjornaer 
  look for inspirations from nature and 
  Great Beasts for further feats to 
  improve their heartbeasts and their links 
  to them.  
  Half a century ago, House Bjornaer 
  offered membership to the followers of 
  Myanar from House Merinita and 
  initiated them to their Outer Mystery. 
  These and their apprentices each 
  associate with a clan only loosely and 
  still initiate nature magic, namely Nature 
  Lore, Awakening and Wilding (see 
  Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, page 102 
  to 105), but have lost Merinita’s knack 
  with familiars. 
  Criamon 
  Prima: Juliasta since the 780s 
  Wandering Juliasta nowadays is a 
  familiar topic everywhere in the Order, 
  and even the apprentices are told and 
  tell stories about her many adventures 
  on the road and in foreign covenants. 
  Ostentatiously sacrificing her own 
  spiritual development to integrate her 
  parens’ work with the Order, never 
  expressing judgement, always listening 
  and curious, she was usually 
  accompanied by her latest wide-eyed 
  and charming apprentice. 
  Even after returning to the Cave of 
  Twisting Shadows she managed to stay 
  one step ahead of an Order, that well 
  could have overwhelmed and scattered 
  the community of individualists in her 
  charge. Not only did her apprentices 
  soak up the methodology of Magic 
  Theory and make it their own – but due 
  to her canny evasions (and, some say, 
  the counsel of her close friend Irmele, 
  third filia of Trianoma), Criamon was 
  the House least affected by Tremere’s 
  machinations. Her apprentices often 
  develop a keen sense for the condition 
  and intentions of magi they encounter, 
  resulting in Virtues like Puissant Folk 
  Ken and Affinity with Folk Ken. 
  The early followers that Criamon 
  assembled in the Axis Magica never 
  espoused Hermetic magic or learned 
  Magic Theory, and many never even 
  think of leaving that regio if not for the 
  Hypostasis. So much research to create 
  the Criamon paths and their Scripts has 
  to be done by younger magi – even 
  player characters. This is quite 
  independent of input from other 
  Mystery Cults or books from the 
  outside world, but also not as 
  voluntaristic as The Mysteries Revised 
  Edition (pages 18 to 19) makes it (see 
  House Mysteries below).  
  To further serve her House as a 
  ghost, Juliasta will soon submit to her 
  killer in the Cave of Twisting Shadows, 
  and has recently identified the person 
  likely to succeed her as a Primus. It is 
  Verderis, whose popularity in the Order 
  at large is already eclipsing her own: an 
  epic poet and author of the Travels of 
  Fedoso, the book by which nearly every 
  apprentice learns his first Latin, and gets 
  his first idea of what it means to be a 
  magus. 
  Merinita 
  Primus: Quendalon since 792 
  After founding Irencilia in 792, 
  defeating Myanar in battle soon after 
  and taking over House Merinita in the 
  early 800s, Quendalon turned it to the 
  faerie ways he had acquired as a child, 
  and during his two year stay in a 
  Bohemian faerie forest. His vigor in this 
  did not diminish over seven decades, so 
  House Merinita, even its Mysteries, is 
  now mostly his personal creation and 
  that of those he handpicked to help.  
  This does channel the development 
  of younger Merinitae, and also fuels 
  suspicion and enmity in the rest of the 
  Order, particularly with Houses 
  Bjornaer, Diedne and Tytalus. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  45 
  Quendalon encourages followers to 
  entrust Gifted children at a very young 
  age to faeries, still voluntarily acts as 
  Mystagogue for the Arcadian Mysteries 
  (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 92 
  to 96), and after initiating the Becoming 
  Mystery helps the initiates with the 
  transformation rituals to become 
  faeries. 
  Ambrosius of Merinita, brought into 
  the House by Quendalon, now teaches 
  apprentices whom he later initiates to 
  the faerie Folk Mysteries from his 
  British homeland (Houses of Hermes: 
  Mystery Cults, pages 96 to 100). 
  Otherwise, and outside of 
  Quendalon’s direct grasp, magi still 
  temporarily bind Faerie Familiars and 
  initiate Binding the Gift (Houses of 
  Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 91 to 92) – 
  while the Leaden, Iron and Tin cords 
  are not yet invented. 
  And finally Pendule, trickster 
  extraordinaire outside of the Order, 
  before his death in 854 has taught two 
  Merinitae Spell Timing and Glamour 
  (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 
  101 to 102), to which these now initiate 
  their followers. 
  Verditius 
  Primus: Turnis since about 835 
  After Gelon sacrificed himself to 
  quell the vendetta incurred by his 
  parens Verditius, and thus secured the 
  future of the House, his filius Turnis 
  has followed him as the second Primus. 
  He concentrates upon the House, 
  reorganized the 838 Contest in a region 
  near Verdi, looked to the unification 
  and sharing of Verditius Cult Lore, and 
  finally developed the initiation and ritual 
  Embrace of Boëthius (Houses of Hermes: 
  Mystery Cults, page 119) to teach magi 
  from other Houses Verditius magic. He 
  encourages the founding and 
  development of confraternities and the 
  use of Script components common 
  within the House (see Houses of Hermes: 
  Mystery Cults, page 117) in their 
  initiations into Verditius Inner 
  Mysteries. 
  Verditius magi are encouraged to 
  look for practices and examples of mage
  -smiths and makers of magical items, 
  and bring them to Verdi for inspection 
  and analysis in the lab. Some of these, 
  like Roland’s sword Durendal, then 
  even became the focus of a 
  confraternity. 
  A small campaign can be built 
  around young magi searching for the 
  legacy of Heron of Alexandria. One can 
  use Ancient Magic, pages 75 to 88, mostly 
  as written there: only replacing 
  Michael’s Tabula (page 87) by the proud 
  and secretive League of Iconophiles, 
  and de Pepoli (page 82) by Photios 
  proper, who in 867 is deposed and 
  locked with his library into a monastery, 
  but has many friends among the clergy 
  and the scholars of Constantinople. 
  From 875 to 878 he will be the teacher 
  of the sons of Basileios I. 
  Most Verditius Inner Mysteries from 
  Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults are already 
  available in 865: the exception is Bind 
  Curse. 
  Flambeau 
  Primus: Apromor since 820 
  Apromor, first filius of Flambeau, is 
  a self-taught diplomat, strategist, and 
  the founder of the first school of 
  magical combat diverging from that of 
  Flambeau himself. He strengthens his 
  own House within the Order by 
  vigorous recruiting, opening the Order 
  also for pagan wizards. Finding among 
  these recruits descendents of priests of 
  the Cult of Mercury, he encourages 
  them to join forces with Priamitus, 
  Primus of Mercere, to reconstruct this 
  cult and propagate Mercurian Magic. 
  Another recruit of Apromor, Kaeso, 
  brought a tradition back into the House 
  that – in the person of Laberius, carer 
  and teacher of Flambeau – stood at its 
  very origin: that of the Cult of Mithras. 
  Inducing three more wizards with that 
  background to join, he founded a 
  society – the Mithraians – built on 
  Roman ideals of harmony, justice and 
  duty. It is in many respects a forerunner 
  of the later Flambeau Milites, and the 
  Legion of Mithras (The Mysteries Revised 
  Edition, pages118 to 122). Kaeso is 
  considered the first Hoplite, and died in 
  a battle with Viking raiders in the early 
  850s. 
  A Flambeau close to the Founder’s 
  late ideals is his second filia Elaine: 
  Archmaga, Mithraian, a widely read 
  author and teacher of magic and 
  philosophy. Both Ramius – a Tremere 
  changing House after 848 – and Vilano 
  are currently creating their own schools 
  of combat, concentrating, respectively, 
  on direct non-magical attacks and on 
  indirect spells bypassing Magic 
  Resistance. 
  Currently Flambeau based on Castra 
  Solis covenant, with the Mithraians in 
  the front lines, fight an ongoing war 
  against Viking invaders and vitkir in 
  Gascony (see Faith & Flame, page 67). 
  This is a good location for a campaign, 
  where brave Mithraian Hoplites and 
  their allies repel the raids not only of 
  Vikings, but also of Trollsynir and 
  Muspelli (see Scandinavia below). 
  Jerbiton 
  Prima: Putina since late 830s 
  Putina (diminutive feminine form of 
  Latin putus = pure, clean), filia of 
  Jerbiton, is a Rhaetian, a resolute 
  Mentem specialist and a polyglot expert 
  in agency warfare (see Houses of Hermes: 
  Societates, pages 140 to 144). 
  Jerbiton sent her 815 to 
  Constantinople to restructure the 
  League of Iconophiles, staggering under 
  pressure of the reorganized iconoclasts. 
  Five years later their head, Emperor 
  Leon V, was assassinated at the altar of 
  the Hagia Sophia during Christmas 
  service – which brought the Amorian 
  dynasty to power and stopped further 
  persecution of the iconodules for over 
  15 years. When a year later the multi-
  ethnic army of Thomas the Slav, 
  supported by the Caliph and already 
  controlling many districts and the 
  B y z a n t i n e  f l e e t ,  b e s i e g e d 
  Constantinople for over a year, Putina 
  (Continued on page 48) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  46 
   The Tribunals 
  The table nearby contains the list 
  of all covenants existing in 865, by 
  Tribunals as created at the Grand 
  Tribunal (and as described through 
  successive editions of Ars Magica). 
  Tribunal 
  Covenants 
  Number 
  Rhine 
  Durenmar (Domus Magna Bonisagus) 
  Crintera (Domus Magna Bjornaer) 
  Irencilia (Domus Magna Merinita) 
  Arae Flaviae 
  Rethra, Sirmium 
  Schwarzburg 
  7 
  West Franks including 
  Gascony and 
  Pyrenées 
  Val Negra (Domus Magna Flambeau) 
  Baiocassium (Vassal of Branugurix) 
  Bibracte (Vassal of Fudarus) 
  Confluensis, Pagus (Vassal of Confluensis) 
  Sinapis 
  Castra Solis 
  Tolosa Paratge 
  11 
  Lotharingian 
  Foedus Avenniense (and Arelat Jerbitons) 
  Campus Elysii 
  Portus Cottiae 
  Yf 
  6 
  Britannian including 
  Britanny 
  Fudarus (Domus Magna Tytalus) 
  Branugurix (Domus Magna Diedne) 
  Cad Gadu (Domus Magna Ex Miscellanea) 
  Ynys Môn (ArM4) 
  Blackthorn (ArM4) 
  Rosalba (ArM4) 
  Castrum Antiquum (ArM4) 
  Praesis 
  Lámbaird 
  Circulus Ruber 
  Qui Sonant Pro Quieto, Vigil 
  Praeses 
  Septentrionalis (ArM4) 
  16 
  Roman 
  Harco (Domus Magna Mercere) 
  Verdi (Domus Magna Verditius) 
  Magvillus (Domus Magna Guernicus) 
  Auctus (ArM3) 
  Rellantali (ArM3) 
  Calabria (ArM3) 
  6 
  Theban 
  Coeris (Domus Magna Tremere) 
  Epidauros 
  Erebos 
  Hedyosmos 
  Ingasia 
  League of Iconophiles in Constantinople 
  6 
  Eastern 
  Urbs Rubra (ArM4) 
  Urania (ArM4) 
  4 
  Greater Alps 
  Cave of Twisting Shadows (Domus Magna 
  Criamon) 
  Valnastium (Domus Magna Jerbiton) 
  Icy North (ArM4) 
  Where Journeys End (ArM4) 
  Sinews of Knowledge (ArM4) 
  8 
    
  Total 
  64 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  47 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  48 
  remained with ostentation in the capital 
  until a relief attack by Omurtag, the 
  Great Khan of Bulgaria, saved it.  
  Already appointed Prima, her last – 
  more peaceful – success in 
  Constantinople was the final 
  dismantling of iconoclasm under 
  Theodora, the widow of violently 
  iconoclast Emperor Theophilos and 
  regent for his infant son. Afterwards, 
  Putina’s circle could concentrate on 
  other issues. Very few know what she 
  did during the sundering of Tremere’s 
  web, and those stay silent. 
  House Jerbiton under Putina focuses 
  on secret politics both among the 
  mundanes and in the Order – working 
  closely with their families and mundane 
  contacts. They tread a fine line between 
  efficient plotting and their sodales’ fear 
  of its sheer potential, and hide their part 
  in the Sundering. Many do this by 
  affecting an overly cultured and erudite 
  attitude, which due to their Byzantine 
  ties is quite credible. 
  The Greek Jerbitons use the 
  Imperial, Patriarchal and private 
  libraries of Constantinople, that have no 
  peers in Mythic Europe any more. They 
  research Aristotelian and Platonic Magic 
  Theory (see Art & Academe, page 11) 
  for Hermetic magic and Magic Theory 
  in Greek (see The Sundered Eagle, page 
  29), and magi able to follow Platon or 
  Aristotle. 
  The Greater Alps Jerbitons – 
  speaking Latin, not Greek - start to look 
  westward to Dauphiné, Arelat, 
  Occitania and Aquitaine. Life and 
  culture there is appealing to them, 
  because the towns are still very much 
  Roman (with Roman/Visigothic law) 
  and not inhabited by Franks. 
  The Arelat in particular already 
  houses many Jerbitons, who – under 
  pressure by Saracen raiders – begin to 
  emulate the efficient organization and 
  practice of the League of Iconophiles. 
  Flavia filia of Jerbiton, after an 
  unexplained absence in the 810s, left a 
  life serving the House in Rome and 
  Constantinople for a place in Northern 
  Britain. There she founded her 
  covenant Rosalba, to pen down the 
  results of her magical-philosophical 
  research into the nature of Hermetic 
  magic and the magus. 
  Tytalus 
  Prima: Hariste since 807 
  Pralix had planned to make 
  enchantingly beautiful Hariste her 
  apprentice, but Tytalus became besotted 
  with her, snatched her from Pralix, and 
  despite his obsessive care she got 
  infected with his leprosy – becoming a 
  Leper Maga. When Tytalus left for 
  Maddenhofen forest, never to be seen 
  again, Hariste quickly moved to 
  Fudarus, requested to see every follower 
  of Tytalus in private to convey the 
  Founder’s last instructions, and thereby 
  took over the House – catching Pralix 
  flat-footed. Later she fortified her 
  position by gathering his words into a 
  book, the Analects of Tytalus, and 
  assuring its wide distribution: implicitly 
  making him the hero and herself his 
  voice. Thereby she caused an 
  irresolvable rivalry with Pralix, glorified 
  after Pralix’ disappearance as that of the 
  first pair of “beloved rivals”. 
  Following ideas from the Analects, 
  Hariste installed the eristic moots as the 
  adequate public meetings for every 
  business of the House: formal disputes, 
  even magic competitions that are most 
  unlikely to ever definitely resolve 
  something of importance – so political 
  issues in need of resolution are decided 
  in cabal intrigues by the insiders before, 
  and then presented in a mock contest at 
  a moot. 
  Both the Mystery Cult of the 
  Titanoi, without the stigma from after 
  (Continued from page 45) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  49 
  the “Betrayal”, and the tradition of 
  Leper Magi exist 865 in the House (see 
  Houses of Hermes: Societates, pages 94 to 
  96). 
  Diedne 
  Primus: Obregon latest since 851 
  Diedne magi all live in single House 
  covenants, away from their sodales of 
  other Houses. Once Diedne had joined 
  the Order, she tried to recruit the Irish 
  druid magic users – and destroy who 
  would not join. In 810 Ulster-born 
  Quendalon returned home with his 
  followers, to save the hedge wizard / 
  druids left from the pogroms of 
  Diedne. Her followers never recognized 
  the Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh, 
  continuing their forays into Connacht 
  and their persecution of the Coill Trí 
  (The Contested Isle: The Hibernian Tribunal, 
  pages 11 and 12). 
  At the Britannian Tribunal in 851 
  Obregon, Primus of Diedne, declared 
  that the magi of his House would no 
  longer protect their sodales from the 
  Vikings and their rune wizards, shutting 
  down nearly all interaction between 
  Diedne covenants and the others in that 
  region (see Ancient Magic, page 135). 
  This affected also the Diedne in other 
  regions harassed by Vikings and their 
  wizards, like Gascony, Neustria and 
  Northern Germany. 
  † The relations with their sodales 
  became strained – and in 858 Obregon 
  announced to sever all ties but the most 
  official with the rest of the Order: 
  messages from Redcaps are only 
  received by the Diedne covenant 
  leaders, and only these attend Tribunals 
  – wielding the voting sigils of the other 
  Diedne. 
  † Since then, House Diedne and its 
  covenants have become inscrutable for 
  magi from other Houses. And Fenicil is 
  glad to not have joined his fate with 
  theirs. 
  Ex Miscellanea 
  Managed by the Council of Four 
  since 863 
  Pralix, prospective pupil/victim of 
  Guorna, filia of Tytalus and Bonisagus, 
  Founder of Ex Miscellanea, went 
  missing in 863 when returning to her 
  Domus Magna Cad Gadu from a visit 
  to Fudarus. For lack of any more 
  information, suspicions run wild. 
  The Council of Four, instituted by 
  Pralix for the day-to-day operation of 
  the House and consisting of veteran 
  magi from the hunt for Damhan-
  Allaidh, manages Ex Miscellanea since 
  then. Which causes the sense of unity 
  Pralix instilled to slowly fade away. 
  But for the Donatores Requietis 
  Aeternae (pages 115 to 120), all the Ex 
  Miscellanea traditions from Houses of 
  Hermes: Societates do exist already – 
  though it will take centuries still to bring 
  some of them into the Order.  
  Divisions in the Order 
   
  Some Houses and traditions are 
  isolated and distrusted 
   
  So few magi outside of Diedne, 
  Tremere and Merinita understand 
  the purposes of these Houses, 
  and what currently goes on 
  within them. 
   
  Ex Miscellanea and House 
  Tytalus have no efficient political 
  structures, so they have trouble 
  to make lasting decisions or 
  control their members. 
   
  The Jerbitons know to be feared 
  for their contacts and political 
  potential, and work hard to dispel 
  distrust among their sodales, 
  both by careful dissimulation and 
  by the occasional helping hand. 
   
  It is the Tremere who take their 
  example most to heart, starting to 
  learn from it for the control of 
  their unchallenged domain 
  around Coeris and their own 
  interaction with sodales. 
   
  The traditional rivalry between 
  Flambeau and Tytalus exists – 
  but is currently more like a 
  sporting competition. 
   
  Members of Bjornaer and 
  Criamon are seen as mostly 
  harmless oddballs. 
  HERMETIC 
  MAGIC 
  The basic structures of Hermetic 
  magic, as well as most of the spells from 
  ArM5, are already available in 865. In 
  the following we treat the exceptions: 
  that part of Hermetic magic that in 865 
  has only recently been invented – or not 
  yet at all. 
  Recent Discoveries 
  Light in 865 is already covered by 
  Ignem, through Elaine’s discovery and 
  its publication in the Liber de Lumine 
  (see Houses of Hermes: Societates, page 9). 
  As other practical inventions and 
  theories, Hermetic magic at first had a 
  problem with reflexivity. The question 
  was: When applying magic to magic, 
  what exactly was the target, and what 
  did a Technique really do to it? The first 
  Dealing with 
  the Diedne 
  Sub Rosa Issue 13 contains many 
  different approaches to House Diedne 
  and its magi. Particularly playable in the 
  865 campaign outlined here is the 
  proposal of Erik Dahl, Díedne the 
  Theurge – if you drop the idea of 
  Notatus being a Díedne apprentice 
  snatched up by Bonisagus. 
  To be self-contained, however, this 
  article 
  will 
  use 
  House 
  Diedne’s 
  reclusiveness in the 850s to present it as a 
  shadowy power in the background of the 
  campaign, and not allow for Diedne 
  player characters. For this it contains the 
  paragraphs marked †. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  50 
  relevant effect of Bonisagus’ magic 
  directly affecting magic was not a spell 
  or item: while every apprentice can 
  explain, how the Parma Magica is the 
  historical cornerstone of the Order, it is 
  quite debatable whether it is Hermetic 
  at all. 
  The first Hermetic spells targeting 
  magic likely used the Technique 
  Intellego, and did not change its target 
  in any way. Creo Vim effects do never 
  create something articulate: their result 
  is either raw undefined power, or 
  strengthening existing magic. Perdo 
  Vim in a similar fashion does not reduce 
  or destroy specific properties of magic, 
  but an effect in general, its duration or 
  traces, and the Might or casting 
  capabilities of beings. All these effects 
  are long understood in 865. 
  Finer manipulation of magic by 
  magic, however, in 865 is still an area of 
  research Bonisagi have analyzed 
  spellcasting and vis handling processes 
  sufficiently to recently publish the Rego 
  Vim spells for spell control and vis 
  concentration on ArM5, page 162. 
  And Ex Miscellanea warders and 
  conjurers like Columbae (Houses of 
  Hermes: Societates, pages 110 to 115) and 
  Elementalists (Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, pages 17 to 32) begin to guide 
  approachable Bonisagi designing 
  Hermetic Rego Vim spells to ward and 
  summon magical beings. But the fine-
  grained manipulation of spells proper is 
  so far only pursued by a single, eccentric 
  Hermetic magus: Mutans of Mercere, 
  who likes to call himself Hermes 
  Triceres and recently has sent lab texts 
  of his Muto Vim Wizard’s Reach 
  (Corpus) spell to the research 
  community – with little resonance. (This 
  means, that a storyguide should just 
  drop all Muto Vim guidelines from his 
  865 campaign, together with their 
  errata. Wizard’s Communion, as 
  inherited by the Mercurians, does 
  however already exist.) 
  Forms for the 
  Supernatural 
  Another important research topic 
  for Hermetic magi is the scope of Vim. 
  Independently of the realm they are 
  aligned with, the Parma Magica defends 
  against all supernatural attacks, and the 
  highly polished solitaire that is The 
  Aegis of the Hearth hinders all 
  supernatural effects and beings not 
  allowed in.  
  But the other Vim effects, as 
  understood by magi in 865, are made to 
  affect the Magic realm only, not the 
  Divine, Infernal or Faerie (see Legends of 
  Hermes, pages 12 and 13). Indeed, 
  Intellego Vim magic cannot yet 
  distinguish auras by realms. 
  Most Hermetic magi in 865 try to 
  use other specialized, experimental 
  Forms to affect other realms, though:  
   
  Divinum for the Divine, 
   
  Inferum for the Infernal, 
   
  Idolum for Faerie, unless they 
  follow Quendalon, who teaches 
  the use of Arcadicum for Faerie 
  instead, making their Faerie spells 
  incompatible. 
  House Mysteries 
  The four Hermetic Houses built 
  around Mystery Cults, Bjornaer, 
  Criamon, Merinita and Verditius, have 
  not yet reached the full scope of the 
  Mysteries described in Houses of Hermes: 
  Mystery Cults. Indeed, player characters 
  can lend a hand there, contemplating, 
  meditating, questing and/or researching 
  for new Initiation Scripts, becoming 
  part of the growth of their House. Since 
  the storyguide typically has an idea of 
  the outcome of such activity – e. g. 
  from the book above – he should be 
  able to guide it before dice rolling starts, 
  Vim and 
  Realm Lores 
  in 865AD 
  If a magus from 865 uses the Form 
  Vim to affect realms other than Magic, 
  that Form is limited to his appropriate 
  Realm Lore. This limit applies to spells at 
  casting time, and to effects in enchanted 
  items at time of instilling. 
  The Limit of 
  Vim 
  Removing this limit to Vim is a Minor 
  Breakthrough 
  that 
  can 
  significantly 
  benefit the Order. 
  Insights for it, of four breakthrough 
  points each, can be found in Notatus’ 
  Mastery Tractatus Research Notes on 
  Aegis of the Hearth and his own lab text 
  of ReVi 20 Aegis of the Hearth (see The 
  Lion and the Lily, page 23 right box). 
  Both Insights require experimenting 
  with an Aegis – so the resulting spells are 
  likely useless.  
  Another Insight into it can be had from 
  the tome of correspondences of the 
  unappreciated 
  Bonisagus 
  researcher 
  Binro (Legends of Hermes, page 27). 
  Experimentally recreating the ReHe(Vi) 
  30 Ward Against Woodland Spirits 
  within it, that defends against denizens of 
  all realms, brings nine breakthrough 
  points. 
  The Forms of 
  Vim 
  Whether and how the Forms of 
  Divinum, 
  Inferum, 
  Idolum, 
  or 
  Arcadicum work is left to the troupe. A 
  simple ruling is, to apply them to their 
  respective realm at full strength, but to 
  make all magic with these Forms 
  stressful: so spells with them always 
  require stress rolls, and lab activities 
  involving them always use the rules for 
  Arcane Experiments from ArM5, pages 
  107 to 109. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  51 
  instead of only adjudicating results in 
  the end (as proposed in The Mysteries 
  Revised Edition, pages 18 and 19). For 
  this the two rules additions nearby are 
  suggested. 
  Budding Mystery Cults 
  None of the established cults 
  described in The Mysteries Revised Edition 
  fits well into the ninth century. But 
  founding a Mystery Cult on one’s own 
  is a topic for an 865 campaign. If a later 
  cult described there is desired as an 
  example after which to model your 
  own, the following might serve best: 
   
  Magoi of the Star (pages 54 to 
  56), 
   
  Neo-Mercurians (pages 114 to 
  117, but see also Faith & Flame, 
  page 28), 
   
  Legion of Mithras (pages 118 to 
  122, and also Faith & Flame, 
  pages 27 and 28), 
   
  The Huntress of the Wood 
  (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, 
  pages 33 to 35). 
  Just starting with The Mysteries Revised 
  Edition, pages 18 to 19, and designing a 
  cult from scratch requires a strong grasp 
  of its theme and background first. 
  There are still many more magical, 
  uncorrupted nature spirits than in 1220. 
  Some of these might become the source 
  of a Mystery Cult by providing paths of 
  power (see Guardians of the Forests, pages 
  35 to 40) which magi may walk first – 
  before they study pagan legends and 
  rituals, communicate with further 
  spirits, and join forces with other 
  students of nature to expand the Nature 
  Lore they have thus acquired into a full-
  blown, teachable Mystery Cult Lore. 
  Such a cult might guard a specific 
  place, have strong pagan feelings and tie
  -ins, adopt early Merinita nature magic 
  (see Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 
  102 to 106), or attempt to dilute its 
  origins in a more abstract, scholarly 
  approach. 
  Ancient Magic can be used quite 
  creatively, and is not only a good source 
  for 865 Seeker adventures. The fertility 
  magic from pages 54 to 64 could e. g. 
  also become the base of a homegrown 
  Mystery Cult around fertility fetishes in 
  painted caves. 
  RIVALS AND 
  HEDGE 
  TRADITIONS 
  Especially in areas not yet 
  Christianized or Islamized, traditions of 
  magic may be constitutive for mundane 
  societies. There Seekers and other 
  adventuresome magi may find many 
  instances challenging their opinions on 
  the position of Gifted people.  
  Elementalist and Folk Witch 
  traditions (Hedge Magic Revised Edition, 
  pages 17 to 53) exist about everywhere 
  in and around Mythic Europe.  
  The Subhar Sulayman 
  In 805 the Sahirs (see The Cradle 
  and the Crescent) living at the court of 
  Harun-al-Rashid in Baghdad formed the 
  Subhar Sulayman, divorced from 
  magical service to the Caliph. It is easy 
  to join, but tighter organized than the 
  Order, collecting taxes and protecting 
  the jinn from abuse. In the following 
  decades it prospered and spread, but 
  still remains centered at the eminent 
  library and academy of the Caliphate 
  Bayt al-Hikma (see Muslim Society 
  above). 
  Large Sahir communities exist in 
  Damascus, Gundeshapur, Cairo and 
  Cordoba. Every summer the Sahir from 
  these and many other places hold the 
  Majlis al-Sulayman during the great fair 
  in Baghdad (see The Cradle and the 
  Crescent, page 28) – though 865 the siege 
  of Baghdad interfers. 
  New Virtue: 
  Creative 
  Mystagogue 
  (Minor Hermetic Virtue) 
  The character must be from a House 
  that is a Mystery Cult and has a signature 
  ability: Heartbeast, Enigmatic Wisdom or 
  Faerie Magic. After each adventure in 
  which the character took part, the player 
  rolls a stress roll for that signature ability 
  + Intelligence against an Ease Factor of 
  18. At a success, the storyguide should 
  come up with a specific, not yet found 
  Initiation Script, fitting for the character, 
  the adventure and the House, and give 
  the character a bonus of at least the roll – 
  15 for its validity check according to The 
  Mysteries: Revised Edition, page 18, if she 
  experiments to discover it. 
  Initiation 
  Scripts 
  A Script to initiate a new Verditius 
  Inner Mystery is typically the result of a 
  standard investigation of a significant 
  enchanted item (ArM5 page 100): a 
  successful Int + Verditius Cult Lore 
  stress roll versus 18 provides an Insight 
  score 
  appropriate 
  to 
  the 
  item 
  investigated, plus a sketch for a Script, 
  using mostly the typical Verditius Script 
  components and Ordeals. 
  That Script can be discovered by 
  experimentation 
  according 
  to 
  The 
  Mysteries: Revised Edition, page 18, and with 
  the Insight score as a bonus for the 
  validity check.  
  Creating a working Script is worth 3 
  experience points to Hubris. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  52 
  Flexible magi fluent in Arabic may 
  find themselves received well by the 
  Subhar Sulayman. If they master 
  Classical Greek, too, they could even 
  find employment as translators in the 
  Bayt al-Hikma – rubbing shoulders with 
  al-Kindi, al-Khwārizmī, the Banū Mūsā 
  brothers and Johannitius. An entire 
  political ArM5 campaign can be built 
  around polyglot Seekers who start out 
  865 to look for the remains of the 
  language of Adam or the witch of 
  Endor in Palestine and Syria, get 
  attracted by the Subhar Sulayman, work 
  at the Bayt al-Hikma, found a covenant 
  in the area and become middlemen 
  between Subhar and Order. 
  Scandinavia 
  In 865, Scandinavian society consists 
  mostly of scattered settlements, ruled by 
  local lords with wealth and family ties. 
  These lords organize the Viking raids, 
  and are also coordinating the current 
  Viking conquests and settlements. 
  Ansgar, archbishop of Hamburg, for 
  some forty years has now been in 
  charge of proselytizing Scandinavia - 
  with very little to show beyond some 
  tolerance for Christian religion and 
  small congregations in a few trading 
  places like Birka. 
  Instead, the Scandinavians stick to 
  their pagan priests and sacrifices (see 
  Pagans below), and to their rune-magic 
  casters, the Vitkir (see Hedge Magic 
  Revised Edition, pages 120 to 140, and 
  Ancient Magic, pages 133 to 141). 
  These Vitkir are in general esteemed 
  community members, so their Social 
  Status Virtue Vitki (Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, page 122) should be Minor, not 
  Free in 865. They accompany their 
  kinsmen to Neustria, Ireland and 
  Iceland, into England, and into the Rus’. 
  And at the Grand Tribunal in 832 the 
  Order of Hermes, feeling threatened 
  but otherwise in utter ignorance, found 
  the catch-word “Order of Odin” for 
  them. 
  Building an 865 campaign around 
  magi who join Viking settlers, traders or 
  seamen might appeal to a troupe 
  interested less in Order politics than in 
  overcoming natural and supernatural 
  challenges to build a covenant in a new 
  world. 
  If an important character has strong 
  blood ties and some personal 
  understanding with an enterprising 
  Scandinavian lord (like Guðmundr 
  'Moðirsson' Hrafnsson from Birka 
  below), she might bring her friends to 
  join the lord’s people on their 
  expedition – alongside or instead of a 
  Vitki. In that case, the “Order of 
  Odin”-trope can even be helpful to 
  prevent nosy sodales from following 
  and complaining about “court wizards”. 
  The Muspelli and Trollsynir, 
  servants of the jotun giants, live among 
  the Scandinavians, too (see Rival Magic, 
  pages 75 to 109 and Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, page 76 to 77). As occasional 
  raiders and even pirates they might 
  compete with adventuresome magi. But 
  as they violently oppose the Norse 
  gods, they are socially incompatible with 
  Scandinavian society and its 
  achievements. 
  Britain 
  The gruagachan in the Britannian 
  Tribunal (Hedge Magic Revised Edition, 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  53 
  page 55 to 78, see in particular page 72) 
  are the heirs of the Pictish culture, 
  religion and language. They allied with 
  Damhan-Allaidh against Pralix, to 
  defeat those druids Diedne had 
  recruited in Britain for the Order of 
  Hermes.  
  They accuse the Order, and 
  specifically House Diedne, to have 
  erased their tradition’s cultural memory 
  and language in the decisive battle Pralix 
  won March 21st of 815, and since then 
  have been recovering in the most 
  isolated areas of Scotland, where they 
  tried to fit in with the clans.  
  Most magi from 865 have never 
  heard of gruagachan, their past and their 
  enmities – so when they find a gruagach 
  collective (see Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, page 74) they will not 
  understand their prejudiced, defensive 
  and most likely aggressive stance. 
  Seekers overcoming it would still 
  need hard work to understand the 
  potential of Hermetic Integration of 
  gruagach magic (see Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, page 78).  
  The East 
  The werewolf families from which 
  Birna descended are still living among 
  the Slavic and Viking inhabitants of 
  Pomerania (see Guardians of the Forests, 
  page 99 box). 
  PAGANS 
  In 865 the vast majority of the 
  Scandinavian, Slavic and Baltic people 
  in Mythic Europe are pagans – that is, 
  they venerate deities tied to their land, 
  families and direct experiences.  
  These deities are immanent to the 
  world of the worshippers. Their 
  veneration is motivated by their 
  influence on the world, conveyed by 
  oral tradition and by practice, and does 
  not put stress on a beyond and the life 
  needed to attain it. 
  Hence Paganism in ArM5 is not 
  associated with the Divine, but with 
  Magic. Demons and faeries might 
  mimic pagan deities just like they imitate 
  Hermetic spells, and they may thus fool 
  magus and worshipper alike – but they 
  are the substitutes, not the real thing 
  (compare Guardians of the Forests, pages 
  30 and 31). 
  The pagan traditions establish 
  relationships between worshippers and 
  deities through sacrifices, and mirror the 
  idealized relationship between a 
  chieftain or lord and his charges. The 
  pagan priest is first and foremost the 
  courtier, able to properly perform a 
  sacrifice that pleases the deity and 
  induces it to favor the worshipper.  
  Pagan Priest 
  We hence model the career of a 
  Pagan Priest as an unGifted ArM5 
  character after walking the path outlined 
  by a forest spirit (Guardians of the Forests, 
  pages 35 to 38). A pagan priest can be 
  Wealthy or Poor, starts with a Social 
  Status Virtue customary in his 
  community, must usually work for a 
  living, and only a few – those associated 
  Pagan Deities and 
  Their Areas of Influence 
  Culture 
  Deity 
  Area of control – favored activities - Vow – Virtue/Flaw 
  for 2nd initiation 
  Baltic 
  Laima 
  Luck, destiny – healing, charming, insight –Vow: never 
  attempt to hinder Laima’s prophecies - Luck / Ability Block: 
  Martial 
    
  Māra 
  Earth, fertility – trading, crafts, agriculture – Vow: never harm 
  domestic animals – Animal Ken / Anchored to the Baltic 
    
  Perkons 
  Lightning, rain – fighting, athletics, perception – Vow: never 
  show fear – Tough / Reckless 
    
  Potrimpos Spring, fertility - healing, charming, trading – Vow: protect 
  springs – Inspirational / Weakness: easy partners 
  Germanic Odin 
  Runes, death – knowledge, trading, perception – Vow: always 
  keep your word – Second Sight / Missing Eye or Offensive to 
  Animals 
    
  Thor 
  Thunder, storm – fighting, athletics – Vow: never show fear – 
  Tough or Berserk / Reckless 
    
  Freyja 
  Sorcery, fertility – charming, healing, agriculture – Vow: 
  protect wives – Magic Sensitivity / Offensive to Divine 
  Beings 
  Slavic 
  Svarog 
  Fire, smiths – crafts, trading – Vow: always be faithful to your 
  wife – Puissant Craft Ability / Offensive to Faeries 
    
  Svantevit War, fertility – fighting, healing, insight - Vow: never attempt 
  to hinder Svantevit’s prophecies - Second Sight / Offensive to 
  Divine Beings 
    
  Perun 
  Lightning, war - fighting, athletics, animals – Vow: never 
  show fear – Tough / Reckless 
    
  Živa 
  Life, fertility – charming, agriculture – Vow: never harm 
  women – Wilderness Sense / Ability Block: Martial 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  54 
  to popular sites of worship – can later 
  do so by performing sacrifices. 
  A priest-to-be needs to learn the 
  appropriate Sacred Lore of his culture 
  (Baltic Sacred Lore, Slavic Sacred Lore, 
  Germanic Sacred Lore, etc.), each 
  specialized on the deity he is going to 
  serve in particular. This is done first 
  through practice with immediate 
  feedback by a priest (Source Quality 5), 
  then by Exposure when helping her, 
  and finally by Exposure or Adventure 
  experience when acting as priest 
  oneself. Growing scores in Sacred Lore 
  lead to growing intimacy with and 
  comprehension of the traditions of his 
  culture, and a specific connection to his 
  deity.  
  The priest-to-be thus also learns 
  how to enter deep communion with the 
  deities of his culture, which he needs to 
  become priest, and for every initiation: 
  Intelligence + Sacred Lore stress 
  roll against Ease Factor 9 for the 
  deity he serves, and 12 for the other 
  deities of his culture. 
  Each attempt uses up an otherwise 
  free season, providing Exposure 
  experience in the culture’s Sacred Lore. 
  With the first initiation he takes a 
  Vow Minor Personality Flaw specific to 
  his deity (see table on page 53), and 
  receives an additional Minor Social 
  Status Virtue Pagan Priest of his culture 
  and deity: so it could read Baltic Pagan 
  Priest (Potrimpos) with Baltic Sacred 
  Lore (Potrimpos) on the character 
  sheet.  
  Besides the improved social status in 
  his community, the Pagan Priest can 
  latest now learn Arcane Lore and 
  perform sacrifices pleasing to the deities 
  of his culture at appropriate sacred sites.  
  He can ask them for a sign: 
  Presence + Sacred Lore + Magic 
  Aura + stress roll 
  Ease Factor 9 – or more for more 
  difficult requests 
  Or to bestow a favor on a 
  worshipper:  
  Presence + Sacred Lore + Magic 
  Aura + worshipper’s Pious Trait + 
  stress roll 
  Ease Factor 12 
  Reading the signs they deign to give 
  in response: 
  Perception + Sacred Lore stress 
  roll 
  Ease Factor 6 
  The fitting value of a sacrifice is 
  determined by the status of the 
  worshipper, or the scope of a sign. 
  What favors they are asked for and 
  can do depends on the specific deities 
  (see the nearby tables).  
  They can bestow on a worshipper a 
  +6 bonus to a single roll within the next 
  month for activities they favor (picked 
  after rolling dice by the worshipper’s 
  player – if there is one), or a similar 
  malus to a single opponent’s roll within 
  that time. 
  Or they can provide a worshipper 
  with a Virtue for a single event (like a 
  fight, battle, meeting, celebration, 
  childbirth, sickness or stretch of travel), 
  both specified when asking for the 
  favor.  
  One person can only ever hold one 
  favor. She has to use and cherish it, 
  before she can obtain another. While it 
  operates, a favor can be detected with 
  Magic Sensitivity and analyzed with 
  appropriate InVi magic. Its Penetration, 
  and level equivalent for dispelling, is 50 
  at the very least. 
  How to communicate the results 
  after the sacrifice is left to the social 
  abilities of the Pagan Priest.  
  The second initiation is specific to 
  the Pagan Priest’s culture and deity, and 
  bestows a Virtue in exchange for a Flaw 
  (see the nearby table). 
  The last initiation is the reward for 
  many years of service of the Pagan 
  Priest.  
  He vows to never leave a specific 
  sacred site of his deity for the next 6 
  years, tend it and defend it from all 
  Level of Understanding Granted 
  by Sacred Lore 
  Score (deity served) Score (other deity) 
  Understanding 
  0 
  3 
  Can determine within a few hours, 
  whether a site is favored by the deity. 
  1 
  4 
  Can try to enter deep communion 
  with the deity, and to make 
  appropriate sacrifices. 
  2 
  5 
  Is aware of the deity’s 
  manifestations, and can by careful 
  observation detect the favors and 
  curses it has bestowed. 
  3 
  6 
  Is easily aware of all the workings of 
  a deity in a favored site. 
  4 
  7 
  The deity occasionally contacts the 
  character directly. 
  5 
  8 
  Can in favored places easily 
  communicate directly with the deity. 
  6 
  9 
  Can ask each week one favor from 
  the deity, even without sacrifice. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  55 
  harm, requesting to be made the 
  guardian spirit for this site afterwards. 
  This makes the site after 6 years an 
  extension of his being, his locus like in 
  Guardian of Nature (from Houses of 
  Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 105 to 106), 
  and ties him forever into it. 
  An example Pagan Priest is found 
  below, under Radomer of Rügen, Priest 
  of Svantevit. 
  Christian Missionaries 
  Typically missions to autonomous 
  pagan countries are decided and 
  assigned by Christian Emperors and 
  kings, or the Pope. 
  The priest in charge of such a 
  mission will, if successful, become 
  leader of a new archdiocese located in 
  this country. Even before, he has the 
  free Commanding Aura Virtue granted 
  by the Church hierarchy, or the Divine 
  directly, of an Archbishop or Legatus 
  (see The Church, page 26). While a relic 
  would further boost his Magic 
  Resistance, typically a head of a mission 
  will not carry one, not to lose it among 
  the infidels. 
  Legendary missionaries like St. 
  Corbinian often make creative use of 
  their Aura of Rightful Authority, 
  commanding wild animals, faeries and 
  even devils to aid them. So many have 
  obviously some penetration for it, 
  which makes their Virtue: 
  Aura of Rightful Authority Range: 
  Voice, no cost, penetration: +10 to +20 
  Magic Resistance 10 to 20, Soak 
  Bonus +2 to +4.  
  Successful missionaries – besides 
  being educated Senior Clergy (see The 
  Church, page 25) - typically have some of 
  the Virtues Linguist (see Houses of 
  Hermes: True Lineages, page 25), 
  Inspirational, Good Teacher, Sense 
  Holiness and Unholiness and the Flaw 
  Higher Purpose. 
  Two vastly different example 
  missionaries are found below, under 
  Gorazd from Nitra and Formosus, 
  Bishop of Portus. 
  ADVANCING THE 
  ORDER 
  Those claiming to keep the magi of 
  the Order on the straight and narrow 
  path of nice sodales – Quaesitores and 
  Tremere indeed – did not look very 
  competent lately. In 865, the most 
  recent events universally acclaimed to 
  have significantly advanced the Order 
  are the joining of the magi Ex 
  Miscellanea in 817, and sundering the 
  web of Tremere in 848. None of these 
  were the work of magi asking their 
  Tribunals or the Quaesitores for 
  permission before they acted: Pralix 
  indeed never rejoined the Order of 
  Hermes after founding the Ordo 
  Miscellanea, and the magi defeating 
  Tremere remain unknown to most. 
  So also the Voventes Centennales, 
  sworn in to present the Order with a 
  perspective for the future, are not 
  supposed to be the model pupils and 
  goody-goodies of the Order’s second 
  century. 
  In 865 there is a competition of 
  accepted methods to advance the 
  Order: 
  1) 
  Bonisagi refining Magic Theory 
  as is, focusing on technical 
  extension 
  2) 
  independent researchers filling in 
  the holes overlooked by the 
  Bonisagi 
  3) 
  Greek Jerbitons clarifying Magic 
  Theory in the light of the classics 
  4) 
  Seekers looking for ancient and 
  exotic magic to integrate 
  5) 
  Many others creating House 
  Mysteries 
  6) 
  Some reviving older Cults 
  (Mercurian, Mithraian, …) 
  7) 
  A few outright founding new 
  ones 
  8) 
  And many more just founding 
  and securing new covenants. 
  But some enterprising Hermetic 
  magi travel with the Vikings, in spite of 
  Typical Virtues Granted By Pagan 
  Deities to their Followers 
  Culture 
  Deity 
  Virtues Typically Bestowed as Favors Upon 
  Worshippers 
  Baltic 
  Laima 
  Inspirational, Intuition, Luck, Rapid Convalescence 
    
