Sub Rosa Issue 1

8/9/2019 Sub Rosa Issue 1

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A Pointless Mental Cruelty Production

Issue 1, Sep 2007

www.subrosamagazine.org



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h y h

Contents Regulars

Under the Rose Page 3

News from the Line Editor Page 4

Who’s Who Page 5

Features

The Art of Courtly Love Page 6 An article by Danielle Nichols

Covenant Locations: Masada Page 9 An article Ben McFarland Hermetic Vignettes Page 12 Short fiction by Kurt Konegen

The Tartalo Page 15 An adventure by Eric Vesbit

The Knights Templar Page 18 An article by Alex White

The End of the Hohenstaufen Page 29 An article by Michael de Verteuil

Florilegium of House Bjornaer Page 32 An article by Mark Shirley

Issue 1

ContributorsPublisher: Pointless Mental Cruelty

Contributors : Danielle Nichols, BenMcFarland, Kurt Konegan, Eric Vesbit,

Alex White, Michael de Verteuil, Mark

Shirley

Cover artist: Alex White

Interior artists: Jojo Aguilar, Angela

Taylor, Alex White

Editor: Mark Philp

Editorial Committee: Mark Philp, Alex

White

Layout/Design: Alex White

Contact Sub RosaEmail:

[email protected]

Web: http://www.subrosamagazine.org

Snail mail:

Pointless Mental Cruelty

C / - Alexander White

77 Keppel St

CARLTON VIC 3053

AUSTRALIA

Legal DisclaimerSub Rosa is an independent publicationnot affiliated with Atlas Games or WhiteWolf Gaming Studios. Pointless Mental

Cruelty is not affiliated with Atlas Games

or White Wolf .Ars Magica is © Trident Inc. d/b/a AtlasGames. Ars Magica, Mythic Europe,Covenants and Charting new Realms of

the Imagination are trademarks of TridentInc. Order of Hermes, Tremere and

Doissetep are trademarks of White WolfGaming Studios. Ars Magica was created by Johnathan Tweet and Mark

Rein•Hagen.

The intellectual content of Sub Rosa is ©

and held by the authors. All rightsreserved. Reproduction of any issue ofSub Rosa for commercial use by any

means without written permission from

the Publisher, except short excerpts for the purpose of reviews, is expressly

prohibited.

References to any Trademarks, Registered

Trademarks or Copyrights held by anycompany or individual in Sub Rosa is for

promotional and recreational use. Use ofthese terms should not be construed a

challenge to their ownership.

September 2007

Contribute to Sub RosaSub Rosa is made up of fan driven content. Contributors receive a

complementary copy of the issue their work appears in.

To contribute articles or illustrations, visit the Sub Rosa website

(http://www.subrosamagazine.org) and follow the guidelines.

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3

Well, it’s been a long journey toget the first issue of Sub Rosa

together since it was announced in

March this year. I’ve beenoverwhelmed by the supportshown by the Ars fan community,

and am encouraged by the rangeof articles and subscriptions.

Sub Rosa was born from Hermes Portal , published by EricKouris. Several current ArsMagica authors started witharticles in HP, and have since goneo n t o m a k e s i g n i f i c a n t

contributions to ArM5. My own

contributions to Ars Magica alsostarted in Hermes Portal , first asan illustrator, and later as anarticle author. I hope that a newgeneration of Ars Magica authors

gets their start with Sub Rosa. Hermes Portal lasted for 15issues, with issues 14 and 15 theequivalent of a full-lengthsourcebook on the Isle of Man.Many of the ideas and systems

that are now an integral part ofArM5 were first slated in Hermes

Portal, including the spell masterysystem, House mysteries and thegrowing cosmology of MythicEurope.

Sub Rosa is a fan magazine forArs Magica Fifth

Edition, written and produced by Ars fans,for Ars fans. As much as possible, I want thisf a n z i n e t o b ecollectively owned by

the fans, with its contentdriven by fans andaspiring authors. WithArM books releasedonly every few months, Ihope Sub Rosa fills the

gap between releases. Istrongly encourage youto consider contributingto this fanzine (see ourwebsite for details).

Getting together Sub

Rosa has been an eyeopening challenge. In

addition to my full time

work, I am studying a Masters ofPublic Policy. Fitting in Sub Rosa

has been an organisational

challenge, but I am glad that it hasfinally come together. I now morefully appreciate the hard work thatEric put into Hermes Portal , andam more able to time manage for

future issues.

I am indebted to Mark Philp, the

editor and my partner in crime.Many years ago, Mark introducedme to Ars Magica (fourth ed). Thework he has done for this issue,and for the website (and many

other things besides) is amazing. Iknow Mark is committed to highquality games and publications,and I highly recommend the

Pointless Mental Cruelty website(pointlessmentalcruelty.com) tosee some of the innovative and

creative games that he is (in large part) responsible for.

It is gratifying to have receivedsupport from Atlas Games andspecifically David Chart for thisfirst issue, and the fanzine overall.Atlas is generally supportive of itsfans, and is open about the

direction and support for ArsMagica. I want to thank David

Chart for his contribution to thisfirst issue.

We have a range of articles inthis first issue, from establishedArs Magica Fifth Edition authors,to new and emerging talent. Thediversity of the articles is excellent

– from details on the medievalconcept of courtly love, toBjornaer extras, and Basquelegends.

I specifically want to thank the

contributors for their hard work. Ithas been a long journey to finallysee this first issue, so thank you

for your patience.

This publication would not be

possible without your support andsubscriptions. Please promote SubRosa to your friends andencourage them to buy asubscription. Check our websitefor deta i ls about t roupe

subscriptions.

Under the Rose Alex White

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News from the Line EditorHere it is, a new Ars Magica

fanzine. This is the fourth in an

illustrious line: Redcap, Mythic Perspectives, Hermes Portal , andnow Sub Rosa. I'd like to welcome

it, and thank all the readers forsupporting it. The vitality of thefan community for Ars Magica isa very important part of itssuccess, and we're very gratefulfor it.

I'll be using this column to tell people a bit more about upcoming

releases, and my general thoughtsabout the game and where it isheaded. I'll be trying to avoidsimply reproducing PR material.

The next supplement for thegame will be The Lion and The

Lily, the Normandy Tribunal book. It's really taken us far too

long to get around to doing thecore areas of Mythic Europe, andwhat is now northern France isabout as core as it gets, at least inmundane terms. In Hermeticterms, this is a problem. Guardians

of the Forests was about theconflict between the wildernessand the advance of civilisation. In Normandy, the wilderness haslost. It isn't completely gone, butwhat remains is small, isolated

fragments. Thus, the main themeof the book is the different ways inw h i c h c o v e n a n t s c a naccommodate themselves to the presence of mundane society.

This is something that has

received little attention in the past.The Code of Hermes prohibits

interference with the mundanes, but when there is a rapidly-growing mundane town less thanan hours' walk from your covenantsimply avoiding all interaction isimpossible. The rulings of the

No r ma nd y Tr i b una l thusconstantly come back to thequestion of what counts asinterference, and what is simply permissible interac tion. All

covenants have found their ownsolutions to the problem, and only

time will tell which are sustainable

in the long term.

In addition, Normandy is theheartland of chivalric ideology,and this is reflected in thestructure of the Tribunal.Covenants are linked by oathsclosely modelled on feudal ties,and resources, particularly vis

harvesting rights, are distributedthrough a magical tournament heldat the Tribunal. This scheme was,officially, supposed to reduceconflict after the Schism War, butas it was designed by a Tytalus, it

is perhaps not surprising that itseems to have had the oppositeeffect.

The Normandy Tribunal, as portrayed in this book, is a placewhere magi are almost part ofmedieval society, and whereHermetic structures have been

strongly influenced by those of the

mundanes all around. OtherTribunals might hark back to alost, classical past, but the magi of Normandy are contemporary, up-

to-the-minute, and on the cuttingedge of social development. Inshort, the magi are almost asmedieval as the mundanes.

The next two supplements in the pipeline are Art & Academe, andRealms of Power: Magic, butthere isn't enough space to talk

about them this time. Saving somematerial for future articles is agood policy in any case.

So, to wrap up, once again Iwould like to wish Sub Rosa allthe best; I hope it will be the mostsuccessful Ars fanzine yet.

First Issue Competition Win an Ars Magica Supplement Subscribers that buy a four issue

subscription from October 2007 will go intothe running to win a copy of an Ars Magica

supplement of your choice (currentsubscribers are automatically entered).

To subscribe, simply visit the Sub Rosawebpage (www.subrosamagazine.org) andfollow the instructions.

The winner will be drawn on 1 November,and announced in the 2nd issue.

David Chart



5

Who’s Who?ed. After starring as “Toad” in the

1995 independent film, “the fourcorners of nowhere,” (finally to be

released on DVD next year), hemoved to Los Angeles. He's beenworking ever since in theanimation industry, currently

serving as the Associate Producerof “The Spectacular Spider-man”for Sony Animation. In betweenmeetings, you'll find him on theAtlas Ars Forum as “firth5”,drumming up ideas for his two

Iberian sagas. He dedicates hiswork in this issue to ChrisRichmond, who taught him all he

knows about telling a good story.

Ben McFarland

Benjamin McFarland is acomputer engineer who lives in

upstate New York with his wife,son, two imperious cats and a black Labrador that insists onaccompanying him to his weeklyArs Magica game. The Labrador. Not the cats. Or the son. The son’s

not talking yet, which would make

joining the game tough, but that’sanother matter. Ben’s working onthat.

Michael de Verteuil

Michael is an Ars Magica elder,author and veteran of the BerkList.

He was co-author of Ordo Nobilis

and wrote The Bishop’s Staff , for

Ars Magica Fourth Edition.

Jojo AguilarJojo Aguilar grew up in

southern California. He now livesin Santa Monica with his wife,Catherine. He works primarily inanimation and that’s where he met

Eric Vesbit, (maybe around 12years ago,) and has been friendsever since. “I love working withEric because he will alwaysorganize a good role playingcampaign sooner or later.” Jojo

has a book of collected sketchesavailable at this website:http://www.lulu.com/content/343182 .

Angela Taylor

Angela Taylor is, frankly, ahousewife, though she still likes tocall herself an English Teacher

and occasionally thinks of herselfas a Mediaevalist. Since marrying Neil she has learnt more than she'dlike to admit of RPGs, but she

doesn't play them.

Mark Shirley

Mark Shirley is a zoologist andepidemiologist from Kent. He's been interested in Ars Magica

since the 1st edition, and it has been his RPG of choice for the lastfifteen years. He lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with his twoferrets.

Eric Vesbit

Eric Vesbit grew up in Grand

Rapids, Michigan, USA, and has been playing Ars Magica since 4th

Pointless MentalCruelty

Alex White

Alex works full time for one ofAustralia’s largest trade unions, juggling extensive volunteer workand full-time studying a Mastersof Public Policy. Alex has an

honours degree in Classical andMedieval History; he is the co-author of Realms of Power: the

Divine and Ancient Magic. He has been an Ars Magica fan for overten years.

Mark Philp

Mark Philp is currently one ofthose annoying Customer ServiceSupervisors who frustrates callersendlessly. He’s a troubleshooter

who’s established a call centre inIndonesia, travelling over

100,000 kms on the company payroll all with a fear of flying!He’s organised local conventions,was involved in several Gamingorganizations in his home city ofAdelaide in the 90’s, and ran a

host of Games at Australianconventions across four states.Mark now resides in Melbourne,Australia where he enjoys being agourmand and writing role-

playing events with the variousmembers of his production group,“Pointless Mental Cruelty”.

h



6

The Art of Courtly Love An Open Letter

to the Magi of the Alpine TribunalI write in hopes of beginning a

discussion concerning a newelaboration upon Ovid's writings

on Love. This book, entitled De

Arte Honeste Amandi, combinesadvice first given by Ovid withtraditions laid down in the songsof the troubadours of southernFrance in order to create a codified

and socially conscious set of rulesfor ‘Service in the army of Love.’

T h e a u t h o r , A n d r e a s

Capellanus, has written the bookunder the direction of CountessMarie of Champagne, daughter ofEleanor of Aquitaine. In the scantdecades since its publication, thistreatise has moved across Europe,

spreading the culture of QueenEleanor's Court of Poitiers. It istherefore my belief that thequestion of the place of magi

within the Courts of Love is animportant one, of especialrelevance to House Jerbiton, whohave their esteemed Domusmagnus within our Tribunal, aswell as to the Milites of my ownhouse who seek to follow the path

of Chivalry. The answering ofsuch a question is far beyond thecapabilities of one of my littleyears and experience, and so I bring it to you, my sodales, in thehopes that we may find a suitable

response to the conundrum.

De Arte Honeste Amandi isdivided into three parts: Book I:

Introduction to the Treatise onLove, Book II: How Love May beRetained, and Book III: TheRejection of Love. It is Book I —which deals with the definition of

Love, the eligibility for Love andthe procurement of Love — whichhas the most relevance to ourdiscussion, as it is in these areas

that the difference between amagus and other men is most

significant.

Capellanus defines Love as:

. . .a certain inborn suffering

derived from the sight of andexcessive meditation upon the

beauty of the opposite sex, which

causes each one to wish above all

things the embraces of the other

and by common desire to carry out

all of Love's precepts in the other's

embraces.

He also lays down XXXI

codified Rules of Love, which arethe essence of guidelines giventhroughout the work, and which

provide a structure for our debate.These are:

I. Marriage is no real excuse fornot Loving.

II. He who is not jealous cannotLove.

III. No one can be bound by adouble Love.

IV. It is well known that Love isalways increasing or decreasing.

V. That which a Lover takesagainst the will of his beloved hasno relish.

VI. Boys do not Love until theyarrive at the age of maturity.

VII. When one Lover dies, awidowhood of two years isrequired of the survivor.

VIII. No one should be deprivedof Love without the very best of

reasons.

