To be completely honest, although I appreciate the suggestions for new adventures/sagas catering to beginners, I will say what I would have killed for two years ago, when I was starting as a storyteller in this game: A clear and comprehensive manual on how to run and design your Ars Magica saga. There were a myriad of questions I didn't know the answer for, and if it wasn't for the amazingly dedicated community this game has (and my stubborness and love for Ars Magica), I would have stopped entirely.
Simply put: running this game as a beginner storyteller is a complete nightmare. I would clarify and put simple and reproductible methods and frameworks so that anyone can convince their players to try this game out and continue playing it without losing all your hair due to stress. I would answer questions like:
- How do I choose in which Tribunal to play on?
- How do I help my players create their characters?
- How to I pitch troupe-style play?
- How do I create a Covenant? (this is mostly answered in Covenants, but then again it's a supplement, even if it's one of the most accesible ones)
- How do I structure a Saga, from Session 1 to 100?
- How do I design a Hook or plant a Story Seed in my Saga?
- How do I even prepare the physical space where the Covenant will be located so that I'm comfortable running it?
- How do I prepare a Tribunal where I want to play? (this is answered by reading the supplement book for places like the Rhin or Iberia, but if you want to play in the Rome Tribunal in 5thEd, you're screwed)
- How do I manage all the factions that will act in my saga?
- How do I structure a session?
- How do I design a demon? A faerie? A dragon? (the latter is answered in RoP:M, the other two not so much)
- And the list goes on...
Yes, this list is long, but please don't tell me the answer to these questions is 'Just take a look at what's published and wing it' because I don't think it's a serious answer. If I am a newbie storyteller, I think it's reasonable to want to know how I can make this game mine, not take what others wrote and just run it without thinking. As fun as running Calebais might be, it will never feel as authentic as creating something from the ground up with my troupe... and it's really, really, really hard to do it with what's published. I sincerely think that's one of the big failings of the Ars Magica line.
As far as I know, Justin Alexander is RPG Designer at Atlas. His recent book has been a success, and while I've not read the totality of it, I believe that many of the tools, lessons and frameworks presented in it would benefit Ars Magica greatly. It would benefit storytellers new and old, and in turn would make the experience of running this game a whole lot more pleasant, thus creating community. People would make more audiovisual content for this game (which is lacking due to the steep learning curve of many concepts) and the incoming open license would only help further.
Just my two cents on this topic. Sorry if I come off as angry, this is just a topic I think about weekly, and this thread hits pretty close to home.