Artists

The dim lights and drab shades of the Dark Ages have passed. Mythic Europe is bright with color, loud with music, and shining with monumental cathedrals. Kingdoms have stabilized, the Church is powerful, towns grow in independence, and educated men reap the benefits of foreign learning. The crusades have introduced the East to the West, with spices, scientific marvels, architecture, and art riding on the coattails of bloody swords and uneasy peace. Harvests are plentiful, temperatures moderate, and it seems like civilization has regained the glory that was shattered when barbarian tribes razed Rome.

Artists are everywhere. Depicted in manuscript illuminations, entertaining courts and kings, decorating churches and covenants, and juggling before market crowds, artists are carving a niche for themselves in society. The evolving system of education produces and inspires poets. Romances — tales of chivalry, sorcery, and adventure — climb in popularity. A new style of architecture rises in France, copied everywhere in the West except for the Italian peninsula. In these times of prosperity, art praises its patrons, heralds history, and educates and entertains the masses.

Art and academia go hand in hand. Honorius of Autun called art the literature of the laity, and it is through art that the principal ideas of the scholastics filter down to the public in general. Iconography and recurring themes in artwork convey the religious and cultural ideas that have been thoroughly considered by theologians and philosophers. The concepts of proportions, ratios, and luminosity, as taught by geometry, music, and physics, have been incorporated into the general notion of beauty. Just as academics search for the one correct model of the universe, as constructed by God, and record it in their massive summae, artists combine their understanding and skills with art and assemble it into massive cathedrals.

Artists are divided into two groups in Ars Magica 5th Edition, those who produce art and those who perform it. This division does not exist in-game or historically, but is only used as a rule to separate characters who use (Craft) Ability for their art and those who use (Profession) Ability. There is no specific Social Status Virtue to describe the myriad vocations of artists. Production artists should take the free Social Status Virtue: Craftsman, and performance artists should take the free Social Status Virtue: Wanderer. Select cases may require different Social Status Virtues — a poet might want to take Clerk — but Craftsman and Wanderer should cover most situations.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term artwork is defined as anything an artist produces or performs. Artwork is what an artist does. Every piece of artwork has an Aesthetic Quality that determines how beautiful it is. Every medieval craftsman believes that all of his finished pieces are works of art, as he strives to make the best thing he possibly can, but artwork refers to cathedrals, illuminations, poems, tapestries, plays, tumbling routines, stained-glass windows, religious icons, pictures and portraits; not saddles, scabbards, shoes, swords, armor, or tunics. If an item in question has a mundane, practical use, it is a manufactured item. If an item is ostensibly aesthetic, made to please the senses above all else, it is artwork.

Production artists work in metal, stone, wood, glass, ivory, and pigments to create artwork. Production artists are most akin to craftsmen, operating shops, receiving specialized training through extended apprenticeships, and often participating in some type of guild or professional organization. Rules for such things can be found in City and Guild. But again, Ars Magica makes a distinction between craftsmen and production artists that did not exist historically.

Artists that craft particular artworks do so for a select audience: noblemen, ecclesiastics, wealthy merchants, and the occasional Hermetic magus. The cost of their artwork is exorbitant, which actually pleases their clientele. Displaying expensive artwork further separates the elite from the masses, a distinction that is fostered by society's ranking members. Their art is specialized and distinctive. While a common standard of excellence exists, each piece is unique within that mental framework, allowing one artist to identify the work of a second artist with a few minutes of viewing.

An artist character can identify an artwork's creator with a Perception + the creator's (Artist) Reputation + a simple die roll against an Ease Factor of 15. Non-artist characters may identify a particular piece of artwork with a Perception + the creator's (Artist) Reputation + simple die roll against an Ease Factor of 18. The higher an artist's professional Reputation, the easier it is to identify his work.

Several artistic vocations follow, highlighting the most valued items of art in Mythic Europe.

The greatest of all produced artwork is the cathedral, rising above its urban environment and reaching to the heavens in a display of man's worldly devotion to his maker. Cathedrals are towering stone monuments found in the largest population centers. The most famous cathedrals sit at holy sites, and are destinations for thousands of annual pilgrims who come to venerate saints' relics and marvel at the building itself. While this section refers throughout to cathedrals, the discussion also applies to the larger abbey churches, and even a few of the largest collegiate churches.

There are two styles of medieval architecture, typified in cathedral building but spreading to other sorts of large buildings and castles, called Romanesque and Gothic. These are modern terms, useful to players browsing for pictures and illustrations. Characters refer to these styles as the "Roman" or "old" style, versus the "new" or "French" style. The old style exists everywhere, while the new style is popular in France and is quickly spreading to other areas except Italy, which prefers the older style reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture.

The old style is copied from Byzantine and Roman basilicas, and based on a cruciform design running east to west. A transept runs north to south, making the ground plan look like a horizontal cross. The central nave runs the length of the cathedral, ending in an apse. An aisle or ambulatory — a walkway for displaying relics — runs around the nave. The western entrance is typically flanked by two towers, and a variety of smaller towers and cupolas rise from the roof. The ceiling is supported by barrel vaults — rounded arches that look like half a barrel. The walls have to be thick and set close together in order to support the weight of the stone ceiling. Windows are small and few, since window space decreases the strength of the supporting walls. The interior of a Romanesque cathedral is narrow, dim, and intimidating.

Originating with the church of St. Denis, the new style is essentially more pointed. Round arches are replaced by pointed arches, focusing the weight of the ceiling to focal point columns rather than entire walls. Flying buttresses — stone supports that transfer the weight of the ceiling to exterior supports — eliminate the need for massive interior columns. As a result, the walls are thinner and the windows are larger and more numerous, filled with stained glass that showers the interior with colored light. These architectural advances allow the new-style cathedrals to tower over their older cousins. For instance, the Cathedral of St. Pierre in Beauvais, north of Paris, is over 150 feet tall, and the recently completed nave of Notre Dame de Paris is 112 feet tall, with the western façade being planned at 228 feet. The interior of this type of cathedral is light, roomy, and awe-inspiring. Most of the cathedrals under construction in northern Mythic Europe and Spain are being built in this new style.

A large community of artists and craftsmen builds cathedrals, all working under the ultimate design of the master mason, the architect responsible for the building as a whole. He in turn works closely with the cathedral chapter. Although he could benefit from a university education, many master masons didn't attend an institution of formal education. Those who did can augment their skill with geometric principles learned from studying the liberal arts. Since each city has only one cathedral, a master mason and his troupe of artists travel quite a bit, leaving one city for the next when a cathedral is completed. They are not constantly on the road, however, since it takes several years, perhaps decades, to complete a cathedral, and most are constructed by more than one master mason and his team.

Besides the army of craftsmen — bricklayers, joint-makers, stone-cutters, and unskilled manual laborers — teams of sculptors and painters work with the master mason. Cathedrals are packed with art: sculpted columns, iron doors, painted murals, stained glass windows, and rooftop gargoyles. Individual pieces, stained glass windows, column capitals, bronze doors, and interior paintings, are all funded by specific patrons. This can lead to fierce competition, as noble families vie against each other for the most magnificent piece of art. Ecclesiastical and noble patrons are not the only ones who pay for a cathedral; guilds and craftsmen also contribute funds. Indeed, it takes a whole town to build a cathedral, and the exorbitant cost has left more than one town in dire financial straits.

The most famous master mason in 1220 is Villard de Honnecourt, who has worked on cathedrals in Laon, Chartres, Reims, and Meaux, as well as buildings in Burgundy and Hungary. He has a number of tractatus, which he calls "sketchbooks", about the art of masonry. Each of these can be studied, acting as a tractatus on the Craft: Mason Ability, with a quality of 7. More information on masons can be found in City and Guild, page 59.

Story Seed: A Noble Rivalry

In 1220, the body of the Cathedral of Chartres is nearing completion. The noble Dreux family, counts of Brittany, is competing against the royal Capetian family to see who can fund the most beautiful window in the south transept. Word has spread far and wide, and both families have agents looking for famous stained glass makers. The commission to find such an artist is so large that these agents will go anywhere, following the slightest rumor, and could easily find their way to a covenant. They will search out other famous artists, thinking that birds of a feather flock together, hoping to find the ablest glazier they can.

Once two glaziers have been found, they will need to work almost side-by-side at the building site. The cathedral chapter is worried that the intense rivalry might lead one family to interfere with the other glazier. Happy that the glaziers are working, but interested in keeping the peace, they might ask appropriate characters to keep their eyes on the artists. This aristocratic attention could also draw other artists, always on the lookout for new sponsors and ready to display their sample art at a moment's notice.

Story Seed: The Dead Emperor's Ghost

Along with his palace school, Charlemagne's winter capital at Aachen was famous for its goldsmiths, whose artistic traditions were not interrupted by the "darkness" that obscured many artistic and intellectual endeavors after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Aachen has lost much of its prominence in 1220, enjoying only regional importance and governed by a nearby Benedictine abbey. Its goldsmiths prosper, however, and the abbey is filled with their artwork. A group of scholars, visiting the abbey's scriptorium in hopes of finding lost works of Alcuin, loudly admire one particular piece, an equestrian statue of Charlemagne. Mysteriously, this small statue is discovered missing a few days after the scholars depart.

The Benedictine monks ask the characters for aid in retrieving the statue. Being desperate, they would ask any sort of character — magus, academic, or artist — for aid. The scholars left spotty information about themselves, saying only that they are academics from one of the universities. A few clues will reveal that something more nefarious is at hand. The statue hid clippings of Charlemagne's hair, and the monks suspect that the scholars are actually infernalists who are hoping to summon the emperor's ghost. Hermetic characters would suspect that Charlemagne's soul is safely bound in Heaven, but perhaps some unknown diabolical method could penetrate even this holy protection. Helping the abbey would put characters in good standing with the monks.

Story Seed: Three Nails or Four

A metalworker artist near the covenant is making gold crucifixes with Christ nailed to the cross with three nails, his right foot atop his left, instead of the traditional four, feet side by side. This is causing quite a stir. Ecclesiastics see this as controversial and wish the man stopped. Secular lords, however, find that the raised foot adds depth and realism to the crucifixes, and buy them as fast as the man can make them. The artist persists in his artwork, to the ire of the local churchmen.

Someone engages the characters to intervene. It might be a secular lord who asks that the covenant help protect the man from restrictions that the clerics are imposing. Or the clerics ask for help, to see if the magi have a subtler means to stop the artist. The artist himself, flustered at the pressure from both sides, might ask the covenant for sanctuary. If they award him such protection, he naturally continues his artwork, irritating his protectors by refusing to remain quiet until the trouble blows over. The new crucifixes themselves might be trouble as well. A demon could be behind the entire plot, possessing the man and forcing him to subtly profane the holy by making his new version. In this case, an angel might the one seeking help from the magi, to combat this infernal intrusion into the world of man. Or vice versa, as a demon, pretending to be an angel, tries to get the characters to undermine a divine scheme to increase devotion.

