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Ars Magica

Glossary

This lists the most common terms used when playing Ars Magica, and when discussing it. The terms chosen for inclusion concentrate on those that are either specific to Ars Magica, or where the Ars Magica meaning is significantly different from the everyday meaning.
Note that there is no attempt to have strictly accurate definitions: for the full details of the terms see the Ars Magica book.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Ability
This is a term for a learnable, and hence improvable, capability of a character. It is a generic term for talents, skills and knowledges. Whereas each of these different types of ability can be used in the same way, they have different means of improvement.
Arcane Connection
This has two meanings: one refers to a magical connection to a person or a place, usually in the form of an item intimately connected with the person or place; the second refers to a spell Range.
Spells cast at Arcane Connection range are cast upon something that the magus has an actual Arcane Connection to. This is the only Range that does not require direct line of sight.
Animál
"Animal"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of animals, the mind of animals and animal matter.
Aquam
"Water"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of liquids.
Ars Magica
"The Magic Art"; The Fantasy Role-playing Game published by Atlas Games which this page is a glossary for. The game is set in Mythic Europe in the 13th century, and primarily concerns wizards or magi as they are known in the game.
Art
Magical Arts are types of learnt magical expertise (different from abilities). They consists of five techniques which are types of action that can be taken, and ten forms which are types of substance to be acted upon. All spells require the use of at least one technique and at least one form.
Aura
The refers to the magical alignment of any place or area. There are four types of aura:-

All auras come in a range of intensities.

Auram
"Air"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of gases and vapours.
Autumn Covenant
See covenant

B

Body
A measure of how hurt a character is. Loss of body levels represents wound damage. Such damage is very slow to repair (days to months). C.f. fatigue.
Bjornær
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. House Bjornær is especially concerned with shape-change magics.
Bonisagus
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. This is the House descended from the founder of the Order. It is largely concerned with excellence in magical research.
Botch
A term for an exceptional (and potentially embarrassing) failure from a stress die roll.
Boundary
This is a spell Target. Spells with a Boundary target can affect everything inside any well defined Boundary (e.g. the edge of a forest is a boundary; hence affecting everything within that forest).

C

Certámen
"Contest"; This is a form of non-lethal duelling between magi.
Characteristic
This is an unchanging natural aptitude of a character. The characteristics are:-
Communication, Dexterity, Intelligence/Cunning, Perception, Presence, Quickness, Strength & Stamina.
Code of Hermes
See Hermetic Code.
Circle
This is a spell Target. Spells with a Circle target can affect everything inside a circle drawn by the caster in casting the spell. The spell is broken if the line is broken. This is often used in spells with Duration of Ring. This has the same difficulty as casting on a Structure, but is a different Target. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Target; not a choice.)
Companion
Companions are characters that are not wizards, but are nevertheless more talented, educated or influential than mere grogs.
Concentration
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Concentration duration last for as long as the caster continues to concentrate on the spell. It has the same difficulty as casting at Diameter duration, but is a different Duration. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Duration; not a choice.)
There is also a Talent called Concentration.
Covenant
This is the term for a community of magi living together. Typically the rules of a Covenant are defined by a Charter. Covenants are classified by season:-
Spring
Young, poor and struggling to survive.
Summer
Well established but not yet rich.
Autumn
Old, rich with the risk of decadence.
Winter
Old and crumbling.
Corpus
"Body"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of the human body.
Criamon
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. This House is primarily concerned with Enigmatic Wisdom and obscure philosophy.
Creo
"I create"; This is the magical Technique associated with creation and restoration.
Cunning
The mental characteristic that animals have in place of Intelligence. Creatures with cunning are mentally controlled with Animál magics, rather than Mentem.
Custos
"Attendant"; (Plural: Custodes) This is a term for a particularly well-trusted Grog.

D

Diameter
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Diameter duration last for about two minutes. [The period of time it takes the Sun to move its own diameter across the sky.] This has the same difficulty as casting at Concentration duration, but is a different Duration. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Duration; not a choice.)
Díedne
This was formerly a house of the Order of Hermes. It was disbanded (with extreme prejudice) in the Schism War.
Dominion
The domain of Christianity and the Church. This is generally unsympathetic to magi. A Dominion aura makes magic more difficult to perform.
Domus Magna
"Great House"; A covenant that is the head-quarters of a House and the home of the house's Primus or Prima.
Duration
Most commonly refers to Spell duration. The period of time for which a spell persists. The spell durations are:-
Momentary, Concentration/Diameter, Sun, Moon/Ring, Season, Year, Permanent/Instant.

