I have experience playing and running both Ars Magica and Deadlands. Although I agree with the general sentiment about both games (Ars Magica: best magic system evah! Deadlands: Fun!), both have their ups and downs. As background I have been involved in several Ars Magica sagas and play tested 4th edition (my name is in the book and everything), and I recently started running a Deadlands d20 campaign.
As mentioned Ars Magica has an innovative magic system, however it is not out of the box user friendly and takes a lot of getting used to for both the GM and players before it runs smoothly. In my experience there is a fair amount of discussion/argument/looking things up in the rulebook when you first start playing due to the flexibility of the system.
Another strength of the game is the historical setting. Educating players about the Ars Magica system is much easier then most settings because there is so much information available at libraries and on the web. Of course there are changes and additions that are specific to the mages themselves, but the background and history of the world are familiar and readily available.
Playing and running Ars Magica is a major challenge, and a major reward. That’s why it is on many people’s “Games I’d like to Run Someday” list.
Deadlands has the same benefit of an historical background, but is much less serious and involved then Ars Magica. I have run both classic DL and DLd20. System-wise I find classic Deadlands to be over burdened with randomizers. A Classic DL game involves dice, poker chips, cards, and paperclips. For some that may add flavor, but for myself and a lot of folks I’ve talked to it just adds stuff. The DL d20 rules make for D&D with guns. Make of that what you will. I’m not enamored with d20, but its familiar and my players like it so I use it. We play it faster and looser then D&D, which I am enjoying.
As a GM one thing I’ve noticed is that the campy flavor of Deadlands has freed me up to play NPCs with a lot more color. I use a lot more accents and clichés in my Deadlands game then I ever have with my more serious campaigns, and my players have followed suit. Our Deadlands game is filled with villains in black hats and handlebar mustaches, feisty saloon girls, hard-eyed gunslingers, and wiser then thou shamans. And the players are eating it up and we’re having more fun then we’ve had in a long time.
That’d be my two cents, pardner. We’re burnin’ daylight.
