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Games Discussion Ars Magica
21

Well, my campaign just recently started up, but since two of the four players actually left in frustration for Mormulus' Veil, it seems that it will be put on hold. I guess some players don't appriciate encounters that can't be resoved by hacking at it with a sword :laughing:

Anyway, the campaign is set in Rhine Tribunal, and the covenant is set up between the covenants Durenmar and Dankmar, as a kind of neutral house where all magi from every covenant can come to deal and make arrangements. It's location is based on the ruins of an old Roman manor (lots of story revolves around who lived there in Roman times, in the middle of the forest) where the Kinzig River begins.

I'm the Storyguide, and I also play Lupanon, a Bjornaer (guess what heartbeast :wink: ) as a regular NPC. He's currently preparing for an Initiation now, which requires him to spend one year living as his heartbeast. In addition, we have an mysterious and odd Criamon and a very happy and carefree Tremere Dhampir who believes himself to be immortal.
Don't know if the campaign will continue, since I can't seem to find enough good Ars Magica-players in Oslo... :angry:

Eirik

22

Rpol.net is back so I feel like listing the saga that I have recently been promoted to help GM.

Title: Life on the Siljan (Ars Magica 4th ed only)
Location: Medieval Fantasy

Type: Spring Covenant using 4th ed rules ( 4th ed was chosen as there was universal access for online players to one common set of rules ).

Status: Currently recovering from the shock of the Rpol.net server being moved but it seems at least 4 of the original magi have managed to return.

Setting: Novgorod Tribunal in Sweeden on the shores of Lake Siljan.

Premise: Older Winter Covenant in Sweeden called the Silver Sky Covenant has provided the opportunity for the new spring covenant by furnishing it with a very large library. There is also a variety of items that will be transferred and a couple of older magi that oversee the brand new spring covenant. This is all done in exchange for a great vis debt to the Winter Covenant and a concession to help protect the newly established silver trade in the mountains from bandits that have been bothering the nobility.

Magi are fairly free to choose their own destiny within a framework of some harmony towards each other.

The story starts in the year 1220 and players have been settling on a charter while the background was finished.

I hope to get the first seasons of the story running in the next week.

23

This weekend I'll likely be setting up a saga at Rpol now that it's back. It's not a typical campaign. Based on the Nurakrah Saga mentioned earlier, this PbP is developed to detail the gauntlet of one apprentice. If this gauntlet adventure is successful, then I may open up the game to others and the PbP will will become an exploration of the Levant and Mythic "Araby" and possibly Africa.

Working Title: Ars Magica: 1001 Tales?

Type: No covenant. A quest I suppose.

Status: Tentative. One player/One "GM"?

Setting: Africa, Egypt, India?

Premise: The gauntlet of a Tytalus apprentice. Specifically a gauntlet of 'epic' proportions. LOL

24

Where is it based?

We're set in Cumbria, England, not far from Hadrian's Wall, but Stonehenge Tribunal. We began play in spring 1153 and it's currently summer 1163. We occupy an old roman fort in the middle of the forest west of Lake Windemere. Ungulus, from Heirs of Merlin, hates us for setting up shop in their backyard. Horsingus, from Lion of the North, isn't thrilled with us for refusing to help take pot shots at Norman nobles. Cad Gadu is a fading winter Covenant that doesn't mind throwing us under the bus. Blackthorn thinks we're meddlesome spring covenant fools. It made for a good time at the Tribunal we played out.

How many magi?

We've had twelve over the full course of things, but never more in-house than the nine we currently. Two magi have departed, one died abroad in Tangiers. One of the Tremere is a "stowaway," as he's a vampire hiding out in the other Tremere's sanctum. The Tytalus knows about the vampire, but hasn't mentioned it to the rest of the magi yet.

What Houses?

1 Bjornaer
2 Bonisagus
1 Criamon
1 Ex Misc
2 Flambeau
1 Merinita
1 Mercere (Ungifted Red Cap)
1 Tytalus
2 Tremere

The 'State of the Order'

As a result of our naive, blatantly foolish, Bonisagus magus' insistence at Tribunal that all vis sites be catalogued, we somehow stumbled into a situation where senior covenants and junior covenants were pressed into a vassal-liege relationship, similiar to the Rhine Tribunal. There are about five senior covenants, and 10-12 vassals. Vassals are required to essentially go through a 'covenant apprenticeship' under the supervision of a liege covenant before being granted independent status by the vote of the liege covenants. This is considered a temporary arrangement, being tested on a probational basis until the next Stonehenge tribunal. A group of magi from the vassal covenants have entered into an "openly secret" society of Defiants. The Defiants are trying to find ways of keeping the liege covenants from tribunal, so that the matter can be abolished without interference from the larger, more abusive liege covenants. The liege covenants like the extra manpower and resources that the vassals provide, so keeping them away will be a challenge. We don't think it'll be possible to avoid a quorum, since Blackthorn, Cad Gadu, and Ungulus are certain to do everything they can to arrive and maintain the situation, and that means only one other covenant has to stick around. We figure the three will manage a sufficient bribe to some spring covenant, and we'll be stuck with this ridiculous second apprenticeship.

