Ars Magica: PbP Interest Thread

[danielngtiger]

General Ars Magica Information
Ars Magica is a game about a covenant; a group of magi and their companions who live together apart from most of civilization. A magus is a person who practices Hermetic magic, a very powerful Gift. However, there is a disadvantage as well, which is that a magus makes people and animals around him wary and suspicious, which is why magi live away from the rest of civilization. If you want to get a feel for the game, the 4th edition core rules (5th is current) are available for free at e23 here

The Magic System
The magic system of Ars Magica is very versatile, and if you can think of a spell, chances are you can cast it. There are three types of magic. The first is formulaic, which uses a spell that the maga has learned and memorized how to cast, which can be very powerful, but also rather limited. The second type is called spontaneous magic, which can be anything, but is much more limited in power than formulaic magic. This reduction in power can be partially offset by putting some of the magus's physical energy into the spell, i. e. tiring him out. The third type of magic is ritual magic, which can produce amazing effects, but takes a long time to cast and expends raw vis (pronounced 'WEES'), which is basically raw magic stored in an object.

Troupe-Style Roleplaying
The Ars Magica system promotes a style of gameplay called troupe-style role playing, which means that the duties of the gamemaster are shared among the players, and also that the players usually have multiple characters, played at different times, or some characters are in a communal 'pool' which is shared among the players. One way to do this that seems workable to me is the concept of having an ‘alpha’ storyteller who is responsible for most of the campaign and one or more ‘beta’ storytellers responsible for adventures every so often and/or a certain area of the campaign. This method reduces load on the storyteller, but still places basically a large amount of responsibility on the alpha storyteller. Alternately, we can have a rotating GM every two months or so, where they have complete authority in that time, but responsibility shifts completely to the next person on the list as soon as their time ends. This method would hopefully prevent GM burnout, but transitions could be problematic.

A Typical Cast of Characters
The other part of a typical Ars Magica game that differs from most role-playing games is that each player will have several characters. Usually, a player will have one magus, who (obviously) casts spells, one or two companions, who are important characters in the story, but do not have the ability to cast spells, and several 'grogs', who are fairly minor character such as warriors who work for the covenant or servants. Often, chararacters are shared between players, usually grogs, but if a player is absent for a time, someone else might play their magus. An average adventuing party includes one or two magi, one or two companions, and other players will usually play grogs. This sort of group does not have equal power between different players, with the magi having more power than anyone else, and the companions still being more powerful than most grogs. This discrepancy is designed around, however, unlike D&D's method of making each character close to the same power level. For instance, a magus shouldn't handle negotiations, as The Gift causes people to distrust magi. Warrior grogs are nessecary to protect squishy magi, and all grogs can be fun to play, as while there aren't exactly warehouses full of them, it doesn't matter that much if a grog dies. The other thing that can make a grog extra fun is that you can try funny things, like only speaking in haikus, that would be annoying if you constantly did them with your main character, but are fun for one adventure.


Technical Details
Several members of this forum are interested in playing an Ars Magica game in a play-by-post format, or through a forum, so if you are interested in playing, please respond to this thread. 4-7 People is a doable number, but 5-6 would be best. Myth-Weavers (link) is a nice site dedicated to play-by-post RPGs, and I think that would be a good place to play. The main issue in getting this going will be finding a storyteller.

I would like for us to use 5th edition, as it seems to be much improved from 4th edition, but this is not set in stone. No prior experience is required, as I am completely new to this system. D&D/Call of Cthulhu/Traveler/Whatever system you may have played experience would be useful, but not required either. For posting times, I would like to shoot for minimum 1/day, though missing one once in a while shouldn't be a big deal.

If you are interested, please reply to this thread. Please include any relevant information, preferably including any role-playing experience you may have and if you would be willing to take on some part of the role of gamemaster.

Confirmed Players:
danielngtiger
BinoAl
HavocScout
Detritus
Ulfengaard
Rianaru
AngelWithDirtyHands

Unconfirmed Players
WeldaSB
Marasambala

[BinoAl]

How beginner-friendly would this be? I'm totally interested if no experience is really required to jump in, but otherwise, I'm not sure I should play

[HavokSCOUT]

Same as Bino, but I do have some Dnd 3,5 experience.

[danielngtiger]

Sorry, I probably should have put this in the OP, but, while I have a pretty good chunk of D&D experience, my entire Ars Magica experience consists of reading the manual once, so this game would be very newb friendly, as I am one myself. Will add this to OP.