  Māra 
  Animal Ken (score 3), Enduring Constitution, Puissant 
  Craft Ability 
    
  Perkons 
  Berserk, Keen Vision, Tough 
    
  Potrimpos Inspirational, Rapid Convalescence, Venus’ Blessing 
  Germanic Odin 
  Clear Thinker, Piercing Gaze, Premonitions (score 3), 
  Second Sight (score 3) 
    
  Thor 
  Berserk, Reserves of Strength, Tough 
    
  Freyja 
  Inspirational, Magic Sensitivity (score 3), Rapid 
  Convalescence 
  Slavic 
  Svarog 
  Clear Thinker, Puissant Craft Ability, Strong-Willed 
    
  Svantevit Intuition, Rapid Convalescence, Second Sight (score 3), 
  Tough 
    
  Perun 
  Animal Ken (score 3), Berserk, Tough 
    
  Živa 
  Animal Ken (score 3), Inspirational, Wilderness Sense 
  (score 3) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  56 
  the Order’s hostility towards an “Order 
  of Odin”. 
  Some Seekers in the Muslim 
  countries – Iberia, Africa and the 
  Middle East - encounter not only the 
  Subhar Sulayman, but also Arab 
  scholars. 
  And some Voventes found 
  covenants outside of the current 
  domain of the Order: in Scotland, the 
  Rus’, Iberia, Africa, the Middle East and 
  even Iceland. 
  STARTING THE 
  CAMPAIGN: THE 
  SIXTH GRAND 
  TRIBUNAL AT 865 
  The main player characters will be 
  sworn in at the end of the Sixth Grand 
  Tribunal, as its last agenda item, and 
  become Voventes Centennales. The day 
  after Fenicil, the presiding Quaesitor, 
  will call for the general vote to validate 
  the Tribunal, at which they may 
  participate. 
  Before this, they can watch the 
  Order debating and deciding, try to talk 
  to important magi about issues they care 
  for, find out who might help or hinder 
  them and their plans in the future, make 
  a few useful contacts, and decide about 
  their plans if they have not done so 
  already. But it can endanger a campaign, 
  to make characters in its very first 
  session publicly vote on tricky issues at 
  the Grand Tribunal.  
  Descriptions of Tribunal procedures 
  are in ArM5, page 14, Houses of Hermes: 
  True Lineages, pages 64 to 66, and in 
  Guardians of the Forests, pages 24 to 27 – 
  but not all of these need to be applied 
  one-to-one to a Grand Tribunal, when 
  there are no regular regional Tribunals 
  established. Depending on the needs of 
  your campaign, you can hence with 
  some preparation adapt them to make 
  the Tribunal memorable. 
  The storyguide should use the 
  following issues to give the players 
  some bearings about the state of the 
  Order and the interests at work first, 
  before coming to those topics affecting 
  their future, where they and their 
  parentes might become more active. 
  This is helped by Notatus, the 
  Tribunal’s Praeco qua Primus of House 
  Bonisagus, who puts the least 
  controversial issues first onto the 
  agenda. Thereby he early on builds 
  enough consensus, to make it 
  impossible for those magi later losing at 
  the more controversial issues to find 
  enough votes to invalidate the entire 
  Tribunal. 
  So the overall sequence of topics 
  and voting is the following: 
  (1) Preventing misuse of 
  certamen: Certamen cannot be used to 
  defy a Tribunal judgement, make a 
  magus break the Code of Hermes or 
  ignore a Code violation. This is 
  presented by Fenicil and motivated by 
  Tremere’s take-over attempt. It is sure 
  to be accepted by nearly all magi, but 
  for eventually the isolated Tremere.  
  (2) Treaty of Cnoc Maol Réidh 
  (The Contested Isle: The Hibernian Tribunal, 
  page 12): a treaty among equals between 
  the Order and Irish hedge magicians 
  outside of it is most unlikely to pass. 
  Ambrosius is chosen to defend it, but as 
  Obregon objects clearly, a majority sees, 
  how the issue is already contested 
  among Britannian magi, and votes the 
  treaty down to uphold the Order’s 
  superiority.  
  (3) Institution of the regional 
  Tribunals: This is the first big topic, 
  carefully vetted and prepared by the 
  Primi beforehand (see The Tribunals 
  above). The issues discussed on the 
  Tribunal are nevertheless still manifold: 
  (3.1) Most Britannian magi are 
  unhappy for being thrown together 
  into one regional Tribunal. But – 
  having shown at the topic above 
  already, how they are unable to agree – 
  they are not taken overly seriously on 
  large scale organizational issues. 
  Obregon proposes to assign to the 
  Britannian Tribunal all the lands with 
  Celtic traditions – also Britanny. This 
  further divides the Britannian magi and 
  thereby makes their votes irrelevant – 
  while the West Franks magi are content 
  to let Branugurix and Fudarus go. 
  (3.2) There are concerns about 
  the borders between Rhine, West 
  Franks and Lotharingian Tribunals 
  and their alignment with those 
  between the Carolingian kingdoms. 
  These concerns are accepted. But 
  Notatus can show, lists in hand, that in 
  the north there are no covenants 
  affected by the likely border shifts 
  between the kingdoms. While in the 
  south the Emperor’s kingdom of 
  Provence looks stable enough. The 
  Jerbitons agree, stressing how the 
  Grand Tribunal can still change 
  boundaries later, if necessary – with an 
  unspoken ulterior motive: if the 
  kingdom of Provence should fail, the 
  Tribunal with its delightful cities might 
  be joined to Greater Alps, where most 
  of the remaining land of the Emperor is 
  anyway. 
  (3.3) The Tremere – goaded subtly 
  by Putina – finally show their fury, that 
  Coeris is put into the Theban Tribunal. 
  But this is an excellent argument for 
  most others to do exactly that – even 
  overlooking minor quibbles. And the 
  Thebans expect to control Coeris better 
  within their Tribunal than as an 
  opponent outside. 
  Finally, a very solid majority should 
  approve the institution of the regional 
  Tribunals as proposed, and thereby also 
  the split of tasks between them and the 
  Grand Tribunal. 
  (4) Grand Tribunals to meet every 
  33 years at Durenmar: This is an 
  uncontested issue that follows of the 
  previous one, and is passed quickly and 
  with great majority. 
  (5) Status of the Dead Magi in the 
  Rhine: Discussion of (Guardians of the 
  Forests, page 17) three Rhine Tribunal 
  magi supposed to be in Final Twilight 
  before their spirits appeared 857 at 
  Tribunal, demanding and receiving the 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  57 
  right to vote. This should be ratified. 
  Notatus here tries to ride a wave of 
  consent and goodwill from the previous 
  two votes, and to legalize the recent 
  Rhine practice of voting with the sigils 
  of Hermetic ancestors most probably in 
  final Twilight. He might have been 
  overconfident about this, though – and 
  perhaps escape with no decision by the 
  Tribunal at all. 
  (6) Conquests of territory by the 
  Order of Odin, endangering 
  covenants: The Order of Odin has 
  betrayed and killed negotiators of the 
  Order of Hermes in Ireland, entrapped 
  and killed Hoplites of the Order in 
  Gascony, and is now sending a great 
  heathen army into England to subdue it. 
  An urgent response of the Order is 
  requested by the English covenants, in 
  particular Blackthorn. Notatus asks for 
  the opinions of the covenants 
  concerned by this. And Flavia of 
  Jerbiton, representing her covenant 
  Rosalba near York, explicitly requests to 
  be left alone in handling the Vikings. 
  When it then turns out that Blackthorn 
  is an all-Tremere covenant at the border 
  to Wales, nearly two-hundred miles 
  away from the army’s landing site, the 
  motion is sure to be defeated. (This can 
  be used to set up a campaign around a 
  covenant in Wessex or Mercia, 
  motivating the player characters to 
  organize their own defense and ally with 
  Æthelred and Alfred. Blackthorn cannot 
  hinder them any more after this. It will 
  also interest characters intent on joining 
  Viking expeditions.) 
  (7) Pagans, Muslims and the 
  Order: Hariste moves, that, since the 
  heathens now already threaten the new 
  Britannian, West Franks, Rhine, Roman, 
  Theban and Eastern Tribunals, only 
  Christians be henceforth allowed into 
  the Order. She also moves that every 
  apprentice, before taking the Oath, shall 
  from now on recite the Nicene creed. 
  Here Notatus – seeing Blackthorn’s 
  shameful defeat and guessing that it will 
  have consequences – has sent in the 
  clowns. Hariste’s motion alludes to the 
  Flambeaus’ recruiting practices and tries 
  to bait them, but Apromor isn’t hooked. 
  Others – in particular from Ex 
  Miscellanea – are, and the debate gets 
  heated nevertheless. At the end 
  Apromor calls to vote down the 
  proposal, and so it happens – to the glee 
  of the Tytali. (This allows player 
  characters to understand the feelings in 
  the Order about religion, and how to 
  address contacts with pagans or 
  Muslims.)  
  Finally a few complicated matters of 
  the Code involving individual magi are 
  debated and voted. Some of these the 
  storyguide can pick to inform the 
  players of Code issues important for his 
  campaign: covenant self defense vs. 
  meddling with mundanes, magically 
  creating wealth, weight of an accusation 
  needed to suggest endorsing the 
  defendant’s testimony by a Quaesitor, 
  cooperation with other organizations of 
  wizards, and such. 
  And then the Voventes Centennales 
  solemnly take the Oath of Hermes at 
  the Fane of the Founders.  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  58 
   
  Appendix: 
  Timeline 860 – 890 
  The following timeline is meant to support 
  planning of a campaign starting in 865. 
   
  860: Rus’ attack Constantinople and raid its 
  suburbs. 
  861: Synod in Constantinople accepts deposition 
  of Ignatios and appointment of Photios as 
  Patriarch of Constantinople. Caliph al-Mutawakkil 
  killed by Turkic troops of the Caliphate. 
  862: First Magyar incursion into East Francia. 
  Moravian Embassy to Constantinople asks for help 
  to organize Slavic Church. Death of Tremere. 
  Around this time: Rurik Lord of Holmgard (the 
  future Novgorod). 
  863: Lateran synod in Rome rejects appointment 
  of Photios as Patriarch of Constantinople. Cyril 
  and Methodius proselytize in Moravia. Byzantine 
  troops under Petronas defeat a Caliphate army in 
  the battle of Porson. Vikings loot the ancient 
  graves in the Boyne valley. Pralix disappears on a 
  voyage from Fudarus to Cad Gadu. 
  864: Assassination of the Doge Pietro Tradonico. 
  Orso Partecipazio I elected doge. Boris I of 
  Bulgaria baptized by ambassadors of Byzantine 
  Church. Uprisings in Kufa and Baghdad. 
  865 Sixth Grand Tribunal in Durenmar (see 
  Starting the Campaign): Caesar Bardas murdered 
  by Basileios “the Macedonian”, with the consent of 
  Emperor Michael III. Siege of Baghdad in internal 
  war. The ‘Great Heathen Army’ lands in East 
  Anglia. 
  866: Death of Charles “the Child”. Louis “the 
  Stammerer” succeeds his brother as subking of 
  Aquitaine. Basileios “the Macedonian” appointed 
  Caesar. The Danes take York. 
  867: Death of Pope Nicolaus I. Pope Adrian II 
  elected. He calls Cyril and Methodius to Rome. 
  Patriarch Photios has a synod in Constantinople 
  excommunicate the Pope and declare the “filioque” 
  in the Latin creed heretic. Emperor Michael III 
  assassinated 
  on 
  behalf 
  of 
  Basileios 
  “the 
  Macedonian”, who becomes Emperor. Photios 
  deposed, enclosed in a monastery and replaced by 
  Ignatios as Patriarch. 
  868: A Saracen fleet laid siege to Dubrovnik for 
  15 months, but then is chased away by a strong 
  Byzantine squadron. 
  869: Death of King Lothair II. Death of Cyril in 
  Rome. 8th ecumenical council of Constantinople 
  opened, to deliberate on Photios’ deposition and 
  the organization of the Eastern Church. East-
  Anglia conquered by the Danes. 
  870: Treaty of Meersen distributes Lotharingia 
  between Louis “the German” and Charles “the 
  Bald”. Methodius imprisoned by Bavarian bishops. 
  Svatopluk dethrones his uncle Rastislav, who soon 
  dies. 
  Bulgarian 
  Church 
  integrated 
  with 
  the 
  Byzantine by the council of Constantinople before 
  it closes. Vizier al-Muwaffaq, cooperating with 
  Turkic military, ends the “anarchy of Samarra”. 
  Saracens occupy Malta. Vikings found Reykjavik.  
  871 Tribunal Year: Emperor Louis II takes Bari 
  from the Saracens, but afterwards is for a month 
  imprisoned 
  by 
  Adelchis, 
  duke 
  of 
  Benevent. 
  Svatopluk 
  I 
  defeats 
  an 
  East 
  Frank 
  army, 
  establishing the independence of Greater Moravia. 
  Death of king Æthelred of Wessex. Alfred “the 
  Great” king of Wessex, under attack by the Danes. 
  Basra taken by Zanj-rebels, looted and burned. 
  872: Louis II crowned again as Emperor in Rome. 
  Death of Pope Adrian II. John VIII elected Pope. 
  A Byzantine army scatters the Paulician troops, 
  takes and destroys their capital Tephrike. 
  873: Methodius, freed from prison, resumes his 
  mission in Greater Moravia. A Byzantine army 
  fights south of the Taurus, taking Samosata and 
  Zapetra. The Danes conquer Mercia. 
  874: Ahmad ibn Ṭūlūn declares independence of 
  Egypt from the Caliphate. 
  Roughly around this time: Methodius baptizes 
  Bořivoj I, prince of Bohemia. 
  875: Death of Emperor Louis II. Charles “the 
  Bald” becomes king of Italy and is crowned 
  Emperor in Rome. Grado sacked by Saracens. 
  876: Death of King Louis “the German”. His sons 
  Karlmann, Louis III “the Younger” and Charles III 
  “the Fat” divvy up his kingdom. Louis “the 
  Younger” defeats Charles “the Bald” in the battle 
  of Andernach, foiling his attempts at conquests 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  59 
   around the Rhine. Bari opens its gates to the 
  Byzantine. 
  877: Pope John VIII tries in vain to assemble an 
  alliance against the Saracens in Italy, then flees to 
  France. Capitular of Querzy: Charles “the Bald” 
  recognizes fiefs as hereditary. King Charles II “the 
  Bald” dies while fleeing from Italy. Louis “the 
  Stammerer” succeeds his father as king of the West 
  Franks. Death of Rhodri Mawr. Death of Patriarch 
  Ignatios. 
  Photios 
  reinstated 
  as 
  Patriarch 
  of 
  Constantinople. He develops a political philosophy 
  to introduce newly assembled and reedited Roman 
  laws. Troops of Ibn Ṭūlūn route an army of the 
  Caliphate in Egypt. 
  878 Tribunal Year: The Saracens take Syracuse. 
  The Danes attack Wessex by surprise, but are 
  defeated at the battle of Edington and forced to 
  withdraw. Their king Guthrum the Elder is 
  baptized. King Alfred starts to consolidate the 
  defense of Wessex. 
  879: Death of king Louis “the Stammerer”. The 
  kingdom of the West Franks is divided between his 
  sons Louis III “the French” and Carloman II. 
  Neustria overrun and plundered by a ‘great host’ of 
  Vikings from England, who afterwards remain in 
  the country. 
  880: Death of king Karlmann. Treaty of Ribemont 
  gives the Western half of Lotharingia to Louis III 
  “the Younger”. Boso of Vienne elected king of 
  Provence. 
  In 
  Rome, 
  Methodius 
  successfully 
  defends 
  his 
  mission 
  in 
  Moravia. 
  Saracen 
  strongholds at the mouth of the Garigliano and at 
  Agropoli established, to become bases for raids by 
  land and by sea. 
  881: Charles “the Fat” crowned Emperor in 
  Rome. Pope John VIII excommunicates Photios 
  over 
  the 
  “filioque”. 
  Death 
  of 
  doge 
  Orso 
  Partecipazio I. Giovanni Partecipazio II elected 
  doge. The Zanj-rebellion in Southern Iraq is put 
  down by Caliphate troops. 
  882: Death of king Louis III “the French”. Death 
  of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims. Death of king 
  Louis III “the Younger”. Death of Pope John VIII, 
  reputedly assassinated by his relatives. Charles “the 
  Fat” the only king of the East Franks. Vienne taken 
  from Boso, making his claims irrelevant for the 
  time being. Marinus I elected Pope. 
  883: The abbey of Montecassino looted by 
  Saracens. 
  884: Death of king Carloman II. Charles “the Fat” 
  also king of West Franks. Death of Pope Marinus I. 
  Adrian III elected Pope. Death of Ahmad ibn 
  Ṭūlūn.  
  885 Tribunal Year: Death of Pope Adrian III. 
  Death of Methodius in Moravia. Stephen VI elected 
  Pope. Svatopluk I has Greater Moravia return to 
  Latin liturgy. Duke Guido of Spoleto decisively 
  defeats the Saracens in the battle at the Garigliano. 
  886: Siege of Paris by Danish Vikings, repelled by 
  count Odo of Paris and the inhabitants. Death of 
  Emperor Basileios I. Emperor Leon VI “the Wise” 
  crowned. Photios is deposed and banished to 
  Armenia. Stephanos – a brother of Leon VI – 
  appointed 
  Patriarch 
  of 
  Constantinople. 
  The 
  clarification and reediting of the Roman laws is 
  continued. Byzantine general Nikephoros Phokas 
  the Elder starts to re-conquer southern Italy. 
  Danelaw recognized by treaty between Alfred of 
  Wessex and Guthrum the Elder. Al-Muwaffaq 
  recognizes the Tulunids in Egypt and Syria. 
  887: Death of Boso of Vienne. The Diet of Tribur 
  deposes Charles “the Fat” as king of the East 
  Franks, replacing him with Karlmann’s son Arnulf 
  of Carinthia. Giovanni Partecipazio II abdicates. 
  Pietro Candiano is then elected doge, but dies the 
  same year in battle with the Neretva pirates on the 
  Dalmatian coast. He is succeded by Pietro Tribuno, 
  who strives for an agreement with the Carolingians 
  in Italy about trade and the interests of Venice on 
  the Terraferma. Al-Muwaffaq campaigns in Persia, 
  to keep it from breaking away from the Caliphate. 
  888: Death of Charles III “the Fat”. Berengar of 
  Friaul king of Italy (soon as vassal of Arnulf, but 
  contested by duke Guido of Spoleto). Odo of Paris 
  king of the West Franks (confirmed by Arnulf). 
  Rudolph I – a Burgundian Welf – king of 
  Burgundy. 
  889: Boris I of Bulgaria abdicates in favor of his 
  eldest son Vladimir. Fraxinetum founded near Saint
  -Tropez as a Saracen fortification (near a rogue 
  covenant set up by two Tytali - see Faith & Flame, 
  pages 10 and 114). 
  890: Death of Guthrum the Elder. Louis “the 
  Blind” of Vienne king of Provence (under Arnulf). 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  60 
   Radomer of 
  Rügen, Priest 
  of Svantevit 
  A third son of an esteemed branch of 
  the Rani’s princely family on Rügen, 
  Radomer grew up near the central 
  sanctuary of Svantevit on the Cape 
  Arkona (see Guardians of the Forests, pages 
  91 and 92). As a child, one spring he ran 
  astray among the sacred white horses of 
  Svantevit on their pasture. But the god, 
  refraining to kill him for this, marked him 
  instead for his horses’ service for every 
  spring to come, and gifted him with 
  speech they and all other beings of Rügen 
  could understand. So his family decided 
  that he would become a priest of 
  Svantevit, and Radomer was content with 
  it. But when first reading the signs of 
  Svantevit from the ways his sacred horses 
  pranced and ran, he found, that his 
  speaking to them allowed him not only to 
  read subtle meanings, but also to obscure 
  or enhance certain signs meant for the 
  other priests. 
  Mindful of the Vow he took when 
  becoming a priest, he uses this to make 
  sure that Svantevit’s prophecies are not 
  hindered by others, and their gist 
  becomes clear to the other priests. So far 
  Svantevit was content with Radomer’s 
  service, and made him prosper both as a 
  priest and a nobleman. He is well 
  married, and will succeed the current 
  high priest soon: over ten years before 
  that was expected. 
  Radomer is both a politically minded 
  subtle manipulator, and a loyal servant of 
  his family and his god: he sees no 
  contradiction in that. The politics among 
  the Rani, the spirits and Faeries of 
  Rügen, the Bjornaer of Crintera, the 
  raiders, traders and envoys of other 
  people keep him occupied. It is up to the 
  Storyguide to make him trip over one 
  plot too fine and too many, if this helps 
  with a story on Rügen. 
   
  Saga: Voventes Centennales 
  Characteristics: Int +1, Per +1, Pre 
  +2, Com +1, Str +1, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik 
  ‑1 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 35 (35) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 0 (0) 
  Confidence: 2 (5) 
  Virtues and Flaws: 
  Inspirational, 
  Self‑Confident, Privileged Upbringing, 
  Social Contacts (Sorbs), Gentleman, 
  Slavic Pagan Priest (Svantevit), Voice of 
  the Island Rügen, Second Sight, Pious, 
  Servant of the Island Rügen, Offensive to 
  Divine Beings, Vow (never attempt to 
  hinder Svantevit’s prophecies) 
  Personality Traits: Confident +2, 
  Leader +2, Manipulative +2, Pious +3, 
  Political +2 
  Reputations: 
  Dedicated 
  (Slavic 
  Pagans) 2 
  Combat:  
  Dodge: Init ‑1, Atk n/a, Def +0, Dam 
  n/a 
  Fist: Init ‑1, Atk +1, Def +0, Dam +1 
  Kick: Init ‑2, Atk +1, Def ‑1, Dam +4 
  Cloak: Init ‑1, Atk +1, Def +1, Dam 
  +0 
  Dagger: Init ‑1, Atk +4, Def +1, Dam 
  +4 
  Mace & Round Shield: Init ‑1, Atk +7, 
  Def +5, Dam +9 
  Soak: +1 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, ‑1, ‑3, ‑5, 
  Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1‑5), ‑3 (6‑10), 
  ‑5 (11‑15), Incapacitated (16‑20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Abilities: Latin 2 (Guesswork), Artes 
  Liberales 1 (Alphabets), Faerie Lore 1 
  (Regios), Magic Lore 3 (Regios), Chirurgy 
  3 (Bind Wounds), Slavic Sacred Lore 5 
  (Svantevit), Awareness 1 (Alertness), 
  Athletics 1 (Grace), Brawl 1 (Dagger), 
  Swim 1 (Sea), Animal Handling 3 
  (Horses), Low German 1 (Saxon), Norse 
  1 (Eastern), West Slavonic 5 (Sorbian), 
  Order of Hermes Lore 1 (Bjornaer), Ride 
  3 (Travel), Carouse 1 (Staying Sober), 
  Etiquette 3 (Nobles), Intrigue 3 (Nobles), 
  Leadership 5 (Worshippers), Charm 3 
  (Nobles), Folk Ken 3 (Worshippers), 
  Guile 1 (Worshippers), Area Lore: Rügen 
  3 (People), Single Weapon 3 (Mace), 
  Second Sight 3 (Regios) 
  Equipment: Shield, Round (Init: 0; 
  Atk: 0; Dfn: +2; Str: ‑1; Cost: 
  Inexpensive) 
  Encumbrance: 1 (2) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  61 
   Gorazd from 
  Nitra, 
  follower of 
  Cyril and 
  Methodius 
  Somewhat after 830, the first church on 
  Slavic territory was consecrated by 
  bishop Adalram of Salzburg in Nitra, 
  likely for the use of the local prince’s 
  Bavarian wife. Young Gorazd was among 
  the pupils of the East Frank tutors there, 
  and his noble family decided – likely 
  considering his gifts and dedication – a 
  church career for him. So Gorazd was 
  already a young man in minor orders, 
  when – perhaps at the court of Rastislav 
  – he met Cyril and Methodius. They soon 
  adopted the rare, eager Moravian clerk 
  into their entourage, and will take him to 
  Rome in 867. 
  There he will be ordained in 868 by 
  bishop Formosus, then papal legate to 
  Bulgaria, and become an important aide 
  of Methodius. 
  Voventes Centennales can make the 
  acquaintance of Gorazd in Rome, Bavaria 
  and Moravia. They might be impressed 
  by his serious, practical, conciliatory and 
  diplomatic approach to the Carolingian, 
  Papal and Byzantine interests involving 
  the Church among the Slavs. And 
  perhaps they hence learn to trust him in 
  matters of magi and the Church in the 
  Slavic territories as well. 
  Returned from Rome, from 873 on 
  Gorazd will again assist Methodius in 
  Greater Moravia. Before his death in 885, 
  Methodius will appoint him his successor 
  to the archbishopric. When Methodius’ 
  followers are accused of heresy, it will fall 
  to him to take care of them. The first 
  biography of Methodius passed down to 
  us is supposed to be written by him. And 
  the Bulgarian Church considers him one 
  of its seven founder saints. 
  Saga: Voventes Centennales 
  Characteristics: Int +1, Per ‑1, Pre 
  +3, Com +3, Str ‑1, Sta +1, Dex ‑1, Qik 
  ‑1 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 24 (24) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 0 (0) 
  Confidence: 1 (3) 
  Faith Points: 1 
  Virtues and Flaws: True Faith × 1, 
  Improved 
  Characteristics, 
  Linguist, 
  Privileged Upbringing, Clerk, Pious, 
  Ability Block (Martial), Offensive to 
  Demons, 
  Higher 
  Purpose 
  (Fruitful 
  Church among Slavs), Mentor (Cyril and 
  Methodius of Thessaloniki) 
  Personality Traits: Committed to an 
  Ideal +3, Conciliatory +2, Loyal (Cyril 
  and Methodius) +3, Pious +3 
  Combat: 
  Dodge: Init ‑1, Atk n/a, Def ‑1, Dam 
  n/a 
  Fist: Init ‑1, Atk ‑1, Def ‑1, Damage 
  ‑1 
  Kick: Init ‑2, Atk ‑1, Def ‑2, Dam +2 
  Soak: +1 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, ‑1, ‑3, ‑5, 
  Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1‑5), ‑3 (6‑10), 
  ‑5 (11‑15), Incapacitated (16‑20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Abilities: Theology 2 (Bible), Classical 
  Greek 4 (Attic), Latin 4 (Ecclesiastical), 
  Artes 
  Liberales 
  2 
  (Rhetoric), 
  Concentration 3 (Prayer), Music 2 
  (Singing), Athletics 1 (Hike), Swim 1, 
  Animal Handling 0 (1), South Slavonic 4 
  (Church Slavonic), High German 3 
  (Bavarian), West Slavonic 5 (Moravian), 
  Etiquette 3 (Ecclesiastical), Leadership 3 
  (Ecclesiastical), 
  Charm 
  3 
  (Inspiring 
  Trust), Folk Ken 3 (Slavs), Church Lore 
  3 (Organization) 
  Equipment: None 
  Encumbrance: 0 (0) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  62 
   Guðmundr 
  ‘Moðirsson’ 
  Hrafnsson 
  from Birka 
  Guðmundr is the second son of the 
  renowned leader Hrafn of Birka and his 
  worldly wise, foreign wife. Trained from 
  birth as a sea and river trader, he has 
  always shown a knack with people, and in 
  particular with women. His elder brother 
  devised his nickname ‘Moðirsson’ (son of 
  his mother), when young Guðmundr 
  caught the motherly attention of all the 
  neighbors’ and clients’ wives, and his 
  own mother had to compete. 
  While learning his trade, he traveled 
  between Birka and Ladoga. Practicing the 
  strange language of the natives around 
  lake Nevo, he encountered his True Love 
  Fenna, married her on the spot and 
  brought her home to Birka. 
  In 861 he equipped a longship for the 
  voyage to Constantinople, loading it with 
  valuable furs. These turned out to be in 
  high demand by the Byzantine ladies 
  around Eudokia Ingerina (see below), 
  and Guðmundr – not sparing any effort 
  on his business – made a very handsome 
  profit, which he invested in Byzantine 
  luxury fabrics to bring back. In Birka the 
  counsel of his Byzantine friends proved 
  true: so for some time to come his wares, 
  and Fenna wearing them, defined fashion 
  among the Svear lords. 
  But it also caused a growing jealousy 
  and enmity between his elder brother’s 
  wife and Fenna, which leaves Guðmundr 
  little choice but to employ his riches to 
  find a new place for his wife and his 
  followers to colonize: the Rus’? or 
  Iceland? So he asks his mother to aid him 
  with her connections abroad, and she just 
  knows of a few scholars among her 
  relatives, who also look for a new place 
  to settle. 
   
  Saga: Voventes Centennales 
  Characteristics: Int +1 (Shrewd), Per 
  0, Pre +2 (Handsome), Com +1 (Clear), 
  Str +2 (Hearty), Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik ‑1 
  (Slight Limp) 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 33 (33) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 0 (0) 
  Confidence: 1 (3) 
  Virtues and Flaws: Linguist, Tough, 
  Venus’ Blessing, Warrior, Social Contacts 
  (Traders), Well‑Traveled, Noble Trader, 
  Optimistic, True Love, Poor Student 
  Personality Traits: 
  Brave 
  +1, 
  Conciliatory +1, Leader +2, Optimistic 
  +3, Sympathetic +2 
  Reputations: Ladies’ Man (Birka) 2, 
  Shrewd (Svear Traders) 2 
  Combat:  
  Dodge: Init ‑1, Atk n/a, Def +1, Dam 
  n/a 
  Fist: Init ‑1, Atk +2, Def +1, Dam +2 
  Kick: Init ‑2, Atk +2, Def +0, Dam +5 
  Cloak: Init ‑1, Atk +2, Def +2, Dam 
  +1 
  Dagger: Init ‑1, Atk +5, Def +2, Dam 
  +5 
  Axe & Round Shield: Init +0, Atk +9, 
  Def +6, Dam+8 
  Soak: +7 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, ‑1, ‑3, ‑5, 
  Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1‑5), ‑3 (6‑10), 
  ‑5 (11‑15), Incapacitated (16‑20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Abilities: Awareness 2 (Alertness), 
  Survival 2 (Sea shore), Athletics 2 
  (Running), Brawl 2 (Dagger), Swim 3 
  (Sea), Navigation 3 (Stars), Sailing 5 
  (Longship), Shipbuilding 3 (Repairs), 
  Romaic Greek 3 (Trade), Finnish 3 
  (Trade), Low German 2 (Trade), Norse 5 
  (Eastern), Bargain 5 (Trade), Etiquette 2 
  (Trade), Leadership 5 (Inspirational), 
  Charm 3 (Women), Folk Ken 3 
  (Traders), Area Lore: Birka 1 (People), 
  Single Weapon 4 (Axe) 
  Equipment: Shield, Round (Init: 0; 
  Atk: 0; Dfn: +2; Str: ‑1; Cost: 
  Inexpensive); Partial Metal Reinforced 
  Leather Armor (Soak: 7) (Soak: 7; 
  Protection: 4; Quality Armor: +2) 
  Encumbrance: 0 (2) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  63 
   Thabit ibn 
  Qurra as Sabi’ 
  al Harrani 
  Unlike the neighbouring Edessa, during 
  late antiquity Charrae (Arabic: Ḥarrān) in 
  Northern 
  Mesopotamia 
  remained 
  a 
  stronghold of the old religion, in 
  particular worshipping the moon and the 
  planetary gods. The itinerary of Christian 
  pilgrim Aetheria from 385 still records a 
  vast majority of pagans there. 
  The madrasa founded in Harran by the 
  last Umayyad Caliph is considered the 
  first university of the Muslim world, and 
  might well have continued the tradition 
  of a neo-platonist academy of the 500s.  
  It is told that al-Ma’mun, when visiting 
  Harran around 830, did order its 
  inhabitants, on pain of death, to choose a 
  book religion accepted by the Quran. 
  After some consideration, the Harrani 
  choose to be listed as Sabians – 
  syncretists with the good fortune to have 
  been mentioned there – and continued 
  with their cult of the stars. 
  Thabit ibn Qurra is a ‘Sabian’ born 
  around 826 in Harran, has studied 
  intensely at the local academy there, and 
  taken up money changing to earn a living.  
  His scientific and philosophical interests 
  led 
  to 
  quarrels 
  with 
  his 
  ‘Sabian’ 
  compatriots. 
  First 
  he 
  revoked 
  his 
  opinions, but at a second conflict the 
  highest priest of the community cast him 
  out of the temple: so he has to leave 
  Harran, while the Caliphate is dominated 
  by Turkic military warring among each 
  other, and suppressing uprisings in 
  Baghdad and the countryside. 
  Voventes Centennales meeting Thabit 
  ibn Qurra moving from place to place in 
  search of patrons and employment as 
  money changer, tutor, secretary and 
  administrator might see more in him than 
  just a scholar on hard luck: he is 
  positively brilliant, and not only heir to 
  the mathematics and astronomy of the 
  ancients, but able to continue where 
  these left off. Will the Order of Hermes 
  benefit from him? 
  If they do not pre-empt him, sometime 
  between 870 and 873 Jafar Muḥammad 
  ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, the eldest of the 
  famous 
  Banū 
  Mūsā 
  brothers, 
  will 
  introduce Thabit to the Caliph and put 
  him up in Baghdad, where he will soon 
  become the rising star of the Bayt al 
  Hikma, a sought-after translator from 
  Classical Greek, and a prolific and 
  creative author of scientific works in 
  Syriac and Arabic. 
   
  Saga: Voventes Centennales 
  Characteristics: Int +5, Per 0, Pre +1, 
  Com +2, Str ‑2 (Puny), Sta +1, Dex ‑1, 
  Qik 0 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 40 (40) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 0 (0) 
  Confidence: 1 (3) 
  Virtues and Flaws: Academy Student, 
  Affinity with Artes Liberales, Linguist, 
  Great Intelligence × 2, Book Learner, 
  Good Teacher, Puissant Artes Liberales, 
  Ambitious, 
  Sabian, 
  Ability 
  Block 
  (Martial), 
  Clumsy, 
  Excommunicated 
  from Sabians, Higher Purpose (Revive 
  Neo‑Platonism) 
  Personality Traits: Ambitious +3, 
  Independent +2, Intense +2, Scholarly 
  +3, Widely‑Read +3 
  Reputations: Excommunicated from 
  Sabians (Harran) 4 
  Combat:  
  Dodge: Init +0, Atk n/a, Def +0, Dam 
  n/a 
  Fist: Init +0, Atk ‑1, Def +0, Dam ‑2 
  Kick: Init ‑1, Atk ‑1, Def ‑1, Dam +1 
  Soak: +1 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, ‑1, ‑3, ‑5, 
  Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1‑5), ‑3 (6‑10), 
  ‑5 (11‑15), Incapacitated (16‑20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Abilities: Art of Memory 1 (Lectures), 
  Medicine 5 (Physician), Philosophiae 5 
  (Neo‑Platonism), Arabic 6 (Scholarly), 
  Classical Greek 6 (Attic), Artes Liberales 
  9+2 (Astronomy), Magic Lore 5 (Magical 
  Traditions), Concentration 3 (Study), 
  Awareness 
  1 
  (Search), 
  Persian 
  2 
  (Scholarly) (11), Syriac 6 (Scholarly), 
  Order of Hermes Lore 1 (Covenants), 
  Money Changer 5 (Foreign Coins), 
  Bargain 3 (Money Changing), Etiquette 3 
  (Scholars), Teaching 3 (Artes Liberales), 
  Folk Ken 1 (Townsfolk), Area Lore: 
  Harran 3 (Sabian Religion), Area Lore: 
  Baghdad 1 (Bayt al‑Hikma), Area Lore: 
  Athens 3 (Classical Philosophers) 
  Equipment: None 
  Encumbrance: 0 (0) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  64 
   
  Eudokia 
  Ingerina 
  While the famous Varangian Guard 
  isn’t yet established in 865, there are 
  already individual Varangians among the 
  guards of the Byzantine Emperor. 
  Eudokia Ingerina is the daughter of one 
  of these, Ingr, who managed to marry 
  Melixena Martinakia, of noble Byzantine 
  family. 
  Eudokia’s favorite uncle is Eutychios 
  Martinakios, a jolly fellow who always 
  had something wondrous for little 
  Ingerina. But when the girl showed 
  promise and there were discussions about 
  introducing her at court with 14, uncle 
  Eutychios visited more frequently: he is 
  indeed a Jerbiton from the League of 
  Iconophiles, had some use for a spunky 
  girl at court, and had an easy time 
  recruiting her as his agent by promising 
  her that the stream of wondrous trinkets 
  would continue. 
  Uncle Eutychios didn’t know what he 
  had bargained for, though. In Eudokia’s 
  first year at court, Emperor Michael III 
  fell head over heels for the guardsman’s 
  daughter one year younger than him, and 
  she has kept him as her lover ever since. 
  Yes, Michael got married, became 
  reigning Emperor soon, had advisors 
  exchanged or assassinated, but stood by 
  Eudokia Ingerina.  
  Uncle Eutychios isn’t happy with her, 
  though: far too important to be dropped 
  as an agent, far too visible and exposed 
  to ever contribute useful intelligence 
  about political matters of interest for the 
  League, fallen out with the remaining 
  iconoclasts, and accustomed to a good 
  supply of antidotes, healing potions and 
  enhancements for Michael’s sex life, 
  Eudokia has become a serious liability for 
  Eutychios’ standing in the Order – while 
  his sodales in the League leave him no 
  way out. 
  On top of that, Eudokia will tell her 
  uncle at the beginning of 866, that she 
  might be pregnant. Latest then Eutychios 
  will look for help among magi outside of 
  the League.  
  If player character magi are not too 
  clumsy, Eudokia Ingerina will marry a 
  new favorite of Michael III, Basileios 
  “the Macedonian”, in 866, and soon bear 
  him (him?) two sons – later to become 
  Emperor 
  Leon 
  VI 
  and 
  Patriarch 
  Stephanos I. 
  Eudokia 
  will 
  then 
  weather 
  the 
  assassination of her lover by her 
  husband, and take other lovers. She will 
  pick the wife for young Leon from the 
  Martinakios family (a religious, patient 
  and manageable one, on uncle Eutychios’ 
  advice), who later will donate (on uncle 
  Eutychios’ advice again) a church to Saint 
  Anastasia, the Protector from Potions. 
   
