yeah, you should know (in advance) that I suck at that stuff, big time.

I had a heretical idea of using the scenario and information from Ars Magica but playing a game of De Profundis with that tome of knowledge. Yep, no dice, no mechanics, just the letters of one powerful mage to his group of others, perhaps in the same covenant or not. I will be honest, I would not think of using rpol for this or even guiding it, as my knowledge of the game is rather limited. I just wanted to know what people thought of the idea.

I realize combining these two games is in gaming terms like introducing matter and antimatter, but that big bang may create a whole new universe?

It's that bundle, its got me crazy!

I cracked open and started reading the Apprentices book. Would anyone be interested in a small 4-5 player game, being Apprentices to NPC Magi, in an already established Covenant, getting into the shenanigans that a adolescent Apprentice would get into?

I.e. The Cook of the Covenant needs help, She is afraid to go to the Magi, but her daughter has gone missing. She was last seen picking mushrooms in the forest on the edge of the Covenant. The Cook approaches the Apprentices and asks if they will go and find her Daughter. The Apprentices feel compelled to help. They grew up with the Cooks Daughter and even though shes ungifted, She and the Cook have always treated the Apprentices with respect and niceties.

I was thinking around Thirteen to Fourteen, so there are limited to no Attribute Modifiers. I don't want to go too young. Assume that each of you came to the Covenant at around age five. so you can choose or make up your childhood. Rather you were Wild Born, Covenant Born, Athletic, or Social.

What do you guys think? Any takers? As for Location, Companions, Grogs, and sources allowed, we can all discuss that in the game, if I find players that are interested.

Interested, but I have no idea what most of those terms meant; other than Covenant that one I know.

Well as for Location, there are a few published locations that already have everything you would need to jump right in. Names of NPCs, Covenants. The Published Settings so far for Fifth Edition are,

The Transylvanian Tribunal
The Rhine Tribunal
The Hibernian Tribunal
The Normandy Tribunal
The Theban Tribunal

Fourth Edition has The Stonehendge Tribunal, which is a good sourcebook.

Basically the first step would be picking which Tribunal to have the Covenant be part of. From there concepts can be formed, and i can get the NPC Magi, and the Covenant stated out, If its not already in the book. Then we just drop in the Apprentice Characters. Do the Apprentice Creation, which is a lowered power level than a full starting character of course. I could have a game up and ready for play by the end of the day.

I think a low powered PC might be good for s lower knowledge player- just tell me what to read or prep!

"If you build it, they will come"

At least, I will.

This is what I have so far.

link to another game

NPCs are all added, Sheets added for them, Covenant Information Added, Creation Stuff for Apprentices added. Descriptions of each NPC added. Maps added, Portraits for each NPC added, and Ars Magica Reference charts added, I decided to use the Wandering Covenant, because it opens so much more stories across all of Mythic Europe, or even new lands elsewhere....

So I've got one game running here, but I don't have room to take more players. I know there are more who want to play, including me. But the only other active game is not running in English, not in French which I might be able to pull off, though probably not. :(

Knowing there are several players looking for a game, is anyone interested in starting one up? A good idea showed up but wasn't used: run the Broken Covenant of Calebais to get things started. That way there is far less up-front work and things can get moving along quickly.

I have a horrible track record with running games on here, so I wouldn't tackle one alone.  I wonder how hard it would be to run an actual troupe-style game on RPOL.

The idea I've had for a little while now is something in or near the city of Trebizond, truly the furthest east you can still go and be Hermetic, in the Thebes tribunal.  Plenty of interesting stuff to be done with mythic Persia and the Silk Road, and the city was one of the few never conquered by the Mongols.

In reply to callen (msg # 86):

I am currently running a game IRL, otherwise I would offer, but I really want to actually play a game.
If anyone were to run and want a Beta Story Guide for some adventures, I would be happy to do that, but I really can't commit to managing another saga.

Some aspects are easier online for troupe-style play. For example, players can't tell which SG is running a character. And, if you set a "character" SG as separate from the GM "characters," all SG's/GM's can post through the one voice when running things (as opposed to OOC discussions and the like. Then there is little way to tell who's running what. Meanwhile, character sheets can be moved between players with ease.