Metalworking artists craft gold, silver, and bronze into religious and secular items, decorating their artwork with precious stones, gems, and colorful enamels. Secular princes are adorned with crowns and belt buckles, display elegant table wear, and their horses are furnished with decorative mountings for the saddle and reins. Religious artifacts fill cathedrals and parish churches — metal items made especially for various services and venerations. This liturgical art includes altar pieces, chalices to hold the blood of Christ, patens and ciboria to hold the Host, candlesticks, crucifixes, and crosiers.

All of these pieces take a long time to create, as the artist molds and decorates the metal, repeating the process indefinitely until the final creation is finished. Most metalworker artists refuse to be rushed, and while a serviceable silver fork might be forged in an afternoon, a fork destined for the bishop's table could take several months. The care and intricacy of their work is instantly evident, making such artwork enviable and greedily appreciated. Metalwork is subject to extreme scrutiny, and religious artifacts are held to the strictest, conservative standards.

Goldsmiths are ranked highest in the hierarchy of metalworking artists because of the brilliance of their material. Gold is a simile for divine illumination, for just as God's immaterial light illuminates the mind, so does gold's luminance delight the eyes. Gold is viewed as the material manifestation of light, and is used to make a plethora of religious and secular items: crosiers, chalices, crosses, reliquaries, covers for sacred books, and altar pieces, as well as thrones, crowns, pins, buckles, pendants, necklaces, and fibulae (a clasp or brooch). Because gold is incredibly malleable, it can be flattened into sheets of gold leaf, which is then used in illuminating books and for other artistic decorations.

The artist painter works with a variety of media and raw materials to create several sorts of painted artwork, including murals, altar pieces, icons, decorated wooden panels, and book illuminations. Personal portraits are also coming into vogue, and several renowned painters have been commissioned to paint portraits of their patrons. Paintings are very popular, and there is barely a church in Mythic Europe without wall murals and painted altar pieces.

Wall murals are frescoes, an Italian word meaning "fresh." Pigment is painted on fresh plaster, which dries and holds the paint to the image. Most murals are narrative strips — bordered images that depict holy people, significant events, and important religious concepts. They are heavily influenced by Byzantine art, as all painting is, and a similar style circulates throughout Mythic Europe.

Panel paintings are painted on wooden panels, often then assembled into altar pieces with a single panel, although double and triple panes are also popular (called diptychs and triptychs). After the wood for the panel is selected and sanded smooth, the artist outlines the desired image before applying paint. The painting technique is called egg tempera, named after the egg yolks used as a binding agent for the ground mineral and vegetable-based pigments. Egg yolks are so important to this process that any Hermetic spell invented to create a painting needs an Animal requisite. Spells that don't have this requisite create a painting that appears drab in comparison.

Icon paintings are also painted on wooden panels. These are not assembled; rather they are individual pieces picturing the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus, or a variety of saints. Icons have a long history and continuity of style. They are egg tempera paintings as well, but depict more stoic, serious-looking figures than panel paintings. Many are gilded with gold leaf besides being painted, after which the entire piece is varnished to ensure longevity.

Most paintings copy the Byzantine style of full-frontal figures with expressionless faces. Only recently are painters experimenting with human perspective, painting figures in profile rather than facing the viewer. By darkening the colors nearest to the figure's edge, painters make them look rounded, as if light were shadowing them and giving them depth. This is more easily done with frescoes than egg tempera. Some artists are so skilled in this emerging new style that viewers believe they are looking at actual people instead of paintings.

Of all the production artists, painters are most evenly split between male and female painters. Several women have risen to fame through their paintings, many specializing in illuminated texts. The most famous woman painter in 1220 is Herrad of Hohenbourg, recently deceased, whose book, Hortus deliciarum ("Garden of Delights"), showcases many of her illuminations.

Another highly appreciated form of art is vernacular literature. Written by professional poets, vernacular literature is in the language of the people: English, French, Occitan, and German, to name a few examples. Latin is the language of academic, official, and ecclesiastical writings, and vernacular languages concern the profane. Narrative stories of knights, love, legends, and fables are enjoyed by a large audience.

There are several types of vernacular literature in Mythic Europe. A chanson de gesta is an epic poem concerning heroic deeds and battle; the most famous is The Song of Roland. A lai is a shorter poem expressing the ideas of courtly love, and the twelve written by Marie de France in the twelfth century are the best known. A "romance" is a longer poem or work of prose that combines the two themes of battle and love, usually centering on Arthur or Charlemagne as its main character. A fabliau is a shorter comic poem — either a retelling of one of Aesop's Fables, or a more ribald, earthy piece popular with the low minded. Fabliaux are popular in Flanders and northern France. Travelogues and pilgrimage texts are also popular. They detail foreign places and their peoples and are avidly consumed by literate society. Since few people actually travel, they are also easily fabricated, and full of invention. In Mythic Europe, however, even the most fanciful description could be true, with one-legged skiapods living in distant Africa and Ethiopian warriors having boar tusks.

Vernacular literature does not threaten the church like secular music does, so it is not judged as harshly. Religious poetry, written in Latin, has long been accepted and praised by the church. The poetry of the ancient pagans — Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and Juvenal to name the most popular — is an essential source of education, and highly prized by grammarians and rhetoricians. Vernacular poetry springs from this tradition, as well as the folk and heroic tales of individual regions. Not all vernacular literature is actually written in a vernacular language; some of it is written in Latin. It is still narrative poetry, however, and is considered in the same genre as vernacular literature.

Vernacular literature differs from academic and Hermetic literature in that it does not have a scholarly or magical subject, and is read for enjoyment rather than the advancement of knowledge. It is written by a poet, rather than by a teacher, and is subject to different rules than those applicable to standard Ars Magica books. Vernacular literature has an Aesthetic Quality rather than a Source Quality as is regular for books. The poet can write it in any language in which he has a score of 5, as long as he has the required Artes Liberales score to write in that language's alphabet.

Poets are often learned men and women who received their education in a cathedral school or university. Many come from the higher social classes, and nearly half of them are minor nobles. They have the time and financial means to travel Mythic Europe, seeking new tales to interweave into their own familiar stories. Medieval audiences love the familiar, and never tire of hearing a favorite tale retold. Good poets build on old favorites, adding slightly different elements, changing the emphasis from one character to another, and grossly exaggerating the deeds of favorite heroes like Roland, Turpin, Charlemagne, King Arthur, and Gawain.

A poet can study another poet's literature to increase his Craft: Poetry Ability, just as any artist can study another's artwork to increase his Ability, as detailed later. Other characters — those not interested in becoming poets — can also spend a season reading the vernacular literature. The character gains exposure experience points that can apply to any of the various topics the piece might cover. Medieval poems often include references to classical authors, the liberal arts, legends, area lore, and mythology. The storyguide should determine which specific Abilities the exposure experience points may be applied to, with Artes Liberales, Area Lore, Magic Lore, and Faerie Lore predominating. For example, the Old French romance poem La Mort le Roi Artu ("The Death of King Arthur") is a piece of artwork that can act as a study source for England Lore, Magic Lore, and Faerie Lore.

Production artists are tolerated by the population at large because they are very similar to craftsmen. Performers don't gain such tolerance, and many barely receive a welcome in the many towns and villages to which they travel. There is a huge split in acceptance, with lauded court poets and musicians being loved, while wandering jugglers, animal trainers, and acrobats are loathed and seen as little more than itinerant thieves. Their performances are enjoyed, but their stay is uncomfortable. In the mid-thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas will give performers, specifically minstrels, legitimacy and professional dignity by saying that they grant a viewer joy, which ultimately aids his rest. In 1220, several intellectuals and clerics disparage them as "the devil's henchmen."

Most of the day-to-day performance art — juggling, tumbling, acrobatics, and animal acts — are learned informally, passed from an elder to a younger. Families accompany many performers, and it is common for a parent to teach his children the profession. The more refined performers, poets especially, may have received an institutional education, as might some musicians. The majority of performer characters increase their (Profession) Ability through practice experience rather than study.

Wandering performers are suspect because they have no formal ties to anyone. They are not organized as a guild, swearing oaths of loyalty to each other, but instead are a motley assortment of men and women driven to the road through love of the profession or to escape from some situation or threat. Troupes of performers can be large, numbering up to thirty people, and some readily accept all applicants despite the lack of any apparent performance skills. Troupes make good hideouts, a fact known to sheriffs and bailiffs across Mythic Europe. Such a company could provide an excellent cover for a wandering covenant, whose members travel from area to area, living in each spot for a season or two, then moving on. The magi would remain inconspicuous and hidden, allowing their covenfolk to act as their mundane agents, all the while practicing their trade.

Performers are found everywhere — in churches, kings' courts, market squares, and covenants. Any major holiday or feast day attracts performing troupes. Audiences prefer different troupes, depending on their social status. Common people enjoy jugglers and tumblers, mystery and miracle plays, minstrels, poets who recite vulgar poems, and animal trainers. Noble and ecclesiastical courts are more refined, but generally prefer the same types of entertainment. Monastic groups rarely allow wandering performers to entertain them, but do let the monks and nuns themselves perform plays. The nun Hildegard of Bingen, who died in 1179, was a famous poet, painter, and composer of music, who wrote several plays that were performed by the sisters of her convent.

Story Seed: Seeking the Archpoet

The Archpoet was an anonymous poet of the twelfth century, whose Latin poems are bawdy, irreverent, and scandalous. Famed leader of the Goliardic tradition of wandering student-poets, the Archpoet was witty and satirical, spreading debauchery and revelry in his travels between Germany and Italy. His last known residence was at the medical school of Salerno, where it is imagined that he spent his remaining years, although no stone marks his grave. Besides his legend, he left behind ten lengthy poems.

A clever Bonisagus magus has recently announced that he has "decoded" the Archpoet's poems, and that each of them is actually a tractatus on the Art of Mentem. This has led to speculation on the Archpoet's identity, with magi wondering if he was a magus or perhaps one of the rare maestros — mythical artists with supernatural proclivities. A pair of seekers is scouring Salerno for clues, and despite their secretive nature, they may ask the player characters for assistance.

The most common performance artist professions are jugglers, tumblers, acrobats, ropewalkers, sword swallowers, fire eaters, and animal trainers, and they are found throughout Mythic Europe. Their adroit control of their bodies allows them to achieve all sorts of feats to entertain the crowd: cartwheels, hand-walking, somersaults, and human pyramids. Clownish antics and outrageous dress add to their lively acts. Draped in colorful costumes and often accompanied by a musician, jugglers and acrobats are the mainstay of medieval entertainment.

