The Mechanics of Enchantment

Shipwrights consider the various parts of the ship as being separate entities. The keel (where present) and the hull comprise one, the mast makes an-

The Hermetic Architecture Virtue presents a method of enchanting very large objects through the use of mystically attuned proxy devices (The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 97). These devices are prepared and enchanted separately and then joined through a ritual with the ultimate target of the enchantment.

This approach has a number of benefits. The proxy devices are small enough that they can be enchanted within a standard Hermetic laboratory under carefully controlled conditions. The devices can be applied to structures of any size. Finally, the Mystery permits Boundary effects to be enchanted into the devices, something ordinary Hermetic understanding does not support.

But the process is both time-con-

suming and vis-hungry. To enchant a wooden ship of size +7 (a large cog), the Hermetic Architect would at minimum need to open seven separate devices with 14 pawns of Vim vis each. Each of these devices would then need to have the target enchantment invested separately. This process is followed by a further ritual of level 40 (assuming an original enchantment of level 30). This is a total of 127 pawns of vis over potentially 14 seasons.

For the Hermetic shipwright, it is preferable to build a large working Hermetic laboratory. The time taken is likely to be less than the 14 seasons needed by the Hermetic Architect and the vis required in the enchantment of the ship is an order of magnitude lower.

Crystal +5 water related effect Cypress +3 necromancy

+3 spirits Fan +4 banish weather

winds

Fir +3 darkness

Garnet +2 navigation Lilac +2 travel

Mercury +3 Aquam

Mast +2 protection from

Oak +7 protection from storms

phenomena +4 create or control

+1 malicious faeries

temptation

other, any upperworks (such as castles at the fore and aft) are separate, as are the sails, rigging, and finally the rudder or the steering oar.

But for the magus, one of the most important questions is one of size: can the magus actually use enough vis in a single season to open the vessel for enchantment? Conventional ships are primarily constructed of wood. Looking at the Material and Size Tables on ArM5, page 97, we can see that wood requires a base 2 pawns of vis, but the table only describes items up to the size of a boat or wagon and gives them a size multiplier of x5. Most ships are an order of magnitude larger again, so we should expect a size multiplier of x6 for a moderate vessel and x7 or x8 for a large ship. The largest of all ships have a size multiplier of x9.

The table that follows lists the number of pawns of vis that must be used to open various parts of the ship for enchantment.

Component B P	ase S awns P	ize T	otal awns
Hull (huge)	2	9	18
Hull (very large)	2	8	16
Hull (large)	2	7	14
Hull (moderate)	2	6	12
Hull (small)	2	5	10
Keel (alone)	2	5	10
Mast	2	4	8
Rigging	2	5	10
Sails	1	5	5
Rudder/Steering Oar	2	4	8
Castle	2	4	8
Anchor	5	4	20

As described in Ars Magica Fifth Edition, on page 97, there are two ways to prepare the vessel for enchantment. The first is to prepare only a part of the vessel, the steering oar for instance. As part of the ship, effects invested in the oar benefit from shape (but not material bonuses) inherent in the ship, but the magus does not have to prepare the en-