  Saga: Voventes Centennales 
  Characteristics: Int +1, Per +1, Pre 
  +3, Com 0, Str +1, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik 0 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 25 (25) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 0 (0) 
  Confidence: 2 (5) 
  Virtues and Flaws: Self‑Confident, 
  Improved Characteristics, Strong‑Willed, 
  Tough, 
  Venus’ 
  Blessing, 
  Privileged 
  Upbringing, Social Contacts (Imperial 
  Court), 
  Gentlewoman, 
  Ambitious, 
  Carefree, Favors (Michael III), Apostate 
  (former Iconoclast) 
  Personality Traits: Ambitious +3, 
  Bond: Related by blood to principal +2, 
  Charming +3, Cheerful +3, Daring +1, 
  Political +1, Trusting ‑2 
  Reputations: 
  Apostate 
  (remaining 
  Iconoclasts) 4, Favorite of Michael III 
  (Constantinople) 3 
  Combat:  
  Dodge: Init +0, Atk n/a, Def +1, Dam 
  n/a 
  Fist: Init +0, Atk +1, Def +1, Dam +1 
  Kick: Init ‑1, Atk +1, Def +0, Dam +4 
  Cloak: Init +0, Atk +1, Def +2, Dam 
  +0 
  Dagger: Init +0, Atk +4, Def +2, Dam 
  +4 
  Soak: +4 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, ‑1, ‑3, ‑5, 
  Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1‑5), ‑3 (6‑10), 
  ‑5 (11‑15), Incapacitated (16‑20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Abilities: 
  Art 
  of 
  Memory 
  1 
  (Conversations), Civil and Canon Law 1 
  (Byzantine), Theology 1 (Iconoclasm), 
  Classical Greek 3 (Attic), Artes Liberales 
  1 (Grammar), Chirurgy 1 (Bind Wounds), 
  Music 1 (Singing), Stealth 1 (Indoors), 
  Awareness 2 (Alertness), Athletics 1 
  (Grace), Brawl 1 (Dagger), Swim 1 
  (Rough Water), Norse 3 (Eastern), 
  Romaic Greek 5 (Urban), Order of 
  Hermes Lore 1 (Potions), Carouse 3 
  (with Lover), Etiquette 5 (Byzantine 
  Court), Intrigue 2 (Plotting), Leadership 1 
  (Inspiration), Charm 5 (Mistress), Folk 
  Ken 3 (Courtiers), Guile 3 (Fast Talk), 
  Church Lore 1 (Church Organization) 
  Equipment: None 
  Encumbrance: 0 (0) 
   
  If using the Agency rules in Houses of 
  Hermes: Societates, the following numbers 
  describe Eudokia Ingerina as an agent. 
   
  Agent Resistance: 17 
   
  Social Virtue: 1 
   
  High Ability: 0 
   
  Useful Virtues: 7 
   
  Underlings: 0 
   
  Useful Flaws: 0 
   
  Multiple Resources: 9 
   
  Agency Points: 19 
   
  Agent Resistance: 17 
   
  Bond Strength: 2 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  65 
   
  Formosus, 
  Bishop of 
  Portus 
  Formosus was born in Ostia around 
  816. He is well aware of the precarious 
  situation of the papacy between the 
  Carolingians occasionally coming down 
  in force to Rome, the Langobard dukes 
  of Spoleto as its most potent neighbors 
  in the meantime, and the noble families 
  in and around it. His reputation as an 
  efficient 
  church 
  politician 
  and 
  his 
  excellent network of contacts and clients 
  among the papal curia allowed him to 
  become bishop of the Roman harbor 
  town of Portus in 864. He is currently 
  considered an ascending star of curial 
  diplomacy, and appointed legate to the 
  court of Boris I in Bulgaria, who had 
  submitted questions for papal decision. 
  Formosus sees no practical difference 
  between 
  ecclesiastical 
  and 
  worldly 
  diplomacy, but for his own protection 
  carefully maintains an aura of ceremony 
  and religious authority, which seamlessly 
  melds into the Aura of Rightful Authority 
  his offices provide him. Italian magi that 
  have to negotiate with him for papal 
  favors or leniency will find him more 
  artful and less rigid than Nicolaus I or his 
  successor. 
  Some 
  might 
  even 
  have 
  provided a longevity ritual for him to 
  preserve a working relationship made to 
  last, which explains the high age 
  Formosus 
  reaches 
  without 
  much 
  apparent deterioration of his abilities. 
  In 866 Formosus will make such a huge 
  impression in Bulgaria, that Boris I 
  petitions both Nicolaus I and later 
  Adrian II to make him the first 
  archbishop there. Since the translation of 
  a bishop to another office by rigid canon 
  law requires good reasons, though, the 
  many enviers Formosus’ successes had 
  already 
  created 
  can 
  prevent 
  this. 
  Formosus, on return to his bishopric, 
  forms a large, though volatile political 
  faction in the curia. He will lead 
  diplomatic missions to Lotharingia and 
  France, 
  be 
  excommunicated 
  and 
  banished by Langobard Pope John VIII, 
  and restored by his successor. He will be 
  instrumental in the election of Pope 
  Stephen VI and become pope himself in 
  891. 
  But a year after his death in 896 he will 
  be subject to the infamous cadaver 
  synod: his corpse taken from the grave, 
  put on display in papal paraphernalia, 
  condemned, mutilated and thrown into 
  the Tiber.  
  A storyguide a tad ghoulish might 
  determine, that the longevity ritual could 
  have left traces on the corpse, and build 
  an adventure around hiding or removing 
  these during the ‘synodus horrenda’. 
   
  Saga: Voventes Centennales 
  Characteristics: Int +1, Per +1, Pre 
  +3, Com +1, Str ‑2, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik 
  0 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 49 (49) 
  Decrepitude: 0 
  Warping Score: 0 (0) 
  Confidence: 1 (3) 
  Virtues and Flaws: Senior Clergy, 
  Social Contacts (Roman Clergy), Priest, 
  Ambitious, Ability Block (Martial), Vow 
  (Chastity), Commanding Aura as legatus 
  missus (The Church, page 26) 
  Personality Traits: Ambitious +3, 
  Confident +2, Diplomatic +2, Guileful 
  +2, Pious +1 
  Reputations: Dedicated (Christians) 1, 
  Highly 
  Talented 
  (Community 
  and 
  Church) 4 
  Combat:  
  Dodge: Init +0, Attack n/a, Defense +0, 
  Damage n/a 
  Fist: Init +0, Attack +0, Defense +0, 
  Damage ‑2 
  Kick: Init ‑1, Attack +0, Defense ‑1, 
  Damage +1 
  Soak: +1 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, ‑1, ‑3, ‑5, 
  Unconscious 
  Wound Penalties: ‑1 (1‑5), ‑3 (6‑10), 
  ‑5 (11‑15), Incapacitated (16‑20), Dead 
  (21+) 
  Abilities: 
  Art 
  of 
  Memory 
  3 
  (Conversations), Civil and Canon Law 3 
  (Papal), 
  Philosophiae 
  1 
  (Moral 
  Philosophy), 
  Theology 
  3 
  (Church 
  Organization), Latin 5 (Ecclesiastical), 
  Artes 
  Liberales 
  3 
  (Rhetoric), 
  Concentration 1 (Reading), Italian 5 
  (Roman), Order of Hermes Lore 1 
  (Guernicus), Ride 1 (Travel), Bargain 3 
  (Favors), Etiquette 3 (Ecclesiastical), 
  Intrigue 7 (Alliances), Leadership 3 
  (Intimidation), Charm 3 (Inspire Trust), 
  Folk Ken 3 (Clergy), Guile 3 (Pretend 
  Competence), Area Lore: Rome and 
  Surroundings 3 (Nobility), Church Lore 7 
  (Church Organization) 
  Equipment: None 
  Encumbrance: 0 (0) 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  66 
  B 
  eing the journal of Vulcanis 
  Argens of House Verditius, 
  discovered during the Vernal 
  Inquisition after the fall of Donum 
  Chanuti. Let its secrets inform the 
  Order:  
   
  Extract from the journal of 
  Vulcanis Argens: 
  Tostig is dead. My parens’ most loyal 
  servant and then mine own, is no more. 
  Though white-bearded, so strong and 
  able of form was he that I did consider 
  him able to outlive a covenant of magi 
  four or five generations over. As an 
  apprentice, I looked to Tostig when my 
  Aurifex had no time, and I warrant I 
  learned as much about the Order and 
  the covenant from him as ever I did 
  from my parens. But now he is gone. 
  He never could abide a fool, whether 
  that fool were magus or grog. I have felt 
  his harsh rebuke often enough, even 
  since my return to Donum Chanuti, but 
  never in front of other magi or 
  covenfolk. He spoke plainly, but never 
  out of place. But I shall never hear that 
  voice more. 
  He was the bravest of them all. And 
  strong too. I once heard it said that he 
  carried not one but two grogs to safety 
  upon his back and still had sword arm 
  free with which to secure their retreat. 
  That was so long ago now that there are 
  no grogs living that remember it. And I 
  have seen him thrash a faerie so soundly 
  that the beast was so afraid to leave 
  Tostig’s side for fear of another beating 
  that it followed him meekly for a month 
  or more, calling him master and carrying 
  out such service as it was able. But that 
  arm is now cold and still. 
  It was neither demon, nor dragon, 
  nor beast, no brigand that took dear 
  loyal Tostig. It was simply age. Winter 
  finally took hold and no magic that we 
  could find could forestall the inevitable. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  67 
  We buried him today and he took 
  his armor and his axe with him. Donum 
  Chanuti is a place where ghosts often 
  walk. I would not have that for Tostig 
  as he has earned his eternal rest. 
  Bellatorius carried out my request and 
  ensured that his spirit could not be 
  summoned. 
   
  Extract from the journal of 
  Vulcanis Argens: 
  The events of the last days have seen 
  the covenant thrown into new dangers, 
  dangers of its own making and fed from 
  within. These are dark waters we are 
  entering, but I am convinced that I have 
  the only light by which they can be 
  navigated. 
  Octavia was found murdered. Her 
  hands and her eyes were removed after 
  death and she was buried in a shallow 
  grave at the edge of the island 
  woodlands. The discovery of the 
  murder initiated a search for a demon at 
  work in the covenant, set to drive a 
  wedge between the two factions and 
  bring about its downfall. But my sense 
  was that we needed no demon to 
  achieve that end. There are ideologies at 
  odds and there are those practiced and 
  willing enough to use them to further 
  their own games. Surely tools for the 
  Devil’s work but dangerous enough on 
  their own. 
  Those of the lower village blamed 
  those of the upper village for the crime 
  and those of the upper village 
  considered murder to be the least of the 
  sins committed by their counterparts. 
  Neither of these could be proven true, 
  not if we wanted the covenant to 
  survive. 
  We took to Charonicus as he was 
  patron of those from the lower village 
  and had most contact with Octavia. She 
  was known to attend him and was 
  trusted with his personal possessions as 
  much as it is wise to trust any servant. 
  He was dismayed to hear of her death 
  but was more intrigued by the manner 
  in which her body was treated. He 
  confessed that he was familiar with such 
  treatment and had actually done the 
  same to Ned the Powysman, whose 
  body we had left buried and 
  unmolested. The knowledge of the 
  simple folk protection was common 
  enough, he assured us, but it was 
  strange for it to be done to someone 
  who none suspected of any infernal 
  leanings. 
  When Valeria asked who else knew 
  that Charonicus had uprooted Ned’s 
  corpse and so assaulted it, Charonicus 
  told us plain; he had told nobody of his 
  actions, but that did not mean that 
  something might not have seen him 
  about his work. 
  Something unseen, then? Charonicus 
  agreed. But why? Perhaps because 
  Olivia was his servant? Perhaps he was 
  the indirect target for some perceived 
  transgression? Again, Charonicus 
  agreed. 
  While my fellow magi looked for the 
  demonic, assumed some infernal 
  revenge for the death of Ned the 
  Powysman some years before, I had 
  other suspicions. Knowing that there is 
  one magus at Donum Chanuti who has 
  experience of the spirits above all 
  others, I sought a secret council with 
  Legalitus. We have seen before how he 
  calls spirits to him, learns from what 
  they have seen, assigns them tasks in 
  exchange for the prospect of freedom. 
  Legalitus seemed to have anticipated 
  my unannounced call and even made no 
  attempt to hide the presence of his 
  invisible servants. I was given the 
  impression that he and I were 
  surrounded by them. It was tantamount 
  to the confession I was looking for. 
  I challenged him over his invisible, 
  intangible spies, accused him over the 
  death of Octavia who again had been in 
  his employ, of having instructed his 
  spirits to carry out the deed, and of then 
  attempting to have others blamed in his 
  stead. He was rightly mocking in his 
  denial. As much as it frustrates me still, 
  I was not correct. Not entirely. 
  I was right that Octavia had been in 
  thrall to Legalitus; he had promised to 
  use his magic to remove the warping 
  affliction that she had in common to 
  those of the lower village. He had held 
  this promise over her for years. In 
  return, she was to give him information 
  on Charonicus and his daily activities; 
  information that his spirits simply could 
  not get for him. Octavia grew impatient 
  though. The reason was love, of course. 
  She was in love with a young man from 
  the upper village and knew that he 
  would not love her back all the while 
  she bore the outward signs of warping. 
  Foolish child. 
  Legalitus himself learned of her 
  impatience, but by his own account did 
  nothing. One of his spirits, however, 
  loyal to a fault, looked to protect its 
  master. Fearing that Octavia might 
  reveal his master’s spying upon 
  Charonicus, the spirit lured Octavia 
  away from the village and suffocated 
  her. Once dead, the spirit did to her 
  body what it had once seen Charonicus 
  to an infernal witch; it removed her 
  hands and eyes and then buried them 
  separately to prevent her spirit from 
  returning. 
  I demanded the spirit be brought to 
  account and that the council would hear 
  of Legalitus’ continued spying in breach 
  of trust and the Oath. 
  Then he made me an offer. He knew 
  that I wanted the position my old 
  parens held, that of covenant Princeps. 
  He said that he would gift me that 
  position in return for my silence. 
  I do not yet have the power to keep 
  order the way I would wish but the 
  election is looming and I must make my 
  case in the most direct way I can. 
  Valeria seeks to work through 
  Bellatorius, but he is a man with no 
  history or connection to Donum 
  Chanuti. Despite his fluent words about 
  strong leadership, he sees an 
  opportunity for himself only and cannot 
  sit as the balance between the extremes. 
  I cannot allow that and I must do what 
  I must to prevent it. 
  My own momentary silence betrayed 
  my interest; there was never any 
  prospect of my standing firm behind my 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  68 
  principles, not when such an offer had 
  been made. The only question really was 
  in the detail. I was, however, firm that 
  the beast responsible for the killing 
  must be brought to account; though the 
  full story of her killing would be forever 
  locked away in this journal, the 
  covenant needed to have the killer 
  caught. 
  Legalitus indicated a small wooden 
  cage, suspended from his ceiling by a 
  slender chain. It swayed and twisted 
  slightly, throwing shadows from the 
  firelight against the far wall. The cage, 
  he claimed, contained the beast awaiting 
  punishment. He offered me the chance 
  to exact that punishment, in full view of 
  the covenant, while at the same time 
  clearing the way for my election as 
  Princeps. He would give me his vote. 
  All we needed to do was to remove one 
  other vote that might be swayed 
  towards another side. 
  I left his chambers after a further 
  hour, an hour in which a dread plan was 
  hatched. It was overheard by I know 
  not how many of his spirits. I fear I may 
  achieve my aim of controlling the 
  covenant, but that I shall then be 
  controlled by Legalitus in turn. 
  While my colleagues researched the 
  infernal late into the night I joined them 
  in the library and ensured that they 
  found an entry, as instructed by 
  Legalitus, on vengeful infernal spirits, 
  spirits that sought revenge upon those 
  who murdered their mortal servants. 
  The passage itself was speculative, but 
  was sufficient to guide their thinking. I 
  sat silent through the resulting 
  discussion and then I retired to bed. 
   
  Extract from the journal of 
  Vulcanis Argens: 
  I watched as Benedic, Bellatorius, 
  and Valeria all investigated the 
  covenant, looking for signs of infernal 
  anchors, charms or potions that might 
  attract this invented vengeful spirit. Of 
  course, they found none. All the while, I 
  clutched in my hand a small figurine 
  made from twisted corn stalks; the 
  breaking of which would destroy the 
  very spirit they were looking for. My 
  task was to wait until nightfall. 
  As night fell, I invited Benedic to 
  drink with me. One of the homes in the 
  upper village had opened its doors for 
  drinkers that night though they did not 
  expect to see me. They were rightly 
  deferential and made no complaint. I 
  plied Benedic with as much drink as I 
  could, while reserving my own 
  judgment. As the call of ten o’clock 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  69 
  came from the guard on patrol, I knew 
  that the time was close. 
  I suggested maybe that we had been 
  wrong to seek out where the spirit 
  might be hiding, but rather we should 
  seek out where it might strike next. In 
  Benedic’s state, it was simple enough to 
  persuade him that Bernard, our captain 
  of the guard, holder of a vote at council, 
  had been involved in running Ned the 
  Powysman into the ground and hat 
  perhaps given his lack of magical 
  protection he might make for a target. 
  Benedic took the bait. I already 
  knew the sight that would greet us, so 
  while Benedic made his drunken way to 
  Bernard’s home, I set out to fetch our 
  colleagues. 
  Bernard was a brave and loyal 
  captain, even to the last. To hear 
  Benedic tell of it, the fight started just as 
  Benedic himself arrived. He saw 
  Bernard reeling from unseen blows yet 
  still fighting back, lashing out with his 
  sword against an enemy he could not 
  affect. Benedic, in his drunken state, 
  could not summon his magic as he 
  would want until he managed to extend 
  his Parma Magica around Bernard. Only 
  then did the assault stop. I arrived with 
  the others as the spirit fled, leaving 
  prints in the soft ground where it ran 
  away. We all gave chase, Valeria in her 
  hawk form, casting spells against 
  demons at it. 
  After several castings from the 
  others, I slowed. Behind them, as they 
  surrounded the spirit, I incinerated the 
  straw figure and the spirit died. 
  As far as my colleagues were 
  concerned, they had destroyed the beast 
  that had murdered Octavia and mortally 
  wounded our turb captain. As far as I 
  am concerned, I have sold my soul. 
   
  From the Journal of Vulcanis 
  Argens: 
  It is morning, but the day feels 
  blacker than the night. I have protected 
  Legalitus’ secrets and colluded with him 
  to remove Bernard from the vote for 
  the position of Princeps. 
  I know that he is using his support 
  as leverage against the future state. He 
  knows the depths to which I have gone 
  and will use them against me I am sure. 
  But even so, if Legalitus really is 
  dangerous to himself, to us, and to 
  Donum Chanuti, perhaps I can temper 
  him. 
  But I risked Bernard’s life. The life 
  of a loyal servant. And so hard upon the 
  covenant losing Tostig, too. My only 
  comfort in the matter is that I gave full 
  consideration before doing so. I 
  weighed his life against my own 
  ambition and his life fell short. But if it 
  was my ambition, then it is borne of 
  concern and belief in Donum Chanuti. 
  Does that absolve me? Can we forgive 
  cruelty if the ends are noble? Or do 
  those noble ends become tainted? 
  Perhaps time will tell. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  70 
  The following articles offer two 
  visions of how the exhausted Order 
  sought the time to heal itself after the 
  evisceration of the Corruption and 
  Schism War. 
  First we see how the Order suspends 
  its legal traditions to allow for faster 
  reaction to crises. This vests authority to 
  the player characters, who serve in the 
  militia under the Antares, the Order’s 
  field marshal. 
  Next we have a scenario designed to 
  allow these newly empowered magi to 
  exercise their judgment and authority. 
  Finally, we have an exploration of 
  the year 1050 through another scenario; 
  1050: Strange Alliances , by 
  Berengar Drexel. This sees the Order 
  develop closer ties with the temporal 
  and spiritual authorities of Mythic 
  Europe and the player characters are 
  tasked with protecting the Papacy itself. 
  The player characters are, in each 
  scenario, drawn from the generation 
  that was trained by the veterans of the 
  Schism War. 
  The player characters represent an 
  Order that has little material aid to offer 
  them, and few superiors to provide 
  counsel and they are young for the 
  responsibilities with which they find 
  themselves entrusted. 
  Demons, faeries and conniving 
  mortals have become bold, as the 
  Order’s power has waned. Can the new 
  generation bind the Order’s wounds 
  long enough for the scars to form? 
   THE SHADOW OF 
  THE WAR 
  The Schism War ended 32 years ago 
  but its echoes still linger. The wartime 
  coalition of Tremere, Ex Miscellanea, 
  Tytalus, Flambeau and Guernicus were 
  weakened not only by numbers but also 
  internal dynamics. The loss of the Ex 
  Miscellanea’s Primus Basilicus, the 
  return of Guernicus to its moderate, pre
  -War position, and the conflict in the 
  Normandy Tribunal between Tytalus 
  and Flambeau signalled its end as an 
  effective bloc. 
  By Shane Appel 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  71 
  The triumph of the militant houses 
  passed quickly. Their decimated ranks 
  faced the more numerous moderate 
  houses: Guernicus, Bonisagus, 
  Verditius, Mercere. The sceptical 
  houses, Criamon, Merinita, Bjornaer 
  and Jerbiton, added their numbers to 
  the opposition. The militants made 
  galling but necessary concessions in 
  1018. Militant fantasies of an Order-
  wide purge, single House Tribunals and 
  the abolition of factions were quietly 
  shelved. 
  By the 1040’s the militant Houses 
  began to test their returning strength. 
  Political factions have arisen who are 
  critical of the War, some actively seek 
  succession. Calls have been made for 
  the wartime machinery to be dusted off 
  to deal with this dissent. The War 
  required extraordinary measures; none 
  more than the creation of a virtual 
  dictator with absolute power – the 
  Antares. 
  The Sinews of War 
  The special Grand Tribunal of 1003 
  delegated its power to a war council. 
  The inner council of House Guernicus 
  fulfilled this role for a couple of years. 
  The need to broaden the commitment 
  of the order to the war resulted in the 
  creation of the Caucus of the Primi in 
  1005. This group consisted of the 
  Primus of each House. The Caucus 
  quickly decided it must appoint a 
  supreme war leader. The Caucus 
  decided annually to renew the powers 
  of the Antares until 1018. In 1050, the 
  office continues in an unofficial passive 
  role. 
  The Grand Tribunal of 1030 made 
  some of the most significant decisions 
  since the time of the Founders. It faced 
  the reality that it was an unwieldy 
  mechanism for decision-making during  
  crisis. Three significant decisions 
  relating to the structure of the Order 
  during emergencies were made. These 
  included retention of the Antares, 
  retention of the Caucus, and the 
  creation of special standing orders. 
   
  There is Always An Antares 
  The role of Antares is permanently 
  occupied, and each holder is appointed 
  for life by the Caucus via unanimous 
  vote. The Antares is prohibited from 
  attending any Tribunal meeting, or 
  participating in the activities of their 
  House. The Grand Tribunal was 
  persuaded that secrecy and isolation of 
  the office would enhance the security of 
  the Order. The office retains the powers 
  it held during the Schism War, but 
  remains dormant unless activated by the 
  caucus.  
  It is unclear if the Antares has 
  authority to act outside the territory of 
  the Order. This has never been clarified 
  by Tribunal ruling, so successive 
  Antares have interpreted their powers 
  generously. The current Antares 
  regularly issues mandatum to magi 
  travelling to Scandinavia, North Africa 
  and the Levant.  
  The Caucus of Primi 
  The Caucus of Primi is a body that 
  appoints the Antares, can trigger certain 
  emergency actions, described later. It 
  members are all Primi of the Order. As 
  a body designed for emergency 
  situations, it is more interested in action 
  than in form. It remains quorate if a 
  House lacks a Primus, or a Primus fails 
  to attend. 
  Special Standing Orders 
  The standing orders or loci are 
  designed to allow the Order to mobilise 
  effectively during crisis. Each is named 
  for a Roman god. Locus Mercury is the 
  peacetime setting. The Order has 
  escalating from Locus Mercury on four 
  occasions since 1030. The first was to a 
  rumoured Diedne threat and the others 
  were to two incidents in the Normandy 
  Tribunal involving Houses Tytalus and 
  Flambeau. The higher settings are: 
   
  Apollo, for unspecified threats 
   
  Juno, for a defined threat or 
  problem 
  Story Seed: The Inmaculata 
  A new societas has been formed that is 
  deeply critical of the war against the 
  Diedne, authoritarianism within the order 
  and its inhumanity. It is holding a 
  meeting and there is a general invitation 
  to all magi to attend. The player 
  characters may wish to attend out of 
  simple 
  interest 
  or 
  are 
  conferred 
  mandatum to investigate this event 
  further. 
  Story Seed: The New 
  Sundering 
  The 
  Societas 
  Inmaculata 
  has 
  commissioned a new history of the war 
  where it clearly places the blame for the 
  war on House Tremere. It argues for a 
  new sundering to put the house in its 
  place. After all, no one ever asked it to be 
  the Order’s militia. It did that all by itself 
  and then had the temerity to ask the 
  order to bail it out a confrontation with a 
  fellow house.  
  The Players Characters may be asked to 
  ensure that the history is copied and 
  distributed or tasked with its destruction. 
  Transforming Mythic 
  Europe in 1050 
  The 
  Transforming Mythic Europe 
  supplement has a number of uses in this 
  era, the first being the unprecedented 
  exposure of the order to mundane 
  society because of the Schism War. 
  Having fought a highly visible war 
  across Mythic Europe there is a 
  possibility that the Fourth Estate saga 
  could be used to kick-off your troupe’s 
  entry into 1050.  The Societas Inmaculata 
  would be a major advocate for such a 
  change perceiving it as a way to 
  humanize the Order of Hermes. 
  In contrast, an Island of the Magicians 
  saga 
  could 
  represent 
  efforts 
  of 
  secessionists to break from the Order. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  72 
   
  Luna, for when a response is 
  needed 
   
  Orcus when a broad political or 
  military response is necessary 
   
  Mars when wide mobilization for 
  war is required 
  Certain eligible magi can initiate a 
  locus. Each locus has a set duration. 
  During this time each of the True 
  Lineage Primi is tasked with a particular 
  chore. The Primus communicates their 
  views to the rest of the Primi (and 
  Praecones in some cases) on the nature 
  of the threat or problem during the 
  period of the locus. If the time runs out 
  and the Primus fails to report, there is 
  an automatic escalation to the next 
  level. The tasking Primus assumes 
  responsibility for receiving all 
  communication and dispersing it to the 
  Order. 
  Once the communication is received 
  the eligible magi may order a stand-
  down, escalate or maintain the current 
  locus. The opportunity to do so may 
  only be exercised at the expiry of the 
  durations. The Antares can 
  countermand any stand-down order and 
  may effectively hold the Order at a 
  particular locus indefinitely. Up until 
  Locus Orcus, the process of 
  communication is conducted by letter. 
  It is not until the Caucus convenes that 
  the Primi actually meet in person.  
  In the lower loci of Juno and Apollo, 
  a single eligible magus may escalate, 
  maintain or stand down the Order. This 
  is by simple request. It can be 
  disallowed if more eligible magi object 
  than favor the request. An eligible 
  magus can cause the Order to skip 
  various loci. All standing orders are 
  suspended when the Grand Tribunal is 
  in session. The nearby table summarises 
  the respective loci: 
  Hermetic Commissions 
  The early Order of Hermes had a 
  steady need for ad hoc officials who 
  could undertake various tasks at short 
  notice. These special commissions were 
  known as mandatum. Some of these 
  commissions evolved into separate 
  roles, like the Hoplites. As the Order 
  became more stable the office of 
  Mandatus fell into disuse as the 
  Quaesitors and Hoplites became more 
  numerous and the individual Tribunals 
  established their own officials. 
  The War saw the re-emergence of 
  the Mandati in a variety of roles. During 
  the Schism War the Antares issued 
  mandatum directly. The only Mandatus 
  to hold a formal title was the chief 
  Celsus Ex 
  Verditius 
  There is no magus in the Order of 
  Hermes with greater prestige than the 
  revered Antares.  Trusted by all, he is 
  noted for his great height and dignified 
  bearing. If not for the Schism War he 
  would have become the Primus of House 
  Verditius in his day. Instead he was 
  invested with supreme power to save the 
  order in its gravest hour.  
  The initial attraction of Celsus was his 
  basic emotional stability, membership of 
  a non-militant house and his apparent 
  lack of ambition. He was perceived as a 
  safe pair of hands or as a necessary 
  compromise depending upon the opinion 
  of who was expressing it at the time.  
  Celsus’ appointment turned out to be a 
  resounding success. In 1050, however, he 
  is ancient and spends most of time in 
  contemplation in an isolated tower, 
  worried about the future direction of the 
  Order.  He is also concerned by how his 
  successors will manage future challenges. 
  A large part of his present attention is 
  absorbed by rumours of Hermetic 
  secessionists immigrating to Scandinavia, 
  and allying with Diedne renegades and 
  the Order of Odin. 
  Summary of Loci 
  Locus 
  Duration Tasking Primus Task 
  Special 
  Initiation 
  Stand-Down 
  Mercury None 
  n/a 
  Peace 
  None 
  n/a 
  n/a 
  Apollo 
  2 Moons 
  Bonisagus 
  Investigation 
  None 
  Any Primi, Praeco Any Primi, Praeco 
  Juno 
  1 Moon 
  Guernicus 
  Investigation 
  All Tribunal Quaesitors 
  and Senior Redcaps must 
  attend their Praeco’s 
  covenant immediately. 
  Any Primi, Praeco Any Primi, Praeco 
  Luna 
  14 Days 
  Mercere 
  Communicatio
  n 
  None 
  Three Primi 
  Six Primi 
  Orcus 
  7 Days 
  Tremere 
  Mobilisation 
  Caucus must Convene 
  Six Primi 
  n/a 
  Mars 
  None 
  n/a 
  War 
  Antares in command 
  Eight Primi 
  Antares 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  73 
  lieutenant of the Antares the, Magister 
  Armorum. The other leading Mandati 
  who served the Antares directly as 
  lieutenants, were referred to Praetors, 
  though that title was never officially 
  given. 
  Example Hermetic 
  Commissions 
  Each commission is drawn up 
  specifically when issued, and so their 
  contents may vary, but over time 
  patterns of responsibility and authority 
  have emerged, so that most magi 
  recognise the following terms. 
  Grandis Mandatum: This is issued 
  by a Grand Tribunal and is usually 
  grants a Quaesitor’s powers to 
  investigate an issue on the Tribunal’s 
  behalf. It became immensely more 
  flexible during the Schism War. The 
  scope of this mandatum could be very 
  broad, as it effectively conferred the 
  authority of the Grand Tribunal on the 
  Mandatus. Controversially, the Grand 
  Tribunal of 1030 allowed three of the 
  Primi to issue a mandatum unilaterally, 
  subject to the disallowance by three 
  other Primi. In addition they could be 
  issued by the Antares if their powers 
  were active, or by the Caucus directly if 
  it had convened. 
  Paulo Mandatum: This is issued by 
  a Tribunal, or a Praeco granted the right 
  to do so. It grants powers similar to a 
  Quaesitor, to investigate a specific issue 
  within the granting Tribunal. 
  Flebilis Mandatum: A derogatory 
  reference that stuck, it had its origin in 
  the tendency of Quaesitors to farm out 
  more their minor work, particularly 
  disputes over the estates of deceased 
  magi. The Quaesitor only delegate part 
  of their power in this type of 
  mandatum, so it is more commonly 
  encountered. 
  Praetorian Covenants 
  Covenants with deceased magi, but 
  with functioning household staff, were 
  not rare during the War. The problem 
  of what to do with these covenants 
  grew as the War continued.  A solution 
  was for the Antares to install a 
  Mandatus as a governor, or “princeps”. 
  These became known as “Praetorian” 
  covenants.  
  These covenants were an anomaly 
  because their charters had lapsed, thus 
  severing their membership of their 
  Tribunals. Most have been resettled or 
  abandoned. A few continue to function 
  outside of the Tribunal’s political 
  structure, answerable to the Antares 
  through his governors. This has become 
  a sore point with some Tribunals. 
  The most famous Praetorian 
  Covenant was located on the island of 
  Comacina in Lake Como, northern 
  Italy. The Order maintained this as its 
  unofficial contact point with the 
  mundane world during the War. In 
  1050, the covenant stands empty and 
  silent except for the bustle of activity 
  once a year in the spring. A mandatus 
  arrives and takes up residence for a 
  month to await any envoys from the 
  church or secular states.   
   
   
   
   Story Seed: Arms Against 
  Odin 
  The Player Characters have been 
  conferred mandatum by the Antares to 
  investigate and destroy a secessionist 
  colony of hermetic magi in Scandinavia. 
  The information they receive is wrong 
  and the inhabitants are loyal Bonisagi 
  magi undertaking simple research.  
  The Perdo War 
  The many of casualties of the Schism 
  War gave rise to unsavory incidents and 
  acrimony 
  over 
  the 
  disposition 
  of 
  property, a period of strife called “The 
  Perdo War” by some magi. The Grand 
  Tribunal of 1030, in response, declared 
  that property of a deceased magus must 
  pass in accordance with a specified 
  procedure.  The selected procedure is 
  complex, and favors espoused any 
  physical children over apprentices and 
  Housemates. 
  The inevitable disputes, accusations of 
  negligence and theft of deceased property 
  usually arose because multiple heirs or 
  debtors protested the disposition and 
  appealed to the Presiding Quaesitor. 
  Quaesitors were happy to rid themselves 
  of these distractions and used Mandati 
  extensively to resolve the disputes . By 
  1050 some of this work stills remains. An 
  ambitious magus with an eye to 
  becoming a hoplite or a Quaesitor may 
  use 
  these 
  assignments 
  to 
  impress 
  potential benefactors.  
  The magus responsible for this new 
  addition to the code, Appelius of 
  Hannover is loathed by every covenant 
  princeps and tribunal Quaesitor in 
  Mythic Europe.  The sheer volume of 
  work, frustration and responsibility that 
  this 
  reform 
  stimulated 
  caused 
  his 
  reputation to plummet. At a subsequent 
  Tribunal meeting he was so roundly 
  abused that he has retired into exile. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  74 
  In 1006, Colman Ex Merinita did an 
  unwise favor for an old friend by 
  murdering his covenmate, Truttedia Ex 
  Flambeau. 
  Once he concealed her body so his 
  friend could assume her identity they 
  both left the Hibernian Tribunal and 
  joined a new covenant. This would have 
  been fine if the new Truttedia had kept 
  to the deal. She had agreed to move on, 
  but she came to enjoy the covenant so 
  much she stayed.  
  The years passed and the new 
  Truttedia died. Colman, now the 
  princeps of Nostram Impertimus was 
  required to execute the rules of 
  Hermetic inheritance. This was bad 
  enough, but his “new” Truttedia used to 
  be Eimíle Ex Diedne. Eimile now 
  haunts the covenant, and she has vowed 
  to destroy all those who harmed her in 
  her life, including Colman. 
   
  STORYGUIDE’S 
  NOTES 
  Many of the NPCs in the scenario 
  do not need pre-determined statistics 
  but if they are needed the stats for the 
  various magi in the core book for 
  Bartell, Reinhard and Carry will suffice. 
  Broc can be simulated by using the 
  knight template in the Core rules but 
  adding the Supernatural Virtue “See In 
  Darkness” to his repertoire. Player 
  Characters who act as mandati will need 
  some experience in Code of Hermes. It 
  would also help if they had a literate 
  retainer to take the official record. 
  CAST OF 
  CHARACTERS 
  Adalbrecht 
  Adalbrecht is a former apprentice of 
  one of the covenant members (long 
  deceased). He left the covenant when he 
  was approximately 16 years old because 
  he killed one of the covenant serving 
  girls with whom he was infatuated. His 
  activities since leaving the covenant are 
  kept deliberately vague so the SG can 
  develop these accordingly. His return at 
  the present time is not connected with 
  the present events and his motive is one 
  of remorse for his actions. He harbours 
  no ill-intent against anyone and has 
  been hiding in the various empty rooms, 
  roof and wall cavities of the covenant 
  since he returned.  
  Adalbrecht has a very swarthy 
  complexion, dark brown eyes and short, 
  spiky black hair which looks a little 
  By Shane Appel 
  Hermetic 
  Inheritance 
  At the Grand Tribunal of 1030, it was 
  declared that as matter of hermetic law, 
  property of a deceased magus must pass 
  as follows: 
  The executor is to draw forth all 
  property and debts and divide the 
  property into mundane and magical 
  pools. All debts against the magus will be 
  paid from the relevant pool. Next the 
  executor is to list the members of a first 
  class who will in order of priority be the 
  magi’s wife; the magi’s natural or adopted 
  children; the magi’s former apprentices 
  now magi. The executor is to use their 
  best endeavors to contact all debtors and 
  classes and inform them of the magus’ 
  death. 
  At the passage of a year and a day from 
  the death of the magus, the executor shall 
  give the remainder of both to members 
  of the first class who present themselves 
  at the gates of the executor’s covenant. 
  Each claimant takes as equally as 
  practicable, with priority for unique items 
  given as noted above. A mundane person 
  is not eligible to take from the magical 
  pool.  Should none of the first class 
  present themselves, the executor is to 
  draw a list of the members of a second 
  class who will in order of priority be the 
  magi’s 
  former 
  master, 
  the 
  magi’s 
  covenant, and the magi’s tribunal of 
  residence. 
  At the passage of three years and a day 
  from death, should no claimants from 
  the first class present themselves at the 
  gates of the executor’s covenant the 
  executor shall give the remainder of both 
  pools in order of priority to members of 
  the second class who present themselves 
  at such place. If before three years and a 
  day but after a year and a day of death 
  any member of the first class present 
  themselves at the gates of the covenant, 
  that member shall take the entirety of the 
  pools in order of arrival at the gates of 
  the covenant. 
  The executor is always the princeps of 
  the magi’s covenant of membership. 
  Should that princeps not be available the 
  praeco of their tribunal and the primus of 
  their house become the executors in that 
  order. The executor is the final arbiter of 
  all disputes regarding the property unless 
  three heirs or debtors appeal the 
  executor’s orders to the Presiding 
  Quaesitor. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  75 
  unhealthy. He has an oval face and a 
  pointed chin stands 5’ 8” and is fat. His 
  clothes are usually quite old and earth 
  coloured. 
  Bartell Ex Tremere 
  Bartell represents Fengheld 
  covenant. Fengheld alleges a vis debt 
  owed by Truttedia. When Truttedia 
  died, Colman recognised this debt but 
  soon got into trouble. The redcaps 
  noted that the signatures on the 
  promissory notes did not match. Both 
  Mercere and Fengheld alleged forgery. 
  He is a confident looking man with 
  wide brown eyes that are like two 
  acorns. He has thick, curly, medium-
  length hair the color of charcoal, and is 
  worn in a weird style. He is short and 
  has a graceful build. His skin is deeply-
  tanned. He has a small nose and a 
  strong chin. His wardrobe is mystical 
  and tight, with a completely green and 
  yellow color scheme. 
  Broc 
  Broc is the natural son of Truttedia, 
  born before her murder, and the 
  offspring of a relationship with an Irish 
  nobleman. Broc was taken to be raised 
  in the nobility soon after his birth and 
  bases his claim to Truttedia’s mundane 
  property on his blood lineage to her.  
  He also asserts that he has mystical 
  powers. He claims this entitles him to 
  both the mundane and magical property 
  of his mother. 
  Carry Ex Merinita 
  She has the physical presence of a 
  menacing tornado. With almond-shaped 
  brown eyes she has luxurious, curly, 
  charcoal-colored hair worn in a style 
  that reminds you of a gush of water. She 
  is short and has a wide-hipped build. 
  Her skin is pale white. She has a domed 
  forehead and a large mouth. She dresses 
  plainly. 
  Carry has been appointed by the 
  covenant of Circulus Ruber in the 
  Hibernian Tribunal as its representative. 
  Tradui (its princeps) knows that 
  Truttedia possessed the Torc of 
  Breanna, a powerful enchanted item 
  before she died and is obsessed with its 
  return. Tradui wants the Torc back, sp 
  Crculus Ruber has intervened.  
  Tradui believes that Circulus Ruber 
  also has a claim on Truttedia’s property 
  because she never quit its ranks. This is 
  correct since Truttedia / Eimile never 
  formally joined Nostram Impertimus 
  and did not sever her membership of 
  Circulus Ruber.  Circulus Ruber also 
  contests the debt alleged by Fengheld 
  based on the dissimilarity of Truttedia’s 
  signature on the Circulus Ruber charter 
  and the promissory note given to 
  Fengheld.   
  Colman Ex Merinita 
  He has always had trouble saying 
  “no” to people which is one of the 
  reasons he finds himself in his current 
  predicament. He despises the position 
  of princeps and fantasizes of the day 
  that he can be rid of it. He knows that 
  one day the stress will get too much and 
  he will simply implode. 
  Colman has many secrets. The most 
  valuable is knowledge of the Forest 
  Lore (see Guardians of the Forests) which 
  he aimed to extract from Truttedia and 
  has spent his life discovering with the 
  assistance of Eimile.   As a young man 
  he first touched upon this knowledge in 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  76 
  his native Ireland which led him to 
  Germany.    
  Colman’s more mundane secrets 
  include his collusion with Eimile and 
  the murder of Truttedia.  He will do 
  anything to avoid having the Mandatus 
  use Intellego Mentem spells on him 
  because of his secrets. Unfortunately for 
  Circulus Ruber, the Torc of Breanna is 
  not one of them. He genuinely has no 
  idea what happened to the thing. 
  A Mandatus, like a Quaesitor, cannot 
  compel the use of Intellego Mentem 
  upon a magus. A refusal would look bad 
  and Colman will argue strenuously 
  against it, feign illness or procrastinate 
  before giving his consent. Between 
  giving his consent and submitting to the 
  e x a m i n a t i o n  h e  c o m m e n c e s 
  countermeasures.  
  Colman is a physical coward so he 
  employs measures that avoid any direct 
  confrontation, even though he is 
  probably more than a match for young 
  magi. He is overconfident due to his 
  death prophecy Virtue (which is 
  deliberately kept unstated).  
  His countermeasures are as follows: 
   
  Legal Foundation: Two events 
  give Colman the opportunity to 
  argue that the authority of the 
  mandatus no longer exists. The 
  first is when Broc is attacked and 
  killed. The second is if Carry 
  leaves the covenant. He puts his 
  case to the Mandatus forcefully 
  (but takes care not to offend) 
  that because one or two of the 
  disputants are no longer parties 
  there is no legal basis for the 
  mandatus having further 
  involvement. 
   