E

Ex Miscellanea
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. It is the house that generally takes magi who are recruited from outside the Order, or those who leave other Houses. It is the most diverse and individualistic House.
Eye
This is a spell Range. Spells cast at Eye range are cast upon a creature that the magus has eye-contact with. This has the same difficulty as casting at Touch range, but is a different Range. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Range; not a choice.)

F

Far
This is a spell Range. Spells cast at Far range are cast upon something that is within a hundred paces of the magus.
Fatigue
A measure of how exhausted a character is. Fatigue is very easily lost, and very easily recovered. (All recovered overnight). C.f. body.
Filius/Filia
"Son/Daughter"; Term to describe a magus who is the former apprentice of another, who is their Parens.
Flambeau
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. Its members specialise in the Art of Ignem, and violence in general.
Flaw
A exceptional disadvantage suffered by a character.
A character's flaws are generally matched by Virtues.
Form
A Form is a Magical Art concerned with a particular type of substance. The Forms are:-
Animál, Aquam, Auram, Corpus, Herbam, Ignem, Imáginem, Mentem, Terram & Vim.
Formulaic Spell
A spell designed to a rigid formula, which takes a long time to study and learn, but is easy to cast once learnt. Most aspects of a Formulaic Spell are specified and fixed when the spell is designed. C.F. Spontaneous Magic.

G

Gauntlet
This is a test that an apprentice is put to before they are accepted as a full member of the Order. The precise nature of the test varies from house to house.
Gift
This refers to the natural aptitude to be a magus. Any gifted child that is discovered is likely to be recruited as an apprentice.
Grog
A character who works as a servant in a covenant.
Group
This is a spell Target. Spells with a Group target can affect any well defined group of objects, the individual objects in the group being up to about human size. This has the same difficulty as casting at a Room, but is a different Target. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Target; not a choice.)
Guernicus
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. All of its members are Quæsitores, hence it is sometimes referred to as House Quæsitoris. The Quæsitores act as the judges of the Order and guardians of the Code.

H

Heart-Beast
The animal that a Bjornær magus can shape-change to at will.
Hedge
This is used as a disparaging adjective to refer to non-hermetic magic. The most common uses are Hedge Magic and Hedge Wizard. Some members of House Ex Miscellanea are considered Hedge Wizards by the rest of the Order.
Herbam
"Plant"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of plants and plant matter.
Hermetic
An adjective referring both to the system of magic devised by Bonisagus (founder of the Order) and to wizards following this system.
Hermetic Code
The Hermetic Code, often referred to merely as the Code is the set of laws that govern the Order of Hermes. It consists of the Hermetic Oath and the Peripheral Code. Clear breaches of the Oath are High Crimes which attract an automatic death penalty; other breaches of the Code are Low Crimes attracting lesser punishments.
Hermetic Oath
The Oath sworn by all magi on passing their gauntlet.
High Crime
See Hermetic Code.
Hoplite
This is the term for a magus who specialises in killing other magi, especially where a March has been called.
House
This term describes the twelve groupings of Magi in the Order of Hermes. Each of the Houses, except Ex Miscellanea (which was formed later), is predominantly descended from, and named after, one of the founders of the Order. The original houses of the Order were:- Bjornær, Bonisagus, Criamon, Díedne , Flambeau, Guernicus, Jerbiton, Mercere, Merinita, Tremere, Tytalus & Verditius.

I

Ignem
"Fire"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of fire, heat/cold and light/dark.
Imáginem
"Image"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of images, and the senses.
Individual
This is a spell Target. Spells with an Individual target can only ever affect a single object and generally not one significantly larger than human sized.
Instant
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Instant duration are only momentarily magical, but leave a permanent non-magical effects.
This has the same difficulty as casting at Permanent duration, but is a different Duration. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Duration; not a choice.) In many instances, even the designer of the spell will not have a choice as to whether to make a spell Instant or Permanent. Some types of effect can only be Permanent and never Instant.
Intéllego
"I perceive"; This is the magical Technique associated with detection.

J

Jerbiton
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. It is more interested in the affairs of mundane society that the rest of the Order.

K

Knowledge
This is a type of ability. Knowledges represent areas of expertise and can be improved by various types of study.