Performing characters put experience points into a (Profession) Ability that describes their vocation, such as Juggler or Acrobat. They also likely put experience points into other Abilities. An animal trainer needs a score in Animal Handling and Profession: Animal Trainer, and an acrobat needs Athletics and Profession: Acrobat. A character's (Profession) Ability covers things that pertain to his vocation, while other general Abilities apply to situations outside a performance. For example, an acrobat character would use his Acrobat Ability in die rolls that determine the success of a show, and Athletics Ability for climbing a wall on a deserted street at midnight. If the situation concerns a single activity, the player should use the character's score in a general Ability, but if the situation is about a general feature of the character's vocation, the player uses the character's (Profession) Ability.

This division can get blurry, since many performers rely on their physicality for their livelihood. In specific situations, players may substitute the (Profession) Ability for other physical Abilities in die rolls that the storyguide calls for. Thus, an acrobat character could use his Acrobat Ability in lieu of his Athletics Ability if the situation warrants. For example, if he is being charged by a knight, the storyguide might agree that he has room to tumble out of the way, and may replace his Brawl Ability with his Acrobat Ability to calculate his dodge roll.

Entertainers' reputation for thievery is not entirely unwarranted. Several performing troupes entertain a market square full of spectators, while other members circulate through the crowd fleecing them of their valuables. This might be particularly intriguing to some players, who might wish their characters to engage in such notorious behavior, "picking the crowd's pockets." Keep in mind that pockets haven't been invented yet; scholars carry their books in the hood of their cloak and merchants tie their wallets to their belts. Secondly, Mythic Europe is just now becoming a cash economy. Most spectators will not have ready cash, unless the troupe is performing at one of the large medieval fairs or in a big city during a holiday. If such a situation arises, the storyguide should have the performers make a Dexterity + (Profession) Ability + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12 to see if they can captivate the crowd. The player with the thieving character makes a Dexterity + Legerdemain + stress die against the victim's Perception + Awareness + stress die roll. If the performers have captivated the crowd, the thief gets a +3 bonus to his roll.

Several types of entertainers use animals in their acts; dancing bears are nearly ubiquitous, and performing dogs and ponies are also common. In distant Constantinople, audiences are titillated by performing monkeys, and on the coast of Africa pilgrims can see dancing snakes.

Animals must be trained before they will follow a master's commands. Training an animal takes a season or more, depending on the type of animal and the skill of the trainer. Any character with the Animal Handling Ability can train mundane animals. Training supernatural animals is more difficult, and outside the scope of regular entertainers. Rules for training magical animals can be found in Realms of Power: Magic. These rules adapt those, emphasizing the mundane aspect of animal training germane to most regular entertainers.

A mundane trainer generates a number of training points in each season that he spends working with an animal. This total is the character's Intelligence + Animal Handling – Creature's Might. If the character has the Virtue: Animal Ken, he may add his score in Animal Ken to the total. For the purposes of training, a mundane animal is considered to have a Might score of 1 + Confidence Score. The character's total must exceed the animal's Might score, with the excess points used to build a total equal to that value. Once the excess training points equal the creature's Might, the animal is trained and will follow its master's commands. Animal training demands patience and persistence on the trainer's part. The trainer must stick with the animal until its training is complete. If he cannot train an animal in a single season, he must continue the training. Interrupting this process will erase all accumulated training points.

Story Seed: Beware the Gleemen

Northern clerics warn of a group of jugglers called "Gleemen", who frequent taverns and drinking houses, accusing them of loose morals and witchcraft. This group is tainted by the infernal, and has diabolical powers with which they enchant the crowd, robbing them or leading them into evil deeds. Others claim that the Gleemen steal children and sacrifice them to their demon patron. Are these tales true? If so, a group of wandering Gleemen would certainly cause problems to a covenant, as they invade one of the covenant's villages and make off with money and victims. If not, these same jugglers might ask the magi for help against clerical persecution.

Training Points Accumulated Each Season: Intelligence + Animal Handling – Creature's Might

Required Number of Points: Creature's Might

Mundane Animal Might: 1 + 2 x Confidence Score

Once the beast is trained, the master can command it, issuing orders that he hopes will be obeyed. The player makes a roll based on the character's Presence + Animal Handling + stress die vs. a variable Ease Factor, based on the type of command issued. This roll uses a stress die, and botching means that the animal has reverted to its wild behavior and will act appropriately to its nature — running away, hiding, or even attacking its master.

Commanding Beasts: Presence + Animal Handling + stress die vs. variable Ease Factor

Ease Factor	Task
0	The animal regularly does this task ("sit", "jump", "lay down")
3	The task is complex ("stand up", "prance", "jump up a series of platforms")
6	The task is a series of complex tasks ("dance")
9	The task involves possible harm ("attack")
12	The task involves a life-threatening act ("jump through a burning hoop")

Characters training animals for uses other than the carnival also use these rules, but may replace Animal Handling with Ride if the creature is a beast of burden. Commanding a horse allows the rider free use of his hands, making it beneficial for professional horsemen to spend a season training their mounts.

One of the most popular types of public entertainment is miracle plays. These staged dramas are reenactments of Biblical scenes or scenes from the saints' lives performed by several players and accompanied by a musician or small choir. Originating in monasteries and convents, they have been copied by secular actors and are wildly popular. Plays are most often performed in Latin, with themes so familiar the audience can still follow along. Vernacular miracle plays are just beginning, most notably in York. The play includes a number of performers, with the most extravagant bringing live animals to the stage.

During the twelfth century, miracle plays were performed by clergy members for lay audiences, usually on great feast days and holidays. A papal edict in 1210, however, forbade clerics from taking the stage. Ecclesiastical miracle plays were still performed, but only in the confines of the monastery or convent. Secular players rushed to fill the void, picking up the acting baton and performing for their neighbors. Ten years later, secular miracle plays have found a permanent place in the accepted styles of medieval entertainment.

Miracle players work a circuit of towns, traveling from one to the next on an annual basis. They are at the largest town during the most-celebrated holy festival, performing the best-appreciated play in their repertoire. Because the play is usually presented to an audience that doesn't speak the language, performers are reluctant to change a play or incorporate new ideas. Since monks and nuns still write miracle plays, troupes will be interested in plays performed in monasteries and convents. Gaining entrance to such events is difficult, and a performer might disguise himself as a visiting merchant or scholar to view any new play. If a new play takes his fancy, he will try to include it in his troupe's performances. Some plays are written down, making his job of "stealing" it easier.

In 1220, miracle plays are performed by professional artists for lay audiences and by monks and nuns for clerical audiences. Most secular players are male and several troupes are family units, with the males performing and the females relegated to other off-stage chores. In later centuries this will change, with local people (still primarily male) participating in culturally established plays. Such people will be called "mummers", and their performances "mumming plays."

Styles of Music

Because of the rather insular character of Mythic Europe, musical styles vary considerably, and the farther away a character is from home, the more different the music will be. Every player whose character is a musician should determine the character's basic style of music, represented by his region of origin. Even when a character's background is eclectic, the player must decide which style of music is his foundation: the Normandy style, Lower Lorraine style, or the Tuscan style, for example. Styles are generally no larger than a county and its neighbors.

Artists, including musicians, can study another artist's art to improve their skill, a process that is explained in detail below. Whenever a musician character spends a season studying a music style different from his original style, he receives a one-time study bonus of 1 to 3 extra experience points, determined by how distant the new style is from the character's familiar base. The storyguide decides how different the new style of music is by determining how far distant from the character's home the source is. Closer sources award a 1-point bonus, while extremely distant sources offer a 3-point bonus. For example, a musician trained in the style of the Irish would receive a 1-point bonus studying music from England or France, a 2-point bonus from studying Spanish or Italian music styles, and a 3-point bonus from music from Africa or the Levant.

There is a great division in music in the thirteenth century between secular and ecclesiastical styles. Ecclesiastical music is based on the traditional monastic style of earlier centuries, named "plain chant" or Gregorian Chant after Pope St. Gregory I. It is a dry, monophonic chant sung by the entire choir, a single melody without accompanying harmony. All church offices or hours are sung, making the style of music extremely important and excessively regulated. Striking changes in the tenth century introduced polyphony into church choirs, which is the addition of one or more additional melodies superimposed on the basic chant. Current religious music is more listenable and enjoyable, but church leaders are ever vigilant lest it become too enjoyable. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a very vocal and popular church reformer in the twelfth century, warned against sounds and images that are too gaudy, appealing, or worldly, in that they disrespect and distract from the solemn message of God.

Secular music is much livelier, the obvious differences are that it is accompanied by musical instruments and is often sung in a vernacular language. All church music is unaccompanied and sung in Latin. Based on the oral traditions of the many cultures indigenous to Mythic Europe, secular music offers a wide range of styles and sounds. Secular music has a much more complex system of rhythms and harmonies, compounding the polyphony of church music with even more melodies. Secular music is not bound by any regulatory agency, and its sole judge is the listener. Laymen musicians, of whom there are thousands, are free to experiment with style, pace, length, and tone. They also benefit from a large field of participants. While church music is essentially the same over the length of Mythic Europe, secular music is considerably different in different areas, and the simple songs of the French nations can be influenced by German, Spanish, and Italian music.

To some, notably church leaders, these differences are as wide as a chasm. Church music should remain apart, uninfluenced by the sounds of the streets and the market, and secular music should stop using church melodies as a basis for their ribald and immoral songs. Others find the diversity delightful, as the one influences the other and evolutions of both prove more entertaining and enlivening. Typically, older ecclesiastics resist musical changes and resent the attraction secular music offers to the masses.

France is a hotbed of musical innovation, both inside the church and out. Musical notation is increasing, and church songs are being written down on a staff scale using the semi-breve, minim, and semi-minim (whole, half, and quarter notes). A true science of musical theory is on the rise, stepping away from the music of the quadrivium, which is focused on mathematical relationships, and walking on its own.

Musicians come from everywhere, from crowded urban cities to bucolic rural fields. Children sing as they play, craftsmen sing as they work, nobles and burghers are entertained by professions, and choirs fill churches at regular intervals. Professional musicians, those who earn their livelihood by playing instruments, come from all walks of life. Few find steady employment in their area of birth, meaning that most musicians are constant travelers. Travel also introduces musicians to different styles of music, and musician characters can study these different styles, augmenting and encouraging their own skills.

