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Table of Contents

Ancient Magic

Credits 2

Introduction 5WELCOME TO ANCIENT MAGIC ........ 5

How to Use This Book .........................5Ancient Magic and theOrder of Hermes .................................. 6Hermetic Integration ofAncient Magic.......................................7

The Breakthrough .................................7Insight ..................................................8Creating the Effect ................................8

After the Breakthrough ..........................9

I. The Language of Adam 10Hermetic Integration ..........................11

THE TOWER OF BABEL .................. 12Seeking Lost Babylon.......................... 13The Encroaching Mongols .................15

THE GARDEN OF EDEN ................. 18The Guardians .................................... 18The Animals ........................................20The Fruits ............................................21

THE MARK OF CAIN ...................... 23Cain’s Curse ........................................23Cain’s Children ................................... 24Finding Cain ....................................... 25

CONCLUSIONS .............................. 28

II. Canaanite Necromancy 30SECRETS OF THE NECROMANCER .... 30

Major Supernatural Virtue:Canaanite Necromancy ...................... 30Hermetic Integration ..........................31

Canaanite Laboratory Assistants ........31Minor Hermetic Virtue:Canaanite Magic .................................32

New Spells ..........................................32New Items ...........................................33Guidelines for Canaanite Magic .........33

Who is Dead? ....................................33Speaking to the Dead ..........................34The Infernal and Necromancy ............34

SEEKING THE DEAD ....................... 34Finding En-Dor ...................................34

Books .................................................35

The Clay Tablets................................36At En-Dor ...........................................37

En-Dor Regio Level One .................... 37 En-Dor Regio Level Two ....................37The Ghosts of En-Dor ........................38

THE ORDER OF HERMES AND THE DEAD ............................ 39

III. Defixio Magic 41

LEARNING DEFIXIO MAGIC ............. 41Investigating Defixio Magic................41Integrating Defixio Magic...................42New Duration: Event ..........................42

Event Duration Examples ...................44New Range: Unlimited .......................45

Unlimited Range Examples .................45Defixio Magic in Play .........................45

Using Duration Event ........................47Using Range Unlimited ......................47

FINDING DEFIXIONES ..................... 47Types of Defixiones ............................48

Curse Tablets ......................................48Silhouettes .......................................... 48

Figurines ............................................48 Formulae ............................................48

Ancient Texts ......................................48Toledo Scholars .................................. 48

Egyptian Formulae .............................49Tremere Archives .................................49

Gravesites ............................................49The City of Rome ...............................49Old Rome ..........................................50See the Spirits of the Night ..................50Ghosts of Ancient Rome ......................50Catacombs .........................................50Vardian’s Tomb .................................. 51The Spectres .......................................51

Chthonic Sanctuaries ..........................52

Cave Complex ....................................52 Protective Defixiones ...........................52 Erebos ................................................52 Daughters of Erictho ..........................53

IV. Fertility Magic 54CULTIC FERTILITY MAGIC .............. 54INTEGRATING FERTILITY MAGIC INTO HERMETIC THEORY............... 54

Arcane Ability Fertility Lore ...............55Minor Hermetic Virtue:Fertility Ritual Magic ..........................55

NEW SPELLS ................................. 55NEW ITEMS .................................. 56THE FERTILITY RITUAL .................. 56

Balancing Traits ...................................58Supernatural Traits ..............................58Fertility Fetishes ..................................58Repeating a Fertility Ritual .................58

CAVE SYSTEMS .............................. 59Cave Painting Galleries ...................... 60Example Cave Systems ....................... 60

The Duergar’s Cave ............................60The Cave of Lights .............................62The Worm’s Cave ...............................62The Flooded Cave ...............................62The Bone Cave ...................................62

CONSEQUENCES OF FERTILITY MAGIC .......................... 63

V. Grigori Magic 65THE SECRETS OF THE GRIGORI ...... 66FINDING THE MAGIC OF THE GRIGORI 67

The Lost Book of the Watchers ..........68The Legacy of the Grigori .................. 69The Watchers Themselves .................. 70

