Beginner - so lots of little questions and one big one

Ah, mintroll, you don't seem to be aware that the previous edition of the game is available in complete and -free- form on the web, so you don't need to buy anything before becoming familiar enough with the game to run it.

That would be "free".

Well, as I've said above, they have released crib sheets, and they have actually released the entire previous version of he game as a pdf freebie, so perhaps a bit of slack for them here?

Having answered specific questions above, I'm going to tackle the Meta-Question:

How can I run a Ars Magica game in 8 sessions with a StoryMaster who is not intimate with the rules, and players that have never heard of the game?

First and absolute: Ars Magica is a story, told collectively. The gamemaster is called a Story Guide. People who play it do so because they want to create a dramatic, epic, exciting, creative, satisfying story.

To that end, don't get wrapped around the pole by rules you don't know. Simplify, streamline, and use the rules as "guidelines" not absolutes.

I would recommend some of the following ideas to make your life easier and the game more fun:

  1. Start with your players creating a character concept, then assign or agree to 1 Major and 1 Minor Virtue, and 1 Major and 1 Minor Flaw. This will allow things like "I want my mage to use Fire, lots of Fire, fast and hard". So... Magical Focus, Fast Caster, maybe a personality flaw, an Aquam (water) deficiency, and ... Done!

If you end up extending the story beyond 8 sessions, then backfill in the Virtues, Flaws, and all the other missed stuff. Even House can be decided later. I make NPCs this way, and it's fast, and allows me to flesh them out later if they become more central to ongoing story.

It is more interesting in impromptu play for Players to create a Character (with appearance, motivations, goals) than to create a character sheet.

  1. How to handle Spontaneous spells:

Pre-calculate and put on the character sheets the Casting Scores for Spontaneous spells, divided by 2 for expending Fatigue, and divided by 5 for not expending Fatigue.

Then create custom handouts of the Guidelines insent boxes in the Spells section to assign level. This gives people a way to realize "I can't blast a hole in that stone wall with my Perdo Terram score so low, but maybe I can turn the stone door into dust with it, or turn a part of the wall to mud with Muto Terram."

Lastly, use the guidelines as guidelines. Don't whip out the pencil and calculator, ever. If it sounds plausible, it works. If it sounds wrong, it fails. It is always better to bend the rules to allow something fun and creative, than to be absolutely accurate ... and dull.

  1. Two copies of whatever book you use is good. One for you, one for your players (to use while gaming, borrow, trade, read at home, etc).

  2. As the story guide, be prepared.

In a free-form game, this doesn't mean be aware of the stats of all your NPCs, monsters, and the dimensions of each room.

It does mean know NPCs & monsters, what part you generally want each to play, to know your environment they PCs move through. Stereotypes make for easy play, but I like to have all places, people, and creatures in my stories to have at least one surprise, and the central ones to have 3 surprises. Plot lives in the twists.

This isn't DnD, so the party could easily consist of more than just the PCs. It is not uncommon for a mage to travel with a squad of guards. This is not typical for most games, so it will make a novel twist. But be prepared to introduce them at first, the players will take that over later.

Do not be too intimidated with the volume and the breadth of the rules. Most of the rules are not important if the players are not interested in such activities as potion creation or you are not planning to run a story that focuses on the Divine.

I agree with Timothy, Promises is a good start. However, I think the first story in Nigrasaxa (also available at Atlas) is even better for a troupe familiar with D&D. Do not worry about it not being readjusted to 5th edition. Use the provided PC and NPCs with 5thEd rules and they are just a bit more powerful, especially with the higher Parma scores. However, the faeries are interesting. (Do not forget to mention that the child was chasing butterflies.)

Another good faerie oriented story is about a fairy party overwhelming a covenant and the magi trying to stop the invasion in the nearby village before it gets out of hand at home. This story was available online at some site, but I cannot remember where.

If you have 8 sessions to run a story, then I suggest that you plot out a story (even one cribbed from another system) before the next session. "Suggest" virtues and flaws for your players that will be applicable to your story. Let them pick the rest at character creation.

Getting into the learning and lab work can be very difficult for D&D players who have no patient for “down time.” You may just have to jump everyone ahead by fiat since they will not usually want to break from their current storyline. If I knew I had 8 sessions, I would run 3 sessions in one storyline, give them 2 to 4 years off followed by another 4+ sessions storyline.