Story Seed: A Terrible Din

One of the nearby villages that acts as a source of income for the covenant is stricken with grief. A local musician, loved by all, has had his voice silenced by the parish priest, who besought the local saint to silence the boy due to the "terrible din and racket" he was making. The priest constantly chides the villagers for their carefree dancing, merry-making, and love of music, especially from this lad. The village bailiff asks the magi to help restore the boy's singing voice.

The saint's curse is a Divine power, and the magi may fall short in counteracting the effect. It might be best to try and convince the priest that the villagers aren't evil or mischievous, nor is their love of music threatening to their souls. The priest holds a relic, offering him Magic Resistance against mind-affecting spells. While this obstacle is surmountable, it might be easier to convince the priest that the music isn't harmful through social interactions and examples. Perhaps with careful persuasion, the priest will come love the melodious tones of secular musicians.

Musical Instruments

Mythic Europe enjoys a healthy mix of musical instruments, influenced by Arabic and Jewish cultures, and enjoyed and employed by all sorts of musicians. Many types of musical instruments are present beside the common brass trumpets and drums. Wind instruments include the recorder and flute — a basic hollow wooden tube with finger holes that are covered and opened to produce different notes. A pan flute replaces the finger holes with a bound series of hollow tubes of differing lengths. Stringed instruments are the lute and the mandolin, which are plucked by one hand while the second decreases the length of individual strings by pressing them against the wooden neck. The dulcimer is a stringed instrument that sits horizontally before the musician, who hammers it with a wooden mallet. Stringed lyres and harps are popular, and are plucked by both hands. A zither is a small harp with a sounding board affixed to its back. A smaller version, called a psaltery, is easily portable and a favorite for traveling musicians.

Odder instruments include the hurdy-gurdy, a mechanical violin that produces a droning sound at the same time its strings are plucked. It is an indigenous instrument of Mythic Europe, unlike the other common instruments, which have been imported over the centuries from Africa and the Near East. The hurdy-gurdy is popular with Spanish, French, and Hungarian musicians. Bagpipes are wooden reeds attached to a bladder that supplies air, producing a droning, haunting tune. They are used by the musicians of Brittany, regions of northwestern Spain, and the British Isles, most notably the Scots.

Brogo the Dwarf

Characteristics: Int –2, Per +1, Pre 0, Com +4, Str –1, Sta –1, Dex +2, Qik 0

Size: –2

Age: 30 (30)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Wanderer; Death Prophecy; Artistic Renown, Affinity with Enchanting Music, Educated, Enchanting Music, Great Communication, Puissant Trouvère; Curse of Venus, Dwarf, Proud

Personality Traits: Proud +3, Gregarious +2, Sly +2

Reputations: Trouvère 2 (Artist)

Combat:

Dodge: Init +0, Attack n/a, Defense +0, Damage n/a

Soak: –1

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–3), –3 (4–6), –5 (7–9), Incapacitated (10–12), Dead (13+)

Abilities: Athletics 2 (grace), Artes Liberales 2 (music), Awareness 2 (searching), Bargain 4 (benefactors), Carouse 3 (drinking songs), Concentration 2 (maintaining enchanting music), Enchanting Music 7 (joviality), Etiquette 2 (court), Folk Ken 2 (sponsors), French 5 (music terminology), German 3 (music terminology), Guile 2 (lying about his past), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (covenants), Profession: Trouvère 5 + 2 (adulterous love songs), Music 3 (lyre), Latin 4 (music), Swim 1 (diving)

Equipment: Colorful clothes and a small lyre

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Appearance: Brogo is short, the height of a seven-year-old child, but stocky, with a bristling black beard and long hair cut short in the front and long in the back. He wears a yellow-and-purple striped tunic and trousers, and a wide-brimmed, yellow hat with a long peacock feather jutting out.

Brogo was born and raised in Tournai, where he attended the cathedral school as a young man. A natural with the harp and lyre, Brogo spent most of his young adulthood singing and playing in inns and taverns in Picardy. As his reputation as a trouvère grew, he extended his performing circuit, and now travels throughout France and the Holy Roman Empire, entertaining and entrancing audiences with his songs. Brogo has visited Hermetic covenants before, and wouldn't hesitate to visit a new one.

Brogo is a composer, using his Profession: Trouvère to create and perform songs. The Aesthetic Quality of his compositions is 12: Com (+4) + Trouvère (5) + Puissant Trouvère (+2) + one-third Artes Liberales (+1). Because of his pride, he will probably attract an infernal muse once his Trouvère Reputation reaches 7.

Brogo can be used as a starting companion-level character.

Where poets are literary craftsmen, minstrels are literary performers. They are a blend of musician and poet; musician because a minstrel performs before an audience, sometimes with musical accompaniment, and poet because he composes songs that are very similar to poetry. Many minstrels create their own songs, but not all do. Many recite poems written by others and that have been proven popular with the various audiences they entertain.

Every region has a type of minstrel specific to it; the most famous are troubadours, trouvères, and minnesingers.

Troubadours come from southern France, Aquitaine, Languedoc, and Provence. Women troubadours, called "trobairitz", enjoy as much respect as their male counterparts. Their poetry is courtly, filled with tales of love unrequited and the chivalrous treatment of ladies, and inspired by the Arabic poetry of their neighbors. The troubadour's style is spreading throughout other parts of Mythic Europe. Sordello, a practicing Italian poet living in Florence, is beginning to write poetry in this style. The Albigensian Crusade, aimed at the heretical Cathars in Languedoc, is effectively destroying the tradition of southern troubadours.

In northern France minstrels are called "trouvères", of whom Chrétien of Troyes is the most famous. Normally concentrating on Arthur and his peers, these poems tend to be less original than the troubadours', but equally as popular.

German "minnesingers" copy the northern French style, but their emphasis on knightly combat and sensual love has drawn slight criticism from the church. Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach are the most famous minnesingers. Walther is living in Vienna at the court of Leopold VI, and Wolfram is living in the royal court of Hermann I of Thuringia, basking in the fame of his recent Parzival, which retells the story of the Holy Grail.

Some minstrels, like Wolfram von Eschenbach, are poets as well. Such a character would have both a Profession Ability and a Craft Ability, even though there is a certain amount of overlap between the professions of minstrel and poet. Using Wolfram as an example, he would have Profession: Minnesinger and Craft: Poetry. When composing a song, he would use his Profession: Minnesinger Ability to determine the song's Aesthetic Quality. When writing a poem, like Parzival, he would use his Craft: Poetry to determine the poem's Aesthetic Quality.

Every artist works for fortune and fame. To be remembered beyond one's lifetime is the goal, with everlasting notoriety equaling immortality. Be it book or building stone, memorable performance or lyrical poem, an artist's creation has the potential to carry his name further than his faltering, aging footsteps. Admit it or not, this is the driving passion behind every artist at work in Mythic Europe. This need not be an egotistical or greedy goal. While many characters desire fame for purely selfish reasons, some consider it their spiritual duty to perform to the best of their ability, constantly testing themselves with greater challenges for the sake of their souls.

In Mythic Europe, the quest for artistic immortality is not just a metaphor. Swimming with supernatural beings, Mythic Europe is filled with demons, saints, faeries, and magical beasts with their eyes bent on artists. Angels watch a cathedral climb towards Heaven, demons listen to bawdy rhymes sung in a dimly lit tavern, and faerie princesses laugh at the handsome man juggling fifteen batons ablaze with fire. As an artist advances along his career, he will — if he is any good — attract the attention of a muse, a supernatural being interested in promoting the artist's career and subtly influencing his art. Watching, helping covertly, and waiting, once the artist has achieved the acme of his profession, the being will snatch him away, carrying him to the creature's home realm and granting him immortality. The artist lives on, in tales and art, unable to permanently return to the mundane world and kept alive in a supernatural regio.

In game terms, every artist character strives to reach an (Artist) Reputation of 10, achieving various benefits along the way. His (Artist) Reputation grows based on the quality of artwork he can perform or produce, the political power of his benefactor, and the number of people who praise his work. In the simplest sense, an artist creates a piece of artwork and gains experience points from that work that increase his (Artist) Reputation.

The first step is to make or create a piece of artwork. Every piece of art, whether it is tangible like a cathedral or a gilded crucifix or intangible like a song or the performance of a mystery play, has an Aesthetic Quality score, just like a book's Quality score (ArM5, page 165). This is an abstract concept used merely to determine how aesthetically pleasing a piece of artwork is. Medieval artistic sensibilities are not flexible; beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but must conform to an accepted concept of splendor.

A piece of artwork's Aesthetic Quality is based on an artist character's Dexterity + Craft Ability for the production arts or Communication + Profession Ability for performance arts. Generally, an artist who produces something will use Dexterity + Craft Ability, while an artist who performs will use Communication + Profession Ability; a poet, for example, would use Communication + Craft: Poetry. Several bonuses are added to this total, derived from Virtues and various choices, to produce the final Aesthetic Quality.

Aesthetic Quality: Dexterity + Craft Ability + bonuses OR Communication + Profession Ability + bonuses

There are several bonuses that a player can add to the Aesthetic Quality of his artist character's artwork.

• Virtues like Inspirational and Free Expression add a +3 bonus.

• Puissant Ability adds +2 to the Ability, just as normal.

• An artist can double the time it takes to create a piece of artwork and receive a +1 bonus.

• An artist can work overtime, taxing his physical and mental resources throughout the course of the artwork's creation. He receives a +1 bonus, but must make an Aging roll as soon as the artwork is completed.

• An artist can add one third of his Artes Liberales score (rounded up) to a piece of artwork that somehow incorporates knowledge of one of the liberal arts.

• A muse adds +1 per 5 points of bequeathed Might (see below).

• If the artist is a legendary artist or maestro (see below), and making his artwork in a realm aligned with his supernatural nature, he may add 1/5 of the aura (rounded up) to the piece's Aesthetic Quality.

Finally, a character can experiment with his creation to increase its Aesthetic Quality. This is risky, since art appreciation is firmly entrenched, and any variance is likely to be considered heretical, in poor taste, or flatly ugly. If a player chooses to experiment, he may roll a simple die divided by 2 (rounded up) and add it as a bonus. He must then immediately roll a stress die and consult the Artist Experimentation Results chart.

Different pieces of artwork take different lengths of time to create. Ars Magica uses seasons as the conventional rule to measure the passage of time, and artist characters follow a similar rule. A player should consult the following list to determine the base length of time necessary for creating a piece of artwork. For some smaller pieces of art, more than one may be made in a season. In this case, each separate item has the same Aesthetic Quality. Not every imaginable piece of plastic or performance art is listed. The default category is "season", and troupes will have to decide if a particular piece of art takes a season, a year, or decades to create.

