While there are many games with interesting and clever rules, there are few that introduce new concepts and ways to play. Ars Magica stands out as offering not one but three RPG innovations that were new to me when I first picked up the game in around 1992 in its second edition.
The basic setting of Ars Magica is pretty straight forward. It takes a historical view of Medieval England, but one where magic works, and those who study it gather together in remote strongholds called ‘Covenants’ for mutual protection from the manipulative nobles and easily frightened peasantry. Magic scares people, so it’s best to surround yourself with a few guards and allies so you can be left to study it in peace.
Each spell casting attempt is made using these magical skills. Five of these skills are ‘techniques’—I create, I perceive, I transform, I destroy and I control. The other ten are ‘forms’—Animals, Air, Water, the Body, Plants, Fire, Images, the Mind, Earth and ‘Magic’. So if you want someone to dance like a puppet you need to use ‘I control—Body’ if you want them to choose to dance you need ‘I control—Mind’. There isn’t a lot you can’t do with a combination of these skills, although it is almost impossible to become a master of all of them. The best option is to specialise. A healer might specialise in the Body form, a war wizard might become a master of Fire. But you can also specialise in techniques, mastering the Control or Creation of a variety of things. This all means that not only can you do some really cool and powerful things, but that everyone in the group can have a speciality and a style for their magic.
All this leads up to the most interesting innovation of Ars Magica.
This means that each adventure, one of the players gets to play their mage, and the others play back up characters, who might be thieves, noblemen, bodyguards, fixers or anything else they can imagine, all residents and hanger on at the Covenant. While this might seem an imposition, who gets to play the mage cycles each adventure, and the companion characters are all just as interesting. Magicians may be powerful but they are only any good with magic. They need other people with other skills to succeed in their endeavours.
This all makes Ars Magica a masterclass in using powerful characters. In the game it is all about granting the spotlight to each player, and who gets it is determined by their specialties not their power level. There is nothing to say you can’t have slightly magical characters among the companions either. Once exceptional group I lament not playing with since I moved towns had two guards who used to be elephants but were turned human as the mages needed more guards. They were perfectly human, but had a lot of trouble passing a bun shop. I played an ex-familiar as well. The same group even expanded the option for companions and guards to include the servants on the Covenant, which were entertaining enough for a trip below stairs to usually take a whole session.
This is where Ars Magica shines. It offers a wide variety of characters, each with their own speciality, to make sure that it is never a problems to not get to play your ‘main character’ but often part of the fun. Troupe style play has now seeped into several games, especially ones with powerful central characters (like Buffy) and games of ships or spacecraft with large crews (like Star Trek). While it works very well in any game, there is something about the set up of Ars Magica that resonates especially well with troupe play. It lets you populate the whole Covenant quite quickly, even down to the boy washing dishes behind the kitchen, and often gives them all a background. Your whole Covenant comes alive very quickly for everyone, as everyone has had a hand in making it. Ars Magica is not about the Gamemaster doing all the work this time, but the whole player group taking part in creating the setting and background of the game with their own characters. Even without its innovations, it’s an excellent game, but with them it is essential reading.
The basic setting of Ars Magica is pretty straight forward. It takes a historical view of Medieval England, but one where magic works, and those who study it gather together in remote strongholds called ‘Covenants’ for mutual protection from the manipulative nobles and easily frightened peasantry. Magic scares people, so it’s best to surround yourself with a few guards and allies so you can be left to study it in peace.
You Don't Start at First Level
This brings us to the first aspect of the game that stands out; you don’t start at first level. Each magician in the Covenant is a player character and a skilled and experienced master or mistress of the art, with powers to reflect this. Magic is highly potent and your characters have more in common with Gandalf and Merlin than Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. Some powerful spells can control armies and summon hurricanes. No wonder people are frightened of it! While games where you are already highly skilled as player characters are no longer new (Firefly, Star Trek Adventures, Leverage, Dune, etc.) this was the first to introduce the concept to me. While it’s good to build a character, starting as—not only experienced, but highly skilled—offers a lot of opportunities, like starting your campaign in the middle where the PCs can really affect the setting.Magic is Fluid
Magic isn't just powerful, its also highly adaptable. This is the other element that really impressed me as well as forming the basis of the magic system in White Wolf’s Mage. In Ars Magica, your wizard character still casts spells. These are called formulaic magic and are tried and tested (and highly academic) magical rituals that can be relied on. As practiced formulas they are not only more reliable but they are also very powerful. These are the powers that tear down castles and fold space. But there is also the more improvised spontaneous spells. While this form of magic is less reliable and powerful it is highly versatile. Basically, you decide what you want to do and the Gamemaster lets you cast it as a spell using two of the fifteen magical skills. You just need to hope your skills are up to the task.Each spell casting attempt is made using these magical skills. Five of these skills are ‘techniques’—I create, I perceive, I transform, I destroy and I control. The other ten are ‘forms’—Animals, Air, Water, the Body, Plants, Fire, Images, the Mind, Earth and ‘Magic’. So if you want someone to dance like a puppet you need to use ‘I control—Body’ if you want them to choose to dance you need ‘I control—Mind’. There isn’t a lot you can’t do with a combination of these skills, although it is almost impossible to become a master of all of them. The best option is to specialise. A healer might specialise in the Body form, a war wizard might become a master of Fire. But you can also specialise in techniques, mastering the Control or Creation of a variety of things. This all means that not only can you do some really cool and powerful things, but that everyone in the group can have a speciality and a style for their magic.
All this leads up to the most interesting innovation of Ars Magica.
Troupe-Style Play
Troupe-style play involves every player playing several characters, using different ones at different times and for different missions. So, while everyone can create a magician who is a member of the Covenant, only one magician at a time might go out on the adventure. After all, these are usually to acquire things for their studies and few magicians have enough time for a day trip for something that isn’t useful to studies of their own.This means that each adventure, one of the players gets to play their mage, and the others play back up characters, who might be thieves, noblemen, bodyguards, fixers or anything else they can imagine, all residents and hanger on at the Covenant. While this might seem an imposition, who gets to play the mage cycles each adventure, and the companion characters are all just as interesting. Magicians may be powerful but they are only any good with magic. They need other people with other skills to succeed in their endeavours.
This all makes Ars Magica a masterclass in using powerful characters. In the game it is all about granting the spotlight to each player, and who gets it is determined by their specialties not their power level. There is nothing to say you can’t have slightly magical characters among the companions either. Once exceptional group I lament not playing with since I moved towns had two guards who used to be elephants but were turned human as the mages needed more guards. They were perfectly human, but had a lot of trouble passing a bun shop. I played an ex-familiar as well. The same group even expanded the option for companions and guards to include the servants on the Covenant, which were entertaining enough for a trip below stairs to usually take a whole session.
This is where Ars Magica shines. It offers a wide variety of characters, each with their own speciality, to make sure that it is never a problems to not get to play your ‘main character’ but often part of the fun. Troupe style play has now seeped into several games, especially ones with powerful central characters (like Buffy) and games of ships or spacecraft with large crews (like Star Trek). While it works very well in any game, there is something about the set up of Ars Magica that resonates especially well with troupe play. It lets you populate the whole Covenant quite quickly, even down to the boy washing dishes behind the kitchen, and often gives them all a background. Your whole Covenant comes alive very quickly for everyone, as everyone has had a hand in making it. Ars Magica is not about the Gamemaster doing all the work this time, but the whole player group taking part in creating the setting and background of the game with their own characters. Even without its innovations, it’s an excellent game, but with them it is essential reading.