Do not forget about the grogs. Grogs are the soul of any good ars magica story. They provide the heroics and the humor. While magi can be jackasses, grogs are generally some of the more likable PC/NPCs. If any of your players are uncomfortable about the magic, let them play an experienced turb sergeant assigned to watch over these young wizards. You can dispense with companions at this stage. However, by last troupe had players that never really got into the magic and were happy playing companions all the time.

Have the players show up with a magi or companion and a grog. Encourage them to share the grogs among one another. One idea I always liked was make sure that your grog or companion matched up with another player’s wizard. That way you encourage mixed group adventures.

Make sure the first story has some good action scenes. At the next session, take a little time before hand to do some practice play. Have the PCs duel one another with magic so they can see how it works, especially fast casting and penetration. Do the same with the grogs and melee. Try missiles and weapons separate. Once they experience it in practice, it is that much easier.

Have them use the listed formulaic spells as examples for spontaneous spells. Under 5th edition, you cannot mess with formulaic range and duration like you could in earlier editions. Any divergence is spontaneous spell anyway.

Forget about designing a covenant unless the players really want to invest the time and thought. Use the example on line at atlas or fine another online that you like at someone’s site.

Good luck.

Oups! :blush: I was so concentrated on the +10 to damage that I added magnitudes to it :laughing:

You are exactly right. Now, I understand where Paul is coming from, as this game can get pretty complicated if you let it. But when I started I had only one copy of the core rulebook, and we did just fine.

I suggest you play around making some sample magi. Once you get the hang of it, help the players create characters you are allcomfortible with. Then just play, Make mistakes. Screw up. You will all learn and have fun as you do. The system is intuitive. Once you have a feel for it, it will flow easilly and naturally. Also, keep asking questions here on the Atlas Forums or over on the Berklist. We are all glad to welcome a new Ars addict into our fold :slight_smile:

Mui macho, y mui loco! :open_mouth:

Vaya con suertes, amigo, I'm sure!

(Sorry I wasn't on line earlier for the carnage!)

Well, by about this point in time you're at your aforementioned rendezvous with destiny. So, I fully expect you to be coming back with tales of heroism and horror, and a whole new mort of questions.

I'll try to take a guess at some, and address them.

Actually, that shouldn't be disturbing - he's right. For spontaneous spells to be created by players, they need a copy of the guidelines. For you to help them each time is just not practical.

He's not saying that everyone needs a copy of the book, but everyone needs access to a copy, especially those Guidelines for Spontaneous spells - and one copy probably won't cut it.

Maybe you should. Xerox the Guidelines, just those, and cut/paste a handout for your game. Just for reference, so that any magi Player can figure out if his Creo + Ignem is enough to do what he wants, or whatever.

If the Players like the game, they'll buy it. (At $25, that's just a weekend of beer money - and a much longer-lasting investment.)

Once the players have a feel for them, they'll have cribbed notes as to what they can/can't do. Until then, the book, a book, is the only answer source.

Hrmmm, yes, indeed...

First, learn the game yourself. Yeah, too late now, but how often did you have someone ask question and you not be able to answer it? Not a strong selling point.

I'd say, "streamline it" first. Don't worry about Spontaneous, and don't worry about Covenants. Yet. Later.

If you have time, ~I~ would say don't worry about magi - build some "companion" types, non-magic-user Adventurer quality characters, and run a simple adventure scene with them. If they die, it's a learning experience. If they're not right, they can become NPC's. If they like them, they can become Companions - nothing lost, lots to gain.

That way, the players get a feel for the core mechanics, and then can add Magic on to that when they build their 2nd characters, the magi. And while that's happening, they can think about that building. Which will take some time...

(PreGen wizards may be the best call for the first session, so that the Players see what's ~possible~, without having to make mistakes to see what they ~don't~ want to do.)

Once you're ready for CharGen, don't underestimate the time it will take. Lots of distractions for new players, lots of bells and whistles and "what if's" and detours and tangents.

Here's a thread discussing CharGen of Magi for Ars, with different views:

Warn your players, especially the "blow'em up" type, about the diff between being able to learn a spell, and being able to cast it reliably and without fatigue. Especially combat spells. It's an old, old story with Ars, that first time Players take the biggest CrIg (or whatever) they can reach, and then find they can't cast it with any reliability, and when they do the character is soon on the verge of unconsciousness. Smaller*, reliable, non-fatiguing combat spells are better to start with. Big* spells are good for "out of combat", when time (and resting a few minutes between attempts) are not a constraint.

