General ⮞
Academic ⮞
Arcane ⮞
Martial ⮞
Supernatural ⮞
(Area) Lore* Edit
General
Knowledge of one particular region, covenant, or even a village. It includes knowing where things are in the immediate area, local history and legends, and the centers of power in the region. The smaller the region, the more detailed your knowledge. Specialties: geography, history, legends, politics, personalities. (General)
Animal Handling Edit
General
<p>Care and use of animals, including raising, tending, grooming, and healing them.</p> <p>Specialties: falconry, specific animals.</p>
Animal Ken Edit
Supernatural
<p>You can communicate with animals as if they were human beings. Treat your score in Animal Ken as your score in a language that the animal speaks fluently in order to determine how well you can communicate, and you can use Animal Handling as a substitute for any social abilities affecting humans. </p> <p>Beyond this, this virtue has no effect on the attitude of animals to you, or you to animals. Other people cannot understand your communication with the animals. Specialties: a particular type of animal, a particular type of communication.</p>
Artes Liberales* Edit
Academic
<p>The seven artes liberales, or liberal arts, are the basis of medieval higher education. Everyone learns them at the universities before passing on to study other subjects. It would be very rare for a character to have a score in any other Academic Knowledge without a score of at least one in this.</p> <p>The artes liberales are divided into two groups: the Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music). The emphasis at this period is on the Trivium, but both are taught. (Note that Artes Liberales as a whole is one Skill, not seven separate ones.)</p> <p>Grammar concerns theoretical questions of the structure of languages, rather than the ability to use a specific language (that is covered by Speak skills). The authorities are Priscian and Donatus. Logic is the study of the syllogism, and other forms of reasoning discussed by Aristotle. It is the most important of the arts at this period. Aristotle is the authority, in his logica vetus and logica nova. Rhetoric is the study of the theory of rhetorical forms: knowledge of the sort of tricks that an orator can use, rather than the ability to use them. The authority is Cicero, especially his De Inventione.</p> <p>Arithmetic is the ability to add and subtract, multiply and divide. The authority is Boethius, De arithmetica. Geometry is concerned with study of plane and solid figures, and the authority is Euclid, in his Elementa. It also deals with the study of light, and Euclid’s Optica is the authority here. Astronomy is concerned with predicting the positions of the stars and planets, and the authority is Ptolemy, in the Libri Almagesti. Music is purely theoretical, the study of proportions and musical theory, not the ability to sing or play an instrument. The authority is Boethius, in De Musica.</p> <p>Artes Liberales also covers the ability to read and write. For every point in the Ability, the character can read and write one writing system, providing that he knows a language which normally uses that system: the Latin alphabet, the Greek alphabet, the Arabic alphabet, and so on. Specialties: grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, Ritual magic, Ceremonial magic.</p>
Athletics Edit
General
<p>General physical prowess. It includes moving smoothly, confidently, and with grace. Use of Athletics improves most large-muscle coordination. Specialties: acrobatics, contortions, grace, jumping, running.</p>
Awareness Edit
General
<p>Noticing things, be they things you are looking for or things that you are not expecting. It is also used to see how alert you are in circumstances that require watchfulness. Specialties: bodyguarding, keeping watch, alertness, searching. </p>
Bargain Edit
General
<p>The know-how to get the greatest return for a service or product, while paying the least. It involves reading the person with whom you haggle, a general knowledge of the value of goods, and presenting yourself in certain ways. A good haggler can easily overcome resistance in an inexperienced customer and see through attempts to over-value most merchandise. Specialties: specific types of products, hard sell. </p>
Brawl Edit
General
<p>Fighting hand-to-hand without weapons, or with the sorts of improvised weapons you just pick up, including knives. Brawl is also the Ability used to dodge attacks if you have no Martial Abilities. Specialties: punches, grapples, knives, dodging. </p>
Carouse Edit
General
<p>The ability to enjoy oneself without suffering adverse effects. A person with this skill can, for example, consume prodigious amounts of alcohol without passing out. The skill also covers a familiarity with acceptable behavior, balancing enjoyment and moderation. With this Skill, a person is able to have fun and gain friends among the lower classes nearly anywhere, even among those of a different culture. Specialties: power drinking, drinking songs, games of chance, staying sober.</p>
Charm Edit
General
<p>Enticing, fascinating, and endearing others to you, but only on a personal basis. It can be used to win someone over emotionally, especially members of the opposite sex. Specialties: courtly love, first impressions, being witty.</p>
Chirurgy* Edit
General
<p>This is Middle Ages-style surgery, used to help others recover from physical damage. It encompasses tending and binding wounds of all varieties, and the necessary but brutal skill of cauterization. See “Wounds” starting on page 178 for rules. Specialties: cauterization, diagnosis, binding wounds, setting bones.</p>
Church Lore Edit
Academic
Knowledge of the legends, history, structure, operation, and goals of the Church.
