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Credits
A UTHORS : Erik Dahl (Mercere), Timothy Ferguson
(Tremere), Matt Ryan (Bonisagus), David Woods
(Guernicus)
E DITING AND P ROJECT M ANAGEMENT : David Chart
C OVER I LLUSTRATION : Grey Thornberry
I NTERIOR I LLUSTRATIONS : O. Brausewetter, Alphonse de
Neuville, Kelly Hensing, J. F. Horrabin, Tyler
Jenkins, William Maskell, Jeff Menges, Howard Pyle,
Dom Reardon
A RT C OORDINATION , L AYOUT AND P ROOFREADING : John
Nephew
5 TH E DITION T RADE D RESS : J. Scott Reeves
P LAYTESTERS : Chris Jensen-Romer, Peter Hiley, Kevin
Sides, Luke Price, Lloyd Graney; Erik Dahl, Jerry
Braverman, Kim Braverman, Thomas L. Scott; Samuel
Bidal, Anne-Gaëlle Darmont, Jérôme Darmont, Gilles
Marcvincent, Miguel Peca, Didier Rabour; Alexander
Bader, Tanja Bader, Stefan Ehret, MaPhi Werner;
Matthew L. Seidl, Soraya Ghiasi; Camo Coffey,
Roddy Hale, Mark Shirley, Andrew Smith, Andrew
Walton; Neil Taylor, Sheila Thomas
P UBLISHER ’ S S PECIAL T HANKS : Jerry Corrick and the gang
at the Source
About the Authors
Erik Dahl lives in California and works as a database
programmer. He indulges his creativity with games of all
sorts and "fun rock" (many of his songs are available for
free download at http://www.volvomaroon.com/).
Because of this book, he now has several goofy red caps
that he often forgets he is wearing, to his lovely wife's
amusement.
Dedication: for Katie and Steven Braverman, humble followers of
a great Hermetic lineage.
Timothy Ferguson is a librarian on the Gold Coast,
Australia. If you like what he wrote, he’d suggest you read
Xenophon. He remembers threatening to move cities and
write another book in the credits of Sanctuary of Ice.
Matt Ryan lives in the Finger Lakes region of New
York State and works for a major university. This is his
first major contribution to Ars Magica. He would like to
thank the editor and the other authors of this project for
their guidance and encouragement.
Dedication: To Jessica and August and the whole Happy Fleet
at the Attitude Adjustment Hour.
David Woods is currently living in sunny
Oxfordshire with his wife and two children.
Dedication: To Amanda, Matthew and Hannah
Ars Magica players participate in a thriving fan community by subscribing to email discussion
lists (like the Berkeley list), compiling archives of game material (such as Project Redcap), main-
taining fan-created web sites, and running demos through Atlas Games’ Special Ops program.
To learn more, visit www.atlas-games.com/ArM5.
Copyright 2005 Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work
by any means without written permission from the publisher, except short excerpts for the pur-
pose of reviews, is expressly prohibited.
Ars Magica , Mythic Europe, Covenants, Houses of Hermes, True Lineages and Charting New
Realms of Imagination are trademarks of Trident, Inc. Order of Hermes, Tremere, and
Doissetep are trademarks of White Wolf, Inc. and are used with permission.
