Can I Make a Magic Lore Roll?

Magic Lore covers knowledge of "magical creatures, areas, and traditions," and the prospective menagerie manager's player will want to make Intelligence + Magic Lore rolls to discover where to begin his search, as well as to find answers to a great many other questions. A storyguide must be careful how much information a successful Magic Lore roll reveals, always mindful that a good roll should propel a story forward, not circumvent the session's adventure with an easy victory. The following guidelines may help a storyguide

determine how successful a Magic Lore roll is when asked about an area and a magical creature.

Magic Lore Ease Factor: 6+ Habitat Query: Preferred climate Creature Query: Basic information (e.g., winged carnivore)

Magic Lore Ease Factor: 9+ Habitat Query: The type of terrain (e.g., swamp)

Creature Query: Creature's diet and natural enemies

Magic Lore Ease Factor: 12+ Habitat Query: Specific geographical features

Creature Query: Creature's general Personality Traits

Magic Lore Ease Factor: 15+ Habitat Query: Approximate strength of preferred aura

Creature Query: Approximate Might of the creature in magnitudes

creatures in the same area.

Hermetic magic is a very powerful tool for landscaping, and nearly any feature can be molded, changed, or created at the maga's whim. Trees can be grown or removed, hills leveled or piled, rivers diverted, and ponds created in an instant. Created features, using Creo ritual magic, will need vis to make the changes permanent, but Rego and Muto magic easily accomplish many of the same feats without the need for vis. Rego Aquam spells with a Terram requisite can divert a river, and if the water still runs downhill, it will remain in the new shape after the magic of the spell ends. Muto Terram can level the ground by changing it all into water, letting it settle, then canceling the magical effect. Trees, brambles, and unwanted shrubs can be removed with Perdo Herbam magic, but this type of magical destruction always leaves a mess behind. On the other hand, Perdo Aquam spells are perfect for draining swamps and drying out marshes. Naturally, steps will have to be taken to prevent the ground from become waterlogged by whatever natural processes created it in the first place.

A cautious magus should avoid damaging any existing tethers, which draw mystical energies to create the magic aura. Preternatural tethers are usually safe from Hermetic landscaping, but too much alteration may destroy a natural tether. Tethers are explained in Realms of Power: Magic, pages 8–10.

The Wand to Produce a Forest Overnight

CrHe 45

Pen: 0, unlimited uses

R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind

Instilled in an oak wand, this effect matures a plant in about two hours. Typically, a person carries the wand and a sack of live acorns. Pushing the acorn into the ground, he then touches it with the wand, speaks the command word, and gets out of the way. This enchanted device is not limited to oaks and acorns,