Season: wall mural, portrait, 2 brass effigy plates, small reliquary, stone relief, romance, 2 short poems, 2 songs, tapestry, illuminated manuscript, 2 brooches, mystery play

Year: stone façade, ornate reliquary, castle (1 year per Size point), church (1 year per Size point)

Decades: cathedral (10 years per Size point)

Once the base time of construction has been determined, multiply it by 1/10 the Aesthetic Quality of the expected finished piece to determine the full length of time required. Round up when dividing the Aesthetic Quality by 10. Essentially, pieces with an Aesthetic Quality from 11 to 20 will take twice as long, and those with an Aesthetic Quality over 21 will take three times as long.

This will seem odd at first, because more-skilled artists take longer to produce a piece of artwork than their lesser-skilled fellows. To a medieval character, "better" does not mean "faster." An artist who is better than his less-skilled neighbor has learned more of the artistic craft in question, and these advanced techniques and methods take longer to produce. Every artist works to his maximum capabilities, using the methods he knows represented by his Craft or Profession score. For example, an artist with a Craft: Goldsmith Ability 8 has been trained in more-precise metalworking procedures than an artist with a Craft: Goldsmith Ability of 4. These advanced procedures take longer to incorporate, hence requiring more time to construct the artwork. Perhaps the method that a character with Craft: Goldsmith Ability 8 uses to make gold foil is much more labor intensive than the method used by an artist with Craft: Goldsmith Ability 4, and produces gold foil that is much thinner and more aesthetically pleasing. When the character with Craft: Goldsmith Ability 4 advances in his career, he will learn this finer method and use it in his work.

Assistants and apprentices decrease the length of time necessary to create a piece of art. The creating character can have assistants equal to his Leadership score. If the piece takes a season to create, each apprentice lessens that time by three and a half days. If creating the piece takes a year, each assistant decreases the time by one week. If the creation takes decades, such as for a cathedral, each assistant decreases the time by one month. Whatever the number of assistants, a piece's length of construction cannot be reduced by them to more than one half the normal time necessary. Additional assistants just get in each other's way.

An artist character may shorten the time it takes to create a piece to half the normal length of time if he wishes. Doing this divides a piece's Aesthetic Quality by half. Assistants can further reduce this time, but the absolute lowest a piece of art's length of construction can be is one quarter of the normal length of time. By following these practices, an artist can certainly churn out art, but each piece is well below his overall skill. Very few artists consider this appropriate behavior, and most consider it a vulgar and tawdry practice.

Like other characters who aren't magi, artists get two "free" seasons and two "work" seasons a year (ArM5, page 163). The artist creates his art during the "work" seasons. If a player desires, a character may replace one or more "free" seasons with "work" seasons. Seasons of "work" net exposure experience for a character. If a piece of artwork takes longer than two seasons to make, the character does not have to skip her "free" seasons, and can instead postpone working on the piece. Taking such a break could strain the sponsor-artist relationship, however.

Artist Experimentation Results

Roll	Result
Botch	Disaster
0–4	Artwork ruined
5–6	Reputation disparaged
7–8	No ill effects
9–10	Artwork praised
11+	Artist praised

Disaster: Something untold and terrible happens, that destroys the work in progress and damages the artist. The character's (Artist) Reputation score drops by 1 whole point. For multiple botches, the character could also receive a minor General Flaw from this disaster. A wall could fall on an architect and make him Lame, an angry patron could jab a quill into an illuminator's eye and give him a Missing Eye, or a painter could become Disfigured by spilled lime.

Artwork Ruined: The creation is ruined through the artist's experimentation.

Reputation Disparaged: The artwork is judged improper, rude, or debasing. It loses 1 point of Quality. The character's (Artist) Reputation slips by 1 whole point.

No Ill Effects: Nothing bad happens. The player receives the benefit of the simple die roll divided by 2 for the item's Aesthetic Quality.

Artwork Praised: The artist's creation is so admired that his Reputation increases. The character gains experience points in his (Artist) Reputation equal to the Aesthetic Quality of the piece.

Artist Praised: The art is so excellent that the artist gains enough experience points to raise his (Artist) Reputation score one whole level.

It is easy to grasp the idea that a tangible object of art — a tapestry, a building, or a crown — has an artistic appreciation quality, but this concept becomes more difficult when applied to those who perform art instead of producing it. Performing characters, those who use a (Profession) Ability to calculate a piece's Aesthetic Quality, generate the quality of that performance when they first create the routine, play, or song, whatever it is. This, then, is the quality of every performance, and in normal situations, no other roll is required to see how well the performer pulled it off.

In abnormal situations — performing before a king, outside in a downpour, or in front of a dragon, for example — the storyguide could ask the player to make a Communication or Dexterity (whichever Characteristic is more relevant) + Profession Ability + a stress die roll against an Ease Factor of the piece's Aesthetic Quality divided by 2. In most cases, the character should succeed, and the player need only worry about botching the roll.

Performing a Performance: Communication or Dexterity + Profession Ability + stress die vs. Aesthetic Quality/2

If this roll is successful, the performance is a success. If the roll fails, the performance is acceptable but lacking, with the appropriate situational responses. For example, the performer's benefactor abandons her, a performer slips on a wet stage and receives a light wound, or the dragon chases the characters away. If the roll botches, something dire happens: the king expels the performers from the kingdom; the performers are pelted by wet, rotten vegetables with someone receiving a heavy wound; or the dragon eats the performer.

Plays, musical ensembles, and other joint performances require many players. Use the character with the highest Profession Ability to make the above roll. The Aesthetic Quality is determined by the performance's creator. You could have a situation where the producer is not the most skilled performer. Even if he is performing, use the highest skilled participant to make the roll. This allows an excellent performer to outshine the piece's creator. While he could carry the performance to greater heights than the producer, this could also lead to resentment in the creator.

Art as an Arcane Connection

Due to the time and labor spent on creating a piece of art, anything with an Aesthetic Quality is an Arcane Connection to its creator. An Arcane Connection exists between the artist and the original piece of art, so that copies of the art (a copied book, poem, or miracle play performance) are not Arcane Connections. The length of time that artistic Arcane Connection lasts depends on the type of art; the Arcane Connection of a stone sculpture lasts longer than that of a poem. Roughly, a piece of art maintains an Arcane Connection to its creator for a length of time equal to half the time it took to create it. For instance, a wall mural that took a season to paint will be an Arcane Connection to the painter for six weeks.

Assistants muddy the connection. Subtract one week from the length of time an Arcane Connection lasts for every assistant the creating artist had. Some creations are so complex, requiring so many hands, that no tangible arcane connection can be found. Castles, churches, and cathedrals are not Arcane Connections to the architect who designed them, nor to the foreman mason who directed their construction.

Some Arcane Connections will be difficult to collect, especially if the artist is a performer. A new tumbling routine, for example, is an Arcane Connection to the tumbler, but it is not as easily grabbed as a silver spoon or vernacular poem. Magi will have to use Imaginem magic to hold and retain the sounds and sights of the performance. For example, a magus could use a variation of The Captive Voice to collect a poet's spoken poem, the captured words acting as an Arcane Connection to the poet. However, as soon as the spell ends, the words are "released." Fixing this connection would require that the maga invent a device or Ritual spell to hold the voice indefinitely.

Like any Arcane Connection, an Arcane Connection between an artist and his art can be fixed, providing a permanent Arcane Connection (ArM5, page 94).

Since books are rarely written about an artist's trade, artist characters can study pieces of art of their discipline to increase their knowledge. The Aesthetic Quality of a piece of artwork functions as a study source for artists who participate in the same profession. Divide the artwork's Aesthetic Quality by two to determine the Advancement total. The character studying the piece of art must spend a season observing it, after which he gains experience points in his Craft or Profession Ability. The object must have been made using the same Craft or Profession Ability in which the character is gaining experience points. A character cannot study his own artwork for experience point gain.

Performers must do more than just see a new performance to actively study it for experience point gain. They must practice it, contemplate it, compare it to older examples of similar performance, and fully comprehend what makes it new and interesting.

Art Advancement Total: Aesthetic Quality/2

Each artist character starts with an Artist Reputation, which should be named after his Profession or Craft Ability. If the artist has multiple Craft or Profession Abilities, each has its own Artist Reputation. It is rare for a medieval artist to work in more than one field; this is more characteristic of Renaissance artists. An Artist Reputation is flexible, increasing and possibly decreasing throughout the artist's career. A high artistic Reputation for a character means an easier life, more influential and prosperous patrons, and the possibility of attracting a muse. Artist Reputation builds like an Ability, not like an Art, and increases by experience points gained expressly for the Artist Reputation, which are usually derived from some aspect of creating a piece of artwork. Other sorts of experience points — from study, adventuring, etc. — cannot be used to increase a character's Artist Reputation.

Characters can, and probably will, have other Reputations besides an Artist Reputation. But for artist characters, the Artist Reputation is paramount. Characters begin the game with an Artist Reputation of 0, unless they pick the new Artistic Renown Virtue (described later). The Famous Virtue cannot be used for an Artist Reputation; characters with Famous are known for something else besides their artwork.

The most common way to increase a character's Artist Reputation is for him to create something. Every time an artist spends a season creating a work of art that has an Aesthetic Quality greater than triple his current Reputation, he gains an experience point in his Reputation.

Aesthetic Quality greater than 3 times Artist Reputation = 1 Artist Reputation experience point

Other ways to gain Artist Reputation experience points are:

• Increasing the character's associated Craft or Profession Ability awards 1 Artist Reputation experience point
• Gaining a benefactor grants 3 experience points
• Gaining a patron grants 6 experience points
• Attracting a muse grants a one-time gain of a number of experience points equal to the magnitude of the muse's Might
• Hosting a feast or event that sacrifices a season of time grants 1 experience point
• Becoming a patron to another, younger artist grants 1 experience point
• Traveling to a distant country to study the culture's art grants 1 experience point
• Studying with an artist with an Artist Reputation score 2 higher than the character's earns a one-time bonus of experience points equal to the instructor's Artist Reputation
• Study with a supernatural creature other than the character's muse grants experience points equal to the magnitude of the creature's Might score
• Going on an adventure and personally doing things that broadcast a character's skill and renown earn him 1 Artist Reputation experience point in addition to any other experience points the storyguide might award the player

Artist Reputation can decrease, as well, and there are a number of things that subtract experience points from a character's Reputation score. It is easier to lose Artist Reputation experience points than gain them.