IX. No one can Love unless heis impelled by the persuasion of

Love.

X. Love is always a stranger in

the home of avarice.

XI. It is not proper to Love any

woman whom one should beashamed to seek to marry.

XII. A true Lover does notdesire to embrace in Love anyone

By Danielle Nichols



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thought of his beloved.

XXXI. Nothing forbids onewoman being Loved by two menor one man by two women.

There are three questions which

I seek to answer with this letter:Are magi fit for Love? What place

does the Art have in Love? andWhere in the social order do magifall with regard to Love?

Are magi fit for Love?

Capel lanus s ta tes that ,‘ Everyone of sound mind who is

capable of doing the work of

Venus may be wounded by one of

Love's arrows unless prevented byage, or blindness, or excess of

passion.’ He excludes from thistwo groups who though capable ofLove should not practice it: nuns,who by engaging in acts of Love

bring down the wrath of God upontheir partners and are thus unfit, aswell as peasants, who have neitherthe time nor the emotionalcapacity to practice Love well. Itis possible that magi, like nuns and

peasants, can feel Love but should

not practice it, as there are many barriers between magi and Love.

The first barrier is the Gift,which stands as a bar betweenmagi and others. It seems that thefeelings of revulsion and suspicionengendered by the Gift are

incompatible with the feelings ofdesire needed to foster Love. If thegift is a barrier, we must alsoconsider those magi whose gift isGentle or Blatant, and how the

strictures put upon them differ.

The other barrier is the Artitself, which consumes so much of

our time and devotion. TheTreatise sates that:

Every attempt of a Lover tends

toward the enjoyment of the

embraces of her whom he Loves. .

.Therefore in the sight of a Lover

nothing can be compared to the

act of Love, and a true Lover

would rather be deprived of. . .everything that the human mind

can imagine as indispensable to

life rather than be without Love.

What magus would be deprivedof his Gift for Love? Or, in a lessextreme case, how many magiwould trade time spent within the

laboratory for time spent in the

embraces of a Lover? Even shoulda magus be so afflicted, shouldtime be thus spent? Or do magi,like peasants to their plowing,have a duty to their study which

makes Love an inappropriatehardship from which they shouldavoid? Perhaps one could even goso far as to suggest that magi havea tie to magic itself which eclipsesany bond to another person?

If magi are to be counted among

the armies of Love, then anotherquestion remains about when theymay join its service. Andreassuggests that girls below 12 arenot fit for Love by natural law,and that boys below 18 are tooovercome with embarrassment and

awkwardness to properly serve it.Is this true for magi as well? I personally believe that a casecould be made that no magus stillwithin apprenticeship is fit forLove, as they are not truly their

own person and furthermore theirtime is not their own.

It is also stated that after the50th year in a woman, and 60th ina man, Love can find no hold onaccount of humeral changes, theloss of heat and gain of moisture,which occur at this age. Do these

rules also hold true for magi? Thelifespan of a magus is much longerthan that of a normal man orwoman due to the longevity

potions which we begin toconsume in our third decade.

However, these same longevity potions encourage infer tili ty,which may be a sign of the samehumeral changes. I look especiallyto those of House Jerbiton whohave made such a study of

longevity potions and their effectsto enlighten us on this matter.

What place has the Art in Love?

It is stated multiple times withinthe dialogues of the Treatise that

except his beloved.

XIII. When made public Loverarely endures.

XIV. The easy attainment ofLove makes it of little value;

difficulty of attainment makes it prized.

XV. Every Lover regularly pale in the presence of his

beloved.

XVI. When a Lover suddenly

catches sight of his beloved hisheart palpitates.

XVII. A new Love puts to flight

an old one.

XVIII. Good character alonemakes any man worthy of Love.

XIX. If Love diminishes, it

quickly fails and rarely revives.

XX. A man in Love is always

apprehensive.

XXI. Real jealousy always

increases the feeling of Love.

XXII. Jealousy, and therefore

Love, are increased when onesuspects his beloved.

XXIII. He whom the thought ofLove vexes, eats and sleeps verylittle.

XXIV. Every act of a Loverends with in the thought of his beloved.

XXV. A true Lover considersnothing good except what hethinks will please his beloved.

XXVI. Love can deny nothingto Love.

XXVII. A Lover can never haveenough of the solaces of his beloved.

XXVIII. A slight presumptioncauses a Lover to suspect his beloved.

XXIX. A man who is vexed bytoo much passion usually does not

Love.

XXX. A true Lover isc o n s t a n t l y a n d w i t h o u tintermission possessed by the



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Love must be given of free will.This calls into question the placeof magic in procuring Love. It can be seen quite clearly that spells ofthe school of Mentem which actdirectly upon the subject's mind

abrogate free will, but what of themany Imaginem spells which actto make one seem more pleasant?Are these truly different from thecareful application of rouge, or the purchase of finel y tai lo red

clothing? If some magic is permissible in the pursuit of Loveand other spells are not, whereshould this line be drawn?

Andreas lists Character as thehighest virtue when seeking a

Lover, above concerns such aswealth or physical beauty. (A

decision for which I commendhim.) We must discuss how

possession of the Giftenters into thisdiscussion. Is it part

of one's character, orsome other propertyof the person? Ineither case is itsomething to be takeninto account, and if

so, is it a desirabletrait or a negativeone? Lastly, is itmore appropriate formagi to take othermagi as Lovers than

to take a mundane?This discussion, ofcourse, is related tothat concerning thesocial effects of Gift.

Where in thesocial orderdo magi fall

with regardto Love?

The Treatise lays out threesocial classes for women, and fourfor men. The ranks of MiddleClass, Lesser Nobility, and Higher Nobility are shared by men andwomen, with a man taking the

class of his birth and a woman theclass of either her birth orhusband. The fourth class listedfor men is that of the Highest Nobility, the priesthood. However,as the status of priest comes from

God (hence its exalted state) andthe practice of Love is one ofwhich God does not truly approve, priests must claim the status oftheir birth in affairs of Love.

It is a difficult thing to placemagi within this order, for we holdourselves apart from it. Is our state

more similar to that of a Lesser Noble? A Higher one? I would putforward that the status of a monk

is most similar to that of themagus, but if this is so, it onlycomplicates matters as, our statusnot coming from the service ofGod, we should not feel obligatedto discount it in Love. Also,

similar to the priest, a magus could be said to have two classes, that ofhis position in the Art, and that ofhis birth, which varies greatlyamong members of our Order.Therefore a case could be made,

though I do not support it, thatmagi should be enlisted in Love'sarmy by the class of their birth.

This question ultimately is one

of relative position and approachwhen making a suit for a memberof a certain class. Nobility in Loveis only significant in so much as it

affects the Character. Magi, as alearned and philosophical class, possessed of wealth, responsibilityand cultural refinement, need notfeel inferior in socializing with acount or a countess, and so I

personally am i nclined to place usat the level of the Higher Nobilityin the affairs of Love.

I eagerly await the thoughts andideas of my sodales on this matterand all others discussed here, andlook to your expertise, both inanswer ing these dif f icul t

questions, and putting forth otherswhich need be asked that I mayhave passed over. It is my eagerhope that our discussions may prove both diver ting andenlightening.

-- Zephra boni --



9

Covenant Locations: Masada Short History of

the Fortress

Originally the palace of

Herod the Great in thesouth of Israel and situatedatop of an isolated rock plateau, Masada is on theeastern edge of the JudeanDesert overlooking the

Dead Sea. Josephus, theJewish-Roman historian ofVespasian claimed thatMasada was the site of asiege against the Jewish

Sicarii fugitives by theRoman Legion X Fretensisin the Great Jewish Revolt.They established eightcamps at the base of theM a s a d a r o c k a n dsurrounded it with a high

wall, leaving no escape forrebels. When defeat became imminent in 73AD, the survivors chosemass suicide over slavery.A small group of women

and children supposedlysurvived by hiding in acistern and related the storyto Josephus. Afterwards,Legionnaires continued tooccupy the site for some

time.

Breakdown ofthe Fortress

The cliffs are roughly1300 feet high on the

eastern edge and 300 feeton the west. Natural pathsto the cliff top are very difficult,the primary one was known as the

“Snake Trail” from the east (fromthe Dead Sea), the “White Rock”from the west, and two approachesfrom north and south. The plateauhas a surface area of 2130 feet(710 yards) by 984 feet (328

yards). There was a casemate wallaround the top of the plateautotaling 4,300 feet long and 12

foot thick with many towers. Sucha wall usually has an outer and aninner portion braced by transverse

For many sagas, the choice ofcovenant location can set the tenorof more than just the first arc, it

can define the whole game-- or, atthe very least, determine itsdirection for a number of sessions.

Sometimes it is the region itselfthat the Storyguide intends to holdthe players’ focus, and playersmight be provided a number of possible sites from which they willselect their characters' new home.

In an attempt to add variety to theold saw of 'a castle on a hill by afaerie wood,' the followinglocation is presented. It isn't

intended to be a full reference, but provide an overview for further

research.

Levant Tribunal:

Covenant Location: Masada

The plateau is located at

31°18'58.32" North latitude,35°21'13.30" East longitude.

Google Earth can provide anexcellent overview and local photos. It is about 35 miles fromJerusalem through the desert andabout three and a half miles fromthe southern tip of the Dead Sea.

Depending on the timeframe ofyour saga, the fortress is within the

Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1187), or the Sultanate of Egypt

ruled by Saladin (1187-1218) orhis brother, al-Kamil Muhammadal-Malik, who succeeded him.Between 1228 and 1244,

Jerusalem was given by al-Kamilto the Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II. The city fell in 1244to the Khawarizmi Turks, whowere later, in 1260, replaced bythe Mamelukes. Given Masada’s

proximity to the city, it isreasonable to expect somemundane influence from the city’s

rulers.

By Ben McFarland

This image is a copy of a portion of

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/europe

_12thcentury_1884.jpg, a map from the map

collection of the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL)

of the University of Texas at Austin and is Public

Domain.

masonry partitions, which divide thespace into a series of chambers forfill or storage.

The fortress included storehouses, barracks, an armory, the palace, andcisterns that were refilled byrainwater. Three narrow, winding paths led from below to fortified

gates. The Roman siege ramp is 328feet long from the valley floor to the

walls on the western side, where theRomans breached them.



10

One lookout station was placed

in the center of the communityfrom which any area of the hilltopcould be monitored.

The “Hanging Palace,” on thenorthern end of the summit,extended down the promontory ofthe mountain on three levels. Thelowest level is 115 feet from the

top. Winding staircases providedaccess to each level. I tcommanded a view of the

surroundings as far as Ein-Gedi. Itwas built in three tiers, with onlythe upper tier containing the living

quarters and the lower onesdesigned for pleasure. The wallsand ceilings were decorated withfrescoes.

The second, larger palace waslocated on the western side of themountain. It contained scores ofrooms and installations. It was a

self-sufficient unit, serving as the

main administration center of thefortress, as well as the king’sceremonial palace. The buildingconsists of four wings: a vast royalapartment, a service and workshop

section, storage rooms and anadministrative unit. In the royalapartment, many rooms were builtaround a central courtyard. A largeroom with two Ionic columnssupporting the roof over the wide

opening into the courtyardoccupied the southern side. Its

walls were decorated withmoulded panels of white stucco.Several rooms with colored

mosaic floors were

located on the easternside. The largest roomhas a particularlydecorative mosaic floorwith floral and geometric patterns within several

concentric square bandsthat survived well intomodern times. This roommay have been KingHerod’s throne roomwhen he was in residence

at Masada. The western palace is the largest building found on thesite.

South of the NorthernPalace was a large,traditional Roman-style bathhouse with four

rooms and a court. Thelargest room, thec a l d a r i u m h a d ahypocaust beneath it and

its floor stood on about200 tiny brick columns. A

furnace drove hot airthrough perforated clay pipes set in the walls.Herod the Great built awater system by installingdams in the nearby

valleys to divert thewinter rains into channelsthat directed the waterinto cisterns built in thenorthwest side of thecliff. From there, slaves

carried the water to the

Masada Map Key

1. Small bathhouse

2. Herod's palace-villa

3. Storerooms

4. Apartment building

5. Snake-path gate

6. Casemate wall

7. Rebels' living quarters

8. Underground cistern

9. Southern bastion

10. Western palace

11. Throne room

12. West gate

13. Synagogue

14. Large bathhouse



11

number of minor Resource Hookswould also be appropriate — suchas Contested Resource or

Indiscreet Resource. Given theReligious/Political nature of theLevant, a Rival Relations Hook isalso appropriate. This gives the players room for at least four toseven more points worth of Boons.

Story Seed: Ghostly Siege

It is said that the Tenth Legion

prepared to break down the gateson the 16th of April, and on thenight of the 15th, the compound beco mes al ive wi th spir itsreenacting portions of that siege

and the subsequent mass suicide.These spirits can be interactedwith to some extent, but arelimited to an area that was theirresponsibility in life. This allculminates in the drawing of lotson shards of pottery and the mass

suicide, followed by a spectral blaze and the storming of the fort by the ghosts of RomanLegionnaires. Should the ghosts ofthe two Jewish women and five

children be prevented from hidingin the cistern, the Magic aura ofthe site will drop by one and the

Dominion aura will rise by oneuntil the sequence plays out againnext year. This year, a moredevout member of the covenfolk,one that speaks Hebrew, attemptsto convince the ghosts not to

surrender, but face the Romans —that they should all die in defenseof their beliefs rather than by theirown hand, believing this might just free them! Will it work? Whatwould be the result? What if a

rival covenant insinuates a spywith an item that would allow theescapee ghosts to be destroyed?Can the spy be found before theaura is damaged?

upper reservoir.