The Shamed Leader .............................70The Fallen Watcher ............................73The Remains of the Watchers .............74

VI. Heron of Alexandria’s

Legacy 75ADDING TO THE LIBRARY ............... 75

Books ...................................................75Relics of Empire ..................................76House Politics .....................................76

HERON’S ART: MECHANICA ............ 76Integrating Heron’s Mechanica intoHermetic Theory ................................76

Understanding Mechanica ..................76Integration Process .............................79

SEEKING HERON’S LEGACY ............. 79The Writings ....................................... 79Heron’s Devices .................................. 81

Fire Quencher.....................................81


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Aeolipile .............................................81Thunder Maker ..................................81

Finding Heron’s Trail .......................... 81Constantinople:The Ruined Metropolis .......................82The Churchman .................................82

A Beggar’s Treasure ............................82 Alexandria .........................................82 Hypatia of Alexandria .......................83

The Lost Temple-Library of Serapis ...83 Entering the Temple .............................85The Lost Temple of Serapis ..................85The Victors’ Spoils .............................87

Heron’s Theater ..................................87Complications .....................................87

Magi of Constantinople ...................... 87The Shadhali Brotherhood ..................88

Ramifications for the Order of Hermes88

VII. The Hesperides 89 A Change of Pace .............................. 89Consequences ...................................... 89

USING MAGICAL COORDINATES ..... 90

Deriving Coordinates .........................90Observation of the Fixed Stars............90 Learning Coordinates from Other Astronomers ........................................90Stellar Measurement by Spellcasting ...91

The Problem of the Origin Point .......91THE QUEST ................................. 91

Research ..............................................91Sailing to the Purple Islands ...............92Negotiating with the Natives ............. 92

The Code May Not Protect the Guan ................................92 Religion .............................................93

Magic ..................................................93 Lifestyle ..............................................94

Dialects ..............................................94Technology ......................................... 94

Other Magical Groups ........................95The Huntress in the Wood ..................95

Emerald Adepti ...................................96 Pre-Hermetic Groups ..........................96

The Garden of the Hesperides ...........97 Entering the Garden ............................97The Three Hesperides ..........................97

Ladon.................................................98Serpent-dryads ....................................99

How Deep Does Ladon’sStrategy Go? ....................................100

A Suggestion ....................................101

VIII. Hyperborean Magic 103THE HYPERBOREAN HYMNS OF APOLLO ..................................... 103

Performing the Hymns .....................103New Virtues ......................................104Finding the Hymns ...........................105Reciting the Hymns ..........................105

Hymn Recitation Example ................106Illumination Example ........................ 106

Hymn Powers ...................................107Gaining New Powers andImproving Existing Ones ..................108Gaining and Improving Powers

Example ...........................................108

Gaining More Levels .......................109THE SEVEN BEAUTIFUL NAMES OF LIGHT........................................ 109

Azai (Beautiful Light) ........................110 Example Azai Effects ........................ 110

Eloure (Fire Delighter) ......................110 Example Eloure Effects ...................... 111

Iaó (Fire Feeler) .................................111 Example Iaó Effects ..........................111

Óai (Light Breather) .........................111 Example Óai Effects .........................112

Pentiterouni (Firewalker) .................. 112 Example Pentiterouni Effects ............. 112

Psyrinpheu (Fire Breather) ................113 Example Psyrinpheu Effects ..............113

Semesilam (Encloser, Lightmaker) ....114 Example Semesilam Effects ................114

HYPERBOREAN CHOIRS ................ 114Choir Mechanics .............................. 114Choir Example ..................................115

SACRED RELICS OF HYPERBOREA ... 116

Hyperborean Enchantments .............116INTEGRATING HYPERBOREAN MAGIC ....................................... 119

The Breakthrough .............................119Hyperborean Insight .........................119

Insight Example ................................120Consequences ...................................120

THE BASILICA OF TEN THOUSAND COLUMNS ................ 121

The Legend .......................................121Finding the Basilica ...........................121On the Banks of the Dragor .............123

