Texas in August Studio
Texas in August Studio
Images of, and narratives about, the European Middle Ages and wizards are part and parcel of fantasy fiction. So much so that it can be challenging to conceptualize fantasy fiction without at least one. This situation is true even in settings that are not twists on Middle Ages Europe. Such as most D&D settings – made of the tropes of Middle Ages Europe even if they are not European. And there are wizards all over the damn place. Seriously, wizards come with most fantasy settings like pigeons with cities.
So, wizards and Middle Ages European tropes are ubiquitous in fantasy settings and fantasy RPGs. The use of both is shallow for the most part. The setting is no more than set dressing. And wizards appear because Dunsany, Tolkien, and R.E. Howard told us wizards appear.
Ars Magica is different. This game thoroughly explores what it would mean to be a wizard in its carefully thought-out version of the Middle Ages. It doesn’t take anything for granted about its central premise.
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