The public storerooms, situatedeast and south of the bathhouse,consisted of long narrow rooms built from large stone slabs. Most

of these rooms had collapsed in

the destruction of the supplies bythe Jewish rebels.

The remains of a synagoguecould be found in the north-western corner of Masada. It is arectangular building orientedtoward Jerusalem with four tiers of

plastered benches along the wallsand two rows of columns in thecenter. Ritual objects were kept ina corner room. Rebels constructedthe temple on the base of an earlier

Herodian temple. A pagan Romangarrison occupied Masada forsome time after the defeat.Whether or not a Dominion auraexists on this site one thousandyears later is a matter for theStoryguide.

It would be simple to place aFaerie/Janni Landlord Major Hook

here, providing a covenant withthree more minor boons. Any

Bibliography Masada, Israeli Ministry of

Foreign Affairs

Masada, Israeli Ministry ofTourism

Masada, Yigael Yadin.

Masada, The DiscoveryChannel

Masada, Wikipedia

h Boons and HooksMinor Site Boon:

Difficult Access

Hostile Environment

Minor Site Hooks:

Flickering Aura

Haunted

Fortifications, Major Boons:

Curtain Walls and Mural

Towers

Fortifications, Major Hooks:

Castle

Fortifications, Minor Boons:

Bedrock

Edifices-- Palaces

Fortifications, Minor Hooks:

Crumbling

Resources, Minor Hooks:

Dwindling Resources: Water

Relations, Minor Hook :

Unsafe

Surroundings, Minor Hook :

Massacre Site

Net Total: Two more minor

Hooks than Boons.



12

Hermetic Vignettes“MARCUS!! Get down here

immediately,” the well-dressedman shouted. Almost all of the

caged birds and rodents screechedand chattered in startlement and protest.

Alexander Jerbitonis was in atruly high fury. He was looking at

the remains the earthenware jarthat used to reside at the terminalend of his vis extraction apparatus.The pieces, made from clay he had personally collec ted from ‘a particularly beautiful section of

the Blue Nile’, and the formerly

pure water that the jar hadcontained were cast all over thefloor at the end of the lab table. Tomake matters worse, it was verylate and he had just returned from

an especially difficult Councilmeeting. Why, he thought, purchasing a casting tablet for aneighth magnitude Aegis should bea difficult decision HE’LL neverknow!

Bellatrix, his familiar, meowed

a protest from his arms as the petting became too firm. He tisk-ed an apology to her, then took adeep breath. “NOW, Marcus!!” heroared again to a fresh round ofscreeches and chitters.

Just as his master finishedshouting his name, the unfortunatelad, about fourteen summers in

age and a bit on the gangly side,rounded the corner at a dead run.He appeared out of breath, a look

of worry mixed with confusionnaked upon his face. “Your wish,

Magister?” he blurted. Then he

saw the remains of the jar.Marcus’s look quickly changed toone of wide-eyed surprise andhorror. “But Master Alexander,I…” he choked.

“Latin!” Alexander snapped,taking a step forward.

In his mind, Alexander heard ina gently chiding voice, “Carefully,

now. Don’t turn him to ash.”

The boy stopped stammering,

stood up straight, and took a deep breath. Marcus continued in asomewhat accented Latin.“Magister, I don’t know how itwas broken. I had left everythingin good condition.”

“I don’t care! I leave you incharge of the lab so I can go try to

talk some sense into a particularlymule-headed Rudolf Bonisagi onlyto see that you weren’t up to thetask. I had expected better from

you at this stage!” Alexander punctuated each phrase with a

large wave of his hand andfinished his point by pointing rightat the boy’s chest. Marcus didn’tdare move. Alexander gritted histeeth and growled, “Fix it. Now.”Marcus looked pleadingly back at

his teacher. Alexander justgrowled again and moved a littlecloser.

Marcus turned to the spill,

quickly looked around, dashed toone of the shelves and hefted alarge lidded tub from one of thelower shelves, bringing it over to

the spill. Removing the lid, hegrabbed a largish glob of slightlydamp clay and pushed the piecesof the jar into it. Yelling Latin andalmost desperately waving hisarms, Marcus caused the pieces to

join. With further shouting andvery carefully gesturing with onehand while touching the

assembled pieces with the other,he refashioned the clay jar intosomething like its old shape. A

final flourish and shout and thewater gently crept back into the jar. The boy placed the jar backinto its proper place in theapparatus, the sparkle endemic to

his magic already beginning tofade.

“Huh,” grunted Alexander.

The magus looked shrewdly at

his apprentice, paused, and thenwith a flick of a finger Alexandersent the jar to the floor again. “Do

it again,” he waved. Marcus, withslightly less desperation but withobvious effort, did.

“Well done, lad,” Alexandersaid grudgingly. With that, he

turned to his bedchamber. Marcusoverheard him say, “You’re rightBellatrix, he does have talent inRego. We’ll have to push himharder.”

As Alexander left, the cat

crawled up on his shoulder andlooked back at Marcus. That day

Marcus leaned that cats couldwink.

h“First,” said Bellatrix, in utterly

flawless, calm, and pedantic Latinfrom her perch on the eave of the

storage shed’s roof, “you didn’tstudy your prey properly. You’re asmart lad, but for some reasonknown only to your God, you let

your knowledge of that fact giveyou permission to be lazy. Yourintellect allows and requires you to be more diligent, not less.”

Marcus was trying to fit the parts of one of the barrels togetherso that he could fix it.

“Second, you must rememberyour magic theory. There are onlyso many things that any apprentice

By Kurt Konegen



13

It had been a beautiful day thatwas shaping up into a trulyspectacular evening. Four old

friends were sitting in a loose arc,open to the west, around theremains of a good dinner. The Sunhad set a short while ago and starswere starting to appear in thecrystal clear sky, even with the

light of the gibbous moon highoverhead. God is indeed a greatartist, mused Alexander tohimself.

“So, Alexander, it appears thatyoung Marcus’ fancy for my Leilacontinues,” said the older magus,interrupting Alexander’s reverie.

“His persistence is impressive, andI must say that his creativity

impresses me also. But I’m beginning to think he’s beingcoached,” he continued, givingBellatrix a very significant look.

Bellatrix sniffed and looked at anobscure constellation.

Adolfus ruffled his feathersviolently. “Come now, Rudolf!There’s no ‘think’ about it.Bellatrix is actively involved andyou know it!” If owls could snort,Adolfus would have.

Bellatrix immediately gave upany pretense at indifference.

“That’s just because YOU’VE been telling her that she should sether standards so high! Sweetmouse heads, Adolfus. Ayear and a half?! Oh, andfor the record, his

persistence is all his own.He truly is enthralled withher. I simply tell him totrust his own judgment.

Repeatedly. And indetail.” She finished with

a tone that acknowledgedher complicity.

Rudolf chuckled.“Point to Adolfus,” hemurmured as Adolfuscarefully resettled anu n u s u a l l y f i d d l y pinfeather.

Alexander f inallyspoke. “Friends, if I may

redirect your attention, I believe the moment

approaches.”

He indicated a small hill about200 paces westward from their balcony, where a girl sat and a boystood. The boy started to sing

loudly and well. As he continued

to sing, he started to move in asomewhat dance-like patternaround the young woman. After afew minutes the wildflowers thatwere still apparent under the clear

night sky started to sparkle a bitand then began to move.

“Using his sigil to good effect,there,” opined Adolfus. Bellatrixmanaged to look smug andsatisfied at the same time. “I’llgive it to you Jerbiton,” Adolfus

continued, looking at Alexander,“you all certainly have style.”

The flowers moved in patterns

of continuously increasingcomplexity. This continued forsome minutes to the obviousdelight of girl they danced for. Thegirl then slowly stood as theflowers continued to dance and

then a breeze briefly ruffled thegrass.

“Oh, now that was subtle! If I

didn’t know her sigil, I wouldnever have caught that. I wonderwhat she is going to do with theinformation.” Alexander turned toRudolf and said, “You never told

can do unless one is very, VERYlucky, and counting on that luck isworse than foolish sometimes.

Remember when your master triedto build that small bridge out ofraw logs? And he is much morecapable than you. Set your taskswithin your capabilities, except ingrave circumstances.”

Marcus had finished the barrel,and moved it back into position.

He turned next to his clothing and began carefully wringing out thefoul-smelling liquid.

“Third and finally, you need toremember that startled prey isdesperate prey, and is thereforeless predictable. Set your trap so

as to channel their reactions and,more specifically, channel themaway from you.”

The cat jumped down next to anamulet lying on the ground whereit landed when Marcus gotknocked off the stack of barrels.

“Now, for all of that, you didwell. Picking Rudolf’s latestapprentice as your target doeshave the virtue of being bold and

you certainly have her attention.

Be warned, however, you will nowhave to live up to that. She’s a finegirl, as Alexander said earlier. Butalso, please remember that RudolfBonisagi is one of the best

teachers in the Order. Further, judging by what she did to youtoday, his current apprentice is avery good student who is living upto the compliment of his tutelage.She’s not going to waste time with

a mate of only mediocre ability –hunting ability or otherwise.”

“Now come along,” said thelady warrior as she pointed withher paw and lifted the amuletaround Marcus’ neck. “Thatnoisome smell will disappearshortly, and we have some

planning to do if we are going tocatch that one out again.”

h



14

me she was that subtle.”

Rudolf smiled. “Amicus, youdon’t know all my secrets.”Alexander acknowledged the pointand turned back. The girl was

obviously thinking and the display

was holding up very well.

Then the girl spoke in gentle butvery penetrating tones as anotherslight breeze ruffled the hillside.The display widened from perhapsa 20-pace radius to the entirehillside and then as far as the eye

could see. There were a couple ofquiet gasps from the group andBellatrix carefully stood. Shewalked over to her companion’sfriend, nuzzled the old man’s

cheek, and said, “She’s brilliant,Rudolf. Simply brilliant.” She then

She then turned and went to curlup in her companion’s lap.

The friends continued to watchthe display for a time and thenAlexander spoke up again, this

time brightly. “Well, that was

some good effort on prepared andimprovised spe l lwork inImaginem, Vim, Rego, Intelligo,and Muto. It’s Midsummer’s Eveso what say we give them the

night and then hammer them withPerdo over the next coupleseason…

“OW!” Bellatrix re-sheathed herclaws while Rudolf laughed outloud at his friend. “Careful oldfriend, it appears that you haven’t

entirely left your Tytalus heritage behind.”

Alexander chuckled whilerubbing his leg. He waved at thehillside and offered, “Well, there

are some games I can’t get tiredof.” He winced at Bellatrix, whoignored him most thoroughly.“Perdo, for certain. And a bitabout the Code.”

“Agreed.”

And the four left the balcony –two hunters, two old campaigners,and four very dedicated teachers.

hh h



15

Calatrava has paid a visit in orderto gather stories from its membersand put them to parchment.

Backstory

An immature Tartalo was

discovered by a hunting partyfrom the outpost, and killed. The body was taken back to theoutpost to show the curioushistorian. The beast’s mothertrailed the hunting party that night

to the outpost, and staged asurprise attack. She climbed downthe cliffside and dropped into the

open courtyard. Sneaking fromroom to room, she slaughtered thesleeping inhabitants, until she was

discovered. A pitched battleensued, driving the beast into thecourtyard. She entered a Berserkerrage, and killed the rest of thesoldiers. In her rage, she rippedthe corpses apart, ate her fill, and

flung the rest of the remains overthe edge of the cliff. Spent, butstill angry, she retreated into asmall storage area in the rear ofthe stables, wrapped herself insupernatural darkness, and bed

down for the day.

Approaching the Outpost

The characters approach theoutpost that evening, just as nightfalls. Play up the sense of

foreboding as they come upon thescene of the empty keep, and themassacre. Carrion birds, such asgriffon vultures, circle, and alammergeier is seen dropping a

femur from a great height, in orderto crack it open and get to thesweet marrow within. The stenchof blood and something earthier isin the air. Nothing can be heardabove the wind but an occasionalfaint, heavy wooden “thock.” (The

sound of a door on the far side ofthe outpost swinging closed,hitting a fallen corpse, andrebounding.)

The heavy doors in front of thecharacters may or may not belocked, depending on the skill setand magic available to the PC’s.

An Encounter with a Tartulo

Detailed below is an encounterwith this Tartalo, set at an outpostalong the main eastern pass of thePyrenees. The outpost is on one ofthe highest points of the pass,where the old, narrow Roman road

skirts along a white granite cliff.To the north of the road, the cliffrises hundreds of meters into theair, and to south, the cliff fallsaway into the mists below. Thewalls of the outpost completely

cover the road, forcing travelers to pay a toll to pass. It is a desolate,if picturesque locale. The outpostis currently run by a smallcontingent of the Knights ofCalatrava as a minor source of

income. The Knights also serve tokeep the peace between the fiercerivals on either side of themountains: The Count of Foix tothe east, and the Bishop ofAndorra to the west. When not

soldiering, the monks raise goats,

tend a small garden in thecourtyard, and hunt the wilds ofthe Pyrenees for isard. Recently,an historian for the Order of

The Tartalo By Eric Vesbit



16

The Outpost

Describe the massacre within in

as much visual detail as the failinglight allows. The entrance of thecharacters disturbs a few bravevultures. The smell of the Tartalois everywhere, for she has markedher new territory, and her urine is

seeped in rage. The spirits of anyrestless dead may whisper by.Blood and gore is strewn about. Ahalf-eaten torso, still garbed in the black tabard of the Order, iscarelessly flung in a corner. A dog

has been ripped in half. Twospears and a shield can be foundscattered amongst the remains. Astray helm contains the contents ofits former wearer . . .

