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The ability to use magic is learned in a school called a chantry and each chantry belongs to a spell college called a convocation. Convocations are all over-seen by an organization called the Shek-Pvar, a group that subscribes to a doctrine called Pvarism. Pvarism is the belief that everything in the universe can be described in terms of six elemental key principles: Air, Fire, Metal, Earth, Water, and Spirit. Because the designers have described it this way, the GM is free to make Pvarism a religion (as magic is primarily perceived in some games such as RuneQuest) or the beginnings of a rudimentary knowledge of science (as magic is perceived in Mage:the Sorcerer’s Crusade). The Shek-Pvar are overseen by a larger institution known as the Guild of Arcane Lore, giving the GM the freedom to invent other magical societies. A lot of detail is given describing the origins of the Shek-Pvar and their doctrine.
Apprentices are adopted into a convocation and chantry by resident masters. They perform menial tasks, run errands, and are allowed to watch and listen to the masters teach from time to time. When they reach a certain level of competence (generally after five to ten years of service) they are released from the bond of apprenticeship and are sent out into the world. Shek-Pvar begin play at this stage. Each chantry listed in HarnWorld has a quality level ranging from one to five stars, depending on their facilities and teachers. A convocational skill base (CSB) is determined by an average of two times the Aura characteristic plus one other characteristic peculiar to the specific Convocation. This is then multiplied by a number dependent on the chantry quality. For a five star convocation the CSB is multiplied by 4 to give a Convocation Mastery Level and by 3 to give a Neutral Master Level (for spells common to all convocations). For a 3 star convocation the CSB is multiplied by 3 for a Convocation Mastery Level and by 2 for a Neutral Mastery Level. Here is an example. Merryn has an Aura of 16 and an Agility of 12. He studies in a Peleahn chantry (fire, volcanoes, movement enhancement) so his CSB = (16 + 16 + 12) / 3 = 14.66 which is rounded to 15. His chantry quality is 3 stars. Therefore his Mastery Level is 45 (CSB x 3) for Peleahn spells and 30 (CSB x 2) for Neutral spells.
Each mage also starts out with some skills relevant to his training in the chantry. Peleahn, for instance, offers Alchemy 3, Cookery 4, Metalcraft 1, and Weaponcraft 1. The numbers after the skill are multiplied by the CSB of the particular skill to get a Mastery Level (ML) For instance, the CML for Alchemy is gained by averaging the total of Smell, Intelligence, and Aura. Like all other characters, Sata-Mavari (journeymen Shek-Pvar) get 5 option points to open new skills and improve open skills. Sata-Marvia have spell points equal to their Aura characteristic to buy beginning spells with. Each convocational spell costs the spell level x 1 and each neutral spell costs the spell level x 2.
Skill index is equal to 1/10 of the ML rounded down. CSI is the abbreviation for Convocational Skill Index. CSI is used often to determine the amount of time used to cast a spell (such as 15 – CSI seconds) or the range of the spell ( such as CSI hexes). Merryn, introduced above, has a CSI of 4 for Peleahn Spells and 3 for Neutral Spells.
In order to cast a spell a mage first tells the GM of his intent to cast a spell when he begins to cast it. Spells that take 1-9 seconds to cast fire at the end of the round, spells that take 10-19 seconds to cast fire at the end of the next round, etc. The character’s chances to succeed are his CML minus five (5) times the level of the spell (plus or minus any modifiers). Mages expend their own energy (gain fatigue) to control a spell. The fatigue levels (FL) accumulated depend on the success level achieved when casting the spell. Critical success = 0 FL, Moderate Success = 1 FL, Moderate Failure = 1 FL, Critical failure = 2 FL (or higher).
Spellcasting requires a great amount of concentration. If a mage is interrupted during the spell, it could give a negative modifier to success roll. Guidelines are given for this, but in the end, are determined by the GM.
Critical failure results in spell misfires. A spell misfire table is given to roll on if a character gets a critical failure when casting a spell. This has a chance (small) of being fatal to the spellcaster.
Cant, Gesture, Music, Dance, Foci, Spellbinding, Memorization, Grimoires and astrological timing are covered in detail and can enhance the chance of spell success.
Specific rules are given for spell research. Research Target Level (RTL) is equal to CML minus five (5) times the level of the spell. Two full days per complexity level are required to learn the spell. There are modifiers for lack of proper equipment, noisy environment, aural interference, esoteric aid, mentor bonus, and written works researched. The written works bonus section is very well designed taking into account the condition of the book or scroll and its detail and length. At the end of research, fatigue is accrued.