Apollo’s Sanctuary ...........................123The Treasury of the Hyperboreans ....124The Amphitheater .............................125The Gymnasium ...............................125

Inhabitants ........................................125The Restless Dead ............................125Spirit Guardians ..............................125

Other Locations for the Basilica .......128 Delos ................................................128Tribunal of Novgorod .......................129

Phoebus’s Garden..............................130The British Isles ................................130

MYTHIC HYPERBOREA .................. 130The Legend .......................................130

IX. Rune Magic 133THE ORDER OF ODIN ................. 133

War Against the Order .....................134The Viking Invasions ........................135

DISCOVERY ................................ 136The Mythic North ............................136Heirlooms and Artifacts ....................137The Dvergar ...................................... 138

HERMETIC INTEGRATION.............. 138New Virtue ........................................139New Ability: Rune Magic .................140

Rune Alphabets .................................140CONSEQUENCES ......................... 141

Further Reading 143

Contributors 144


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[Y]et even now there is much learning in thesame city; for teachers of various sects flour-ish, and many kinds of secret knowledge areexplained….

— Ammianus Marcellinus, The Roman History, XXII, 16:20

The world of Ars Magica is one of

archaic splendor and ancient secrets, andnone are more aware of this than the magi

of the Order of Hermes. Where once

mighty wizards flourished amidst the great

empires of history, now Mythic Europe is

ruled over by the ignorant, intolerant, and

fearful; the petty kingdoms are but pale

shadows of the once-glorious empires of

the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

In the golden age there werethousands of wizards and warlocks,

countless rites and rituals. The wiz-ards of times past tamed the wild spir-its and elementals of antiquity, foughtmagical duels that invoked gods andangels, called down curses and bless-ings that lasted for seven generations.The philosopher-wizards of Greeceand Rome vied with Syrian spiritmasters, Egyptian alchemists, and bar-barian witches to gain precious andirreplaceable knowledge.

Alas, the fall of the Roman Empire,

and the growth of the Dominion, haveseen the glories of the past fade; thesecrets and lore that once saw magesascend to godhood or gain immor-tality were lost in the centuries ofignorance, war, and decay called theDark Ages. The secrets of the ancient

wizards were lost as these practitio-ners died and took their knowledge totheir graves. The mystical continuityof a thousand years was broken, neverto be replaced.

Welcome toAncient Magic

Not all of the secret knowledge ofantiquity was lost. Fragments survived,waiting for the brave and adventurousto seek them out. This book containsa small portion of the once-greatwizardry of times past. Included in

these pages are the mystical coor-dinates of Ptolemy, the fetishes offertility cults, the primeval tongue ofAdam and Eve, the sublime hymns ofthe Hyperboreans, details of ancientcurse tablets, and much more.

Ancient Magic details the arcanepractices of nine distinct magical tradi-tions, thought by most to be lost tothe world. Each of the nine chaptersdetails a non-Hermetic form of magic,the way in which Hermetic wizards

can adapt and integrate this knowledgeinto Hermetic Theory, and a numberof story hooks and quests for magi whowant to search out and uncover thiscenturies-lost knowledge.

Each of the distinct forms of magicin this book is inspired by the myths

and legends of Mythic Europe, fromPtolemy’s Geographica, to the secret Books of Enoch and Herodotus’s HistoriesThese legends have been adapted tofit into the Mythic Europe settingof Ars Magica. Each one includes acomplete system for use by Hermeticcharacters in learning or adapting theancient magic to Hermetic Theory inthe Laboratory, as well as details onthe legends that inspired the magicaltradition.

Ancient Magic is a tool-kit fortroupes: it includes new kinds ofmagic for players’ characters to learnand use, as well as legends and storyhooks for storyguides to gain inspira-tion from. Suitable for both playersand storyguides, Ancient Magic is about

the quest for lost knowledge andthe way Hermetic magi can use thatknowledge.