The outpost is a fairly typicalconstruction of Roman origin,located underneath a great

overhang of granite that shields itfrom falling rocks. It is a two-storyaffair, with rooms built along theinterior wall, surrounding a widecourtyard. Two areas of note aredescribed below.

The Nest

At the rear of the stables, thecharacters will find a smallstoreroom. Across the threshold ofthe doorway is a sheet ofimpenetrable darkness. The smellof the Tartalo here is nearly

overpowering.

As it is nightfall, the creature

will waken shortly from its day ofrest. If it is still asleep, a low slow breathing can be heard comingfrom within the void.

The creature will wake on anawareness roll of 9+, modified bythe following chart:

+3 Daytime

-3 Characters have madeloud noises

-3 Characters are emittingstronger than average scents

Once wakened, the creaturecreeps to just inside the door,

listening and sniffing the air. If acharacter approaches to within a

The Tartalo

The Tartalo is similar to a Greco-Roman Cyclops, but nocturnal, and

highly magical. Hermetic scholars theorize that the race may bedescended from two cyclopean wards brought to Iberia by Hercules whenhe founded Barcelona. These beings were said to eventually guard hisfinal resting place. Due to the existence of the Tartalo, scholars posit thatthis must be somewhere in the Pyrenees mountains.

A great hulk of a creature, the Tartalo is known for preying on children

and sheep in the craggy regions of the Basque country. Its huge, perfectly black eye is the source of its magic. This particular Tartalo female is fondof stalking the mountain passes through the western Pyrenees, preying on

travelers. Recently she has been driven from her homeland by the Orderof Santiago, whose hospices along the pilgrimage pass to St. James ofCompostela have made her hunting grounds much less safe. She and her brood have been traveling east through the Pyrenees, and have stumbledupon the main eastern route, between Foix to the east and Andorra to thewest.

Only mature Tartalo have the Rego and Mentem powers (and vis) oftheir fully-formed eye. Immature Tartalo (age 1 through 15) do have 1

pawn of Perdo Vis, and can stil l use Nesting within the Void, but without

the accompanying Mentem effects.



17

pace of the threshold, he will bestartled as a clawed arm suddenlylashes out of the darkness, and

attempts to pull him into the void.

If the characters do not

approach the stable, the Tartalo

will sneak out and attempt tosurprise the characters. Hergeneral modus operandi is tocorner a character in a room, andcast Nesting within the Void.

Alternatively, she attempts tomake eye contact with a character,and use Trapped Within theReaper’s Gaze. If all else fails, herstrong claws will inflict plenty ofdamage in a brawl.

She considers the characters

more examples of the humans whokilled her offspring, and easilyleaps into a Berserker rage in anall-out battle. Note that she was probabl y wounded the night before, determine her currentwound level based on the power

level of the PC’s. If you needmore out of her, one of her other brood, or even her mate, may benesting within the stable.

The Historian’s Room

A second floor room housed theOrder’s Historian. Quills and other

stationary can be found scattered by the recent melee, as well as hisHistory. This serves as Tractatuson the Knights of Calatrava (Qual10), Area Lore of New Castile(Qual 5), and a History of the

Reconquista (Qual 5). Thishistory, if returned, would be quitevaluable to their Order. The last page of the journal tells of how the

hunting party encountered theyoung Tartalo, which was later

identified as such by “SeñorSelatse de Navarre”, of the Basque people.

Tartalo (Mature Female)Magic Might: 15

Char: Int -2, Per 1, Pre 0, Com -3, Str +6, Sta +4, Dex 0, Qik 1

Size: +3

Age: 15 – 60

Virtues and Flaws: Nocturnal Hunter*; Berserk; One Eye

* The Tartalo can see in the dark as per the spell Eyes of the Cat . It is alsoextremely sensitive to light: constant bright light (e.g.. sunlight) causesagitation, -1 to all attacks, and forces a Berserk check. Sudden light willdazzle for 1 round, if she fails a Sta 9+ stress die. The Tartalo has an

excellent sense of smell, giving a +3 to Awareness rolls involving smell.

Personality Traits: Angry +5 (toward humans that killed her son),

Bloodthirsty +3, Sneaky +1

Reputations: Infant and livestock eater 3 (Basques)

Combat:

Large Claws: Init +1, Atk +9, Dfn +8, Dam +10

Cudgel : Init +2, Atk +6, Dfn +4, Dam +13

Soak : Body +9, Eye +15

Fatigue: OK/0/0/-1/-1/-3/-5/Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1-8), -3 (9-16), -5 (17-24), Incapacitated (25-32)

Abilities: Awareness 3 (food), Athletics 3 (climbing), Brawl 3 (claw),Concentration 1 (eye contact), Hunt 4 (travelers), Pyrenees Area Lore 2(Mountain passes), Survival 3 (Pyrenees), Stealth 2 (mountains), GreatWeapon 1 (cudgel)

Equipment: Ragged loin cloth, roughshod jewelry (bits of bone woveninto braids, etc.) The Tartalo generally gathers shiny possessions of its

victims within its nest. Some Tartalo have learned to carry a large, crudecudgel to avoid getting within reach of the sharp metal sticks of humans.

Encumbrance: 0 (Load 2, with cudgel)

Powers: (Note: The Tartalo cannot use its powers while berserk.)

Nesting within the Void: 3 points, Init -5, Mentem: As the spell Well

Without Light with D: Room. The Tartalo casts this in any niche it finds

amidst the mountains, when it beds down for the day. Any intelligent beingunlucky enough to enter the Void must make a Brave check of 9+. Failureindicates an immediate loss of direction, and a -1 to all actions until he leavesthe Void. A botch indicates the character has fainted.

Trapped Within the Reaper’s Gaze: 0 points, Init +1, Mentem: Whenthe Tartalo makes eye contact, the victim is overcome by the perfect, endlessdarkness swirling within the orb as per the description for the hermetic spell

Confusion of the Numbed Will. The power only lasts as long as the Tartalomaintains eye contact and concentrates.

Vis: The Tartalo’s eye consists of 1 pawn of Mentem, 1 pawn of perdo,and 1 pawn of rego. The Tartalo’s eye is prized by Necromancers, Criamontheorists, and occult seers alike. It can be used as the base element of ascrying tool, or of a device to control ghosts.

Appearance: A hulking creature, with thick mottled grey skin and hugeclaws, the Tartalo’s most dominating feature is the huge, perfectly black eyein the center of its brow. The Tartalo generally wears a ragged loin cloth, andweaves bits of bone into its hair. Some are know to wear the jewelry of their

victims, and carry a large cudgel.h



18

Freemasonic his tory that predominates in many othe r popular conceptions of the PoorKnights of the Temple. The recent

success of books like The

Da Vinci Code is alikely culprit, as wellas the innumerable pseudo-his tor ic al b o o ks , w hi c h

saturate the schlockhistory sections of

all good bookstores,

notably Holy Blood, Holy Grail .

Dismayed by Ars Magica’sstrict and dull adherence to thehistorical record, I desired a more

legendary Order of the Temple.Given the modern proliferation oftrashy historical ‘exposés’ of theTemplars, and the wealth ofcontemporary accounts of theTemplars, I felt that there was

room enough for a mythic Orderof the Temple in Ars Magica. Thisis the first of a series of fivearticles about the KnightsTemplar. The articles will presentthe Templars:

1. As nothing more than anOrder of knights that were adept in

the politics of money and war;

2. As the military wing of theOrder of Hermes;

3. As a secret order of esoteric

craftmasons, heir to the secrets ofancient magical and hieratictraditions;

4. As pious soldiers in theDivine Military Order; and

5. As the diabolical heretics thatsaw their dissolution in 1312.

This project began in 2002, buthas been delayed many years dueto various other projects, anhonours degree, a new job and the

release of Ars Magica FifthEdition.

Many thanks to Michaël de

Verteuil for his advice, assistanceand help. Acknowledgements alsoto my fellow Realms of Power:

The Divine authors.

Money and War: from the Temple to La Forbie

In the years following the bloody capture of Jerusalem in1099 by the soldiers of the First

Crusade, the victorious Crusadersdivided their conquered lands intofour territories. The pre-eminentkingdom was that of Jerusalemitself, ruled by Godfrey ofBouillon as ‘Advocate of the Holy

Sepulchre’. With Christians incommand of the Christian holy places, the well-trodden pilgrim

routes came under pressure fromthe surrounding Muslim powers.As the crusaders who had wrested

the Holy Land from the hands ofthe Muslims returned to Europe instartling numbers, and with a precarious succession situation inthe Kingdom of Jerusalem, a proposal was made by two

knights.

The Order Forms

Hugh of Payns and Godfrey ofSaint-Omer, two knights whoarrived in Jerusalem after theCrusade, suggested that acommunity of knights under a

monastic rule be formed for the protection of the pilgrims en routeto the Christian sacred sites. KingBaldwin (I or II) and the Patriarchof Jerusalem approved. OnChristmas Day, 1119, Hugh of

Payns and his eight companions,among them Godfrey, Andrew of

Montbard, Archambaud of Saint-Aignan, Payen of Montdidier,

In Ars Magica canon, theKnights Templar ─ that enigmatic

chivalric order that flourishedfrom 1119 to 1312 ─ are littlemore than a mundanemilitary monastic orderthat bore arms in thename of Christ,

fought in the HolyLand during theCrusades, and actedas international b a n k e r s t h a t

bankrolled kings andlords alike.

The Order of the Temple is not

accorded a mention in ArM5.They make a lacklus treappearance in Mythic Tapestry,after a history in ArM3 of beingovershadowed by fictional orders,such as the Order of St. Mary (in

Pax Dei). In Blood and Sand , asaga seed describes a few optionsfor the Poor Knights: diabolists or

powerful sorcerers. Another storyseed on the same page presents the possibility of the Order of Hermes

forming its own military wing tocombat Islam. In Realms of

Power: The Divine, the militantKnightly Orders are sketched, anda Knight Templar template isincluded; it is hinted here that they

practice secret mysteries and havestrange powers. Beyond theseminor appearances, they rate noserious mention. Odd for such an

important medieval organisation,whose reach and influence

stretched across Europe and beyond.

The modern legacy of theTemplars is as an order ofoccultists par excellence, as secretmasters that manipulated kingsand popes for their own ends, asheirs to the mysteries of heretical

Cathars, and in their own day, asthe guardians of that most

magnificent legend: the HolyGrail. Rightly or wrongly, it is the

The Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon

By Alex White



19Geoffrey Bissot and Roland, tooktheir vows of poverty, chastity andobedience in the Church of theHoly Sepulchre.

In order that they may be provided with sufficient means toaccomplish their role, both King

and Patriarch endowed the nascentOrder with living quarters andgenerous benefices. They receiveda wing of the royal palace, the

former al-Aqsa mosque on thesouthern edge of Temple Mount.

This site was more commonlyknown as Templum Salomonis:the Temple of Solomon. Fromthese prestigious living quarterscame their name: The PoorKnights of Jesus Christ and the

Temple of Solomon.

Although originally the Poor

Knights wished to live under their priestly vows, King Baldwin, their

patron, was well aware of hisinability to police his kingdom

with the few remaining soldiersleft him. In 1119, slaversmassacred a party of pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem. Soon itwas dangerous to leave the city

unprotected.

The Order Grows

The Poor Knights were soon tocome under even more powerful patronage. By 1125 the Order wasthe recipient of boons and gifts

from many European magnates.Hugh of Champagne gave hislands to his nephew and took onthe Order’s vows.

Count Hugh, the former liege-lord of Hugh of Payns, was alsoinstrumental in the rise and rise ofBernard of Fontaines-les-Dijon,

patriarch of the monastic order ofthe Cistercians, founded in 1098.Bernard, after the founding of

Clairvaux, castigated the wealthymonks of Cluny for their moral

degeneracy.

So great was the moral authorityof Clairvaux and Bernard that forforty years the monastery was thespiritual centre of Europe, with

men from the ends of the world

journeying to the monastery foradvice. Among the luminaries whoemerged from Clairvaux were a pope, the archbishop of York andcountless bishops and cardinals.

Papal Endorsement

By 1127, with an officialmembership list of only theoriginal founding members, Hughof Payns journeyed to Europe toseek support for the Levantine

kingdoms and to gain papalsanction for his order. His trip wasstunningly successful. King HenryI generously donated ‘greattreasures’, the other temporal lordsall gave endowments to the Order.Among the prelates of the Church

who heard Hugh’s petition to gainPapal endorsement was Bernard ofClairvaux, a man deeply indebtedto Hugh’s liege, the Count ofChampagne and nephew ofAndrew of Montbard. At this

meeting, the Templar Rule was presented, scrutinised and revised.

While the clergy at that meetingwere concerned with a Ruledesigned to preserve the knights’souls, its result was to form amilitary unit under tight disciplinethat were unaffected by the

shifting circumstances that weretypical of feudal levies. PopeHonorius II duly confirmed theendorsement of the Templars, and

upon his return to Clairvaux,Bernard composed his treatise ‘In

the P ra i se o f the NewKnighthood’.

