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Hermes’ Portal
Issue #11
Hermes’ Portal
Issue n° 11
February 2004
by David Chart
by Timothy Ferguson
by Timothy Ferguson
by Timothy Ferguson
by Timothy Ferguson
by Tyler Larson
by Andrew Gronosky
by Alexander White
by Tyler Larson
by Michaël de Verteuil
Hermes’ portal
Publisher: Hermes’ Portal
Contributors: David Chart, Timothy Ferguson, Andrew Gronosky, Tyler Larson, Michaël de Verteuil, Alexander White
Editorial and proofreading help: Sheila Thomas
Illustrations: Angela Taylor (cover, border & p. 5, 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 29, 32, 36), Alexander White (p. 17, 21, 27, 39, 41, 42, 47), Radja
Sauperamaniane (back & page numbering)
Layout: Eric Kouris
Thanks: All the people who submitted ideas, texts, illustrations or helped in the production of this issue.
Hermes’ Portal is an independent publication dedicated to Ars Magica players. Hermes’ Portal is available through email only.
Hermes’ Portal is not affiliated with Atlas Games or White Wolf Gaming Studio. References to trademarks of those companies are not
intended to infringe upon the rights of those parties. Ars Magica was created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rhein Hagen.
Hermes’ Portal # 11, Copyright ©2004, Hermes’ Portal. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work is allowed for personal use only.
Contacting Hermes’ Portal
Email: Hermes.Portal@wanadoo.fr
Web site: www.hermesportal.fr.st
News from the Line
Editor: February 2004
by David Chart
It’s been a while since my last news update, so
quite a lot has happened. Unfortunately from the
perspective of this article, most of what has hap-
pened has been Fifth Edition stuff that I can’t really
talk about yet.
However, Sanctuary of Ice finally came out, rather
behind schedule, followed by Faerie Stories. Living Lore
is at the printers, and may well be shipping to dis-
tributors as you read this, and the next release, Cause
and Cure, is ready as well. In short, the remaining
Fourth Edition pipeline is all in hand, and releases
should stay at one per quarter until Fifth Edition
comes out at the end of the year.
Which brings us back to Fifth Edition. I finished
my work on the last Fourth Edition books some time
ago, so apart from administration, I’ve only been
working on Fifth Edition. Fifth Edition is currently
in its fourth round of playtesting, which means, I
suspect, that Fifth Edition has already had more for-
mal playtesting than all previous editions put togeth-
er. There shouldn’t be many problems like the Perdo
Imaginem or combat worries in Fourth Edition, but
I’m sure there’ll be something important that only
gets spotted when the book has been printed and
released; that’s just the way things go.
The changes and revisions have now settled
down enough that I’m starting to talk to people
about writing Fifth Edition supplements, in the hope
of keeping quarterly releases going once the new edi-
tion has got everyone excited about the game. As I
mentioned before, we have changed policy on sup-
plements for the new edition. Instead of waiting for
proposals from fans, we are drawing up the projects
we want to see done, and then talking to people with
Ars Magica writing experience about working on
them. I hope that this will produce a more logical
sequence of releases, that cover the areas that people
are most interested in.
I’m excited about what’s happening with the
game, and I think the current fans will also be
pleased, along with, I hope, a lot of new ones.
Publisher’s corner
Here in France, we are in the “Year of China”, so
naturally this issue continues the series opened in the
previous issue, giving you the last four articles devot-
ed to Mythic China. Now you’re ready to send your
players to conquer these distant lands and see what’s
hiding behind the Great Wall — countries full of
easy-to-collect vis, or Gog and Magog?
But for those who are too cowardly or too lazy to
head for such great adventures, this issue still offers
enough food for thought: new spells, new ways to
undertake discoveries in your lab, and new mysteries
based on the study of History.
Otherwise, in a not-so-distant-future, there will
be a free special issue for long-term subscribers (i.e.
those of you who have bought at least ten issues). I
already have a clear picture of what will appear in this
issue, now I need the time to write it!