How to Use This Book

Within this book is a great dealof information on the magic of theancient world, ranging from newVirtues and Flaws, to unique lan-guages and Supernatural Abilities, to

mystical relics and wondrous spellsand arcane rites. All of this is dividedinto this introduction, nine chaptersand a bibliography:

INTRODUCTION: What you arereading at the moment, the introduc-tion also details the system used for

Introduction

Ancient Magic


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Hermetic characters who are tryingto integrate the ancient knowledge ofthe following chapters into Hermetictheory.

CHAPTER 1: THE LANGUAGE OF ADAM. The first language of the worldnames things more truly than latertongues, giving those who speak itArcane Connections to anything theycan name. Learning the language,however, is far from easy, and maylead the characters to the Garden ofEden itself.

CHAPTER 2: CANAANITE

NECROMANCY. The necromancers ofbiblical Canaan could contact almost

any of the dead, without the need forspecific Arcane Connections.CHAPTER 3: DEFIXIO MAGIC. The

curse tablets of the ancient worldcould affect their targets without theneed for an Arcane Connection.

CHAPTER 4: FERTILITY MAGIC.

The relics of an ancient fertility cult

hold the key to affecting the traits ofthe unborn, and even ensuring thatthey are born with The Gift.

CHAPTER 5: GRIGORI MAGIC. The

angels who fathered the Nephilimalso taught secrets of magic, whichmagi today could learn in order tobreak the Limit of Vis.

CHAPTER 6: HERON OF

ALEXANDRIA’S LEGACY. Heron wasa great engineer and magician ofthe Hellenistic world, and his legacymight enable magi to create itemswith independent intelligence.

CHAPTER 7: THE HESPERIDES.

Ptolemy’s coordinates allow magi

to form Arcane Connections to anyplace, but the place where their secretcan be found may be more interestingstill.

CHAPTER 8: HYPERBOREAN

MAGIC. The sages of Hyperboreacould heal and create enchanted itemswithout vis; magi who study their rel-

ics may be able to reproduce thoseand other great feats.

CHAPTER 9: RUNE MAGIC. Therune wizards who attacked muchof Europe and fought against theOrder of Hermes between the eighthand tenth centuries are thought to

have died out, but their artifacts mayremain, allowing magi to learn howto make magical changes to objectsthat are, nevertheless, natural and thusunaffected by Magic Resistance.

FURTHER READING: A list of booksand sources used by the authors asinspiration. Use this resource to learnmore about the myths and legendscontained within.

Ancient Magic andthe Order of Hermes

The Order of Hermes is, relativelyspeaking, a new tradition, comprisinga hodge-podge of arcane methods andknowledge from the barbarian secretsof the druids to the mighty rites ofthe Romans. Most of what constitutesHermetic theory is based on the surviv-

ing remnants of rituals from the Cultof Mercury. Apart from the innova-tions Bonisagus learned from Bjornaerand Diedne, Hermetic magic derivesfrom a single magical tradition; mostFounders traced their lineages backto the Roman Cult of Mercury. Theancient magic in this book is distinct-ly non-Hermetic, and pre-dates theOrder of Hermes, and even the Cult ofMercury, by hundreds of years.

The magi of the Order of Hermes

are well aware of the once-mightymagic of the past. While many scoffat the powers of the wizards of yore,pointing out that Hermetic magic ismore versatile than any past form ofmagic, other Hermetic magi searchout what remains of the long-lostand forgotten rites and rituals. These

This book is not a book ofMysteries for Initiates of Hermeticsects and cults. Hermetic Mysterieshave been detailed extensively in Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults and The

Mysteries Revised Edition. The magic inthis book cannot be Initiated by aHermetic magus; rather, it must beintegrated into the very essence ofHermetic theory. Unlike a HermeticMystery, there are no living practi-tioners for Hermetic wizards to learnancient magic from, to assist them inunderstanding the golden age lore,or to advise them on how to over-come the many obstacles in the wayof even finding the lost secrets. Theresult of discovering these secretsmay, however, be a new HermeticMystery, if the troupe so desires.