• Losing a patron subtracts 12 experience points
• Ruining or abandoning a piece of art due to artistic experimentation costs the character experience points equal to the presumed Aesthetic Quality of the piece
• Being excommunicated, kicked out of his home town, or any other event that bars him from a certain society costs the character 15 experience points
• Signing a piece of work without the required (Artist) Reputation (8) subtracts 10 experience points
• Purposefully producing a below-quality piece of art costs an artist 5 experience points

In a way, a good Artist Reputation is its own reward. It helps an artist character find patrons and benefactors, and determines who in the area has heard of the artist. A good Artist Reputation is more important for an artist than Reputations generally are for a regular character, because the artist depends on sponsors for his livelihood. No one wants to support an untalented minstrel, illuminator, or architect, and those poor souls will spend their old age begging for scraps of bread. Usually, an artist has few other talents to fall back on; if his art fails to appeal, he starves.

Certain additional benefits are gained from having a higher Artist Reputation. Once a character's Artist Reputation is 6, she can add +1 to any social roll in which her status would impress or influence a person. Each additional increase in a character's Artist Reputation confers an additional +1 to such a roll, so that a character with an Artist Reputation of 8 gets a +3 bonus to social interactions. This bonus is a situational bonus and cannot be applied to seasonal activities.

When a character's Artist Reputation reaches 7, the supernatural powers of Mythic Europe take notice. The character attracts a minor muse (see insert). While such a creature might have been curious about the artist before, at this level of renown it will attach itself to the artist and become her supernatural patron. A player character does not have to accept the aid of a muse if he does not wish it. A muse cannot force its patronage on a character. If a character does not accept an interested muse, he will not get another chance until his (Artist) Reputation rises. He does not receive any of the supernatural benefits, or consequences, of the muse.

In play, the character does not necessarily know he has attracted the attention of a supernatural muse. Faeries like to be evident and devils clandestine, angels enigmatic and magical creatures authoritative, but no hard and fast rules apply to the many types of artist-patron relationships. Stories circulate about the supernatural muses of famous artists; this sculptor is accused of demonic aid in his triptych, and that fellow paints like he has the hands of an angel. Besides providing assistance, patron muses should embroil their clients in occasional stories.

When a character's Artist Reputation reaches 8, he is conferred the exalted honor of being able to sign his work. This has no mechanical benefits in the game, but in-character, this is an honor like no other. Viewed as craftsmen, no one is interested in the artist per se, only his finished work. Once an artist's Reputation reaches these lofty heights, however, people are suddenly interested in the man as much as the manufactured object.

Reputation rolls to see if someone has heard of the artist become a moot point. Everyone in the area knows who the artist is. The range of the artist's fame is comparable to the size of his artwork or the range of his influence. A cathedral builder is known throughout Mythic Europe, a poet will be known in the Provençal region of France, and perhaps the Holy Roman Empire, and a brooch maker could be known in the sweeping Angevin Empire (England and parts of Ireland and France).

While a character's Artist Total isn't affected, the character does receive a 1-point increase in his Confidence Score when his Artist Reputation reaches 8. Attaining this rank of success bolsters anyone's ego and self-assurance.

When a character reaches an Artist Reputation of 9, he attracts the attention of a more-powerful muse to act as his supernatural patron. The minor muse is brushed aside in lieu of this more-powerful creature. If the present muse is a player character, the new major muse will attempt to remove her, using any means possible. The new muse can be from any supernatural realm, and, particularly if the artist has had major personality changes since acquiring the minor supernatural patron, does not have to be from the same realm as the former patron. If the new supernatural patron cannot remove an existing player character patron, it vanishes, clandestinely watching the artist without assisting him. The player character remains as the artist's patron, without any increase in the possible gifts bestowed to the artist.

This spurned supernatural creature will watch the character, however, ultimately hoping to take the artist to the creature's home realm once his Artist Reputation has surpassed worldly measure. Unlike a minor muse, the character is fully aware of this new patron. Treat this muse as the Major Story Flaw: Plagued by Supernatural Entity, although the being will not directly hinder or distress the artist. It will drag the character into stories, either directly through its wishes or indirectly, as a result of its interest in the character.

An Artist Reputation of 10 means the character has arrived at the pinnacle of his career. He has no superiors, only equals. His name is known across Mythic Europe, and his reputation may even extend into foreign lands, the pagan north, the plains-swept east, and the Islamic countries. He gains a permanent +3 to the final Aesthetic Quality of his artwork, added on top of the normal calculation. He does not need to create artwork for his livelihood, and does so only to please himself.

It is extremely difficult to tarnish the Artist Reputation of such a character. Bad behavior and crude artwork are seen as eccentricities of the artist. With a Reputation of 10, the character no longer loses Reputation experience points. His Reputation shines even if he does nothing. Still apply the rules for gaining Reputation experience points, but ignore those that subtract experience points. An artist's muse will do its utmost to ensure that the character remains alive as his Artist Reputation climbs to 11.

The exception to this rule is if an artist character is caught engaging in truly deplorable behavior. Examples are deflowering a bishop's niece, stealing half of a king's treasury, or leading an infernal rite for a flock of pagan townsfolk. His Artist Reputation will plummet. Roll a simple die and subtract the result from the character's Artist Reputation score (not just experience points). If he is lucky, and his Artist Reputation slips only a few points, he has somehow saved face. On the other hand, his Artist Reputation could fall to 0, leaving him an eyesore to his former patrons and a blight on his profession as a whole.

On the fateful day when the character's Artist Reputation does reach 11, he becomes a legendary artist, and his muse removes him from the mundane world and places him in the creature's home, typically a high-level regio. After all these years of supernatural aid, the artist becomes part of the realm of his muse, no longer simply being affiliated with it. Some muses leave a magical corpse behind, but this is often not necessary, for the vanished artist will be presumed dead eventually. Death feasts will be held and a burial vault constructed. The character is no longer a living character but a creature of the realm to which he has been taken. Becoming a legendary artist usually removes the character from play, although some high-powered sagas may wish to still allow a player to use his legendary artist character. Naturally, if a character never accepted a muse as a patron, none of this happens. You may keep calculating his Artist Reputation, but the substantial benefits end at 10.

For artists with Divine muses, death is not a ruse. The character actually dies and is accepted into the Divine realm. He still becomes a legendary artist, mechanically following the same rules as characters with infernal, faerie, and magic patrons, but is actually a divine spirit.

If the muse failed to replace a player character minor patron, it now swoops in and tries to abduct the artist from underneath the patron's nose. If the player character patron is exceptionally powerful, the supernatural patron will enlist aid from denizens of its realm. If the abduction succeeds, the artist becomes a legendary artist. If it fails, the artist is forever denied this status, and is left to his player character patron.

Example Story Seed: The Soul of Flavius

Through trials and tribulations, the poet Flavius' Poet Reputation increases to 7. Flavius has the Personality Traits: Generous +3 and Wrathful +3. His player and storyguide, uncertain which realm Flavius' supernatural patron should come from, decide that both a minor angel and devil are attracted to the poet. The pair contrive a journey for Flavius, bestowed through dreams, culminating in him reaching Rome. They agree to offer him assistance on his journey and to watch his behavior as he travels. If he is more charitable, the angel will become his patron. If he is more often angry, the devil. Both also contrive situations to invoke the desired behavior.

Flavius, having a suspicion that this is happening, asks his magi friends to accompany him. They are enticed by the offer and, through art and cleverness, quickly identify the nature of the patrons. Will they assist Flavius, guiding him in one direction or another, or will they stand idle and let Flavius make his own decisions? Even worse, will they destroy both entities for their vis and leave Flavius without either?

Once a character becomes a legendary artist, he is no longer a living being, but a creature of the supernatural realm to which he has been taken. He gains a Might score equal to two times his highest Craft or Profession Ability, and a number of supernatural powers equal to that same Craft or Profession Ability. The highest magnitude any individual power can be is equal to the character's Dexterity or Communication Characteristic; again, the Characteristic that was used in calculating his Artist Total. Use the Hermetic Arts as a guideline for the powers' magnitude. Likely powers will probably include the Forms of Imaginem and Mentem, as well as the Form most associated with his art career: Terram, Herbam, etc. The character gains his Might and associated powers the instant he is taken from the mundane realm by his supernatural patron.

Legendary artists are immortal. They do not age, nor do they change, becoming part of the immutable fabric of their associated realm. This has advantages and disadvantages for the character. While dying from wounds is still possible, it is unlikely, and even the most grievous wounds will heal. Diseases cannot affect the character, and even the most debilitating spells will eventually wear off, as the affected character returns to the unchanged state at which he became a legendary artist. Assume that every dire physical and mental disability will vanish in a season. A legendary artist can still be slain, but any wound less than Dead will heal without a problem.

There are two disadvantages, however. As an unchanging mythical being, the character is susceptible to Hermetic spells that affect supernatural beings. Also, increasing his Abilities is problematic, because his supernatural nature constantly wishes to return to the exact state it was in when he was accepted as a legendary artist. Perdo Vim spells that reduce Might can kill a legendary artist. But like wounds, if a character's Might is not reduced to 0, he will "heal" Might, returning to his full total in a single day. Rego Vim spells, wards, and a covenant's Aegis of the Hearth can dampen a legendary artist's powers and even keep him from entering (or exiting) an area.

The larger problem comes when a legendary artist wishes to increase his skills. Like wounds, any gained experience will disappear in a season, making permanent advancement difficult. There are two ways in which a legendary artist can keep any gained experience points. The first is by making a piece of artwork immediately after a season in which a legendary artist gained experience points. The artwork serves as a supernatural mnemonic aid for the legendary artist — an extension of his memory that allows him to retain gained experience points for as long as the piece of artwork is with him. The artwork must be carried with the legendary artist, and must be constructed in the season after the season in which he gained experience. These conditions present problems in themselves, since many types of artwork are not portable, nor are they able to be constructed in a single season. To solve these problems, a legendary artist will construct something portable — a brooch, a poem, a dance, a miniature painting — and start the process well in advance of the season he then spends studying. After studying, he spends a season to finish the piece. A performance artist might find this difficult, since his art contains few tangible effects. Most overcome this by keeping a diary or journal of their creating process. A playwright writes dialog and stage direction for the players, and a minstrel records his thoughts and comparisons to other musical pieces. A juggler could use a wooden pin or some other tossed prop as his mnemonic aid.

The piece of artwork must have a finished Aesthetic Quality equal to twice the number of recently gained experience points. If it is lower than the number of gained experience points, excess points are lost. Pieces of mnemonic artwork become a permanent Arcane Connection to the legendary artist. If they are destroyed or lost, the experience points they "held" are lost as well. Certain performance artwork is not threatened by such loss.

