Why You Should Be Playing HârnMaster 3.5 - Magic

As with religion, magic in HârnMaster is limited and rare, but a skilled mage can move mountains.

Magic is ruled by the six schools of the Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Shek-Pvar. The six orders, plus the Neutral school, and their specialties, are:

• Lyahvi - Wind, Magnification, Visual Illusions
• Pelehn - Fireball, Volcanos, Movement Enhancement
• Jmorvi - Weapon Creation, Prospecting/Mining, Lockboxes
• Fryria - Healing, Horticulture, Necromancy, Earthquakes
• Odvishe - Waves, Precipitation, Movement Reduction
• Savorya - Divination, Written Works, Memory Suppression
• Neutral - Counter-Magic, Interworld Travel, Energy Storage

Every aspiring mage must determine their Convocational Mastery Level like any other skill. Each sub-order has different requirements and different astrological modifiers. So while you may want to be a fireball-tossing Pelehni, you might be better suited to an apprenticeship with the Savorya.

But here's a twist. Every chantry is rated in Hârn's 1-5 star system. Getting into the best chantries is hard, and you might have to settle for a low-rated chantry and a drunk master.

Whatever your education was like (and honestly, a bad master and a shitty chancery is an excellent character backstory), you enter the game as a Satia-Mavari, a journeyman mage. Here's where HârnMaster shines as a campaign idea generator.

All Satia-Mavari are required to spend at least a year on wanderjahre. Before they can return to claim the status as full Mavari (full mages and entitled to the benefits of that status), they must collect at least three examples of a lost spell, original spell research, or a significant magical relic.

Halford's boots, this is a years-long campaign just waiting to happen. The Satia-Mavari calls on family to help him, and they begin tracking down rumors and legends, with numerous opportunities for side adventures.

Sadly, the base rulebook is lacking in spells. HârnMaster - Magic has plenty, and there are numerous online grimoires for additional ideas. The spells themselves depart from the D&D trope of walking artillery. Well, except for the Pelehnio, of course. But you will find a plethora of spells that range from utilitarian to devastating. Evey mage has unimaginable power if they survive long enough to tap into it.

The drawback is the schools are on a wheel, and learning spells from schools opposite yours is very hard. The goal of every wizard is to study and learn enough to become a Grey Mage. This requires:

• Arcane Discipline to ML101 (or higher).
• Master Arcane Lore to ML101 (or higher).
• Know at least one spell in each convocation to ML 91 or better.
• Know at least twelve convocational spells to ML71+
• Know at least six neutral spells to ML61+.

Grey Mages are exceedingly rare and nearly legendary in their power. They are not tied to any chancery, but instead tend to retreat into wild lands to build their towers and study in isolation. Disturb them at your peril.

The structure of the Shek-Pvar has encouraged many players of Ars Magica to use Hârn as an alternate setting. Playing a Satia-Mavari is risky; you don't have many spells, and your control is still growing, but in the long run, your power can humble dragons.

OK, almost done! Next are some unique threats on Hârn, the more expansive universe, and Godstones. As always, I crave your reactions.