GM LFP Ars Magica

Play Location/Method: Skype most likely, though I’m willing to reconsider Game/System: Ars Magica 5 th Edition Player or GM? GM Time/Frequency: Right now I’m planning midday to evenings on Sundays, CST. Genre: Middle Age Magic, if you know the system and setting. Current needs: About four to five players. Accept Drop-In Players? No Accept Spectators? Contact First Short description of the setting/campaign: I’ve been looking at trying out Ars Magica for a bit, and working to find a game, and I finally decided to try and run it myself. I’m fairly open on plot based one who is playing the game and what sort of plot the players and characters are looking for. I’m thinking of starting the characters out in a more established covenant for simplicity sake.  If anyone wants to get more information, let me know.

I'm totaly in! Never played Ars Magica, but I love the Unknown Armies book and I have a good faith in the system :)

Bumping the thread for greater good!

Timing won't work for me, but the world in general needs more Ars Magica.

Wow, it's been a long time since I played Ars Magica. Count me in! I have only played 3rd and 4th edition so 5th will be new to me. Do you have a specific Tribunal in mind? I love starting new covenants from scratch but I am open to any starting scenario. I recommend setting up a website on Obsidian Portal or something similar to help track characters and covenant system. I am willing to put in a lot of effort to help with the leg work of covenant design and the like.

Initial character concept is a Rego Terram specialist from House Tremere, capable of conjuring a mystic tower, creating piles of gold, casting an Aegis and generally setup a covenant from scratch as long as he has sufficient starting vis. Research will focus on building magical defenses, training many apprentices, and writing many books on the arts. Character has a long term view of creating more powerful next generation of House Tremere. Likely adventures to include whatever parens directs him to undertake initially, apprentice searches, and vis searches initially. Midterm will be House and Tribunal politics after gaining own sigil. Long term adventures to gain status symbol roles like Archmage, Quaesitor or Hoplite.

Cool. As for which tribunal, I was planning to allow the players to pick which tribunal they wanted to play in. I was thinking most of the players would start as younger Magi, fairly close to being fresh out of their Gauntlets, for simplicity's sake, though if all player's want to have more experienced Magi and Companions, I can try to work that as well. And currently, only reason I picked Sunday is that I have the most time available that day. I can also play Mon-Thurs 6PM - Midnight CST, though midnight is pretty much the cutoff there. And that characters sounds pretty cool Dwayne.

You interested in troupe-style of play with you being the Alpha-story guide with others being Beta guides so that you can play as well? I've ran three troupe-style games with the longest lasting about 4 years. I find it helps keep the game going if the the SG gets to play on occasion too. My vote is for newly gauntleted magi creating a covenant from scratch scenario with the first few years moving quickly (generally a year of game time per real world week works well to start). It helps flesh out the covenant very fast without the SG having to do a lot of work, gets everyone involved working together to form the covenant and means the campaign can start right away.  My vote would be for Novgorod Tribunal. Good spring covenant location potential with lots of vis sources and adventure. I would be willing to run a mongol invasion story-arc if you wanted a beta story-guide.

I'm willing to do that. Currently Novgorod is the only tribunal anyone...being you and the other interested person, has shown interest in. So one vote for Novgorod! I'm spreading out my ads as we speak to see if I can recruit more players. The only book or PDF anyone needs is 5th Core, though I have quite a few more myself to fancy things up a bit. I can list what I have if anyone is interested.

Wow, Dwayne! Such an overwhelming ammount of information :) I'm still trying to figure out how to make a character :D Novgorod sounds cool

Well, if you need any help designing your Magi and Companion (Though I would suggest the latter after all the Magi are complete. You generally tie a companion to another player's magi), I'm available for any questions you may have.