October 2005
Digital Edition Version 1.0
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Table of
Contents
House Bonisagus .........................4
Key Facts ...................................................5
Famous Figures...........................................5
History ...............................................................4
The Founder Bonisagus .............................4
The Founder Trianoma..............................6
The Formative Years..................................7
The Founders' End.....................................8
The Schism War........................................9
House Organization in 1220 ............................9
The Gender of the Lineages....................10
House Nomenclature...............................10
The Ranks of Magi Bonisagi....................10
The Inner Circles.....................................10
Colentes Arcanorum................................10
Tenentes Occultorum..............................12
Colloquium Delectorum..........................13
Primus ......................................................13
Seekers .....................................................15
The Magi of House Bonisagus ........................16
Common Virtues and Flaws ....................16
Apprentices..............................................16
Magi Bonisagi ..........................................18
Magi Trianomae ......................................20
House Utilities .................................................21
House Acclaim.........................................21
Folios........................................................22
Intrigue ....................................................24
New Virtues and Flaws ............................25
Original Research ............................................26
Example Discoveries ........................................30
Arma Magica ...........................................30
Parmulae ..................................................32
Figurine Magic.........................................33
Realm-Aligned Spells...............................34
House Guernicus .........................35
Key Facts .................................................36
Famous Figures.........................................36
Chapter Structure ....................................35
History .............................................................36
Before the Order......................................37
The Order Forms.....................................37
The Quaesitores ......................................38
The Life of Guernicus..............................38
Fenicil ......................................................39
Duresca Scrolls ........................................40
Schism War .............................................40
Traditionalists/Transitionalist..................41
Organization ....................................................42
Population................................................42
Domus Magna .........................................43
Prima........................................................43
The Magvillus Council ............................44
Assignments .............................................44
The Code of Hermes .......................................45
Origins.....................................................45
Forfeit Immunity ......................................45
The Hermetic Oath.................................46
High and Low Crimes .............................46
The Peripheral Code ...............................54
Tribunal Procedures ........................................56
Preparing a Case ......................................56
Presenting the Case .................................57
Acquittal ..................................................58
Conviction ...............................................58
Penalties ...........................................................59
Determining Penalties .............................59
Wizard's March .......................................60
Punishments.............................................60
Quaesitorial Duties and Powers .....................61
Quaesitor in Good Standing ...................61
Investigation Duties.................................62
Cooperation.............................................62
Investigation Immunity............................62
Compensation..........................................63
Calling a Wizard’s March........................63
Consultation and Arbitration ..................63
Tribunal Duties........................................64
Guernicus Magi ...............................................66
Apprentices..............................................66
Playing a Guernicus Magus .....................66
Being a Quaesitor ....................................67
Being a Hoplite........................................67
Being an Advocate ...................................67
Being a Magical Investigation Specialist .67
Being a Terrae-Magus..............................68
Guernicus Politics and Advancement......68
Running Stories for a Quaesitor .....................69
Allies .................................................................70
Hoplites ...................................................70
Redcaps....................................................70
Custos ......................................................70
Quaesitorial Magic ..........................................70
Acute Sense .............................................71
Spell Traces and Sigils.............................71
Spells and Guidelines ..............................72
Fenicil's Rituals ................................................76
Greater Rituals .........................................76
Lesser Rituals ...........................................77
House Mercere .............................78
Mercere the Founder .......................................78
Redcaps ............................................................81
Messengers and Heralds ..........................82
Merchants and Bankers............................84
Mercenaries and Guardians .....................89
Minstrels and Wanderers.........................91
Magical Merceres .............................................94
Mercurian Magi .......................................95
Mutantes ..................................................96
Other Specialties .....................................98
Laboratory Rules .............................................99
Mastered Spell Special Abilities ..............99
Mercere's Portals ...................................100
Magic Rules ....................................................101
Mutantum Magic ...................................101
Spells ..............................................................101
Mutantum Spells....................................101
Other Spells...........................................103
Virtues and Flaws ..........................................103
Virtues ...................................................104
Flaws ......................................................108
House Tremere ...........................110
Key Facts ...............................................110
Famous Figures.......................................110
Symbols ..........................................................110
History ...........................................................112
Before the Order....................................112
The Final Founder .................................112
The House After Tremere .....................113
Mortal Affairs.........................................114
Coeris ....................................................115
The House in 1220 .......................................116
Pragmatic Attitude.................................116
Military Ethos ........................................116
Reverence for Order ..............................116
Extent.....................................................116
Political Priorities ..................................117
Structure ........................................................118
Vexillations ............................................121
Promotion by Force .......................................123
Designing Magi of House Tremere ..............125
Arts and Spells .......................................125
Virtues and Flaws...................................131
Abilities..................................................131
Magical Items Popular in the House .....132
Specialist Roles ......................................132
Dueling ...........................................................134
Styles of Certamen ................................135
New spells.......................................................139
Shape and Material Bonus Table Additions ...139
New Virtues....................................................141
Timeline ................................................144
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Chapter One
House Bonisagus
“Brothers and Sisters, I bring you the potion that will cure our sor-
rows and bind our wounds. No longer need we conspire against
each other; for now we stand together on the common ground that
this knowledge has provided, and we can make peace. May all of
you and all your filii use what I will teach you wisely.”