Furthermore, Ancient Magic is notan adventure book. Although it does

contain numerous story hooks andsaga seeds, as well as locations forcharacters to visit and explore, theyare offered as the beginnings of ideasthat can be used to build and devel-

op your own stories, rather than asready-made scenarios. They detailmany possible quests and obstaclesthat may stand between a Hermeticmagus and the lost secrets of theancient world.

Finally, although this book isinspired by real-world legends andmyths, it is neither a how-to guidefor real magic, nor a textbook forstudents. The tales retold in thisbook have been adapted to fit intothe imaginary Mythic European set-ting of Ars Magica. If you seekmore information on anything inthis book, a bibliography has beenincluded.

What Ancient Magic is Not


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magi, called Seekers, lust after thesecrets of the ancients, and search theworld, from Hibernia to the MiddleEast, for hints and rumors of the oldones and their magic. Seekers comefrom all of the Hermetic Houses andare a guarded and cagey group, often

unwilling to assist each other for fearthat they may unwittingly help a rivalstumble across a great secret.

All of the Houses of Hermeswould be interested in learning oneor more of the forgotten secrets ofthe ancients. While Bonisagus magimay wish to expand and improve thetheory of magic, Criamon may wishto gain a greater understanding of theessence of magic, and wary Tremerelook at the potential to safeguard theOrder from attack or collapse. Thereare innumerable reasons for Hermeticcharacters to go in search of ancientmagic and attempt to reconcile itwith the Hermetic theory: personaladvancement, glory and prestige, orto altruistically spread and preserveknowledge are but three examples.

Many of the secrets within Ancient Magic reach or even break the limits ofmagic; however, this knowledge can-

not be learned from the laboratory.Hermetic wizards who wish to makeuse of these glorious powers mustventure out into the world and risktheir lives in the hunt for knowledge.

Hermetic Integrationof Ancient Magic

Ancient Magic contains a variety

of pre-Hermetic magics and arcanesecrets. While complete synthesis ofthese magical traditions is not possible,Hermetic magic is versatile enough tointegrate many of the principles ofthese magics, pushing the bounds ofBonisagus’s theory and perhaps eventhe limits of magic themselves.

THE BREAKTHROUGH

A magus ambitious enough toattempt to unify the various magicscontained in the chapters of this bookwith Hermetic theory may attempt toachieve a Breakthrough in Hermetictheory, accomplished through researchand experimentation. Any magus may,at any time, attempt a Breakthrough;there are no minimum Art or Abilityscores required. To successfully inte-

grate the magic into Hermetic the-ory, he must accumulate a numberof breakthrough points determinedby the type of Breakthrough he isattempting.

Each chapter of Ancient Magic details the number of breakthroughpoints required to integrate a spe-cific part of that ancient magic intoHermetic Theory.

There are three kinds ofBreakthrough: Minor, Major, and

Hermetic. Note that it is recommend-ed that the exact number of break-through points required be varied, sothe players do not know the precisenumber needed for the Breakthrough.

A Minor Breakthrough is a devel-opment that is immediately usefuland applicable in the existing frame-

work of Hermetic magic, such as anew Range, Target, or Duration. Itimproves upon or adds to existingtheory without truly reaching thelimits of magic. (Typically requiresaround 30 breakthrough points.)

AMajor Breakthrough pushes thoselimits, but does not break them; these

include creating new Hermetic Virtuesfor Gifted characters. Incorporatinghedge magic into Hermetic theory isa Major Breakthrough, and the incor-poration can then be taught to oth-ers as Supernatural Virtues. (Typicallyrequires around 45 breakthroughpoints.)

The IntegrationProcess

1. Find a source of ancientmagic, such as a relic, book, or thelike. This typically involves a quest

or adventure of some sort.2. Investigate the source to

gain Insight; this typically takestwo or three seasons.

3. Invent a spell or magicaldevice incorporating the Insight. Amagus must experiment while doingthis. If she succeeds in inventingthe spell, she gains a number ofbreakthrough points equal to themagnitude of the spell or device.The spell may break Hermeticlimits, but if it does, it cannotbe invented by another characterwithout access to the inventor’sLab Text, and cannot be varied inany way.

