The bell of Ibyn

I think it looks kinda like this. Constructed of two curved halves so that the bottom looks like two parenthesis opposite each other [ () ], not round like a comventional bell. This is all from my own memory though.

More Rules

OK, Some other parts of the rules that confuse people.
What is the difference between Creo, Perdo, and Muto?
OK, we have to consider that magic is based on Aristotelian and Platonic philosophy. These philosophies claim there is a "perfect" form out there somewhere that everything else is simply a reflection of. Magic is often wrong, but it is powerful enough to win an argument with reality.
Creo (I create) moves things toward their ideal form. Therefor:

1. It can bring things into being. Creo Terram (I create earth) can create silver, gold, and steel.
2. It repairs injuries, as injuries are certainly not part of the ideal. Creo Animal (I create animals) can heal a horse's broken leg.
3. It also makes things as good as they can be, but no better. Creo Corpus (I create the body) can make you a perfect human, but not superhuman. For that, see Muto. It can also mature something to perfection, but not past perfection. For that, see Perdo.

Perdo (I destroy) is the opposite of Creo. It takes things away from their ideal.

1. It can cause injuries. Perdo Animal (I destroy animals) can break that horse's leg all over again.
2. It can obliterate things. Perdo Terram (I destroy earth) can simply make a hole in a stone wall.
3. It can age things past perfection. Perdo Corpus (I destroy the body) cannot age a child, as that would be an improvement, but it can age someone who is already an adult, as that is an impairment.
4. It can destroy aspects of things. Perdo Herbam (I destroy wood) can make an object weightless, as it destroys its weight (but this sort of application is very difficult).

Muto (I change) changes things. It gives things qualities they normally cannot have. The effects of Muto disappear after the spell ends.

1. It can change colors or the shape of things.
2. It can give you powers you normally don't have. You can use this to grow wings on a human, as humans do not normally have wings.
3. It can change one thing into another, like a prince into a frog or water to acid. BTW, the burns from the acid last after the spell ends, but the acid changes back to water.

I might as well fill these out.

Rego (I control) controls things, as long as the end result is not unnatural. Since the end result is not unnatural, you do not have to maintain the spell after the fact. The method can be unnatural though.

1. You can control their actions. Rego Mentem (I control the mind) can let you control some one's thoughts and actions.
2. You can control some thing's position. Rego Corpus (I control the body) can teleport you and your friends to Paris. It is unnatural to teleport, but it is not unnatural to be in Paris, so that is OK.
3. You can make things. Rego Herbam (I control wood) can change a tree into a wagon, as long as all the required parts are present.
4. You can hurt someone with Rego by throwing things at them, or throwing them about, but not by direct manipulation. Toss someone into a wall, great. Grab their arm and twist it off, nope, that's Perdo.

And what about Intellego (I perceive)? Intellego gives you information.

1. You can read minds with Intellego Mentem.
2. You can see through smoke with Intellego Auram (air).
3. You can understand the speech of animals with Intellego Animal.

OK, feel free to comment.

Thoughts on Magic Resistance

Oh man! Is there any part of the ARM5 rules that cause as many arguments as Magic Resistance? Whether from Magical Might or Parma, we will call it MR.
OK, The best description of MR I have read describes it as a body-covering magical condom. Magic just cannot get through unless it has enough "oomph" to penetrate. You can read all about this at http://redcap.org/FAQ/FAQ2.html#parma_claws .
Here are some rulings I have had to explain over and again.

• I hit the guy with a massive boulder and even if it does not penetrate his MR, the force of the blow should knock him over. What gives?

OK. Momentum, and inertia do not exist as far as magic is concerned. Basically, magic is wrong, but it is powerful enough to impose its mistaken methods on the real world. The methods by which magic works are based on incorrect assumptions about how physical laws work. Isaac Newton had not been born (1642); neither has Galileo (1564), so Bonisagus did not know about inertia and the three laws of motion. He was working with Aristotle's Laws of Motion which include "Nothing moves unless you push it". Once you stop pushing, it immediately stops. Period. So, no matter how fast something is moving or how big it is, if something stops the motive force (magic in this case), the item stops immediately as if it had been pushed very gently up against a wall. Didn't Aristotle ever see someone throw a rock or shoot an arrow?

NOTE: There is a case where you can use magic to throw things at people and MR is not considered. If you toss something, or drop something, and then let its natural motion carry it to the target, MR does not matter, as long as the item is a natural item and not magically created or modified. A Magus could have a Parma of 100 and still get squashed, but according to the rules you must make a targeting roll similar to someone who throws a rock with his hand. The first example explains items that are "carried" the whole way by magic.

• I want to use Muto to change the ground under a Magus to water so he will drown. The SG says it won't work. What gives?

This one had a pretty good discussion on the forums, but I think the best answer is like this. If it was acid instead of water, it is easy to understand that the acid would not burn the Magus as it cannot get through his MR, right? OK, well the water cannot get through his MR either. Once again, magic is wrong, but powerful. It just thinks that having water in your lungs makes you drown. So the lack of oxygen will not kill you because oxygen doesn't exist, and the water cannot get close enough to smother or drown you.

However, changing a stone bridge to water while a Magus is walking over it can cause him to fall through it, and if the bridge is high enough, SPLAT!

• It is dark in here. I want use Creo Imaginem to make light, but the SG says it won't work. What gives?

