Campaign Title: Loch Ness: A New Dawn
System: Ars Magica, 5th Edition
# of Players: 4-7+
Deadline: I'm looking at starting after the new year. (That's not that far away!)
Starting Level: Magi at saga start will be no more than 7 years post-gauntlet.
Advancement Rules: Character advancement is detailed here
Combat Rules: Combat is very cumbersome on PbP, and thus I will try to avoid it. However, it will come into play, and I will try to keep things as organized as possible. I will be clearly labeling
[tab][/tab]each turn of combat, and will not begin the next round until the current one is resolved. Combat will use the rules in the core rulebook only (not using any of the optional rules from Lords of
[tab][/tab]Men), just to keep things simple.
Dice-Rolling Rules: Rolls will be made using an online dice roller and posted here. The two I prefer are Invisible Castle and CoyoteCode.
Special Rules: The House Rules I've come up with in my prior sagas that I'm porting over.
Posting Rate: I expect a minimum posting rate of once a week. I would prefer at least once every three days, as that is the longest time I will allow myself to go without posting (barring
[tab][/tab]emergency, which I will let the troupe know about).
Absences: If a player goes more than a week and half or two weeks without posting, I will send them a PM to find out what's going on. If another week passes without a reply, and they haven't
[tab][/tab]logged on, then I will find a way to write them out of the current stories. If they've not yet returned by the time the current stories have wrapped up, I will write the character(s) out of the
[tab][/tab]saga, but try to do so in such a way that they could return later.
Writing Expectations: I expect everything to make sense. I don't expect literature on a Rowling level, but I expect to be able to understand what I'm reading.
Text Formatting: I've found it easier to read dialogue (especially magi and companions) if it's in a distinctive colour (e.g. red, green, or blue). Other than that, standard writing rules (italics for
[tab][/tab]thoughts and foreign words, etc).
Plot- or Character-Driven: I have a general idea for the long-term "end games" for the saga. But I also plan on running this until I can't anymore. So, much of the storyline will feed off of the
[tab][/tab]characters' Flaws and actions. And actions (or lack thereof) will have consequences.
Focus: The primary focus will be character interaction. With each other, with NPCs, with the environment, with time, etc.
Character Types: I'm looking for all kinds of characters. Magi should have a reason for wanting to come to the backwaters of the Order (if they're not from there): why would a magus from
[tab][/tab]Byzantium come all the way across the world to the Scottish Highlands, for example. The only character types I can think of off the top of my head that are not allowed are Mythic Companions
[tab][/tab]and diabolic.
Campaign Description: A little over two years, Faileas of Criamon (who founded the covenant of Insula Canaria 75 years ago and has been its driving force ever since) destroyed his lab, the
[tab][/tab]covenant's common lab, and took his own life. In the aftermath, all but one of the remaining magi have walked out. The one maga who stayed, Eilid of Bjornaer, has brought in a Bonisagus
[tab][/tab]maga of the Trianomae to help her rebuild her home. A call has gone out for fresh blood to try to bring this old Winter covenant back around to a vibrant Spring.
Would love to play. Rules and post rate is something I can commit to. What do you need to lock in a spot?
Pondering a locally trained illusionist (Im), perhaps Merinitia or some other "less violently tended" Magus. A lover of stories, songs, rhymes, and legends.
Who needs the huddle and thrash of the the central tribunals when the best lore is here in the north!
I'm considering to make a proposition, I've already played a saga in Loch Leglean focused on Dambah allaid, and would like to avoid playing too much of it in this one. It's not one of the main focus of the saga, is it ?
I'm still very much interested.
I am interested. I can either reprise Donnchadh Dubh ( from Canaries) or Ii have a new idea for a mage who focuses on Crows/Ravens.
I thought about it, but decided to keep Damhan-Allaidh as an historical figure.
Consider yourself locked.
Interested. Not sure what kind of magus yet.
Yay! Been hoping for this since the one I was in died. 
Please!
[strike]Does this mean we should be looking at Apprentices to figure things out? Sounds it. But you may have your own plans instead.[/strike] Why is it that I always think "Extremely Complex..." when I read that? Yay, so much easier.
Excellent. Drafted Corbin last night to gauntlet and I'll set to writing background story and such.
I'm interested. Invisible Castle hates me for some reason. Code Coyote is... well then. _: 3D6 = [5, 4, 4] = 13 GOT IT!
I'm interested, too.
Great, Then i'll make a draft as soon as possible, maybe this week-end.
Interested, still contemplating a character concept...
does this use the published tribunal setting or do you freeform it?