4. Continue to research, gain-ing more breakthrough points,until the threshold is equaled orexceeded.

5. Bask in the glory of hav-ing improved Hermetic theory,

or alternatively, prepare for thepolitical consequences of yourimpudence.

Historical Settings

Many of the traditionsdescribed in this book are givenenough detail to make it possible toplay a living member of the tradi-

tion. While the traditions are deadin 1220, at least in the standard ArsMagica setting, you might chooseto set your saga in an earlier period,when they are still active. You willneed to fill in a few rule details, asthe traditions have not been writ-ten up as full examples of hedgemagic traditions, but most of whatyou need is here.


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A Hermetic Breakthrough is research that breaks one of theHermetic limits of magic, whetherby creating a new Arcane Abilityor giving the ability to cast per-manent duration spells without vis.Hermetic Breakthroughs re-write

the theory books; the only HermeticBreakthrough in the last 450 yearswas the development of the ParmaMagica by Bonisagus. (Typicallyrequires around 60 breakthroughpoints.)

INSIGHT

Insight is gained from study-ing some existing source of theancient magic in question. EveryInsight the magus gains allows him toproduce a partially Hermetic effectincorporating some aspect of thatlost magic. As he produces more ofthese effects, he gains the broaderunderstanding necessary to incorpo-rate that aspect into Hermetic theoryas a whole.

The seasons spent gaining Insightproduce Lab Texts. Any magus may

study these Lab Texts over the courseof a season in order to gain thesame Insight for himself, even withoutdirect access to the source. Summariesof Lab Texts are not useful in this way,however; only the whole thing can beused. For purposes of copying, LabTexts that detail Insights have a levelequal to the typical number of break-through points needed for the type ofBreakthrough in question.

There are three sources of Insight:

texts, relics, and teachers.Texts are ancient books and

tomes, symbolic wall paintings, orother explanatory sources thatdescribe how to learn, perform, orcast a magical effect. If the text con-tains the information needed to gain aSupernatural Ability, a character could

use it to learn the Ability, as per thenormal rules. Most Hermetic magi,

however, cannot learn SupernaturalAbilities due to prohibitive penalties.Alternatively, the text may contain therites and practices needed to performa magical spell or ritual associatedwith the ancient magical tradition.

Relics are mystical devices orsacred items enchanted by practi-tioners of the ancient magic, andincorporate unique aspects of thattradition. Additionally, a relic may bean ongoing mystical effect caused by

magic of the ancient tradition. LikeHermetic magical devices, a magus isable to investigate the device to learnits secrets and unlock the methodsused to craft it.

Teachers are individuals whopossess the Supernatural Abilitiesassociated with the ancient magic

and are able and willing to instruct aHermetic magus. The very nature ofthe ancient magic in this book meansthat there are no remaining livingpractitioners to teach the arcanesecrets of antiquity. Nevertheless,most of the ritualists who knew and

performed the various magics werepagans; their ghosts may still hauntthe mysterious regions of MythicEurope, and could be convinced toteach a Hermetic magus.

For every season a magus spendsinvestigating a source of insight,make a stress roll of Intelligence +

Magic Theory against an Ease Factorof 18. The Inventive Genius Virtueadds three to this roll, and somesources of Insight may add theirown modifiers. If the roll succeeds,the magus gains an Insight. If itfails, he learns nothing now, butmay try again in another season.He may do other things before

returning to his study. On a botch,the magus thinks he has an Insight,but does not. He realizes this if hecreates an effect, as described below,in an attempt to use the Insight; uponcompletion, he discovers that the final

product is either entirely Hermetic, orsimply non-functional.A single source can generally only

provide a single Insight, althoughthere may be rare exceptions. Thesame source provides the same Insightfor any magus who studies it.

CREATING THE EFFECT

A particular Insight allows a

researcher to create one specificeffect. This effect might be a spell,or an effect enchanted into an item.It could, conceivably, be another lab-oratory project; anything that usesa Lab Total and creates somethingmay be a legitimate Insight out-growth. However, spells are by far


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the most common, followed by itemenchantments.