L

Low Crime
See Hermetic Code.

M

Magical Art
See Art
Magus
"Magician"; (Plural: Magi, Feminine: Maga) The Ars Magica term for a wizard. Magi are the most powerful, although not necessarily the most interesting, characters in the game.
March
A March is the hunting down and killing of a renegade wizard or wizards. Such renegades are said to have been marched, normally for breaches of the Code.
Mentem
"Mind"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of the human mind: thoughts, emotions and memories, and of ghosts and some spirits.
Mercere
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. This house provides the messengers of the Order and in this capacity they are known as Redcaps, after their badge of office. Most Redcaps are ungifted but uniquely are nevertheless treated as full members of the Order
Merinita
This is a house of the Order of Hermes, and specialises in faeries and faery-magic.
Momentary
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Momentary duration last for only a few seconds at most, although some of the effects (especially of Perdo) can persist.
Moon
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Moon duration last until the next Full-moon or next New-moon, whichever comes later.
This has the same difficulty as casting at Ring duration, but is a different Duration. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Duration; not a choice.)
Muto
"I transform"; This is the magical Technique associated with changing substances and shapes.
Mythic Europe
This is the standard setting for the game. It is the Europe of the early 13th century, but where all the myths of the time are true.

N

Near
This is a spell Range. Spells cast at Near range are cast upon something that is within fifteen paces of the magus.

O

Order of Hermes
This is the professional association of magi. It maintains a strict closed shop. All non-member wizards who are discovered are, if lucky, given the option of joining the Order or being marched by it. Members of the Order are bound by the Hermetic Code

P

Parens
"Parent"; The magus to whom a magus (their filius) was indentured during their apprenticeship.
Parma Magica
A type of magical protection used by magi that grants a degree of magic resistance.
Pawn
This is the smallest unit of vis, and is essentially indivisible. Vis cannot be used in units of less than a Pawn.
Perdo
"I destroy"; This is the magical Technique associated with destruction.
Peripheral Code
This is the secondary part of the Code of Hermes that governs the Order. The Peripheral Code is the set of collected judgements of Tribunals of the Order.
Permanent
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Permanent duration last indefinitely, and the spell does not expire. However they continue to be spells and can be detected as such, and can be dispelled. This has the same difficulty as casting at Instant duration, but is a different Duration. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Duration; not a choice.)
Personal
This is a spell Range. Spells cast at Personal range are cast upon the magus casting the spell.
Praeco
"Herald"; This is a term for the senior magus in a Tribunal.
Primus/Prima
"First"; This is a term of the senior magus in a House of the Order.
Princeps
"Leader"; This is the term for the chief magus in a Covenant.

Q

Quæsitor
"(Judicial) Investigator"; A title of the inquisitors of the Order and guardians of the Code. The vast majority of Quæsitores are members of House Guernicus.
Quality Die
A type of dice roll allowing exceptional success, but not exceptional failure. C.f. simple and stress dice rolls.
Queen
This is an enormous unit of vis equal to one hundred pawns or ten rooks of Vis.

R

Range
There are two sets of ranges used in Ars Magica: one for combat and one for magic. The recognised ranges for magic are:-
Personal, Touch/Eye, Reach, Near, Far, Sight & Arcane Connection.
Reach
This is a spell Range. Spells cast at Reach range are cast upon something that the magus is close enough to touch by reaching out rather than moving: about 2 paces.
Redcap
The title of a messenger of the Order. In practice, all Redcaps are members of House Mercere.
Regio
"Territory"; An area where there is a hidden supernatural world superimposed on the mundane world.
Rego
"I rule"; This is the magical Technique associated with controlling things.
Ring
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Ring duration last for as long as a ring drawn by the caster (while casting the spell) remains intact and the Target of the spell remains inside it. This is often used for spells with a Circle target.
This has the same difficulty as casting at Moon duration, but is a different Duration. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Duration; not a choice.)
Ritual Spell
A Ritual Spell is a special type of elaborate spell requiring very considerable time and the use of Vis to cast.
Rook
This is a unit of vis equal to ten pawns.
Room
This is a spell Target. Spells with a Room target can everything in a room, or comparable enclosed space like a forest clearing. This has the same difficulty as casting at a Group, but is a different Target. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Target; not a choice.)

