Ars Magica

[Bhart]

Ok I'm about one month out from starting an Ars Magica game, but I wanted to start preparing now and get a discussion going on the type of game you want to play.

I'm planning on using 5th edition. If you don't own it, 4th edition is free for download at http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=AG0204. My understanding is that it's close enough to 5th to get you started. We can then make any adjustments needed afterward.

The last time I GM'd this game it was in first edition (man I'm showing my age). So, I will be loose with the rules at first as I relearn everything. If you are an experienced player that loves super tight interpretation of the rules (and historical accuracy) this is not the game for you. If you are layed back and can have a fun time even when we are making mistakes then welcome aboard!

Considering the nature of the game and it's campaign setting I doubt I'll set any limits on the number of players.

Ars Magica has a tradition of a "troupe" style of play (look it up on wikipedia). Though, it can be run in the traditional single GM style of D&D. My question for you...Is anyone interested in spending time as a storyteller (gm)?

I have plenty of material to get us started so either way is good for me.

Does anyone have a preference on which area of Europe (Tribunal) we will set this in?

[ben_mcfarland]

I'd like to play.

I've played in Stonehenge before, but I wouldn't mind a game set just about anywhere. What year are you looking to set the saga?

-Ben.

[onlyme]

I cant download that game on my work pc... can you give me the short version of what the game is about? I see magic and Europe and historical figures.
I am not a fan of magic per se, but LOVE the idea of a historical fiction type setting rather than pure fantasy.

[rredmond]

Can you access dropbox links?
Maybe this will help: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15140063/Ars_Ma ... lebook.pdf

Good luck!

[onlyme]

Can you access dropbox links?
Maybe this will help: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15140063/Ars_Ma ... lebook.pdf

Good luck!

that worked... looks like some lunchtime reading in store for me.

thanks

[Recklessfireball]

Wow. I must confess, looking through this massive rulebook, I feel no small amount of trepidation. I still think I might like to play (depending on how much of my time my own game demands), but I may need a great deal of hand holding throughout the course of this.

[rredmond]

Wow. I must confess, looking through this massive rulebook, I feel no small amount of trepidation. I still think I might like to play (depending on how much of my time my own game demands), but I may need a great deal of hand holding throughout the course of this.

While I can't play because work is... well annoyingly time consuming lately. I'd say two things would lead me to want to play:
1. Bill is an excellent DM (see his games) and has said he's gonna take it slow in this game so I'm sure you can ease in;
2. Ben's explanation of the game here: http://terraleon.livejournal.com/11466.html

It looks awesome. Hopefully you can play, sounds like you are going to at least lurk though.

[Bhart]

I'd like to play.

I've played in Stonehenge before, but I wouldn't mind a game set just about anywhere. What year are you looking to set the saga?

-Ben.

Early 1200's, not yet sure of the exact year. I like Stonehenge, I'm leaning toward that and Loch Leglean, Hibernian, and Rhine tribunals. For those who have not read the book yet they amount to, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.

[Bhart]

Wow. I must confess, looking through this massive rulebook, I feel no small amount of trepidation. I still think I might like to play (depending on how much of my time my own game demands), but I may need a great deal of hand holding throughout the course of this.

Don't sweat it. I'll be going slow and easy. This is a learning experience for me too. As I mentioned this will be my first 5th edition game. The last time I played was 1st edition in the late 80's. Anyway Ars Magica can have a more relaxed pace than D&D because it is not always focused on the "adventure". There is a lot of interesting fun to be had in the "down time" between adventures when you are at work in your laboratory.

[Bhart]

Wow. I must confess, looking through this massive rulebook, I feel no small amount of trepidation. I still think I might like to play (depending on how much of my time my own game demands), but I may need a great deal of hand holding throughout the course of this.

While I can't play because work is... well annoyingly time consuming lately. I'd say two things would lead me to want to play:
1. Bill is an excellent DM (see his games) and has said he's gonna take it slow in this game so I'm sure you can ease in;
2. Ben's explanation of the game here: http://terraleon.livejournal.com/11466.html

It looks awesome. Hopefully you can play, sounds like you are going to at least lurk though.

Aw shucks, thanks Ron.


Great link. Ben sums up the play experience very well.

[Recklessfireball]

Well, I think I'm probably going to play. I love the concept and flavor of the game, I'm just a bit intimidated by the volume of the rules. The good thing is, I've got a few weeks to look the book over and get myself acclimated. I was just preparing you for the likelihood that I may be asking a lot of annoying questions, until I get a good grasp on things.

[ben_mcfarland]

I'm quite familiar with the game, but happy to sit back and play as the group decides.

I have all the books, too, as well as Sub Rosa, the fanzine.

-Ben.

[ben_mcfarland]

Great link. Ben sums up the play experience very well.

Thank you! I enjoy Ars quite a bit, and while I don't have the bandwidth to SG right now, I might be interested later on.

-Ben.

[NJWilliam]

Never played Ars, and yesterday was the first I looked at the rules, but very interested in giving it a go.