With Papal endorsement, Hughreturned to Palestine to continuethe Christian offensive against theMuslims. He left behind several ofthe Order’s founders to continuerecruiting knights and gaining

support from Europe’s great lords.Donations were made by all kindsof people from all walks of life,from a few coins, small parcels ofland, a horse or armour, to tracks



20

Muslim Mosul Zengi galvanisedChr is tendom. Bernard ofClairvaux was instructed by the

pope to preach a new crusade. Asthe crusade mounted, it was theTemplars that received andadministered the proceeds of theone-twentieth tax on all churchgoods that paid for the venture. It

was then that Pope Eugenius gavethe Poor Knights the right to wearthe crusading red cross over theirhearts.

The leaders of the SecondCrusade relied heavily on theadvice of the Poor Knights, fromlocal knowledge to tactics to

diplomatic missions to theByzantine emperor. By the time

King Louis of France had reachedAntioch, he had run out of moneyto pay for any further action.Turning to the Templars, he

received the resources needed tocontinue the Crusade.

The Templars ensured that theywere repaid in full, a sum equal tohalf the annual income of the royaldomain. Eventually, the Second

Crusade ended in a humiliatingdebacle. The crusaders withdrewin ignominy, requiring the

Levantine barons to seek acompromise with their Islamicneighbours.

Under AttackBy 1150 however, the Templars

were coming under attack fromwithin Christendom. Their critics

accused them of greed and pride.Their attacks on poorly defendedtrade caravans, and of leaping into battle, were seen as base attemptsto gain easy glory and booty. Nevertheless, the costs of running

a military order were considerable;the Order required a large income

merely to survive. Twenty yearslater the Hospitallers faced bankruptcy.

Greed was not the only vice ofthe Templars. With financialindependence, the Templars soon

acted in the Holy Land as freeagents. From private treaties withMuslim leaders to financial dealswith Italian merchants tradingwith Egypt, the Poor Knights werewilling to wage war against Islam

on their own terms, withoutinterference or input from locallords.

The Assassins

This situation was exemplifiedwhen in 1173 the Order’s GrantMaster entered into negotiationswith the chief of the Assassin sect

of Ismailis in Syria. The Templarsarranged that they would be safefrom Assassin attacks in Syria;every other temporal lord, Muslimor Christian, could not be sure ofthe same. This arrangement was

reached when the Assassinsrealised that every Grand Masterthey killed would be quicklyreplaced with another, just as ableand skilled.

This outrage exploded when thechief of the Syrian Assassins madeit known that he wished to convert

to Christianity. On his journey back from Jerusalem, a group

Templars killed the Assassin’senvoy, thus ending any chance of

of land and holdings, and massivetax exemptions. As their lands andgrants increased, a large

proportion of their income becameneeded to support it. Much of theiradministration was based on thatof the Hospitallers, the Knights ofthe Hospital of Saint John, whowere coterminous with the

Templars.

Endowments and Authority

After 1134, lords and knights began donating their entire estatesto the Order. This growing wealthsaw the provincial masters of theOrder to become highly respected;

soon they were the trustedcouncillors of popes and kings.The hierarchy of the Order soon became comparable to that of thechurch, promising great power asthe knight advanced in rank.

When Hugh died, Robert ofCraon, the new Grand Master ofthe Order, obtained from Pope

Innocent II a bull, known as theOmne datum optimum, declaringthat the Order be exempt from all

intermediary ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In short, the Templarswere subject only to the authority

of the pope. Even the Patriarch ofJerusalem lost his authority overthe Order whose first vows had been said before him. TheTemplars were now permitted tohave their own priests, and were

completely independent of theauthority of the bishops. They hadtheir own cemeteries, couldreceive tithes, and take booty.

Innocent’s largesse in 1139 tothe Order can in large part beexplained by the fact that he was aclose follower of Bernard of

Clairvaux. After Innocent, the policy of support for the Templarswas confirmed: they were seen asthe primary way in which the HolyLand could be retained.

The SecondCrusade

Edessa’s capture in 1144 by the

Cultural Adaptation

Steadily, the trickle of MiddleEastern luxuries and culture wereferried from the Latin Crusader

States to Europe, and became aflood. The Latin lords embracedthe civilisation of their conqueredlands. A balance was found between the multitudinous faithsand churches in Palestine, and

there was little missionary

activity of attempts to convertMuslim or Jewish subjects toChristianity.

The Levantine barons’ wealthrelied upon the continued well being of their subjects. No lessthan the lords of the conquered

territories, the Templars benefitedfrom the prosperity of their fiefs.This wealth allowed the Templarsto pursue a policy of building, notonly great fortresses but also

palaces and churches, and a newChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.



21

a conversion (and ensuring thesafety of the huge annual tribute paid by the Assassins to the Poor

Knights). The King of Jerusalemwas so enraged that he petitionedthe Pope and other Europeanmonarchs to dissolve the Order.His death saw the petition’sfailure.

For more information about theAssassins in Ars Magica, see

Realms of Power: The Divine, p.113.

Saladin and the Third Crusade

Saladin’s ascendance saw the

rapid and dramatic decline of thePoor Knights in the Levant, aswell as the Christian kingdoms ingeneral. Since 1180, no substantial

military aid was forthcoming from

Europe, despite frantic appealsfrom the Christian princes of theHoly Land and the various

military Orders.

The Battle of Hattin in 1187

saw the deaths of most of the

Templars in the Holy Land: aransom was put on their heads andonly the Grand Master was leftalive. It also saw the humiliatingcapture of some of Christendom’s

holiest relics, including the TrueCross.

Saladin’s triumphant entry intoJerusalem saw the Templars losetheir headquarters. The Templethat had served as their home was purified and the cross was taken

from the Dome of the Rock and beaten by jubilant Muslims. Aslow war of attrition followed asSaladin’s forces captured oneTemplar (and Hospitaller) fortressafter another. The Poor Knightsrefused to give an inch, but

eventually, only a few coastaltowns remained in Christianhands.

King’s Crusade

Urban III, upon hearing of theloss of Jerusalem, promptly diedof sorrow. Kings and Bishops

despaired. There was general belief that God had forsaken theCrusaders because of their sins.Pope Gregory VIII, the successor,quickly preached a new crusade.The first of Europe’s great princes

to answer that call was Richard,the powerful Angevin king. As hegathered his resources to mount anew offensive in the Holy Land,

the church imposed the ‘Saladintithe’, a ten percent tax on all

income in Christendom. PhilipAugustus of France joinedRichard, as did a host of otherlesser princes. Even the HolyRoman Emperor, FrederickBarbarossa took up the Cross and

headed towards Acre to help the besieging crusaders, although hedied in 1190 while crossingthrough Asia Minor.

The Third Crusade would godown in legend. Upon arriving inthe Holy Land in 1191, Richard’s

friend and Angevin vassal, Robertof Sablé, was quickly elected asthe Templar Grand Master. One of

his first actions was to purchasethe recently conquered Cyprusfrom Richard for 100,000 Saracen besants (the Poor Knights made adown payment of 40,000 besants,indicating the extent of their

financial resources). The Kingtook command of the Crusade;Acre fell shortly thereafter. Afterthe execution of almost 3,000 prisoners after prisoner exchangenegotiations with Saladin bogged

down, Richard continued hismarch towards Jerusalem; PhilipAugustus returned to France onlythree weeks after the capture ofAcre.

The great column of troops wasaugmented by large contingents ofTemplars and Hospitallers. It was

their tight discipline that allowedthe Frankish success at the major battle of Arsuf against Saladin. Asthe crusade dragged on, it becameclear that even if Jerusalem could be taken, it could not be held.

Civil discord in his Europeandomains prompted Richard’s hastydeparture from the Holy Land in

1192. Four Templar knightsaccompanied him on his covert journey through Europe. The

Third Crusade was over, with theTemplars ensconced in Acre.

Rebukes and Resentment

Ambivalence towards theTemplars worsened. Their greatwealth and power in Europe and

their exemption from temporal andecclesiastic authority made them a

prime target for resentment andcontempt. The pope wasincreasingly f looded withc o m p l a i n t s , f r o m m i n o rtransgressions to full scaledisputes with bishops. One of the

more outrageous complaints wasthat the Templars were sayingmass in churches under interdict,and that for a small fee,excommunicates could be assured

of Christian burial in Templarcemeteries.

Grand Masters of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon

Hugh of Payns (1119-1136)

Robert of Craon (1137-1149)

Everard of Barres (1149-1152)

Bernard of Trémélay (1152-

1153)

Andrew of Montbard (1153-

1156)

Bertrand of Blanquefort (1156-1169)

Philip of Nablus (1169-1171)

Odo of Saint-Amand (1171-1179)

Arnold of Torroja (1180-1184)

Gérard of Ridefort (1185-1189)

Robert of Sablé (1191-1193)

Gilbert Erail (1194-1200)

Philip of Plessiez (1201-1209)

William of Chartres (12-10-1219)

Peter of Montaigu (1219-)



22

which went so far as toexcommunicate bishops whosedislike of the Order was too

vociferous.

The Fourth Crusade

The Templars were onlymarginally involved in thenotorious Fourth Crusade, acrusade hijacked by the ambitions

its leaders and of Venice. After thecapture of Zara, a rival of Venice,the Crusader’s turned toConstantinople with the ostensiblegoal of restoring a deposedByzantine prince. This goal was

quickly turned to conquest afterthe prince discovered he could notmake the extortionate repayments

to the Crusaders.

The Crusaders took the city onthe 12th of April 1204, itsinhabitants were put to slaughterand its treasures were pillaged.

With the Queen of Cities ravished,the Templars took part in thesubjugation of Greece that endedin 1210. They acquired many newterritories in the new Latin princedoms of Greece, and owed

nominal deference to the new

Latin Empire of Constantinople.

The AlbigensianCrusade

In 1209, Pope Innocent III,flushed with the perceived successof the Fourth Crusade andoutraged over the murder of his personal envoy two years earlier,

preached a new crusade. Thetarget of the Crusade was the

heretical sect of dualists, theCathars.

For many years, the Cathars had been in conflict with Rome. Theheartland of the Cathars, theregion of southern France known

for its langue d’oc, was also thehome of considerable holdings forthe Templar Order. Languedocwas one of the most civilised areasof Europe, haven of thetroubadours and of Courtly Love.

The Cathars were a dualistic sect, bel ie vi ng that matte r wasintrinsically vile and abhorrent,

and glorifying the spiritual. A

mixture of anti-clericalism, areformist zeal and true piety sawthe Cathars grow unchecked. In1207, the Cathars ejected theCatholic bishop from Carcassone.

There were repeated attempts by the Pope and various localauthorities to persuade the Cathars

to give up their heresy. Failureupon failure saw Pope Innocentcall upon the Count of Toulouse,

Raymond VI to extirpate theheretics by force. In 1207, the pope’s representa tive, Papal

Legate Peter of Castelnau metwith Raymond after two years of broken promises to take actionagainst the Cathars. After a bitterargument with Raymond, Peter ofCastelnau was murdered by one of

the Count’s followers, an outragethat prompted Pope Innocent tocall a crusade.

Twenty years of war and firewould follow, as gradually thenorthern lords of France wereconvinced to pursue the crusade.At the time however, both

Templars and Hospitallers (whoalso had considerable holdings inthe area) were vigorously wagingwar in the Reconquista in Spain.Throughout the Crusade, theTemplars maintained strict

neutrality, while Cathars werehunted down and burned for their

heresy.

Suspicion was heightened bythe secrecy of the Poor Knights.While acceptable in the Levant, in

Europe their unwillingness todisclose their deliberations wasfrowned upon. Furthermore, thefailure of the Crusades to maintainthe Latin Kingdoms made peoplequestion whether the Templars

were performing their dutyadequately. Indeed, it was pointedout that only a small proportion ofthe knights actually journeyed tothe Holy Land to fight: mosts t a y i n g i n E u r o p e i n

administrative work.

The Templars’ New Role

Since the time of Henry II, theTemplars had been acting as bankers, lending money to allcomers, kings, bishops andmerchants. Their loans to kings in particular often staved off royal

financial collapse. The ParisTemple became one of the principle financial centres ofEurope, as did the Temple inLondon. In short time, thewillingness or unwillingness of the

Templars to lend someone moneywould assure or des troysomeone’s credit rating. Inaddition to banking, they providedannuities and pensions to thefamilies of benefactors.

Long after they were unable tocontinue their role of policing the

pilgrimage routes to Jerusalem,groups of Poor Knights wouldguard convoys of treasure fromone Temple or court to another.

Their skill in bureaucracy sawtheir use by the pope and the

Western magnates as civilservants. Their vows of loyalty totheir Grand Master and the Popemeant that they were less tied tothe internecine conflicts betweenEuropean princes.

Their role in the Middle Eastnow largely defunct, they made

themselves invaluable to the lordsof Europe. Despite all of thedisapproval and resentmentdirected at the Order, theycontinued to enjoy papal support,



23

Neither the Pope nor Simon ofMontefort, the Crusade leader, petitioned the Poor Knights forassistance against the Cathars.Both Cathars and Crusaders at

times were aided and shielded inTemplar houses. For theinhabitants of Languedoc, Catharor Catholic alike, the crusade wasseen as an invasion by northerners,and a complex flux of loyalties

saw heretic and orthodox fightwith and against each other overthe course of the crusade.

The Templars concentrated primarily on the war against Islamin Spain. Neither Simon de

Montfort nor Pope Innocentattempted to enlist the Poor

Knights in the Crusade. Thefidelity of the Order to the Popewas undiminished however, andcharges that they supported theCathars are misdirected. It wasultimately the Hospitallers who

sided with the Count of Toulouse,the main secular lord under attack by the Crusaders.

Many of the noble benefactors

to the Hospitallers in Toulousewere Cathar lords, or had Cathar

sympathies. Their support for theCount of Toulouse would benefitthe Order of Hospital. After Simonde Montfort’s death at the siege ofToulouse, and the retreat of the

Crusaders and their ecclesiasticalsupporters, the Hospitallers werethe primary remaining Order in thearea; even the Templars hadabandoned their Champagne preceptory.

