Ars Magica, Hermes & Longevity.

At youth i played Ars Magica ('Art of Magic' in Latin) roleplaying game too much.

... it's a fantasy-medieval game about Magic, with 'Order of Hermes' in it's center.

Ars Magica is referenced in many of White Wolf's Roleplaying Games, including Mage: the Ascension &
Vampire: the Masquerade - both set in Dark Version of the Modern World.

i used mostly 3rd Edition, with a little of 2nd Edition as well. Had many books, was quite an expert in this game & art style.

i think newer editions are too much of game mechanic focused, at cost of art - and are too church-influenced, too feudal, less independent & free.

While Church & Religion are important in Medieval Context, it's still too much for me & my needs.

Buddhism uses every life's experience, even childhood games & plays - as steps on the Way for Enlightenment.

So it evolved, sparked my interrest in Spirituality, Esoterics, Witchcraft & Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Now i am creating an Art Style, 'Art of Magick & Light' that uses my experiences & wisdom, spirituality, symbolism & esoterics, that is trying to have uses in Real Magick as well.

One of the Central ideas of Ars Magicka was 'Longevity Potion'.

Attentus' is my main roleplaying game character, self-awakening mage that was started with Ars Magica 3e, then was used in D&D & other.

His Longevity Potion was based on 3rd Edition Ars Magica.

'Potion' is misleading name, as it could be talisman, ritual or other tool - and it varied from person to person.

Most effective was to do for oneself, doing for others was less effective.

Magickal Arts used are Intellego (Perception, Cognition, Awareness, Discovery) & Corporem (Human & Human-like body) - depending on these arts & body awareness, longevity potion's efficiency was determined, but there was dice rolls as well (other factors).

In newer Ars Magica editions Corporem is spelled as Corpus.

Longevity potion works by containing life force from 'leaking away' from body with time, making it leave body much slower - this has significiant drawback of denying users from having kids after using this potion. But kids could have been made before performing this ritual.

With time it's increasingly harder to contain this leaking, so it's not immortality potion, at any rate.


Another of Central Ideas of Ars Magica is Responsibility, often non-action, but not to extreme.


i've linked related article as well - but it's misleading, and refers to newer editions of Ars Magica.

References to older versions simplify older lore way too much, misleading as well.

'Warping' - means side effects that magick has on mind, speech & body - not neccessarily, but perhaps as well - physical disfigurment.


See also, if You wish: the 'Attentus 2nd incarnation' project.