Next issue should be ready before the end of
May, and Abelard will come back!
3
T
aoism, although influenced by Indian philos-
ciples, now hsein (Taoist immortals), also trained fol-
lowers and each school (p’ai) claims descent from
one of these Masters.
P’ai: Schools and styles of Taoist
practice
Taoism is a religion which, rather than dividing
into heretical sects, separates into competing schools,
which often recognize each other’s value, even if they
quibble about which is more prestigious. Schools can
be described by the intensity with which their teach-
ings focus on three areas: talismanic magic, mysti-
cism, and alchemy. Most schools combine the three,
but emphasise one.
The most prestigious Taoist school during the
game period is the Mao Shan Shang-ch’ing. Since a
second, shadowy sect of suspectedly-black magicians
also takes its name from a mountain (shan) called
Mao, this group is most easily referred to — by a
translation of the latter half of its name — as the
Great Purity school. Although the Great Purity
School declined under the Yuan Dynasty, during the
late Sung each of the other great Taoists schools was
deeply influenced by its key text, the Ta-tung Chen-
ching. When considering the three key areas of
Taoist practice, this article will use the Great Purity
School’s beliefs as its frame of reference.
Talismans
Talismans are written charms, but to understand
their power, players need to be familiar with mystical
Chinese attitudes to writing. The earliest Chinese
word for writing referred to divinationary blocks.
The word for scriptures, ching, is a homophone of
the word for road, which is another way of saying
Tao. All words are magical, because they are essential
to the things they name, but also because certain
words, the ching, grew spontaneously out of the for-
mation of the universe, uttered by the Primordial
ophy, is China’s indigenous religion.
Although early Taoism was theologically
uncluttered and emphasised acting without
planning, by the Sung dynasty the folk-religion, out
of which both Taoism and Confucianism had arisen,
had consumed it. Taoism was divided into clusters of
religious communities, each of which had a slightly
different theology.
Taoism, in game terms, indicates what Europe
might have become if not for three homogenising
factors. Lacking pressure from the Church, polythe-
ism and magic maintain their presence. Lacking the
aggressive expansion of the Church and Hermetic
Order, pagan teaching institutions flourish and con-
tinuity of knowledge allows refinement of their
exceptional talents. Lacking Bonisagus, a robust, sec-
ular style of magic does not develop, so the Chinese
schools retain their religious nature and focus on
methods of achieving immortality.
Many of the abilities of Taoists will be familiar to
those using Ars Magica supplements. The Chinese
folk religion, from which Taoism descends, was the
equivalent of Shamanism, although the wu, its prac-
titioners, might have also practiced werebearism. Dif-
ferent branches of Taoism focus on charm-making,
summoning and alchemy, and have techniques supe-
rior to those found in the West. Unlike their Western
counterparts, however, Chinese practitioners are
unable to produce novel effects, since their practices
are religious and their deities active.
The Way, Tao, is the transcendent underlying
principle. It was expressed as a series of doctrines,
called the hun-tun, by the Gods to Lao-tzu. He
taught the hun-tun to Chang T’ien-shih. Chang’s dis-
4
Taoism in Brief
Lao Tzu’s initial work, the Tao Te Ching, is all but
unreadable in its original form, since the ideogramic
alphabet he used does not include many of the
building blocks of the modern sentence. Literally,
the first line translates as “Tao tao’d not tao” and
then it becomes even more obscure. What follows is
the best gloss of thousands of years of obscure anti-
scholastic philosophy that could fit into this article.
Tao?
The word Tao appears in descriptions of all Chi-
nese religions, including Christianity. Different reli-
gions mean different things by Tao, and within each
religion the word is used in varying contexts.
Although it translates very badly into English, the
Tao, when spoken of by Taoists, can be thought of
as the underlying rationale, as Nature or Natural
Law, as the Spontaneous Causer of Things, as the
primal unity. The word doesn’t always refer to the
Way, it can also refer to other ways of doing things,
and to the visible effects of the Way.
This is not the Tao you expect.