A New Crusade

Innocent III’s arrival to the papal throne in 1198 brought withit a desire to recapture theChristian holy places from theMuslims. His main target was

Ayyubid Egypt, the seat ofMuslim power in the Middle East.His attempt with the FourthCrusade had gone horribly wrong,and resulted in the creation of theLatin states in Greece. Likewise,

the 1212 outburst of enthusiasm inGermany and France, the‘Children’s Crusade’ failed toassist the effort in the Levant. Itwas not until after his death in

1216 that his constant planningresulted in the Fifth Crusade, acampaign targeting (as the Fourth

Crusade had meant to do) Egypt.

Honorius III directed the twoGrand Masters of the Templarsand Hospitallers to meet with the

crusade leaders: Andrew ofHungary and Leopold of Austria.In 1218, the assembled armiessailed from Acre to Damietta. Ayear later, after the death of theTemplar Grand Master, the

crusaders captured the city,ignoring the sultan’s offer ofgiving up Jerusalem in return for peace. The refusal was made onthe advice of the Poor Knights,

who held that Jerusalem would not

be able to be held without possession of the lands south ofthe Holy City.

By 1220, the Crusade was indanger of falling apart, as pressurein the few remaining crusaderstrongholds in Palestine wereunder increasing pressure. Money

was running low and Germanforces had not yet arrived to aidthe Crusade at all.

The FutureIn 1228 Emperor Frederick



24

over another.

This interplay between rivalsultans eventually led in 1244 theTemplars into their second Hattin,where they again took the lead of alarge crusader force. At La Forbie

the Egyptian forces wiped out theLatin army; only thirty-threeTemplars and twenty-s ixHospitallers survived. Over 260

knights perished, and in the yearsfollowing, more territory was lost.

Life in the Order of the Poor Knights

While most knights of the Order

lived under the strict monasticRule, the Master and otherdignitaries were permitted to haveluxurious living-suites and lavish

entourages. The religiosity of theknights was as a monastic

community. Their fortresses weredesigned internally as monasteries.Every aspect of the life of theknight was regulated andregimented. Discipline was strictand harsh, but no more so than

those normally imposed uponmonks. Particular emphasis was placed on co nduct on the battlefield. While the Templarstandard was aloft, no Templarwas permitted to leave the battle.

The vow of obedience proved

invaluable in battle; no Templar broke rank.

The Rule

The Rule of the KnightsTemplar was a day-to-day guide

for living within the strictdiscipline necessary for the Order.Based upon a monastic rule, itincluded vows of poverty, chastityand obedience. Written when thePoor Knights were little more than

guardians of pilgrims toJerusalem, the Rule was revisedand expanded numerous times.Over two hundred additionalclauses were added by the 1160srelating to military matters,

hierarchy, responsibilities, dutiesand discipline. Additionalmonastic clauses were also added:107 regulating conventual life, and158 on the holding of a chapterand penances. All new members

of the Knights Templar were readthe Rule at their official ReceptionCeremony.

Structure

There were two levels to thePoor Knights, fighting brethrenand non-fighting. Each was further

divided into two ranks.

Fighting Brethren

The knights: heavily armed

arrived in the East, and in typicalautocratic style alienated himselffrom the other crusaders there,

including the Grand Master. With pressure in the Papal States, theEmperor negotiated a ten-yeartreaty with the Egyptian sultan thatincluded the restoration ofJerusalem under Christian control.

This treaty however kept theTemple of Solomon under Muslimcontrol and forbade the Templarsand Hospitallers from improvingthe few fortresses they retained inthe region. Furthermore, the Holy

City itself was to remainunfortified.

The Templars and the crusader barons largel y ignored the

Emperor’s treaty, ostensibly underthe guise of warring with thesultan of Damascus. Relationships became so bad that the Templars

were accused of plotting to murderthe Emperor. When he returned toItaly, he seized their property andarrested many brothers, which int u r n c o n t r i b u t e d t o h i sexcommunication. The Templars

would continue to oppose the HolyRoman Emperor, in the East aswell as in Germany.

Decline and Decline

The arrival of the Mongols inthe East led to the easing of pressure for the Templars, who

continued to be involved in localconflicts involving tribute andtrade. Only Acre, Antioch,Caesarea and Tyre remained as themain Latin domains in the East, aswell as Cyprus and a string of

fortresses. As the Crusader states

had shrunk, an increasingly larger part of what remained belonged tothe military orders, leading toinevitable discord.

Soon the conflicts betweenHospitaller and Templar wouldlead to sharp criticism that the

Templars had undermined theentire Crusading movementthrough their own selfish actions.Indeed, as the decades wore on,the Poor Knights became

enmeshed in local politics and power plays, backing one sultan

The Templars are most excellent soldiers. They wear white mantles

with a red cross, and when they go to the wars a standard of two colours

called balzaus is borne before them. They go in silence. Their first attack

is most terrible. In going they are the first, in returning the last. They

await the orders of their Master. When they think fit to make war and the

trumpet has sounded, they sing in chorus the Psalm of David, ‘Not unto

us, O Lord’, kneeling on the blood and necks of the enemy, unless theyhave forced the troops of the enemy to retire altogether, or utterly broken

them to pieces. Should any of them for any reason turn his back to the

enemy, or come forth alive [from defeat], or bear arms against the

Christians, he is severely punished; the white mantle with the red cross,

which is the sign of his knighthood, is taken away with ignominy, he is

cast from the society of brethren, and eats his food on the floor without a

napkin for the space of one year. … But at the end of the year, if the

Master and brethren think his penance to have been sufficient, they

restore him the belt of his former knighthood. These Templars live under

a strict religious code, obeying humbly, having no private property,

eating sparingly, dressing meanly, and dwelling in tents.

Anonymous pilgrim, 12th century



25

cavalry and the highest generallevel of membership, living underthe strict Templar Rule. To

become a knight, one had to be ofnoble birth, and only brotherknights could wear the famedwhite robes of the Templars.

The sergeants: the lightcavalry, commanding a specifichouse, fortress or lands of theOrder, although without the ability

to command full knights.Sergeants were exclusively not ofthe nobility, coming from themerchant or peasant classes.Sergeants wore a black tunic witha red cross on the front and back.

Non-fighting

BrethrenThe farmers: the farmers were

more properly the administrators

of the Templars, providing andorganising for the temporal needsof the entire Order. Farmers wore black or brown tunics with smallred crosses.

The chaplains: alone investedwith spiritual authority over allmembers of the Order of the

Temple, the chaplains minister toneeds of the brethren and areorganised according the SacerdotalOrders, being priest, deacon,subdeacon, acolyte, exorcist,reader and doorkeeper.

Organisation

The Knights Templar wasorganised according to regions,each with its own Commander,Deputy Commander, Marshal,

Under-Marshal, Standard Bearerand Infirmarer. All of these men

were drawn from the knightly brethrens, except the StandardBearer and Under-Marshal, whosetasks dealt with the Order’sartisans, craftsmen and squires.

There were two poles ofultimate authority within theKnights Templar: the Grand

Master and the Commander ofJerusalem, so as to ensure no

single person held too much power. The ‘high men’ of the

Order were the Grand Master, theSeneschal, Grand Marshal,Commander of the Kingdom of

Jerusalem, and the Draper.

The Order was formally divided

into two regions: East and West.

Each Crusader Kingdom had itsown Commander, presided over by the Co mmander of theKingdom of Jerusalem. TheCommander of the Houses of the

West presided over the EuropeanCommanders, and was often theSeneschal. Commanders typically presided over cities or large towns, particularly in the East. The purpose of this division was to

have the Western Order constantlyadvocating and supplying the

Eastern Order, with the Templars’entire purpose being to recapturethe Holy Land.

The Grand Master

The Order was primarily a

military organisation. At its headwas the Grand Master, an office of prestige and power by the 1160s.T h e Gr a n d M a s t e r h a dconsiderable power within theOrder. He could redistribute

resources between the Order’s preceptories, castles and houses.His only rival in authority was theTemplar Commander of theKingdom of Jerusalem, whoofficially held the keys to the

covenant’s Treasury. A decision by the Grand Master howevercould only be appealed to thePope, although this avenue wasonly followed a few times in theOrder’s history.

Although prior to the 1160s theGrand Master had been a humble

knight, afterwards he was the rulerof a grand Order, entitled to fourhorses, and an entourage whichincluded two knights, a chaplain, aclerk, a sergeant, a shield-bearer, ascribe and translator, a cook and

turcopolier (leader of the auxiliarytroops). During war, he was permitted a bodyguard of betweensix and ten knights.

Despite this grandeur, the GrandMaster was also expected tosymbolise humility. Every Holy

Thursday (the commemoration ofthe Eucharist on the day beforeGood Friday) the Grand Master

washed the feet of thirteen paupers, distributed them shirts, breeches and shows, as well astwo loaves of bread and a smallamount of money.

The Grand Master was chosen by an assembly of all provincialofficers in the Holy Land, who

assembled (if possible) inJerusalem. Upon a Grand Master’sdeath, these officers elected aninterim Grand Commander. Anelectoral college of thirteenTemplars, chosen by the officers,

consisting of eight knights, foursergeants and a chaplain,

reflecting the diverse countriesand interests of membership wasappointed. This electoral councilthen elects, by simple majority, the

Grand Master who was thenacclaimed by the assembledknights.

The Seneschal, Grand Marshal, Commanderand Draper

Below the Grand Master was

the Seneschal, the deputy leader ofthe Knights Templar, who carriedthe Order’s black and white banner. Like the Grand Master, theSeneschal had his own staff andhorses. His responsibilities and

powers were similar to the GrandMaster’s, with the Seneschaltending to preside over whateverregion, East or West, that theGrand Master was not present

(typically West).

The Grand Marshal was theOrder’s chief military officer, the

on-the-ground officer responsiblefor individual commanders, theOrder’s war-resources and allmilitary operations. Like theGrand Master and Seneschal, the position of Grand Marshal was

very prestigious and came with itsown guard, and staff.

Next to the Grand Master wasthe Commander of the Kingdom

of Jerusalem. With Jerusalem notin Christian hands in 1220, the



26

peace-time differed little to the lifeof a Benedictine monk. Primarilya monastic figure, the brother

knight would wake before dawnand attend the Matins service inthe house’s chapel. This wasfollowed by numerous prayers,including the Lord’s Prayer and prayers to the Blessed Virgin

Mary, then the hearing of Mass.By the time the knight was having breakfast just before midday, hewould have said over five dozen prayers.

Meals consisted of primarilyvegetables (such as beans, lentilsand cabbage), cheese and bread,

although unlike other monasticorders, they were required to eat

meat and fish at least three times aweek. Templars ate at least twice aday. All meals were held incomplete silence.

After eating breakfast, prayerswould resume, with an afternoon

meal in the middle and a smallmeal in the evening of bread anddiluted wine or water.

While not praying or eating, a brother knight would train for war,

undertake any tasks or duties thehouse required, or would performsome form of humbling labour,

such as tilling fields or craftwork.Since horses were so important toTemplars, they also spent a greatdeal of time using and treatingtheir horses.

The Templar Rule required thateach brother knight be busy all thetime, either praying or working.

The life of a brother knight waschaste and gruelling.

During a time of war, prayerswould be integrated into thenecessities of battle. The Templarswould pray while riding to or evenduring the battle, and would stillrise before dawn.

Women and the Order

The Templar Rule explicitly

stated that brother knights were tohave no contact with women,unless necessary for the treatment

of an illness or injury. Unlike theHospitallers, which had separatehouses for women, the wives of

married Knights Templar wereexpected to become nuns inanother order.

Despite this prohibition oncontact with women, whichincluded female relatives, therewas considerable interest in theTemplars amongst women,

particularly in the thir teenthcentury, resulting in numerousdonations. Despite prohibitionsagainst contact with women, therealities of medieval life meantthat women often worked for and

in Temple houses.

FaithGreatest reverence was shown

towards the Blessed Virgin Mary,who was honoured as the‘beginning of the Order’ and ‘the

end of the Order, whenever Godwishes it to be.’ Reception into theOrder involved solemn prayersand oaths to the Virgin Mary, aswell as to God, and the oath ofallegiance to the Grand Master

was made in the name of God and

the Holy Virgin.

It is significant to note that until1307, not a single charge of heresywas ever prosecuted against theTemplars (although many moremundane complaints were madeagainst them). Their faith and

theology was entirely orthodox,albeit it unusual because memberswere allowed to confess their sinsonly to the Order’s own chaplains,rather than to the region’s clergy.

Templar Systems

This sect ion introducesmodified and new systems for

Templar characters.

Modified Templar Virtues

The following applies only to

Templar characters, and aremodified versions of those found

Commander is effectively in exile,residing in Acre. Technically theCommander of the Kingdom of

Jerusalem held the keys to theOrder’s treasury, once located inthe Church of the Holy Sepulchre.In 1220, the Commander overseesall non-military assets of theOrder, such as its fleet, storage

vaults in Acre, houses, villagesand animals.

The Order’s Draper wasimportant for very practicalreasons: he ensured that the brother knights and sergeants were properly clothed and housed. Thefamed white robes of the

Templars, as well as bed-linen andanyth ing once be longing

personally to a member of thePoor Knights were all within the power of the Draper. Any giftmade to the Order was distributed

by the Draper. After the GrandMaster and Grand Marshal, theDraper was the most superior ofall brother knights.