them. The magi of House Bonisagus have similar aspira-
tions; the differences are their community orientation and
the firm idea that only peace offers the stability necessary
for such discoveries. Of all the Hermetic Houses, House
Bonisagus is most pleased with the Order of Hermes, find-
ing it a safe community that allows for their personal
goals. No one has ever heard a magus Bonisagi gainsay the
Order.
The following pages detail House Bonisagus, begin-
ning with its Founders and its history before explaining
the House’s organization in the thirteenth century. This
section also includes information about the Seekers, an
informal group of magi exploring the mystical past, who
search out legendary and magical sites.
Details for the magi of the House fol-
low, beginning with apprentices before
explaining the two branches of the
House. The House Utilities section con-
tains two systems exclusive to House
Bonisagus, House Acclaim and folios, as
well as more information on the social
skill Intrigue. This section ends with
new Virtues and Flaws applicable to
House Bonisagus magi. Rules for original
research are next, useful for any magus
character, followed by example
Hermetic discoveries.
— Bonisagus, announcing his invention of
Hermetic magic at the first tribunal
Motto: Pertinatia sapientiaque ad cognitionem cursus sunt.
(Perseverance and wisdom are the keys to knowl-
edge).
Symbol: Two keys, crossed
The magi of House Bonisagus are
the descendants of the two founders of
the Order of Hermes: the magus
Bonisagus, who invented the Parma
Magica, and the maga Trianoma, who
used that magical protection to gather
the rest of the Order’s Founders. House
Bonisagus is a true lineage, meaning that
each magus was taught by a magus of the
House, and that master-apprentice rela-
tionship goes all the way back to the two
founders. Members of the House maintain the goals of the
original pair. Magi Bonisagi explore the theoretical appli-
cations of magic, delving deeper into its arcane secrets
and pushing the limits of Bonisagus’s original theory.
Magi Trianomae continue the political agenda of their
mistress, advocating peace and cooperation among the
Houses of the Order of Hermes, and searching for other
wizards who might contribute to the community of magi.
Both goals contribute to the House’s overall quest for
knowledge. Magi Bonisagi are trailblazers in original
research. Magi Trianomae operate behind the scene,
keeping the political cogs of the Order of Hermes mov-
ing, always seeking peace above discord.
Throughout history wizards have aspired to the same
goal: to understand nature’s secrets and gain power over
History
The Founder Bonisagus
Bonisagus was born in Florence in 690. Unsettled by
his potent Gift, his parents sent him to live with his uncle,
a deacon in the church Or San Michele, hoping that his
soothing presence might cure the boy. His uncle realized
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True Lineages
Key Facts
Bonisagus’s nature, and instead of suppressing the boy’s
inclinations, encouraged them. Outspoken and charismat-
ic, Bonisagus spent his early years reading through his
uncle’s library and listening to the wandering speakers
who preached from the steps of the church.
Florence was governed by the Lombards, an invading
Germanic tribe, notorious for killing outcasts, indigents,
and anyone they felt threatened by. Fearing that
Bonisagus might draw such attention, his uncle took him
to Iozheza, a wizard living in the Florentine countryside.