Civil and Canon Law* Edit
Academic
<p>Civil Law is the law of the Roman Empire. Most local legal systems are based upon it (England being the notable exception), and when a law is needed to govern international relations, Civil Law is appealed to. The authority is Justinian’s Digest. Canon Law is the law of the Church. It is important to Mythic Europe as it applies in all nations, governing the working of the church and some other areas, such as marriage. It is important to note that members of the clergy are only subject to Canon Law, not customary or Civil Law. Most high churchmen are skilled canonists, not theologians. Canon Law is made by Papal bulls (pronouncements), but the authority is Gratian, in his Decretum. This skill covers the knowledge of both types of law. Other religions, particularly Judaism and Islam, have their own versions of this Ability, which must be learned separately. Specialties: laws and customs of a specific area, papal laws. (Academic)</p>
Code of Hermes* Edit
Arcane
<p>Judging events according to the Code of Hermes and the Peripheral Code. In addition to memorizing important precedents, this knowledge includes the practical side of enforcing Hermetic law — for example, knowing when to push for a vote or how to present an argument. Specialties: Wizards’ Marches, apprentices, mundane relations, Tribunal procedures, political intrigue.</p>
Common Law* Edit
Academic
<p>Knowledge of the laws of England. There is no authority for this Ability, and it is only taught in England. Specialties: local laws, exchequer laws.</p>
Craft (Type) Edit
General
A general term for countless Abilities, all dealing with handiwork of some type. In general, Craft Abilities are distinguished by the material they work with, although you may also take a Craft Ability that allows the character to work with several materials in one specific way. You may purchase Craft more than once, choosing a different one each time. Skill in one Craft does not imply skill in any others. Specialties: as appropriate to the craft. (General)
Dominion Lore Edit
Academic
Knowledge of the manifestations of the power of the Divine. Different from Church Lore (a kind of (Organization) Lore)) because it covers miracles rather than politics, and different from Theology because it is concerned with power rather than doctrine. Specialties: angels, saints, Divine creatures. (Arcane)
Dowsing Edit
Supernatural
<p>You have the ability to find things nearby through the use of a dowsing rod (usually a forked stick) and your own intuitive sense. You concentrate on the thing to be found, hold your dowsing rod out in front of you, and follow its subtle motions to the target. If you’re looking for something specific, you must have an appropriate sympathetic connection to the thing sought (such as bottled water from a stream when searching for running water).</p> <p>Before you roll, designate the area in which you are searching — if the item sought is not present in that area, you automatically fail. The time required to search depends on the size of the area, and must be invested whether you succeed or not. It takes about one Diameter (two minutes, or twenty combat rounds) to search for something within 25 paces, and doubling the distance quadruples the time. To find something common, like water, within 25 paces requires a Perception + Dowsing of 9+. Increased distances or dowsing for less common things increases the target number, so that, for example, finding gold within 100 paces would have an Ease Factor of 15. Specialties: searching for a particular kind of thing (water, gold, etc.), searching in a particular kind of place. </p>
Enigmatic Wisdom Edit
General
A far-reaching perception of strange andbaffling phenomena that helps you understandtheir nature, though you may seem strange oreven ludicrous to the uninitiated. Your score inthis Knowledge is added to rolls to interpretdreams and riddles, and to understand phan-tasms and arcane or mysterious situations.Thanks to this Ability, Criamon magi go intoWizard’s Twilight (see page 88) more often, butsurvive it better than most. Specialties:inter-preting signs, explaining the Enigma, Twilight.
Entrancement Edit
Supernatural
You have the power to control another's will. By staring deeply into someone's eyes for several seconds generally impossible in combat you can verbally command the person to perform a certain task.
Roll Presence + Entrancement against the target's Stamina roll.