The following descriptions of Taoist practice are
derived from academic works completed by skilled
sinologists. A lot of it will look unfamiliar, even to
readers with some interest in Taoism, because the
discipline has undergone a historiographic shift
within the last decade. A lot of the “Taoism” ped-
dled in English literature is orientalist, that is, it takes
advantage of Western ignorance or ill-definition to
project what the author is seeking upon ancient Chi-
nese sources. This section tries to present a vision of
Taoism, in the limited space available, in accord with
modern scholarship in English on Taoism. I’d
encourage readers to become familiar with modern
academic sources on Taoism, especially if they are
fortunate enough to speak French, the language of
cutting-edge sinological theology. This article is
based, primarily, upon Taoist Meditation: The Mao-
Shan Tradition of Great Purity by Isabelle Robinet
translated by Pas and Giradot.
Mythic Cathay: Taoism
by Timothy Ferguson
Breath. Ching underlie reality and give it structure:
the translation of books from ephemeral to physical
states — from light, through clouds, through golden
letters on jade slates, to mortal books — orders the
universe. Talismanic magic is the magic of these spe-
cial words.
Contracts, or fu, play an important role in talis-
manic magic. Each ching contains fu, and these are
used as authority to create writs that bind natural
forces or the shen that underlie these forces, com-
pelling them to obey instructions from the holder of
the writ. These writs have also come to be called fu.
Writs can be carved or painted, but writing them on
cloth or paper, in black or red ink, allows them to be
carried conveniently. Folksier magicians scourge
themselves and write fu in blood, or simply write the
characters invisibly in the air. Since fu are written in
Chinese to exacting formulae, duelling magicians can
often tell what charm their rival is beginning to pre-
pare.
Alchemy
Chinese alchemy concentrates on the quest for
immortality, and takes two forms, internal and exter-
nal. External alchemy uses herbs and minerals in
attempts to extend the lifespan. Chinese pharmacol-
ogy is far superior to that of contemporary Euro-
peans, since it works toward immortality by curing
one problem at a time, but certain drugs, usually con-
taining jade or cinnabar, are rumoured to purge all
causes of death from the body. Since it is obvious to
the Chinese that people taking most immortality
drugs die faster, external alchemy loses favour to
internal alchemy.
Internal alchemy nurtures pockets of energy that
reside in each organ, to maintain their health. Organs
are nurtured in different ways by each school. Com-
mon practices include meditation, dietary prohibi-
tions, physical exercises, sexual activity or inactivity,
and prayer. By keeping the organs healthy death can
be delayed, but internal alchemy’s highest adepts can
also purge all causes of death from their bodies.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the worship and commanding of
spirits. The Great Purity school places its greatest
emphasis on mysticism, so much so that the energy
pockets within the body are seen as spirits, to be pro-
pitiated much as the gods are. Skilled mystics can
spirit-travel, visiting the corners of the Earth and the
courts of Heaven, and can visualise places which are
imaginary, but are real, rather than fantastic. The
method of worshipping spirits, the power to com-
mand them, and vivid descriptions that guide visual-
ization of true places comes from the scriptures, the
ching.
The Five Agents and the Five Organs
Taoists believe existence is maintained by five
active principles, which cycle within all things. Each
agent is linked with an element, a direction, a bodi-
ly organ, a colour, a season, a spirit, a planet, a
mountain, a cereal, a true place and an article in
every other category imaginable. To Taoist mystics,
visualization of the internal organs is vital, because
the organs are linked to the agents, and allow a wor-
shipper to manipulate their currents and visit their
true places. Unhealthy Taoists, in most schools,
simply can’t perform their rituals correctly, because
their connection to the agents is impaired. Many
early Taoist texts teach hygiene and medicine, since
Taoists are meant to live separate from others, and
need to be able to tend their own illnesses.
