PbP Ars Magica- Recruiting [Closed] - covenant/character design on the go!
- Thread starter Ghostknight
- Start date
IdentityCrisis
First Post
Ars Magica... I've heard about that. Isn't that something like Mage: The Ascension?
Do you have a link to the rules?
Do you have a link to the rules?
Ghostknight
First Post
IdentityCrisis said:
Nope- completely different. Essentially the game is set in medieval europe as the people of the time understood it (so dragons inhabit the forests, faeries clash with the church and magic is powerful).
Magic is the focus- a mage character is VERY powerful and as such each player has two characters - a mage and a consortis (non-mage) BAsically, even a starting mage is going to be able to take apart a knight if not taken by surprise.
As for the rules- the pdf is available from RPGnow for free - just follow this link
Ghostknight
First Post
Great - just a few more and we can get started then with designing a covenant and characters.
To my mind- this is definitely the king of RPGs for pure RPG purposes- I actually don;t know why I didn't think of PbP for it before!
To my mind- this is definitely the king of RPGs for pure RPG purposes- I actually don;t know why I didn't think of PbP for it before!
IdentityCrisis
First Post
Lately I've been wanting something more sci-fi (too much days-of-yore fantasy going around) but this, too, looks like it could be different. Did you have anything in particular in mind for a campaign?
Ghostknight
First Post
Not straight up.
The thing with Ars magica is that it is far more cooperative than many games- the players are part fo the design of the covenant and its inhabitants. As such, depending on how the covemamt turns out, adventure hooks are looked for.
The covenant is where the mages live- like characters it is created with virtues and flaws, its library and resources determine what is available for the characters, the age of it playing a role and determining where the characters fit in. So starting players in a spring covenant (new) could be the founding members, while in an Autumn (Just off its peak of power and beginning to decline) or Winter (badly declined- a lot of resources may be lost or need to be refurbished, truly powerful items may be around but nobody remembers them or knows how to use them etc) covenant, some truly ancient wizards, on the cusp of dissapearing into magic twilight, may be the rulers and sending the characters on errands to fuel their research (so the characters may have to follow their orders while trying to rebuild the covenant).
Also- in some groups the storyteller position is switchable- the current storyteller's character being involved in research/learning/ designing a spell etc while the other character's adventure.
So, in short, set up time takes a while, style needs to be decided on then then we can get going!
The thing with Ars magica is that it is far more cooperative than many games- the players are part fo the design of the covenant and its inhabitants. As such, depending on how the covemamt turns out, adventure hooks are looked for.
The covenant is where the mages live- like characters it is created with virtues and flaws, its library and resources determine what is available for the characters, the age of it playing a role and determining where the characters fit in. So starting players in a spring covenant (new) could be the founding members, while in an Autumn (Just off its peak of power and beginning to decline) or Winter (badly declined- a lot of resources may be lost or need to be refurbished, truly powerful items may be around but nobody remembers them or knows how to use them etc) covenant, some truly ancient wizards, on the cusp of dissapearing into magic twilight, may be the rulers and sending the characters on errands to fuel their research (so the characters may have to follow their orders while trying to rebuild the covenant).
Also- in some groups the storyteller position is switchable- the current storyteller's character being involved in research/learning/ designing a spell etc while the other character's adventure.
So, in short, set up time takes a while, style needs to be decided on then then we can get going!
IdentityCrisis
First Post
Hmm... Well, if it helps, I've browsed parts of the book and already have a character idea. A somewhat anti-stereotypical one, actually... A house Bonisagus mage in disgrace with the Order of Hermes. He wants to look outside the hermetic theory of magic formulated by Bonisagus to see what other magical traditions have to offer. This puts him in conflict with both his own house and the order in general...
Ghostknight
First Post
IdentityCrisis said:
Careful with this kind of concept- he would have to be very careful not to be found out- the Order is in the habit of "inviting" renegades in, and then blasting them into itsy bitsy bits of flesh when they say no. A mage in disgrace would be watced- VERY closely (and the Order has many resources...), stray too far and you will be pulled back (or dealt with, in some rather unpleasant way)
One way for this kind of concept is that yep- he is investigating other magical traditions, is being viewed with suspicion Maybe even being watched by the Quaesitori) but still within the order. It makes for some good RPing, but it is a thin line to walk when the Quaesitor comes visiting....
Someone
Adventurer
To be sincere, in most of the grups there´s always someone who´s of that style - that of the mage that is mistrust by the other mages, being him a recently admitted witch, or suspect of being a descent of a forbidden magical tradition like Diedne.
We could take a step further and make it the theme of the game: the wizards in the covenant are badly tolerated by other mages and thus they have founded their own.
Going a little further, I always preferred the historical aspects of the game over fantasy ones - I have enough fantasy playing D&D. Maybe the temporal powers learn that our group/covenant has loose ties with the order and think that they can involve the covenant in political affairs? Just throwing some ideas around.
We could take a step further and make it the theme of the game: the wizards in the covenant are badly tolerated by other mages and thus they have founded their own.
Going a little further, I always preferred the historical aspects of the game over fantasy ones - I have enough fantasy playing D&D. Maybe the temporal powers learn that our group/covenant has loose ties with the order and think that they can involve the covenant in political affairs? Just throwing some ideas around.
