I am interested in changing the time setting for an upcoming campaign. I would like to move the game to colonial america. My first question is an open request for the primary issues that you think this would introduce.
My second question is more specific. I would like there to have been a catastrophe in the order. Some divine power that the church obtained or discovered which allowed them to instigate an inquisition to rid the world of the evils of the hermetic order. Does anyone have any ideas for a mechanic that would enable the church to accomplish this?
There are two games on the market specifically designed with that in mind (well, not Ars in Colonial America, but magic/supernatural stuff in that era). One is by Atlas Games... Northern Crown. The other is Witchhunter: The Invisible World.
I imagine that either or both would address most of your "what about the setting" concerns.
Regarding the Order getting slapped around... well, the Church can already do that with holy magic stuff, especially if you decide that God is okay with it so that Saints and maybe even angels are involved.
I've messed about with the time setting a lot for ARM5 and find that the 12th Century is very much inbuilt into the system and therefore the best time.
However I do think that if you're doing a colonial America, then the Puritanical Purges of England which led many pilgrims fleeing to the US to escape from the tyranny of the state looking for freedom from religion could be a very big part of the the story arc.
There are so many spirits and tales form native American Lore that the story and monster of the week quota is full.
I would personally state that the Order (Or renegades from the order) could be trying to establish freedom in the new world away from the prying eyes of the crown and the church of England. This period is quite a volotile period of European History (1600-175) although there has rarely been a period of European History which has NOT been volotile. There is an emergence form the years of Renewal (1450-1600) and the renaissance is a dying ember. The magi could be escaping with the Pilgrim Fathers and their ilk from war, industrialism, new mercantile rule and general upheaval. There would also be an encroachment into the wild places by the Puritans and the Dominion. A new untamed land full fo wonderful tales and vast wilderness full of new ideas, adventures and great wealths both mythical and mundane.
It's not a bad setting actually..... I'll see if I can dig out my rules for flintlocks in Ars this evening.
I'm working on a new world campaign (mid-late 16th century..North America).
We can discuss it off line if you want to compare notes. My setting was going to be basic but the changes in the order and the politics in the order where going to be the saga story. But I'm also thinking of picking one Ancient Mystery to become a normal hermatic discovery.
Some things to think about. How much does Copernicus's discoveries have an effect on how Hermatic magic functions?
I love the replies. I am brimming with ideas but only just starting to get things moving in terms of real research for the setting. I have yet to read Ancient magic and I am hopeful that it will give me some good ideas.
Andrew nailed it on the head with the idea. The order is in dire conflict with the church and it is losing. My group is fleeing Europe with the hope of keeping some shred of the hermetic order alive. Of course when they get to the new world they encounter the native americans and the shamanistic magic of the new world. All the while still being hunted by the religious inquisitors that are attempting to eradicate them. I think there would be ample story lines. I have a lot of reading to do in the mean time. I will try and post back as I develop further.
They are. Even though his adventures take place mainly in Africa, it still hav that theme of Protestantism & Mystacism. I once wrote a SK pastiche in college where he was in the New World. He was on the trail of a Witch Hunder, and in a classic Howardesque twist, the Witch Hunter was a Satanist preying upon innocent women ecause of his deranged upbringing.
Anyways, normal Soloman Kane stories; wrong setting but the right era, and chock full of inspiration for your proposed experiment
I've thought about this idea off and on since I first started playing Ars a few years ago. My basic idea is that House Diedne was framed, and fled west. They found North America, and interbred with the locals. Hundreds of years laters, settlers have a run in with Croatan Covenant.