I am interested in knowing what books you have access to. I built  Lucius of House Tremere  using some of the Rhine Tribunal rules and NPCs from that book for his background. His Dark Secret flaw, I would like to discuss in private with you so that it is not freely known to the rest of the troupe.  In addition to the Rhine Tribunal plots, Lucius references the Hoplomachus school of Certamen (True Lineages page 137) and Tremere Architect specialists (True Lineages page 132). Lucius' parens Severicus (Rhine Tribunal page 109) is likely to be a member of a mystery cult with Neo-Mercurian (The Mysteries Revised page 114) or The Mystic Fraternity of Samos (The Mysteries Revised page 126) being the most likely cults. This has been deliberately left out of Lucius background since Lucius doesn't know this and so that a SG can develop the storyline in time. Note: That the Wizard's Communion spell that Lucius would not normally be able to learn and can only cast if he is lucky is a free spell that he gets from the Mercurian Magic virtue. I have access to nearly all the Ars Magica books versions 3, 4 and 5 plus the MetaCreator software for character creation. If you want to create a mage then I would be happy to vet him for you (most easily done by entering him into the MetaCreator software). In troupe style play you should get an equal in character say in covenant creation decisions.

"MetaCreator " Care to share?

I have the Core book of course, True Lineages, Societas, Mystery Cults, The Mysteries Revised, Ancient Magic (Though no one starts with anything from this), Covenants, and all four Realms of Power books (Divine, Infernal, Magic, and Faerie).  Also, I can't seem to access your sheet there. I don't have permissions to it.

Alexander G. said: Wow, Dwayne! Such an overwhelming ammount of information :) I'm still trying to figure out how to make a character :D Novgorod sounds cool I really like Ars Magica and I am excited about the game so expect me to keep pumping this stuff out. :)  If you want some help creating your character I can help as well. The first thing to consider is the type of mage you want to play. Combatant, diplomat, researcher, or very weird are the general categories of magi that I use. Of course any mage can go against stereotype but generally they fall in these categories.  Play a combatant mage if you want to do typical hack and slash adventures. Typical Houses: Bjornaer (Shapeshifters), House Flambeau (Burn & Destroy specialists), Tytalus (Devious tricksters), Tremere (Soldiers) Play a diplomatic mage if you want to have adventures involving role playing negotiations. Typical Houses: Bonisagus (other magi diplomacy), Guernicus (judges), Jerbiton (mundane and church specialists), Mercere (messengers), Tremere (magi politics) Play a researcher mage if you generally do not want to adventure (players of these magi generally end up playing their companion or grogs a lot). Typical Houses: Bonisagus (theoretical research), Verditius (magical item crafters) Play a weird mage if you want to pursue something very bizarre just for the thrill of doing something unusual. Typical Houses: Bjornaer (Shapeshifters), Criamon (meditative philosophers of riddles), Ex Miscellanea (hedge wizards), Merinita (faerie specialists) 

I was thinking "Tremere (magi politics)" or trying to build a weird version of Emiya Shirou :D

Try the Lucius link now. I have edited it.&nbsp; MetaCreator can be found at&nbsp; <a href="http://www.alteregosoftware.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.alteregosoftware.com/</a> &nbsp;but it has digital rights management on it so you would have to buy it. Works well though so I recommend it.

Huh...something must be wrong on my end then, my apologies. Can't seem to access that folder for some reason.

I'd be interested in playing though it will be my very first game of the system but I do learn systems quite fast and I love to challenge myself with new games. I am GMT but I am free to play pretty much whenver as I don't really sleep properly anyhow.

No problem man, we'll do our best to help you along. I have a bit of learning to do myself as well.

An all Tremere covenant would be cool (but I am biased since they are my favorite House) and typical for House Tremere. If you go this route I would suggest a Creo Mentem specialist to make spells that boost your mental stats (like communication and presence). There are laws against casting spells on other magi but nothing stops you from boosting yourself to better influence other magi. Some Imaginem spells also work to influence others. I do not know who Emiya Shirou is but after a quick google search sounds like a House Criamon (Merinita or Jerbiton possibly) Imaginem specialist. There are some very powerful Imaginem spells (invisibility, projected images, long range communication, mess with people's senses).