[Detritus]

Well, I've been very interested in RPing in the past, but haven't actually had any experience of any. SO basically my question is the same as Bino's; How much experience is required for something like this?

EDIT: Ah, Okay. I might like to join in then.

[BinoAl]

Sorry, I probably should have put this in the OP, but, while I have a pretty good chunk of D&D experience, my entire Ars Magica experience consists of reading the manual once, so this game would be very newb friendly, as I am one myself. Will add this to OP.

Cool, I'll read the manual tonight, and assuming I understand most of it, I'm in! ^.^

[Ulfengaard]

I'm in. Fo sho. :)

[weldaSB]

I would love to come play. My only experience is that I have a dnd 2 set but never found anyone to play with. I will read the guide tonight.

[Ulfengaard]

Just for a sort of FYI since we have a few DnD folks:

Ars Magica is a highly flexible system. Remember the days of memorizing certain spells in DnD (Magic Missile!)? Gone. You can invent any sort of spell that is within your power, and once it is researched, you can use it effectively. You can also cast spells on the fly: they just aren't as powerful as those you research in your lab. Oh, and lab: you've got one of those, too. Research new spells, explore the nature of magic, and more. Your covenant of fellow magi, companions, and grogs will join with you in protecting your magical and mundane holdings. Or, maybe your fellow magi will deceive and betray you. Who knows?

Ars Magica takes place over the long term. Adventures just don't happen every day, and Ars recognizes that. There will be seasonal activities: time spent in the lab studying, writing books, and so forth. It is a fascinating game in which the group, the covenant itself, becomes the true character. Much of the focus is on the interaction between characters and covenants: politics and intrigue.

This is going to be quite enjoyable, I think. Just be sure not to suffer in silence. If a particular aspect of the rules is confusing or outright daunting, ask questions and discuss.

[weldaSB]

Just wondering, what is the best way to get a book? I know I can download the pdf for edition 4, but I want to get the 5th edition, so what's the best way to get it?

[Ulfengaard]

e23 has it for $18, I think. PDF, so instant. Of course, there are plenty of places to buy the physical book.

[danielngtiger]

Yes, you can buy the 5th edition handbook as a .pdf here or as a physical book here.

Ars Magica is a highly flexible system. ... You can invent any sort of spell that is within your power.

Yes, the magic system is one of the cooler parts of Ars Magica. If you can think of a spell, chances are you can cast it. There isn't a limit on spells per day either, though casting can sometimes tire you out, especially if you gut unlucky or try to cast a very powerful spell.

[BinoAl]

Yes, the magic system is one of the cooler parts of Ars Magica. If you can think of a spell, chances are you can cast it. There isn't a limit on spells per day either, though casting can sometimes tire you out, especially if you gut unlucky or try to cast a very powerful spell.

How well do you know it? I've been toying around with character ideas, and one of them was actually that my Magi could be a recluse that spends much of his time enchanting weapons/armor, but with the enchantment not entirely determined until it's actually used. IE, A sword that I enchanted with the power of fire could do anything from cleave through entire hordes of enemies, to cause an explosive chain reaction, severely damaging everybody. Is this somewhat possible in this system, or should I do something a bit more ordinary? :)

[danielngtiger]

So, as expected, we seem to have a fine number of players, but lack a storyteller. Do people like the idea of an alpha storyteller assisted by several beta storytellers, a rotating storyteller, or something else? I was also wondering if anyone has previous gamemastering experience in other systems. I have a little experience in 1st edition D&D
DM-ing, and I personnally think alpha/beta syorytellers would be good, but I din't really know.

Is this somewhat possible in this system, or should I do something a bit more ordinary? :)

I'm not an expert, but the system isn't that hard to understand. The idea of a magus who primarily enchants items is actually a fairly common one: House Veridtius, one of the 12 houses of magi, is dedicated to creating enchanted items. The undecided use effect isn't in the rules, but shouldn't be that hard to house rule in. That seems like a pretty cool character concept to me as well, so I'd say go for it!

[AngelWithDirtyHands]

I haven't played an RPG before, and if you start within the next two weeks I won't really have time to learn the rules and join in (middle of exam season :P) but I'd otherwise be interested. I might just tag along and read what happens to try to learn the ropes 2nd hand ;)

[BinoAl]

I'm not an expert, but the system isn't that hard to understand. The idea of a magus who primarily enchants items is actually a fairly common one: House Veridtius, one of the 12 houses of magi, is dedicated to creating enchanted items. The undecided use effect isn't in the rules, but shouldn't be that hard to house rule in. That seems like a pretty cool character concept to me as well, so I'd say go for it!