The person being controlled may get a bonus to resist at the option of the storyguide, according to the table below. Hermetic magi get their normal Mentem Magic Resistance, and get the normal Stamina roll if the effect penetrates. The blind, and people with their eyes closed, are immune; see page 111 for more guidelines on making eye contact. However, it is not possible to look away while being Entranced unless you win the opposed roll.
| Command | Example | Victim's Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Innocuous | Talk to me | +3 |
| Questionable | Meet me alone at night | +6 |
| Dangerous | Put your weapons away | +9 |
| Heinous | Kill your fellows | +12 |
| Suicidal | Jump off a cliff | +15 |
Specialties: A specific sort of command, a specific sort of person.
Etiquette Edit
General
You know the social graces and how tobehave in different situations. Etiquette differsfrom Charm in that Etiquette covers properbehavior, rather than charming behavior. Youcannot seduce someone with Etiquette, but nei-ther can you get through an audience with thebishop on Charm alone. Specialties:nobility,court, peasants, faeries, the Church. (General
Faerie Lore* Edit
Arcane
<p>Familiarity with faerie powers, weaknesses, motivations, and areas. Specialties: faerie forests, faerie mounds, specific types of faeries.</p>
Great Weapon Edit
Martial
Fighting with a weapon which requires two hands to use. Specialties: any one weapon.
Hunt Edit
General
Setting snares, choosing appropriatehunting spots, and following and identifyingthe spoor of creatures of all varieties. ThisAbility also lets you cover your tracks or notleave any in the first place. Specialties:track-ing, covering tracks, hunting a specific animal
Infernal Lore* Edit
General
An understanding and familiarity with thesinister side of the world, primarily the Infernaland its agents. Includes knowledge of demons andtheir habits and weaknesses, undead and theirhabits and weaknesses, and the power of curses.Specialties:demons, undead, curses. (Arcane)
Intrigue Edit
General
Dealing and plotting, including subtle use of power in non-confrontational ways to achieve your own ends. Intrigue need not be underhanded or manipulative — it also covers negotiations and knowledge of formal and informal rules of conduct and politeness. In addition, Intrigue also allows a character to pick up important information about those in power, separating fact from useless gossip. Intrigue is a vital talent for those who frequent court or a Hermetic Tribunal. Specialties: gossip, plotting, rumormongering, alliances.
Living Language Edit
Academic
Fluency in a particular living language. Rather than a die roll modifier, your score in this Knowledge measures your ability to communicate.
Magic Sensitivity Edit
Supernatural
You are often able to identify a place orobject as magical. However, your sensitivitymakes you more susceptible to magical effects:subtract your Magic Sensitivity score from allmagic resistance rolls you make. See book.
Magic Theory* Edit
Arcane
<p>Knowledge of what magic is and how it works, used primarily in the laboratory. Magic Theory deals with the technical details of Hermetic magic; Magic Lore covers knowledge of magical things in general. Anyone can learn Magic Theory, if they have access to a teacher or book (normally represented by a Virtue), but it is little use to those without The Gift. Specialties: inventing spells, enchanting items, a single Art.</p>
Parma Magica* Edit
Arcane
<p>Protection from magic. This is a special ritual (not a ritual spell) that takes about two minutes to perform. It lets you add 5 times your Parma Magica score to your magic resistance until the next sunrise or sunset, whichever comes first. You may suppress your Parma Magica temporarily by concentrating; this is equivalent to sustaining a Concentration duration spell. (See page 82). Parma Magica does not require concentration while it is active.</p> <p>You may also protect one other person for each point in Parma Magica, with their consent. You must touch each person to start the protection, and it lasts as long as at least one character can see the other. The magus may cancel the protection at will, at any distance. While a magus is protecting others, his effective Parma Magica score is reduced by 3 points, both for himself and for the other people he is protecting. If the magus has a Parma Magica score of 3 or lower, his Parma Magica provides each character, including himself, with a Magic Resistance of 0. In the magus’s case, this is added to his Form resistance, and a magus protected by another magus’s Parma Magica may also add his Form resistance.</p> <p>Parma Magica can only be learned by Gifted characters, although they learn it as a normal Arcane Ability, not a Supernatural Ability. It is only known by Hermetic magi, as the Order enforces the “Join or Die†choice rigorously on anyone who knows it, as well as declaring a Wizard’s March on the magus who taught it. Parma Magica is the last thing an apprentice learns, being taught the final key to the Ability after he swears the Oath.</p> <p>Specialties: protection from any specific Form. </p>
Philosophiae* Edit