  Bribery: Colman indicates early 
  to the Mandatus that he is willing 
  to do anything to settle the 
  dispute without further inquiries 
  or hassle. Later on, and with 
  nothing to lose, this may include 
  outright bribery. A PC could do 
  well out of this by demanding a 
  very high price. Colman honours 
  any bribe offered.  
   
  Misdirection: If all else is failing, 
  Colmans’s trusted Autocrat (if he 
  is still alive) brings the PCs a 
  message from the Presiding 
  Quaesitor (appropriately sealed) 
  that she is now in Cuxhaven and 
  to resolve the dispute personally. 
  The Mandatus and all the 
  disputants are commanded to 
  attend her. There is no Presiding 
  Quaesitor in Cuxhaven. Colman 
  has organised this deceit to get 
  his potential enemies away from 
  the covenant so he can escape.  
   
  Escape: If the PCs do not take 
  the bait than he slips off to his 
  bolt hole and make his way to the 
  Teutoberger Forest.  
   
  Scorching: If the PCs take the 
  bait and respond to the 
  summons, when they return to 
  Nostram Impertimus they 
  discover it a smoking heap with 
  no single grog or surviving magus 
  in sight. Obviously this raises a 
  number of questions. Did 
  Colman, Adalbrecht or the ghost 
  do it? 
  Osvald 
  Osvald is the covenant’s autocrat. 
  He is Colman’s creature in every 
  possible way. He has deep-set brown 
  eyes and thick, wavy, iron-gray hair that 
  is medium-length and is worn in a 
  dignified style. He is short and has an 
  elegant build. His skin is tanned with 
  hollow cheeks and robes that are 
  completely blue. 
  Reinhard Ex Mercere 
  Reinhard the redcap represents 
  House Mercere in the matter of the 
  succession. Mercere, like Fengheld is 
  not an heir but a debtor. It claims an 
  unpaid loan, taken by Truttedia in 990 
  when she was a member of Circulus 
  Ruber. House Mercere disputes the vis 
  debt to Fengheld based on the differing 
  signatures (see Bartell’s entry). It 
  supports Circulus Ruber’s claim. 
  Truttedia/Eimile 
  (Ghost) 
  She simply wants to kill and starts 
  with the most vulnerable, killing one 
  character per day. The Storyguide 
  should structure these killings for 
  dramatic effect, starting with the invalid 
  magi and progressing to the others. She 
  stops once she kills Colman. The ghost 
  is not particularly interested in anyone 
  else other than the magi of Nostram 
  Impertimus. 
  Werther Ex 
  Miscellanea 
  The former princeps of Nostram 
  Impertimus, he still has his faculties 
  about him though he is physically 
  immobile. He cannot abide Colman. As 
  a source of information he can relate 
  the following: 
   
  Truttedia and Colman came from 
  Ireland in 1006. Colman in his 
  view was a shirker and avoided 
  serving because he sympathized 
  with House Diedne.  
   
  Colman was fully admitted to the 
  covenant though Truttedia never 
  was. Werther never liked 
  Truttedia and liked Colman even 
  less. Both were secretive. At the 
  time they arrived, the covenant 
  was fully engaged with the 
  Schism War and its losses were 
  grievous. Colman had no 
  inclination to fight and it suited 
  the covenant at the time to have 
  someone able to look after things 
  while the other Magi went to war. 
   
  She lived as the companion of 
  Colman though no one ever saw 
  any evidence of an intimate 
  relationship. 
   
  Truttedia bought a child with her 
  though it was never understood 
  what her precise relationship with 
  it was. She certainly did not treat 
  the child like her own. Liesa 
  disappeared when she was about 
  11 years old. Truttedia never had 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  77 
  any other children that he was 
  aware of. 
   
  Truttedia maintained a sanctum. 
  Her permit to do so was 
  controversial because she was not 
  a full member of the covenant. 
  Colman argued strongly in her 
  favor for this boon. 
   
  Truttedia never took an 
  apprentice. Colman and Truttedia 
  never attended any Tribunals. 
  PROLOGUE 
  A PC magus has been asked by their 
  covenant princeps to accept the 
  conferral of mandatum in a dispute over 
  a deceased magus’ property. The 
  deceased is Truttedia Ex Flambeau of 
  the covenant Nostram Impertimus. An 
  appeal was lodged with the Presiding 
  Quaesitor of the Rhine Tribunal from 
  three aggrieved heirs. It is alleged the 
  executor, the princeps of Nostram 
  Impertimus covenant in northern 
  Germany, has made disposition not in 
  accordance with the Code of Hermes. 
  Once the magus agrees to serve they 
  are handed four scrolls. The first is the 
  conferral of mandatum, the second a 
  letter to the Presiding Quaesitor of the 
  Rhine Tribunal from the covenant 
  Circulus Ruber making an appeal for 
  intervention. The third is an account of 
  the executor and Princeps of Nostram 
  Impertimus, Colman Ex Merinita 
  written to the Presiding Quaesitor 
  declaring his dealings with the disputed 
  property. The fourth are some notes by 
  the Quaesitor. 
  Before the PC’s leave they may make 
  Order of Hermes Lore rolls informing 
  them of aspects related to Nostram 
  Impertimus: 
  Colman, Follower of 
  Merinita 
  Characteristics: Int +3, Per 0, Pre 0, Com 0, Str -2, Sta +1, 
  Dex +1, Qik +2 
  Size: 0 
  Age: 77 (49) 
  Confidence: 1 (3) 
  Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Flexible 
  Formulaic Magic, Herbalism, Immortality of the Forest, Faerie 
  Magic, Minor Magical focus (Aging). Death Prophecy, 
  Repellent, Curse (Slander), Difficult Longevity Ritual, 
  Flashbacks, Incomprehensible, Lesser Malediction. Study 
  Requirement, 
  Combat: Is unskilled in physical combat. 
  Dodge: Init +2, Atk n/a, Def +1, Dam n/a  
  Soak : +1 
  Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, 0, 0, 0, Unconscious 
  Wound 
  Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), 
  Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+) 
  Abilities: Area Lore (Germany) 3, Area Lore (Munster) 2, 
  Area Lore (Saxony) 2, Artes Liberales 1, Athletics 1, Awareness 
  1, Bows 6, Charm 1, Code of Hermes 1, Concentration 1, 
  Diedne Lore 3, Etiquette 1, Faerie Lore 1, Finesse 1, Folk Ken 
  2, Forest Lore 4, Gaelic 5, Guile 5, Herbalism 4, Intrigue 1, 
  Latin 4, Low German 5, Magic Lore 3, Magic Theory 4, 
  Merinita Lore 4, Order of Hermes Lore 1, Parma Magica 1, 
  Penetration 1, Profession: Scribe 1, Stealth 2, Survival 5, Swim 
  1, Wilderness Sense 4. 
  Arts: Cr 8, In 5, Mu 10, Pe 5, Re 15, An 5, Aq 5, Au 6, Co 15, 
  He 12, Ig 6, Im 5, Me 5, Te 5, Vi 5. 
  Spells Known: 
  Break the Oncoming Wave (ReAq 10)  
  Gift of the Bear’s Fortitude (MuCo 25)  
  Prying Eyes (InIm 5)  
  Room of Stale Air (PeAu 15) Mastery 5 (Quiet, Still, 
  Penetration, Fast, Magic Resistance) 
  Viper’s Gaze (ReAn 15)  
  Voice of the Lake (InAq 25)  
  Well Without Light (PeIg 25)  
  Soothe the Ferocious Bear (ReAn 10) Mastery 2 (Quiet, Fast) 
  Phantasmal Fire (CrIm 20) 
  Whispering Winds (InAu 15) 
  Purification of the Festering Wounds (CrCo 20) 
  Ward Against Mundane Intrusions (ReIg 35) 
  Ward Against the Curious Scullion (ReCo 10) 
  Seven League Stride (ReCo 30)Mastery 1 (Fast) 
  Stance of the Patient Tree (MuCo 35) 
  Hunt for Wild Herb (InHe 5) 
  Probe Natures Hidden Lore (InHe 4) 
  Appearance: A man in his late forties with long red hair 
  tainted with grey. His poorly-trimmed goatee compliments 
  neither his face or his hair. He has a round cheerful face but 
  his whole demeanor is simply repugnant. His remaining blue 
  eye (he is missing one) darts all over, and then there is the 
  frequent casual slip of his finger into a nostril and a laugh that 
  sounds like geese honking.  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  78 
   
  Known by All: It’s a winter 
  covenant located in the swamps 
  of Northern Germany. 
   
  Widely Known: It was founded 
  in 890 AD by Ex Miscellanea 
  magi. It was once prosperous but 
  all of its younger members 
  perished in the Schism War. 
   
  Uncommon Knowledge: Its 
  early founders had an interest in 
  mystical beasts and the nearby 
  lands were ridden by the things 
   
  Lost Secrets: A number of the 
  founders were craftsman of 
  various sorts including Verditius 
  magi interested in testing 
  weapons on the local wildlife. 
  SCENE 1 
  The Storyguide may wish to read the 
  following description: 
  The journey to Nostram Impertimus 
  is uneventful and your hopes of further 
  adventure seem unrelieved by your first 
  impressions of the covenant itself. 
  Located between the fishing villages of 
  Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven just off a 
  rutted track in a large swamp, the terrain 
  is uninspiring. 
  As you follow your directions you 
  are led to an enormous hedge with stout 
  wooden gates the height of three men 
  which appears to mark the entrance to 
  the covenant. Large rocks rest against 
  the base of the gates to hold them in 
  place. As you peer through the gates 
  dominating the view is three main sets 
  of structures.   
  To your right are three brick 
  structures shaped like beehives. Straight 
  ahead and running parallel with the 
  western side of the hedge is a longhouse 
  with a black wooden rooftop, built close 
  to the ground on a low rock wall 
  foundation. A porch runs around its 
  perimeter. Slightly concealed by the 
  longhouse and behind it is another long 
  building that runs parallel with the 
  hedge. 
  A number of people seem to scuttle 
  about on a variety of mundane chores. 
  The ground around them is slick with 
  muddy pools and deformed ground that 
  has been squished with the feet of a 
  thousand livestock and animals. Some 
  rather nasty looking dogs prowl around 
  the grounds sniffing and cocking their 
  legs over posts and the scant plant life 
  within the grounds.  
  Surrounding everything is the dense, 
  drab colored hedge.  The place has the 
  feel of being a large camp… 
  Let the PC’s take a break at this 
  point to get their bearings and request 
  help or ask other questions. 
  As you approach closer the kilns 
  appear to have been converted to 
  houses. One bears the mark of a magus’ 
  sanctum.  
  The concealed building looks 
  dilapidated with another black wooden 
  rooftop and courses of brick forming 
  the groundwork. It is clearly older than 
  the longhouse and it has been 
  constructed with rough-hewn timbers, 
  consisting of half-logs placed 
  perpendicularly which support the roof. 
  Wattle and daub have been used to infill 
  the cracks. Small windows have been 
  cut into the logs. 
  A number of newer, better looking 
  outbuildings dot the enclosure. These 
  appear to be mostly residences but the 
  main attraction is clearly the smithy; 
  compared to the other buildings it is a 
  veritable palace. With its black wooden 
  rooftops, faded buildings and scary 
  animals, Nostram Impertimus has a 
  revolting atmosphere and hardly the 
  place of civilized living. 
  Information 
  from Colman 
  Ex Merinita 
  Colman is able to relate the following 
  information about matters: 
  TRUTTEDIA 
   
  She was approximately 79 years 
  old at death. Cremated upon her 
  instructions. 
  Her 
  death 
  was 
  sudden and unexpected. 
   
  She joined the order in 995AD. 
  Initially she belonged to the 
  covenant Circulus Ruber and left 
  the Hibernian Tribunal to travel 
  with Colman in 1006. 
   
  She did not maintain a lab and 
  preferred to do her work from 
  study. 
   
  She had no family he was aware of 
  until recently.  
   
  Her master, Terious of Flambeau 
  is long deceased. She trained no 
  apprentices. 
  ESTATE 
   
  Vis debt of 10 pawns of vim to 
  Fengheld. 
   
  Vis debt of 10 pawns of Herbam 
  to House Mercere; 
   
  2 seasons service to Nostram 
  Impertimus 
   
  10 pounds of cash, jewellery and 
  other personal effects; 
   
  23 pawns of assorted vis; 
   
  Three items of virtue; 
   
  2 Summa on Herbam. 
   
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  79 
  Meeting the Princeps 
  Once the PCs have confirmed where 
  they are and what their business is they 
  are escorted to the chambers of the 
  Princeps. This is in the concealed 
  building that the covenfolk call the 
  monastery. 
  Colman is perhaps the most 
  unimpressive magus you have ever met. 
  You cannot believe that such a man 
  would be trusted by his peers with such 
  a responsibility. It is not his appearance 
  (red long hair tainted with grey reveals a 
  round cheerful face) that causes alarm 
  but his whole demeanor which is simply 
  repugnant. His hollow blue eye (he is 
  missing one) darts all over your body 
  the casual slip of his finger into a nostril 
  and a laugh that sounds like gooses 
  honking unease you. The goatee does 
  not compliment his eye or hair. 
  Colman seems genuinely aggrieved 
  that the dispute could not be resolved. 
  He states that you may have full use of 
  the covenant’s conference room for 
  your deliberations and the adjoining 
  antechamber for your accommodation. 
  He hopes that a final settlement can be 
  reached before hearings commence. 
  Colman states that Reinhard of 
  Mercere is at the covenant now, with 
  Circulus Ruber, Fengheld and Broc still 
  to arrive. Colman invites you to tour the 
  covenant the following day and to meet 
  the covenant members once you have 
  had the opportunity to settle in. 
  The Magi of Nostram 
  Impertimus 
  This part of the scenario commences 
  with Colman providing a tour of the 
  covenant. Arrange for the PCs to meet 
  all of the magi, except for Werther. 
  Colman dislikes Werther and only 
  arranges an introduction if directly 
  asked. He avoids Werther not for any 
  nefarious purpose but because he 
  cannot stand the constant berating and 
  belittling he receives from him. 
  The rumor that the covenant is in 
  winter is confirmed when Colman 
  introduces you to its other members. 
  Bosma Ex Verditius sits unmoving as a 
  grog spoons porridge into his toothless 
  mouth. He rests patiently in a pool of 
  his own urine and faeces.  
  Otacilia Ex Criamon looks about age 
  90. She is excitable and scampers naked 
  around her chambers trying to catch 
  falling feathers from a pillow that she 
  occasionally throws in the air and calls 
  “Schnucki”. Her sagging skin and 
  breasts gyrate has she attempts to catch 
  the feathers. 
  Iustina Ex Mercere shakes 
  uncontrollably in her chair and 
  constantly curls the strands of her long, 
  thin gray hair with her fingers.  Some 
  type whitish liquid, half dried stains her 
  night cloak. Colman states, “As you can 
  see my brothers and sisters have seen 
  better days.” 
  The Grounds 
  Colman provides a short history of 
  the site as you walk its grounds: 
  “The monastery was constructed by 
  the monks who first inhabited the site. 
  They were all killed by a Viking raid in 
  the late 880s. The founder of Nostram 
  Impertimus liberated the site from them 
  in 890 from them. They built the kilns. 
  One kiln serves as Amalya Ex Verditius’ 
  sanctum. Amalya is Bosma’s former 
  apprentice; he is travelling at the 
  moment and unavailable. The other two 
  were previously used as workshops but 
  now just store the covenant’s 
  foodstuffs, spare laboratory equipment 
  and its artillery from the Schism War.” 
  “We added the longhouse later on 
  but that was before my time.  The Aura 
  on the site is  minor and centers on the 
  old monastery building. What drew the 
  magi was the local mystical wildlife that 
  were reportedly numerous back in the 
  day. There are still some horrors that 
  lurk in the swamp though.” 
  The Old Kilns are beehive-shaped 
  structures made from a rock and mortar 
  combination. Their interior has been 
  blackened by use. The Longhouse is 
  primarily used as the quarters of the 
  grogs and contains the kitchens and 
  other ancillary functions of the 
  covenant.  The monastery building 
  contains the library and the sancta of 
  the magi. The covenant’s meeting room 
  is located here along with the princeps’ 
  chambers, his lab (marked as sanctum), 
  a cellar and dining hall. 
  Reinhard and Bartell are present and 
  accommodated in some of the 
  outbuildings. They appear quite 
  disinterested in the whole proceedings 
  and are eager to have matters resolve. 
  Investigations 
  The PCs may make their own 
  explorations as they await the arrival of 
  the other disputants.  The Storyguide 
  should pace this carefully because once 
  the rest of the disputants arrive time the 
  tempo of the scenario changes. If the 
  covenfolk can be coaxed into talking 
  their revelations are truly outrageous 
  and wildly inaccurate. He is incredibly 
  disliked by all. 
  The PCs notice the first oddity after 
  one day. In their chambers small things 
  are amiss. Food left behind is gone. 
  Little objects are misplaced. This 
  repeats as the days go by. 
  SCENE 2 
  Eimile begins her murders. She 
  concentrates on the most vulnerable – 
  the three elderly magi who cannot raise 
  a Parma Magica are all suitable 
  candidates. A single death is likely to be 
  dismissed as unremarkable but once the 
  casualties build the PCs undoubtedly 
  become fixated on the problem. After 
  the first death, Colman informs the 
  PC’s. He states that no one is surprised 
  since the magus was old and decrepit.  
  As he speaks, Osvald interrupts the 
  meeting, apologizes profusely and 
  reports that a local peasant has attended 
  the covenant and reported that a young 
  female traveler is in distress on the road. 
  She has apparently been ambushed by 
  bandits. Colman looks unsurprised 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  80 
  simply commenting that, “It is a sign of 
  the times”.  
  Colman declines to send aid and 
  dismisses Osvald. Osvald hesitates 
  before taking his leave and says, “What 
  if the woman is Carry of Circulus 
  Ruber?” Colman pauses briefly retorts; 
  “Well it is good thing she is a powerful 
  magus! Now go Osvald!” He laughs, 
  dismisses Osvald with a hand and 
  resumes his conversation with the PCs. 
  If the Mandatus wishes to act, 
  proceed with the Ambushed section, 
  later. If pressed for aid, Colman states 
  “I will send my most experienced grog.”  
  If the PC’s have no interest in the 
  matter proceed with Another Death. 
  Ambushed 
  As you arrive at the destination you 
  can clearly hear the sounds of metal on 
  metal. A faint mist has crept in and as 
  you approach you glimpse carnage. A 
  heavy-set man in a red cloak wields a 
  large sword which he just now 
  withdraws with bloodied blade from the 
  shuddering body of a kneeling man. 
  Not less than five paces away from him 
  stands a woman in a defensive stance 
  wielding a heavy quarterstaff. She is 
  shrieking in terror. She spots you and 
  screams, “Help! Kill him!” The red 
  cloak has not noticed your approach 
  and advances on the woman 
  menacingly. 
  The man in the red cloak is Broc, 
  one of the disputants on his way to the 
  covenant. He was ambushed by a group 
  of bandits of which the woman is one. 
  The woman is determined to flee once 
  an opportunity presents itself.  
  Broc has finished off most of them 
  with the help of his wounded retainer, 
  who now lies unconscious nearby. He 
  only speaks Gaelic so he is unaware of 
  the significance of the woman’s cry for 
  help. If the characters kill Broc, they 
  find identifying documents on his body, 
  indicating that he is indeed Broc, 
  Truttedia’s long lost son. Broc’s retainer 
  might support this evidence, but expires 
  from his wounds without prompt aid. 
  If the PCs do not intervene in the 
  ambush, Broc arrives later that day with 
  his wounded retainer. He announces his 
  presence through his retainer-interpreter 
  and is presented to the Mandatus once 
  he has cleaned up. He explains the 
  ambush if asked. If Broc dies, Colman 
  raises a legal objection to the 
  proceedings. 
  Another Death 
  The following morning the next 
  death is discovered. Colman appears 
  uneasy about the matter when he 
  announces it (Folk Ken Ease Factor 6) 
  and promises the PCs that he will look 
  into the matter further. If asked for 
  specifics he states that he will inspect 
  the Aegis of the covenant to see that is 
  still intact, which it is. Colman does not 
  object to the PC’s investigating the 
  deaths, but he does warn the PC’s that 
  unless there is a link between the deaths 
  and the official authority of the 
  mandatus the investigation is not 
  official.  
  Later in the morning, Carry Ex 
  Merinita arrives. She is surprised that a 
  Mandatus has been appointed. She 
  protests to the Mandatus and states that 
  her covenant is insulted that the 
  Quaesitors have not bothered to give 
  their matter the attention it deserves. 
  She announces that she is withdrawing 
  from the proceedings to make a formal 
  complaint to the Presiding Quaesitor of 
  the Rhine. The Intrigue rules in Houses of 
  Hermes: True Lineages can be used to 
  resolve this diversion. 
  Discussions with the 
  Princeps 
  If Circulus Ruber withdraws. 
  Colman soon learns of it. He makes a 
  concerted attempt to persuade the 
  Mandatus that there is no point in them 
  continuing, as the legal basis for the 
  hearing has collapsed. In the middle of 
  the meeting, Osvald interrupts it to 
  announce that Bartell of Fengheld, the 
  last of the disputants, has arrived. 
  Colman announces as special dinner 
  welcoming all to the covenant. At the 
  dinner he asks for a final indulgence: 
  that the heirs and debtors join together 
  for one last attempt to resolve the 
  dispute. Carry, if she is present, rejects 
  this out of hand.  
  SCENE 3 
  After the previous day’s distractions, 
  the Mandatus can finally resolve the 
  dispute. Code of Hermes knowledge 
  informs the PC that these proceedings 
  function similarly to a private hearing at 
  tribunal. Each side outlines its case and 
  the Mandatus hears sworn evidence 
  from the disputants, then decides which 
  facts are proven.  The Mandatus has 30 
  days after concluding the hearing to 
  declare a verdict. The Mandatus may 
  take as long as required to complete the 
  hearing.  The Mandatus may also 
  request that a magus submit to Intellego 
  Mentem spells as part of the 
  proceedings.  
  The disputants bring the following 
  evidence: 
   
  Circulus Ruber presents its 
  charter, evidencing Truttedia’s 
  signature and membership of 
  Circulus Ruber. It also presents a 
  signed declaration of its princeps 
  stating the loan of the Torc of 
  Breanna. 
   
  House Mercere and Fengheld 
  bring their promissory notes. It is 
  easily determined that the 
  signature on Mercere’s note 
  matches the one from Circulus 
  Ruber’s charter. Fengheld’s is 
  completely different. 
   
  Colman, if asked, states that he 
  has never seen the Torc. 
   
  Colman ob jects to  the 
  proceedings continuing on legal 
  grounds.  
  A Mystery Solved 
  The PCs may have been noticing 
  missing food and slight misplacement of 
  objects. If they investigate the offending 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  81 
  party is Adalbrecht. He does not resist 
  capture. He declares that he has been 
  hiding out in the covenant for the past 
  couple of weeks.  
  Adalbrecht explains to the PCs that 
  he cannot stay any longer and he must 
  trust them if he is to complete his task 
  at the covenant. He reveals part of his 
  background and his need to recover 
  something from the cellar of the 
  monastery, which is buried under the 
  cobblestones. If the PCs help him he 
  reveals what he knows about Colman 
  and other secrets. 
  Back when he lived at the covenant 
  he knew many secrets. Liesa was his 
  main source because she shared 
  confidences with Colman. Liesa was 
  only young maybe 11 or 12 when she 
  told him that Colman had a big 
  argument with Truttedia over certain 
  books that were to be kept exclusively 
  in his laboratory.  
  Eventually they compromised and 
  built a secret lab in the swamp. They 
  worked together in this lab. Adalbrecht 
  adds that the swamp around here is not 
  safe. There are rumors that it contains 
  hidden horrors. Adalbrecht warns the 
  PCs to be wary of confronting Colman: 
  an older, experienced magus should not 
  be underestimated. 
  A Favor Performed 
  Digging in the cellar under the 
  cobblestones reveals the skeletal 
  remains of a woman. The woman is of 
  no importance to the story other than 
  Adalbrecht’s quest for redemption. If 
  pressed for details he explains who she 
  was and why her remains are there.  He 
  confesses an intention to give the 
  remains a Christian burial.  
  SCENE 4 
  Colman’s laboratory is located in the 
  monastery and is marked as his 
  sanctum. Its only security measure is the 
  locked door at the entrance (Ease 
  Factor 9 to unlock) which squeaks 
  loudly when opened. No matter how 
  they end up in it, the PCs find no 
  evidence within its walls. The lab looks 
  slightly underused, much of the 
  equipment is basic and Colman appears 
  to be working on his longevity ritual at 
  the moment.  Colman opens up his 
  sanctum to the Mandatus if asked.  He 
  keeps his controversial materials 
  elsewhere. 
  The Swamp 
  The secret laboratory is exactly one 
  league to the west of the covenant. It is 
  located in a particularly dense area of 
  the swamp and its main purpose is to 
  house the secret texts that Colman and 
  Trudedia/Eimile both used to further 
  their studies of the Forest Lore. Colman 
  has not been for some time due to the 
  pressures of administration. 
  Finding the laboratory is challenging. 
  It is within a round stone hut with a turf 
  roof. The lab is warded by Ward 
  Against Mundane Intrusions and Ward 
  Against the Curious Scullion. A Boglin 
  (see Guardians of the Forests) is located 
  nearby. A PC has D10 rounds before 
  the beast launches an attack upon any 
  person loitering nearby. If the 
  storyguide does not have a copy of 
  Guardians of the Forests they may 
  substitute any other suitably feral beast. 
  Awareness rolls (Ease Factor 9) indicate 
  evidence of spoor. Players specifically 
  asking for a Magic Lore roll (Ease 
  Factor 15) can identify the spoor as that 
  of a Boglin. 
  The lab is frugally made out with 
  some chairs and benches. It appears to 
  be laid out as two labs within the same 
  building. It is the selection of books that 
  is of most interest, containing a number 
  of texts associated with House Diedne.  
  END GAME 
  Colman strenuously denies having 
  anything to do with the secret facility. 
  He invites any magus to lay a charge. At 
  the same time he makes plans to use 
  Seven League Stride to flee to one of the 
  local ports then sail to Scandinavia. If 
  cornered he fights, but always with an 
  eye to making an escape. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  82 
  For thirty years, the Order has been 
  at peace. It has recovered from the 
  chaos of the Schism War, and restored 
  the rule of the Code of Hermes. Had 
  this peace graced the Holy Roman 
  Empire instead, the chroniclers would 
  have hailed it as a miracle, or a new era. 
  So in 1048 the Holy Roman 
  Emperor, facing a threat which his 
  privileges and armies cannot avert, turns 
  to the Order of Hermes for help. Will 
  magi, who still remember the 
  consequences of corruption in the 
  Order of Hermes, now succeed in 
  protecting the Church from it?  
  SCOPE 
  Strange Alliances is a saga 
  framework for experienced and 
  confident magi, which uses the nadir 
  reached by the papacy around 1050 to 
  present an adventure involving religion, 
  law and dreams. Its major events follow 
  real history, and fit with canon history 
  of the Order. It does not dwell on 
  things that are routine for an 
  experienced storyguide, or that need to 
  be tailored to the player characters 
  involved. Instead it details the historical 
  and Mythic European backgrounds, 
  timeframes, relationships and conflicts 
  which define the saga and make it 
  unique. 
  HISTORY 
  The decline of the Carolingian 
  kingdoms left the papacy weakened and 
  at the mercy of local nobility. It fell 
  under the control of a vast and 
  quarrelsome family – at different times 
  named Teophilacti, Crescenzi and 
  Counts of Tusculum. They are closely 
  related by marriage to the dukes of 
  Spoleto, who have used the Papacy to 
  fortify their hold on Rome for well over 
  a century. This led to an erosion of 
  papal legitimacy and authority (see also 
  Canon Law). 
  During this time, society evolved 
  and the clergy assumed new, more 
  worldly, roles. Bishops had already been 
  essential for the administration of the 
  Carolingian kingdoms, but now 
  monasteries provided life insurance, 
  annuities, and places for retirement. 
  Faithful people missed guidance on the 
  role of the Church in the world. The 
  first cathedral school professors started 
  to engage in theological disputes 
  resulting in charges of heresy. And 
  supernatural forces pounced, eager to 
  use all breaches in society: demons and 
  faeries enjoyed a heyday.  
  In 1046 Henry III, son of Emperor 
  Conrad II, travelled to Rome for his 
  coronation, which required the Pope. At 
  that time there were three claimants for 
  the papacy: Sylvester III and Benedict 
  IX, each supported by a rival faction of 
  the urban nobles, and Gregory VI, who 
  had bought the papacy two years before 
  from Benedict IX. All three were 
  summoned to a synod convened in 
  Sutri, on Henry’s way to Rome. On 
  December 23rd. Gregory VI and 
  Sylvester III were dismissed. The day 
  after, Benedict IX was also removed. 
  Henry’s former confessor Suidger, who 
  had accompanied him to Rome, was 
  enthroned Pope Clement II on 
  Christmas Day 1046, and immediately 
  afterwards crowned Henry III Holy 
  Roman Emperor.  
  After his coronation the Emperor 
  conquered several castles of Roman 
  nobility in the Alban Hills, but then had 
  to attend to other business. Clement II 
  convened a general synod allowing 
  priests ordained by a simonist to remain 
  in office after 40 days of penance, and 
  accompanied Henry III through Italy 
  and back to Germany. Returning to 
  Rome without the Imperial army in 
  1047, he died in Pesaro. Shortly 
  afterwards, Benedict IX reoccupied the 
  papal palaces on the Lateran Hill. 
  On Christmas 1047 Henry III sent 
  Bishop Poppo of Brixen to Rome, with 
  the army of the Margrave of Toscana. 
  Poppo was enthroned Pope Damasus II 
  on July 16th 1048. Soon after he 
  withdrew to Palestrina and died after 
  By Berengar Drexel   
  The 
  Praetorian 
  Covenant 
  Your magi have been asked, or 
  convinced, by the Primi to join a unique 
  covenant. The Conventum Praetorianum 
  has been chartered according to the 
  Peripheral Code of the Roman Tribunal, 
  and is dedicated to protecting the pope. 
  If you are designing new characters for 
  this saga, discuss with your Troupe any 
  Flaws that would make the character 
  difficult 
  to 
  accommodate 
  in 
  this 
  storyline. Your characters have a season 
  to prepare for their task, and to write a 
  detailed charter. An example for one is 
  found in Triamore: The Covenant of Lucien’s 
  Folly, pages 34 and 35. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  83 
  only 23 days in office. Both popes were 
  reputedly killed by a professional 
  poisoner in the service of Benedict IX. 
  After Henry had restored peace 
  everywhere in the vast Empire, 
  excepting for the Netherlands, he now 
  decided to change his strategy about the 
  papacy. 
  In early September 1048, a large 
  cavalcade of a type never before seen 
  from the watchtower of Durenmar 
  approached the covenant, displaying the 
  signs of the Holy Roman Emperor. Its 
  leader, Otto of Schweinfurt, the recently 
  appointed Duke of Swabia, quickly 
  obtained a most unusual face-to-face 
  meeting with Crispa, Prima of House 
  Bonisagus.  
  The Duke of Swabia asked the 
  Order of Hermes for help in restoring 
  the papacy. Henry wished to exert his 
  right as the Patricius of the Romans, 
  and from the Privilegium Othonis, to 
  send another German churchman to 
  Rome as a pope. This time not only his 
  knights, but also the masters of the 
  Order shall protect his candidate. 
  Neither the knights nor the magi shall 
  interfere with papal decisions and 
  politics. Both Henry III and the Order 
  will merely do their duty and protect 
  Christendom from corruption.  
  Within 10 days the Emperor’s 
  proposal had been considered by all the 
  Primi, and a common response 
  prepared. No Primus did object, that 
  protecting the Pope on polite request of 
  the Emperor, while maintaining one’s 
  independence, was “interfering with the 
  affairs of mundanes”. And no Primus 
  did consider exploiting the current 
  weakness of the Church.  
  The Primi thanked the Emperor for 
  having offered cooperation in an 
  important, common cause. His request 
  was granted under the condition, that 
  the magi chosen by the Order of 
  Hermes to protect the pope would act 
  exclusively under the jurisdiction of the 
  Order, and that any complaints leveled 
  against them would be handled by the 
  Order. 
  A NEW POPE 
  In December, the Emperor’s choice 
  for the Pope has fallen on Bruno of 
  Egisheim-Dagsburg,  (see Bruno of 
  Egisheim-Dagsburg,  Bishop of Toul, 
  Pope Leo IX). Your first task is to 
  escort him to Rome. 
  To Rome 
  Around Christmas Bruno sets out 
  from Worms via Toul to Besançon. 
  Here he is joined by Hugh of Cluny, 
  who recommends to him a young monk 
  named Hildebrand of Sovana (see 
  Hildebrand of Sovana), whom Bruno 
  assumes among his retinue. Bruno is 
  also joined by the magi and a mundane 
  escort: several knights and 200 mounted 
  Swabian swordsmen, who generally 
  fight on foot.  
  Great St. Bernard Pass 
  The first challenge on the journey is 
  crossing the Great St. Bernard Pass in 
  the fogs and snows of winter. They find 
  the hospice there in ruins, as left by the 
  Saracen raiders a century ago.  
  Milan 
  When Bruno reaches bustling, rough 
  Milan, he discovers a divided city. The 
  minor nobles, strong of their fiefs’ 
  heritability assured by the Constitutio in 
  Feudis of Conrad II, request the 
  removal of the count-archbishop, 
  Guido of Velate, on the grounds of 
  simony and nicolaitism (see Unlawful 
  Practices). He is a powerful nobleman, 
  chosen as archbishop by Henry III in 
  1045.  
  Bruno favors the minor nobles’ 
  theological position, but depends on 
  Henry III and is not yet enthroned as 
  Pope, hence lacks the authority to 
  intervene. So he privately meets with 
  their candidates for the archbishopric.  
  Sutri 
  One long day’s ride from Rome, the 
  small town Sutri lies on a steep hill 
  Story Seed: 
  St. Bernard 
  Banditry  
  Bruno’s cavalcade is watched for days 
  by brigands, who gather accomplices 
  from neighboring valleys for an assault 
  on its money chest. Unless magi identify 
  their observers in time and react, one 
  evening the brigands trigger two rock 
  avalanches to isolate the section of the 
  caravan containing Bruno, his money 
  and the magi. Then they rope down from 
  a cliff, try to grab the chest, and 
  disappear into a ravine where horses 
  cannot follow. If there is confusion, 
  Hildebrand saves Bruno by hiding him 
  under a servant’s cloak.  
  The 
  Storyguide 
  should 
  use 
  this 
  encounter to help the characters form a 
  group and define their relationship with 
  Bruno’s retinue. 
  Story Seed 
  for Milan: 
  Riots 
  Armed partisans of the minor nobility 
  stand sentry over these talks. They are 
  exhorted to be inconspicuous, but 
  instead 
  appear 
  weak. 
  The 
  count-
  archbishop’s men attack, and drive them 
  back towards the meeting. If the player 
  characters do not intervene, a knight 
  attending the meeting incites them to 
  resist. This gives the magi a second 
  opportunity to act, either by confronting 
  the attackers, or by whisking Bruno and 
  his dialogue partners away.  
  If they unobtrusively save Bruno from 
  an embarrassing discovery, the magi earn 
  his trust. This makes their future tasks 
  easier. They also develop contacts in 
  Milan, among the candidates and lesser 
  nobility. The knight they met is named 
  Erlembald Cotta (see Erlembald Cotta). 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  84 
  along the Eastern side of the Via Cassia, 
  with its cathedral at the highest point.  
  Arrival in Rome 
  Before entering Rome, Bruno and 
  his clerical entourage don pilgrims’ garb 
  and begin to sing hymns. As they enter 
  Rome, the magi, knights and 
  swordsmen are highly alert. Their 
  reception is, however, friendly: at the 
  Porta Leonina the Roman people meet 
  Bruno in processions, and acclaim him 
  in St. Peter as the new Pope. In the 
  general commotion, only watchful 
  player characters spot the agents of the 
  Teophilacti (see below), who for now 
  also just watch.  
  Bruno and his retinue then proceed 
  solemnly to the Lateran palace. After his 
  reception, Bruno’s election, according 
  to canon law (see Canon Law) by the 
  people and clergy of Rome, becomes a 
  matter of course. On the 12th of 
  February he takes possession of his see 
  in St. John Lateran as Pope Leo IX. 
  Setting Up in Rome 
  Leo IX starts with little money or 
  income. Benedict IX has taken most of 
  it. If the player characters do not 
  intervene, Hildebrand uses his 
  connections in Rome to quickly 
  organize some funds. He relies on the 
  family of Benedict the Christian, a 
  respected, converted, Roman Jew. It is 
  now headed by Benedict’s son Leo, and 
  Pope Gregory VI also belonged to it.  
  The magi have other problems, 
  though. Protecting the pope now is far 
  more complicated than escorting him 
  on the road. His household is increasing 
  and filling up with Romans. The 
  buildings he dwells in are vast and 
  ancient. The city itself is even more 
  mysterious. Servants, supplies, victuals 
  and rooms need to be continuously, but 
  secretly scanned. A guard detail for the 
  pope must be set up, that protects him 
  day and night from assassins, poison, 
  witches, demons and faeries.  
  Story Seed 
  for Sutri: 
  The Golden 
  Age 
  An amphitheater stands on the side of 
  the Cassia opposite Sutri. It is cut and 
  built from the local tuff. Ancient tombs, 
  cut into the rock, surround it. The 
  locals warn travelers not to visit the site 
  at night. Some of the knights in the 
  escort, and perhaps the magi, see that as 
  a challenge.  
  During the day, the amphitheater is an 
  overgrown, lonely place without any 
  aura. The cadaver of an old man is laid 
  out among the bushes. He has no 
  wounds. His equipment is Carolingian, 
  but in excellent condition. His armor 
  and sword have no sign of rust.  
  At night, the characters encounter a 
  friendly, festive crowd wearing strange, 
  well-kept clothes. The crowd speaks a 
  local form of Latin (-1 for speakers of 
  Hermetic or medieval Latin). One of 
  the knights recognizes a brother-in-
  arms thought lost in a skirmish in 1046, 
  with a new wife and child. The knight 
  explains that tonight some guests face 
  the challenge of King Saturnus. If the 
  visitors succeed, they will join the 
  golden age. Asking about the golden 
  age, magi get glowing, detailed 
  descriptions of a bucolic paradise 
  without work, disease or natural 
  disasters. A challenger must defeat a 
  gladiator in single combat to the death.  
  Each character makes a moral 
  decision between duty and a pleasant 
  life here. When trying to convince the 
  knights to abandon the challenge, player 
  characters may remind them of their 
  duty. Player characters considering the 
  challenge may have other traits to 
  which their comrades and sodales may 
  appeal. If they join the golden age, they 
  are removed from play. 
  The player characters who opt to face 
  the challenge are led into the arena, 
  together with some of the knights from 
  Bruno’s retinue. Other characters are 
  led to the crowded seats of the 
  amphitheater, which now has a Faerie 
  Aura of 3. In the place of honor, 
  overlooking the arena, an old man 
  appears. King Saturnus holds three ears 
  of grain like a symbol of office. He 
  introduces the challengers by name and 
  calls forth his champions (use the stats 
  from Guardians of the Forests, page 134, 
  but with Faerie Might). If addressed 
  politely now, he answers questions, so 
  the magi should figure out the simple 
  Faerie game played. The victors live out 
  their lives in the bucolic Faerie domain 
  of king Saturnus. Their happiness, and 
  eventual deaths, nourish Saturnus’ 
  realm.  
  Bruno and his clerical retinue will be 
  very clear in the morning: whoever 
  joined the golden age, or died trying, 
  committed a mortal sin. If they die 
  without contrition and penance, they 
  are bound for hell. The priests 
  participate at a simple burial of the 
  Carolingian warrior, though. 
  Benedict the 
  Christian 
  Introducing Benedict the Christian 
  allows the storyguide to tie the 
  ancient Jewish community of Rome 
  into her saga. 
  Note that around 1050 Jews in 
  Rome did not wear a yellow ring or 
  live in a ghetto, and were not forced 
  to attend Christian sermons. 
  Some Jews still have connections to 
  Rhadanite traders plying the routes to 
  the Middle and Far East. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  85 
  The Lateran Palace 
  The Lateran Palace was built by 
  Constantine the Great, whose 
  monumental equestrian bronze statue 
  still stands on the square in front of it. 
  He donated the palace to Pope Sylvester 
  I, and ever since it is the residence of 
  the popes in Rome, who added to it 
  over the centuries. It has a large 
  banqueting hall, with mosaic portraits of 
  Charlemagne and Pope Leo III from 
  life. It holds the Sancta Sanctorum (the 
  most holy collection of relics) including 
  a large painting of Christ made by Saint 
  Luke the Evangelist with the help of an 
  angel. It also houses the papal library. In 
  general, the palace has a Divine aura of 
  6, but it is hard to verify that aura in 
  every nook and cranny.  
  Lacunae and Their 
  Inhabitants 
  If the magi hire savvy, but uncouth, 
  local help to look for lacunae (see 
  Houses of Hermes: Societates, page 57), they 
  sooner or later find the Mithraea of 
  Rome. Both heathen and Christian 
  Romans built on top of older 
  construction, incorporating rooms of 
  pre-existing buildings as cellars and 
  basements into new ones. The vaulted 
  cult rooms of Mithras proved to be very 
  resilient to that kind of reuse, and there 
  are still about a dozen left in Rome. 
  Some have preserved a weak Magic 
  aura, among these:  
   
