Characteristics

Every character has 7 points to spend on buying positive Characteristics, and can take up to 7 negative points to gain an equal number of additional points for positive Characteristics (ArM5, page 30). Various Virtues and Flaws can alter the number of points gained, or affect the final Characteristics once the points have been spent. The nearby insert has several arrays of Characteristics bought with the standard number of points; simply pick one for your character.

Characters who are 35 years old or older usually need to make aging rolls each year. When creating an old character, or updating a large number of grogs, making aging rolls can be time-consuming. The Aging Chart in the nearby insert presents the expected number of Aging Points gained for a decade of aging. Since the results of the aging roll are quite variable, results have been presented for mild, average, and harsh years. To use the table, decide whether the grog has experienced mild, average, or harsh aging for each decade, then cross-reference the row that corresponds to the character's Aging Score. The Aging Score is equal to the Aging Total excluding the stress die: age/10 (round up) – Living Conditions modifier – Longevity Ritual modifier. The character takes the indicated number of Aging Points. Apparent Age can be determined by rolling a simple die. If it is less than or equal to the indicated number of Aging Points, then Apparent Age advances 10 years for that decade, otherwise it advances a number of years equal to the die roll. If the character has spent part of a decade at one Aging Score and part at another, use the higher score for the whole decade. To deal with fractional decades, just take an appropriate proportion of the numbers indicated, rounding all fractions up.

Exempli gratia: Paul the Grog is designed as a 45 year old character. Rather than making 10 aging rolls, his player consults the Aging Chart. His Living Conditions Modifier is 0, so he has 6 years with an Aging Score of 4 (from 35 to 40 years old) and 4 years with an Aging Score of 5 (from 41 to 45 years old); but this is treated as 10 years at an Aging Score of 5. He therefore takes 5 Aging Points. Had the storyguide required him to use the harsh aging column, he would have had 6 Aging Points instead.

At character creation, harsh aging might represent a character who has adventured a lot prior to his introduction as a player character, and he might be permitted to start with Ability Scores 1 point higher than his

The numbers in the nearby table indicate the number of Aging Points and the number of crises expected to be gained by a character in a decade at different Aging Scores. For more details, see ArM5, pages 169–170. The Aging Points listed exclude those deriving from crises. Aging Scores of less than 4 are provided for those with good Living Conditions Modifiers.

AGING SCORE	MILD AGING	AVERAGE AGING	HARSH AGING
1	1	2	3
2	2	3	4
3	3	4	5
4	3	4 / 1 crisis	5 / 2 crises
5	4 / 1 crisis	5 / 1 crisis	6 / 2 crises
6	5 / 1 crisis	6 / 1 crisis	7 / 2 crises
7	6 / 1 crisis	7 / 1 crisis	8 / 2 crises
8	7 / 1 crisis	8 / 1 crisis	9 / 2 crises
9	7 / 1 crisis	9 / 1 crisis	10 / 2 crises
10	9 / 1 crisis	11 / 1 crisis	12 / 2 crises

It is up to the storyguide as to whether the character suffers the crises listed on the table; in particular, she might be inclined to ignore crises for newly created characters, since Decrepitude can quickly cripple a character.

The Aging Points listed on the Aging Chart only apply if the character suffers no crises. If crises are applied, then the character gains a Decrepitude score equal to the number of crises suffered, and the appropriate number of Aging Points for that level of Decrepitude. He also gains a number of additional Aging Points: if he suffers one crisis, then he gets half of the Aging Points listed in the Aging Chart; if he suffers two crises, then he gets one-third; and so on. Round all fractions up.

Exempli gratia: If the storyguide requires Paul to account for crises, he experiences one for his decade of average aging. He therefore has a Decrepitude of 1, and 5 Aging Points, along with an additional 3 Aging Points (half of the 5, he would have gained without crises, rounded up), for a total of 8 Aging Points. Had he experienced harsh aging, then he would have suffered two crises, granting him a Decrepitude 2 and 15 Aging Points, plus an additional 2 (one-third of 6), for a total of 17.

EFFECTS OF AGING ON CHARACTERISTICS

All Aging Points must be applied to the Characteristics of the character in the usual fashion. The Aging Table (ArM5, page 170) is designed to affect certain Characteristics in favor of others. Just under half of all Aging Points gained (excluding those from crises) are applied to any Characteristic (that is, a roll of 10–12 on the Aging Table). Of the remaining Aging Points, approximately half are gained in Quickness or Stamina, 30 percent in Perception or Presence, 15 percent in Strength or Dexterity, and the remainder in Intelligence and Communication. Players should bear these distributions in mind when applying Aging Points to a character.

The five childhood packages from Ars Magica Fifth Edition (page 31) are presented here in the same format as the training packages for ease of reference; along with two new ones — Covenant-bred and Feral Childhoods. These packages can only be taken for the first five years of life.

FIVE YEARS: +15 Athletics, +15 Brawl, +75 Native Language, +15 Swim

This childhood is only available to characters with the Covenant Upbringing Personality Flaw.

FIVE YEARS: +5 Athletics, +15 Area Lore: Covenant, +5 Folk Ken, +15 Latin, +75 Native Language, +5 Organization Lore: Order of Hermes

FIVE YEARS: +15 Area Lore, +5 Athletics, +5 Awareness, +75 Native Language, +5 Stealth, +15 Survival

This childhood is only available to characters with the Feral Upbringing Flaw.

FIVE YEARS: +5 Animal Handling, +15 Area Lore, +15 Athletics, +15 Awareness, +15 Brawl, +15 Hunt, +5 Stealth, +30 Survival, +5 Swim

FIVE YEARS: +15 Brawl, +15 Guile, +75 Native Language, +15 Stealth

FIVE YEARS: +15 Charm, +15 Folk Ken, +15 Guile, +75 Native Language

FIVE YEARS: +5 Area Lore: Area A, +5 Area Lore: Area B, +15 Folk Ken, +5 Living Language, +75 Native Language, +15 Survival