Chapters

Meetings of the Templars took place in the Order’s regional head

quarters, and functioned in asimilar manner to secular ruler’scourts. The leader of the chapterwould preside over discussions oflegal and business matters. MinorChapter meetings took place

weekly, beginning and endingwith prayers, led by the chaplainand Master of the house.

Chapter meetings were held instrict secrecy, since discussionsoften involved sensitive military

matters—the Templars were wellaware of the axiom that ‘loose lips

sink ships’. No member of theTemplars was permitted todistribute or talk about the proceedings of a Chapter meeting.This secrecy is one of the maincauses for conspiracy speculation

regarding the Poor Knights of theTemple.

Daily Life

The life of a brother knight wasone filled with prayer, and during





28

knight who fled before such a timefaced the most severe ofdisciplinary punishments, the mosthorrific of which was expulsionfrom the Order.

The Balzaus is important to theTemplars, because it mystically

aids them in battle, a factcommented on with awe by theirMuslim opponents. This works ina similar manner to InvokingGod’s Aid in Warfare (see Realms

of Power: The Divine, p.41-42).

The Templar Commander orChaplain blesses or says a prayerover the standard before the battle,

then rolls their Communication +Dominion Lore Ability + StressDie, and may also add +1 if they

have the Brother Chaplain MinorVirtue, or +3 if they have theCommander Major Virtue, inaddition to any bonus from PiousPersonality Flaws. The holy powerCeremony may be used to

augment this total.

Balzaus Blessing:

Communication + Dominion

Lore + Modifiers + Stress Die

All Templars who can see the balzaus gain the Holy War Bonusto all rolls during that combat, solong as the balzaus is raised.

Templars only benefit from thehighest Holy War Bonus, so ifthey personally pray for aid, andget a higher total, then they get

that total only; the Holy WarBonus does not stack with itself.

Bibliography

There is a multitude of workson Knights Templar, mostfantastical, but some scholarly.

Most imaginative texts derivefrom the creative histories of theFreemason movement in theseventeenth and eighteenthcenturies.

Conspiracy

Michael Baigent, Richard Leighand Henry Lincoln, The Holy

Blood and the Holy Grail , ArrowBooks

Laurence Gardiner, Bloodline of

the Holy Grail: The Hidden

Lineage of Jes us Reveal ed ,Penguin

Lynn Picket and Clive Prince,The Templar Revelation: Secret

Guardians of the True Identity of

Christ , Corgi

Karen Ralls, The Templars and

the Grail: Knights of the Quest ,Quest Book

Scholarly

Malcolm Barber, The New

Knighthood: A History of the

Order of the Temple, Canto

Malcolm Barber and KeithBate, The Templars: Selected

Sources, Manchester

Piers Paul Read, The Templars,Phoenix Press

Fiction

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci

Code, Bantam Press

Umberto Eco, Fo ucault ’s

Pendulum, Vintage Press

Stephen Lawhead, The Celtic

Crusades, Books 1-3, Voyager

the Order of the Temple ofSolomon was an exempt Order ofthe Church, answerable only to theThrone of St. Peter. Templars areimmune to Episcopal interdict and

jurisdi ction. For this reason,Templars are unaffected byspiritual influence by anyauthority less than the Pope,although the Grand Master andTemplar Chaplains have spiritual

authority over the Order’smembers. Templars may ignorethe effects of a temperedDominion, unless it was tempered by the Pope or an authority withinthe Order itself. (For the effects of

spiritual influence and tempering,see Realms of Power: The Divine, p.38-40.)

The Balzaus

The balzaus is a long bannerdivided vertically in two, one half

white, the other black. Each troopof Templars carries this beforethem in battle. While it stands, noTemplar is permitted to flee from battle or turn their back on theenemy. So important was the

balzaus, the Templars accord it aspecial ten-knight guard at alltimes while on the battlefield.These knights carry a second,folded banner to raise shouldsomething happen to the first. If

the banner were captured or brought down, the Templarswould be expected to rally to theHospitaller banner, or failing that,any Christian banner. Only if all

banners had fallen were theTemplars allowed to retreat fromthe field of battle. Any brother

New Equipment

Ability Init Atk Dfn Dam Str Load Cost

Turkish Mace

Single +1 +3 +1 +8 0 2 Exp.

Partial Full Cost

Material Prot Load Prot Load

Templar Armour*: 6 3 9 5 Exp.

* Available only to Brother Knights.



29

A couple of months ago, Ivolunteered to write somehistorical accounts of noble

families and personalities of thethirteenth century and began withthe death of William Clito. I’m a bit late with this next instalmenton the end of the Hohenstaufen, but better late than never. So heregoes.

The End of the Hohenstaufen

Much to general surprise, and

possibly his own, the “stupormundi” Emperor Frederick IIHohenstaufen died on December19th, 1250. Many refused to

believe his death at the time.Franciscan Friar Salimbene ofParma, for example, only creditedthe news several days later uponhearing it confirmed vive voce byPope Innocent IV who preached to

the people in Ferrara on his way back to Rome from Lyons. Likemany, Salimbene had come to see

Frederick as the Antichrist whosereign was to foreshadow theSecond Coming of Christ. He

wrote that he “had expected andhoped that Frederick would dogreater evil than had been done sofar, although he had done a greatdea l . ” The good f r ia r ’ sdisappointment lay not so much in

delight in the Emperor’s manysins, but in dashed prophetic hopesof an imminent appearance of theMessianic Age.

It is difficult to overstate theimpact on the 13th century ofFrederick’s reign and, as we shallsee shortly, his death marked one

of those rare decisive turning points of history. Frederick had been a whirlwind–an unstoppableforce of nature sweeping furiouslyacross Europe and the Near East,collecting royal titles like candy

(six at final count), and leavingenemies and more neutralobservers alike agog andsputtering. Never down for long,he would rise up again like a

Hollywood villain, driving his foesto frustrated exhaustion and neardespair of ever seeing the end ofhim.

The man was an extraordinary bundle o f co ntr adi c tio ns .Brilliantly rational, sceptical and

with an unquenchable thirst forscientific knowledge, he spokenine languages and was literate inseven. Yet he was also deeplysuperstit ious, addicted toastrology, a scourge of heretics

and capable of naive piety. Afriend to his Muslim and Jewish

subjects, he allegedly professedr e l i g i o u s i n d i f f e r e n t i s m(describing Moses, Jesus andM o h a m m e d a s “ c u n n i n g

i m p o s t o r s ” ) y e t , w h i l eexcommunicated, he launched oneof the few successful crusades (the6th), retaking Jerusalem in 1229with minimal forces and imposinga ten year truce on the Ayyubid

sultan of Egypt (Jerusalem was tostay in Christian hands until1244). Obsessed with the

importance of family and dynasticsuccession, he managed to alienatemost of his 6 (or more, depending

how you count them) wives whilemaintaining a harem andnumerous mistresses, andimprisoning and possibly drivinghis son and heir to suicide. A greatlawgiver himself , he ran

roughshod over constitutionalrights and provisions when itsuited his personal interests.

But this story is not aboutFrederick. I wouldn’t have thespace to do him justice anyway.As the title suggests, its about theend of the Staufers, not their peak.

As the subject of this series ofhistorical vignettes is meant to bethe great princely families thathovered just below the royal level,often slipping just below the radarof conventional national historical

accounts most people have beenexposed to, I mean to deal

principally with the Staufers before they reached the throne,

and what happened to them afterFrederick’s death.

The origin of the Staufers is puzzlingly obscure. Unlike the

Plantagenets, they don’t evenseem to have a Mythic back story

with faeries or demons amongsttheir forebears. Possibly thisreflects an unusually lowly parentage, or simply a paucity of

literacy and historical records in awild region, endowed as itnevertheless was with ancient and powerful abbeys well able tochronicle local events. Thestandard Hohenstaufen family

history puff piece by Otto ofFreising is sadly mundane on this point.

Be that as it may, the earliestStaufer I can find any record of isa Frederick of Büren (c. 998-1074). He married a daughter ofthe count of Filsgau, and his son,

also called Frederick (there are alot of Fredericks in this story, so pay attention) was styled count ofBüren. It’s unclear how this

The End of the Hohenstaufen Michael de Verteuil

This article was posted on the

Ars Magica Berklist on 2 August

2007 and is reproduced here with

permission.



30

have been reasonably impressiveat the time. It’s not entirely clearwhy Henry picked Frederick as

duke of Swabia, but the fact thatFrederick had married Henry’sdaughter Agnes and been thegrandson of the earlier Duke Otto probably had something to do withit. Duke Frederick I was

succeeded by his son DukeFrederick II One-eyed (1090-1146), and he in turn by his son(you guessed it!) Frederick IIIBarberossa (1122-1190, our 5thFreddie if you are still keeping

count). In 1152 Barberossa waselected king and so gotrenumbered King (later Emperorin 1154) Frederick I Barberossa,the first Hohenstaufen monarch.

Now o ur Fre der i c k I I

Hohenstaufen whose story, Iremind you, is not the subjecthere, was not Barberossa’s son but

his nephew (Ha ha! Got you.) Butwhat made him special andultimately, to the Papacy,intolerable was that he was,through his mother, king of Sicily.

The Holy Roman Empire was by this time a vague quasifederation consisting of four

separate realms. The most powerful of these was Germany(or East Francia or, misleadingly,of the Romans)) to which had been added Italy and the nBurgundy. Bohemia was raised to

a subject kingdom underBarberossa but was never directly

in the Emperor’s hands during our period. The imperial title was

second Frederick (c. 1020-1094) became a count. Possibly he was just a successful baron who, as

was often the case in 10th and11th century Germany, usurpedthe title. Unlike in France wherecounties had historically consistedof ancient Roman towns and theirsurrounding countryside, the

relative lack of early urbanizationin Germany had made “counties”t h e r e m o r e p l a s t i c a n dspontaneous. The fact that hismaternal grandfather had been acount probably facilitated matters.

This Count Frederick couldn’thave been a complete nobody,

however, as he married Hildegard,the daughter of his nominal lord,

Duke Otto of Swabia and Bavaria,himself a grandson of EmperorOtto I. When Duke (not theEmperor) Otto died, he was

replaced successively by membersof the Conradin family and thenthe Babenburgs, and then variousSalians, Ottonians, Schweinfurtsand assorted Rheinfelden andZähringen dukes or claimants.

This frequent flipping of ducaldynasties was due to the fact thatGerman princely families died out

very easily as the German crownand royal fiefs could not normally be inherited through the female

line. Further complicating thestory was that once becomingking/emperor, a duke wasexpected to hand off his duchy tosomeone else.

So when Emperor Henry IVwas fishing around for areplacement duke of Swabia, he

settled on the son of Count

Frederick and Hildegard (alsounsurprisingly called Frederick).And this is how the Hohenstaufengot their big start with the nowDuke Frederick I (1050-1105) of

Swabia who took the nameHohenstaufen from a castle he had built on the on the southern spur ofa mountainous ridge of the samename in northern Swabia nearGöppingen (in modern south-

western Germany). The castle wassacked and burnt in the Peasant’s

War in 1525 and there’s not thatmuch left of it now, but it must



31

technically attached to thekingdom of Italy, and the Germanking (after being crowned again as

King of Italy in Pavia) wasexpected to make his way to Romewhere, the Pope willing, he wascrowned emperor.

Whether Rome itself was part ofthe “empire” was unclear andhotly contested. But as it lay onthe far southern border of the

kingdom of Italy, and was ruledseparately by the Pope, it wasn’tnormally a practical issue. TheGerman emperors had a hardenough time trying to impose theirwill on the essentially self ruling

(and frequently “rebellious”)Italian communes. The Popes

could normally run their ownaffairs in relative peace, playingoff the communes against theking, or rival royal claimants

against each other. If things gottoo hot for him with an imperialarmy heading for Rome, the Popeusually retreated south to the landsof his nominal vassal, the Normanking of Sicily. The stroppy would-

be emperor would run out ofmoney, have his supply lines cutoff, or see his army succumb to

malaria or dysentery in the hotItalian sun, and so wouldeventually have to retreat north.

With our Freddie, however,things were going to be different.

The various Popes tried really hardto prevent the Hohenstaufen from

uniting the German and Sicilianc r o w n s , e x p e r i me n t i n gunsuccessfully with various non

Hohenstaufen successors toBarberossa; but they all provedunsatisfactory in various ways.The last one, Otto IV, wasdownright threatening in his perfidious repudiation of sworn

promises to leave Church propertyalone and butt out of episcopalelections. Most reluctantly, thePope eventually agreed to backFrederick as emperor in an effortto see Otto off. Unfortunately, the

operation was a success, but the patient died. As the wealthiest andmost powerful ruler of Europe,with the bulk of his holdings in thePope’s former southern refuge ofSicily, and the Papal States held in

a tight territorial vice, Frederick just couldn’t be stopped formtreating the Papal lands as if theywere his own, handing out chunksto officials and cronies as fiefs.Excommunication, Frederick’s

tyrannical ways and hisquestionable morality helpedspawn and support rebellion, butsuccessive Popes, spending halftheir time in exile, just couldn’tseem to get rid of him.

By the time Frederick died, hisenemies, Pope Innocent IV

included, had had enough. Neveragain were they going to put upwith such a consolidation of feudal power. They systematically setabout exterminating Frederick’s

male descendants one afteranother, and effectively put an endto the imperial threat by freeing all

the Staufer vassals and makingsure no one could be confirmed asemperor for the next 61 years.How the Papacy went about doingthis is the meat of our story.

Frederick’s eldest legitimateson, uncharacteristically namedHenry, was the one who might

have committed suicide. Frederickhad made king of Germany asHenry VII (while keeping theimperial title for himself) it atransparently dishonest effort toappear to live up to his promise to

Pope Honorius III never to unitethe German and Sicilian crowns.