  One directly underneath the 
  Circus Maximus near the Palatine 
  Hill 
   
  One under the church of St. 
  Clement between the Lateran and 
  the Coliseum 
   
  One under the church of St. 
  Prisca among the gardens of the 
  Aventine Hill 
  Securing inconspicuous access to 
  them requires fitting in with the 
  Romans, and perhaps bribery. 
  When investigating the Mithraea the 
  magi meet their current inhabitants, the 
  Monahellos. These roving prankster 
  faeries pretend to be monks or clerics. 
  (Use the Privy Counselor from Realms of 
  Power: Faerie, pages 83 and 84, but 
  replace:  
   
  Oath of Fealty with Martial Block 
  The Seedier 
  Side of Rome 
  The 
  Storyguide 
  should 
  employ 
  befriended Monahellos to guide magi to 
  the 
  seedier 
  Rome, 
  its 
  outspoken 
  inhabitants, their sentiments and dreams.  
  The magi may witness one night a 
  reenactment of the cadaver synod of 897 
  (see 865AD: Voventes Centennales: 
  Formosus, Bishop of Portus on page 65 
  in 865AD) on the figure of a pope made 
  of brooms, blankets and straw. 
  In a long speech padded with bad 
  Latin, the local Cicero accuses it of 
  having bought the papacy at a fair price; 
  a knuckle of pork. 
  In this it aided and abetted its 
  gluttonous 
  predecessor 
  instead 
  of 
  cheating it, and this makes it guilty of 
  heresy. The people then mutilate its right 
  broom-hand, and burn it at a stake made 
  of wood waste. 
  Asking the Monahellos and Romans 
  clever questions can reveal that this 
  celebration is quite innocent: just a 
  rowdy neighborhood ritual, not targeting 
  any specific pope or shortcoming. And 
  that very innocence should worry the 
  magi most. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  86 
   
  Order of Hermes Lore with 
  Church Lore 
   
  Single Weapon with Music 
  (Singing) 
   
  The focus on magi with one on 
  bigots 
   
  The Sovereign Ward about the 
  Aegis with one concerning True 
  Relics 
   
  the form of their External Vis 
  with a cross on a neck-chain 
   
  and the appearance and 
  equipment 
  The Monahellos make the magi the 
  butt of practical jokes a few times, but if 
  these keep their composure, the 
  Monahellos address them: 
  “We have been discussing among ourselves 
  for some time, what might be behind the 
  remarkable reduction of demons in Rome since 
  Leo IX entered. My brother claims, that the 
  demons departed, because the new pope leaves 
  them nothing to do, and I rather think that 
  they are afraid. What do you think?” 
  If the magi answer that without 
  appearing bigots, the Monahellos 
  reward them with a few secrets of 
  Rome, hoping to gain strong and fun 
  allies:  
   
  Demons indeed appear to have 
  been leaving Rome for the last 
  decade 
   
  The Palatine Hill has a strong 
  Faerie aura at night, and is 
  inhabited by mighty faeries 
   
  If one says “ab cauti ad 
  cautopatem” in a Roman 
  Mithraeum, all the people within 
  are moved into another one. By 
  investigating a Mithraeum with 
  Magic aura as a ReCo 50 magical 
  item (ArM5, page 100), a magus 
  may then learn how to choose 
  which Mithraeum to arrive in 
  The Palatine Faeries 
  Many of the thousands of tales of 
  Rome are centered on the Palatine Hill. 
  Romulus and Remus were raised there 
  by the she-wolf. Augustus lived there, 
  and the Roman Emperors after him 
  built enormous palaces there, now 
  deserted. During the daytime the place 
  has no aura and is visited by the 
  homeless, the desperate and a few 
  The Palatine 
  Regio 
  The paths leading up the Palatine all 
  pass through the crumbling substructures 
  and cryptoporticus of the Imperial 
  palaces which, at night, connect the 
  Palatine regio to the mundane world.  
  Magi passing through for the first time 
  hear somebody around the corner exhort 
  in Latin to a group of legionaries to be 
  brave. Once past the corner, they see the 
  young speaker, who now addresses them 
  directly: 
  “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” 
  He is among an entourage of older 
  men, all wearing classical Roman armor. 
  After that phrase, the old Praetorian 
  officers exchange glances, draw daggers 
  and – unless the magi are very fast – cut 
  down the young orator.  
  Immediately thereafter, rough voices 
  are heard from beyond yet another 
  corner. The old officers hesitate, then 
  bolt in the direction of the magi, trying to 
  escape a troop of blond warriors in 
  ancient Germanic dress. The new group 
  have their swords drawn, and command 
  the magi to “stop these traitors” in 
  ridiculously bad Latin. Unless the magi 
  comply immediately or jump out of the 
  way, the blond soldiers try to brush the 
  magi aside with their fists and swords, as 
  they follow the Praetorian assassins down 
  the passage.  
  The remains of the young orator are 
  left behind. He has a golden laurel wreath 
  in his hair and many rings. One is a signet 
  identifying him as “C. Caesar Augustus 
  Germanicus”. Magi versed in Roman 
  history will recognize him as Caligula. 
  Stealing a few golden rings is now fine, 
  and these will turn to dust in the 
  morning. But trying to remove the 
  golden wreath or signet ring enrages the 
  powerful Faerie Monarch that is now 
  Caligula: he then rises from the dead, 
  rallies his court of Germanic and 
  Praetorian guardsmen, and commands 
  them to apprehend and punish the 
  thieves. 
  If the magi, perhaps a little battered, 
  push on, in the regio on top of the hill 
  they find the Imperial palaces intact, but 
  mostly empty. A richly garbed young 
  man of about twenty years promenades 
  among them, listening to the Latin of an 
  eloquent scholar in his fifties. There 
  appears to be great familiarity between 
  the two. The young man completely 
  ignores the many little faeries crawling in 
  the scholar’s robes, beard and hair, and 
  flying over his head.  
  Magi who examine the scholar closely 
  can see that he wears a pallium: so he 
  should be a pope. If they listen to his 
  lecture, they can determine that he is a 
  Learned Magician (see Hedge Magic Revised 
  Edition, pages 79 to 102). With proper 
  etiquette – kissing the ring of the scholar 
  first, then deeply bowing to the young 
  man – they can introduce themselves to 
  the faeries Pope Sylvester II and 
  Emperor Otto III. Sylvester is a little 
  pompous, but cognizant and always eager 
  to hear of Rome and of magic. If 
  properly addressed, he can become a 
  prime source of information about the 
  Palatine faeries for the magi. The player 
  characters might even show him, how 
  magi protecting the Pope are actually his 
  legacy, add to his legend as the archetypal 
  mage-pope, and are worthy of his help.  
  If the magi manage to become a little 
  bit at home on the Palatine, they may 
  find regio levels higher than the main 
  one, and sometime get a glimpse of 
  Ermelina visiting.  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  87 
  scavengers and scholars. At night it 
  sports a Faerie regio and aura of up to 
  6.  
  The faerie court of the Palatine (see 
  Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 82 to 86), 
  having already acted out and exploited 
  the stories of eighteen hundred years, is 
  among the most powerful and canny of 
  Mythic Europe. In particular it now has 
  many Faerie Monarchs. If a new stirring 
  legend involving a ruler appears in 
  Rome, a Highly Cognizant faerie (see 
  Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 9, 10, 52, 
  64) might grasp the occasion to become 
  its Monarch. And the newest Monarch 
  is Ermelina (see Ermelina). 
   Adversaries 
  The obvious adversaries of the 
  German pope are the Teophilacti, the 
  Counts of Tusculum, who support 
  Benedict IX. Far less obvious are their 
  resources and their exponents’ 
  intentions. Since the early 900s, this 
  family, with its branches, has provided 
  or controlled nearly 20 popes, and was 
  often headed by dukes of Spoleto. 
  It has been a prime target for 
  demonic machinations for all of that 
  time. The most famous target was the 
  daughter of the powerful and ill-reputed 
  Theodora Senatrix: Marozia (ca. 890 – 
  937). She was married thrice, the 
  reputed lover of a pope and mother of 
  another. She controlled yet another 
  three and is the ancestress of five more. 
  After her son, who was the Pope, 
  wedded her in the Castel Sant’Angelo to 
  the King of Italy, another of her sons 
  roused the Romans against her 
  bridegroom. They chased him from 
  Rome, and her son put Marozia in 
  prison, where she died after five years. 
  Scholars of the Infernal suspected her 
  of being a Demon Child (Realms of 
  Power: The Infernal, page 100), but her 
  many children disprove that (Realms of 
  Power: The Infernal, page 99). 
  Her great-grandson was the recently 
  deceased Alberic III, who with 
  Ermelina sired: 
   
  Gregory II, Count of Tusculum 
  and the Lateran 
   
  Peter, Duke of the Romans, ‘de 
  la columpna’ 
   
  Benedict IX 
  So the current leaders of the family 
  have very strong Faerie Blood – and are 
  The Pope’s 
  Slaves 
  The 1051 synod does not directly 
  address the wives of clerics. It instead 
  legislates about “women who 
  prostituted themselves to clerics 
  within the walls of Rome”. 
  A few spirited, elder prostitutes may 
  then apply at the Lateran for slavery. 
  A good master like the pope will 
  house, feed and clothe his slaves, or 
  won’t he? These ‘slaves’ are quite a 
  handful for magi in charge of palace 
  security. 
  Peter 
  Damian 
  Magi with piqued interest in Church 
  reform find in Peter Damian an 
  excellent dialogue partner. He is a 
  practical reformer, starting with the 
  things close at hand: his own 
  monastery Fonte Avellana; concrete 
  instances of corruption among the 
  clergy; manifest abuses of power; the 
  expectations and needs of the 
  faithful. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  88 
  governed by Ermelina, playing at being 
  a new Marozia. 
  The Faerie Court of 
  Tusculum 
  Tusculum in the Alban Hills – once 
  location of famous classical villas – is 
  the central base of power of the Counts 
  of Tusculum. It is well fortified and 
  garrisoned, and the home of Ermelina’s 
  faerie court with its Privy Counselors, 
  Champions, Minor Knights (Realms of 
  Power: Faerie, page 78) and subservient 
  lesser faeries. It has weak Divine auras 
  in the few chapels, and medium Faerie 
  auras in the rooms that remain of the 
  villas, where Ermelina and her court 
  reside. 
  A mundane attack on Tusculum 
  requires a siege and a large army 
  equipped for it, hence is out of the 
  question. Assaulting a noble stronghold 
  with obvious magic would be 
  “meddling”, hence forbidden to the 
  magi. They might however decide to 
  spy on it intensely. The faerie court will 
  contest this with glee, reciprocate the 
  favor, and then send assassins.  
  If the magi wish to remove the 
  threat to Leo’s life, they need to find 
  out: 
   
  That Ermelina is the force 
  behind it 
   
  That she is a faerie 
   
  What game she is playing 
   
  How to take her out of action 
  (finding and destroying her, 
  beating her at her Faerie game, or 
  even making her win it and thus 
  cease to be a problem) 
  Benedict IX 
  The former pope needs to stay far 
  from any struggles, which suits his 
  temperament (see Benedict IX below). 
  Any attack by the magi upon him – 
  even just a little bit of mind reading or 
  control – is “meddling” and forbidden. 
  He knows enough about the Order of 
  Hermes to not give them any excuse. If 
  Ermelina detects magi trying to affect 
  Benedict IX with magic, she will do her 
  best to make a huge diplomatic incident 
  from it. That would leave Leo IX with 
  only the options to refuse their further 
  services or to lose his authority. 
  Benedict IX negotiates with Leo and the 
  magi on behalf of his family, protected 
  by Ermelina’s faeries.  
  Brazutus 
  Ermelina has a Privy Counselor (see 
  Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 83 and 84) 
  specializing in poisoning, and spreading 
  fear of poisoning. 
  He has:  
   
  An Oath of Fealty to her 
   
  Additional Pretenses with good 
  scores in Church Lore (clergy), 
  P r o f e s s i o n :  A p o t h ec a r y 
  (poisons), and Mythic Herbalism 
  (creating poisons) (see Houses of 
  Hermes: Societates, pages 125 and 
  126) associated with Faerie 
  instead of Magic 
   
  An assumed identity of Brazutus, 
  Roman poisoner 
   
  An illusionary home and wealth 
  appropriate for this 
  Occupying the Roman 
  Gates 
  Once the magi have settled into 
  Rome, they must face the Pope’s foes. 
  In early March 1049, Count Gregory 
  II and Duke Peter decide to test the 
  Pope’s resolve. In the middle of the 
  night, they lead their armsmen against 
  the militia holding the Porta Sancti 
  Sebastiani and Porta Latina, and occupy 
  these gates and the connecting Aurelian 
  walls.  
  In the morning, the alarm is raised at 
  the Lateran. 
  Hildebrand can explain to the player 
  characters, that it now falls to Leo IX to 
  rally the urban militias and loyal nobles 
  and send them to retake the gates. The 
  militias are to be led by Benedict the 
  Christian’s son, Leo. The magi and 
  knights are asked to protect Leo IX, 
  which is difficult among the many 
  armed Romans. If Ermelina sends an 
  assassin against him, the magi might 
  detect in a dramatic way the Pope’s 
  recently acquired Commanding Aura 
  (see Regaining Authority), that will also 
  inspire the Romans to quickly retake the 
  control of their fortifications.  
  The Work of the 
  Reform 
  The Papal Court 
  Leo IX works to assemble a court of 
  advisers, to determine papal politics 
  long after his death. Among it are 
  churchmen from his native Lorraine like 
  Friedrich, brother of its rebellious duke, 
  and Humbert, the abbot of 
  Moyenmoutier, whom he makes his 
  principal secretary in 1049, and Cardinal
  -Bishop of Silva Candida in 1051. 
  Hildebrand becomes Cardinal-
  Subdeacon and papal administrator. Leo 
  also gains the collaboration of the 
  Camaldolese prior and reformer Peter 
  Damian, an ardent accuser of all kinds 
  of corruption within the Church.  
  The Easter Synods (1049, 
  1050, 1051) 
  Around each Easter, Leo convenes 
  synods in the Lateran to promote the 
  reforms he holds necessary to recover 
  the authority of the Church. These 
  reestablish the celibacy of the clergy, 
  and disentangle Church offices from 
  compromising worldly ties. Leo is, 
  however, circumspect with regard to 
  investitures with Church offices by 
  laymen, a privilege Henry III strongly 
  defends. 
  These synods also serve to show the 
  support Leo has in the Church, so his 
  allies – like Hugh of Cluny and 
  Halynard of Lyon – will usually attend. 
  The synod of 1049 confirms that 
  clergy of the rank of subdeacon or 
  higher must remain celibate, and 
  decides that clerical offices or decisions 
  obtained for worldly goods are invalid. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  89 
  At this time Leo rigorously denies the 
  validity of sacraments by simoniacal 
  clergy, but the synod does not follow 
  him in this and three years later Peter 
  Damian convinces Leo of their validity. 
  A synod making the sacraments of 
  simonists invalid would have terrible 
  effects indeed: many confessions would 
  be invalid, and many priests would have 
  false ordinations. 
  The synod of 1050 condemns the 
  teaching of Berengar of Tours about the 
  transubstantiation. 
  The synod of 1051 again confirms 
  the requirement of celibacy, and makes 
  the remaining wives of Roman clergy 
  slaves (Latin: ancillae) of the Lateran 
  palace. 
  The Traveling Pope 
  Leo IX and his court spend the 
  remainder of the years 1049, 1050 and 
  1051 traveling throughout Europe, 
  protected by the magi. This prevents 
  him from being easily targeted by his 
  Roman enemies, and allows him to 
  propagate reform at local synods. His 
  travel significantly increases papal 
  authority, as he is present to enforce 
  changes in local Church organization, 
  like the deposition of unrepentant 
  simoniacal bishops. The synod of 
  Reims, for example, reconfirms the 
  need of canonical election for all 
  Church offices, and emphasizes the 
  primacy of the Pope. 
  In late summer of 1052 a lengthy 
  journey, with many stops and 
  ceremonies, brings Leo to the Emperor 
  and his army besieging Pressburg 
  (today’s Bratislava). There he tries in 
  vain to negotiate with the Hungarian 
  king, and prepares his own campaign 
  against the Normans. 
  The storyguide can use these travels 
  for adventures all over Mythic Europe. 
  The magi make many contacts among 
  clergy and intellectuals, and some may 
  build a reputation as capable go-
  betweens. 
  This may lead into a Fourth Estate 
  saga as described in Transforming Mythic 
  Europe, pages 8 to 53.  
  The Normans 
  The Normans first appear politically 
  as a minor power, serving the Papal 
  “Gregory VII 
   had for some time taken counsel with a man used to the 
  most heinous crimes, a friend of Benedict IX named 
  Gerhard Brazutus. This man is told to have within 13 years 
  poisoned by subterfuge 6 popes: Clement II, Damasus II, Leo 
  IX, Victor II, Stephen X and Benedict X."  
  Bishop Beno II of Osnabrück (see Monumenta Germaniae 
  Historica, Libelli de Lite Imperatorum et Pontificum 
  Tomus II, Hannover 1892, page 379)  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  90 
  interest and in 1050 receiving his 
  blessing to rule portions of Southern 
  Italy. After the leaders of the Normans 
  change, and he finds himself unable to 
  appoint bishops in their territories, Leo 
  attempts to build a coalition against 
  them. Unless the player characters go 
  beyond their covenant’s mandate and 
  intervene, his attempt to weld together 
  Byzantine, Imperial and local forces, 
  under his command, has limited 
  success. In 1052, Henry III transfers his 
  authority over Southern Italy to Leo, 
  but gives him no additional resources. 
  So Leo enlists more Swabian soldiers 
  and Italian levies. 
  The Quaesitores in nearby Magvillus 
  quickly become aware of this emerging 
  conflict, and remind the magi of 
  Conventum Praetorianum to keep out 
  of it. They request the magi to inform 
  Leo IX, that they must not advise him 
  in this war or interfere with his 
  decisions or their consequences. The 
  magi still protect his person, as the 
  Pope, though. 
  The Battle of Civitate 
  After the Easter synod in 1053, 
  where he excommunicates the 
  Normans, Leo IX leaves Rome with his 
  troops. On the march he falls ill, gaining 
  Aging Points to bring his Decrepitude 
  to 4. 
  Marching on nevertheless, he 
  reaches the troops of the Italian lords, 
  and then maneuvers to unite with a 
  Byzantine army coming from Apulia. 
  Instead, in mid-June they encounter the 
  smaller Norman army at Civitate near 
  Foggia. After fruitless negotiations a 
  bloody battle is won decisively by the 
  Normans. The Swabian swordsmen of 
  the Pope make a last stand and die 
  nearly to the last man. Leo considers 
  them martyrs afterwards.  
  The Pope Captive 
  Leo IX awaits the result of the battle 
  in Civitate. Its inhabitants surrender him 
  and his retinue to the Normans. After 
  burying the dead, the Normans lead 
  their prisoner to Benevent and hold him 
  there and in Melfi – generally 
  respectfully – for nine months. Finally 
  the pope recognizes the Norman houses 
  Hauteville and Drengot Quarrel and 
  ratifies their recent conquests. He even 
  assumes Humphrey and the Guiscard 
  Hauteville as vassals of the Church, to 
  protect him against Germany and 
  Byzantium. 
  The magi must alleviate his 
  ‘honorable prison’ and growing illness, 
  without threatening his captors or 
  rescuing him. Perhaps the magi hide 
  from the Normans for nine months, 
  while still looking after and protecting 
  the pope? 
  Byzantium 
  In prison Leo writes a missive to 
  Michael I Kerularios, the Patriarch of 
  Constantinople, about growing 
  disagreements between the Eastern and 
  Western Churches. This letter is the first 
  instance of a pope using the Donation 
  of Constantine (see Canon Law) to 
  prove his authority. He then sends 
  Humbert of Moyenmoutier and 
  Friedrich of Lorraine as legates to 
  Constantinople. They deliver it and 
  negotiate with the Patriarch. In real 
  history, he is unwilling to accept the 
  Roman position, and in July 1054 
  Humbert asserts the Great Schism of 
  the Church by presenting a bull of Leo 
  IX that excommunicates the Patriarch.  
  Death of Leo IX 
  In March 1054 Leo is released from 
  his prison. He arrives in Rome on April 
  3rd. In April 13th he is carried from the 
  Lateran to St. Peter’s and dies there on 
  April 19th. Player characters may use 
  magic to ease his passing, but the strain 
  of the campaign and in prison have 
  broken the Pope’s health, and his time 
  has come. 
  The Great Game of 
  Benedict IX 
  If Ermelina is still active, Benedict 
  IX contacts the player characters after 
  Leo IX’s death. His messenger is a 
  faerie. He invites the magi to a meeting 
  in a little church on the Via Appia, 
  called St. Mary in Palmis and better 
  known as ‘Domine Quo Vadis?’. The 
  magi are aware that they mustn’t touch 
  him. 
  If they meet, he requires proper 
  ceremony as a bishop. If accorded it, he 
  explains to the magi that he is 
  enthroned Pope. His papacy was 
  acknowledged by Emperor Conrad II, 
  the father of Henry III. He deplores the 
  destiny that Leo IX brought upon 
  himself by abandoning the Church 
  reform for a war, and then failing as a 
  general.  
  He suggests that Leo had failings like 
  every human, while Benedict’s mother 
  keeps every rule she imposes on herself. 
  Perhaps it would be best if she were the 
  one to make the rules. If his legitimacy 
  is questioned, he considers this an issue 
  to be resolved politically. And he offers 
  to overcome any objection with money, 
  privileges for the Order of Hermes, or 
  offices in his court for the magi.  
  Magi who accept Benedict’s offer 
  need to be circumspect. The Emperor 
  and the Roman Church hierarchy reject 
  his claims to the papacy and consider 
  him an enemy. By setting up 
  Conventum Praetorianum, the Order 
  follows them in this. So Tribunals may 
  rule harshly against magi who aid him. 
  If the player characters refuse, and 
  explain clearly the forces arrayed against 
  Benedict, he is impressed and unsettled. 
  They can make counter-proposals, in 
  which he reins in his mother and retires 
  to a monastery. Benedict might be 
  induced to accept these, if they include 
  safeguards for his family and 
  compensation for the loss of his, 
  admittedly tenuous, Papal throne. 
  Extending the 
  Emperor’s Request 
  If the magi successfully protect Leo 
  IX, but do not remove the threat 
  Ermelina poses, the Emperor requests 
  their protection for the next German 
  pope sent to Rome. In real history, 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  91 
  Henry dies in October 1056. His six-
  year-old son’s regents do not have the 
  influence with the Order of Hermes to 
  extend the mission. 
  APPENDIX: NPCS 
  Bruno of Egisheim-
  Dagsburg,  Bishop of 
  Toul, Pope Leo IX 
  The intellectually gifted son of a 
  count from Lorraine, young Bruno was 
  appointed to a post in the chancellery of 
  Conrad II, and then consecrated bishop 
  of Toul at the age of 24. He is a man of 
  discretion and duty, who has served the 
  Salian kings all his life. With 46 called 
  up by Henry III to follow Damasus II 
  as the next pope, he sees not only the 
  manifest danger, but the obligation. 
  Well versed in both civil and canon law, 
  he accepts, but plans to be elected Pope 
  canonically in Rome. His experience in 
  the chancellery and as bishop has 
  nurtured his conviction that a lasting 
  institution must be built on laws. So his 
  duty to the Church is to restore it to 
  canon law (see Canon Law), and he will 
  not shirk it. 
  Hildebrand of Sovana 
  Born in Tuscany around 1025 and 
  well connected in Rome, the bright 
  young monk Hildebrand has been a 
  follower of Gregory VI, dismissed in 
  Sutri. He accompanied him as 
  capellanus and advisor to his 
  confinement in Cologne, and tended 
  him there until his death. He is inspired 
  by the reform of Cluny under abbot 
  Odilo, which stresses the freedom of 
  the Church from secular power. Among 
  the curia of Leo IX, Hildebrand is the 
  indispensable adept for Rome, the papal 
  rights and resources there, and its 
  nobility. After Leo’s death Hildebrand 
  will keep his curia together, and soon 
  become its most influential member.  
  Ermelina 
  As a Highly Cognizant Palatine 
  Faerie, Ermelina noticed that Marozia 
  of the Teophilacti stirred the dreams, 
  hopes and fears of the Romans with the 
  story of her rise, power, downfall and 
  end. Most Romans feel that Marozia 
  found the way to power for a crafty and 
  courageous woman. Most Teophilacti 
  see the short time that she controlled 
  the city and its popes as a highlight of 
  their family history. When starting to 
  emulate Marozia, Ermelina happened 
  upon one of the demons sent to corrupt 
  her.  
  It took only a little help from that 
  being for Ermelina to marry Alberic III, 
  Count of Tusculum. From there, subtly 
  presenting herself as a new Marozia 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  92 
  created enough emotion to feed 
  Ermelina’s way to Monarch among the 
  Palatine faeries, and gain her a powerful 
  retinue (see Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 
  12 and 13). At the same time, the 
  ‘helpful’ demon found that the marriage 
  he sponsored helped corrupt Alberic 
  III, the Teophilacti, and Rome in a way 
  no sterile Demon Child could have. 
  Many simpler demons were driven from 
  Rome, to prevent them from 
  interfering. 
  The arrival of the German popes put 
  a new twist into Ermelina’s Faerie game, 
  turning her into a lioness fighting for 
  her influence and her family. Ermelina 
  expects to end her game imprisoned by 
  one of her sons – preferably Benedict 
  IX. For her “the journey is the reward”, 
  provided it stirs up plenty of emotion. 
  Benedict IX 
  Teophilact III of the Teophilacti of 
  Tusculum is the favorite son of a faerie 
  queen, born and bred for her Faerie 
  game – while his father educated him 
  for a part in the dynastic games of 
  Roman nobles. His Faerie Blood makes 
  him look much younger than he is. He 
  appeared to be twelve years old when 
  enthroned Pope in 1032. He now 
  appears to be in his early twenties.  
  Benedict IX affects a spoilt, blasé 
  attitude. He is actually a sharp judge of 
  character, ruthlessly exploits 
  weaknesses, and defends his hard-won 
  independence. He detests conventional 
  morals and delights in showing their 
  inadequacy. He leaves defeating the 
  minions of the Emperor to Ermelina, 
  but negotiates on behalf of his family. 
  And he would sacrifice any of its 
  individuals, even his mother, to defend 
  the family or himself.  
  Erlembald Cotta 
  Erlembald is a courageous young 
  man with common sense. He acts on 
  his convictions and is able to explain 
  them in simple words. He comes from a 
  family of small vassals of the 
  archdiocese of Milan. He became a 
  military captain early in his life, and 
  through his elder brother, Landulf, also 
  an exponent of the Pataria: the 
  movement which opposes bishop 
  Guido of Velate and the high nobility of 
  Milan. 
  APPENDIX: THE 
  WESTERN 
  CHURCH 
  REFORMING 
  The following represents, in game, 
  the Church during its crisis around 
  1050. 
  Canon Law 
  For many hundred years the Church 
  held synods and councils: assemblies of 
  bishops convened to authoritatively 
  decide on matters of faith, the practice 
  of Christian religion and Church 
  organization. In theory, the Church is 
  governed by the canon law laid down in 
  them. The authority of many of these 
  synods was accepted only locally, so the 
  canon law began to differ between 
  Eastern and Western Church. 
  Also in 1050 it still is the law of the 
  Church – though very few really know 
  or understand it. Over the centuries 
  forged documents have been added to 
  it, like the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals or 
  the Donation of Constantine. Often it 
  has become overgrown by practices 
  never sanctioned by a synod, but 
  derived from social and political 
  necessities and opportunities.  
  When even archbishops and popes 
  are no longer chosen, invested and 
  consecrated in ways conforming to 
  canon law, they do not gain and cannot 
  confer the Commanding Aura (see The 
  Church, pages 25 and 26) or association 
  with the divine (in the sense of Realms of 
  Power: The Divine, page 38). Going down 
  the chain, most priests ordained by 
  unlawful bishops can no longer temper 
  auras (see The Church, page 28 and 
  Realms of Power: The Divine, pages 38 to 
  41). The results of this are subtle, but if 
  accumulated over time they can become 
  devastating for the Church – especially 
  if the sacraments administered by such 
  priests become suspect. 
  Unlawful Practices 
  As widespread as the non-canonical 
  practices and customs are, as unclear to 
  1050s clergy are the ways to leave them 
  behind. Radical condemnation often 
  appears to be impractical, while 
  practical compromises can be accused 
  as unlawful and heretic. 
  Nicolaitism 
  Shortly after 300, the synod of Elvira 
  in Spain required the celibacy of clergy 
  from deacon upward. From that time it 
  is canon law in the Western Church, but 
  – especially in the countryside – was 
  never enforced. As ubiquitous, striking 
  violation of canon law, married priests 
  are deplored by intellectual clerics as the 
  heresy of nicolaitism. 
  Simony 
  In 451 the council of Chalcedon 
  explicitly forbade to ordain priests for 
  payment. This was considered an ideal, 
  and extended over time to prohibit all 
  payment to ascend to Church offices. 
  Many of these offices include secular 
  functions, and are sources of worldly 
  power and income: so negotiating for 
  them quickly can become unlawful. This 
  is seen as the main obstacle to establish 
  the rule of canon law in the Church, and 
  accused as the heresy of simony. 
  Intellectual clerics extend the definition 
  of simony often, so that it includes 
  receiving payment for any kind of 
  Church function. 
  Regaining Authority 
  Once Leo IX has become Pope 
  according to canon law, he himself has a 
  Commanding Aura again, as do those 
  he invests with sufficient rank. In the 
  synods he convenes this gives him 
  power over simoniacal bishops, who 
  
   
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  93 
  sometimes spontaneously confess and 
  repent their sinful ascent to office. 
  Enforcing canon law in the Western 
  Church all over Mythic Europe is an 
  undertaking far too large for Leo IX, 
  and all the popes still to come from his 
  curia. There isn’t even a method yet to 
  weed out the forgeries in canon law. But 
  synods passing new law will also allow 
  the Church to adapt to the changing 
  times without giving in to lawlessness. 
  Thereby effective lawful succession in 
  Church offices can be assured, leading 
  to its stable state described in The 
  Church. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  94 
  A frequent complaint in Ars 
  Magica circles is how, due to the 
  functioning of Magic Resistance in the 
  game, any legendary weapon would be 
  useless, being repelled by Parma Magica. 
  A related problem is that, as Wards 
  against Mundane Weapons are rather 
  easily possible, even an enchanted 
  weapon that has enough Penetration to 
  go through a magus Parma Magica may 
  still be repelled by such a ward. 
  In this article, we’ll thus explore 
  how, in the context of the game, such 
  Mythic Weapons might be created. 
  MYTHIC 
  WEAPONS 
  In Realms of Power: Magic, we are 
  presented with Awakened Items, which 
  are, in essence, items with Magic Might 
  and Powers. Despite their wonderful 
  potential, these are given little 
  treatment, and are easily overlooked by 
  players and SG alike. 
  How can we use these to create 
  fearsome artifacts?  
  First, as a magical thing, a sword 
  may have magic Qualities and Powers, 
  including a minor magical quality such 
  as Improved Damage, which enhances 
  its damage by +3 each time it is taken. 
  As this is part of the sword’s nature, just 
  like a griffin’s beak or a dragon’s claws, 
  this is not stopped by magical resistance, 
  which allows the creation of terrifyingly 
  destructive weapons that ignore Magical 
  Resistance as if it wasn’t here. 
  Going further, such a weapon might 
  Grant Puissance to its wielder, or, 
  alternatively, use its own scores, 
  augmented by suitable qualities, such as 
  Improved Attack, Initiative or Defense. 
  Although this is House Rule 
  territory, we can also conceivably allow 
  these qualities to apply, not to the 
  weapon, but to its wielder’s scores when 
  using it.  
  Likewise, it can have any appropriate 
  power, from the ability to close its 
  wielder’s wounds (think Excalibur’s 
  scabbard) or to throw thunderbolts. A 
  lance like Gaé Bolga could have a 
  Touch range Perdo Corpus power 
  similar to Evisceration of a Thousand Knives.  
  Of course, penetration becomes an 
  issue, as it should be. If this is really a 
  problem, as an optional rule, one can 
  allow additional penetration to be built 
  into the Power, on a one-by-one basis.  
  For example, the Wound that Weeps is 
  a level 15 power that could be built into 
  a Might 10 weapon, making it easily 
  resistible by all but the most junior 
  magi. But one could include 10 levels of 
  additional, “built-in” penetration, 
  creating this as a level 25 power,  
  All this is well and good, but a 
  combat-ready magus will have defenses 
  such as a Personal Ward against Steel. 
  But here comes the icing on the cake: 
  As these weapons have Magic Might, 
  they also have magical resistance, so a 
  ward that would repel a hermetic 
  weapon will need to penetrate in order 
  to protect against them. This also makes 
  them harder to destroy through magic, 
  as they can resist spells aimed at them. 
  OTHER REALMS 
  AND ARTEFACTS 
  These rules can be expanded to 
  include other realms. It is, of course, 
  perfectly possible to build a faerie or 
  demon that looks and acts like a sword, 
  or a lance which is a relic (with 
  associated powers), and I encourage you 
  to try it. On the other hand, this gives a 
  different feeling, and can be harder, 
  whereas the Awakened Item rules are in 
  my opinion very clear and perfect for 
  this. 
  The Faerie Realm is especially 
  susceptible to have scores of Mythic 
  Weapons, but both the Divine and the 
  Infernal can accommodate them, too. 
  Using guidelines from various realms 
  allow these to still have very different 
  powers and feel, and you should, if 
  possible, use these rather than hermetic 
  ones. 
  An interesting bit is that, despite all 
  their advantages, such weapons are, 
  more or less, conscious, and characters 
  in their own right. So in theory it is the 
  weapon, not its wielder, that chooses 
  when and how to use its powers. 
  This forces the character to follow 
  his weapon’s rules if he wants to benefit 
  from its help. A magic hammer might 
  require you to protect magical auras, a 
  Faerie sword could send you on heroic 
  quests, a Divine lance would ask you to 
  seek out evil beasts and wrongdoers, 
  whereas an infernal blade will probably 
  require you to feed it with the blood of 
  innocents (probably deserting you at the 
  worst possible time, thus ensuring that 
  your soul goes right to hell).  
  By Vincent Garcia-Gomez  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  95 
  Any Cursed Weapon could have a 
  ReTe teleport effect to ensure it comes 
  back to its bearer, Mentem spells to 
  compel her, or just Grant a Flaw. 
  In fact, Mythic Weapons have a 
  great, and underestimated potential, to 
  become an important ally of any 
  character with the Magical Thing 
  Companion, and can have entire stories 
  build around them. For example, if 
  you’ve read the Chronicles of Amber 
  (and if you haven’t, you should!), Frakir 
  is one of Merlin’s best trump cards, one 
  which can be easily modeled using these 
  rules. 
  Even magi can benefit from such an 
  ally: An awakened staff could grant 
  virtues, or use Vim magics to augment a 
  sorcerer’s power though powers akin to 
  Wizard’s Reach (ArM5, page 160), the 
  Patient Spell (Magi of Hermes, page 113), 
  or the Gift of Vigor (ArM5, page 134). 
  As a very powerful house rule, it could 
  also Grant Puissance in Magic Theory, 
  or Finesse… 
  ADDING MYTHIC 
  WEAPONS AND 
  ARTIFACTS TO 
  YOUR GAME 
  Any character which takes a Magical 
  Thing Companion can begin play with 
  such an artifact, which should have its 
  own history, goals and personality.  
  A mystery cult could grant one to its 
  adepts, either on its own, or along 
  another virtue. As discussed before, this 
  could be a significant boost on a 
  magus’s power, on par with a Familiar 
  or Talisman. Of course, one might not 
  like what one gets. Also, since 
  benefiting from its powers often 
  requires lowering one’s Parma, a 
  sufficiently powerful pairing could come 
  to dominate its magus without him even 
  realizing it. 
  A storyguide could easily inject a 
  legendary weapon into his game, 
  sending his players after Durandal or 
  Merlin’s staff. They also could face a 
  crusader whose holy mace protects 
  from injury, or a cursed dagger that turn 
  those who seize it into frenzied killers. 
  Another possibility is to go even 
  beyond this, to add buildings and places 
  to the list of mythical things, especially 
  with Faeries: A Castle or a cursed marsh 
  might be a single, giant magic thing, 
  complete with its own might and 
  powers. This would allow the creation 
  of sentient, moving castles whose 
  internal design changes as it wills. 
  One should probably take care, 
  nonetheless, to keep these rare enough: 
  If each grog comes equipped with a 
  Bludgeon of Dragon-Slaying, they 
  quickly lose their aura of power and 
  mystery. 
  CONCLUSION 
  Here it is. I hope this’ll be useful to 
  you, and will give you a new 
  appreciation of the wonderful work that 
  was done with Realms of Power: Magic. 
  Have fun! 
  Now for some sample weapons 
  using some of the alternatives presented 
  above as examples of what can be done. 
  Incipiens, 
  First Ring of 
  Verditius 
  The first ring forged by Verditius, 
  Incipiens hasn’t the power of his later 
  brethren. Still, it may prove invaluable to 
  almost any magus. 
  Magic Might: 10 (Vim) 
  Characteristics: Int 0, Per 0, Pre +1, 
  Com 0, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik +3 
  Virtues and Flaws: Magic Thing 
  Qualities and Inferiorities: Greater 
  Power × 4, Ritual Power × 1, Minor 
  Virtue (Arcane Lore), Improved Powers 
  × 1, Limited Movement, Major Flaw 
  (Mute), Major Flaw (No Hands), No 
  Fatigue, Temporary Might 
  Personality Traits: 
  Hubris 
  +3, 
  Vengeful +3, Crafty +2 
  Abilities: Tocsan 5 (Enchantments), 
  Magic Theory 5, Concentration 5 (Spells), 
  Order of Hermes Lore 1 (history), 
  Verditius Cult Lore 2 (History) 
  Powers: 
  Wizard’s Communion (Greater), Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-5, Form: Vim, Range: 
  Voice, +2, Duration: Mom, +0, Target: 
  Group, +2: A level 50 version of wizard’s 
  communion. This can be used in 
  cooperation with a magus, to halve the 
  level of any 5th magnitude spell he’s 
  casting. 
  Shroud Magic (Greater), 
  Points: 
  0, 
  Initiative: Qik-4, Form: Vim, Range: 
  Voice, +2, Duration: Mom, +0, Target: 
  Ind, +0: Affects any level 50 or lower 
  spell 
  Grant Unaging (Ritual), 
  Points: 
  5, 
  Initiative: Qik-10, Form: Vim, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Sun, +0, Target: 
  Ind, +0. 
  The Patient Spell (Greater), Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-4, Form: Vim, Range: 
  Voice, +2, Duration: Conc, +1, Target: 
  Ind, +0, 5 mastery points: As Magi of 
  Hermes, page 113:  Incipiens can hold and 
  release a lvl 35 or lower spell. 
  