The researcher does not getto choose the effect for which hereceives Insight, and as the level ofthe effect is fixed, the Insight mightonly be useful for creating an effect

he cannot yet invent. For example,the effect might be level 40, while theresearcher has a Lab Total of 32. Inthat case, the researcher would haveto increase his Lab Total before hecould work on the effect.

The troupe should decide onthe effects that result from particularpieces of Insight, choosing ones thatadvance the saga without upsettingplay balance. Player characters canvary things as much as they like oncethey fully integrate the system, so therestrictions at this stage should beaccepted with good grace.

The researcher must invent exact-ly the effect inspired by the Insight.He may not vary the Range, Duration,or Target, or any other parameters. Asthe magus must experiment whileinventing the effect, the result may beslightly different, as a result of rolls onthe Extraordinary Results Table.

A spell is cast like a normal formu-laic spell, and characters with FlexibleFormulaic Magic may vary it at cast-ing time in the normal way. The spellmay also be mastered, again in thenormal way.

The effect created may bendor break the limits of magic, as itincorporates non-Hermetic elements.Setting the level of the effect mayrequire a judgment call by the troupe,as it may do something for which

there is no Hermetic guideline.If the effect is successfully cre-ated, the magus gains a number ofbreakthrough points equal to themagnitude of the effect. This applieseven if the final effect is warped or has

a side effect. These points are addedto the magus’s running total, and he

must find another source of Insightbefore repeating the procedure.The effect produced in this way

can be reproduced by other Hermeticmagi. However, they can only doso if they have access to a Lab Textdescribing it, and it is not possibleto vary the effect in any way; it mustbe reproduced exactly as it was ini-tially created. Reproducing the effectin this way does not grant break-through points unless the reproducing

magus also gains the relevant Insight,whether from investigating the sameitem or from reading the originalinvestigator’s Lab Texts. It is possibleto reproduce the effect first, and studythe insight Lab Texts later.

AFTER THE BREAKTHROUGH

Minor Breakthroughs are usableimmediately in the game, and areunderstandable by all Hermeticmagi. New Ranges or Durations maybe incorporated into new spells or

items, and the Lab Texts distributedfor a spell may be used by anotherHermetic magus without his needingto research the Breakthrough. Anymagus who has created an effect usingthe Breakthrough can then use thatRange of Duration freely in his otherspells, and any magus trained by thatmagus, in either Arts or spells, mayalso do so.

Major and Hermetic Breakthroughsmust be taught to Hermetic magidirectly. An Ability may be taughtin the usual way, either in person orthrough books. The discoverer con-verts his breakthrough points intoexperience points in the new Ability,so that a magus who accrued 50 break-through points to integrate an Abilitywould start with a score of 4.

A new Virtue may be Initiatedaccording to the normal rules forMysteries. The discoverer gains the

Virtue when he completes the inte-gration, and does not need to beInitiated. He does need to design anInitiation Script, following the rulesin The Mysteries Revised Edition.

Inventing a Major or HermeticBreakthrough that does not requireteaching necessitates another MajorBreakthrough, which may be achievedby these rules or the original researchrules. If this succeeds, any magus maycreate an effect using the Breakthrough

as long as he has a Lab Text, and thenmay use the Breakthrough freely. Asfor Minor Breakthroughs, the sameapplies to any magus taught Arts orspells by a magus who understandsthe Breakthrough.

Integration andOriginal Research

Houses of Hermes: True Lineages includes rules for original research,which allows magi to add features

to Hermetic magic based purely ontheir own inspiration. Integratingancient magic tends to be fasterand safer, but it does have twodisadvantages. First, the magus canonly aim for the Breakthroughssuggested by the ancient magicin question. Second, he has to getout of his laboratory and find exist-ing sources of Insight. From thestoryguide’s perspective, these maybe advantages, of course.

The two sets of rules are similar,and both approaches may be takento a single Breakthrough. That is,breakthrough points from integra-tion may be added to breakthroughpoints from original research todetermine whether a Breakthroughhas been achieved.

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