Henry had chaffed under hisfather’s heavy hand anddomineering personality, andwhen he tried to assert himself by

forming his own party, Frederickdeposed him and had him lockedup in various prisons in Apulia.Modern analysis of Henry’skeleton in 1998 showed him tohave been a small man of about

164 cm (5' 4.5") and to have beenin an advanced state of leprosywhen he died of a fall from a great

height (possibly a suicide) in 1235at the age of 25.

Frederick’s younger son(inexplicably also not calledFrederick. Some people just have

no sense of tradition.) and, afterdeposing Henry, Frederick hadhim appointed king as Conrad IVin 1237. Conrad was still alivewhen Frederick died so becomethe primary focus of efforts to

bring down the Hohenstaufen clan.

P o p e I n n o c e n t a f t e rexcommunicating Frederick forthe last time, had backed twosuccessive counter kings:Landgrave (Marquis) Henry Raspe

of Thuringia who died in 1246,and then Count William II ofHolland who was still aroundwhen Frederick kicked off in1250. Conrad managed to defeatWilliam in that year, limiting his

influence for a time to William’s power base in the Low Countries.

He wasn’t able to eliminate himentirely, however, and William



32

diminutive “Conradin”) for whomthe title of Conrad V of Germanywas c la imed and , more

importantly, Frederick’s survivingillegitimate son Manfred. I say“illegitimate”, but the matter wasin some dispute. Manfred was born of Frederick’s mistressBianca (or Beatrice) Lancia

(Lanzia, Lanza), that much isclear. Yet Frederick seems to haveconsidered him legitimate, andsome historians claim Frederickmarried Bianca on her deathbed in1233, specifically to legitimize

their children. Manfred’s enemies,of course, would have none of thisand to them he remained a bastard.

In any case, Manfred had beenholding down the fort in Sicily forFrederick and then Conrad till thelatter, suspicious, set him asideand later died. Manfred is probably the hero of this little

tragedy, in my view, and deservesa little more attention.

managed to drive him into Italythe following year. Conrad hopedto recoup his losses by joining up

with Frederick’s Sicilian kingdom, but the Pope’s allies in northernItaly kept Conrad bottled up until1252 when he finally managed toslip into the southern part of the peninsula by sea. Conrad was

excommunicated by the frustratedPope in 1254, and died a fewmonths later of malaria.

There were now only two livemale Staufers left: Conrad’s twoyear old son Conrad (called by the

A Florilegium of House Bjornaerknow that the concept of Bjornaermagi with multiple shapes is usedin some sagas for this House. Icannot confess to suffering much

guilt over specifically ruling outthis option — in canon materialfor previous editions the conceptappears just once: in The Bestiaryfor Second Edition Ars Magica asa single sentence, off-the-cuff

mention. There is no suggestion ofit in Third, Fourth, or Fifth EditionArs Magica at all. However, I

would like to apologize to thosetroupes, who, lacking a clearcanon position, have decided to

adopt the concept of multipleshapes to fill the gap in theBjornaer Mysteries until theHouses of Hermes series reachedthis house. Be assured that I didnot just make Bjornaer magi hate

shapeshifters on a whim. What Ihope to do here is to explain toyou why I took this route in mywrite-up of the House; whilst you

still may beunable to

forgive me forwhat I've donet o t h eBjornaer, Ihope that youwill at least

u n d e r s t a n dwhy I did whatI did.

It has always

concerned methat House

Bjornaer is too much of a

stereotype. True, Birna came froma Germanic tribe, and was perhapsone of the most 'primitive' of theFounders, but it doesn't necessarilyfollow that her house follows suit.After all, Trianoma was a

Thessalonian witch, yet herlineage is one of the most prestigious in the Order. It has

been four hundred and fifty yearssince the Founding — at leasteight Hermetic generations and

probably more — and MythicEurope is a very different place.There are no longer tribal peopleliving anywhere in close proximityto the major nations of Europe,where the majority of sagas will

be set. So why should a Bjornaerapprentice regress culturally and become a savage barbarian? Theonly remnants of his 'primitive'

magic is his heartbeast, and whilstthis is central to his identity as a

member of the House, the magiche uses most often will be that ofthe Order of Hermes — whollyreliant on formal education,scholarly study, and othertrappings of civilization. For

those who wish to play the 'noblesavage' archetype, then ClansMidusulf and Sirnas provide aoutlet; it was my intent to makethese clans a little more savagethan the rest of the house and

provide a home for pre-existing

When I was putting togetherHouse Bjornaer for Houses of

Hermes: Mystery Cults I wasaware that I had more ideas than Ihad word count. For reasons ofspace, some of these ideasremoved from the first draft tomake room for a more focused

house. With the kind permissionof the guys at Atlas Games, I'mable to bring these sections (LostCubs, Additional Septs) to you in

this article, along with some otherconcepts which never even made it

as far as electronic paper (FeralMagi, Ulf Bjornaer). However,there was a second impetus forthis article, which was to give anapology, so I'll get that out of theway first.

I realize from reactions on thevarious fora that some players of

Ars Magica Fifth Edition may beunhappy with the direction I havetaken with House Bjornaer. I

By Mark Shirley



33

magi as experts in shapechanging, but I hope you can see the logic behind the change in the House. In

an attempt to make amends, hereare some bits and pieces which didnot make it as far as Houses ofHermes: Mystery Cults.

First, there are two characterconcepts for playing alternatemembers of House Bjornaer, theLost Cubs and the Feral magi.

Second, there are some detailsof some more septs — I only had

enough room for two in the finalchapter.

Third, I present Ulf Bjornaer,the magus who is used in all the

examples in the chapter. He is of asuitable age to be the master of a player character, or else he couldserve as a story hook, protagonist

or antagonist. Finally, I present anoutline for a Bjornaer-orientedsaga which was originallyformulated when writing up thecovenant of Crintera for Guardiansof the Forests.

This article covers the first –Lost Cubs and Feral magi. The

second and third pieces will be in

future issues.

Lost CubsVery rarely, a child without the

Gift will have their heartbeastawakened by the Ritual of TwelveYears. This may be a result of a

botched ritual, or the confusion ofSupernatural Abilities with thetrue Gift. If using 'The ThousandHeartbeasts' story seed of the

Bjornaer Chapter, these Lost Cubsmay also be intentionally created by the rogue mystagogue. Such people cause problems to HouseBjornaer: they are officiallymembers of the House and have

been adopted into the mysticfamily of the Bjornaer followers,and yet they are not magi andcannot officially join the Order.Further, they come about due tothe negligence of a magus, a

shameful thing in the opinion ofthe Bjornaer Council. As a result,their lack of The Gift is kepthidden from the Order, and they

are provided with magical itemswhich allow them to simulate the process of spellcasting. These

'apprentices' are even brought before the Order to swear the Oathof Hermes as if they were propermagi.

Such a character ends up as aCompanion character with theLost Cub Social Virtue (see below). No-one outside of the

House knows that some 'magi' ofHouse Bjornaer have never cast aspell in their lives. If the Orderwere ever to discover that some ofits members are masquerading asG i f t e d ma g i c i a n s , t h e

repercussions to House Bjornaercould be severe. However, House

Mercere sets the precedent for theexistence of unGifted members ofthe Order, and the House could probably weather this storm.

Lost Cub

Major Virtue, Social Status (House Bjornaer only)

You have mistakenly undergone

the Ritual of Twelve Years despitehaving no Gift. You masquerade

as a member of the Order ofHermes despite being unable touse Hermetic Magic. You must buy this Virtue with the Dark

Secret Major Flaw. Your socialstatus is equivalent to HermeticMagus unless your secret isdiscovered. You have theHeartbeast virtue for free, and youmay change shape just like a

magus of House Bjornaer. Youmust choose either a SupernaturalVirtue (Minor or Major) or the

Latent Magic Ability Virtue torepresent the innate magic whichcaused the House to assume you

were Gifted. Your Sept has provided you with enchanteddevices with fifty levels of effect,including modifications to thelevel due to factors such asnumber of uses per day (see

ArM5, page 95). These will beupgraded and replaced by yourSept to maintain your cover as aGifted magus, on average an extra

two levels per year. You aretrained in a similar manner to

characters who feel that they have been disenfranchised by the newlook House Bjornaer.

OK, so scrap the stereotype.Bjornaer magi are no longer

primitive magicians; their magic

and schooling is every bit assophisticated as a Jerbiton or aTytalus. Of course, as a mysterycult, they have some surprising beliefs; in House Bjornaer's case,

regarding the transmigration ofanimal souls. But this is notsomething that necessarily permeates their life. A true storyfrom my own life: my grandfatherwas the very epitome of an

ordinary (that is, boring), middle-classed gentleman; yet at the age

of fourteen or so I discovered hewas a druid. The culture-shockthat I experienced is what Iimagine most magi undergo when

(or rather, if) they discover theheterodox views of their Bjornaersodalis.

I wanted to keep the ancestralenemies of the House from previous editions, the originalshapeshifting tradition, but neededa strong reason why they should

still be enemies after so manyyears. Now that the ShapeshifterAbility is part of the Fifth Editioncore rules, the difference betweencharacters with this Virtue and theBjornaer magi seemed obvious —

the first can take multiple shapes, but the Bjornaer followers have just one shape. There is therefore afundamental difference betweenthe native tradition and the modernHouse. Furthermore, if Bjornaer

magi consider the heartbeast to be

part of their soul, their world viewhas no room for those who cantake multiple shapes — you can'tafter all have multiple souls ...unless you steal them from

elsewhere. This progressednaturally into the superstitiousdread that the Bjornaer magi havefor shapeshifters with multipleforms, and their generalrepugnance for shapeshifting

magic.

So, I'm sorry if this disruptsyour prior concept of Bjornaer



34

Gift allowing thecreature to learnHermetic Magic

(this assumes theu n o r t h o d o x position that amagus is a Humanof Virtue, oralternatively that a

Beast of Virtue posses ses a nanimal equivalentof The Gift).

One of the problems with thisconcept is thataccording to

prevailing thoughtof the day,

animals have nosouls, so neither will the feralmagus. Troupes may wish toignore this uncomfortable fact, or

else provide for it with the Simple-Minded Flaw, which representsthe lack of higher cognitivefaculties without inhibiting thecharacter's functioning as a magus.If this option is taken, the Flaw

should be in addition to thecharacter's normal allotment, anddoes not yield any points with

which to buy Virtues.

To simulate a Feral magus, thecharacter begins its life as a Beastof Virtue. Determine the basestatistics of the animal form, and

apply the normal allotment ofexperience points for a humancharacter, buying the Abilities ofthe base creature before allocatingexperience points to otherAbilities. You must buy the Feral

Upbringing Flaw, and cannot

spend experience points onlanguage, social, or academicAbilities. Only once magicaltraining begins can the characteracquire the minimum scores in

Latin and Artes Liberales requiredfor a magus, so these Abilitiesmust be bought using theallotment of experience fromapprenticeship. To Open the Artsof a Beast of Virtue, the master

must have a Intellego Vim LabTotal of at least 30 because the

pupil has the equivalent of a MajorSupernatural Virtue (ArM5 page

107), and during this process theBeast of Virtue loses its MightScore. The master must have some

means to communicate freely withher unorthodox apprentice (suchas a spell, or the Animal KenVirtue) to teach him any magic.Whilst much of its innate magic istransformed by being Opened to

the Arts, the player can purchasemagical powers appropriate to themythic potential of her character'snatural form. These powers aredesigned like spells, but cost thecharacter a fatigue level to

activate. A Minor Virtue offers upto 25 levels of effects, with thestipulation that the power mustaffect the creature itself rather thanany other target. A Major Virtuesupplies 50 levels of effects, with

no such restriction.

Once the character undergoes

the Ritual of Twelve Years it gainsthe Heartbeast Ability and cannow become human. The humanform is neither sanguine, choleric,melancholic nor phlegmatic, but a perfect mix between all four; the

temperament of any attendingmagus acts as a penalty to the performance of the ritual, partially

explaining why feral magi are sorare.

The viewpoint of this maguswill be severely twisted from thenorm, and the player and

storyguide should take pains tohighlight the effects of this changein perception. Many humancustoms will prove puzzling to themagus, and he may frequentlymake errors in judgment regarding

human behavior, similar to the

Social Handicap Flaw. Thisunfamiliarity with humans willfade over the years, but never trulyvanish. Feral magi can only everachieve the Inner Mystery of the

Epitome and regain a part of theirvirtuous form; they are so attunedto this mystery that they receive a permanent +3 to all initiationscripts to gain or refine the InnerMystery of the House.

magi, and may take Academic,Arcane and Martial Abilitiesduring character creation. Youhave spent fifteen years as an‘apprentice’, and gained a total of300 experience points in those

fifteen years. If it is everdiscovered that you do not haveThe Gift, your life may be indanger; and House Bjornaer will be severely embarrassed. TheHouse will therefore deal with you

favorably in fear of you revealingyour secret (accidentally or‘accidentally’), but if you pushthis latitude too far, they maydecide they are better off withoutyou. This Virtue may only be

taken by a Companion character.

Feral MagiAt least one Bjornaer magus

claims to have taken an animal as

an apprentice; the Ritual ofTwelve Years apparent lyawakening the human heartbeastof the creature. Many scoff at suchtales, but such an individual mightmake an interesting character to play in a non-canon saga. The

animal would have to have trueIntelligence rather than Cunning,and would also have to beinherently magical — that is, be aBeast of Virtue. The process ofOpening the Arts strips the Beast

of Virtue of its Might score, andreplaces it with a variant of The

h



35

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