Please try this Lucius link. Note: The character was modified from &nbsp;a Rhine Tribunal campaign that never got started hence the Saga name.

I am liking the sound of Guernicus With Tremere I can't help but think of Vampire

Ah, I see. Cool, Looks good, though I'm not familiar with the Linden Guild.

Zack M. said: I am liking the sound of Guernicus With Tremere I can't help but think of Vampire Yeah the whole Tremere vampire spin-off was an unfortunate game design decision in the previous edition.&nbsp; Having a Quaesitor (House Guernicus) in our covenant would be a huge asset! Makes political or even magical assaults against our covenant by other magi very difficult politically. I am all for it.

Though there ARE Tremere Dhamphir servants that could be someone's companion. They technically can be magi too...but they aren't allowed...because nothing good seems to come of it...

I'm GMT +4, by the way :)

I'm GMT - 5...which means I'll have to run the game fairly early in the morning on Sunday. But that honestly isn't a big deal for me, I don't do much else that day.

Dwayne C. said: I do not know who Emiya Shirou is but after a quick google search sounds like a House Criamon (Merinita or Jerbiton possibly) Imaginem specialist. There are some very powerful Imaginem spells (invisibility, projected images, long range communication, mess with people's senses). Short description: Shirou is a pretty cool guy, fights mages and isn't afraid of anything. His main/only magical ability is creating short-living copies of the artifacts he has seen.

Alexander G. said: Short description: Shirou is a pretty cool guy, fights mages and isn't afraid of anything. His main/only magical ability is creating short-living copies of the artifacts he has seen. That description sounds like a Creo specialist of House Flambeau (other possibilities are Tytalus or Tremere). The Order of Hermes, which all PC magi belong to, prevents magi from attacking one another except under certain circumstances. All members are encouraged to attack any magus who is not a member of the Order (Hedge Wizards), members with disputes too great to be solved politically can declare Wizard War on one another so that they can try to kill another magus within a 1 month period (doing this too often will get you Wizard Marched). Wizard Marches are when the Quaesitors (House Guernicus) rule that a magus has broken the law so flagrantly that other magi are authorized to hunt him down.&nbsp; The best role for such a character would be to become a Hoplite (warrior magi who protect Quaesitors and specialize in hunting down renegade magi). Works well with Zack's proposed Quaesitor character.&nbsp;

Well, we have three people so far, and I'd like to get 4-5 before I get this off the ground. Good progress in a couple days.

Ok, I'm going to make a Ex Miscelania warmage specializing in Corpus and (Elemental) and a Spontaneous casting. And hitting people with sharp pieces of metal :)

Ooh, sounds interesting. My sundays are generally pretty devoid of activity anyways. Guess I'll start working on a character! (Also, I don't actually have any experience with the system... just read through the book a while back for a game that never got off the ground)

Alexander G. said: Ok, I'm going to make a Ex Miscelania warmage specializing in Corpus and (Elemental) and a Spontaneous casting. And hitting people with sharp pieces of metal :) If you have access to Hedge Magic Revised Edition book then you may be interested in the Elementalists described there.

Dwayne C. said: If you have access to Hedge Magic Revised Edition book then you may be interested in the Elementalists described there. Can't say I do. And Elemental is here mostly for the Corpus transformations.

Yup, the fun with Ex Miscellenia (I never spell that right) is to come up with your own sub tradition of magic. If you need a hand with that, we can help.

MonkOfLords said: Yup, the fun with Ex Miscellenia (I never spell that right) is to come up with your own sub tradition of magic. If you need a hand with that, we can help. I've mostly got that covered :) The tradition follows the ideology of "magic through (muscular) strength" which involves a lot of training and as little physical activity as possible.

