Ex Miscellanea and Non-Hermetic Wizards

House Ex Miscellanea exists as a House to allow those who come from backgrounds different from that of Hermetic Magic to join the Order safely. While this House thrives in other Tribunals, it is important to remember that it is an almost non-existent force here.

When Bonisagus created Hermetic Magic, he drew from hellenistic occult sources (as well as Druidic, see below). The Order did not spring full grown from his head, like Athena did from Zeus. Instead it was a radical break-through based on a large body of knowledge and tradition. The first members of the Order were not fledglings trained in its ways, but instead fully-trained magi whose own magic was so closely related to Bonisagus' theory that they were able to master it. They were capable of this was because they were rooted firmly in the hellenistic tradition, as it came from the Cult of Mercury and probably other places. Thus, the educated sorcerers of the soon-to-be Thebes Tribunal would have all had no great difficulty in learning Hermetic magic, and probably would have had no philosophical disagreement, since it was a logical and elegant progression on what they already knew. Thus within a few decades, most if not all, of the sorcerers of the Theban Tribunal had embraced Hermetic magic and had joined the Houses that most suited their personal styles.

This is not to say that there are no Ex Miscellaneas or non-Hermetic wizards in the Theban Tribunal. However, the majority of magi of a Hellenistic background have embraced Hermetic theory of Bonisagus. The magics of the ancient Armenians, the people of the Caucuses, the witches of Thessaly and others might be an exception.

Another possibility is a self-taught wizard, who has learned from the ancient texts. This would be related more to the ancient Cult of Mercury. This option should be discussed thoroughly before being considered. Such a character would have much in common with a Hermetic magus, and is thus easily adapted into the Order.

Now, any Ex Miscellanea characters in this Tribunal would either need to be a visitor or a member of one of these non-hellenistic traditions. In order to reflect this, a player wishing a character from this tradition would need to do the following things:

1. Develop their magic tradition. This magic tradition must make sense in a historical perspective. I.e., no magic systems you devise because they look neat.
2. Develop a good reason why your character wishes to partake in hermetic society, most Ex Miscellanies do not.
3. Attain troupe approval.
4. The exception here is, of course, witches descended from the Thessalia Tradition. See Jeremiah about this.

Last modified: Tue Jan 5, 1999 / Jeremiah Genest