(* "Big" and "small" are relative to the character, natch. After they study, those seemingly huge, unwieldy, unreliable spells will become child's play. If they're willing to wait, that's fine.)

You can also recommend to your players that they read the 4th ed .pdf, especially for the background info & etc. While the Spell Guidelines are not the same (emphasize this!!!), they'll be able to better understand how Mythic Europe and The Hermetic Order are significantly different from your Generic Fantasy World. That, more than anything, defines what a Hermetic Mage can and can't get away with, and can color their choices.

4th Ed download: atlas-games.com/arsmagica/
(Download in the right hand margin, 1st under "Downloads". You have to go to SJG and "buy" it for free, but there's no spam, no scam.)

Waiting to hear how it went!

My comment was essentially that "The blind leading the blind is perhaps not such a good thing and less so if there are triffids floating about."

In my opinion if you don't know the rules of a game as the GM well enough to not be required to look up how everything is accomplished and more importantly to be able to advise the players in how to do things, such as making a character, then there is a high chance for the whole mess collapsing and the players getting a negative view of the game. Ars Magic I think is quite a good game or an excellent game even but my experience is it requires some time investment on the players part. I had at least the luck of joining an existing group and so had lots of help as I fumbled my way through the learning curve.

If it turns out that the game experience for you and the players is a positive one I am going to be frankly over joyed for you. For the love of pete, I hope it turns out to be a positive experience since as I said above Ars Magica is an excellent game.

As a suggestion why not have the players play "companions" in the first session? That will introduce the setting and system, you can wow them with an NPC mage and create serious envy etc without the game screeching to a halt everytime you all try and figure out what the chance of success of casting a spontaneous spell is and what effect it will have.

Chris...Wolfgang...any advice?

Good idea. :unamused:

Playing companuions in the first session detracts somehow on the Ars Magica universe somehow, though.

Having said that, tghis is exactly what I did. Obnly that my players played grogs in their first adventure: I used the "Going Home" adventure that can be found online (search for Ars Magtica adventure going home" in google). 4 grogs returning to the covenant with a supply wagon from the local city played it successfully in an afternoon. It introduced successfully the concept of the supernaturasl to new players, without bothering them with the magic system. We wende dthe session with bandits ambushing the party on a further way home, only to test the combat system.

The adventure was successfully solved, and the location (with a suitably increased aura) served as the base to found a covenant, in fact.

In later adventures it is quite amazing how commonly my players have shown a desire to still have those thorny bushes available....

Cheers,

Xavi

have to agree somwhat about the comments with all companion groupings. To play Ars Magica without a mage would be doing a great injustice to the game; and would certainly not be selling it well to your new players. In many respects the non magical elements of the game are outstripped by other RPGs. It is its magic system that makes Ars Magica truly unique and when combined with its rich background.. a truly awesome game.

Perhaps pre-gen one or two magi and for the rest a few companions.

There are two aspects to what is being suggested - "selling" Ars, and "teaching" Ars. Mintroll had asked specifically about the latter, the former was implied later.

The "Companions first" suggestion was with regard to the teaching - getting players new to the system accustomed to it so that building a mage would not be such a shock and completely blind hurdle.

Since mage building can often take the whole first session anyway (ime), playing "one scene" with companions is a good investment in practical experience with the game for all the players.

The biggest turn off I can imagine innate to Ars is the task of trying to build a mage with absolutely ~no~ idea what your CharGen decisions mean, and then be stuck with the later realization that what you built was not what you expected. Play that a session or two, and then build a new mage. I'd rather "waste" the first session in acclimatization, and get the later ones right.

Imo, Ars sells itself - it has every time I've pitched it to a new group, or at least one who is imaginative. If no imagination, if the "blow'em up ~real~ good" type, then it's a tougher sell. On that premise, I always go straight to the "teaching" phase.

Hello all, I'm back from the trenches.

Well, it started off badly, I managed to bag one player... I was up against stiff competition, including a 1950 Cthulhu, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, the new Dark Heresy 40K RPG, Werewolf and Paranoia. Naturally I wasn't worried, then my two GURPs players from last year turned up and I nabbed them and stole one more from another group (all's fair in... you get the idea).

