LFP and SG: Ars Magica 5th edition

Hello all, I'm trying to find some people to work on an Ars Magica campaign together.  There has been some chatter on a Roll20 post that sort of revived my interest in ArM, but that group isn't compatible with my schedule or sensibility.  I know it takes a lot of work and communication from the little I know of the game from a GenCon demo about 20 years ago and poring over the books on and off over that span of time.  Given that my time is limited, I don't think I could commit to being an SG.  That said, I'm hoping for 2x a month voice chat/Roll20 game on a weekday evening other than Tuesday (GMT -4) with significant discussion via forum in between sessions.  Given the realities of life I'm reticent to commit to more than that.  I'd love to find a group of people, perhaps even new and curious players and/or storyguides that would like to explore the system together over a long period of time.  Is anyone interested in committing to really giving it a go with me?  The times are negotiable, though weekend evenings are tough for me given social commitments.  I'm a history teacher in Louisville, KY USA (GMT -4).   I know it's a long shot, but why not try :)  Email me: sheddingDOTsoundsATgmailDOTcom or PM or reply here.  I try to check this forum every 24 hours or so. Thanks!

Love the setting, having been both storyteller and player before. I agree that it takes a pretty firm commitment to make work. The reality is, however, that playing every other week quickly turns into once per month, since stuff does come up for people - and that's not enough to keep a group going. Loyalty and persistence online takes a much more dedicated schedule to prevent people from flaking off, so anything less than a one per week schedule is perhaps not necessarily doomed, but likely to lead to scattered sessions at best with a player base that's inconsistent. That, in turn, is very discouraging for a storyteller, who needs to put in a lot more work than the players. Were I to sign up as storyteller, I'd need players that can attend weekly (with exceptions rare - ie, attendance at 90%), are mature, have the desire and ability to do the kind of research necessary for believable characters, and are post college age, since experience has long taught me that college makes it very hard for people to reliably hold onto a schedule. There's been exceptions, but sufficiently few that I'm no longer willing to build a group around the rare chance I've found a unicorn, in online gaming. Face to face tabletop is a different story, of course, but that's not really relevant, regrettably.

Hi Pat,  Thanks for the response.  I appreciate the insight and certainly get why you have your perspective.  Maybe that reinforces how lucky I've been to be in the game (Torchbearer!) that I am.  Things have been rolling for about 15 months on here doing roughly twice a month.  It seems like our Tuesdays are generally open, and we sort out which two each month we can do based on our varying levels of busyness and other life issues. Anyway, the only reason I'm not looking for a once a week game is because it's something I can't responsibly commit to.  I don't want to overcommit/overextend and contribute to the reasons you (and I) are skeptical of online gaming.  I've gamed on and off online since the TSR AOL chat days and definitely understand your perspective.  I think a lot of that is because people get excited, overcommit, and then realize they can't pull it off and bail several week or months later.  I'm taking the inverse approach precisely for that reason and try to be really mindful of being respectful of other gamers and refuse to commit unless I know I can do it long-term. Anyway, thanks again.  Wish face to face were an option for ArM in my life, or really any game, but my group of friends that I've gamed with in the past have very different goals for gaming than I do, hence - online! :) Best, Connor

Hey, I'd love to get into a saga. My schedule is totally hectic but I'm sure we can hash something out.

I am open to joining a saga as well. Wouldn't mind doing some SG stuff if we were to do the troupe style play and rotate the SG every once in a while!

I have always wanted to play in an ars magica campaign, but I cant ever convince anyone else to give it a try.

Hi all, this is fantastic that there are others interested.  I'll send you a PM inviting you to a Discord channel where discussion is starting.  If we can rally and get a couple more interested, maybe we have a nice shot at making something happen! Best, C

Awesome! I can't wait to see where this all goes.

I have to agree. If this were a 1-game a week , or multiple games per week, campaign, I'd love to join in. It's a rare system and deserves way more love than it gets. But I have enough games where I have to wait an entire 7 days to play, and then have to remember my character's personality, goals, methods, friends, etc. I can't imagine how bad that would be if that were a 14-day wait. And if you miss a week? That's 21 days of waiting. I do wish you good luck in starting the game though. Hopefully my humble post here will keep you bumped and find you some folks :) .

Hi Paddy,  Totally understand.  Unfortunately, life doesn't allow me to game as much as that.  I think there'll be pretty regular PbP happening between voice chats that'll keep that momentum going thankfully, because yeah, your concerns are perfectly valid and even I have trouble with the memory issues.  But yeah, at the end of the day, as much as a weekly game would be cool, it's just more than I (and others) can commit to.   Thanks for the well wishes.  :)  I'm growing optimistic as we have a bit of interest and momentum.  Huzzah!

Hi Connor, If a group forms I'd be very interested in joining in. I've got an academic understanding of Ars 5th (having read but not played) and would be very interested in playing. Similar to Kyle above, I would be happy to share SG roles in troupe play - I think it could be a great way to keep the momentum going and avoiding the risk of GM burnout. Best, Simon

Hi Simon,  I think the idea of a rotating SG.  I'll PM you an invite to the Discord channel.  We're up to 9 interested parties...surely out of that we can find a group that can work within the agreed upon parameters (still under discussion). See you in the Discord hopefully soon.  Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I spent the weekend driving to and from Milwaukee for a big baseball game. C