I'd love for a luxury 4-page leather bound gamemasters screen to come with the luxury book. We're still using my original 3rd edition screen when playing, it's very very worn, the rules are outdated, but it has a very pretty map facing the players.
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I have the Spanish SG screen and accompanying spell guideline pamphlet for ArM5. Even just producing exactly the same thing in English would be very worthwhile for new Storyguides.
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I must say our group compiled (and translated) a spell guidelines pamphlet ourselves, and playing without it would be unimaginable. It's an invaluable tool.
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Question somewhat related to the announcement. When the entire ArM5 range of books were converted to PoD, was there any updating of the contents in terms of errata amendments.
I would imagine that this would be fiddly as it’s a layout change it lots of cases, so I suspect the range has been converted to PoD without any content changes.
Which brings up another question, have any of the contents of the book pdfs changed over the years, in terms of errata amendments. Just have this nagging memory of finding discrepancies between print any PDFs.
@John_Nephew would know for sure, but I do not think there was any updating. I think the PDF of ArM5 is based on the second printing, and the PDF of RoP:D is based on the Revised Edition, so if you have the older print versions of those, you would find discrepancies with the PDFs.
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One thing I'd love, and it shouldn't be too costly, is if the Definite book has 2-4 page ribbons. It would help flip faster to some sections.
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Is a French translation of this new edition planned?
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It isn't a new edition. If you have the whole of the ArM5 line and the errata, you have everything in ArM5D. (And quite a bit of other material, as well. It will be a big book, but not quite that big.)
The open licensing means that it will be up to French publishers to decide whether they want to invest in producing physical artefacts in French.
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Just chipping in that Anno Magica 2024 is great news, particularly the open licensing. Looking forward to the details and I will definitely be tempted to create spin offs. I have created and published two indie games that are both inspired by Ars Magica. With AM5D I will be able to publish games that are even closer to the AM universe.
I blogged about the announcement and the implications a few weeks ago (The definitive Ars Magica experience - Thoughtful Dane). As already discussed in length here, I agree that the barrier to get started with AM prevents many players from playing. The sandbox nature of AM with a rich setting with so many options make the number of choices overwhelming. I understand and respect why John and David will not address this issue directly with AM5D but through the very generous open license approach.
I will be thrilled to see PbtA and FitD spin offs, these approaches to game design will make for much more specific play experiences that will be much more approachable, especially for players with a limited weekly time budget for playing games. While it is unlikely that I will ever play AM again using the 4th or 5th edition rules, I expect to revisit Mythic Europe and the Order of Hermes.
Wishing Atlas Games all the best with AM5D and will be following the project with interest.
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@John_Nephew I know you've mentioned that the ArM5D crowdfunding wouldn't include stretch goals of new products, so as not to delay the book. But there's one product that should be easy to produce, and could be very useful for STs. An Ars Magica Screen. One that has some important tables, to ease running the game.
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Quick question: will the ultimate edition incorporate any of the concepts from The Mysteries supplement?
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Quick answer: Yes.
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Question (which I understand may not be answerable): what is the situation with terms like Tremere and Order of Hermes being owned by a different company (assuming this is still the case)? Will this affect the plan for enabling third party products?
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John answered a similar question back in January with "TBA, but obviously this is a thing we have to examine closely (and perhaps communicate with other parties) before opening the license."
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I asked John about this again, and the position has not changed substantially since January. There is a bit more clarity than there was, but still not enough for a public answer.
There will be a clear answer when the licensing is announced, but maybe no earlier.
Note that, in the worst case scenario, we can just announce substitutes for those two terms, because the issues are with trademarks and so only apply to the terms themselves. This is not a problem that can prevent the open licensing. "The Order of Hermes" can be replaced by "the Hermetic Order", which minimises the impact there. "Tremere" would be more awkward, but nothing insurmountable.
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White Wolf books used to list Order of Hermes and Tremere as trademarks, and when they used Ars Magica terms they would list them and say "used with permission".
But Onyx Path (CCP hf) does not give Ars Magica any credit for names of Houses and such, and they apparently no longer make a claim that Order of Hermes and Tremere are their trademark IP.
Though this pic was from a book published nine years ago and I have no way to find out if they changed or what they currently say. Which, I suppose, means John Nephew would have the most accurate knowledge and is the one who would have access to communicate with Onyx Path. I presume.
But, I mean, it just seams fair! They have their own fan publishing system, and it I could write about House Bonisagus and Flambeau all day if I want, so long as I am doing it in the context of any edition of Mage or another oWoD game.
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Onyx Path currently license the World of Darkness (and Chronicles of Darkness) from Paradox Interactive. Paradox are, most likely, the current holders of those two trademarks, although there may be no-one at the company who is consciously aware of that fact. The original agreement was between White Wolf and Wizards of the Coast, two companies that no longer exist…
This is one of the reasons why it is taking time to sort out what, if anything, we need to do about the issue.
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Regardless it does mean that Atlas will likely never get merch rights on OoH/Tremere. There's some sort of business case for giving them up on the off chance Ars gets a popularity blip and they want to sell shirts or dice.
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Checking with the USPTO indicates "TREMERE" is a live and registered trademark of Paradox Interactive AB, serial number 77519356, registration number 3630096.
So, yes, using "Tremere" would require some sort of deal with Paradox to use (or, theoretically, a successful legal challenge to its status as a registered trademark).
("Order of Hermes" does not show up in a USPTO search, but that just sends the situation off into the woods of unregistered trademark law, and it's the easier-to-substitute term anyway.)
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That's a shame, what word could even substitute Tremere ? What was the original inspiration/meaning of the word? But it's been some many years it's iconic and would feel weird either way.
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