So, with four players at the table, we sat down and discussed our options. They decided against using pre-made characters... which is fair enough, everyone had roleplayed before and they were willing to just character gen for the evening. So that's what we did. I managed to complete two of their characters, I'll be meeting the other two sometime mid week to finished them off and ten we'll start up next Thursday (the day we play - so expect questions to be posted on Friday).
I've gone for a simple saga beginning I feel, all four will play magi in the first session... they'll be heading out to found their own covenant (I won't bother them with detailed rules on designing a covenant just yet).

It'll let everyone see the magic system for the first week, then in subsequent weeks I'll make challenges that will be one or two magi going off to solve - the rest will be companions and grogs... hopefully this will showcase the other strength of the troupe system.
Current thoughts, find vis sources, meet the local noble and earn his favour and probably the most pressing... get someone to cast ageis of the hearth on their new home.
Luckily, during character gen they've given me some good story flaws to use.

Then, after three sessions I'll hit them with the Lab Rules and let them level up... then repeat the one/two magi (my latin is non-existent, so I'm not sure what the plural should be) with wacky adventure.

So, questions:

  1. can magi work together to cast spells, specifically ritual I suppose? Agies of the Hearth mentions that they have to be present... but can they help?

That's all at the moment.

I'm sorry about my little rant, especially against you PaulM, perhaps a knee jerk over reaction.

Magi IS the plural. Magus or Maga (male and female respectively) are the singular.

Magi can and do work together to cast some spells. "Ritual" does not mean, however, that such spells require more than one magus to cast as a rule.

The Aegis of the Hearth spell is one exception (as might be the Shrouded Glen spell) insofar as its effectiveness is best at quite high levels (given the need for any spells affecting Magic Resistance to penetrate). In this vein, the Aegis and Glen are generally preceded by the casting of a Wizards Communion ritual which divides the subsequent ritual casting total by the number of participants in the ritual so long as the Communion spell is at least twice the level of the subsequent ritual spell (i.e. Aegis or Glen).

The casting of the subsequent ritual itself (again, Aegis or Glen) only requires one caster out of the group even if others know the spell(s).

The downside to group casting via Wizards Communion, however, is that the number of botch dice is increased by 1 for each magus involved in the Communion (both for the communion itself and the subsequent spell cast IIRC.)

Example:

1 of the magi of the covenant knows the Aegis of the Hearth spell at level 20 (generally the starting point for most young magi). All of the magi know the Wizards Communion ritual at level 10.

On their chosen fixed day of the year (often Winter Solstice), they assemble and each casts his/her Wizards Communion spell for a combined total level of 50. This is more than twice the level of the Aegis spell which one of the Magi will subsequently cast, so the magus steps up and uses the gathered magical energies from the successful Communion to cast Aegis as if it were a level 4 spell (20/5). If he doesnt botch the die roll, he subtracts the modified level of the Aegis spell (now cast as level 4) from the actual known level of the spell (20) for a penetration total of 16 + the result of the die used in the casting process. Often the result is a level 20 aegis with 20+ penetration for moderate security against smaller beasts and spirits.

It wont protect against big nasties like mid-level or higher demons or power archmagi but its a start.

Hope that helps.

There is one way to do it. It's a Muto Vim spell called Wizard's Communion (p. 160). Wizard's Communion, just as the Aegis in fact, is one of the few spells that aren't entirely explainable within Hermetic theory of magic (and thus doesn't fit the regular spell rules), but spells that are often either a legacy from earlier magic traditions than the Order of Hermes or invented by one of the Founders of the Order.

By the way, to make things easier, especially in the beginning when Storyguiding Ars, I suggest that you either get hold of or make 3 or 4 prints with the most important part of the rules. That saves you a lot time during game, especially as a storyguide often will have to do the spell calculations when starting out, and you might even be able to let the book circulate among the players as long as you don't need it - besides getting to know the game better it might even inspire some of them to buy it themselves if they fancy it.

