Puissant hymns and hymn Affinities

It is possible to take the Affinity with Ability and Puissant Ability Virtues for a Hyperborean hymn. Puissant Hymn effectively increases your hymn recitation totals for that hymn, and other totals that may use your character's Hymn Ability score (such as Soak). It does not, however, increase the number of points your character gets for Powers, which uses the unmodified Ability score only. Affinity with Hymn acts as normal, making it easier for you to increase your character's Hymn Ability for that hymn.

Apollo symbolized a number of virtuous Personality Traits, the most prominent one being Austerity. Apollo favored Perseverance and Compassion, but also embodied fearsome Retribution. Personality Traits that were disliked by Apollo include Pride, Rashness, and Presumption. Apollo was a deity who believed in and personified tradition and dignity; innovation and new ideas were largely frowned upon, while old ways of thinking and behaving were favored.

Ability, gains a score of 1, spends a season preparing to recite the hymn (in addition to the base season, for a total of two seasons), and then spends a season reciting it. Her hymn recitation total is 7 (Communication 1 + Hymn score 1 + devotional behavior 3 + Magic aura 2), so she successfully infuses the Power Victory of the Lapiths (Ease Factor of 5) into herself.

Troupes may wish to have an adventure focused on uncovering the Hyperborean hymns. Alternatively, a troupe may wish to merely spend a season in search of a teacher or text. You may do the latter by making an Intelligence + Magic Lore stress roll against an Ease Factor of 21. If you succeed, your character manages to track down a teacher (likely a ghost), a hymn fragment, or a

relic. A failure may uncover a minor magical manuscript, or may reveal that the teacher sought is long dead. A botch wastes the season, or more interestingly, leaves the character prone to Infernal or faerie deception of some kind.

FINDING A HYPERBOREAN HYMN SOURCE: Intelligence + Magic Lore

• stress die vs. Ease Factor 21

Devotional behavior*	+3 per season
Distraction**	−1 per day not reciting hymn
Hyperborean Descent***	+2/+4
Language: Hyperborean	+ score in Ability
Honorable Minor Personality Flaw†	+1
Honorable Major Personality Flaw	+3
Dishonorable Minor Personality Flaw‡	-1
Dishonorable Major Virtue or Flaw	-3

* Devotional behavior means spending a season prior to reciting the hymn in activity devoted to the veneration of Apollo. This could include prayer, ecstatic meditation, pilgrimage to an Apollonian sacred site (such as Delphi or Delos), or intellectual contemplation and refraining from both pleasures of the flesh (such as sex or eating extravagantly) and from dishonorable acts (lying, cheating, etc.). The bonus for devotional behavior stacks for a maximum of three sea-

sons (i.e., up to a +9 bonus), after which no further bonus is gained.

• ** This has a maximum of 20 days, after which reciting the hymn has no benefit.
• *** Refers to having either the Minor or Major Virtue, Hyperborean Descent, respectively. † An Honorable Personality Flaw is one that the storyguide decides is considered favorable by Apollo. ‡ A Dishonorable Personality Flaw is one that the storyguide decides is considered unfavorable by Apollo.

The Hyperborean hymns, such as the Seven Beautiful Names of Light, grant spell-like Powers which, for convenience, have their level determined using the Hermetic Arts guidelines in

Hyperborean hymns are both more flexible and more restrictive than the Hermetic Arts. For example, Pentiterouni could alter, perceive, control, destroy, or create ash, coal,

Hyperborean hymn Powers use the same effect modifications as those found in ArM5, pages 98–99. The constant effect and environmental triggers both cause Warping, as per the constant mystical effect rules (ArM5, page 168).

It is also said that . . . Apollo visits the island of Hyperborea once in the course of nineteen years, in which period the stars complete their revolutions, and that for this reason the Greeks distinguish the cycle of nineteen years by the name of "the great year."

— Hecataeus of Abdera, Peri Hyperboreon

The power or spell lasts for 19 years, or until the stars complete their 19-year revolution, whichever is the lesser. Some understanding of astrology (Artes Liberales) is required to know the positions and revolutions of the stars. This Duration is one magnitude higher than Year Duration.

lead, onyx, and sapphires, but could not affect any other kind of gem or metal covered by Terram. A character may also use the new Duration 19 Years (see text box) for Hyperborean hymn Powers.

The Ease Factor to recite a hymn is determined by dividing the level of the Power by three (round up). You may further alter the Ease Factor by using the effect modifications from ArM5, page 99. The modifiers for the Power's level are applied before any division.

Hyperborean and Ancient (Attic) Greek are similar enough that they sound and look similar. Indeed, knowing Ancient Greek allows limited understand of Hyperborean.

There were no Hyperborean dictionaries, but many of the (nonmagical) prayers to Apollo are similar enough in both Ancient Greek and Hyperborean that a dedicated researcher who manages to discover written fragments of hymns and prayers in both languages may be able to spend time decoding Hyperborean.

Most written versions of the Hyperborean hymns use the Hyperborean language and alphabet, as does any writing on Hyperborean relics.

Hyperborean ghosts may be able to teach the lost language, as may some spirits (particularly those that guard shrines to Apollo). This would require that the character be able to communicate with the ghost or spirit, such as by having a language in common, or using magical means.

Hyperborean hymns do not require vis, and do not require "Rituals" for high-level effects. A hymn may have permanent effects, such as healing or creation, with none of the requirements of Hermetic magic. Due to the high Ease Factor of some Powers, Hyperborean wizards often assisted each other by using the Ceremony Ability (see below).

Gaining New Powers and Improving Existing Ones

Each time you increase one of your character's Hymn Ability scores, he gains 15 additional levels in powers. The additional levels may be spent on new Powers, or on improving existing ones. You may choose to not spend some or all of the levels, and these may be later spent at any time on Powers through the recitation process. You may divide the levels between new Powers and improving existing ones as you wish, as long as your character's hymn recitation total equals or exceeds the total Ease Factor for all of the Powers combined.

To gain a new Power, the character must recite the hymn again and spend an additional season consecrating himself, as above.

To improve an existing Power, the character recites the hymn, with the Ease Factor determined by the difference between the Power's new level and its old one. This also takes a season to infuse. When he improves an existing Power, he may increase the Range, Duration, or Target of the Power; its Penetration; or the number of times per day he is able to invoke it. If he improves the Range, Duration, or Target, he may not use the Power at its lower level, only at its improved level.

Gaining and Improving Powers Example

Moratamis of House Guernicus has the Hyperborean hymn Psyrinpheu with a score of 1, with one Power. Upon increasing the Ability to 2, she gains an additional 15 points to spend on Powers, decides to infuse a new Power with a level cost of 10, and use the remaining 5 points to improve her existing Power. It takes Moratamis one season for each power she infuses, regardless of level.

Gaining More Levels

Without any external assistance, characters are practically limited to 150 levels of powers for each hymn. Luckily, hymnists are able to infuse extra levels of Powers into themselves, although this comes at an exorbitant cost in vis.

For each pawn of vis expended during the recitation of a hymn, the character gains one extra level to spend on Powers. Thus, it costs five pawns of vis to gain five extra levels to spend on Powers. The character may spend vis during the normal course of recitation (when he gains more Powers due to an increase in the Ability) or, alternatively, he may spend a season reciting the hymn and simply expend the vis to gain additional Powers.

Troupes with high-vis sagas may wish to alter this cost, so that it costs two or more pawns of vis to gain a level of Powers. The vis used should be of an appropriate Technique or Form.