Campaign Title : House Loyalty
System : Ars Magica 5th Edition (some House Rules)
Number of Players : 2-4
Deadline : Two weeks from now.
Starting Level : Right after Gauntlet
Advancement Rules : As per Core, for the most part.
Combat Rules : How you'll be handling combat.
Dice-Rolling Rules : To be determined by the troupe.
Special Rules : A few House Rules apply, the most significant is about the writing and copying of books on Hermetic Magic (see next post).
Posting Rate : Players should be able to post 2-5 times a week.
Absences : The SG will take control of the characters of absent players. Repeat offenders will see their characters pushed to the sidelines and eventually go away.
Writing Expectations : I try to use clear and accessible language, with occasional flights of fancy. I expect something similar from my players. The written medium has its limits, be aware of this and be patient with others.
Text Formatting : Text should be reasonably easy to read. Out-of-character information should be clearly labelled as such (OOC : This is the way I usually do this.)
Plot- or Character-Driven : Mostly character-driven. Story flaws will be enforced. A few long-term plots (more like themes) will be introduced by the SG.
Focus : Choices. Survival or growth? Cooperation or competition? Cohabitation or conflict? Chaos or order?
Character Types : Single-house covenant, to be selected by the players. No Merinita or Mercere magi.
Campaign Description :
A relatively low resource saga. A groups of newly-Gauntleted magi form a single-House covenant under the sponsorship of their House.
The players will to agree on the House they will be part of, as well as the region of Mythic Europe where their covenant will be located. The covenant is in a set of caves in the cliffs above a river.
A fragmented Order!
The Order of Hermes is threatened by its greatest enemy ever: itself. For the last few decades, things have been uneasy between the Houses, as their diverging priorities has led them in different directions. Many magi are suspicious and jealous of their brethren form other Houses. They keep their secrets close, for knowledge is power.
Sources of raw vis are becoming harder to find throughout Mythic Europe, so they are guarded jealously and smaller sources are more valuable than in the early history of the Order. This forces magi to seek out places where vis can be found, even when such locations are less than ideal, so that they can secure them.
In this context, the formation of single-House covenants is becoming more frequent, as their elders provide them support so that their House can secure those few vis sources that are found, and to help promote their House’s goals and interests in an area. A few covenants have grown larger, but more and more, new covenants are being established in regions that hide their presence from mundanes.
Roughly twenty years ago, House Merinita disappeared. Some of their magi gathered their belongings and left. Others simply vanished. Rumors have it that some were found dead, brutally murdered in their sanctum and their belongings ransacked. The domus magnus of House Merinita, Irencilla is simply gone. No one know what really happened, although many theories exist.
Tribunals are becoming harder to run, but are still mostly operational. There are rumors that there the number of Mercere magi is declining, but the redcap network is still strong.
