Ars won an honor and now needs an "acceptance speech"

Erik_Tyrrell · March 8, 2018, 10:13pm

Ars Magica won this year's Geek lifetime achievement in role playing thing that they do at RPG geek every year.

rpggeek.com/article/28494423#28494423

They now need someone to write up a description of the game for their list here: rpggeek.com/wiki/page/GLAIR

Would anyone here like to take a shot at it?

Christian_Andersen · March 9, 2018, 9:23am

I nominate Tellus

Tellus · March 9, 2018, 5:04pm

Not sure I should be doing it

[code]Originally created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein*Hagen. First published in 1987 Ars Magica has gone through a series of changes in mechanics (it is currently in its 5th edition) and ownership (Lions' Rampart, White Wolf, Wizard's of the Coast and currently (2018) Atlas Games).

Set in a Mythic Europe that's close enough to historical Europe (approx AD1220) that your history textbooks will double as excellent sourcebooks. Ars Magica was originally written in part as a reaction to D&D but soon grew into its own thing, with a loyal group of dedicated followers.

Ars Magica features several types of characters (Magi, Companions and Grogs), which are not created equal. Magi are the focus of the game. Members of the Order of Hermes use Hermetic Magic. Rules-wise, this is a Verb-Noun magic system, with a wide variety of applications.
Hermetic Magic allows for Spontaneous Magic (effects made up on the spot), Formulaic Magic (known, studied, repeatable effects), Ritual Magic (more complicated version of Formulaic spells), and several types of enchanted devices.

Ars Magica also features a central meta-character, namely the Covenant. This word is a bit overloaded in context, but it is the comunity in which the magi live and share resources.[/code]

Berengar · March 9, 2018, 5:15pm

Looks good to me.

What about adding one phrase more about how encompassing and expandable the magic system is?

Cheers

Christian_Andersen · March 9, 2018, 6:22pm

Tellus:

Not sure I should be doing it

[code]Originally created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein*Hagen. First published in 1987 Ars Magica has gone through a series of changes in mechanics (it is currently in its 5th edition) and ownership (Lions' Rampart, White Wolf, Wizard's of the Coast and currently (2018) Atlas Games).

Set in a Mythic Europe that's close enough to historical Europe (approx AD1220) that your history textbooks will double as excellent sourcebooks. Ars Magica was originally written in part as a reaction to D&D but soon grew into its own thing, with a loyal group of dedicated followers.

Ars Magica features several types of characters (Magi, Companions and Grogs), which are not created equal. Magi are the focus of the game. Members of the Order of Hermes use Hermetic Magic. Rules-wise, this is a Verb-Noun magic system, with a wide variety of applications.
Hermetic Magic allows for Spontaneous Magic (effects made up on the spot), Formulaic Magic (known, studied, repeatable effects), Ritual Magic (more complicated version of Formulaic spells), and several types of enchanted devices.

Ars Magica also features a central meta-character, namely the Covenant. This word is a bit overloaded in context, but it is the comunity in which the magi live and share resources.[/code]

Sure you should.
Maybe mention the wide selection of source books?

Tellus · March 9, 2018, 6:51pm

Better? Too much?

Originally created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein*Hagen. First published in 1987 Ars Magica has gone through a series of changes in mechanics (it is currently in its 5th edition) and ownership (Lions' Rampart, White Wolf, Wizards of the Coast and currently (2018) Atlas Games).

Set in a Mythic Europe that's close enough to historical Europe (approx AD1220) that your history textbooks will double as excellent sourcebooks. But you won't need to, because there are a number of excellent, very well researched sourcebooks. Indeed, there have been over 40 books published for the 5th edition alone.

Ars Magica was originally written in part as a reaction to D&D but soon grew into its own thing, with a loyal group of dedicated followers.

Ars Magica features several types of characters (Magi, Companions and Grogs), which are not created equal. Magi are the focus of the game. Members of the Order of Hermes use Hermetic Magic. Rules-wise, this is a Verb-Noun magic system, with a wide variety of applications.
It's based on 5 Techniques (describing what is done) and 10 Forms (describing what is affected).
For each of the 50 combinations, there are guidelines for what can be done, spell levels are then derived from the guideline and modified for parameters like range and duration.
Hermetic Magic allows for Spontaneous Magic (spells made up on the spot), Formulaic Magic (known, studied, repeatable spells), Ritual Magic (more complicated version of Formulaic spells), and several types of enchanted devices.
Given the extensive collection of guidelines, several ways in which magic can be used and the wide range of choices of parameters, the resulting magic system is both strong and flexible, robust and extendable, while already encompassing a huge spread of possible effects.

