Maleficarum

The Reasonable Freedom Act, 1762

(1) In accordance with the Witchcraft Act of 1735, the act of performing Witchcraft is not an offence within the borders of the Kingdom of Great Britain. However, it is an offence for any person of magical ability (“Wytch”) to-


- a) threaten with magic the safety of any non-magical person or persons or bring about any harm to them.
- b) use magic to exploit or defraud any non-magical person or persons.
- c) use magic to gain an advantage in acquiring positions of power. - amended November 2014
- d) use magic to disrupt public order in any way.
- e) use magic to deliberately work against the Crown or its duly appointed officers.
- f) use magic to commit any other offence as defined in law.
- g) attempt to use magic as described in b) through f) above.

(2) HM Magical Regulator (previously known as The Hammer) is given exclusive jurisdiction over the above offences, and non-exclusive jurisdiction over non-magical crimes committed by Wytches, and is also granted permission to use reasonable force to protect its own interests from non-magical persons, with the judgement of what is reasonable being at the discretion of the Grand Inquisitor or those appointed by him.
- a) in the event that the Grand Inquisitor is incapable of performing his duties or appointing a representative, this discretion will pass to the Council.

Maleficarum is the Oxford University RPG Society's Society Game for Trinity Term 2014 in which players take the roles of magic users in a society where magic use is heavily discouraged and hidden away from public view, following an amnesty between the “Witch Hunters” and their quarry after the horrific Witch Hunts of the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries.

The resulting branch of MI6 - HM Magical Regulator (aka “The Hammer”) - and the magic users collectively known as “The Wytches” proceed to work together in harmony for centuries, until one fateful day in 2014, when the Grand Inquisitor is killed. Magic is revealed to the public, the truce is off, and the Hammer is cracking down hard. In a desperate attempt to react and deal with the threat, the Wytches meet together again in secret "Covens", where players must work out how to act to defend their world from the threat of The Hammer as well as threats from within to decide the fate of Magic itself.

Maleficarum sessions will be held in the Daubeny Laboratory in Magdalen College every Tuesday of Term between 7.30 and 10.30 with sessions starting at 8PM and finishing at 10:15PM. The first session shall be on Tuesday of 1st Week (29th April) and will be a full session of roleplaying, so please do create and submit characters before then.

Do get in touch with us if you have questions by sending an email to gm@maleficarum.chaosdeathfish.com!

Maleficarum is inspired by numerous sources including Good Omens, Discworld, Harry Potter, The Black Magician Trilogy, Avatar, His Dark Materials and a sprinkle of Monty Python as well as large helpings of Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls and many more for determining the magic system.