   
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  96 
  The Lance of 
  Olyndicus 
  Olyndicus was a Celtiberian war chief 
  who fought against the romans, using a 
  silver lance sent to him by the gods. This 
  Faerie artefact may, or not, be the actual 
  lance. 
  It can enhance its wielder’s scores for 
  Sun Duration, at a cost of +3 per might 
  point spend. Although powerful, due to 
  the lance’s Temporary Might, this is 
  seldom used. It also acts as a teacher, 
  advising his bearer to restore pagan 
  worship, and retains a burning hatred of 
  all things roman. 
  Faerie Might: 15 (Auram) 
  Characteristics: Int 0, Per +1, Pre +2, 
  Com +1, Str 0, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik +1 
  Virtues and Flaws: Magic Thing 
  Qualities and Inferiorities: Improved 
  Damage × 2, Improved Might × 5, 
  Lesser Power × 3, Limited Movement, 
  Major Flaw (No Hands), No Fatigue, 
  Personal Power × 1, Ritual Power × 1, 
  Temporary Might 
  Personality Traits: Angry +2, Devout 
  +3, Honest +2 
  Abilities: Area Lore: Iberia 4 (history), 
  Awareness 3, Celtiberian 5 (storytelling), 
  Faerie Lore 5 (Celtic Gods), Folk Ken 2 
  (Warriors), Hunt 3(tracking), Magic Lore 
  2 (magical traditions), Organization Lore: 
  Roman army 2 (personalities), Single 
  Weapon 4 (Spear, Short), Teaching 1 
  (Thrown Weapon), Thrown Weapon 5 
  (Javelin) 
  Combat: 
  Short Spear/Javelin: Init: +2, Attack +7, 
  Defense +6, Damage +11 
  Powers: 
  Eyes of the Bat (Lesser), Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-7, Form: Auram, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Mom, +0, Target: 
  Hearing, +3. As per the spell of the same 
  name, this needs to be used each turn on 
  the wielder, yet may save his life. 
  Grant Puissance in Single Weapon (Lesser), 
  Points: 
  0, 
  Initiative: 
  Qik-2, 
  Form: 
  Corpus, Range: Touch, +1, Duration: 
  Sun, +2, Target: Ind, +0. For every 
  Might point invested, the wielder can be 
  given +3 to Single Weapon. Might points 
  spent on this power are only recovered 
  when its effects are withdrawn. 
  Grant Tough: As above, but with the 
  Tough Virtue. 
  Grant Puissance in Thrown Weapon: As 
  above, with Thrown Weapon. 
  Faithful Return (Personal), Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-1, Form: Terram, Range: 
  Per, +0, Duration: Mom, +0, Target: Ind, 
  +0. Once thrown, the lance of Olyndicus 
  returns the following round to its 
  wielder’s hand, so long as he is within 50 
  paces. 
  Grant Minor Flaw: Hatred (Romans) 
  (Ritual), Cost: 25, Points: 5, Initiative: 
  Qik-10, Form: Vim, Range: Touch, +1, 
  Duration: Sun, +0, Target: Ind, +0. A 
  higher purpose to restore Pagan Worship 
  is a fine alternative. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  97 
  Shield of 
  Evalach 
  Given to the Saracen King Evalach by 
  Josephus, son of Joseph of Arimathea, 
  and later used by Galahad, this holy 
  shield may increase its wearer’s Defense 
  score, and heal him of all wounds, should 
  it so choose. However, those who even 
  touch it without being pure of heart 
  often find a quick demise. 
  Divine Might: 15 (Corpus) 
  Characteristics: Int +2, Per +2, Pre 
  +1, Com 0, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik 0 
  Virtues and Flaws: Magic Thing 
  Qualities and Inferiorities: Greater 
  Power × 4, Improved Defense × 3, 
  Lesser Power × 4, Limited Movement, 
  Major Flaw (No Hands), Major Flaw 
  (Pious), Minor Virtue (Arcane Lore), 
  Minor Virtue (Educated), Minor Virtue 
  (Premonitions), No Fatigue, Temporary 
  Might 
  Personality Traits: Adventurous +2, 
  Brave +3, Peaceful +1, Pious +6 
  Abilities: Awareness 6 (bodyguarding), 
  Breton 5 (poetry), Church Lore 4 
  (History), Dominion Lore 4 (divine 
  creatures), Faerie Lore 2 (Faerie Castles), 
  Infernal Lore 2 (demons), Latin 4 
  (church ceremonies), Magic Lore 2 
  (creatures), Organization Lore: Arthurian 
  2, Penetration 5 (Curse of the Unworthy), 
  Premonitions 5 (threats to the bearer) 
  Combat: 
  Heater Shield: Init: +0, Attack 0, Defense 
  +9, Damage 0 
  Powers: 
  Curse of the Unworthy (Greater), Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-7, Form: Corpus, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Sun, +2, Target: 
  Ind +0, Sun, Penetration +25. Based on 
  Invocation/Cursing base 35, this effect 
  gives 5 additional botch dices on all 
  Stress rolls. This is used on those who 
  take, or attempt to take, the Shield 
  without being pure of heart, as well as 
  those who hide themselves from it 
  thought Magic Resistance. Includes 25 
  levels of built-in penetration.  
  God is my Shield (Lesser), Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-8, Form: Mentem, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Sun, +2, Target: 
  Ind, +0. Based on Meditation/Blessing 
  base 05, this increases the Wielder’s Pious 
  trait by 1, up to a maximum of +3. 
  Shield against Unholy Powers (Lesser), 
  Points: 0, Initiative: Qik-12, Form: Vim, 
  Range: Touch, +1, Duration: Sun, +2, 
  Target: Ind, +0. Invocation/Blessing 15 : 
  Grants Magic Resistance 15 to the 
  Shield’s Wielder. 
  No Evil Shall Fool the Light of Truth 
  (Greater), Points: 0, Initiative: Qik+0, 
  Form: 
  Mentem, 
  Range: 
  Per, 
  +0, 
  Duration: Mom, +0, Target: Touch, +1. 
  Meditation/Intervention base 4: Due to 
  the shield’s peculiarity, this works at 
  Touch range, and allows it to perceive 
  evil in people. 
  The Blessing of the Holy Knight (Greater), 
  Points: 
  0, 
  Initiative: 
  Qik-5, 
  Form: 
  Corpus, Range: Touch, +1, Duration: 
  Mom, +0, Target: Ind +0, Level: 
  CrCo50, Design: 50 levels, Base 45, +1 
  Touch, -5 Might cost: Based on Purity/
  Intervention 45, this heals a Heavy 
  Wound or less per turn. This is a 
  miraculous effect, requiring no vis, so I 
  build it using the Greater Powers rule, 
  not the Ritual ones. 
  
   
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  98 
  Harbinger of 
  Sorrow 
  This black, demonic axe can replace its 
  wielder’s scores with its own, twisting in 
  her hand to land better blows than she 
  could, and can also heal her by draining 
  over people’s life, making her very hard 
  to kill. 
  It has 2 basic schemes: Strengthening a 
  wicked man’s power, helping him spread 
  misery and despair, or… helping defeat 
  such people. Taking some would-be 
  hero, helping him to kill evil wizards or 
  rebel against a wicked lord. This ensures 
  the victim’s souls go to hell without 
  repentance, as well as promotes murder, 
  war and bloodshed. Indeed, it encourages 
  violent solutions, reliance on strength 
  rather that diplomacy, and likes to turn 
  on its wielder once he’s thoroughly 
  corrupted, as quick to murder in rage 
  than those he sought to defeat. 
  Infernal Might: 20 (Vim) 
  Characteristics: Int 0, Per 0, Pre 0, 
  Com 0, Str +1, Sta 0, Dex +2, Qik +2 
  Virtues and Flaws: Magic Thing, 
  Berserk, Overconfident, No Hands 
  Qualities and Inferiorities: Improved 
  Abilities × 5, Improved Attack × 3, 
  Improved Damage × 4, Improved 
  Initiative × 2, Lesser Power × 8, Major 
  Flaw (No Hands), Minor Virtue (Arcane 
  Lore), No Fatigue, Temporary Might 
  Personality Traits: Angry +2, Vicious 
  +2, Manipulative +1 
  Abilities: Awareness 4 (Preys), Church 
  Lore 2 (history), Dominion Lore 3 
  (saints), Folk Ken 4 (Youths), Great 
  Weapon 8 (Pole Axe), Guile 5 (“I don’t 
  stand a chance without this axe!”), Hunt 
  2 (tracking), Infernal Lore 5 (demons), 
  Intrigue 3 (plotting), Leadership 4 
  (intimidation), Norman French 5, Order 
  of Hermes Lore 2 (politics), Penetration 
  5 (Consumption) 
  Combat: 
  (Acts as a Pole Axe, with Damage +23) 
  Pole Axe:  Init +9, Attack +22, Defense 
  +11, Damage +24 
  Powers: 
  Drink the Blood, Heal the Fool: Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-9, Form: Corpus, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Mom, +0, Target: 
  Ind, 
  +0. 
  Based 
  on 
  Incantation/
  Consumption base 25, this permanently 
  heals a target’s Incapacitating Wound, 
  and cause an Incapacitating Wound to a 
  victim. The Axe usually uses this power 
  while his wielder strikes, healing him of 
  his wounds while killing his victims. 
  Drain Away Life’s Vigor: Points: 0, 
  Initiative: Qik-3, Form: Corpus, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Mom, +0, Target: 
  Ind, +0. Incantation/Consumption base 
  5: Permanently restore a target’s Fatigue 
  level by causing a victim to lose a Fatigue 
  level. 
  This 
  allows 
  the 
  wielder 
  to 
  constantly exert himself, until the Axe 
  leaves him dry. 
  Lust for Blood: Points: 0, Initiative: Qik-
  10, Form: Mentem, Range: Touch, +1, 
  Duration: Diam, +1, Target: Ind, +0. 
  Based on Incantation/Diablerie base 15: 
  This grants the Wielder the Berserk 
  Virtue. 
  When Tragedy Strikes: 
  Points: 
  0, 
  Initiative: Qik-10, Form: Corpus, Range: 
  Touch, +1, Duration: Sun, +2, Target: 
  Ind, +0. Incantation/Malediction base 
  10: This gives a -4 penalty to rolls to 
  quit the Berserk state, as well as 4 
  additional botch dices when trying to 
  do so. The Harbinger loves nothing 
  more than to see her wielder murder 
  his friends and loved ones, cutting 
  him away from all human 
  connections while swamping him 
  in guilt. 
  
   
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  This is the Third stage of my 
  collection of Bonisagus lineages. Each 
  of the following wizards are a collection 
  of old and new Bonisagus magi who can 
  be placed as NPC’s in your campaign, 
  and involve a basic story seed for each, 
  or at least an amusing role-playing 
  opportunity that will take up a little 
  time. I have supplied the ages but not 
  magical statistics, as each troupe appears 
  to play at their own level of power. 
  This lineage also follows from 
  Hypatia, similar to the First lineage, but 
  is somewhat of an offshoot as its 
  members follow their own paths and 
  goals. Each of these members have 
  something of a fear of discovery of their 
  true intentions, and tend to avoid a 
  great deal of attention of Quaesitores. 
  MARIANUS 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 130 (105) 
  Theme: Teacher with a secret. 
  Quote: “I apologise, but Cordelia is 
  twelve summers, and I have three 
  younger students I am already looking 
  after; as you know, the best effect for 
  teaching is within the younger years. I 
  believe Aemilla is looking for someone 
  to help in the lab, perhaps I can write to 
  her on your behalf…” 
  Master: Hypatia Bonisagus 
  Description: Marianus is the 
  traditional image of the Bonisagus 
  wizard. He dresses in robes, has a kindly 
  face and white beard, minds his own 
  business, puts his research into his 
  house and does his best to make his 
  house succeed. He also has a major dark 
  secret that he spends much of his life 
  By Mark Baker 
  
   
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  fixated on, in that he is in a dark and 
  mysterious cult devoted to raising Hell 
  itself, and uses his reputation and 
  powers to form the unfortunate 
  apprentices under him into willing (or 
  unknowing) cultists of Hell. 
  Marianus is a master of Mentem 
  magics so the apprentices rarely 
  remember much of what occurred other 
  than in nightmares, and his teaching is 
  so well known that he is often requested 
  by other members of House Bonisagus 
  to foster apprentices. He is careful to 
  never take too many, in case of his 
  secret somehow being leaked to the 
  Order at large. He is well known for 
  only taking apprentices under the age of 
  10, which is commonly believed 
  (amongst those in his house) to be 
  because he feels that is the most critical 
  stage of learning magic and his teaching 
  has the most effect at that point. He 
  takes apprentices over this age 
  occasionally, and only for the purpose 
  of teaching and only when they have a 
  special spark. One or two of these older 
  apprentices have stumbled upon his 
  secret laboratory, and it is possible that 
  someone may be blackmailing him 
  because of it. He looks forward to 
  continuing his deception for many years 
  to come. 
  Marianus often acts as a mystagogue 
  for his students, granting them the Apt 
  Student virtue. He has permanent 
  arcane connections to all of his 
  students, and has created an amazing 
  network of contacts through his house, 
  as well as inducting many of his 
  students into his own cult. 
  Personality Traits: Cunning +3, 
  Calm +2, Focused +2 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Dark 
  Secret, Good Teacher, Good 
  Reputation (Amazing teacher) 
  Story Seed: A PC may send his 
  student to Marianus for teaching, and 
  the student comes back better than he 
  ever has been. But why is the apprentice 
  collecting arcane connections, why is he 
  suddenly cruel to those around him, and 
  what does he whisper into the fire late 
  at night? 
  TENEBRUS 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 75 (50) 
  Theme: Accidental Necromancer 
  Quote: “G-G-G-Ghosts are only on
  -on-one f-f-f-f-f-form of und-d-d-d-ead-
  d sp-sp-sp-spirit…” 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Tenebrus dresses in 
  black, has an unruly mop of dark hair 
  and is often followed by his companion, 
  Grimmy the Grim Dog. (Fear: Ghosts) 
  Tenebrus originally saw himself as a 
  healer, but has long since realized his 
  greatest passion is researching ways to 
  summon more and greater hordes of 
  dead, manipulating spirits, or otherwise 
  necromantic spells and skills. He 
  occasionally still denies that he identifies 
  as a necromancer, but his flying throne 
  made of ancient bones usually makes 
  him consider the idea thoughtfully. 
  For Tenebrus, actually casting 
  ancient and powerful necromantic spells 
  is something he may never do, but he 
  finds great fascination in the intricacies 
  of the magical theory of Necromancy. 
  Tenebrus is rather naïve, and a 
  necromantic cult are using his talents 
  for evil. Tenebrus would be crushed if 
  he knew what they actually thought of 
  him. 
  Tenebrus has the capacity to 
  summon legions of armies from the 
  dead if he had some reason to do so, 
  enough that he could easily conquer 
  small mundane kingdoms and set 
  himself up as a Necromancer Lord. He 
  knows that’s rather mean and people 
  would be hurt, so he hopes if he ever 
  did summon up legions of the dead 
  people that the other side would 
  surrender... because otherwise he would 
  surrender before a blow is given. 
  Personality Traits: Nerd +3, 
  Compassionate +3 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Major 
  Magical Focus (Necromancy), Social 
  Handicap (Stutterer), Naive, 
  Compassionate 
  Story Seed: A necromantic cult are 
  using items and spells Tenebrus has 
  created to cause havoc with the dead 
  near the covenant on a truly apocalyptic 
  scale. Investigation of his sigil might 
  lead to him, and then to a cult with very 
  nefarious purposes. But what to do with 
  Tenebrus? 
  ARTURIUS 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 40 (20) 
  Theme: Possessed and Deluded 
  Summoner 
  Quote: “The Tytaleans were foolish, 
  easily deluded by their own pride. I have 
  a foolproof, Hermetic method of 
  summoning that guarantees no 
  corruption of the soul…” 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Arturias life is an 
  unfortunate one; while apprenticed to 
  Marianus, he swore a blood oath with a 
  demon to promised that “He would 
  make the pain go, and wouldn’t even 
  remember how bad it has been.” The 
  demon, Calliax, was unable to affect 
  Marianus personally but created enough 
  hints that Arturias had found out 
  Marianus secrets and was going to 
  betray Marianus to the Quaesitores so 
  that Marianus used his magics to wipe 
  the boys mind, creating an entirely new 
  mind from the ashes of the old.  
  Arturias is mad, his mind broken 
  from the abuse and mental instabilities 
  placed upon him, and for far too long 
  looking directly into the pits of Hell. He 
  uses his magics cruelly to deceive and 
  
   
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  gain power over those around him, 
  knowing it as the only way to survive. 
  Unfortunately for most, Arturias is 
  also smart enough to maintain a façade 
  for the Order of Hermes, though 
  maintaining it completely is difficult for 
  him. Calliax  intends to grow Arturias’ 
  power into something that could 
  threaten Mythic Europe itself. The 
  demons no longer tempt Arturias into 
  sin, but use him to tempt others into sin 
  on sometimes a rather large scale, or 
  simply to pave the way for more 
  corruption. 
  Arturias, due to his infernal 
  promises, can feel no pain, and suffers 
  no wound penalties. 
  Personality Traits: Wrathful +5, 
  Lustful +5, Psychotic +5 
  Vi r t u e s/ F l aws 
  o f 
  N ot e : 
  Summoning, Commanding, Plagued by 
  Supernatural Entity (Infernal) 
  Story Seed: The PC’s receive a 
  tractatus on Infernal lore after noticing 
  some increase in demonic activity 
  locally. Finding the tractatus 
  simultaneously written as a tractatus and 
  also a diary, they find the last diary of 
  the boy Samuel, who is writing this 
  Tractatus in the hope that his master 
  will not punish him with the hot chains 
  or ‘worse, take me downstairs...’ again. 
  He doesn’t know what has happened, 
  but his friend Calliax swore to Samuel 
  that he wouldn’t even remember the 
  years of pain after he was finished with 
  his Master. The tractatus ends suddenly, 
  slightly incomplete.  
  Do the PC’s investigate a strange, 
  coded diary from a desperate boy? But 
  who would remember the birth name of 
  a boy from over forty years ago? 
  ADHEMAR 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 30 (5) 
  Theme: Cursed Wizard on a 
  Mission 
  Quote: “You want to take your 
  time? Neither of us have the time!” 
  Master: Tenebris Bonisagus 
  Description: After he gauntleted, 
  Adhemar received a mixed blessing; an 
  hourglass from Death showing the 
  exact moment of his death, one 
  hundred years from when he received it 
  (Or at least it has 100 written on it, with 
  sand endlessly flowing through.) 
  Adhemar swore to do his utmost to 
  make a place of peace and prosperity 
  for all before his inevitable death, and 
  so has found himself a decent sized area 
  he seeks to turn into a place that he can 
  organise. He uses his time carefully, 
  using his seasons as optimally as 
  possible to create guardians, improve 
  crop yields and so on within his magical 
  demesne. 
  Adhemar thinks constantly about 
  how his land will survive after he has 
  died, and is currently considering how 
  to have an apprentice to pass on his 
  legacy whilst not giving up fifteen of his 
  valuable seasons of instruction. 
  Adhemar is only violent to those 
  who impede upon his lands or threaten 
  the safety of those within it. 
  Personality Traits: Hurried +1, 
  Driven + 5 
  
   
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  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Death 
  Prophecy (A Century) Driven (Major) 
  Make a land of peace and prosperity. 
  Story Seed: Adhemar could 
  commission some grand scale works 
  from more powerful PC’s, or put the 
  PC’s through a series of tests to see if 
  they fit into his ‘new world’ before he 
  invites them in. He could also be an 
  interesting case as a friend to the PC’s, 
  as the local Quaesitores might object to 
  him taking a large area of land and 
  taking it as his own fief; especially if a 
  local mundane lord wishes the same 
  arable land. 
  ELEWISA 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 35 (10) 
  Theme: Protagonist 
  Quote: “I don’t care if you were 
  here twenty years ago! Galeron 
  Tremere, This vis source is mine! Draw 
  your Certamen circle, I can take you or 
  any of the weak minded buffoons you 
  call your housemates!” 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Taken as an apprentice 
  relatively late for Marianus, Elewisa 
  Bonisagus was cute, self-confident and 
  aware of her abilities. She ran her 
  master into the ground demanding 
  better instruction, her own time, and 
  access to whatever books she wanted. 
  At the time he was feeling remorseful, 
  and so kept his darker side hidden, 
  seeing Elewisa as his ‘saving grace’. 
  After gauntlet, Elewisa found she 
  was far more powerful than many of the 
  other gauntleted magi. An early 
  altercation with a Flambeau five years 
  her senior showed her she was more 
  than capable in battle, and now Elewisa 
  is looking to tackle challenges well 
  beyond her. Elewisa is intelligent, 
  greedy for power, and willing to seize it 
  from anyone who can’t stop her. She 
  also has a very good relationship with 
  her master who will protect her, as he 
  sees her as one of his crowning 
  achievements, and has an odd sense of 
  morals and correctness when she is 
  involved. 
  Despite being mostly unaware of her 
  Masters particular brand of evil, she is 
  entirely ready and willing to follow it. 
  Her Master wishes to keep her from it, 
  and sees her as a demure and powerful 
  young Maga making her mark, and 
  interferes with older magi who wish to 
  stop her. 
  Elewisa “hits” as a maga 20 years her 
  senior due to her  amazing 
  apprenticeship. 
  Personality Traits: Overconfident 
  + 3, Brash + 3, Greedy +2 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Skilled 
  Parens, Self Confident, Overconfident 
  (Minor), Minor Magical Focus 
  (Certamen), Mentor 
  Story Seed: Elewisa is a good 
  example of too much power and not 
  enough wisdom. She’s unafraid of 
  power and knows that while most 
  wizards can be powerful, they are as 
  frightened as anyone else. She may bully 
  wizards movements and move tribunals 
  when the heat gets too hot for her, but 
  will easily use Wizard War to get 
  anything she wants. 
  It may be better if she doesn’t pick 
  on the PC’s, but they see the results of 
  
   
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  her actions; her friends magical power 
  stolen and innocents murdered. 
  BRUTUS 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 70 (45) 
  Theme: Lord of Air and Thunder 
  Quote: “My father is the Everlasting 
  Sky and my mother was a princess 
  gifted with the sight of the future. There 
  is a future in mastering the skies; those 
  landbound will pay us the respect we are 
  due.” 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Brutus wears a crown 
  made of thunderclouds, regal clothes 
  adorned with lightning and winds and 
  bears a great horn. He is tall and 
  muscled, with eyes that crackle with 
  lightning and long hair that is always 
  blowing in the wind. 
  Brutus believes that his blood and 
  the fact he has incredible mastery over 
  the skies indicates he is greater than 
  those who do not have it. Brutus can be 
  subtle, but has a grand and magnetic 
  personality and welcomes those with 
  Mythic Blood as his fellow princes and 
  lords. Everyone else are to be treated 
  with respect, but are obviously lesser 
  than himself. 
  Brutus is looking to show that he is 
  without peer the greatest master of 
  Auram in the world, and no creature or 
  wizard can resist him, hoping that this 
  will bring more Mythic Blooded wizards 
  to his banner, so that one day they will 
  have enough to to take their ‘rightful 
  place’ over the ‘Lesser magi.’ 
  Personality Traits: Regal +3, Brave 
  +1, Arrogant +2 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Mythic 
  Blood, Blessing of Venus, Inspiring 
  Story Seed: Brutus may have the 
  notion that one of the wizards in the 
  covenant claims to be a powerful 
  ‘Master of Air’, either through political 
  machinations of the PC’s enemies or 
  simply mistaken identity. Brutus resents 
  any such implication and will only 
  accept utter surrender of all assets and 
  appropriate remuneration. Anything else 
  is war, and he will not be fooled by 
  ‘blabbering cowards who seek excuses.’ 
  LIVIA BONISAGUS 
  Age: 45 (20) 
  Theme: Faerie Raised Hermetic 
  researcher 
  Quote: “There is so much more 
  available to us in the magic of stories. 
  Oooh! Hi there!” 
  Master: Tenebrus Bonisagus 
  Description: The elf-eared, green 
  skinned slip of a girl might seem like an 
  airheaded ditz outside the laboratory, 
  but inside it is a focused monster of a 
  researcher. She usually wears pretty (and 
  skimpy) dresses and wanders about 
  barefoot, where the local village men 
  believe she is a local mainly benevolent 
  faerie of having a good time. The 
  majority of village women have their 
  own, rather less benevolent opinion, 
  excepting the few who are as interested 
  as the men. 
  Livia was originally of house 
  Merinita, and has been inducted into 
  their outer mystery. She was taken by 
  Tenebrus as an apprentice after her 
  original master disappeared for several 
  seasons and no-one from the house 
  came to claim her. When her master 
  returned years later, he had forgotten 
  some years of his life and no longer 
  desired an apprentice.  
  Livia is attempting a major Hermetic 
  breakthrough - to unite the cultic 
  background of House Merinita and 
  standard Hermetic theory, allowing all 
  magi to feel the beneficial effects that 
  House Merinita enjoy. While this would 
  normally be extremely dangerous, 
  House Merinita are not unified enough 
  other than to have some of the more 
  traditional Merinita interfere with Livia’s 
  business now and again. Some threats to 
  her life have taken place, but she is 
  smart enough to keep her research 
  mainly to herself. If it gets out, she 
  realizes she may have problems with her 
  former house. 
  Personality Traits: Fey + 3, 
  Lecherous +3 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Faerie 
  Upbringing, Blessing of Venus, Affinity 
  with Magic Theory, Affinity with Faerie 
  Magic, Puissant Faerie Magic, 
  Lecherous (Major), Enemies 
  Story Seed: Livia of Bonisagus 
  reveals her knowledge of Faerie Magic, 
  and her interest in integrating it to a 
  player magus she knows, as she needs 
  some  help in the laboratory and asks 
  for help. Will the magus help? And what 
  happens when a jealous Merinita magus 
  doesn’t want any of that information 
  leaving the house? 
  VITUS BONISAGUS 
  Age: 14 (4) 
  Theme: The Prodigy 
  Quote: It won’t be long now before 
  I’ve changed the nature of Hermetic 
  Theory! They won’t treat me like a child 
  anymore! 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Vitus is young - he 
  passed his Gauntlet at only 10, and 
  made several interesting advances even 
  before his Gauntlet. Unfortunately, he 
  lacks respect from almost everything 
  due to his adolescent (And sometimes 
  childlike) demeanor.  
  Vitus is interested in hedge traditions 
  and integrating their magical abilities 
  into Hermetic Theory. He has met a 
  
   
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  coven of pretty young (teenage) gifted 
  Folk Witches and works with them 
  regularly to integrate their magics within 
  the order.  
  Vitus doesn’t know that the ‘young’ 
  witches are in fact ancient crones who 
  have long since sold their souls for 
  beauty and power. Unable to affect him 
  with their powers directly without some 
  effort, they use their feminine wiles and 
  his hormones to control him utterly. 
  They have completely invented a love 
  triangle situation that Vitus has fallen 
  for completely. Their ultimate goal is to 
  taint Hermetic magic with Infernalism, 
  and Vitus is good enough to have made 
  amazing strides on just that in a short 
  time. 
  Personality Traits: Teenager +2, 
  Angry +1, Driven (Show them!) +3 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Skilled 
  Parens, Inventive Genius, Great 
  Intelligence x2, Enemies 
  Story Seed: Something might seem 
  off about Vitus’ different girlfriends to 
  any who meet them. But any 
  investigation will meet with the wrath of 
  an overpowered teenager separated 
  from his harem. 
  TITUS 
  BONISAGUS 
  Theme: The Guy Who Likes 
  Aquam 
  Quote: “Aquam? Aquam is just the 
  best! It’s way better than any other art. 
  You see…” 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Titus Bonisagus lives 
  underwater and dislikes being on dry 
  land. He has few friends other than 
  other lovers of Aquam, and even they 
  think he goes a little too far with it. At 
  Tribunal meetings people do not sit 
  near him as small puddles always ooze 
  out near to him, causing wet, cold 
  robes. And that he always tries to turn 
  every conversation into one about 
  Aquam. 
  Titus works nobly to integrate the 
  Puissant Aquam virtue into Hermetic 
  Theory. He has horrible nightmares, but 
  his driving obsession with Aquam 
  overtakes many personal thoughts. 
  Personality Traits: Damp +3, 
  Loves Aquam +5 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Obsession 
  (Aquam), Puissant Aquam, Affinity 
  Aquam, Greater Immunity (Drowning) 
  Item of Virtue: Titus owns a small 
  seashell bracelet that emanates heat. 
  Ignem is by far his weakest so Titus 
  values this item greatly as he cannot 
  easily make it. 
  MARK BONISAGUS 
  Age:  25 (0) 
  Theme: Magus with a plan. 
  Quote: “Let’s all do this together... 
  and then we’ll all grow hale and strong.” 
  Master: Livia Bonisagus 
  Description: Mark is a friendly and 
  happy magus with a fairly simple plan; 
  to get several Bonisagi into a lab at the 
  same time and break down the idea of 
  ‘lead’ researcher taking all the credit and 
  in the process make great strides in 
  Hermetic theory.  
  
   
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  Mark dresses like a scholar and is 
  cultivating a brown beard in the hope 
  that it will make him somewhat more 
  respected. Mark fights against a great 
  deal of social pressure in organising his 
  plan, but he is hoping to find a few 
  young wizards who are interested in 
  more than just their own power. Mark 
  writes to anyone, not just members of 
  his own house. He usually focuses on 
  more scholarly magi simply because he 
  (wrongly) believes they are more 
  susceptible to his ideas. 
  Mark is a prolific letter writer and 
  through this process deliberately sounds 
  out who is or isn’t interested in 
  following his idea, and who may oppose 
  it. Mark has an odd sort of friendship 
  with House Tremere who give him 
  minor support in his goals. Mark is 
  young and is not the first Bonisagus 
  who has attempted such things, and so 
  has a bit of a reputation of ‘There’s one 
  every decade. He’ll get over it.” amongst 
  older magi. 
  In effect, Mark wants people to 
  combine their research on similar 
  topics; for example, organising several 
  magi to work on the same Hermetic 
  Breakthrough and then combining their 
  various Breakthrough points. He is also 
  interested in the idea of shared 
  assistance in the laboratory; magi giving 
  up a season to be an assistant in return 
  for that benefit granted to them at a 
  later point. 
  Mark’s first plan is to Integrate the 
  virtue of Cautious Sorcerer, and is 
  hoping to find enough wizards with the 
  virtue to be able to help him do such a 
  thing. Mark is willing to serve as an 
  assistant for reasonable amounts of time 
  to organize his plan. 
  Personality Traits: Friendly +3, 
  Cautious +1, Organised +2 
  Vi r t u e s/ F l aws 
  o f 
  N ot e : 
  Inspirational, Cautious Sorcerer 
  Story Seed: Mark begins writing 
  letters to the PC covenant about his 
  plan. How do they respond? And how 
  do they respond when other members 
  begin talking about them as mere ‘lab 
  assistants’? How about when they get 
  reputation points in ‘Assistant’? Is all 
  that worth the cost? 
  PIERRE 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 19 (0) 
  Theme: Seer 
  Quote: “The future is clear to one 
  with the Sight.” 
  Master: Brutus Bonisagus 
  Description: Taken perhaps a little 
  early by Brutus, who took Pierre as an 
  apprentice due to Pierre’s mythic blood 
  and unwilling to take the risk that 
  another magus would claim Pierre. 
  Brutus’ philosophies haven’t rubbed off 
  on the much calmer Pierre. 
  Pierre has some minor abilities with 
  prophecy but seeks to explore his talent. 
  He is often investigating other seers, 
  Hermetic or otherwise, ancient sites and 
  so on to find out about his ability to 
  prophecy. He is not particularly 
  interested in passing on this knowledge, 
  so the various cults that have such 
  knowledge are definitely interested in 
  him as a member; they are just watching 
  to see how he acts over the next few 
  years. 
  Personality Traits: Calm +3, Wise 
  +2 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Mythic 
  Blood (Merlin), Visions, Premonitions 
  Story Seed: A hermetic Seer who 
  has investigated the mysteries of 
  Divination has been watching Pierre for 
  some time, but Pierre has recently made 
  his Parma Magica stronger, stopping 
  some of the divinations. He may ask 
  mercenaries in the PC covenants to 
  steal arcane connections; a difficult 
  proposition for someone who regularly 
  uses Premonitions and is more than 
  willing to leave annoying traps for those 
  who want to steal from him. 
  Pierre could foretell something 
  horrible for the covenant. Did he really 
  see it… or was there more involved? 
  SABRINA 
  BONISAGUS 
  Age: 25 (20) 
  Theme: Teenage Witch 
  Quote: “Like, whatever.” 
  Master: Marianus Bonisagus 
  Description: Sabrina has an 
  unfortunate ‘blessing’ from a 
  supernatural being, ‘to never grow old.’ 
  At the time Sabrina was impressed with 
  her blessing but has long since regretted 
  it. While Sabrina still learns, she hasn’t 
  mentally changed or matured since 15 
  either, meaning she will always make 
  decisions like a 15 year old girl; day to 
  day and moment to moment. She feels 
  abandoned and alone, riddled with 
  doubt and angry at the world, and 
  abandoned by her once friends who 
  have grown up around her.. and nobody 
  understands. 
  Personality Traits: Teenager +3, 
  Angry +1 
  Virtues/Flaws of Note: Greater 
  Malediction (Teenager), Small Frame 
  Story Seed: Sabrina functions as an 
  example of getting what you wish for. 
  She may star in an adventure involving 
  the PC’s apprentices or the PC’s. She 
  truly wishes to get rid of the curse, 
  which may involve dealing with the 
  faerie who cursed her in the first place. 
  Getting to know Sabrina is quite 
  difficult, as she is only friendly with 
  people her own age. 
  
