The 5th edition is the best so far. Thousands of players tested it since the release and there are some parts which need correction or clarification.
Balancing
-Enchanted devices receive a penetration bonus of +1,5 per additional level of power enchanted into the item rather than +2. Charged items has penetration of 0 always.
-Magical Focus bonus gives only the half of the lower Art.
-Magic Resistance Spell mastery option doubles only the Form bonus and not the whole resistance.
Learning
-Quality of the book is Communication +3. Higher level books improve the characters too quickly and causing the SG more problems because the magi can easily surmount to commoners (e.g. mind reading). Bonuses of illustrator etc. from Covenants don't apply.
-There are no tractatus. The tractatus rule brought a lot of bookkepping in the game especially making detailed libraries and recording which magus read which books. This rule made learning from vis extremely expensive and unnecessary.
-Secondary Insight gives +6 to forms and +3 to techniques. This is a major virtue after all and generalists are weak.
-Elementalist should give +2 xps instead of 1. This is a major virtue.
-Learning from vis: if you get 1 vis for learning it gives the standard xp, using 3 vis means you can double the xp from the roll. Currently learning from vis is not profitable because it is risky and there are plenty of books. Thus vis is rarely used and has no real value.
-Skip Affinities. They support overspecialization, too. Puissant is enough.
Effects
-Reduce damaging PeCo base effect levels by 2 magnitudes. Other, general arts are more suitable for killing and making incapacitated than this combination meant for harm human bodies.
-Increase the base level of the Creo based characteristic increasing effects by 10. Moderately magi easily make geniuses or balance negative characteristics.
-New effect guideline which gives magic resistance. Every 10pts gives +5 levels of MR. It can be a spell or an item effect. It cannot be combined with other MR effects. Reason: companions became useless quickly against supernatural beings. Also good for Mercere magi.
Style and Adventures
-The player's magus and the companion should never be in a good relation with each other, but hate is nether needed. Therefore companions must build contact with other players in order to receive magical things which helps role-playing between each other.
-The magi will automatically go into final twilight when they reach warping score of 9 (225 warping points). This way the oldest members can still reach sometimes even the age of 200. This rule is important only for the game setting. Base time in twilight at warping score of 8 is a stress die years instead of 7 years for uncertainty.
-Magi may spend 7 points to magic, hermetic and related virtues and 7 points to hermetic and supernatural flaws at most. House virtues aren't counted in the 7 pts. Hermetic related: I mean even puissant parma magica is related to hermetic magic for example.
-When making Longevity Ritual the caster gets to know all the hermetic, magic and body-related virtues and flaws of the subject. This is only a story element the magi need to decide carefully the magus well who casts the ritual on him. The aim is not to limit the players to have an own longevity specialist.
-Aegis of the Hearth protects against spells and effects only, it doesn't keep beings away. This rule gives more opportunities for SGs.
-Supernatural might of the beings must be much higher especially for the most important ones. For example might 50 for archangels are too low, it should be doubled or even higher.
-True Faith is a minor virtue. Anybody may have it even 2-3 people in every villages and almost every priests. Miracles should remain to the saints who have more faith points. Sometimes the SG may provide miracles to the common people with faith especially when they defend Christianity. This rule strengthens the common Christian folk a bit, they might be opponents or obstacles for a longer period. Those with believer personality trait have a magic resistance equal to the trait level. We need to differentiate believers and religious ones for this purpose, religious people are those who just suit to the religious customs.
Created: 15.03.2011
Last editing: 24.02.2012