Once again, magic is wrong, but powerful enough that things have to work the way it says they work. According to magic, Ignem makes light, but we do not see light; we see little bits of images (called species). Imaginem make species, but we cannot see them without light. It works like this: You can make an image of a glowing ball while standing in a dark room, but no one will see it. For the visual species to travel from the glowing ball to our eyes, they need to be able to "ride" the light to our eyes. Without light, they do not get to leave the pretty glowing ball, and dissipate uselessly. Also, you can create light with Ignem, but you cannot make it look like anything specific. It would just be "light" or "fire" or another Ignem phenomenon. You can shape light, but it would just be shaped light or fire. You would not have control over its color; that's Imaginem (or Muto, but that is another post).

Feel free to comment.

Do Magi Dream of Faerie Sheep? Part 1

PART 1
My master has instructed me to keep a journal, now that I can read and write the Latin tongue. He says that he will beat me if I do not, but it is an empty threat. The hard part was not learning to write, as the letters took little time to recognize and only a little longer to write legibly, but learning to speak like the scholar I am to become, and my master is, will take time. He often corrects me about my accent and grammar, though nobody else ever seems to notice. The color of my skin draws more comments than my speech.
I do not know what I should write about. I suppose a journal is a record of daily activities, as boring as that sounds. So - This week I started reading a large book by the founder Bonisagus, the Theory of Magic. Some of what he says I have already been taught by my master, but other things are confusing. The book itself is almost too heavy to lift, and the words are heavy themselves. Sometimes I feel as if the words will fall to the ground on their own as I doze off and they slip from my mind. Last night I heard them clattering on the floor of the library, I swear.
Today I learned the names of the Arts, the Great Arts that make up our magic. As I said, I already knew them, but now I am expected to know the differences between them. Now when my master asks, I can tell him that breaking a piece of pottery where it stands requires "I destroy", while throwing that pottery against the wall requires "I command" even if it then breaks. To repair the pot requires "I create", unless I "I command" it together as if with glue, or "I change" it into sand and sweep it under the rug, or is that "I destroy" again? I am not sure if I will ever "I understand" the difference. The pot is broken in any case, is it not?
I am more inclined to relate interesting events in this journal, those which I would want to remember. Master says the journal is for me to read, primarily, and I doubt I will ever have much interest in reading "Monday I read a huge book. Tuesday I read the same huge book". So I will relate this.
Lately Master seems agitated. I wanted to ask him about it during dinner, but Master noticed my curiosity before I could speak.
"What is it? What are you hiding?"
"Nothing, Master."
"Do you wish me to discover it for myself, or will you speak?"
"No, I will speak. You received a letter recently."
"Go on."
"Since you received the letter, you have seemed distracted."
"Seemed? I do not like such vague terms. Use a more specific word. One cannot well explain a seeming in a correspondence, but actions are more clear. Tell me of my actions which support your conclusion that I am distracted."
"Actions?"
"Yes, be specific. Hrm, look here; taste the soup."
"It's terrible."
"I know, but be specific. What does it taste like?"
I did not know what he was getting at, but he had that certain look he gets when he is trying to teach me, so I tasted the soup, "It tastes like dirt and potatoes, and it lacks salt."
"Exactly! It tastes terrible because it tastes like dirt and lacks salt!" His grin spread across his face, "Exactly! Marta! Come take away this soup, it tastes like dirt and lacks salt!"
Marta scurried in and with a pat on my head, carried away the soup.
"So, what did you learn?"
"Soups require salt." His grim fell almost immediately. "Oh, yes! You seem distracted because several times this week I have seen you ignore your sodales. It is unlike you."
"Aha! Yes, a sound conclusion. I am distracted. The letter describes a murder. Now eat some bread while we wait for the meat."

Some spell ideas

The Disguise of Truth
InCo(MuIm) 20
Range: Eye Duration: Momentary Target: Individual
This spell detects the true appearance of a person and changes their image and voice to everyone who is watching. The person's clothing is displayed as something modest but unremarkable, such as a tunic and breeches or a simple dress. It is useful for countering magical and mundane disguises.
(Base 10, +1 Eye, +1 Requisite)

Sinner's Remorse
InMe(MuIm) 50
Range: Arcane Duration: Sun Target: Individual
This target reads the target's mind and discovers his most recent un-confessed sin. It then displays imagery of the sinful act which follows the target around for everyone to see. This spell does not detect sin, as that is beyond Hermetic Magic, but rather the target's understanding of his own sin. Therefore, it can display sins the caster was not expecting.
(Base 15, +4 Arcane, +2 Sun, +1 Requisite)

The Scorpion's Treachery
ReCo 30
Range: Sight Duration: Momentary Target: Individual
This spell will move a target up to 50 paces in any direction, but it was invented for kidnapping. It is useful for removing guards, if you bring your shield grogs. It is most useful if cast quietly, hence the sight range. The rules for falling damage are in the combat section.
(Base 15, +3 Sight)

Cat's and Dog's Revenge
ReCo 20
Range: Touch Duration: Momentary Target: Individual
This spell will move the touched target 50 paces in any direction. The rules for falling damage are in the combat section.
(Base 15, +1 Touch)

Boon Companion
MuMe 15
Range: Voice Duration: Sun Target: Individual
This spell rewrites the target's memory with you as a trusted friend, replacing a real friend. It does not give any information about the friend, so Guile rolls may be nessesary.
(Base 3, +2 Voice, +2 Sun)