''Houses of Hermes'' is a supplement published by

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...

in 1994 for the third edition of the fantasy role-playing game ''

Ars Magica ''Ars Magica'' is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High Mi ...

''.

Description

''Houses of Hermes'' describes the twelve major houses of wizards that together form the Order of Hermes. Each house is dealt with in detail, including its origins and history, and notable personalities. A plot connected to each house is described, and several story hooks are also provided. The book also details new spells and abilities from each house. In addition, the general system of apprenticeship that all the houses use is described.

Publication history

The first edition of ''Ars Magica'' was designed by

Jonathan Tweet Jonathan Tweet (born 1965) is an American game designer who has been involved in the development of the role-playing games '' Ars Magica'', ''Everway'', '' Over the Edge'', '' Talislanta'', the third edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and '' 13th ...

and

Mark Rein-Hagen Mark Rein-Hagen, stylized as Mark Rein•Hagen (born 1964), is an American role-playing, card, video and board game designer best known as the creator of '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' and its associated ''World of Darkness'' games. Along with ...

and published in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

Lion Rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Chr ...

. In 1991, Lion Rampant merged with White Wolf Magazine to form

White Wolf Game Studio White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant (game publisher), Lion Rampant

, which produced a greatly expanded third edition. In 1994,

was interested in buying a role-playing game system that could be updated and expanded, and asked designer Jonathan Tweet about ''Ars Magica''. As game historian Shannon Appelcline described it in the 2014 book ''Designers & Dragons: The '90s'', "Wizards consulted with Tweet, and after some thought, he recommended the purchase — which was completed around January 1994." While Tweet worked on a revised fourth edition of ''Ars Magica'' for WotC, he also designed for them ''Houses of Hermes'', a 152-page softcover book with additional contributions by Aron Anderson. Interior illustrations were by

Liz Danforth Elizabeth T. Danforth is an illustrator, editor, writer, and scenario designer for role-playing games and video games. She has worked in the game industry continuously since the mid 1970s. Early life and education She received her BA in Anthrop ...

, John T. Snyder, Mark Tedin, Susan Van Camp, and Eric Hotz, and the cover art was by Rob Alexander. And although the cover of ''Houses of Hermes'' was subtitled "A Sourcebook for ''Ars Magica'' 4th Edition", the game mechanics described in it are for White Wolf's 3rd edition. As Appelcline noted, "Ironically, the game that Tweet co-created would end up being one of Wizard's least supported lines, with just two books: ''Houses of Hermes'' (1994) and ''Lion of the North'' (1994). Nonetheless, Wizards ''did'' make a very permanent mark on the ''Ars Magica'' line. They put together a massive, cleaned-up, and codified fourth edition. They just never published it."

Reception

In the September 1995 edition of '' Dragon'' (Issue #221),

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pr ...

liked the fact that this book "downplays dreary historical summaries in favor of engaging profiles of master magicians ..The characters make great adversaries and advisors." Swan was also pleased by "the intriguing sidebars", saying that they "supply referees with adventure hooks galore."

Other reviews

*''Ars Mag'', Issue 5 (Sept 1995, p. 24)

References

{{reflist Ars Magica supplements Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1994