The Fertility Ritual

The Fertility Ritual is a special ritual performed during conception. It is similar to the Longevity Ritual: developing the ritual is a Laboratory activity that takes one season, and this produces a Lab Text describing the Fertility Ritual. Any Gifted character can perform a Fertility Ritual for which he has the Lab Text, and the Lab Text is required to conduct the ritual — this is the only benefit of a Fertility Ritual's Laboratory Text.

The first step to devising a Fertility Ritual is to calculate the maximum number of Trait Points of the ritual. The ritual is worth 1 Trait Point for every 10 points or fraction thereof of the magus's Creo Corpus Lab Total. The magus may receive a bonus to his Lab Total if he has a fertility fetish prepared by the intended mother (see below).

Maximum Trait Points: 1 for every 10 points or fraction of Creo Corpus Lab Total

Next, the traits that the child should manifest are chosen. Each trait costs a number of Trait Points, and the total number of Trait Points cannot exceed the maximum calculated for the ritual.

Trait	Trait Point Cost
Major Virtue or Flaw	3
Minor Virtue or Flaw	1
The Gift	3
Specify gender	1
Specify other general fea tures (e.g., red hair, green eyes)	1
Specify precise features (e.g., child's features are those of the king of France)	3

Virtue and Flaw traits are chosen from the list of Virtues and Flaws (ArM5, page 38). Hermetic Virtues and Flaws can be chosen if The Gift is also chosen, but they may not be accessible to the character until after the Arts are opened during apprenticeship (see ArM5, page 106). In any case, Virtues and Flaws may only be chosen that are inherently a part of a

A magus is approached by a noblewoman who wants to commission a Fertility Ritual, so that she may give birth to a son who has Improved Characteristics, is Inspirational, and is Strong Willed. The magus has a Creo Corpus Lab Total of 50, and so therefore may invent a ritual with a maximum number of 5 Trait Points. The Trait Point cost of the ritual that the noblewoman desires is: 1 (Improved Characteristics) + 1 (Inspirational) +1 (Strong Willed) + 1 (a son) = 4. So, the magus can create a ritual to fulfill the commission. Being reflexively devious, the magus secretly adds a Minor Flaw to the ritual: the Minor Personality Flaw Prohibition. He decides that if the son disobeys an instruction by the magus, he is struck by a piercing, migraine headache that lasts for a day; to attempt any complex activity while he has a migraine, a Stamina stress roll against an Ease Factor of 12 must be made. The total Trait Point cost of the ritual is therefore 5 (the maximum that the magus can create), it takes the magus a season to develop the ritual, and 5 pawns of vis must be spent during the performance of the ritual.

character's nature. So, for example, the Minor General Virtue Affinity with Ability is appropriate, but the Minor General Virtue Temporal Influence is not. Social Status Virtues and Flaws are not normally appropriate, but the judgment of the storyguide is the final arbiter as to whether a trait is appropriate or not. Virtues and Flaws detailed

A maga may create a Fertility Ritual to influence the conception of her own child. In this case, the maximum number of Trait Points for the ritual is equal to 1 for every 5 points, or fraction thereof, of Creo Corpus Lab Total. However, this ties the ritual to the maga and it may not be performed for another mother. This bonus only applies to mothers.

in other Ars Magica Fifth Edition supplements may also be taken, with the storyguide's approval.

It takes around half an hour to perform the Fertility Ritual, during which conception takes place. Both of the parents must be fertile (remember that the Longevity Ritual sterilizes a character); the ritual may be per-

formed by one of the parents (if either is Gifted), or it may be performed by a third party, who must be present. Conducting the Fertility Ritual consumes an amount of vis equal to the total Trait Point cost of the desired traits. Usually, the vis consumed is a combination of Creo and Corpus vis but, with the storyguide's permission, other types of vis that match the traits of the child may be substituted. For example, a Fertility Ritual that is intended to grant a child the Major Hermetic Virtue Elemental Magic may use the vis of each element.