The second technique that legendary artists use to keep gained experience points is to enlist the aid of a supernatural familiar — some small creature from his associated realm that will bind with the artist and serve as his mnemonic aid. First, the legendary artist must find such a creature, after which he spends time befriending the creature and binding it to him. An artist's familiar is similar to a Hermetic familiar in name alone, and does not confer the same benefits to the artist. It serves solely as a mnemonic aid, serving as an extension of the artist's knowledge. Each season spent with the familiar generates a total based on the character's Presence + Charm. This total is compared against the creature's Might, with points over the Might score accumulated to befriend the familiar. Once these excess points equal the creature's Might, the creature will serve as the artist's familiar. If the legendary artist's Presence + Charm total does not equal the creature's Might, it is too powerful to be persuaded to become a familiar.

Once bound, the familiar can "hold" gained experience points for the artist. Each point of Might allows the artist to retain 5 experience points from study. The familiar lives with the artist and must be present throughout the season that the artist gains additional experience points. If the familiar is ever slain, the experience points vanish. A legendary artist is limited to the number of supernatural familiars he may befriend by his Leadership score.

If you have access to Realms of Power: Magic, or Realms of Power: Faerie, you can use the character creation and advancement rules given there to handle legendary artists of those two realms.

Muses

Muses are supernatural entities from the four realms that seek prominent artists to promote their fortune. The most famous muses are Homer's — the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Thanking the muses is a common motif in medieval romances, and is a common practice for contemporary poets. Rather than being a specific category of supernatural beings, a muse is any supernatural entity from any realm that attaches itself to the artist and grants him its favors. "Muse" is a title, not a type of supernatural being. A minor muse is any supernatural creature that acts as an artist's patron and has a Might score of 15 or less. A major muse has a higher Might score, limited to 30.

Art is a powerful and influential messenger, able to display a variety of ideas to a diverse audience. A viewer does not need to share a language or invest a lot of time to perceive this message, instead merely needing to see the piece of art. The supernatural powers realize this, and perceive art as a powerful motivational tool. Supernatural creatures realize that art sends the loudest, most easily perceived message. Intellectual ideas are contained within a limited, educated audience, which is why intellectuals don't interest muses. Hermetic society is too small. The work of artists, however, has the possibility to influence thousands. The principal reason a muse helps an artist is because this promotes its interests.

The second reason muses help mortals is because they enjoy their art. Divinely influenced art pleases an angel's sense of beauty, disturbing art helps a demon grow in the infernal hierarchy, and appropriate art can make a faerie's role stronger. Magical creatures enjoy the delicious intricacies of magically created art. Not every supernatural creature is so persuaded, and many couldn't care less for the mundane realm, but those that do possess this artistic inclination have the option of becoming a muse.

Once a supernatural creature becomes a character's muse, a supernatural bond is created between the two. This bond allows the creature to imbue the artist with supernatural powers by temporarily sacrificing a portion of its Might. Minor muses may sacrifice 5 points of Might and grant the character a minor, supernatural Virtue. They may also grant the character one of their powers, at a point cost equal to that of the power itself. From then on, the character may use this power once per day. Whether a personal power or a minor, supernatural Virtue, minor muses are limited to 5 points that they may temporarily sacrifice in this way. Major muses may sacrifice up to 15 points of Might, enough to bestow a major, supernatural Virtue to the character, three minor supernatural Virtues, or several personal powers. These Might points are not regained as long as the bond remains.

These powers persist for as long as the character accepts the muse as her patron, and the muse desires to reward the artist. Long-term bonds are common, but shifting temperaments might end a bond at any time. If either artist or muse dies, the bond is immediately severed and the bestowed powers lost.

The drawback is that this bond of a muse's patronage grants Warping points to the recipient. The artist gains 1 Warping point a year from a minor muse and 3 from a major muse. The effects of these Warping points are detailed in Ars Magica Fifth Edition, page 168.

Since there are several ways for player characters to have a Might score, they may also serve as muses to artists. Player character muses cannot bequeath Might to the artist to increase his artwork's Aesthetic Quality. They must work within their current abilities to aid the artist, typically by steering more-important mundane sponsors toward the artist or finding means to improve the artist's artworking Ability through books or teachers.

Story Seed: An Interested Investor

Most covenants have specialists, typically craftsmen, extremely skilled in their trade. Since the line between artist and craftsman is blurry, an exceptionally skilled craftsman could be considered an artist, especially by those living outside the covenant. The local priest has noticed the exquisite craftsmanship of the covenant's illuminator, goldsmith, mason, or what have you, and told his superior, the bishop. The bishop, always eager to finance beautiful art for his diocese, sends a team to investigate the covenant.

Since artists and academics are linked, often through ecclesiastical connections, this story could include all sorts of characters. The bishop knows scholars and artists, and sends a combined team to the covenant. He sends scholars because they are intelligent and he will trust their report. The artists will offer their valuable critique of the specialist's work.

The covenant's inhabitants will probably be wary, since most magi are reluctant to display their homes to strangers. The bishop's goal is to sponsor the specialist. This would likely remove him from the covenant for a time, as he works on the commissioned piece of art. Is he willing to do this? Do the magi desire this? Allowing the specialist to work for the bishop could generate a lasting friendship, while refusing the bishop's offer could earn his enmity. This story is a good way to introduce new academic and artist characters to your saga.

Every artist needs a patron or a benefactor, or both, to produce artwork. Art is not created and then put on display, hoping for a well-heeled buyer to snap it up. Every piece of artwork needs a sponsor first before it is created. This means that an artist character spends a good amount of time searching for potential financial backers. A benefactor is someone who agrees to buy one piece of artwork from an artist, and a patron is someone who agrees to support the artist for an undetermined length of time, sponsoring all of the artist's work. Both are referred to as the artist's sponsor. Patrons and benefactors supply the money for the commissioned piece, which the artist will use to procure materials, tools, assistants, and sundry supplies, as well as meals, rent, and clothing.

Unlike Hermetic magi, who need a lab, and craftsmen, who need a workshop, artist characters are assumed to have the space and materials they need to make artwork once they have gained a sponsor. Anyone with extra money can serve as an artist's sponsor, from wealthy peasants and prosperous merchants to rich princes and affluent clerics. Certain criteria apply as the character's Artist Reputation grows, however, forcing him to find wealthier, more-powerful sponsors as his career blossoms.

It takes a season to find a sponsor, in which it is assumed that the artist is doing everything in his power to find the best-suited candidate: attending feasts, proffering flattery, praising, and conniving. The player makes a Communication + Bargain + Artist Reputation + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12 + modifiers. If successful, he becomes the sponsor's client. If the roll fails, the negotiations are for naught, although the character can try again with the same sponsor the next season. Such a repeat request allows the player a +3 bonus to the next season's roll. If the roll botches, the artist is absolutely refused and must find another sponsor altogether.

Finding a Sponsor: Communication + Bargain + Artist Reputation + stress die vs. 12 + modifiers

The situations that modify the Ease Factor are:

Modifier	Situation
–3	Finding a benefactor
+3	Asking a benefactor to commission a second piece
+6	Asking a benefactor to commission additional pieces past two
+9	Asking a benefactor to become a patron
0	A sponsor with a free Social Virtue
+3	A sponsor with a minor Social Virtue
+6	A sponsor with a major Social Virtue
+x	The sponsor's highest business or social Reputation

At the beginning of his career, an artist can seek out any sponsor. As he progresses in fame, he must find more-influential patronage. With an Artist Reputation of 4 or 5, the character must find a sponsor with either a business or social Reputation of at least 2. When his Artist Reputation is 6 or 7, he must find a sponsor with either a business or social Reputation of at least 3 and a minor Social Status Virtue, a sponsor with a minor Social Status Virtue and the Major General Virtue: Wealthy, or a sponsor with a major Social Status Virtue. At an Artist Reputation of 8, the artist is too expensive for one-time benefactors and must find a patron, who has a Major Social Status Virtue and either the Major General Virtue: Wealthy or a good business or social Reputation of 4. Minor and Major Social Status Virtues must relate to rank and supposed affluence in medieval society. A Clerk, Failed Apprentice, or Mendicant Friar (minor Social Status Virtues) could probably not fund an artist, while a Gentleman, Knight, Guild Master, or Factor (City & Guild, pages 53 and 108) probably could.

A character can also affect the roll to find a sponsor by making another, prior roll to see how successful he is in finding a likely candidate to ask to be his sponsor. This roll happens in the same season spent finding the sponsor, and should be rolled first. A player can make a Perception + Folk Ken + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12. If successful, the player can add +3 to the following roll to acquire the character's sponsor. If it fails, the second roll is made as usual. If the roll botches, the artist has selected the wrong man, who refuses without the need to make the second roll.

Sponsors are fickle and there are many ways to lose them. If the artist is not diligent, perhaps taking a season off from a project to adventure or study, the sponsor will abandon him on a simple roll of 6 or higher. If the artist does not gain (Artist) Reputation experience points when a piece of artwork is completed, a benefactor will not commission further pieces, while a patron will.

For player characters sponsoring artists, a storyguide character does not need to make a Finding a Sponsor roll. This should be handled in a story, with the decision left up to the player. If a player character decides to sponsor an artist, he must pay the artist at least one Mythic Pound per point of Artist Reputation for the piece commissioned. The storyguide should determine precisely how much the sponsor must spend based on the individual artwork. Pieces that require more than a season to create cost two, three, or even four times as much.

Cost to Sponsor an Artwork (Completed in One Season): At least 1 Mythic Pound per point of Artist Reputation

This money buys materials, as well as providing for the livelihood and lifestyle of the artist. The player's character receives the finished piece, and may gain a Reputation as a patron of fine arts if he continues sponsoring artists.

The Covenants supplement contains rules for creating mundane objects (page 49), specifically craft goods, which can be used when a magus creates a piece of artwork. In effect, the magus copies the work of an artist in an instant, using a Finesse roll to determine how successful he is. Tangible objects of art are easily mimicked, but non-tangible artwork is more difficult and requires Mentem magic to place the artwork in the mind of the target. Magic is more useful with the production arts than the performance arts, although audiences can easily have their perception of the performance manipulated.

Magically Created Art Aesthetic Quality: Intelligence + Finesse, –6, –9, –12, or –15

Mundane artists cannot study magically created art for experience point gain. Bypassing the artist, magically created art does not indicate the method or technique useful to regular artists. Magically created art has an Aesthetic Quality only as a way to compare its beauty against other pieces of artwork. A mundane artist cannot automatically tell that a piece of magically created art has been so made, but a closer inspection might alert him to its unnatural origin. Studying it for a season certainly will.