[ben_mcfarland]

The main difference between 4th and 5th is the way Penetration works, and the various guidelines for the arts. (But there are pdfs with just the ArM5 spell guidelines) There's a few small casting differences-- mainly that you can't flex your casting in 5th without a Virtue (flexible formulaic). The Virtue/Flaw system is simplified in ArM5, too.

I've played both, I find ArM5 to be a superior system, but I'm biased.

-Ben.

[Bhart]

I'm quite familiar with the game, but happy to sit back and play as the group decides.

I have all the books, too, as well as Sub Rosa, the fanzine.

-Ben.

After that admission do you realize that you have now become the group's rules sage?
Get ready for a lot of questions.

[Bhart]

Great link. Ben sums up the play experience very well.

Thank you! I enjoy Ars quite a bit, and while I don't have the bandwidth to SG right now, I might be interested later on.

-Ben.

Excellent! I welcome anyone who is willing to spend time in the SG chair to have a go.

I've never had the chance to play this in full troupe style. It would be really interesting if we ever get to that point!

[ben_mcfarland]

After that admission do you realize that you have now become the group's rules sage?
Get ready for a lot of questions.

Totally ok. I'm happy to help.

-Ben.

[Dumnbunny]

I'd like to join, and I have no strong preferences regarding which region of Europe in which the game is set.

[ben_mcfarland]

England in the early 1200s is King John and the Robin Hood era, so there's that bit of fun. The Normans are in the midst of colonizing and consolidating Ireland. King William of Scotland is enjoying the independence purchased from Richard the Lionhearted to finance the Third Crusade, and only conflicts a bit with John.

It's the rise of the French crown and the Albigensian Crusade in France/Normandy/Gascony/Provence. This really kicks off in 1207, and it's pretty brutal. It's the birth of what we call modern France. Before this point (and some might say they still are), they're really two distinct regions. The Templars are set up all over here and in England, with some strongholds in Iberia.

It's still in the thick of the Reconquista in Spain, as Portugal, Leon, Castille, Navarre and Aragon face off against the Almohads of the Maghreb. There are the Knights of St.John, Hospitallers, Templars, and a few other small orders. Many protect pilgrims on the way to Rome and Santiago de Compostella while maintaining small holdings to fund the military operations in the Levant.

The Maghreb is still a bit of turmoil as the factions of the Berbers and the Caliphate pursue their own internal politics with the backdrop of the Iberian war. North Africa is pretty sparse, otherwise, from Alexandria to Tunisia. The trade routes across the Sahara, however, are full on bringing the gold, salt, and slaves to the Mediterranean in exchange for the slaves and manufactured goods from Europe.

Italy is a patchwork of the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Sicily. The Holy Roman Empire (HRE, as it's commonly abbreviated) sees the rise of trade guilds, the rule of Otto the II and the ascension of Frederick II to Holy Roman Emperor. They will consolidate power and later lead the Baltic Crusades in the later parts of the 1200's. For now, there's still conversion going on in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway-- which aren't HRE, but explain part of the consolidation. EDIT: There is some contention between Otto II and Phillip, which keeps them internally preoccupied until Frederick-- who will be called the "Stupor Mundi," or "Wonder of the World," takes the throne in 1220.

Venice and Hungary are the powers in the gap between the HRE and Constantinople. Venice is growing in power through trade and Hungary is dealing with the nomadic horse tribes of the Cumans and the Rus, while sparring with the states in the Balkans. They cycle through three kings in first 30 years of the 13C. (This gives an idea of what central/all of Asia looks like in 1200.)

Greece and Turkey are the Roman Empire until 1204, when the 4th Crusade turns on their own and shatters it into Bulgaria, Serbia, (which were technically separate, but used the moment to make it official) the Despotate of Epirius, the Latin Empire, the Empire of Nicea, the Empire of Trebizond, the Duchy of Athens, the Principality of Achaea, and then the Seljuk Turks took advantage and scooped a bit of Cappadocia. The hidden gem of Ani, the City of 1001 Churches, lies nestled in the Caucasus, as the Silk Road passes through it to the Black Sea and into Europe.

The Levant through Egypt is the Ayyubid Sultanate, battling with the sliver of the Crusader States. Its division of the world into Dar al Islam and Dar al Harb means Ethiopia remains in isolation, unable to rejoin the rest of Christianity for another century.

I am a little fuzzy on what's specifically going on in Norway and Rus right now, and I've got to run, so there's your Mythic Europe in brief for this morning.

-Ben.

EDIT: Norway is in civil war, and remains so into 1217, pretty much to 1240. Paganism has pretty much died out in the area, as Christianity really became dominant in the 11C. The Baltics remain the last stronghold of paganism until the mid-late 13C. There was still a Scandinavian contingent in Constantinople, the Varangian Imperial Guard, who served the Emperor. King Sverker II is in Sweden, and Denmark transitions between Canute VI to Valdemar II.

The Rus are a collection of Principalities and other small domains. They're pretty fragmented and in no shape to present any kind of defence when the Mongols show up to fairly obliterate them in the 1230s.