Nine months later the child is born and manifests the traits determined by the Fertility Ritual. The ritual is specific to the child, so normally a different ritual must be devised for each performance — although it is possible to repeat the ritual (see below).

The Virtues and Flaws determined by the Fertility Ritual do not need to balance. However, if the child is a player character it is recommended that the troupe allows the child to develop additional Virtues and Flaws as he ages, so that by the time he reaches adulthood the traits do balance. The acquisition of a balancing trait could make a good subject for a story.

The traits of the parents are irrelevant to the Fertility Ritual, so it is perfectly possible to choose Supernatural Virtues like Giant Blood, or Faerie Blood, even if neither parent manifests these traits. However, the magus can only develop a ritual granting powers that derive from realms he has a connection to. This means that only a magus with the Faerie Magic Virtue can develop spells that grant Faerie Virtues, like Faerie Blood, and equivalent conditions apply to Divine and Infernal traits. The Gift provides a connection to the Magic realm.

Fertility fetishes are small representations of a pregnant woman crafted by a woman under the tutelage of a character who has the Ability Fertility Lore. A single fertility fetish may be used to add a bonus to the magus's Lab Total when devising a Fertility Ritual spell. If a fertility fetish is used, then the Fertility Ritual so developed may only be used for a child of the woman who made the fetish.

Fertility Fetish Lab Total Bonus: mother's (Dex + Craft Ability) + supervisor's Fertility Lore Ability

A woman must construct her own fertility fetish, but she may use virtually any Craft Ability that produces a physical artifact. The construction of the fertility fetish occupies the woman for a season, during which time she must be supervised by a character with the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore. The creation of a fertility fetish is automatic, but the skill of the mother and the supervisor does affect the bonus that the magus gains. A character only needs to have the Ability Fertility Lore to supervise the construction of fetishes, and may supervise a number of mothers, per season, equal to up to his Leadership Ability Score. This does not distract him from other work during the season.

A fertility fetish can only be made by a fertile woman, and in the process of creating a fertility fetish, the woman imbues it with her fertility, which infuses the fetish with one pawn

A maga who has accomplished the first Fertility Magic breakthrough, and therefore has the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore, may create her own fertility fetish (if she is fertile) as an effect worth 5 breakthrough points towards the second Fertility Magic breakthrough. This does not require any additional Insight, and fetishes created by other characters under her supervision do not generate breakthrough points, nor can they be studied as sources of Insight.

of Creo vis, and prevents her from creating another fetish. The fetish is a permanent Arcane Connection to the mother, and to any children conceived under a Fertility Ritual that utilizes the fetish. Like ancient fetish figurines (see above), which were created for similar reasons, the vis may be extracted from a fertility fetish. This destroys the fetish and renders the woman infertile. However, a fetish may be kept indefinitely, depending on the materials used in construction, and used to assist in inventing Fertility Rituals for a number of children.

A Fertility Ritual can only be successfully repeated, without risk, if the original child dies. A reckless magus may, however, experiment with a repeat performance of a Fertility Ritual, or a magus may discover a Lab Text for a Fertility Ritual and perform it without being aware he is duplicating the actions of another. In either case, the magus immediately gains a

The character's conception was influenced by a Fertility Ritual that had already been used to influence the birth of another. The character is physically similar to his predecessor(s), but not identical; he could even be of a different sex or race — as long as those factors were not determined by the ritual. The character has a sympathetic connection to his predecessor(s), and they to him, which provides a +2 multiplier bonus to the Penetration of spells or magical abilities that they use on each other (ArM5, page 84). The character also suffers a –3 penalty on all social interactions (as others perceive that there is something not quite right with the character), and every year, on his birthday, he gains a Warping Point. Upon the death of the character's predecessor(s) he losses the Corrupt Fertility Ritual Flaw, although any Warping Points suffered remain.

number of Warping Points equal to half the Trait Point cost of the ritual (round up), which may cause him to enter Wizard's Twilight (ArM5, page 88). The new child, when born, has the Minor Supernatural Flaw Corrupt Fertility Ritual (see insert).