This creates a bit of tension between mundane artists and magi who create art. In many sagas, not every member of the population knows of the Order of Hermes — perhaps only lords, scholars, and clergy who live in proximity to a covenant. Peasants, craftsmen, and artists might have heard rumors of an organized group of wizards, but many view magic as a tool of the devil. Seeing a piece of art without the characteristic identifiers of its construction will shock many artists, and be disconcerting at the least. Is it diabolic, a miracle, or something else entirely? Because most magi hesitate in rousing the rabble, those magi who make art don't disseminate it, keeping it to beautify their covenant or using it as a gift to a Hermetic colleague.

Hermetic Spells

Here are a few of the spells Hermetic magi have invented to make pieces of art.

The Poet’s Bust
ReTe Level 5
R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind

This spell changes a block of stone into a carved bust. The caster must touch both the targeted stone block and the person who is the subject of the bust.

(Base 3, +1 for stone, +1 Touch)

The Miniature of Immortality
CrHe(An)(Te) Level 20
R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual

This spell creates a painted miniature of a person or scene within voice range of the caster. The picture is painted on a wooden panel, and the spell's requisites include the required mineral-based pigments and the egg yolk necessary for binding the paint.

(Base 2, +2 Voice, +2 requisites, +1 complexity: minimum level for ritual spell)

Conjuring the House of God
CrTe Level 45
R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual

This spell creates a church that towers overhead with either barrel or groin vault ceilings, impressive tower facades, and stained glass windows. Its footprint covers 19,000 square feet, and its towers can be up to 140 feet high. The caster determines the exact design of the church, based on contemporary styles. This church has not been consecrated, and is a church only in the architectural style of the building. Spontaneously appearing churches, particularly those larger than many cathedrals, will certainly raise a population's suspicions.

(Base 3, +1 Touch, +6 size, +3 elaborate design)

Rising above the sea of regular artists are a select few who possess truly inspirational talents. Stories are told about these exceptional men and women, not so much for their creations, which can be brilliant, as for their lives and numerous adventures. Known for their extravagances and exaggerated personalities, a mythic artist lives a turbulent life, filled with excitement, seasoned with desperation, and fraught with perils. Such an individual is called a maestro, regardless of his particular medium.

No one knows why maestros are touched with such a magical nature. Unlike the heroic blood of some Mercere Redcaps, or the mythic blood of several magi of the Order, there is no direct link between a maestro and his ancestors. Some suggest that it is the whim of the old gods or faerie lords that imbues an artist with magical potential, and others speculate that the divine and infernal realms select individuals at random, playing at a game that transcends mortal understanding. Maestros are granted their powers by one of the four supernatural realms, and because many maestros' powers are similar, it is often hard to determine which of the four realms supplies them with their supernatural abilities.

Players may play a maestro, selecting the character as a Mythic Companion, similar to the variety of Mythic Companions that exist in other Ars Magica supplements (see, for example, Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 81 – 82). The character must take the special Virtue: Maestro, which then allows him to have twice as many points of Virtues as he has points of Flaws. This special Virtue also allows the character to select one of the following Minor Virtues at no cost: Affinity with Craft or Profession Ability, Free Expression, Inspirational, or Puissant Craft or Profession Ability. The chosen Craft or Profession Ability must be the primary medium of the artist's art. The player may then purchase up to 10 points of Flaws for the character, with each point spent allowing him to purchase two points of Virtues. It is possible, then, for a maestro character to have 21 points of Virtues and 10 points of Flaws.

The player must decide which of the four realms holds sway over the character, and the character is considered to be affiliated with that realm. Maestros are allowed to select Hermetic Virtues and Flaws that seem appropriate. Maestros may not have The Gift, and their magical affiliation with a realm does not affect mundanes like The Gift does. Maestros may also choose Heroic Virtues and Flaws (Houses of Hermes: True Lineages pages 103 – 109). A maestro character must have one of the following Hermetic Flaws: Susceptibility to Divine Power, Susceptibility to Faerie Power, or Susceptibility to Infernal Power.

Like a magus character, a maestro can learn any Ability during character creation, and is not limited to choices based on her social station alone. Their precocious natures allow maestros to learn skills outside their social networks. Some background explanation might be necessary to explain how the character learned what she did, however, and this should be a colorful exercise in creativity for the maestro's player and troupe.

Maestros are rare, perhaps one in a thousand artists. While not as rare as the Blood of Heroes that runs through some Redcaps' veins (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages), it would be odd for two or more to be found in a single saga. One per troupe is a good idea, as more would diminish their uniqueness, but ultimately this is a decision for you and your group.

Maestros are renowned artists, but that is not their only role, and other Virtues highlight their lifestyle outside their studio or workshop. Truly flamboyant, persnickety artists are more well known during the Renaissance than the Middle Ages, but players can use examples of those anachronistic artists' behavior as ideas for their characters. Leonardo da Vinci, for example, barely worked, preferring to draw in his sketchbook than actually finish commissioned paintings. Brunelleschi was more interested in his feud with fellow artist Ghiberti than receiving awarded commissions. Many wonderful examples of tempestuous artists can be found in Giorgio Vasari's sixteenth-century book, Lives of the Artists. While few medieval artists are presented, the book is full of ideas for players and storyguides, and it is readily available on the Internet.

Finally, "maestro" is an Italian word that means "master." If your saga is primarily set in another area of Mythic Europe, you might want to use another vernacular language's word for "master" to identify this sort of mythic companion. Examples are "maestro" in Spanish, "maître" in French, "meister" in German, and "mayster" in Middle English.

New Virtues

These Virtues and Flaws exist to aid and define maestro characters, although you may allow other mundane artists to purchase some of them at character generation. A few personality Flaws are listed here, to help define the capricious personalities of mythical artists. These can be available for any Ars Magica character if your troupe so desires.

Artistic Renown
Minor General Virtue

The character has had some success as an artist and begins the game with an Artist Reputation of 2. Only characters with an Artist Reputation may take this Virtue. Characters may take this Virtue twice, for a total beginning Artist Reputation of 4.

Hermetic Inclination in (Form)
Major Supernatural Virtue

The character does not have The Gift, but because of his magical nature, he can study one Hermetic Form and use that knowledge in his profession. The Form must be Herbam, Imaginem, Mentem, or Terram, and must be connected to the artist's primary type of artwork. The character starts with a score of 0 in the Art, and is allowed to increase it with character generation experience points, as well as other means of study during play. However, since he doesn't have an understanding of Hermetic magic, summae and tractatus only provide half their normal Quality. Having a score in Magic Theory removes this penalty to studying books. He may add the Form Bonus from his score to the Aesthetic Quality of created artwork. He may also instill some magical effects into his artwork. His score in the Form offers the maestro no Magic Resistance, but does provide a Form Bonus in appropriate situations (see ArM5, page 77).

A Maestro, and only a maestro, may take this Virtue once, for a single Form.

Life-Linked Art
Major Supernatural Virtue

The character is magically linked to his artwork, and he may wound himself while he works to increase the Aesthetic Quality of the piece. A self-inflicted Light wound adds +1, a Medium wound +3, and a Heavy wound +6. Only one type of wound may be inflicted, and the wound does not begin to heal until the artwork is finished. Artwork augmented in this fashion remains a permanent Arcane Connection to the artist.

Maestro
Special Free Virtue

The character is a maestro, a Mythic Companion character who excels at art. The character may select one of the following Virtues at no cost: Affinity with Craft or Profession Ability, Free Expression, Inspirational, or Puissant Craft or Profession Ability. The character receives 2 points of Virtues for every point spent on Flaws.

Prolific Artist
Minor Supernatural Virtue

The character is extremely quick when creating art, and may reduce the time it takes to make a piece of artwork by 1/4. Thus, a piece of art that regularly takes a season to create can be produced in nine weeks. He works too quickly for assistants to keep up, and may not use assistants to reduce the amount of time it takes to create art.

New Flaws

Fickle Nature
Minor Personality Flaw

The character swings between two types of personality behaviors that are directly opposite. There is no middle ground, so the character is always either displaying traits of one behavior or the other. Select a Personality Trait at +4, and its opposite at +4. Typically Personality Traits are: Happy and Sad, Energetic and Lazy, Confident and Diffident, or Proud and Humble.

Fluctuating Fortune
Minor Supernatural Flaw

The character's finances rise and fall like the tide, regardless of how successful he is or what preventative measures he takes. He is considered to have the Wealthy Virtue one year, followed by the Poor Flaw the next. Besides monetary concerns, this means that the character will have to only work one season in one year, followed by a year in which he has to work three, all to maintain his livelihood. This cycle of feast and famine continues throughout the character's life, always in opposition to his financial desires. When he needs money most, he has none, and has an abundance of funds when they are superfluous.

Gullible
Minor Personality Flaw

The character has spent so much time in isolation, working on his artwork, that he is easily misled by others. Because of his inexperience with people, he is also a poor liar. He receives a –3 penalty on any Guile or Perception rolls used to determine truth or falsehood.

Unruly Air
Minor Supernatural Flaw

The character has a penchant for stirring up situations, making pleasant events better and unpleasant ones worse. Whenever the character is in a social situation with multiple people, his slightest behavior will subtly push others to extreme behavior. He is either the life of the party, or its death, depending on the prevailing mood of the crowd. His influence is linked to his magical nature, so that others with Magic Resistance are not influenced by him.

Magi and maestros can instill spell-like effects into artwork. This procedure is not changed for Hermetic magi, and a piece's Aesthetic Quality is ignored when instilling magical effects into it. The piece of artwork can hold as many pawns of vis as suggested on the Material and Size Table (ArM5, page 97), but no more. Many magi like their enchanted items to be beautiful, but the comparative beauty of an enchanted brazier over a normal brazier is irrelevant to the magical effects it can contain.

Maestros with the Virtue: Hermetic Inclination in (Form) may instill spell-like effects into their artwork while they are creating it. Any spell-like power from the specific Form may be instilled. However, the Range of the effect must be Personal, meaning that the magic affects the artwork, and the Duration must be a constant effect (ArM5, page 99). Any Technique may be used in combination with the Form. The spell-like power cannot have Hermetic requisites, as those are too complicated for a maestro to instill.

Once the final effect level of the power is determined, the player compares his character's Dexterity + Craft Ability + Form to the final level of the effect. Performance maestros use their Communication + Profession Ability + Form to generate a total. This total is affected by the Realm Interaction Table (ArM5, page 183). For each point of this total above the final level of effect, he gains a point towards the magical artwork's completion. When the accumulated points equal the level of the effect, the item is finished. Some artwork requires more than one season of work to complete, so instilling an effect may not necessarily prolong the process. Maestros must invest their energy into their magical work, rather than vis. Instilling a magical effect in a piece of artwork costs a Fatigue Level per 10 levels of the spell-like power. This is a semi-permanent loss, persisting as long as the maestro works on the artwork.