Ars Magica also features a central meta-character, namely the Covenant. This word is a bit overloaded in context, but it is the community in which the magi live and share resources.

EDIT: More typos fixed.
Anyone with an account over at RPGGeek want to post it?

Berengar · March 9, 2018, 7:05pm

Tellus, for five editions and over 40 books now your word count is still very moderate.

And your text looks quite complete to me now. There is just one "y" before a "ou" and an "over" before a "40" that I still miss.

Cheers

jason72 · March 10, 2018, 3:06am

Community has two "m"s, not one?

codesmithKarl · March 10, 2018, 3:31am

Looks great. Wizard's of the Coast => Wizards of the Coast.

Tellus · March 10, 2018, 6:13am

That's what I get for not turning on the spell checker

Should I add something about longevity and theuse of Seasons/long term activities?

Christian_Andersen · March 10, 2018, 8:01am

Yes. Lab projects and the long term scope is one of ArM’s strengths

Erik_Tyrrell · March 11, 2018, 1:15am

Tellus:

Better? Too much?

Originally created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein*Hagen. First published in 1987 Ars Magica has gone through a series of changes in mechanics (it is currently in its 5th edition) and ownership (Lions' Rampart, White Wolf, Wizards of the Coast and currently (2018) Atlas Games).

Set in a Mythic Europe that's close enough to historical Europe (approx AD1220) that your history textbooks will double as excellent sourcebooks. But you won't need to, because there are a number of excellent, very well researched sourcebooks. Indeed, there have been over 40 books published for the 5th edition alone.

Ars Magica was originally written in part as a reaction to D&D but soon grew into its own thing, with a loyal group of dedicated followers.

Ars Magica features several types of characters (Magi, Companions and Grogs), which are not created equal. Magi are the focus of the game. Members of the Order of Hermes use Hermetic Magic. Rules-wise, this is a Verb-Noun magic system, with a wide variety of applications.
It's based on 5 Techniques (describing what is done) and 10 Forms (describing what is affected).
For each of the 50 combinations, there are guidelines for what can be done, spell levels are then derived from the guideline and modified for parameters like range and duration.
Hermetic Magic allows for Spontaneous Magic (spells made up on the spot), Formulaic Magic (known, studied, repeatable spells), Ritual Magic (more complicated version of Formulaic spells), and several types of enchanted devices.
Given the extensive collection of guidelines, several ways in which magic can be used and the wide range of choices of parameters, the resulting magic system is both strong and flexible, robust and extendable, while already encompassing a huge spread of possible effects.

Interlinking with the magic system, are the mechanics for magical laboratory work and character advancement. These take place in times measured by in-game seasons. This timing encourages stories that develop over years of narrative time.

Ars Magica also features a central meta-character, namely the Covenant. This word is a bit overloaded in context, but it is the community in which the magi live and share resources.

I added a line about laboratory and long term scope. Is it OK?

Christian_Andersen · March 11, 2018, 6:34am

It’s good, maybe a brief sentence about whatGrogs and Companions are?

Tellus · March 11, 2018, 8:42am

Erik, it's great.

We could, but it's already the longest acceptance speech, I think.

Berengar · March 11, 2018, 8:53am

Yep, consider every added word now for its real usefulness!

Writing by committee already leads to longish texts. And seeing the opportunity to play Grogs and Companions will not motivate role players to look into Ars Magica, if they didn't know it before.

Cheers

raccoonmask · March 13, 2018, 8:15pm

For me the amazing part of Ars Magica is:

The covenant as the central character
The extensive magic system
Long-term story and plot potential (most commonly used time-increment is the season)
Story-based character development
Extensive in-depth interest from the players in regards to the forums. You guys are awesome.

Tellus · March 14, 2018, 1:23pm

SO, how do we get the acceptance speech accepted?

Berengar · March 14, 2018, 1:58pm

Erik Tyrrell's last proposal is fine with me.

But even if we all agree to it: I have no account with RPG geek, so cannot post it there. Who can?

Cheers

Tellus · March 14, 2018, 3:07pm

Absolutely!
Post it!

Erik_Tyrrell · March 14, 2018, 6:18pm

I put it on the thread announcing who won the award a few days ago. I think that this should be sufficient. We'll see.