Learning The Ching, or Scriptures
The ching were made manifest by the Primordial
Breath, then transmitted from god to god until they
were revealed to humans. These humans, enlightened
by the ching, became immortals and founded schools
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl audipoznan.keep.pl
Hermes’ Portal
Issue #11
Hermes’ Portal
Issue n° 11
February 2004
by David Chart
by Timothy Ferguson
by Timothy Ferguson
by Timothy Ferguson
by Timothy Ferguson
by Tyler Larson
by Andrew Gronosky
by Alexander White
by Tyler Larson
by Michaël de Verteuil
Hermes’ portal
Publisher: Hermes’ Portal
Contributors: David Chart, Timothy Ferguson, Andrew Gronosky, Tyler Larson, Michaël de Verteuil, Alexander White
Editorial and proofreading help: Sheila Thomas
Illustrations: Angela Taylor (cover, border & p. 5, 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 29, 32, 36), Alexander White (p. 17, 21, 27, 39, 41, 42, 47), Radja
Sauperamaniane (back & page numbering)
Layout: Eric Kouris
Thanks: All the people who submitted ideas, texts, illustrations or helped in the production of this issue.
Hermes’ Portal is an independent publication dedicated to Ars Magica players. Hermes’ Portal is available through email only.
Hermes’ Portal is not affiliated with Atlas Games or White Wolf Gaming Studio. References to trademarks of those companies are not
intended to infringe upon the rights of those parties. Ars Magica was created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rhein Hagen.
Hermes’ Portal # 11, Copyright ©2004, Hermes’ Portal. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work is allowed for personal use only.
Contacting Hermes’ Portal
Email: Hermes.Portal@wanadoo.fr
Web site: www.hermesportal.fr.st
News from the Line
Editor: February 2004
by David Chart
It’s been a while since my last news update, so
quite a lot has happened. Unfortunately from the
perspective of this article, most of what has hap-
pened has been Fifth Edition stuff that I can’t really
talk about yet.
However, Sanctuary of Ice finally came out, rather
behind schedule, followed by Faerie Stories. Living Lore
is at the printers, and may well be shipping to dis-
tributors as you read this, and the next release, Cause
and Cure, is ready as well. In short, the remaining
Fourth Edition pipeline is all in hand, and releases
should stay at one per quarter until Fifth Edition
comes out at the end of the year.
Which brings us back to Fifth Edition. I finished
my work on the last Fourth Edition books some time
ago, so apart from administration, I’ve only been
working on Fifth Edition. Fifth Edition is currently
in its fourth round of playtesting, which means, I
suspect, that Fifth Edition has already had more for-
mal playtesting than all previous editions put togeth-
er. There shouldn’t be many problems like the Perdo
Imaginem or combat worries in Fourth Edition, but
I’m sure there’ll be something important that only
gets spotted when the book has been printed and
released; that’s just the way things go.
The changes and revisions have now settled
down enough that I’m starting to talk to people
about writing Fifth Edition supplements, in the hope
of keeping quarterly releases going once the new edi-
tion has got everyone excited about the game. As I
mentioned before, we have changed policy on sup-
plements for the new edition. Instead of waiting for
proposals from fans, we are drawing up the projects
we want to see done, and then talking to people with
Ars Magica writing experience about working on
them. I hope that this will produce a more logical
sequence of releases, that cover the areas that people
are most interested in.
I’m excited about what’s happening with the
game, and I think the current fans will also be
pleased, along with, I hope, a lot of new ones.
Publisher’s corner
Here in France, we are in the “Year of China”, so
naturally this issue continues the series opened in the
previous issue, giving you the last four articles devot-
ed to Mythic China. Now you’re ready to send your
players to conquer these distant lands and see what’s
hiding behind the Great Wall — countries full of
easy-to-collect vis, or Gog and Magog?
But for those who are too cowardly or too lazy to
head for such great adventures, this issue still offers
enough food for thought: new spells, new ways to
undertake discoveries in your lab, and new mysteries
based on the study of History.
Otherwise, in a not-so-distant-future, there will
be a free special issue for long-term subscribers (i.e.
those of you who have bought at least ten issues). I
already have a clear picture of what will appear in this
issue, now I need the time to write it!