   
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  The year is 1470. No-one would 
  have guessed two hundred years ago 
  that they were living in the Golden Age 
  of the Order of Hermes. Magi have 
  suffered a series of devastating insults 
  beyond their control: the worsening of 
  The Gift’s social penalty, the Great 
  Mortality, the subsequent backlash 
  against the Order, a protracted shadow 
  war with the witches, and the 
  Inquisition. Each of these, if tackled 
  alone, would have been bad enough, but 
  the combined effect has been 
  catastrophic. The Order of Hermes now 
  hangs on by a thread, and some wonder 
  whether it is possible for it to be saved 
  at all. 
  WHAT HAS GONE 
  BEFORE 
  A Change in The Gift 
  Around 1300 it first came to the 
  notice of the Order that The Blatant 
  Gift was becoming more common 
  amongst apprentices. Xavier of 
  Bonisagus was the first to report this 
  phenomenon to Durenmar, and he 
  conducted a careful demographic 
  analysis of House Bonisagus to confirm 
  that if one divided the magi of the 
  house into groups based on the year of 
  their birth, that proportionally more 
  Blatant Gifts were present in the 
  younger generations. Xavier later 
  confirmed that this effect was present in 
  all houses of the Order, and also 
  discovered it amongst selected hedge 
  wizards as well. The excess Blatantly 
  Gifted were being born at the expense 
  of both The Gentle Gift and the 
  standard Gift, with the former 
  becoming very rare. In 1320, Xavier was 
  unable to confirm any magus passing 
  his Apprentice’s Gauntlet who 
  possessed the Gentle Gift, and only 
  four joined the Order in the following 
  decade. He was unable to come up with 
  any explanation why this should be. 
   The Great Mortality 
  The Great Mortality arrived in 1347 
  and devastated Europe. In the South of 
  Europe where the pestilence raged for 
  four long years, over three quarters of 
  the population died. In France, it was 
  half. In Germany and England, 
  protected by geography, it was one in 
  five.  The high mortality rate lead to a 
  scarcity of apprentices, and for the first 
  time since its foundation the Order 
  entered a period of stagnation, where 
  growth in the number of magi stalled. 
  Nevertheless, the Order was in no 
  immediate danger given that it 
  numbered a century shy of two 
  thousand members.  
  The people of Mythic Europe 
  struggled to understand the cause of the 
  plague, and they looked for scapegoats. 
  The blame was laid on Jews, lepers, 
  “egipciens” (Gypsies), but most of all, 
  upon magi of the Order of Hermes. At 
  the height of the plague magi were 
  accused of withholding a cure, because 
  they demonstrated an unusual resilience 
  to the pestilence. This, coupled with the 
  spontaneous eruption of The Blatant 
  Gift left the Order at the sharp end of 
  condemnation from all three estates. 
  The Order was repudiated by the pope, 
  and at the Diet of Mainz in 1350 the 
  Holy Roman Emperor condemned 
  magi as plague-bearers. Magi started to 
  abandon their towers and castles and go 
  into hiding, afeared for their lives. (it 
  should be noted that the Diet of Mainz 
  is fictional). 
  To add insult to injury, at some 
  point during the height of the 
  Pestilence, a coven of Gifted Folk 
  Witches wrested the secrets of the 
  Parma Magica from the Order. What 
  actually happened is unknown: some 
  blame the naive actions of a magus 
  wanting to protect his non-Hermetic 
  friends; others believe that sinister 
  forces were at work. While the witches 
  could not teach their unGifted cohorts 
  the Parma Magica, Gifted witches 
  across Europe travelled to France to 
  learn the Order’s biggest secret. Armed 
  with their new magic, the Folk Witches 
  went to war against the beleaguered 
  Order, a conflict which still wages today 
  in secret.  
  Aftermath of the Plague 
  The Diet of Mainz had far-reaching 
  consequences. Many noblemen saw the 
  decree of the Diet as an excuse to 
  dispossess magi, reneging on age-old 
  treaties and seizing their land, 
  possessions, and franchises. Merchants 
  and craftsmen cancelled their contracts 
  with covenants, and even peasants 
  abandoned their lands for the ‘safety’ of 
  nearby mundane demesnes. This 
  process began in the Holy Roman 
  Empire, in the heartlands of the Order 
  of Hermes, but soon spread outside this 
  core region as other sovereigns repeated 
  the sanctions imposed by the Diet. 
  It was widely but incorrectly 
  reported that magi had been 
  excommunicated by the pope, and allies 
  fled in fear of anathema. In truth, Pope 
  Clement VI had condemned the magi in 
  By Mark Shirley 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  107 
  his epistolary missive, but had imposed 
  n o  o f f i c i a l  s a n c t i o n .  H i s 
  pronouncement had authorised the 
  papal legate to the Order of Hermes to 
  conduct an investigation, but with the 
  souring of the political climate this 
  investigation soon became a witch-hunt. 
  The response of the Order was 
  initially uncoordinated. Tribunals sent 
  delegations to kings with little effect. 
  Disquiet about the Order’s practices 
  and activities had been brewing for a 
  while, fuelled no doubt by the 
  burgeoning Blatant Gift. At the Grand 
  Tribunal of 1360 the continued 
  existence and safety of the Order was 
  the only topic under discussion. It was 
  widely feared that if the situation 
  continued in the same vein, it would not 
  be long before there was open warfare 
  between magi and mundanes. 
  Diplomatic efforts to imperial and papal 
  courts had failed, and short of direct 
  application of magic, there seemed no 
  way to remedy the situation. Houses 
  Tytalus and Guernicus called for the 
  disbandment of the Order of Hermes, 
  stating that it had run its course. 
  However, the ensuing (heated) 
  discussion revealed that some of the 
  proponents of this view wanted to be 
  unshackled from the restraints of the 
  Code, and free to launch retaliatory 
  actions against the mundanes who 
  opposed them. The motion was thrown 
  out by a near unanimous vote of the 
  primi. 
  No decisions or solutions were 
  arrived at in 1360. The Grand Tribunal 
  agreed to search for solutions and 
  reconvene in three years. At this 
  meeting in 1363, the discovery of the 
  Pallium Magicum was announced (see 
  later). The decision was made that the 
  Order should do its best to disappear 
  from sight. Conspicuous covenants 
  across Mythic Europe should disband, 
  and their members go into hiding. Over 
  a few generations of anonymity, the 
  Order could subtly work to restore its 
  reputation 
  THE STATE OF 
  THE ORDER 
  In 1470, the Order of Hermes is still 
  in hiding. Condemnation and 
  persecution of the Gifted is widespread, 
  with a tendency for rulers and clergy 
  alike to blame society’s problems on 
  sorcerers; and because of the vilification 
  of the Order of Hermes specifically by 
  the Papacy and the Holy Roman 
  Empire, the name of the Order has 
  become synonymous in common 
  parlance with wizardry of all flavours 
  and traditions, not just magi. ‘Hermetic’ 
  now carries the same condemnation as 
  ‘sorcerous’, and magi are blamed for all 
  manner of calamities. The persistence of 
  this demonization of sorcery is in part 
  down to the changes in The Gift. 
  A Life in Hiding 
  Magi no longer occupy physical 
  covenants of the type common in the 
  thirteenth century. Instead, magi live in 
  secret amongst the mundane folk, 
  practicing a mundane trade to pay for 
  their living expenses and pursuing their 
  magical studies in secret whenever they 
  can. Many magi take on an intellectual 
  role, which complements their magical 
  training: jobs such as teachers, 
  physicians, scribes, merchants, and even 
  clergymen are common. Others favor 
  more manual trades, although this 
  leaves them less time for study. A lucky 
  few have the wealth and/or status to 
  pose as minor noblemen, independent 
  scholars, or gentlemen of means. 
  While solitary magi have become 
  more common, magi still form 
  The Nature 
  of the Plague 
  The Great Mortality (Latin Mors 
  Magna; the term ‘Black Death’ was first 
  used in the seventeenth century) is a truly 
  devastating disease. Whereas the most 
  serious epidemic raged from 1347 to 
  1351, there has been a smaller wave of 
  mortality in every generation since then.  
  The disease is contracted through 
  inhaling corrupted air, but the cause of 
  the corruption is hotly debated in 
  fourteenth and fifteenth century Europe. 
  The prevailing opinion was that the 
  corrupt air originated in the breath of 
  demons and propagated by their mortal 
  agents (willing or otherwise). Not all 
  subscribed 
  to 
  this 
  belief; 
  some 
  churchmen believed that the Great 
  Mortality was sent by God to cull the 
  sinful in preparation for Judgment Day. 
  The accusation that magi are plague-
  bearers may actually be true, as the result 
  of a curse by some supernatural agency, 
  or it may simply be a false conclusion 
  from the observation that fewer magi 
  died (due to their access to magic and the 
  Corpus Form Bonus which makes them 
  more resistant to disease). 
  MORS MAGNA 
  Critical Sanguine Disease, Severity 18 
  Stable: 9, Improve: 15, Interval: 
  Month 
  This fearful disease is contracted 
  through 
  breathing 
  in 
  corrupt 
  air, 
  particularly from corpses. It defies 
  medical investigation, adding three to the 
  Ease Factor of medical prognosis (Art & 
  Academe page 58) meaning that there are 
  few physicians who can successfully treat 
  this disease. Magical prognosis does not 
  suffer the same penalty. 
  Symptoms: weakness in the limbs, 
  constant 
  fever, 
  persistent 
  wracking 
  cough, swellings in neck, armpit and 
  groin filled with corrupt blood. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  108 
  covenants for mutual protection. Rather 
  than providing a home to magi, the 
  covenant is instead the agreement that 
  details the arrangements by which the 
  magi share common resources such as 
  books, enchantments, and vis, and the 
  oaths made to support and defend each 
  other in times of need. Because of these 
  shared resources, members of a 
  covenant tend to live close to one 
  another, often within a day’s travel. 
  Larger towns can support several magi, 
  with others living in outlying hamlets. 
  Often a magus does not dwell alone, 
  but might share a dwelling with a 
  companion and several grogs who pose 
  as members of the household, 
  employees, or even proprietors. Many 
  grogs and companions are actually the 
  offspring of magi; the Pallium Magicum 
  (see later) has made it more possible for 
  magi to form lasting relationships with 
  mundanes, and raise families. Marriages 
  between magi are also not uncommon.  
  Should a covenant want or need to 
  meet physically, it does so in secret, 
  beyond the prying eyes of their 
  neighbors. Such meetings might be 
  unlikely combinations of local figures, 
  which is likely to be viewed as 
  suspicious by outsiders. 
  A few covenants have managed to 
  retain the old model of maintaining a 
  physical structure. This typically 
  happens in remote areas of Mythic 
  Europe (although there are fewer and 
  fewer of these left these days), where all 
  locals are associates of the covenant and 
  committed to preserving their secrets. 
  Some of these covenants pose as 
  religious communities, others operate as 
  remote forts under license from local 
  lords or pose as private schools. Some 
  have tried taking over institutions within 
  cities such as universities; such ventures 
  inevitably fail due to the inability to 
  isolate them entirely from mundanes 
  who are not in the know about their 
  masters’ true identities. More than one 
  covenant has been discovered by the 
  Inquisition and its members put to 
  death. 
  The Nine Houses 
  The houses of the Order of Hermes 
  have not come unscathed through the 
  Order’s most recent troubles. Desperate 
  times have wrought changes that would 
  have been unconscionable a century 
  ago. 
  Three houses (Ex Miscellanea, 
  Guernicus, and Jerbiton) no longer 
  exist. House Tremere and Mercere have 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  109 
  changed from houses accepting only 
  members trained in the house into 
  being societates. The lines between the 
  houses, even the mystery cults, have 
  softened somewhat, more akin to 
  political factions rather than the more 
  tribal stances of previous generations, 
  and moving between houses is more 
  common. For the first time in the 
  Order’s history, another option is 
  available — membership of no house at 
  all. Not joining a house represents a 
  reticence to ‘nail your colors to the 
  mast’ and declare for a particular 
  position. Those magi who do not 
  involve themselves in Hermetic politics 
  often do not join a house. 
  The Lost Houses 
  Houses Ex Miscellanea, Guernicus, 
  and Jerbiton no longer exist. House Ex 
  Miscellanea was left devastated by the 
  Plague, the Inquisition, and the witches. 
  It has no relevance in the new Order, 
  and has ceased to be. House Guernicus 
  has also gone — with the abandonment 
  of tribunals (see later) the need for a 
  house of professional quaesitores 
  seemed superfluous. Its members joined 
  other houses, and quaesitores can be 
  found spread throughout the Order as 
  members of any house. House Jerbiton 
  has ceased training new apprentices, and 
  its remaining members work out their 
  days. The second fall of Byzantium was 
  the death-knell for their fading house. 
  There is hope; artists in Italy have been 
  experimenting with new techniques, and 
  this might revive the house once again. 
  House Bonisagus 
  House Bonisagus has become a 
  caricature of itself. The Bonisagi profess 
  to be interested only in the preservation 
  and advancement of Hermetic magic, 
  and yet typically are terrified of change. 
  House Bonisagus are paralysed by 
  indecision: last time they intervened 
  through the Pallium Magicam, the 
  Order altered completely — a change 
  which many are now regretting. The 
  Bonisagus do not want to be the ones 
  responsible for the downfall of the 
  Order. 
  House Bonisagus is the sole 
  remaining lineage. They have adopted 
  other magi in the past, but only by that 
  magus completing a fifteen year 
  apprenticeship where their ‘faulty’ 
  learning is corrected. No research that 
  derives from outside the house is valued 
  by House Bonisagus, and a faction 
  within the house has actively suppressed 
  discoveries deriving from outside.  
  The Mystery Houses 
  The four Mystery Houses (Bjornaer, 
  Criamon, Merinita, and Verditius) have 
  fared the best. The cultic nature of these 
  houses has served them well, forging 
  tight bonds of mutual protection, united 
  by the mysteries they serve.  
  House Criamon has changed the 
  least. Bound up in its own philosophy 
  of apt living, the house is seen by some 
  as existing in glorious isolation from the 
  rest of the Order. However, there are 
  some Criamon magi who are active 
  proponents of the Garian viewpoint 
  (see later). 
  House Merinita has changed the 
  most. It has abandoned the central 
  authority of a single primus, and is 
  instead now run by a council consisting 
  of key members of each sub-cult. The 
  policies of the house shift with the 
  dominance of the different mystery 
  factions within the house: when the 
  Wayfarers or Line of Quendalon are 
  dominant then the house withdraws 
  from the world; whereas the Heirs to 
  Merlin or the Keepers of a Thousand 
  Tales are more interested in integration 
  with society, an agenda supported by 
  the Shadow Masters but for different 
  reasons. 
  House Bjornaer remains much as it 
  has throughout its history. The 
  Harmonist-Wilderist debate has still not 
  been solved, and the house still debates 
  the relative merits of integration versus 
  isolation. They are actively encouraged 
  to form single-house covenants and 
  over half of the house lives in this 
  fashion. A whole village might consist 
  of a Bjornaer sept, their kinfolk and 
  covenfolk. 
  The services of House Verditius 
  have become even more valuable, since 
  enchantments are often more subtle 
  than spellcasting. This has done nothing 
  to reduce the arrogance of the average 
  magus of House Verditius. This house 
  typically sponsors a member to set up in 
  an area with the expectation that other 
  magi will join him and service his needs. 
  A negative consequence of the changes 
  in the Order is that magi of House 
  Verditius can no longer afford to 
  concentrate heavily on a single form of 
  manufacture; many have diversified to 
  be masters of multiple crafts. 
  Houses Tremere and 
  Tytalus 
  Houses Tremere and Tytalus appear 
  to have settled their centuries-old 
  differences, and now work closely with 
  one another to combat the threat posed 
  by the witches. House Tremere has 
  largely retreated to Transylvania and is 
  in open warfare with the leaders of the 
  witch cult. It no longer considers itself a 
  lineage, although still recruits most of its 
  members internally. Anyone wanting to 
  join House Tremere must serve a stint 
  on the front lines of the war. If the 
  magus survive a three-year tour, then 
  she may call herself a Tremere. Those 
  Tremere who operate outside 
  Transylvania are usually recruiters for 
  the war effort. 
  Tytalus works covertly to discover 
  spies within the Order’s midst and to 
  unravel the schemes of the witch cult. 
  They are not altogether trusted in this, 
  and some have been accused (and some 
  actually convicted) of collaboration with 
  the enemy. Despite this, Tytalus magi 
  train some of the best infiltrators and 
  investigators. Some very daring 
  members of this house have worked 
  with the Inquisition (with or without 
  their knowledge). However, they are 
  criticised by some of their allies in 
  House Tremere for pursuing other 
  interests as well, since the central 
  philosophy of this house (“strength 
  through conflict”) has not changed. 
  Unusually, more Tytali have taken up 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  110 
  the role of quaesitor than any other 
  house. The leper magi of the house 
  have struggled with the origins and cure 
  of the Great Mortality since its 
  inception. 
  It is due to the efforts of these two 
  houses that the war with the witches 
  does not interfere with the daily lives of 
  most magi. 
  House Mercere 
  House Mercere has become the glue 
  that holds the Order together. They are 
  one of the main political factions within 
  Hermetic circles, with the continued 
  existence of the Order being their main 
  aim. The Cult of Mercury has united 
  disparate factions like the Neo-
  Mercurians and the Flambeau 
  Mercurians under a single banner. It is 
  the main route by which magi join 
  House Mercere. While the pagan 
  aspects of the cult remains at its heart, 
  the Mercurians cannot really be said to 
  worship Mercury and they focus on the 
  communication and travel aspects of his 
  Mysteries. 
  House Mercere adopted the 
  Rusticani when House Ex Miscellanea 
  fell apart, and now rival House 
  Verditius as craft-magi. While the 
  touchy Verditius take umbrage at this 
  encroachment into their traditional role, 
  they will always remain artisanal magi, 
  creating elegant and powerful 
  enchantments. The Rusticani rather 
  make workaday items of relatively 
  meagre power which make life easier, 
  particularly for the unGifted redcaps 
  who still ply the roads of Mythic 
  Europe. 
  House Flambeau 
  House Flambeau struggled to find a 
  place in the new society, and it teetered 
  on going the same way as Houses 
  Guernicus and Jerbiton. However, it 
  was the Milites that brought the house 
  back from the brink. Adopting the 
  thirteenth century reforms of the 
  primus Garus, this faction took up the 
  lofty goal of defending the innocent 
  whether they were magi or not. This has 
  gradually morphed into an agenda of 
  rehabilitating the Order in the eyes of 
  the mundanes. Exhibiting a subtlety that 
  few would have considered possible for 
  Flambeau magi, the Garians (as they are 
  known outside the house) have been 
  working hard to encourage a more 
  positive attitude. Different magi adopt 
  different techniques, which as lead to a 
  number of debates and subtle factions 
  within the house. Some work to rescue 
  hedge wizards (and where necessary, 
  magi) from the Inquisition. Others fight 
  prejudice amongst the clergy and 
  nobility, whilst another faction work on 
  the Third Estate providing support to 
  peasants, often against the injustices of 
  their liege lords. Clashes between 
  factions of Flambeau are not 
  uncommon. 
  Of the remaining societates within 
  House Flambeau, the Mithraians work 
  alongside House Tremere, refusing to 
  join that house despite having earned 
  the status. They consider themselves the 
  ‘True Flambeau’, and often denigrate 
  the Milites for having abandoned the 
  mission of The Founder in favour of a 
  love for mundanes. The modern 
  Mithraians have little to do with the cult 
  of Mithras, being mostly committed 
  Christians and eschewing any Initiatory 
  elements. However, the imagery of a 
  
   
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  111 
  soldier societas is a strong one and they 
  have retained the name.  
  The Cult of Mercury has fully 
  integrated with the Mercere cult; 
  although some continue to refer to 
  themselves as magi of House Flambeau, 
  their philosophy is much more in line 
  with that of House Mercere. 
  Tribunals 
  The Order of Hermes no longer 
  holds scheduled tribunal meetings every 
  seven years: the risk of exposure is too 
  great. The thirteen regional tribunals 
  have all but collapsed, and magi no 
  longer consider themselves belonging to 
  a tribunal. 
  Magi wishing to prosecute others for 
  a crime against the Code of Hermes 
  must gather together an impromptu 
  tribunal, consisting of at least twelve 
  magi from at least four different 
  covenants. This jury examines the 
  evidence, hears the defence of the 
  accused (if she chooses to attend), and 
  then hands down a sentence which is 
  usually requested by the accuser. It is 
  down to the prosecuting magus to enact 
  this sentence; although there is a social 
  (but not legal) obligation on the tribunal 
  to assist where needed. Sometimes the 
  prosecutor or accused attempts to use 
  the Peripheral Code of the former 
  tribunal for legal support; this meets 
  with varying success. Most magi prefer 
  to return to a purer form of the Code, 
  consisting of the Oath of Hermes and 
  the dictates of the Grand Tribunal, and 
  nothing else. 
  The Grand Tribunal 
  The Grand Tribunal still technically 
  meets, although its 33 year cycle is 
  disrupted; and meetings occur as often 
  as they are convened. These are termed 
  ‘irregular Grand Tribunals’ in the 
  official records, distinguishing them 
  from the old-style or ‘regular Grand 
  Tribunals’ which last met in 1363.  
  Only the primus of a house can 
  convene a Grand Tribunal, and it is only 
  done when a matter that affects the 
  whole Order is up for discussion. The 
  primus of House Tremere usually calls 
  for one if seven years have gone by 
  without the Order meeting. Grand 
  Tribunals must be announced a year in 
  advance and House Mercere circulates 
  the date and location to all members of 
  the Order. Anyone is free to attend, 
  although few choose to (or are able to 
  do so). The Grand Tribunal is only valid 
  if there is at least one member of all 
  nine houses attending, and it is presided 
  over by the most senior member of 
  House Bonisagus present. At the end of 
  the Grand Tribunal, a vote is held by all 
  attendees to validate the proceedings; if 
  this is carried then the decisions are 
  disseminated to all members by the 
  redcaps. 
  The Grand Tribunal has lost much 
  of its legal teeth since 1363. Although it 
  is the only authority empowered to alter 
  the Peripheral Code of the Order, the 
  fact that many primi do not attend 
  weakens the decisions that are made. 
  Each Code ruling made at the Grand 
  Tribunal is taken to the primi who have 
  not attended for ratification. The 
  strongest dictates, those that few magi 
  would willingly ignore, are those that 
  attract eight or nine signatures. One or 
  two point laws (as they have become 
  known) are widely ignored. Those that 
  occupy the middle ground are more 
  problematic, and the cause of much 
  strife to tribunals. 
  Breakthroughs and 
  Discoveries 
  In the 250 years since 1220, there 
  have been a number of advancements in 
  Hermetic theory. The significant ones 
  are discussed below. 
  Some of these were the discoveries 
  of Almeric of Merinita. Almeric was a 
  magus who rose to prominence in 1287 
  when he introduced the first of his 
  discoveries, the new Range of 
  Conversation. He followed this with 
  several other inventions, including his 
  greatest, Fastened Concentration (see 
  later for details of his discoveries). 
  About fifty years after his work had 
  disseminated through the Order it was 
  discovered that Almeric was a faerie. 
  Whether he had always been a faerie or 
  whether he had become one by way of 
  the Merinita mysteries is unknown, but 
  it threw all of his discoveries under 
  suspicion, and many magi stopped using 
  them in fear of what it might do to their 
  magic. Given what happened next to 
  the Order, many of these fears were 
  forgotten. 
  The Pallium Magicum 
  The Pallium Magicum has been 
  praised as the saviour of the Order, and 
  possibly the most significant discovery 
  since the Aegis of the Hearth. In a 
  world where magic is reviled and 
  demonised, the Pallium Magicum is a 
  mystical cloak that hides magical 
  emanations and dampens the effects of 
  The Gift. The Pallium Magicum was the 
  work of two magi, Andrew Dolius of 
  Bonisagus and Polytropos of Mercere, 
  who announced their discovery in 1363, 
  at the last regular Grand Tribunal of the 
  Order of Hermes. 
  Dolius is now reckoned one of the 
  greatest minds the Order has produced, 
  although he came from unremarkable 
  beginnings, and none had heard of him 
  prior to his discovery. His fame brought 
  him the leadership of House Bonisagus, 
  making him de facto head of the Order 
  of Hermes, a role for which he was (and 
  still is) completely unsuited. Polytropos 
  claimed descent from Hermes himself, 
  and was a prominent member of the 
  Cult of Heroes. His role in the 
  development of the Pallium Magicum is 
  unclear, although it is known that 
  Polytropos was Invisible to Magic (as 
  per the Heroic Virtue, Houses of Hermes: 
  True Lineages, page 106) which was 
  undoubtedly part of the discovery. 
  Dolius always insisted on assigning joint 
  credit for the Pallium, although 
  Polytropos himself never sought the 
  acclaim. He retired to an island in the 
  Aegean Sea, and his death was reported 
  by his eldest filius in 1452. 
  The Pallium Magicum is named after 
  the Roman cloak which became popular 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  112 
  amongst philosophers before eventually 
  replacing the toga as everyday wear. It 
  works in direct analogy to the Parma 
  Magica in that it is activated via a ritual 
  (not a ritual spell) performed twice a day 
  at sunrise and sunset. The Pallium 
  Magicum is an Arcane Ability that can 
  only be learned by characters with The 
  Gift, and like the Parma Magica it is a 
  closely guarded secret. When active, the 
  Pallium Magicum negates the detection 
  of any magic affecting the magus or 
  carried on his person. It is able to 
  negate the magical emanations of any 
  spell or enchantment with a level less 
  than or equal to five times the 
  character’s score in Pallium Magicum. 
  This includes use of magic (from any 
  Realm) capable of detecting the 
  presence of active spells, enchantments, 
  magical knowledge, and The Gift. A 
  magus’s familiar shares the same 
  protection, shielding its Might score and 
  any active powers. The Pallium 
  Magicum also mitigates the negative 
  social consequences of The Gift, 
  reducing the penalty to all social rolls by 
  an amount equal to the magus’s score in 
  the Pallium Magicum (this mitigation 
  cannot result in a bonus). It also 
  ameliorates the negative reputation 
  engendered by a Gifted individual by a 
  similar amount; and if the character’s 
  whole social penalty is reduced to zero 
  then this effect vanishes as well.  
  However, the Pallium Magicum does 
  have a major downside as well. Just as it 
  dampens the detection of magic, it also 
  reduces the magus’s ability to perform 
  magic. A magus under a Pallium 
  Magicum must reduce all Casting Totals 
  and Lab Totals by an amount equal to 
  five times his Pallium Magicum score. 
  The effects of any invested item he 
  carries about his person are entirely 
  negated if it was prepared for 
  enchantment with more pawns of vis 
  than his Pallium Magicum score. Lesser 
  enchantments are treated like invested 
  items that were prepared with a number 
  of pawns of vis equal to those used 
  instill their effect. Charged items are not 
  suppressed by a Pallium Magicum. 
  A familiar’s powers are not 
  suppressed, although it must spend one 
  point of its Might pool per five levels of 
  a bond enchantment while operating 
  under a Pallium Magicum, and its 
  natural powers cost twice as many 
  Might points as normal (with a 
  minimum of one). The Pallium 
  Magicum can be dropped at any time, 
  but it cannot be suppressed like the 
  Parma Magica; if dropped it takes at 
  least two minutes to repeat the ritual to 
  re-establish it. The Pallium Magicum 
  does not suppress the Parma Magica, 
  although the Parma Magica may still be 
  able to be detected by supernatural 
  powers if its score is greater than the 
  score in the Pallium. 
  Fastened Concentration 
  One of the breakthroughs of 
  Almeric, Fastened Concentration has 
  now virtually replaced the standard 
  Concentration Duration. Fastened 
  Concentration is in all respects the same 
  as Concentration; however when casting 
  the spell, the magus can opt to include a 
  fastening with the gestures of the spell. 
  This prevents the caster using the subtle 
  gestures or no gestures spellcasting 
  option. A fastening consists of tying a 
  knot in a cord or rope, the buckling of a 
  belt, the hooking of a latch, turning of a 
  key in a lock, or any other symbolic 
  fastening (this must be more than 
  simply closing a box or shutting a door). 
  The spell is then maintained without 
  need for the magus to actively 
  concentrate, for 15 minutes per point of 
  his Concentration Ability. The spell can 
  be ended prematurely by opening the 
  fastening, and it need not be the caster 
  who does this. Some spells using 
  Concentration Duration can be altered 
  by the caster during the spell’s effect, 
  this is not possible if the spell is 
  fastened when cast. However, a spell 
  designed with this Duration need not be 
  fastened when cast, in which case it 
  operates like a standard Concentration 
  Duration effect (and cannot be later 
  fastened; this option is only available 
  during casting). 
  Performance Magic 
  Performance magic (The Mysteries 
  Revised Edition, page 29) has become part 
  of standard Hermetic theory and is now 
  taught to most apprentices as a standard 
  spellcasting option applicable to 
  spontaneous or formulaic spells without 
  them needing to take the specific 
  Virtue. A maga can still take the 
  Performance Magic Virtue if she wants 
  access to a second Ability with which to 
  cast spells. 
  Each magus chooses one Ability 
  with a physical and/or verbal 
  component to it; although it cannot be 
  applied to a Language, Supernatural, 
  Academic, or Arcane Ability. This is 
  typically an Ability that they will use 
  while masquerading as a mundane. An 
  Ability that is verbal replaces the words 
  of spellcasting; similarly an Ability that 
  is physical replaces gestures. Abilities 
  can be verbal and physical. The magus 
  must actually perform the Ability to 
  count as using Performance Magic. 
  Words and gestures that are not being 
  The 
   Pallium Magicum is an 
  Arcane Ability that 
  can only be learned by 
  characters with The Gift, and like the 
  Parma Magica it is a closely guarded secret. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  113 
  replaced with Performance Magi remain 
  as normal mystical components of 
  spellcasting. For example, a magus with 
  Performance Magic: Storytelling can 
  replace the verbal component of his 
  spells with the telling of a story, but 
  must still make the gestures. 
  This Virtue was integrated into 
  Hermetic theory by Julia of House 
  Bonisagus, who had been trained by a 
  Rusticanus before becoming the 
  apprentice of a magus of the First 
  House. It was later expanded to 
  multiple Abilities with the help of the 
  Rusticani tradition when they joined 
  House Mercere following the breakup 
  of House Ex Miscellanea. 
  New Ranges, Durations, 
  Targets 
  Range: Conversation 
  The target of a Range: Conservation 
  spell must be within three paces of the 
  caster and engaged in conversation with 
  him. The minimum level of 
  conversation required to use this Range 
  consists of a brief sentence from both 
  participants. Naturally this Range 
  cannot be used on non-sentient targets. 
  Range: Conservation is equivalent to 
  Touch. This Range was the product of 
  Almeric of Merinita’s research. 
  Range: Prop 
  The caster touches the target with 
  something that he is also touching. The 
  prop cannot be larger than a standard 
  Individual of the Form applicable to the 
  prop (although the prop need not 
  match the Form of the spell), and it 
  must be a discrete object rather than 
  part of a whole. So a ten foot pole of 
  wood is an appropriate prop, as is a 
  stone wall as long as it is within one 
  cubic pace of volume (e.g. 13’ long, 2’ 
  high, 1’ thick). The prop can be a living 
  being: If Albus can touch Bertram and 
  Bertram is touching Carolus, then Albus 
  can cast a spell of R: Prop on Carolus. 
  This is another product of Almeric’s 
  research, and is equivalent to Touch. 
   