There is no "GM screen" for 5th edition Ars Magica, but whether you want to use a screen or not, the stuff that would usually go on such a screen are nice to have at hand. I suggest the following information:

Standard Ranges, Durations, and Targets (for calculating spontaneous magic)
Words and Gesture (modifiers to Casting Totals)
A targets and size summary
Concentration Table
Realm Auras (for possible Realm interaction when casting magic in an Aura)

Combat score summary
Combat Sequence
Scuffle Effects
Sample Advantages
Armour Table
Melee Weapons Table
Missile Weapon Table

Damage Table
Wound Table
Fatigue Recovery Table
Wound Recovery Table

You can also make a separate sheet on long term mechanics (though that shouldn't be too important right now):
Experience and Advancement
Aging
Warping
Lab work

I know this seems a handfull, but it really makes your job much easier. I've gradually moved away from using a screen - I think it distances myself too much from the players (and since we do most our Ars in evenings at candlelight they really cant read my notes very well after all hehe). Back when I used the screen more often I had a thing about decorating the players side of it (the logo/title of the saga, a title and thematic picture for the ongoing story, and a picture of hand gestures for the magic - from an earlier edition) and I somewhat miss that part of having a screen rather than the inside of it!

Here's the thing - I do have some of the things mentioned above put in a word document already, but come to think of it, I think I'll update it soon with the things not included yet - and you are very welcome to have a copy (of the preliminary version or the coming fuller version).

Finally it is a really good idea to have a summary of the spell guidelines with all the various Technique and Form combinations. You can have one for yourself for quick spontaneous spell moderation and toss one or two of them to the players. I have made one of those - a short one only with the guidelines and a longer one including the text bits - and I'll gladly distribute it. However, it is not complete as it only carries the guidelines from the core rules - which actually is perfect when starting out - but I do believe that Yair has made one with all the guidelines from the supplements (which reminds me that I should remember to ask him for one!).

First and foremost - good luck with the project and enjoy! And as others have mentioned the major part of Ars Magica is the stories and the fabulous setting. Ars Magica is a somewhat a rules-heavy game (at least it's got a high tresshold untill you get used to it), but at the same time it seems, to me, to attract players who emphasises the story.

Glad it's up and running!

Altho' it looks like a lot of blather up above, there are also a variety of good suggestions as well (and some speculation as to the obstacles you'd encounter.)

It might be worth a skim, if you have the time.

Good plan. For color, you could simply tell them that some "larger, established covenants" (maybe where they had done their apprenticeships?) were helping to sponsor the effort, providing the access to the location/buildings, lab equipment, library material and manpower - in return, they expect one or more of 1) political support in votes, 2) to be paid back in vis at some future time, and/or 3) general favours and misc aid. This can be formalized in the Covenant Charter, or just an informal understanding. (And it's usually a Bad Plan for new magi to try to screw with larger, established covenants.) :wink:

That will give some expanded flavour that you can use, or not, and avoid awkward re-definitions later if/when the campaign continues.

And while not detailing the Covenant right now is wise, remember that in a full Saga/Campaign, the Covenant is ~the~ central character. Magi may come, magi will go, but the Covenant will survive as the constant in the story.

As was recommended above as well. Fortunately, in the back of the book (Apdx II), there are a couple of pages with much of this. A couple quick xeroxes, some highlighter pens, all good.

The strength will become apparent when you have one storyline going at the covenant site, and another somewhere else. You can swap between the two storylines, and still keep ~everyone~ at the table involved at all times, just by switching between their alternate characters, or at worst by running a grog.

Be clear on several things re Companions, that may get lost if Players have preconceptions from certain-other-games-whose-names-will-not-be-uttered-here - 1) They are not "henchmen" to the Players' mage. They should be individuals, independently arrived at the Covenant for their own reasons. 2) ~AS~ such, they are Companions to the Covenant, not to the Magi. They can be paired with the magi, long or short term, but don't have to be. There is no rule that says they have to "buddy up" - that can work, but so do more flexible, less formal arrangements. 3) They are not ~necessarily~ totally subordinate to the magi - that can work, but so do other, more creative relations. That is up to the Storyguide, and the Troupe., but remembering that the Magi are why everyone is here. 4) If a Player wants the best chance to get "a character" into a story, they should build their Companion for a different role than their mage. If the mage is combative, the companion should be social. If the Mage is the studious type, the companion should be outdoorsy. Thus, no matter the story, one or the other is ~more~ likely to fit, and fit better. A lab rat mage and a librarian-scholar companion will both be fish out of water in certain adventures, etc.

A season or two should be ample. New covenants typically have a LOT of plotlines that need to be addressed "right now", so Seasons of study often wait until a first week of problem-solving gets RP'd.

And that's another challenge to a StoryGuide - finding adventures that are not epic 6 month-of-game-play death marches. Short and sweet, OR things that can be returned to over Seasons.

Addressed amply above.

