Sanctuary of Ice (Ars Magica Fantasy Roleplaying)

For hundreds of years the magi of the Greater Alpine Tribunal have maintained Hermetic peace. Not for them the squabbles of the border tribunals, the petty incursions, the little quibbles. In the valleys of the Alps, Hermetic culture and Hermetic magi have flourished. Covenants which knew the voices of the Founders nurture ancient magi here, magi whose powers caress the edges of the possible.Only those things sanctified by time survive the harshness of the mountains. Everything here is armored with the patina of centuries. This supplement takes familiar elements of Hermetic culture and rebuilds them, without the scrimping and compromises of life at the edge of the Hermetic lands. Redcaps and Order-supplicated hedge traditions blossom under the aegis of Hermetic justice: justice enforced by the cunning and the ruthless. Hermetic trade and intrigue weave strands of interdependence between bitter rivals, so that Wizard's War seems a refreshingly rustic way of settling disputes.Every Alpine covenant is designed to open up new possibilities for the future of your saga. Sanctuary of Ice describes the Hermetic quest for longevity, and the magi who cheat death as ghosts. It considers the plans of the primi of House Jerbiton and House Criamon, the first to subordinate magic to the Dominion, the second to undermine the meaning of magic. It hints at the whims of the archmagi, and describes the secret council who will be the final members of the Order of Hermes.