Iozheza was a conjurer of considerable skill. He searched
for other wizards, greedy for their magical secrets and
willing to kill for them. He readily accepted Bonisagus
and taught him his first spells. The pair explored the
Italian coasts, hunting through the rubble of the Roman
Empire for remnants of the lost Cults of Mercury,
Dionysus, and Mithras. Bonisagus bore grim witness to
several of Iozheza’s evil acts.
In Egypt, the pair found a group of wizards still fol-
lowing the ancient Cult of Osiris. Iozheza persuaded the
group to perform one if its most ancient rites, an “incuba-
tion” ceremony in which dreaming Iozheza would meet
the ancient god Ra. As Bonisagus watched, his master was
enveloped in a brilliant, searing light. When the light
passed, Iozheza was gone, disappeared from the mundane
world. Bonisagus was not sure if the spell failed or worked
only too well.
Bonisagus continued the search for lost cults and iso-
lated magi. Rather than specific spells, Bonisagus was
intrigued with the similarities he saw in the different types
of spells. Meeting individual wizards was dangerous, so
Bonisagus sought cities that had a reputation for magic.
He lived in Ephesus for a few years, seeking the lost Cult
of Diana and their ecstatic mysteries. When Ephesus was
overrun by an invading Muslim army in 717, Bonisagus
fled to Rome, the current residence of his uncle. Living in
a tower on the Aventine Hill, Bonisagus discovered a
nearby well, half buried and long forgotten. Descending
into the dry well he found a secret cache of the Cult of
Mercury’s rituals.
Teaching himself some of the minor rituals, he dis-
covered commonalities with his own spells, those of the
cult of Osiris and others from the temple of Diana. He
believed he could create a system of magic that would
encompass all of theses types of magic. Funded by his
uncle, Bonisagus began a passionate search for more mag-
ical texts, roaming the Aegean basin and deep into Persia
to retrieve many legendary tomes and magical papyri. His
early library was immense, including memoirs of
Cappadocian wizards, the secret lore of the Chaldeans,
Gnostic, Christian, and Jewish mysteries, and even the
magical writings of Moses and Solomon.
Bonisagus also discovered many powerful magi dur-
ing his travels. His first few meetings were disastrous and
Population: 81 (52 magi Bonisagi, 29 magi
Trianomae)
Domus Magna: Durenmar in the Rhine tribunal.
Prima: The archmage Murion. An unscrupulous
schemer and staunch conservative, Murion leads
the House along an ambitious path that will, if
successful, re-establish House Bonisagus’s power
among the Houses.
Favored Tribunals: The Rhine and Roman Tribunals,
followed by the Iberian and Provencal.
Famous Figures
Bonisagus, inventor of the Parma Magica and
Hermetic magic theory, Founder of the House.
Trianoma, visionary responsible for the Order of
Hermes, Founder of the House.
Lucian, Trianoma’s first apprentice, the first Seeker
Viea, Trianoma’s twin, enemy of the Order.
Notatus, first Primus, apprentice of Bonisagus, inven-
tor of the Aegis of the Hearth.
Thamus Collis, Primus during the Schism War.
Jovius, last apprentice of Bonisagus, Marched by his
parens.
Durenmar: Domus Magna
The domus magna of House Bonisagus is
Durenmar, located in the Black Forest in the Holy
Roman Empire (modern day Germany). Built on the
ruins of a Mercurian temple, it is the site where the
Twelve Founders swore allegiance to the Order of
Hermes in 767. It consists of three towers, a forum
and several outlying buildings standing in one of the
forest’s few valleys. The three towers are named after
the three most important magi of House Bonisagus.
The Tower of Bonisagus houses the Great Library, an
unequaled collection of books. The Tower of Notatus
contains the living quarters of the resident magi
Bonisagi, including the Prima Murion. The Tower of
Trianoma is home to the magi Trianomae, Redcaps,
and other magi not of House Bonisagus. The Forum of
Hermes is where the Rhine Tribunal meetings and the
Grand Tribunals are held. Much more information
about Durenmar can be found in Guardians of the Forests:
The Rhine Tribunal .
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