Next issue should be ready before the end of
May, and Abelard will come back!
3
T
aoism, although influenced by Indian philos-
ciples, now hsein (Taoist immortals), also trained fol-
lowers and each school (p’ai) claims descent from
one of these Masters.
P’ai: Schools and styles of Taoist
practice
Taoism is a religion which, rather than dividing
into heretical sects, separates into competing schools,
which often recognize each other’s value, even if they
quibble about which is more prestigious. Schools can
be described by the intensity with which their teach-
ings focus on three areas: talismanic magic, mysti-
cism, and alchemy. Most schools combine the three,
but emphasise one.
The most prestigious Taoist school during the
game period is the Mao Shan Shang-ch’ing. Since a
second, shadowy sect of suspectedly-black magicians
also takes its name from a mountain (shan) called
Mao, this group is most easily referred to — by a
translation of the latter half of its name — as the
Great Purity school. Although the Great Purity
School declined under the Yuan Dynasty, during the
late Sung each of the other great Taoists schools was
deeply influenced by its key text, the Ta-tung Chen-
ching. When considering the three key areas of
Taoist practice, this article will use the Great Purity
School’s beliefs as its frame of reference.
Talismans
Talismans are written charms, but to understand
their power, players need to be familiar with mystical
Chinese attitudes to writing. The earliest Chinese
word for writing referred to divinationary blocks.
The word for scriptures, ching, is a homophone of
the word for road, which is another way of saying
Tao. All words are magical, because they are essential
to the things they name, but also because certain
words, the ching, grew spontaneously out of the for-
mation of the universe, uttered by the Primordial
ophy, is China’s indigenous religion.
Although early Taoism was theologically
uncluttered and emphasised acting without
planning, by the Sung dynasty the folk-religion, out
of which both Taoism and Confucianism had arisen,
had consumed it. Taoism was divided into clusters of
religious communities, each of which had a slightly
different theology.
Taoism, in game terms, indicates what Europe
might have become if not for three homogenising
factors. Lacking pressure from the Church, polythe-
ism and magic maintain their presence. Lacking the
aggressive expansion of the Church and Hermetic
Order, pagan teaching institutions flourish and con-
tinuity of knowledge allows refinement of their
exceptional talents. Lacking Bonisagus, a robust, sec-
ular style of magic does not develop, so the Chinese
schools retain their religious nature and focus on
methods of achieving immortality.
Many of the abilities of Taoists will be familiar to
those using Ars Magica supplements. The Chinese
folk religion, from which Taoism descends, was the
equivalent of Shamanism, although the wu, its prac-
titioners, might have also practiced werebearism. Dif-
ferent branches of Taoism focus on charm-making,
summoning and alchemy, and have techniques supe-
rior to those found in the West. Unlike their Western
counterparts, however, Chinese practitioners are
unable to produce novel effects, since their practices
are religious and their deities active.
The Way, Tao, is the transcendent underlying
principle. It was expressed as a series of doctrines,
called the hun-tun, by the Gods to Lao-tzu. He
taught the hun-tun to Chang T’ien-shih. Chang’s dis-
4
Taoism in Brief
Lao Tzu’s initial work, the Tao Te Ching, is all but
unreadable in its original form, since the ideogramic
alphabet he used does not include many of the
building blocks of the modern sentence. Literally,
the first line translates as “Tao tao’d not tao” and
then it becomes even more obscure. What follows is
the best gloss of thousands of years of obscure anti-
scholastic philosophy that could fit into this article.
Tao?
The word Tao appears in descriptions of all Chi-
nese religions, including Christianity. Different reli-
gions mean different things by Tao, and within each
religion the word is used in varying contexts.
Although it translates very badly into English, the
Tao, when spoken of by Taoists, can be thought of
as the underlying rationale, as Nature or Natural
Law, as the Spontaneous Causer of Things, as the
primal unity. The word doesn’t always refer to the
Way, it can also refer to other ways of doing things,
and to the visible effects of the Way.
This is not the Tao you expect.