S

Sanctum
"Inviolable"; Every magus has a sanctum which is their own private domain. Sancta are recognised by, and hold special significance in, the Code.
Schism War
A particularly violent episode in the history of the Order resulting in the destruction of the House of Díedne.
Season
This is used both in the conventional sense as one of the Seasons of the year, which are the main unit of time for Laboratory work by magi; and, it is also a spell Duration. Spells with a Season duration last until the next solstice or equinox which ever comes first.
Shield Grog
A grog who specialises in defending a magus, standing between them and any mundane dangers.
Sight
There are two important means to Sight.
Sigil
"Seal"; A sigil is a magus's identifying mark or signature. There are two separate meanings for this:-
Simple Die
An unmodified roll of a ten-sided die. This has a strictly limited range and does not allow either exceptional success or exceptional failure. C.f. quality and stress dice rolls.
Skill
A type of ability that a character may possess. Skills may be improved by Practice or Training, but not from academic study.
Small
This is a spell Target. Spells with a Small target can only affect an object small enough to be easily manipulated by one person.
Soak
A calculated combat value which represents the amount of any attack that can be absorbed (by armour etc.) before real damage is done.
Sodalis
"Comrade"; Usually used as a form of address between magi, especially as Salve sodalis ("Greetings friend").
Spontaneous Magic
Spontaneous magic is conjured on the spur of the moment, and is not fixed by prior design, but typically has much less power than a Formulaic Spell.
Spring Covenant
See covenant
Stress Die
A type of dice roll allowing both exceptional success, and exceptional failure. The latter is known as a botch. C.f. quality and simple dice rolls.
Structure
This is a spell Target. Spells with a Structure target can affect everything inside a single structure, even a very large one like a castle. This has the same difficulty as casting on a Circle, but is a different Target. (A formulaic spell will have one or other Target; not a choice.)
Summer Covenant
See covenant
Sun
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Sun duration last until Sunrise or Sunset whichever occurs sooner.

T

Talent
A type of ability that a character may possess. Talents are largely innate and cannot be taught. They can only be improved by experience or Practice.
Target
This is used in other more conventional senses, but most importantly the Target of a spell is the measure of how large a spell's area of effect is. The following Targets exist:-
Small, Individual, Group/Room, Circle/Structure, Boundary & Sight.
Technique
A Technique is a Magical Art concerned with a particular type of action. The Techniques are:-
Creo, Intéllego, Muto, Perdo & Rego.
Terram
"Earth"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of solids, especially inanimate solids.
Touch
This is a spell Range. Spells cast at Touch range are cast upon something that the magus is touching. This has the same difficulty as casting at Eye range, but is a different range. (A formulaic spell will have one or other range; not a choice.)
Tremere
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. It is the most disciplined and hierarchical of the Houses. Many of its members are expert in Certámen.
Tribunal
This has several associated meanings. It is a formal gathering of magi of the Order in accordance with the Code, with legislative and judgmental powers. Tribunals are of two sorts.

The term Tribunal is also used to refer to the territory governed by any given regional tribunal or the set of covenants that are members of the Tribunal.

Turb
"Crowd"; The collective name for the grogs of a covenant.
Twilight
This is a state that most magi ultimately succumb to. A magus may have several Temporary Twilight experiences, but typically they ultimately enter Final Twilight. Magi who have entered Final Twilight can never be contacted, unlike those who are merely dead.
Tytalus
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. Its members thrive on, and see great virtue in, conflict.

U

V

Verditius
This is a house of the Order of Hermes. It members specialise in the enchanting of magical artefacts, at which they are especially skilled.
Vim
"Power"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of magic and some spirits.
Summoning and dealing with Demons is prohibited by the Code, but if they must be fought, they are affected by Vim magics.
Virtue
A exceptional advantage enjoyed by a character. (Note Virtues are not necessarily virtuous. e.g. The Blackmail virtue indicates that you are in the position to blackmail someone.)
A character's virtues must be matched by Flaws.
Vis
"Power"; This is a (very valuable) magical substance, necessary to the enchanting of magical artefacts, and to a number of types of powerful spell. Quantities of Vis are measured in pawns, rooks & queens.

W

Winter Covenant
See covenant
Wizard War
A formally declared and typically lethal feud between magi, allowed under the Code

X

Y

Year
This is a spell Duration. Spells with a Year duration last until the fourth equinox or solstice after casting.

Z

Notes:

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