Yeah, I immediately chose House Veridtius upon reading it; It just makes perfect sense for the character :)

[danielngtiger]

We have about the right number of players now, we just need to decide who would be a storyteller. If people have opinions on how to do this, I'd be glad to hear them. We are all basically unfamiliar with the system, and being a GM under those conditions will probably be rather difficult, but I do really want to do this, so if we can make it work, that would be great.

Yeah, I immediately chose House Veridtius upon reading it; It just makes perfect sense for the character :)

Yes, a fairly obvious choice, I just wasn't quite sure how far you were into the book. I was thinking, you may want to make two companions, since your magus won't be in as many adventures, being somewhat reclusive.

[Rianaru]

Hey, if you have room for more players, I'd like to join. Unfortunately, my experience only consists of a few short D&D games, but I'm assuming it wouldn't be that hard to learn if I put time into it.

[BinoAl]

Yes, a fairly obvious choice, I just wasn't quite sure how far you were into the book. I was thinking, you may want to make two companions, since your magus won't be in as many adventures, being somewhat reclusive.

Is that allowed? I worry that the enchanted items + 2 non-grogs in combat might skew things a bit, since I do plan on these enchanted items being near the entirety of my Magi's time and energy, and they will be... Well, insane :)

[danielngtiger]

Yes, a fairly obvious choice, I just wasn't quite sure how far you were into the book. I was thinking, you may want to make two companions, since your magus won't be in as many adventures, being somewhat reclusive.

Is that allowed? I worry that the enchanted items + 2 non-grogs in combat might skew things a bit, since I do plan on these enchanted items being near the entirety of my Magi's time and energy, and they will be... Well, insane :)

The first thing to remember is that, in almost all cases, you will only be playing one of your characters at a time, so while it would be bookkeeping hell, you could potentially have two magi and four companions, and just rotate between them. The other thing is that combat isn't the only thing that matters in Ars Magica. Depending on the saga, it is used more or less, but it is easily possible to make a companion who is both fun to play and useful to adventures who is terrible at combat. Tied in with the last point is the fact that unlike D&D, Ars Magica does not produce characters of equal strength, particularly in combat, and it knows this. It would just seems artificial if a grog with a sword is at all comparable to a maga who can throw around bolts of fire, bend people to her will with a few words, create six identical copies of herself without her pursuers being able to tell which, and on the list goes.
Basically, to sum it up, in D&D, this setup would in fact likely lead to over-proficiency in the standard D&D activity*,
but overall in Ars Magica, I personnally don't see a problem
namely killing people and taking their stuff.

[Marasambala]

I'm interested, now, as well. I was involved in a similar system we adapted to WH40k Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy. It worked pretty well for PbF.

[HavokSCOUT]

Hey, being the dirt poor person I am, can we do this on 4th ed? I've already got my christmas money allocated out, and my birthday's not for a few months.

[weldaSB]

Hey, being the dirt poor person I am, can we do this on 4th ed? I've already got my christmas money allocated out, and my birthday's not for a few months.

Have to second this one, in the same boat. let's do this one on the 4th edition.

[danielngtiger]

Just a notice, that is probably all the people who can play. We will see how these people do, and if someone has to leave, maybe someone else can play. Seven players is quite a bit, so we'll see on this.

Hey, being the dirt poor person I am, can we do this on 4th ed? I've already got my christmas money allocated out, and my birthday's not for a few months.

I'm not sure, I hear 4th edition has some weird discrepancies, like wearing armor is actually bad in combat, and magic resistance does strange things. I would prefer 5th edition, but I'm also not sure how different the two editions are either.

EDIT: It seems several players don't want to buy the 5th edition .pdf, so I'll take a look at 4th edition and see how different it is. We may be able to use a mix, I don't really know anything about 4th edition. Thinking about the general philosophy of Ars Magica, with creative storytelling and everything though, I think it is likely that generally, if you can do it in 4th edition, you can do it in 5th edition, so there may not be to huge a difference.

[BinoAl]

If the differences aren't too large, I'm ok with 5th edition, but all I could manage to get was the 4th edition core rules