The character I'm building was born as Sven Ragnarrson but goes by the name Tiberius and is from House Guernicus. He originally hails from Constantinople where he was slated to be trained under his father Ragnar, who was the Captain of the Varangian Guard and had been granted the status of a minor noble for his service and risky defence of the emperor against a would be assassin, as a member of the guard until he was discovered to hold the gift, especially his sight, by the renowned&nbsp;Quaesitor Aurelius and offered training. Tiberius believes in the old norse gods and that his abilities are a gift from them, this is due to a family legend that they are descended from Odin himself though they are in fact actually part of a relatively strong Sidhe bloodline, but he pays lip service to the christian god and doesn't try to cause conflict over his belief. He undertook his apprenticeship with Aurelius in the Rome Tribunal, where he showed great promise and the gift to see the truth in all things, he prefers to handle issues diplomatically and ensure that justice is given to those that deserve it fairly, but is capable to handle opponents both physically and magically so that he can ensure that the laws of the order are upheld.&nbsp; He has been sent to the Novgorod tribunal to replace a quaesitor who recently entered his final twilight and to ensure that the proxy vote corruption taking place on the Rhine does not spread into Rus.

Alexander G. said: I've mostly got that covered :) The tradition follows the ideology of "magic through (muscular) strength" which involves a lot of training and as little physical activity as possible. ... you wouldn't happen to have watched/read Fullmetal Alchemist at some point, have you...? On an unrelated note, I'm toying with a mage who focuses on binding magics, but... if I were to take "binding" as a magical focus, would that be a major or a minor magical focus?

Joseph C said: Alexander G. said: I've mostly got that covered :) The tradition follows the ideology of "magic through (muscular) strength" which involves a lot of training and as little physical activity as possible. ... you wouldn't happen to have watched/read Fullmetal Alchemist at some point, have you...?&nbsp; I did, but that's not where I'm stealing borrowing from :D

Joseph C said: On an unrelated note, I'm toying with a mage who focuses on binding magics, but... if I were to take "binding" as a magical focus, would that be a major or a minor magical focus? It would be a major since you could bind things from multiple forms (elementals, faeries, devils etc). To qualify as minor magical focus it would have to be narrower than a single technique/form combination.

Zack M. said: He has been sent to the Novgorod tribunal to replace a quaesitor who recently entered his final twilight and to ensure that the proxy vote corruption taking place on the Rhine does not spread into Rus. Just want to confirm that you are not requesting to be the only Quaesitor in Novgorod. Tribunals have several Quaesitors (Loch Leglean being the canon exception). It would be way too powerful and unbalancing for our covenant to have the only Quaesitor in the Tribunal, who is a freshly gauntleted novice to boot. Having said that the Novgorod Tribunal book shows just two other Quasitors, both of the Three Lakes covenant, so if we go by that book then you would start the game as the third most powerful judge in the Tribunal...&nbsp; My preference is that the troupe use the Tribunal books where possible (they purposefully leave a couple of covenants undescribed to allow for SG flexibility). It saves a lot of SG work and the covenants, magi and plots are generally better thought out than any one person could come up with on their own (unless they wanted to spend months on it).

Yeah, we should probably use stuff already available. Make my life easier. Yours too. Also, I do believe there is an entire mystery, and at least one minor mystery virtue related to spell binding...

No no, basically my PC has been sent there as a replacement for one of the previous ones with instructions to follow their lead and do his duty. &nbsp;The only reason I've been sent is because of who my parens is, he lobbied for me to be sent as he believes that I can handle the pressure and role so soon out of the gauntlet and feels that I will fulfill my duties in a way that best serves the Order.

Also! I found MAYBE two other people are interested, though I'm not totally sure about six people.

OH, and one more thing. In terms of game length, I was thinking 4-5 hours every week. Given Alex is quite a bit ahead of me, that'd put him at 11 PM to Midnight if I start at 10 AM cst.

Alex is 4 hours ahead of me, so that sounds about right for finishing time as its a 4pm start for me

OH...AGAIN. If you all could send me your skype information, I would appreciate that. Would like to get an OOC chat going. And motivation to continue on my Obsidian portal.

look for either Draco933, or Zack McIntosh. It should post my location as Tyne and Wear, Uk

Just an update! We have four players, but we can definitely fit one more.