Academic
There are three philosophies — natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysics. Aristotle is the authority for all of them, in different books. Most scholars study the philosophies after the Arts but before going on to Law, Theology or Medicine. Natural philosophy is the study of the sub-lunar world. It roughly corresponds to today’s science. The main texts are the Physica, De Meteorologia, and De historia animalium. Moral philosophy is the study of the proper way of human life. It covers ethics, politics, and economics — the texts are the Ethica, Politica, and Economica. Metaphysics is the philosophy of the fundamental nature of the world. The main text is Aristotle’s Metaphysica. Specialties: natural philosophy, moral philosophy, metaphysics, Ritual magic, Ceremonial magic. (Academic)
Premonitions* Edit
General
You intuitively sense whenever somethingis wrong, or is likely to go wrong soon. ThisAbility can be called upon by you or the sto-ryguide, as appropriate, whenever there is achance to avoid danger. Roll Perception +Premonitions against an Ease Factor dependingon the situation. The Ease Factor starts at 3 forimminent, mortal peril, and increases as the dis-tance in time increases and the level of dangerdecreases. Mortal peril a week in the futurewould have an Ease Factor of 9, while an immi-nent minor inconvenience would have an EaseFactor of about 15. If you beat the Ease Factorby 3 or more, you also get some sense of thenature of the danger, with more detail if youroll more highly. Specialties:threats to a par-ticular person or group of people, particularkinds of threats. (Supernatural)P
Ride Edit
General
Riding and controlling a horse, especially under stress. Specialties:battle, speed, tricks.
Second Sight* Edit
Supernatural
<p>You are able to see through illusionary concealment and disguise, including invisibility, and can also see naturally invisible things such as spirits and the boundaries between regio levels. The Ease Factor to see through illusionary concealment is normally equal to 6 + the magnitude of the might of the creature responsible for the effect, or 6 + the magnitude of a Hermetic spell. In general, this Virtue allows you to see through Hermetic Imaginem concealment, but not other kinds. The Magic Resistance, if any, of the concealed creature does not interfere with your Second Sight. If something is actually transformed, for example by a MuCo spell, you cannot determine the genuine form. The Ease Factor to see a naturally invisible thing is normally 9, and the Ease Factor for seeing regio levels is specified on page 189. All Second Sight rolls are Perception + Second Sight. Specialties: regiones, invisible things, illusory disguises, faeries, ghosts.</p>
Sense Holiness and Unholiness Edit
Supernatural
You are able to feel the presence of good and evil. A Perception + Sense Holiness and Unholiness roll against an Ease Factor of 9 lets you sense holiness or unholiness in a general area; against an Ease Factor of 15, in a person or object. As demons normally try to hide their nature, you must generally beat their Magic Resistance with your roll. However, you only need to beat it by 1 point, as demons are extremely evil. Emissaries of heaven rarely try to hide their nature, but if they do, you must actually penetrate their Magic Resistance (see page 184). In auras of particularly strong divine or infernal influence, your sensitivity may overwhelm you. This Ability is granted by the Divine realm, not the Magic or Faerie realms, and thus uses the Divine column of the Realm Interaction chart (page 183). Specialties: good or evil. (Supernatural)
Single Weapon Edit
Martial
Fighting with a weapon used in one hand,possibly using a shield with the other. Thisincludes lances used as intended from horse-back. Specialties:any one weapon or shield,which covers using that weapon with anyshield or none, and that shield with anyweapon.
Stealth Edit
General
Sneaking about without being seen orheard, also hiding in one place. This includesfollowing people without their noticing, whichis rolled against the other person’s Perception.Specialties:hide, sneak, shadowing, urbanareas, natural areas.
Survival Edit
General
Finding food, water, shelter, a directroute, and relative safety in the wilderness (avery dangerous place in Mythic Europe). ThisAbility covers such mundane tasks as building afire and cooking food without implements
Swim Edit
General
The ability to propel yourself through water quickly and efficiently. Specialties: long distances, diving, underwater maneuvering.
Theology* Edit
Academic
Theology is the study of God and his work in the world. The authorities are the Bible and Peter the Lombard’s Sententiae, the Bible having theoretical primacy, being infallible, and the Sentences being most studied. The speculations of theology are very abstruse, and many theologians are accused of heresy. Sometimes those accused recant, and sometimes they convince the Church that they were right after all. Theology can also be purchased (as a separate Ability) for other religions like Islam and Judaism. Specialties: biblical knowledge, heresy, history. (Academic)