I am using Lion of the North, but I'm tweaking some things to make it more 5th-ed compatible.
So far, we have:
- ironboundtome
- Bitter
- Emelric
- jebrick
- Wits
- callen
- Quite Possibly a Cat (which I still think is an awesome screen name, btw)
- Jonathan.Link
- silveroak
And that's after only 24 hours. If I didn't know better, I'd think my games were popular! 
But I think that's enough to request a game forum. Allons-y!
Cool! Yay!
So everyone else can see where I'm headed:
Arts: Mu/Re+Au/Vi or Mu/Re+Ig/Vi. The Ignem had gone with a more violent view (Flambeau thoughts at first), but I'm really leaning toward Auram. Vim is definitely a strength.
House: Though I had started thinking Flambeau, I'm really thinking more Mercere or maybe Tremere. All of them have their cadres of mortals they value in somewhat similar ways, though who those mortals are varies. I like the House=Family kind of idea, and at the moment Mercere appeals more than Tremere. But depending on where others area headed, I could vary this easily enough.
Companion: I'm leaning heavily toward a skinchanger whose animal side is not totally hidden in human form, good at perception. I was thinking Failed Apprentice from the Lineage of Pralix with Comprehend Magic or from Bjornaer and working with Inner Heartbeast Mysteries. But I definitely don't want a covenant full of Failed Apprentices, so I'm leaving things pretty open and flexible in my mind.
Here is one character from PB's Canaries campaign. https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/donnchadh-dubh-development/7615/1 A "Beast Master" who uses the Elemental magic from Hedge Magic to summon animals. He is a highlander with all that it entails.
The other is similar but with more traditional Hermetic magic. A Merinita who's magic focuses on crows and ravens. He will be a Northumbrian ( and I can not remember if that is still Scottish at this period) which would make him a lowlander.
Virtues and Flaws: The Gift, Alluring to Mundane Animals (Bonus: +3 to Communication and Presence with Mundane Animals), Independent Study, Flexible Formulaic Magic, Minor Magical Focus (Crows and Ravens), Affinity with Muto, Affinity with Animal, Inoffensive to Animals, Animal Ken, Hermetic Magus, Faerie Magic*, Faerie Upbringing, Pagan, Secretive, Incomprehensible, Weird Magic (Botches on Stressed Casting: Extra botch die), Restriction (not affect any holy man)
I can get a feel of what others are proposing and decide.
So folk know, as a draft: I'm very open to suggestions for what to tweak, include, or if there are links to be found with other characters.
Corbin ex Merinita, A locally born and raised Illusionist
- Im focus, then techniques. Other arts just enough to get some basic utility spells (I've stated to gauntlet thus far).
- family is a notable clan, with whom he is well out of favour.
- A lover of stories, songs, rhymes, and legends. A carefree soul. Who needs the huddle and thrash of the the central tribunals when the best lore is here in the north!
V&Fs: Affinity with Music, Deft Form (Imaginem), Faerie Magic*, Gentle Gift, The Gift, Hermetic Magus, Inventive Genius, Personal Vis Source (Imaginem), Second Sight*, Strong Nymph Blood, Black Sheep (a Rake from notable clan), Carefree, Hedge Wizard (barely a wizard), Study Requirement, Weakness (Legends and Stories), Weird Magic.
With 9 players, we can't really avoid overlap on arts, as long as concepts are clearly different we're good IMHO.
Here's my ideas, I'm open to suggesting of course.
Mechanically I'll probably adapt the concept I had there but with a different House. I'm considering a Criamon with the path of seeming, I might drop ignem in the process, but complete darkness is a fine way to deal with opponent in a "apt" way to use criamon terms. He's probably not the most esoteric Criamon, but he tries to live aptly which already is a challenge in the tribunal.
It will probably not be a native but his drive will be to make the tribunal more democratic and based on mutual assistance but he's also interested in the numerous mystical places of the tribunal as a way to advance in the understanding of the enigma (i don't have the tribunal book but from what I remember the structure was very loose and prone to violence and intimidation in the resolve of conflict, including raiding resources and such). He's probably attracted to this covenant in particular because he feels the site is worth of interest and should not be abandoned because of a mere accident.
So that's a gentle gifted magus focusing on In, Pe, Vi , Ig and probably a bit of mentem and imaginem.
Spells will maybe focus on detecting magic (sight of active magic), getting information (Summoning the distant image, Whispering Winds, Vision of Heat's Light...), darkness (well without light..), probably a cold damaging spell for self defense.
edit : I might also go for a Bjornaer magus or a Merenita with Nature Lore