Specific rules are given for inventing spells, 2 pages worth. I cannot go into that in this review… it is too complex, and should be reserved for those who actually buy the book anyway. Basically the player designs a spell using the material provided in the rules, the GM evaluates it and makes suggestions, the player revises it, and in the end the GM assigns a complexity level to the spell and it becomes available to other players to research. This is one of the places that the 3-ring binder comes in handy. New spells can be photocopied by the GM and inserted into the notebooks of the players. In my campaign, if a player invents his own spell for his own use, I do not give it to the other players to put in their books. I only do this if they are making the spell available to the chantry or convocation. However, if the character dies, his grimoires are up for grabs, if his fellow players can find them, and overcome any traps or puzzles the player has set within the pages to keep his knowledge secret.
A Shek-Pvar first attunes to his Primary Convocation and learns its Primary Spells. Adjacent to his convocation on the Pvaric Wheel (a wheel divided into pie shaped sections, each convocation being a piece of the pie) are the secondary convocations and spells. Those two removed are called Tertiary. The convocation opposite his is called Diametric. Mages first learn spells of their Primary Convocation, but can later learn those of other convocations. In order to learn spells of another convocation the mage must have written permission from three Masters of that convocation (opportunities for role playing). Then he must make a successful attunement roll for that convocation. He must first attune to his 2 secondary convocations, then to his 2 tertiary convocations, etc.
I have to laugh when I read some reviews describing Harn as magic weak. If anything, Harn is magic strong. Harn is certainly no larger than the continental United States yet it has 59 chantries, indicating a huge interest in magic and a significant part of the population learning how to use it. This can be represented any way the GM wants. In the campaign my GM ran, magicians were many, but they were seen by the majority of the population as being ordinary folk, because the chantries were run in secret and magic had to be practiced in secret. In our campaign mages were under the threat of punishment by other mages for wild displays of magic. A GM could also run it so that the colleges are well known to everyone on Harn. The rest of the World of Harn could look at the island with awe…maybe its hidden from the rest of the world by mist as in the case of legendary Avalon. I think most people who describe Harn as magic weak either thumbed through the book and saw the few number of spells without reading them thoroughly or were in a campaign and found that learning spells takes some time and roleplaying skills. In other words, they are not handed to a mage on a plate as they are in D&D.
There are no rules for casting wild magic. What I mean by this is that mages don’t learn a principle as in the Storyteller system and then just make up effects based on those principles and cast them. What a mage can do in Harn is diligently studied before a spell is ever cast. There is the opportunity to blend spells and create any spell a player can imagine through the spell invention rules, but they don’t just create spells on the spur of the moment. This does not mean you could not include this type of magic in Harn. You could do it easily. One spell point in Ars Magica, for instance, could equal 5% of either a technique or a form. Maybe this kind of sorcerer has innate talent similar to Psionic ability to cast spells. Similarly it would be easy to use the magic casting rules for Hedge Wizards who may be thought of as Renegades by the Shek-Var. Witchraft and Druidism is more appropriately handled under the Harn Religion rules.
I have no problem with the Harn Magic system. I think it is one of the best features of the Harn system. If have used the Harn magic system with other games that I felt have had poor magic systems. I have played Ars Magica, and I like it, but I like the Harn Magic System as much or even more than the Ars Magica system. In my campaign, I use the Ars Magica system for Hedge Wizards and the Harn Magic System for the Shek-Pvar. The Shek-Pvar tend to have a little bit more powerful magic, while the Hedge Wizards have a little more flexibility and can use magic more intuitively than the “scientific and academic” Shek-Pvar. There is no problem merging the two systems.
To sum up, yes it is a shame that players have to put out the money to buy another book for magic, but on the other hand, having a separate book for magic allows the room to give players a rich and nicely developed magic system. I would like to see a supplement covering non-Shek Pvar magic such as as Hedge Magic, but, for the time being Ars Magica does nicely for this. Again, the designers have come up with a flexible and modular system that is easy to add on to, and they have included good rules for developing spells. It is not hard to use the magic system in Harn and the system is unified with other skill resolution. I think it is pretty much the best magic system I have ever GM’d or played, and I have GM’d and played a lot of games.
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