  Duration: Performance 
  The spell lasts as long as the caster 
  continues to use the Performance 
  Ability he used to cast the spell. To cast 
  a Duration: Performance spell the 
  magus must succeed in a roll of 
  appropriate Characteristic + 
  Performance Ability against an Ease 
  Factor of 3; this is a simple or stress roll 
  depending on circumstance. The spell 
  fails if this roll fails and botches if this 
  roll botches. The spell ends when the 
  magus ceases to perform the Ability but 
  no Concentration rolls or further Ability 
  rolls are needed to maintain the spell. 
  This Duration is equivalent to 
  Concentration, and its inclusion in 
  Hermetic theory is a consequence of 
  integrating Performance Magic (see 
  earlier). 
  Target: Container 
  The targets of the spell are anything 
  within a defined container within range 
  at the time of casting. This Target 
  operates in a similar manner to Target: 
  Room, but the container can be no 
  larger than a standard Individual of the 
  applicable Form. The contents need not 
  be a single object, and they can be 
  removed from the container after 
  casting and still carry the effects of the 
  spell. Like Target: Room, this Target 
  cannot be used in Creo spells that create 
  substance. Container is equivalent to 
  Part. 
  Characters 
  Magus characters are created 
  somewhat differently than presented in 
  ArM5. Firstly, magi have The Blatant 
  Gift by default, although they can buy 
  The Gift as a Minor Hermetic Virtue. 
  The Gentle Gift has not been seen for 
  at least a century; although there may be 
  some ancient members of the Order 
  who still have it they have failed to 
  successfully transmit it to their 
  apprentices. 
  In addition to the Free Social Status 
  Virtue of Hermetic Magus, all magi 
  characters must take another Social 
  Status Virtue to represent their ‘cover’ 
  in mundane society: 
  If a magus has a Free Social Status 
  Virtue, then he must spend two seasons 
  a year maintaining their place in society 
  and earning a living wage 
  If a magus has a Minor Social Status 
  Virtue, then he needs to spend one 
  season a year actively maintaining his 
  cover. If this is a Virtue that would 
  normally provide access to Academic 
  Abilities, then it can be assumed that 
  the ‘free’ seasons are actual continuous 
  seasons. 
  If a magus has a Major Social Status 
  Virtue, then he does not need to spend 
  any time maintaining his cover; he is 
  sufficiently remote from mundane 
  society or independently wealthy. Note 
  that this includes the Magister in 
  Performance 
  Abilities 
  Physical: Athletics, Brawl, Chirurgy, 
  Hunt, Legerdemain, Ride, Stealth, Swim, 
  Bows, Great Weapon, Single Weapon, 
  Thrown Weapon 
  Verbal: 
  Bargain, 
  Charm, 
  Guile, 
  Intrigue, Leadership, Teaching 
  Verbal and Physical: 
  Animal 
  Handling, Carouse, Music 
  Varies: Craft, Profession 
  Using Brawl and Martial Abilities in 
  Performance Magic requires the caster to 
  use semi-ritualistic movements to cast 
  spells. If the magus is in combat, then 
  Performance Magic only applies if they 
  roll a stress die for any Attack and 
  Defense Totals, with three extra botch 
  dice.  
  Use of Performance Magic can occlude 
  spellcasting even from other Hermetic 
  magi; if the magus is not Fast casting 
  then the roll to identify the Form of a 
  spell is 3 points harder if neither 
  Hermetic 
  words 
  or 
  gestures 
  are 
  employed, 3 points easier if Hermetic 
  words are used but not gestures, and 
  unchanged if Hermetic gestures are used 
  but not words. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  114 
  Artibus and Doctor in (Faculty) Virtues: 
  in the fifteenth century these roles have 
  junior staff who can assume all teaching 
  responsibilities if desired. 
  If a magus has a Minor or Major 
  Social Status Flaw, then he needs to 
  spend three seasons a year avoiding the 
  attention of authorities 
  Magi can also take the Wealthy 
  Virtue and Poor Flaw; these free up one 
  season for study or remove one season 
  respectively. A character can never have 
  more than four free seasons or less than 
  zero. 
  Fifteenth century characters are 
  frequently older than typical thirteenth 
  century characters before commencing 
  apprenticeship to a Hermetic magus. It 
  is not unusual for a magus to take his 
  Apprentice’s Gauntlet at the age of 30 
  or more. 
  During Apprenticeship, a magus in 
  1470 still acquires 240 experience points 
  and 120 levels of spells. However, some 
  of these experience points should be 
  put into mundane Abilities that 
  promote the magus’s role in society. A 
  character should have one key Ability 
  appropriate to their Social Status with a 
  score of at least 4, and a second Ability 
  with a score of at least 2. Characters 
  without these minimum requirements 
  are likely to attract stories where they 
  raise suspicions due to their inability to 
  perform the basic functions of the role 
  to which they pretend. Characters with 
  a Major Social Status Virtue do not 
  escape from this suspicion, but may 
  have more social freedom to flout this 
  rule. 
  The player should decide upon an 
  Ability which the magus uses in 
  Performance Magic. This is probably 
  the Ability that he uses as part of his 
  cover. Magi with Major Social Status 
  Virtues often eschew Performance 
  Magic altogether, deeming it belittling to 
  magi to hide their magic in such a 
  fashion. 
  During apprenticeship a character 
  should learn the Pallium Magicum 
  Ability at a score of at least 1; unlike 
  Parma Magica they are free to put as 
  many experience points into this Ability 
  as they see fit. 
  Following apprenticeship, a magus 
  character gains a number of experience 
  points every year appropriate to his 
  Social Status Virtue, rather than the 30 
  experience points gained by thirteenth 
  century magi. Characters with one free 
  season gain 15 experience points per 
  year, those with two free seasons gain 
  20, those with three free seasons get 25, 
  and only those with four free seasons 
  get 30 (these are higher than for non-
  magus characters due to the better 
  sources of study available to magi). 
  OTHER POWERS 
  The Witch Cult 
  The folk witch tradition had spread 
  steadily through Mythic Europe during 
  the late thirteenth and early fourteenth 
  centuries. The Order of Hermes had 
  been watching it closely but it seemed 
  to be harmless. As a mostly unGifted 
  tradition of magic, few witches were 
  capable of more than a handful of 
  magical arts. Magi often made alliances 
  amongst the local witch communities.  
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  115 
  Since there was never any hint that 
  the witches were organized beyond 
  contacts between local covens, it came 
  as a great shock to the Order when they 
  suddenly started acting in a coordinated 
  fashion. Some magi believed that this 
  was a new innovation — that there was 
  some witch-equivalent of Trianoma 
  who had united the covens. House 
  Tremere is of the opinion that they had 
  always been unified, but had kept this 
  well-hidden. The most commonly-held 
  opinion is that a cult arose within the 
  Folk Witch tradition, perhaps under a 
  charismatic leader with a deep 
  knowledge of Mysteries and Initiation. 
  This cult spread by adopting existing 
  covens and spawning new ones. 
  Whatever the truth, folk witches 
  across Mythic Europe suddenly started 
  acting in a coordinated fashion. The 
  secret of the Parma Magica had been 
  acquired by a Gifted Orleannais witch 
  by the name of Ursanne, and within a 
  few short years her apprentices were 
  disseminated into several centers: in 
  Berwick on the England-Scotland 
  border; in Friuli in Venetian-controlled 
  lands; in the Pomeranian wildernesses; 
  in Moldavia; and on the Balearic 
  Islands. From these strongholds, Gifted 
  witches across Europe learned the 
  Parma Magica alongside the panoply of 
  the Folk Witch powers. Furthermore, 
  the witches began a concerted attack 
  against other magical traditions, with 
  most of their attention going on the 
  Order of Hermes. There is evidence 
  that following the Diet of Mainz, 
  Entrancement was used on several key 
  rulers to encourage them to adopt the 
  condemnation of the Order themselves.  
  One of the key advantages of the 
  folk witch tradition is that they can 
  Initiate unGifted members into their 
  ranks and intensively train them in one 
  to three Supernatural Abilities, one of 
  which is nearly always Ceremony. This 
  means that witches can increase their 
  numbers quickly, and have many 
  followers to involve in communal rituals 
  using Ceremony. Flying and 
  Shapeshifting are excellent powers for 
  spying on enemies, and Cursing through 
  use of a Ceremony can break through 
  even the most powerful Magic 
  Resistance given sufficient numbers. 
  Furthermore, folk witches seem to have 
  no compunctions regarding the 
  combination of their magical abilities 
  with Faerie charms and Infernal 
  maleficia. How far the infernal 
  corruption of the tradition goes is 
  uncertain; where demons have been 
  working in concert with witches it 
  appears to be as servants rather than 
  allies but with demons one is never 
  sure. 
  No-one is sure what the witches 
  want; their leaders have not been 
  identified with any great success for 
  they take pains to remain anonymous, 
  using pass phrases and signs to identify 
  one another. Gleaning information 
  from captured witches is frustratingly 
  difficult, since most of their members 
  know nothing about the grander 
  schemes enacted by the tradition as a 
  whole, and the Order is yet to 
  apprehend  one of the regional “grand 
  witches”. House Tytalus has devoted a 
  lot of effort to identifying the “Queen 
  of the Witches”, and it is believed that 
  they are closing in on several promising 
  candidates. Obviously, the house is 
  unwilling to reveal too much of what is 
  known to their intellegencers, for fear 
  that the witch cult has its own spies 
  within the Order (who are likely 
  themselves to be of House Tytalus). 
  Meanwhile, House Tremere is in 
  open warfare with the witch cult. 
  Moldovia has become a land ruled by 
  witches ever since Prince Stephan III 
  took over; himself a witch from an 
  ancient line. Meanwhile, House Tremere 
  retains its franchise in Hungary over 
  magical affairs despite persecution of 
  magi elsewhere: King Matthias Corvinus 
  has refused to bow to pressure from his 
  peers amongst surrounding nations, and 
  holds House Tremere (although not 
  necessarily the rest of the Order) in high 
  regard. However, Corvinus’s ability to 
  ignore detractors is being eroded by the 
  need to seek allies against the Ottoman 
  Empire with which he is at war, and it is 
  debatable how long his support of 
  House Tremere will continue. 
  House Tremere and the witch cult 
  are both courting the Prince of 
  Wallachia — whose lands lie between 
  Hungary and Moldovia — to lend their 
  support to one side or the other. 
  However, Prince Vlad Dracul of 
  Wallachia is obsessed with his war 
  against the Turks. His hatred of the 
  Ottomans is legendary, and House 
  Tremere believes that he will be 
  prepared to ally with the witches if they 
  can give him victory. Fortunately for the 
  Order, conquest of lands does not seem 
  to be a priority for the witches. At every 
  Grand Tribunal, House Tremere 
  campaign for a relaxation of the Code 
  to allow them to ally with Wallachia. 
  Magi of other houses see this as a step 
  too far: if defeat of the witches comes at 
  the cost of abandoning the Code, then 
  why fight in the first place? 
  Other Magical 
  Traditions 
  Gifted traditions of magic have 
  suffered at least as much as the Order 
  of Hermes, if not more. They too have 
  been affected by the increased 
  harshness of The Gift, and have neither 
  been sheltered from its effects from 
  each other (via the Parma) or from 
  society (via the Pallium). 
  Augustan Brotherhood 
  The Augustan Brotherhood have 
  gone into hiding; treated with the same 
  suspicion and fear as the Order of 
  Hermes but without the protections 
  that magi possess. They still operate 
  behind the scenes, particularly amongst 
  the republics of the Italian peninsula. 
  Learned Magicians 
  The Learned Magicians have 
  become significant in universities across 
  Europe. Despite originating in Bologna, 
  they have since become more 
  prominent in northern Europe, that 
  have a focus more on philosophy and 
  medicine. The majority of the tradition 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  116 
  remains unGifted, although most 
  universities have a Gifted member 
  hidden deep in the faculty who acts as 
  Mystagogue for the others. 
  Vitkir  
  The vitkir have become a rarity, and 
  may even be extinct as a magical 
  tradition. There may be sole 
  practitioners hanging on in isolated 
  areas — Scandinavia is a big place with 
  lots of room to hide — but as a society 
  the rune magicians have gone. The same 
  is probably true of their enemies, the 
  Muspelli. 
  Order of Solomon 
  The Order of Solomon has suffered 
  no overt religious persecution in the 
  Ottoman Empire. However, sahir are 
  unfashionable at court due to a cooling 
  of relationships between the Solomnic 
  Council and the Shariya courts; many 
  Islamic scholars have spoken against 
  those who deal with spirits and demons, 
  and there is a body of hadiths which 
  forbid sorcery explicitly. Nevertheless, 
  the Order of Solomon remains strong 
  — it simply does not get involved in 
  politics. 
  The Inquisition 
  The Inquisition is an informal name 
  for an institution within the judicial 
  system of the Church whose aim is to 
  combat heresy. It began with the 
  Episcopal Inquisition (1184 – c.1230) 
  and the Papal Inquisition (1230s). Pope 
  Gregory IX (r. 1227–1241) assigned the 
  duties of the Inquisition to the Order of 
  St Dominic. They judge heresy along 
  with bishops and assessors (clergy 
  serving as jury), using the local 
  authorities to establish a tribunal and 
  prosecute heretics. 
  The Inquisition involves a number 
  of procedures. During the Investigation 
  procedure, the townspeople are 
  gathered and invited to denounce 
  themselves and inform upon others in 
  exchange for easy punishment. Anyone 
  denounced by another can only stand 
  trial if two witnesses implicate him. The 
  accused are imprisoned awaiting trial for 
  up to a year while evidence is gathered. 
  When the trial begins, the accused is 
  invited to name those who have mortal 
  hatred against him, and if any of his 
  accusers are amongst those named, he is 
  set free and the accusers face life 
  imprisonment. It is considered better 
  for the guilty to go free than the 
  innocent be punished. During the trial, 
  ‘confession in full’ (which includes the 
  mandatory implication of others) is 
  encouraged in return for lighter 
  punishment, but no confessed heretic 
  will escape punishment altogether. 
  During the trial, no-one is barred from 
  providing testimony: even evidence 
  from criminals and convicted heretics is 
  admissible. 
  The papal bull ad extirpanda was 
  issued in 1252 by Pope Innocent IV, 
  and authorized the use of torture by the 
  Inquisition for eliciting confessions 
  from heretics. It was limited in that it 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  117 
  could be only used once, and could not 
  cause the loss of life or limb. It was also 
  limited to circumstances when the 
  inquisitor was certain of the evidence 
  against the accused — it could not be 
  used to uncover guilt, merely to confirm 
  through confession. The bull conceded 
  to the state a portion of a convicted 
  heretic’s possessions, in return for 
  assuming the responsibility for carrying 
  out the death penalty. 
  Punishments include prayer, 
  pilgrimage, shaming (such as wearing a 
  yellow cross for life), banishment, and 
  long term imprisonment. The 
  unrepentant and apostate are ‘relaxed’ 
  — handed over to the secular 
  authorities. This leaves them open to 
  corporal punishments forbidden to 
  churchmen, such as mutilation and 
  execution by burning. However, 
  execution was viewed as admitting 
  defeat, a soul that the Church could not 
  save. 
  Witch Hunting 
  In the fourteenth century witch-
  hunting became a procedure of 
  Inquisition. Pope John XXII authorized 
  the Inquisition to prosecute sorcerers in 
  1320, but it took a few decades for the 
  witch hunts to begin in earnest. 
  In 1376, Nicholas Eymerich 
  published the Directorium Inquisitorum, 
  which defined witchcraft, and described 
  means for discovering witches. In 
  compiling the book, Eymerich used 
  many of the magic texts he had 
  previously confiscated from accused 
  sorcerers. The Directorium classified 
  magic into mantike, thaumaturgia, and 
  goetia. Mantike (divination) is the 
  questioning of God’s plan and denial of 
  free will. Thaumaturgia is the 
  reordering of the natural world through 
  unnatural means, and Goetia is the 
  command of demons and spirits. The 
  Order of Hermes is specifically called 
  out as a purveyor of sorcery, although it 
  is clear that the author had a confused 
  knowledge of Hermetic practices, or 
  simply didn’t care to tell the truth. The 
  Directorium was considered the manual 
  of witch-hunting for the next hundred 
  years, although it has been 
  supplemented with other such manuals. 
  The Franciscan preacher Bernardino 
  of Siena (1380–1444) became an 
  important figure in the witch-hunting 
  tradition in the early fifteenth century. 
  He popularized the confusion possessed 
  by many witch-hunters, combining 
  ‘fooleries’ of spells and enchantments 
  with much more serious crimes such as 
  murder and infanticide. Collections of 
  his published sermons are widely 
  circulated, many consisting of personal 
  testimony allegedly from confessed 
  witches, sorcerers, wizards, and magi. In 
  many of these, the accused admit to 
  heinous acts. Bernardino never went as 
  far to claim that devil-worship was at 
  the heart of these practices, but many of 
  his readers made the connection he was 
  implying. 
  In the coming years, more manuals 
  of witch-hunting will be published. The 
  Fortalitium Fidei by Alfonso de Spina is 
  just published (1470), and is a treatise 
  on various types of arguments to be 
  used by preachers and others to oppose 
  witches; the fifth and final book gives 
  instructions on the battle against the 
  devil through faith and inquisition. 
  Johannes Nider prints the Formicarius in 
  1475, and the notorious Malleus 
  Maleficarium (‘The Hammer Against the 
  Witches’) is due in 1487. 
  The latter has an interesting history. 
  In 1484, two Dominican inquisitors 
  Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger 
  are refused permission by the local 
  bishops in Germany to investigate 
  heresy and witchcraft. In response they 
  appeal to Pope Innocent VIII, who 
  issued Summis desiderantes affectibus, a 
  Papal bull authorizing the “correcting, 
  imprisoning, punishing and chastising” 
  of devil-worshippers who have “slain 
  infants”, among other crimes. Now with 
  papal authorization, the inquisitors 
  complete their work, and publish the 
  results of their investigation as the 
  Malleus Maleficarium. Thanks to the 
  newly-invented printing presses, the 
  book enjoys a wide readership. It was 
  banned by the Church in 1490, and its 
  authors placed under papal censure; 
  nevertheless, the Malleus Maleficarium 
  never lost popularity and was reprinted 
  in 14 editions over the next thirty years. 
  THE STATE OF 
  THE WORLD IN 
  1470 
  The Fourteenth 
  Century in brief 
  The fourteenth century was a time 
  of great political, religious, and social 
  turmoil. By about 1400 there was no 
  dominant state in Europe. Italy and 
  Germany were already fragmented, the 
  Iberian peninsula was prey to civil war, 
  and France was torn apart by the feud 
  between the Burgundians and 
  Armagnacs.  
  The Great Famine of 1315 – 1317 
  presaged a period of social decline. 
  Land went out of cultivation and timber 
  supplies were exhausted. Manufacture 
  and mineral production all over Mythic 
  Europe went into decline and maritime 
  trade fell off sharply. The great 
  Florentine banking houses collapsed in 
  the 1340s. Social insurrection erupted all 
  over Mythic Europe as the manorial 
  system was eroded and serfdom 
  gradually abolished. Meanwhile urban 
  labourers organized to bargain for 
  economic improvement, and revolts 
  occurred in both cities and the 
  countryside. 
  All these disasters and unrest were 
  then followed by the Great Mortality. It 
  originated in the East, with 
  Constantinople being one of the first 
  cities to succumb in 1347. By mid-1348 
  the pestilence had spread through the 
  Balkans, Italy, southern and central 
  France, Savoy, and eastern Iberia. By 
  the end of 1348, the rest of Spain and 
  France was infected, as was Hungary 
  and Austria. The year 1349 saw the 
  disease conquer the British Isles, the 
  rest of the Holy Roman Empire, and 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  118 
  Denmark. In the next four years, the 
  rest of Scandinavia, Lithuania, and the 
  Russian Principalities were conquered 
  by the plague. 
  The Fifteenth Century 
  in More Detail 
  England’s attempt to conquer 
  France in the Hundred Years War (1331
  –1453) came close to success; but even 
  without decisive victory the war 
  fomented local dissention in France.  
  The Duchy of Burgundy became a 
  significant check on French ambitions, 
  encompassing the imperial county of 
  Burgundy and Flanders. In 1453 the 
  English (Burgundian supporters) were 
  finally expelled from France, and in 
  1477 Charles the Bold of Burgundy will 
  be killed in battle, ending the conflict.  
  The Iberian peninsula is dominated 
  by the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and 
  Portugal.  
  Resistance to the royal authority of 
  Castile triumphed in the usurpation of 
  the kingdom by the House of 
  Trastámara in 1369, an illegitimate 
  lineage which came to rule both Castile 
  and Aragon (under different lines) over 
  the coming century. The two kingdoms 
  have warred over succession ever since, 
  a conflict which is destined to end in 
  1479, when Isabella (heir to Castille) 
  marries Ferdinand II (King of Aragon).  
  In England the failure in France and 
  the loss of Normandy provoked civil 
  war (the Wars of the Roses, 1453–
  1485), which will be finally settled in the 
  new dynasty of the Tudors. Edward IV 
  is the current king, although he is briefly 
  expelled and replaced by his cousin and 
  predecessor Henry IV in 1470. Scotland 
  has been ruled by the House of Stewart 
  since 1371. James III sits on the throne, 
  and has acquired Orkney and Shetland 
  as dowry for his bride Margaret of 
  Denmark. James III is an unpopular 
  monarch, largely due to his policy of 
  alliance with England. 
  In Germany, the Golden Bull (1356) 
  intended to settle matters of succession, 
  but resulted instead in an impotent king. 
  The dynasties of Wittelsbachs, 
  Habsburgs, and Luxembourgs who 
  contested the Imperial crown were 
  more interested in strengthening their 
  own domains rather than stabilising the 
  German monarchy. A complex network 
  of leagues emerged to fill the political 
  vacuum, the most successful of which 
  was the Swiss Confederation (founded 
  1291). A series of dynastic alliances 
  finally united the Habsburg lands with 
  those of Luxembourg (1437) and 
  Burgundy (1477). The current Holy 
  Roman Emperor is Frederick III, called 
  ‘the Peaceful’, who has reigned since 
  1452. 
  By 1400 five Italian states had risen 
  to prominence: the Republic of 
  Florence under the de’Medici, the 
  Republic of Venice, the Republic of 
  Genoa (including Corsica), the 
  Kingdom of Naples under the Kings of 
  Aragon, and the Duchy of Milan under 
  the House of Sforza (after the 
  extinction of the House of Visconti 
  some twenty years ago). As well as 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  119 
  Naples, Aragon also controls Sicily and 
  Sardinia. Genoa is a state in decline. 
  Having warred with Venice for well 
  over a hundred years, Genoa met its 
  defeat at Chioggia in 1380, and it has 
  become a pawn in the struggle between 
  France and Aragon. It has been recently 
  conquered by the Milanese and is being 
  held as a fief of the French crown. 
  In Scandinavia, a crisis of succession 
  lead to the uniting of the three crowns 
  of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden 
  under one ruler, Margaret of Norway, in 
  the Union of Kalmar (1397). Despite 
  the dynastic union, the aristocracy of 
  these nations were by no means united. 
  Papal prestige during the fourteenth 
  century was greatly diminished, firstly 
  by the transfer of the papacy to 
  Avignon (1305 – 1377) and secondly by 
  the Western Schism (1378 – 1417).  The 
  Avignon Papacy arose  when the pro-
  French Pope Clement V refused to 
  move to Rome following his election to 
  the papal throne, and instead moved his 
  court to the papal enclave at Avignon. 
  Clement was famously a supporter of 
  the French crown unlike his 
  predecessors. He famously suppressed 
  the Order of Knights Templar, possibly 
  to free the French king from the 
  massive debt he owed them. Six 
  Avignon popes followed Clement, 
  culminating in Gregory XI who 
  returned his court to Rome ending the 
  Avignon Papacy. However, on the 
  untimely death of Pope Gregory less 
  than a year later, his Neapolitan 
  successor Urban VI proved an 
  unpopular choice. The majority of the 
  cardinals elected a rival pope Clement 
  VII, who ruled from Avignon. For 
  nearly forty years there were two 
  simultaneous popes (and in 1417 a 
  council of cardinals in Pisa elected a 
  third pope), and divided loyalties 
  amongst the rulers of Europe, with 
  some declaring for Rome, some for 
  Avignon, and some shifting their 
  allegiance as it suited them. The conflict 
  was eventually resolved in 1417 by 
  securing the resignations of John XXIII 
  (Pisa) and Gregory XII (Rome), and 
  excommunicating Benedict XIII 
  (Avignon), and electing a new pope 
  (Martin V) who was recognised by all. 
  Since then there have been five popes, 
  including Nicholas V who founded the 
  great Vatican Apostolic library (which in 
  1470 consists of over three thousand 
  manuscripts), and the current pope Paul 
  II. 
  Two new empires have risen in the 
  east; that of Casimir IV of Poland (1447
  –92) and Matthias Corvinus of Hungary 
  (1458–90). Casimir rules over a United 
  Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania. The 
  Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a vast 
  realm stretching from the Baltic Sea to 
  the Black Sea; and Casimir, heir to 
  Poland’s throne, was elected Grand 
  Duke when still in his minority. 
  Matthias Corvinus is king of Hungary 
  and Croatia by birth, was elected king of 
  Bohemia in 1469, and will become 
  Duke of Austria in 1487. His empire is 
  in a state of perpetual war: he has 
  fought against Czech insurgents in 
  Upper Hungary, against Frederick III 
  the Holy Roman Emperor who had 
  designs on Hungary, and most 
  significantly against the Ottoman 
  Empire. Matthias is a famous patron of 
  the arts and philosophy, promoting the 
  new style of Italian art introduced to 
  him by his wife Beatrice of Naples. He 
  has been characterised as the platonic 
  ideal of a philosopher-king. 
  Ivan III is ruler of the Grand Duchy 
  of Moscow to the east of Lithuania. He 
  considers himself ruler of all the Rus, 
  and has began to be recognised as such 
  by the other princes of Russian 
  territory, earning him his name of “Ivan 
  the Great”. He is in the middle of an 
  invasion of the vast Republic of 
  Novgorod, which in 1471 becomes a 
  puppet state under Muscovy control. 
  The last great power of Mythic 
  Europe is the Ottoman Empire. Rising 
  out of the last years of the thirteenth 
  century, the empire capitalised on the 
  demise of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum 
  to dominate Anatolia and the Balkans. 
  The current Emperor is Mehmet II, 
  called “the Conqueror” for his 
  acquisition of Constantinople, Serbia, 
  Morea, Trebizond, Wallachia, and 
  Bosnia. The principality of Wallachia is 
  hotly contested by its prince, Vlad III 
  the Impaler, called Dracula or “son of 
  the Dragon”. Vlad and his brother Radu 
  grew up with Mehmet as hostages to the 
  Ottoman court; Vlad grew to hate and 
  despise the young Mehmet whereas 
  Radu became his confidante (and some 
  say lover). Wallachia was conquered by 
  Mehmet in 1462 and Radu installed as 
  its prince. Vlad was imprisoned for 
  treason by Matthew Corvinus on the 
  strength of a forged letter, and currently 
  languishes at his majesty’s pleasure. 
  MAP OF EUROPE 
  IN 1470 
  A useful map of the political 
  landscape of 1470 Europe is available 
  at: 
  http://upload.wikimedia.org/
  w i k i p e d i a / c o m m o n s / 4 / 4 f /
  Europe_in_1470.png 
  Guns and 
  Gunpowder 
  Those keen to add a little gunpowder 
  to their 1470 saga should refer to Mark 
  Shirley’s article “Explosive Power in an 
  Aristotelean World” available in Sub Rosa 
  issue 4. The article provides details of 
  important 
  alchemical 
  reagents 
  and 
  discusses what weapons might be 
  developed. 
  It’s also makes clear that small-bore 
  weapons might not be possible in Ars 
  Magica’s Aristotelean universe, at least 
  not without some degree of magical 
  intervention. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  120 
  As a passionate and long-time Ars 
  Magica player (I started with Third 
  edition way back in 1993!), I’ve enjoyed 
  introducing my fellow gamers to what I 
  consider to be the greatest fantasy RPG 
  of all time for some time now. The one 
  thing that has consistently surprised me 
  is that lack of Ars Magica events at 
  most cons I go to; I suppose part of this 
  might be due to the Grand Tribunals, 
  one of which frequently conflicts with 
  GenCon in early August, but I think 
  most Storyguides see the task too 
  daunting. I would like to discuss my 
  personal experience with running Ars 
  Magica at convention tables, in the 
  hope of inspiring other gamemasters to 
  join me. 
  I started running Ars Magica games 
  at GenCon since in 2000, in part 
  because I love the game, but also to 
  promote it in the greater gaming 
  community; most of the players at my 
  games have either never played it but 
  “heard good things”, or played earlier 
  editions and have been trying to get 
  their buddies to play for years. I’ve done 
  my best to create interesting pre-
  generated characters for the players to 
  choose from, and designed stories that 
  give them ample opportunity to test out 
  the system, in the hope that they’ll go 
  back home and start Ars games in their 
  hometowns. 
  Typically when I start a new 
  convention saga, I seize upon some 
  concept or element that intrigues me, 
  and then flesh the idea out over time. 
  By Bob Karcher 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  121 
  Often an idea for a pre-generated 
  character leaps into my head and gets 
  me rolling, and then one character 
  follows another; they will be tinkered 
  with for a year or two, and sometimes 
  replaced altogether if they don’t work 
  out in play. I run these games year after 
  year, offering the same pre-gens and 
  setting as a sort of “brand name”, so 
  that players who had a good time one 
  year can return the next for another go, 
  and maybe bring a friend. For sanity’s 
  sake, I limit myself to six characters, 
  though I have sometimes run games 
  with four or five if the event hasn’t sold 
  out. 
  I will now describe the three 
  convention sagas I have run to date; 
  what worked, what didn’t and what I 
  learned from the experience. The first 
  game has been retired, but the second is 
  still going strong, and the third, which 
  was just begun in August of 2012, will 
  be returning in 2013 and hopefully 
  many years to come. 
  SOCIETAS 
  ESOTERICA - 
  PARIS 1620S 
  “We, the deputies of the principal 
  College of the Brethren of the Rose-
  cross, have taken up our abode, visible 
  and invisible, in this city, by the grace of 
  the Most High, towards whom are 
  turned the hearts of the just. We show 
  and teach without books or signs, and 
  speak all sorts of languages in the 
  countries where we dwell, to draw 
  mankind, our fellows, from error and 
  from death.” 
  Two factors combined in my head to 
  form my first Ars Magica convention 
  saga; the first was the quote above, a 
  translation of a mysterious poster that 
  historically appeared all over the walls 
  of Paris in April 1623; these were the 
  first public declaration of the 
  Rosicrucians, a so-called “secret 
  society” interested in alchemy as well 
  Protestantism and moral philosophy. 
  The second element was the fourth 
  edition Hedge Magic rules, which were 
  much simpler than Hermetic magic and 
  in theory could be practiced by anyone. 
  From these two ideas I imagined an 
  informal club of students at the 
  University of Paris intrigued by the 
  occult; what would they think of these 
  strange announcements on the walls of 
  their city? What if the Order of Hermes, 
  thought to have vanished sometime in 
  the early 14th Century, had somehow 
  survived in stunted form, and they were 
  now looking for eager new minds to 
  induct into their mysteries? 
  So I changed a bit of the original 
  Rosicrucian text and made up some 
  posters of my own on 11x17 parchment 
  stock, to be handed out to the players; 
  the posters were now printed up by the 
  “Ordo Hermeticus”, and it was up to 
  the players to find them and hopefully 
  begin to learn their secrets. To mimic 
  the odd bits of magic the characters 
  already possessed, I gave three of them 
  hedge magic abilities; one cunning-
  woman (technically not a student, but 
  one of their girlfriends), one natural 
  philosopher and one spirit master. All 
  six characters were built as companions, 
  and I did my best to make them well-
  balanced and interesting, updating 
  several skills and weapons for the 17th 
  Century setting. I also built bits of 
  interpersonal conflict into their sheets, 
  giving them issues that I hoped would 
  generate sparks in play; for instance, the 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  122 
  Flemish medical student was secretly a 
  Protestant, and the French law student 
  was convinced there was a Protestant 
  conspiracy. And I included quotes on 
  each sheet that reflected each 
  character’s opinions of the other six, 
  similar to the Stereotypes that used to 
  be included with each House in the old 
  Order of Hermes book; it worked fairly 
  well, but I have since dropped this 
  device to allow the players to develop 
  their own attitudes about the other 
  characters based on actual play. 
  Of course, the choice to use hedge 
  magic rather than the Hermetic magic 
  rules made my job much simpler; I 
  didn’t have to explain techniques and 
  forms, and we could jump into play 
  fairly quickly. True, as hedge magicians 
  they would be missing out on much of 
  the flavor of the game (and the Mythic 
  Europe setting as written altogether), 
  but at the time I was more intrigued by 
  the strength of the Ars Magica 
  character generation system itself; I still 
  think it provides richer characters than 
  any other system I have played in my 
  thirty years of gaming. And as a lover of 
  historical fantasy writers like Tim 
  Powers, I was tickled pink to have both 
  black powder and magic in my game. 
  But as successful as the games was, I 
  began to feel I was doing my players a 
  disservice; by now, Fifth edition was out 
  and looking to be the best edition yet, 
  and I still had them mucking about in 
  Fourth with the limited hedge magic 
  rules. If I was going to running the only 
  Ars Magica game at GenCon, 
  shouldn’t I be showing them the game’s 
  true potential? And so it was with heavy 
  heart that I said ‘adieu’ to 17th century 
  Paris, leaving many stories yet to be 
  told; we never got to the Burning Court 
  or the Thirty Years War (two themes I 
  really wanted to get into), but we had a 
  good run and I enjoyed it all. 
  THE HUDSON 
  VALLEY 
  ESOTERIC 
  SOCIETY - NEW 
  YORK 1730S  
  First of all, I must tell you that this 
  was not my original idea; I just rode on 
  the coattails of somebody else’s game, 
  with their full approval.  
  A player by the name of JamesCat 
  on RPG.net came up with the idea for a 
  play-by-post Ars Magica Fifth Edition 
  game set in Colonial America, and I was 
  delighted; somebody else was seeing the 
  wonderful possibilities of combining 
  Ars Magica and the black powder era! 
  I’ve been a Colonial history buff for 
  years, as well as a huge fan of the Pirates 
  of the Caribbean films, and I saw this as 
  my chance to finally play an awesome 
  maga in a nice tri-cornered hat, ala 
  Elizabeth Swann in Dead Man’s Chest. 
  JamesCat came up with some very 
  interesting new rules, spells and other 
  details of the background, even setting 
  up a wiki for us all to edit. I was so 
  pumped! 
  And then, the game abruptly died, as 
  online games are wont to do. I was 
  devastated; I loved my character and the 
  setting, and we had barely gotten the 
  saga off the ground before it petered 
  out. Surely all that work didn’t have to 
  be wasted? 
  And then I got an idea; with 
  JamesCat’s permission, I would come 
  up with a new set of pre-gens and adapt 
  his setting for convention play. I’d make 
  sure to tell all my players this was not 
  my idea, and even direct them to the 
  wiki (wiki.rpg.net/index.php/
  L’Orphelin_Saga) to have a look 
  around, because I had no interest in 
  stealing credit from an another gamer; I 
  just wanted to see some good come out 
  of all the work we did. 
  I still opted for a “mixed party” of 
  spellcasters (full-on Hermetic magi 
  now) and companions, to give players a 
  good overall feel for the game and roles 
  each type of character plays. At the first 
  session, I also had a grog, but I dropped 
  him from later games, as he was clearly 
  u n d e r p o w e r e d  a n d  s e e m e d 
  disappointing to new players; since 
  then, I have relegated grogs to NPC 
  status. Now that I was using the full 
  magic rules, I wanted to give my players 
  a better sense of how they worked, and 
  so I chose my pre-gens accordingly; 
  three magi with all three versions of the 
  Gift (so they could see how each 
  affected social interactions), and three 
  companions, including a non-Gifted 
  Redcap. To date, this balance has 
  worked out well, though I must admit 
  to doing a lot of tinkering between 
  conventions with the non-Hermetic 
  companions over the years to get them 
  just right. 
  To date, this game is still going 
  strong; I will admit going into GenCon 
  last year, I was thinking of retiring it, 
  but I had so much fun running the 
  sessions that I think will be around for a 
  few more years. 
  UNGAUNTLETED 
  - GERMANY 1220S 
  This is a brand-new saga that 
  debuted at GenCon 2012, and it was a 
  big success; the idea came from the new 
  Apprentices book, with the goal to run an 
  all apprentices game. Every player 
  would get a chance to try their hand at 
  Hermetic magic, including spontaneous 
  casting, but at lower casting totals to 
  keep things more manageable. I was 
  also excited about running a game set in 
  the default version of Mythic Europe, 
  since it would give them a better idea of 
  the game as written; additionally, it 
  would allow me to use the official game 
  supplements without tinkering, which is 
  not possible in the Hudson Valley 
  game. 
  I also wanted to run a game that was 
  lighter in tone, taking its cues from the 
  Harry Potter novels and teen-oriented 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  123 
  TV shows; to that end, I began a very 
  nonscientific analysis of pop culture, 
  including several visits to the wonderful 
  site tvtropes.org, and then started to 
  plug those findings into the established 
  Houses to create teenage apprentices 
  with what I hoped were iconic 
  resonances. I will admit that on the 
  surface these are not very deep, but I’ve 
  done my best to give them all hidden 
  layers. 
  Nerdy smart girl = Bonisagus 
  Weird girl = Merinita with Blatant 
  Gift 
  Big jock = Tremere with Giant 
  Blood (later adjusted to Verditius for 
  “metal shop kid”) 
  Sarcastic guy = Tytalus 
  Popular girl = Flambeau with Gentle 
  Gift and Venus’ Blessing 
  Adventurous guy = Jerbiton (later 
  changed to Gifted Mercere)   
  There is clearly a lot of logic-
  stretching going on here; having this 
  many apprentices from this many 
  houses, all studying at the same 
  covenant? The only place I could 
  imagine this being remotely possible is 
  at Durenmar, which is the covenant I 
  chose; not only does it have a classic 
  sort of “Hogwarts feel” to it, but it’s 
  fully detailed in Guardians of the Forests, 
  including a wonderful illustrated map 
  that I photocopied and handed out to 
  the players. On the back of the map, I 
  copied the glossary from page 8 of the 
  core book, something I can’t believe I 
  never thought of before; it was a nice 
  bit of reference during play, and 
  something they could show to other 
  players back home. 
  When I designed the characters, of 
  course I did more than create two-
  dimensional high school stereotypes; I 
  made them teens so they could have at 
  least one good Form score and decent 
  Magic Theory, as well as a wide variety 
  of skills, Virtues and Flaws. I must 
  admit also fudged a bit in one area: I 
  gave them a few spells for free, just so 
  they had a few powers up their sleeves 
  and to give them a little idea how spell 
  levels works. I provided each with two 
  cantations and one level 10 spell that 
  they might have learned in secret; this 
  didn’t seem too abusive, and would give 
  them something to work with if the 
  player had a hard time grasping 
  spontaneous magic.    
  The game went very well this year, 
  but I decided to add two new features 
  for next year; NPCs to act as male and 
  female foils, romantic rivals, etc., and a 
  common dining area in the main hall, to 
  stand in for the ubiquitous cafeteria 
  scenes associated with high schools. I 
  hope these two elements will give my 
  players for more things to interact with 
  in a fun way. 
  I recently had an opportunity to run 
  a game in this setting with four of my 
  coworkers; one had a wide variety of 
  gaming experience, another had only 
  played Pathfinder, and the remaining 
  two had never so much as touched a 
  roleplaying book. The learning curve 
  was very steep, and it took me much 
  longer to explain everything to 
  everyone, but once we got up to speed 
  everyone had a wonderful time; I would 
  normally not use Ars for a neophyte 
  player’s first game, but the two newbies 
  were both very creative and quickly 
  locked onto their troubled teen 
  characters.  
  THE SAGA 
  CONTINUES 
  Based on my experience, Ars 
  Magica is indeed compatible with 
  convention play, though it does require 
  a great deal of work on the storyguide’s 
  part; pre-generated characters are a 
  must, due to the considerable length of 
  time it takes to create good characters in 
  the system, and the storyguide will need 
  to take several minutes to explain the 
  rules and setting. Player handouts are 
  also a good idea, especially a copy of the 
  glossary from the core book, as it lays 
  most of the unfamiliar terms out neatly 
  in one place. A great deal of patience is 
  also required, since Ars Magica asks a 
  lot more from its players than most 
  games, and there will of course be a 
  number of questions you will have to 
  field. In general, I have chosen to take a 
  “rules light” approach to running the 
  game, and let the players be aware of 
  this, so that they know this particular 
  session might not mirror their own 
  future game experiences, as well as let 
  them “off the hook” to not sweat the 
  details too much and focus on fun. 
  I strongly encourage other 
  storyguides to run at their local cons; 
  my experience shows there is a great 
  deal of interest in Ars Magica in the 
  gaming community, and if we reach out 
  to new players, we can keep Ars 
  Magica going for many years to come. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  124 
  In issue 15, Pelle Kofod and Christian 
  Rosenkjaer Andersen gave an extended build 
  guide for those wanting to create Intangible 
  Assassin characters, as first described in the 
  Hermetic Projects supplement. Also provided 
  was this appendix covering assassin characters 
  focused on enchantments. As is sometimes 
  the case, the appendix didn’t make it into 
  issue 15, but we’re pleased to present it here. 
  THE INTANGIBLE 
  ENCHANTER 
  The Intangible Assassin article in issue 15 
  focused strongly on spells, not mentioning 
  devices at all. Does this mean that a Verditius 
  Magus cannot join in the fun? Not at all - but 
  their needs are slightly different. 
  Collecting Arcane Connections is handled 
  much like any other magus, though some 
  Verditii may struggle in this, but the major 
  difference is seen in the execution of things. 
  PREPARATION 
  Enchanters need time to prepare. This is 
  true for almost any hermetic magus, but 
  devices are even less flexible than spells. It 
  must also be understood that when using a 
  device, the magus is not the caster, the device 
  is. This means that a separate effect must be 
  used in order to sense the Intangible Tunnel 
  in order to use it. Knowing that it has to be 
  there isn’t good enough. Further more, 
  devices do not improve as the enchanter 
  improves, and the device that opens a Tunnel 
  that will penetrate the defenses of you 
  enemies today may well not be able to do so 
  in 20 years’ time, much less 50 year. Should an 
  enchanter wish to keep up with the increasing 
  power of his enemies, he will need to build 
  new devices to keep penetration high. 
  Does this mean that an magus focused on 
  enchanting cannot take advantage of this 
  approach? By no means! It just means that 
  some of his priorities are different. 
  But What Preparations? 
  To pursue this idea to it’s fullest extend, 
  first realize that not a single XP needs to be 
  spend on the Ability Penetration, ever. 
  Penetration comes from the device and is 
  invested into the device when it is made. This 
  also means that no Penetration Ability is 
  involved, so while an Arcane Connection is 
  needed to establish the Tunnel itself, it has no 
  further use. Nor have any other Sympathetic 
  Connections. Instead, pour those experience 
  points over into Magic Theory without 
  thinking twice (unless you’re a Verditius). The 
  Enchanter is based purely on his lab total, 
  almost regardless of what he’s trying to 
  achieve. Since this lab total can be increased 
  independently of Arts, enchanters can 
  potentially be extremely versatile “generalists” 
  - in that they specialize in enchanting devices, 
  not in any particular Arts. Instead the 
  enchanter focuses on Magic Theory almost to 
  exclusion, unless he has other ways to add 
  abilities to his lab total, the main ones being 
  the purview of house Verditius. Also useful 
  are the lab-specialization rules presented in 
  Covenants, which can add a significant 
  amount to lab totals, once you realize that 
  enchanting items is considered a single activity 
  type within that rules set. And where Spells 
  are limited in what Casting Bonus and 
  Penetration Modifiers you can rack up, the 
  Penetration for devices is merely a matter of 
  time! If making an invested device the 
  enchantment process can be broken up over 
  as many seasons as need be, potentially 
  getting a huge Penetration of those added 
  levels. Alas, time is the magus’ most valuable 
  asset, so this little trick has a natural limit. 
  But doesn’t this enchanting approach cost 
  huge amounts of Vis? Ah, but that’s the 
  beauty of things, it needs not. The approach 
  here is charged devices. Yes, it’s horribly 
  expensive in time (seasons), except that you 
  can always design your device such that it 
  takes a full season to complete, yet never 
  wastes even a single point of your lab total. 
  Even worse, by the rules as written, for every 
  point of lab total, you get +2 penetration, 
  Many troupes house rule this, but if your 
  troupe isn’t among them, there’s potential for 
  patently absurd amounts of penetration here - 
  the Waime of Antagonists, page 134-135 has 
  been defeated through this approach. With a 
  single charged device. More specifically a 
  single charge of Creo Ignem, causing +75 
  damage, with a penetration of 50. A common 
  trick is to enchant the most powerful device 
  you can, with so many added levels for 
  Penetration that you can only just succeed. 
  This first season only yields a single charge, 
  but subsequent seasons spent recreating the 
  process from a lab text gives one charge per 5 
  points Lab Total. So the huge totals needed 
  for very powerful devices also gives more 
  charges in the long run. 
  The beauty of Charged Devices is really 
  two-fold. First, any increases in Lab Total e.g. 
  from Arts can immediately be felt because of 
  the need to make new Charged Devices 
  (unlike Lesser og Invested Devices which 
  should last along time due to the investment 
  in vis and also time). In the same way the spell 
  caster sees an increase in Casting Total by 
  studying the Arts. Second, when enchanting 
  up an additional batch of Charged Devices 
  from a lab text the increased Lab Total means 
  more charges. 
  Indeed it can be said that the Enchanter 
  will cast effects using not his casting total but 
  his lab total, which is likely to be much higher 
  By Pelle Kofod 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  125 
  (by including Magic Theory for starter), 
  especially in the case of a dedicated enchanter, 
  such as a Verditius Magus. 
  BUT WHY 
  ENCHANT? 
  Now, remember how it was pointed out 
  above, that the enchanter is not the caster, 
  that instead the device is? That’s one of the 
  great beauties of this approach. Because that 
  means that if your prey manages to sense the 
  Intangible Tunnel your device has caused, 
  and sends a spell back through the Tunnel, it 
  will by default affect your device and not you. 
  This will likely insulate you from e.g. Corpus 
  or Mentem effects (as they wouldn’t affect the 
  device, as well as all T: Individual effects. 
  Essentially, that Pilum of Flame thrown back 
  through the Tunnel might set fire to your 
  Device, but you will not be hit yourself, as 
  you didn’t open the Tunnel, and Pilum of 
  Flame only a single individual. Sure, if your 
  device is set ablaze you might be burned as 
  well, but this will likely be much easier to 
  defend against. Sure, your target can throw T: 
  Group spells back along the Tunnel, but 
  these tend to have poorer penetration and 
  must be of a kind that affects both you and 
  your device. 
  LAB TOTALS 
  So this protects you to some degree. 
  What other advantages are there to using 
  devices? 
  The main one has already been 
  mentioned above. You’re effectively casting 
  with your lab total, not your casting total. And 
  there are simply more ways to improve that 
  lab total. 
  We will not go into details about how to 
  improve lab totals here - instead we 
  recommend Mark Lawford’s excellent articles 
  in Sub Rosa issues 10 and 11, regarding the 
  Hermetic Shipwright and Architect 
  respectively. We will just hasten to add that 
  for some magi, Arts make up just a part of 
  their lab total, and not even the main one. 
  The main means of improving lab totals 
  include: 
   
  Magic Theory: Every enchanter 
  should have this ability as high as 
  possible, because it is used in every lab 
  total you will ever generate as a 
  hermetic wizard. It is an ability, so it 
  costs 5 times as many experience 
  points to improve as an Art - making 
  it a much better investment than 
  spreading these experience points 
  among, for example, 10 different 
  Forms. 
   
  Assistants: You  might not want to 
  tell the world all about your 
  murderous plans, but if you do have 
  someone you trust, take them with 
  you in the lab! You add the assistant’s 
  Intelligence + Magic Theory directly 
  to your lab total. This is another 
  excellent reason to focus on Magic 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  126 
  Theory in your own studies - it lets 
  you improve your assistants by 
  teaching them Magic Theory, 
  effectively multiplying the effect of 
  your own ability score by the number 
  of people in the lab. Don’t forget 
  about familiars either! 
   
  Lab Specialization: These were 
  introduced in Covenants, and are 
  sometimes disputed. We’d normally 
  use them to add flavor to labs. But in 
  the interests of this type of article, we’ll 
  use them for pure power! The trick 
  here is that Items - all Items - are a 
  valid single specialization. Usually, this 
  is done by using the Greater Feature 
  lab virtue - “balanced” by the Greater 
  Focus lab flaw, for a total of +5 to lab 
  total per installation. Some troupes 
  will restrict this to just one Focus lab 
  flaw, check with your troupe on this 
  one. In this case, lab refinement will 
  be your friend, and it is mainly limited 
  by... your Magic Theory score. 
   
  Shape and Material Bonus: Because 
  there’s no reason to not grab that “+4 
  Destroy things at a distance” bonus 
  when it’s free with using a wand, is 
  there? Unless you’ve found 
  something better. Verditius Magi get 
  to add philosophiae to this total. 
  Either way, it’s capped by your Magic 
  Theory. Do we see a pattern here yet? 
   
  Aura: Rarely a big issue, but items can 
  be argued to benefit from an aura 
  twice. The aura of your lab is added to 
  your lab total (and so affect the 
  penetration of the items you enchant), 
  but as they are magical effects, they 
  also benefit from the aura they are in 
  when the item is activated, which is 
  likely to be friendly and fairly strong. 
  This is rarely a major bonus, but it’s 
  worth mentioning, as it is somehow 
  not affected by your Magic Theory 
  score. 
  In short, the path of the enchanter is 
  absolutely and entirely compatible with the 
  path of the Intangible Assassin, and there are 
  some major benefits to be collected here. As 
  with the spell caster Assassin there are a few 
  vital choices to be made with regards to 
  Virtues, however a few Minor Hermetic ones 
  takes you a long way. There are nowhere near 
  as obvious choices for a Major Virtue as for 
  the caster variant. For Characteristics Int is 
  vital for Lab Totals, however there still needs 
  to be focus on how to obtain Arcane 
  Connections. For Abilities the bulk of the 
  experience points should go into Magic 
  Theory instead of Penetration, plus 
  Philosophiae and perhaps Craft for a 
  Verditius. Leadership is useful for having 
  assistants, and the procuring of ACs still 
  needs to be covered as well. 
  
   
  Sub Rosa 
  127 
  This issue does a great job of 
  envisioning what the Order, or even just 
  magi might be like across a number of 
  eras. Each makes an effort to consider 
  what sorts of challenges might face the 
  wizards of those centuries, and what 
  stories might be told. However, we're 
  limited in the amount of material we 
  can offer in Sub Rosa, and so we offer 
  you additional resources from across 
  the internet for you to augment your 
  sagas. 
  Beginning with Britannia, 550, 
  Before the Order, we can strongly 
  recommend Life in Roman Britain by 
  Joan Alcock as a good reference. It 
  provides a good look at daily culture on 
  the island in the years leading up to the 
  setting. The diverse tribal situation on 
  Britain in the 6th century is nicely 
  shown here: 
  www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/
  maps/550_kingdoms.html 
  But no saga remains small in scope, 
  and the larger world picture is 
  wonderfully shown in this pdf: 
  w w w . i n d i a n a . e d u / ~ c a h i s t /
  R e a d i n g s / 2 0 1 1 S p r i n g / T h e %
  20World_500%20to%20700%20ce.pdf 
  An interactive map, which focuses 
  primarily on Europe can be found here: 
  http://www.worldology.com/Europe/
  dark_ages_imap.htm and gives breakout 
  explanations of important events, 
  covering Viking raids, and looking at 
  spread of the Germanic tribes as they 
  consume Western Roman empire. The 
  Mythic Britain Companion, by 
  Runequest, is available on RPGNow 
  ( r p g . d r i v e t h r u s t u f f . c o m /
  product/144044/Mythic-Britain-
  Companion). For a small price, it offers 
  cults which can be easily adapted to 
  play, and most beneficial, a collection of 
  maps showing tribal divisions and 
  sacred places. Zooming out again, 
  Legends of the Dark Ages is a D20 
  variant which covers 416 AD to 816 
  AD, offering maps and convenient 
  summaries. rpg.drivethrustuff.com/
  product/2791/Legends-of-the-Dark-
  Ages?it=1 
  Moving forward into 865 AD, 
  Voventes Centennales, you can find a 
  solid look at the Islamic world in 850, 
  w w w . i n d i a n a . e d u / ~ c a h i s t /
  Readings/2011Spring/Abbasid%
  20Caliphate.pdf. The Carolingian lands 
  in 850 AD are wonderfully detailed 
  here: www.indiana.edu/~cahist/
  Readings/2011Spring/Empire%20of%
  20Charlemagne.pdf. A site that will 
  become familiar over this piece, 
  www.worldology.com/Europe/
  dark_ages_imap.htm discusses Viking 
  raids, and other useful bits for the years 
  between 840-967 AD. The maps shown 
  here: www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/
  historical/shepherd_1911/shepherd-c-
  056.jpg shows the disruption of the 
  Carolingian Empire, showing many of 
  the surrounding nations. 
  Pushing to 1050 AD, After the 
  Schism, you can get an excellent bit of 
  cultural material from the Chaosium 
  monograph, Cthulhu Dark Ages. It 
  begins in 1097, but still offers useful 
  information for storyguides and players. 
  r p g . d r i v e t h r u s t u f f . c o m /
  product/56334/Cthulhu-Dark-Ages?
  term=Cthulhu+Dark+Ages Another 
  monograph from Chaosium, The Abbey 
  details St. Bartholomew's Abbey 
  r p g . d r i v e t h r u s t u f f . c o m /
  product/81969/The-Abbey, and while 
  it is set in 962 AD, it should shift easily 
  enough. Interactive maps at this era are 
  available at: www.worldology.com/
  Europe/dark_ages_imap.htm which 
  continue to give details specific to the 
  particular regions. A period map of the 
  world is available here, and could be 
  printed to serve as good prop in games: 
  www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/
  unvbrit/a/zoomify82938.html For 
  sagas which decide to pursue stories 
  dealing with the pope, this map of Italy 
  has a lot of value:  
  w w w . e m e r s o n k e n t . c o m /
  map_archive/italy_1050.htm 
  Finally, an excellent look at the Holy 
  Roman Empire at its peak can be found 
  h er e:  s cho o ls - wik iped ia. o r g/
  images/2468/246812.jpg.htm 
  Finally, for the setting of 1470 AD, 
  After the Plague, there are many RPG 
  options available, but most notably is 
  White Wolf's Mage: The Sorcerer's 
  Crusade, rpg.drivethrustuff.com/
  product/201/Mage-The-Sorcerers-
  Crusade?it=1) Maps are also much 
  easier to find for this period, but 
  www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/
  shepherd/central_europe_1477.jpg 
  offers a good look at Central Europe 
  and www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/
  historical/shepherd_1911/shepherd-c-
  084.jpg shows France and England in 
  1455-1494 AD. 
  While not comprehensive, hopefully 
  this collection of maps, links, and 
  additional game material will help 
  enhance your sagas as you explore the 
  lives of magi in epochs different from 
  the standard setting and get you started 
  looking for more supplemental material. 
  Have ideas about more resources which 
  could improve these settings? Post them 
  in the Atlas forum thread for this issue 
  and share them with the rest of us! 
  
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  A Year in 
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Ars Magica [multi]/5th edition/Sub Rosa fanzine/Sub Rosa Issue 16.pdf