Note that the only reason they have to be there is so they don't need the "tokens". If they are not present, they could still be given a token later, so their magic is not crippled by the Aegis, but they'd need to have that with them at all times when in the Aegis - a pain IC. (Tokens are created at the time of casting - they should determine the number created then, and what form they take - ring, stick, belt, necklace, dolmen, whatever.)

Note also that not everyone present need be involved in the Communion aspect of the casting to receive the benefits of being present for the Aegis. Even 1 additional mage w/ Communion would make the casting easier.

Also, I'll toss this out - it's a rule from a supplement (Covenants book, recommended), and very handy. A mage can't cast a spell from a lab text - what would typically make up a library to help a mage learn new spells faster than inventing them. But they can cast a spell from a casting tablet. ~IF~ none of your magi are excited about learning Aegis of the Hearth as an apprentice (don't blame them!), or can't learn it high enough, have the "sponsoring Covenants" include a casting cablet of Aegis of the Hearth in the mix. Don't worry how it works (it works just fine!), just let them cast from that - for now, problem solved, with no one PC bearing that unequal burden. (Oh, and it's permanant, doesn't "crumple to dust" or anything. Even does double duty as a lab text, iirc.)

There are more suggestions - like being cautious about what "Story Flaws" you let in for such a short effort - but don't worry about that right now. Get the game moving, have fun, accept that you'll make mistakes, and don't worry about it.

And let us know how it's going! Enjoy!

I'd appreciate hearing about typos on this sheet - it is, after all, supposed to be a "trainer" sheet, particularly for people with a d20 background.

However, there's no typo here - although perhaps it's not as clear as I intended. The box on the upper right of the Base Casting Totals section is marked STA to indicate that Stamina in the base modifier for all of these totals.

Regards,
Patrick

Aaaahhhh... me stupid.

I was also wondering in the Grimore section, for each spell there is a 'misc' and 'bonus' box.

I couldn't think of what to put in them... I know things like Major Magical Focus allow you to add the lower of... blah blah (can't be bothered to write it out). I'd put that as a bonus....?

I like your character sheet... and I thank you for putting in the effort to make it. I'm personally not using for my current lot because I happen to find it after I'd already printed off copies of the official (amended) sheet.

Ohh, I must read the spell section again as well, I must have completely skim read the section on Vim Spells.

No worries, I generally don't get worked up about email/forum postings since I feel that without body language (and smilies don't cut it) you can easily end up misunderstanding what someone meant. Or put another way my firm belief is that if WW3 ever starts it will be due to an email message.

Glad things are working out for you and your players.

What's that?!? Are you calling me names?!? :imp: :laughing:

Nukes PaulM :smiling_imp:

A really simple question that came up on Thursday.

How do people detect auras?

I know it mentions that they look/feel different (colours in magical auras seem brighter).
Basically though, do magi automatically know they're in an aura... and if so, do they automatically know which type it is?

The Magic Sensitivity Ability (which can be used untrained), states to detect an aura is Per + Sensitivity Vs 12 - Aura Level.

I suppose the simple issue is that, once magi start casting spells I have to tell them the aura modifier... so even if everyone of them failed the above check, a simple casting will indicate there is an aura.

The only other thing I realised I'd forgotten (meaning there is probably more), is that the Parma Magic Ritual must be done each day... important to ask each player what they're casting at sun up.

We had our first brush with spontaneous casting... and yes, it was a bit of a struggle. I really had no idea, so let a few of the things just slid, hopefully it'll get better. I'm going to throw the first combat at them next week... so I'll be brushing up on those rules over the weekend.

We averaged about an hour an a half per character to make in the the end. Which was about as long as I expected... having to teach the rules while making characters otherwise the players can't make informed decisions. Thankfully the last few details were sorted out before our session on Thursday, so we got right down to beginning the saga.

All in all, the start went very well. The Saga has begun, and though I was initially going to set it in Nottinghamshire (footnote: we're the University of Nottingham roleplay society) in the end I decided on the South West of England - starting at Bristol, but 'gently steering' the players to make their way to Exeter.
The three young an impetuous magi have decided to set off on an adventure with vague ideas they might like to strike out on their own, which next week will be helped when I hand them an old abandoned covenant... hopefully they'll ask a few questions - like why it is abandoned, though knowing players I'm not holding out much hope. Though I plan to stick a ghost of one of the old magi in the building.

I might write a little running report of our game, though I'm not sure how much interest it is to people? Perhaps not now though, somehow it's 1am.