This advertised game below is now full, thank you for the HUGE amount of interest (approx 20 people).
[size=150]Lyonesse Rises[/size]
System: Ars Magica 5th edition
# of Players: 3-4 (Now Full)
Deadline for new players: May 2016
Starting Level: Fresh out of apprenticeship, 0-1 companion or grog.
Advancement Rules: As per core rulebook, with extra points awarded for creativity, roleplay and furthering the covenant.
Combat Rules: Not commonplace, but rolled out where sensible or climactic.
Dice-Rolling Rules: Rolled through roll 20's interface.
Special Rules: Non-core rules usually denied (for simplicity's sake, but dealt with on a case by case scenario).
Posting Rate: Not a play by post.. Played using a combination of skype and roll20.
Absences: No communication for more than two consecutive weeks will result in a player vote on what to do with the absentee.
Writing Expectations: Little to none, though always appreciated.
Plot- or Character-Driven: There will be an over-arching plot, with the opportunity to follow character-driven plots alongside the main plot. See below for hooks.
Focus: A mix of mundane politics, covenant building and dealing with the myriad powers that exist in south west England. (Fae, Divine and Druidic)
Character Types: All considered, but a healthy mix of maga with a specialisation which suits the geography of south west England preferred.
Campaign Description:
The lands of Southwest England in 1200s are relatively free of the Order of Hermes. Those hermetic magicians which do live on the isles of Great Britain operate with little responsibility and control of the Order. Meddling in mundane affairs is rife, and magic is just as dreaded and respected by the common man as Catholicism. The land is rich in Druidic history, both hedge magicians and possible survivors of House Diedne are respected and often sought out by mundane members of society, both lords and commoners alike.
This game will be set in Cornwall, renowned for its ties with Arthurian legend. During the course of the story, players will learn what caused the lands of Lyonesse to sink into the sea, chase fragments and rumors of Arthur's legacy, and deal with the myriad world of mundane politics and local magical interference.
Cornwall has the highest concentration of canonised saints in the entire world to this day, and many of these people and their followings and miracles can be traced back to this time or earlier. This attracts a large amount of holy pilgrims to Saint Michael's Mount and other sites in the land, though at low tide, the petrified forests of Lyonesse are visible around the mount, fueling the rumors of the sunken lands.
Cornwall is also a major stop-over point in the trade between Ireland/Wales and Brittany/Spain/Mediterranean, bringing a cosmopolitan mix of people in the harbors, and the wares that they bring. From the lucrative saffron trade, to the trading of master-worked celtic artifacts.
The land itself has a huge industry of both mining of tin and other precious metals, and fishing. The forests and swamps themselves are vast and commonplace, so much so that the Romans never made much of an impact this far southwest during their rule in England. Cornwall in 1200 is ruled by a man dubbed "possibly the most powerful individual in England" who is the regent for the 2 year old earl of Devon, Baldwin de Redvers. He has his own political agenda, and the Sherriff of Cornwall is refusing to pay the Treasury, and trying to be every part the non-existant Earl of Cornwall even though he has no title.
Cornwall is a very wild and varied place indeed, so should have interests for most if not all Hermetic mages.
Expect to found a covenant and pursue whichever rumors take your fancy, whether they be chasing Arthurian legend, the lost lands of Lyonesse, the remains or artifacts of holy saints, dealing with the prolific Druidic presence and Celtic traditions, or simply trying to found the first true beacon of Hermetic Magic in England.
(The focus of the campaign itself is up to alteration and discussion by players, and is no means set in stone).