Hermetic Prestige

These rules replace the Virtues and Flaws: Hermetic Prestige, Hedge Wizard, Infamous Master, and Discredited Lineage.

Magi often spend as much as fifteen years training under a single Master, and sometimes more. The influence of your teacher during these formative years will have a great impact on the kind of wizard you become. Other magi know this, and will tend to judge you by the reputation of your Master, until you are old enough to make a name for yourself. It can take years before other wizards judge you on your own merits however, and in some cases, if your Master was famous or infamous enough, you may never get out from his shadow.

Your Hermetic Prestige score works like a Reputation, except that it never increases or decreases. Like a Reputation, it is descriptive. Some possible examples include code-breaker, inventive, skilled with Ignem, or radical. Obviously, you should take something that reflects the reputation your Master would have passed down to you. Your Hermetic Prestige applies only to other wizards, and you should take a specialty to indicate a particular area you are known for. Ie, Skilled with Ignem (flame wards).

You may also wish to use your Hermetic Prestige to intimidate other wizards, or to affect your influence at Tribunals. Add the Virtue/Flaw cost of your Hermetic Prestige to any appropriate die rolls (eg, if you are trying to Charm other wizards at a Tribunal, you might add your Hermetic Prestige cost of +1 to your rolls. The wizards have heard good things about your Master, and are more likely to listen to you).

Eventually your own deeds will become more important than those of your Master, but first you must gain an independent Reputation among wizards of equal or greater score to your Hermetic Prestige. At this point other Magi start to judge you on your own merits, though the stigma (or blessing) of a Master's reputation never really leaves you.

Some Hermetic Prestige Virtues allow you to take other Virtues for a slightly lower cost. These Virtues should go towards making your magus stand out in areas relating to your reputation. For example, if your Master passed on a reputation of Knowledgable (magic auras) to you, you might take a +1 Virtue, Magic Sensitivity, for free. If your Hermetic Prestige is Skilled with Ignem (flame wards), you might take Deft Art (Ignem), or Extra Arts. The same can be done with a bad reputation; Flaws like Stingy Master or Clumsy Magic can represent your poor training.

A Hermetic Prestige of 0 (no points spent) means that your magus was trained by an average Master. She was not especially well known, though local wizards will recognize her name. Your fellow wizards will have very few expectations of you, either good or bad. You will have to blaze your own reputation.

A Hermetic Prestige of +1 means your magus is well-thought of by other wizards. He may have been trained by an old and knowledgable Master, or a wizard known for a singular invention or talent. Other wizards will assume you are well-trained and will probably amount to something. Decide why your Master has a good reputation among wizards and give yourself a positive Reputation of 2 among wizards in that area.

A Hermetic Prestige of +2 means you have been trained by a very highly-regarded Master. He was probably an Arch-Magus, or famous for his skill in a particular area of magic. Other magi expect great things from you, and may envy your chance to study under such a great wizard. Magi will easily believe you to be more talented than you actually are. Give yourself a positive Reputation of 3, and subtract 1 from a single Virtue that represents your specialty (yes, you may take a +1 Virtue for free).

A Hermetic Prestige of +3 means that you have been trained by a legendary master of magic. Your Master is either the eldest of her line, only three or four teachers removed from one of the Founders, or she has made a radical magical discovery that has expanded the limits of Hermetic Theory. Something your Master has done has made her name known throughout the Order. As one of her students, you are envied and respected by other wizards, and even magi far older than you will treat you as an equal. Take a positive Reputation of 4 among wizards, and subtract 2 from a single Virtue to represent your area of expertise (you may take a +2 Virtue or two +1 Virtues for free).

A Hermetic Prestige of -1 means that your wizard has been trained by a Master who is generally thought of badly by other magi. He may be a hedge-wizard or a bumbler, or perhaps has a reputation in the Order as a trouble-maker. Your fellow wizards may accept you, grudgingly, but they certainly don't expect you to amount to very much. Take a negative Reputation of 2 among wizards. You are likely to have Hermetic Flaws related to your poor training.

A Hermetic Prestige of -2 makes your magus a black sheep among other wizards. Your Master was probably a Hermetic criminal and your apprenticeship may have ended when other wizards hunted him down. Other wizards will hold you in suspicion and contempt, and you will have to work long and hard to win the regard of your peers. Quaesitores will watch you carefully, and suspect you of illegal activity at the slightest provocation. Give yourself a negative reputation of 3 among wizards. You may take the -3 Isolated From Order Flaw at a cost of -2. If you try to hide your connection to your Master in your dealings with other magi, take the -1 Dark Secret Flaw for free, and your bad reputation will not take effect until your secret is discovered. If your Master is still alive, you will have to decide where your loyalties lie.