[center]General Saga Questions[/center]
What is the starting year for this game?
1220.
But if characters can be any age after Gauntlet, or beyond 25 for non-magi...
This means that every character was born in at least 1195.
What materials are allowed?
The ArM5 core rules, The Lion and the Lily, Societates, Mystery Cults, True Lineages, and Covenants (but only for the purposes of Refining and Instilling Virtues in a Laboratory).
What about Sub Rosa?
To limit the amount of exposure, as well as to not confuse things that are in books not explicitly named above, Sub Rosa is not allowed.
This game is in the Normandy Tribunal. What language(s) should our characters speak?
The language barrier is one of the most difficult and frustrating things in any game. Characters need to be able to speak to one another, and if they can't, then why are they even together?
Magi all must have Latin as it's required for these characters, so we don't have to worry about them speaking to one another. But as the game is situated in the Normandy Tribunal, and we must be able to communicate with all companions and grogs. Therefore, every character, regardless of "class" (Magi, Companion, Grog) must have either Normand French or French. There are enough similarities between these 2 languages that concepts and ideas can be gotten across, even if the subtle nuances cannot.
There's this really cool thing in a previous edition I'd like to use. Is that allowable?
No. Please try to find an equivalent in the current edition. If there is no equivalent in the current edition, you'll have to spend some of your time researching/inventing whatever it is you are looking for.
What kind of game is this going to be?
In a general sense, this will be about the PCs navigating their way through mythic Europe, taking on challenges presented to them from a variety of things. There will be role-play, exploration, research, politicking, and, of course, combat. I will state that the combat aspect of this game will probably not be as much as other fantasy games (such as D&D, for example), as this system lends itself far better to social and exploration activities. But combat will be a thing, and I'm hoping it will be well worth the wait in-between combat periods.
Ars Magica is troupe style, so who else is going to be running stories?
At the time of this writing, the only person who will be running the game is yours truly, Ghost. There are currently no plans to have others jump in and tell stories, but that may change throughout the course of running the game.
How long do you plan on running this game?
I am planning on it being a long-term game. That said, the game will run for as long as it runs.
What is the expected post rate?
I want to take this a bit slower than most other games, primarily because there is so much that can happen in this system. Characters will wander in and out, NPCs will do the same; the landscape of the area changes constantly, and I want players to be able to fully immerse and appreciate what is going on. Therefore, I will not expect a post rate greater than once or twice per week. If players post faster than that, I will respond faster than that. But I'd like to keep it to no less than 1-2 times per week please.
How are characters going to rotate in/out of the current story?
It should be stated that magi are the primary focus of this campaign, and as such, they will take center stage whenever possible. And unless a particular magus/maga is performing an activity that takes an entire season, they will be the primary character being run by a given player. Companions will be played when a player's magus/maga is involved in an activity that takes an entire season, while grogs will be played in the event both a magus/maga and a companion are not available.
With that said, players may bring their companions and grogs into any scene at any time, provided they do not forget that their magus is the primary focus. In fact, some players may find that they are able to play 2 or more of their characters at one time, and I will not object to that so long as the magus does not take a back seat to the companion or grog.
Will multiple stories be run at a single time?
At the time of this writing, I cannot answer that. While I have an opening story arc in mind, there is nothing to say that branching storylines won't be run concurrent to one another. So it's possible that this may happen.