I like that general region for reasons you mention and more. I had started an in-person game in Georgia, but that didn't get off the ground with half of us moving.

I'd love to play in the Theban Tribunal, if you do ever decide to run this I'd love to join in. What sort of themes did you want to play with?

New here and new to Ars Magica, but that about the Theban Tribunal sounds fascinating. Would also be interested to find out the sort of stories or themes you're looking to explore.

An idea I ran for friends long ago was the Covenant was located in a time diluting magic regio, based loosely off an old Ars covenant book. Where 2.5 years past in the real world vs inside the regio a single season (10:1) so you were isolated from the order.
It was fun to allow more real world events happen. Cities change, technology creep forward, and my own events in the order to happen.
They came up with a contact in a near by town to be a drop off person for information to be collected for them when they came out. But the amount of information became to much requiring seasons to keep up with it. The time people was all about family trees who begot whom.
I wish it could have made the 60 years (600 years, 1820 AD).

In reply to Tarrent (msg # 92):

That sounds interesting. I'm not sure I'd want to play in it because I know I'd be thinking I could do better getting stuff accomplished with time moving faster. So I'd end up separating my character from the covenant. But that's my problem, not a dis on the setting. Regios do allow for some really cool, different things like that.

Well that was the thing, when outside of the covenant. The 2 weeks you are allowed to do other things and not ruin your season, is amplified to 20 weeks.
And they were told at any point, get off this regio and go find another covenant. I'm a total sandbox person, games are set up in rings. Local, Regional, Tribunal, Order, Continental, World.
I had 2 other locations mapped out for covenants with different quirks, and the group was told that in the beginning.

One was a magic and faerie regio set on top of a hill, when you crossed over the summit of the hill was a much larger valley like a 4th dimensional space.

The last was magic aura with varying adjacent auras of Inferno (Haunted graveyard), Holy (church run town), Faerie (Spring, Grotto, Statue).

Those both sound interesting to me. Any chance you've still got your notes (cutting down on new work) and are interested in trying to run one of those settings? Yes, I'm hunting for a game to play in. :)

I'm in callen's game, but would love to play in another Ars Magica game. I'm not going to try running one again for a bit as I just started running a FATE based superhero game, but I might try running Ars Magica again here in a year or so.

I had this idea a while ago and it still is marinading in the back hearths of my mind.

I would like to see if it were possible to play as a covenant of magi writing letters in the first person. Something like Ars Magica meets De Profundis. All activity of characters would happen through first person letters between various characters.

Is this something that anyone in their right mind would play let alone GM? I just had to throw it out there.

I am not in a position to run another game right now ... but I'd certainly play in it.

I would love to run it, but alas I have never run a AM game before and there is no way that would be my first game to GM.

So, I have an idea for a game.  My biggest concern is that, when I have run past games, if I hit an anxiety spike in my life, I don't answer for a few days, and then I feel anxious/guilty about it, and I don't answer, and the next thing you know the game collapses as I disappear. As long as I had either (a) a group that was cognizant of that (which would lower the anxiety,) and/or (b) a co-storyguide, I'd consider it.

For years, certain members of House Criamon, the Guernicus Terram cult, and a few other groups have been getting portents that something bad was about to be released from under the Isle d'Yf, which had been a Terram cultic site as well as a Diedne covenant.  The bindings of something held in check were loosening.

The Provencal covenant of Coenobium, thinking it was just a ploy to gain a foothold in their backyard, blocked attempts at investigation.  After some worrying incidents against their holdings, they washed their hands of it and allowed five magi to investigate.

Of course, by then, it was too late.  Only two of the five, a Guernicus earth magus and a Merinita, survived.  Now they have called for aid.  Magi would be 5 years past Gauntlet, and ideas filia of the dead Criamon, Tremere and Tytalus Spirit Magus would be given priority.

Thoughts on the concept?  Anybody up to take second chair?  Or players who could deal with my...eccentricities?  Speak up!

Well I'm always open to a play and a slow post rate is fine so long as their an inevitable return. I would love to play the Criamon.

Count me in as a prospective player.

I do not have any source material except the base 5th Ed Rulebook, and therefore know nothing about the cults and group and background of which you speak.
... but am willing to help out as Assistant GM with moving the game along; IF nobody else (with better knowledge) will.