The following descriptions of Taoist practice are
derived from academic works completed by skilled
sinologists. A lot of it will look unfamiliar, even to
readers with some interest in Taoism, because the
discipline has undergone a historiographic shift
within the last decade. A lot of the “Taoism” ped-
dled in English literature is orientalist, that is, it takes
advantage of Western ignorance or ill-definition to
project what the author is seeking upon ancient Chi-
nese sources. This section tries to present a vision of
Taoism, in the limited space available, in accord with
modern scholarship in English on Taoism. I’d
encourage readers to become familiar with modern
academic sources on Taoism, especially if they are
fortunate enough to speak French, the language of
cutting-edge sinological theology. This article is
based, primarily, upon Taoist Meditation: The Mao-
Shan Tradition of Great Purity by Isabelle Robinet
translated by Pas and Giradot.
Mythic Cathay: Taoism
by Timothy Ferguson
Breath. Ching underlie reality and give it structure:
the translation of books from ephemeral to physical
states — from light, through clouds, through golden
letters on jade slates, to mortal books — orders the
universe. Talismanic magic is the magic of these spe-
cial words.
Contracts, or fu, play an important role in talis-
manic magic. Each ching contains fu, and these are
used as authority to create writs that bind natural
forces or the shen that underlie these forces, com-
pelling them to obey instructions from the holder of
the writ. These writs have also come to be called fu.
Writs can be carved or painted, but writing them on
cloth or paper, in black or red ink, allows them to be
carried conveniently. Folksier magicians scourge
themselves and write fu in blood, or simply write the
characters invisibly in the air. Since fu are written in
Chinese to exacting formulae, duelling magicians can
often tell what charm their rival is beginning to pre-
pare.
Alchemy
Chinese alchemy concentrates on the quest for
immortality, and takes two forms, internal and exter-
nal. External alchemy uses herbs and minerals in
attempts to extend the lifespan. Chinese pharmacol-
ogy is far superior to that of contemporary Euro-
peans, since it works toward immortality by curing
one problem at a time, but certain drugs, usually con-
taining jade or cinnabar, are rumoured to purge all
causes of death from the body. Since it is obvious to
the Chinese that people taking most immortality
drugs die faster, external alchemy loses favour to
internal alchemy.
Internal alchemy nurtures pockets of energy that
reside in each organ, to maintain their health. Organs
are nurtured in different ways by each school. Com-
mon practices include meditation, dietary prohibi-
tions, physical exercises, sexual activity or inactivity,
and prayer. By keeping the organs healthy death can
be delayed, but internal alchemy’s highest adepts can
also purge all causes of death from their bodies.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the worship and commanding of
spirits. The Great Purity school places its greatest
emphasis on mysticism, so much so that the energy
pockets within the body are seen as spirits, to be pro-
pitiated much as the gods are. Skilled mystics can
spirit-travel, visiting the corners of the Earth and the
courts of Heaven, and can visualise places which are
imaginary, but are real, rather than fantastic. The
method of worshipping spirits, the power to com-
mand them, and vivid descriptions that guide visual-
ization of true places comes from the scriptures, the
ching.
The Five Agents and the Five Organs
Taoists believe existence is maintained by five
active principles, which cycle within all things. Each
agent is linked with an element, a direction, a bodi-
ly organ, a colour, a season, a spirit, a planet, a
mountain, a cereal, a true place and an article in
every other category imaginable. To Taoist mystics,
visualization of the internal organs is vital, because
the organs are linked to the agents, and allow a wor-
shipper to manipulate their currents and visit their
true places. Unhealthy Taoists, in most schools,
simply can’t perform their rituals correctly, because
their connection to the agents is impaired. Many
early Taoist texts teach hygiene and medicine, since
Taoists are meant to live separate from others, and
need to be able to tend their own illnesses.
Learning The Ching, or Scriptures
The ching were made manifest by the Primordial
Breath, then transmitted from god to god until they
were revealed to humans. These humans, enlightened
by the ching, became immortals and founded schools
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]