In the previous articles we presented the Schools of Magic in Black Rose Wars, now let’s learn more about the four powerful Mages of the Order of the Black Rose seeking to becoming the New Grand Master of the Lodge: Jaf’ar, Tessa, Rebecca and Nero.
Each Mage has his/her own favorite School of Magic, which is indicated in the Codex Arcanum, but they are not required to select that one as their starting school of magic. Each mage has also their own sheet indicating the maximum number of Spell Cards they may hold in hand, the number of rooms they can move, the amount of Damage inflicted when performing a physical attack, and their Life Bar. On the Mage Sheets there are also places for the Mage’s cards and tokens.
So, it’s time to introduce the Mages, and we start with Jaf’ar Ibn Al-Shatir, the wise astronomer from Arabia.
Jaf'ar
- Favorite School of Magic: Divination
- Custom Spell: Reading the Stars
The calm, dark waters of the Adriatic Sea seemed like an endless plane of waved glass, where the silver crescent moon shone brightly in a cloudless, starry sky. Sitting cross-legged at the tip of the ship’s stern, the wind sweeping along his exotic clothes and the flaps of his turban, Jaf’ar was patiently meditating, waiting for his ship to arrive in Venice, where a luxurious carriage was ready to get him to Turin, and finally to the Lodge of the Black Rose.
The journey, which begun in the sun-drenched desert dunes of his beloved Arabia, had been long and tiresome. Even harder would be the challenge, and yet Jaf’ar had no fear of what was waiting for him. He had dedicated all his life to the study of the Ancient and Arcane Art of Divination, and thanks to his sphere, he could not only see past and future events, but even alter them. The title of Grand Master was nearly his, and nothing seemed capable of changing that, until the ship hit something very big under water. After the loud noise, the hull rolled almost over on its side. Jaf’ar had to hold on to the gunwale to keep from falling overboard.
Following the boat rolling, the wooden planks started to crumble under his feet as if they were sticks, drawn by a gigantic, dark vortex which seemed to engulf everything in an abyss. Jaf’ar tried to resist as much as he could, but in the end, he had to give in, and fell into the darkness of the vortex.
“Land!” a voice shouted from the lookout post, “Land in sight!”. Startled, Jaf’ar immediately opened his eyes. As he fought to catch his breath for a few seconds, the sea in front of him was calm. He was back at the tip of the stern and the ship was whole again. It was moving slowly but steadily towards the fires of the Venetian lagoon. Without thinking, he looked into his sphere. Seeing a small glow on the surface, Jaf’ar realized he’d had an involuntary vision of an incumbent and sinister omen. Deeply concerned, he got up, disheartened by the premonition, but refusing to accept it as a warning. He had been preparing for this battle all his life, and he would let nothing, no one stand in his way, not even his own magic. He grabbed the rod into which the magical sphere was set and looked to the horizon, determined to rewrite his own destiny if necessary.
In the next article, let’s introduce Tessa.
Other preview articles:
- Overview - Setting and Gameplay
- Schools of Magic - Conspiracy and Destruction, Divination and Illusion, Necromancy and Transmutation, Forgotten
- Mages – Tessa, Rebecca, Nero, Marco, Geneve
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