We've also run threads dealing with the Unseelie fae in the forest and swamp nearby, the Anarchy in Henry I's early reign, a long trip into the Mediteranean by the Merinita, Tremere, and Tytalus, a drake hunt on the border by the Ex Misc and Bjornaer, goetic sorcerers in York and Northumbria, demons on Man, and a lot about remnant Roman Legion secret societies and Ascension. Most recently, the liege covenant sent the Tytalus to talk to Brude Deathless to learn what he knows about Arthur. It's been a busy three years of table time.

-Ben.

25

Where?
Rhine Tribunal, Lower Lorraine, just north of Toule. Right between the french and the germans. Established on the ruins of a former covenant (that was destroyed after one of the magi where caught having an affair with the wife of the local Graf).

Magi: 6 Total, 1 of which is dead. We have a Jerbiton master who is founding the covenant (and was the primary cause of it's establishment), a greek Bjornar (owl heartbeast, and a lustful demeanor), a Bonisagus with a Dragon hatchling as a familiar, a Flambau obsessed with fire (and twilight), and lastly a Tremere (new fellow).

Status of the order: We seem to have been forgotten by the order at large, only a single visit by a redcap, and a single visit by a Questoris.

26

Distributed over several covenants
1 covenant in Novograd tribunal near the town of Pskov
1 Covenant in the City of Constantinople
1 Covenant on the Island of Crete
1 Covenant in Greenland
1 Covenant in Iceland with Chapter houses in Russia, The Netherlands, Snowdonia and an undetermined underwater location

PC Mages
2 Flambeau(1 Ignem specialist , one Familiar bonding specialist)
2 Verditius
1 Ex Misc (Theurgist)
2 Jerbiton (1 Theurgist and Socialite, 1 Schemer)
1 Bjornear (Bear)
2 Bonisagius(1 Generalist, 1 Intellego specialist)

The game is a PBEM, the Order is in a bit of turmoil with war breaking out between several covenants in Rome and the Quasitors somewhat discredited by Magvillus failure to intervene. The 4th Crusade was recently wiped out by a convenient tidal wave

27

Heh. I'd been thinking of starting a saga with some changed history. 4th Crusade lost at see, maybe William the Bastard as well.

28

I'm alpha storyguide for two sagas. The first a long running AM3 game set in the Forest of Dean in England called "Severn Temple Covenant"

However, I've recently set up a new AM5 game "Vida's Tear Covenant"

Where is it based?
Vida's Tear is based in Eastern Bulgaria, about 50 miles (as the crow flies) from the town of Varna on the Black Sea. The covenant is fairly isolated, surrounded by dark forests with the Balkan mountains stretching off to the West. Vida's Tear is a lake up in the foothills of the mountains (legend has it that Vida, a powerful samodiva, a female nymph, of the Pirin mountains, accidentally shot and killed the beautiful male singer, Ivë. When she saw what she had done, she cried a single tear, which formed an enchanted lake).

How many magi?
Player characters
Maga Mestitia, filia Pallus discipula Merinita
Magus Laertes, filius Norina, discipulus Tremere
Magus Lucca, filius Antonia, discipulus Verditus
Magus Gelidus, filius Gasparus, discipulus Flambeau
Magus Loquellamedes, filius Izekuus, discipilus Criamon

2 NPC elder magi
Maga Ioanna, filia Terrentius, discipula Tytalus
Magus Hristo, filius Gynae, discipulus Bjornaer

The 'State of the Order'
Vida's Tear lies in an area which borders on three potential Tribunals; Thebes, Transylvannia and Novgorod. At the moment the covenant is nominally in Novgorod, but the Tremere of Transylvannia are keen for it to eventually join their Tribunal (they wish a stronghold to the East to keep back the barbarian pagans).

The wider Order is tied up with it's political intrigues and the growing power of the Guernicans through the increasingly restrictive peripheral code. Some magi yearn for a simpler time, where the Oath alone was the only restriction to their freedom. Vida's Tear is remote both geographically and politically, and has attracted individualistic, 'survivalist' magi seeking to build their lives free from the restrictions found in so many other parts of the Order.

However, with the uprising of the Bulgarians against the Byzantine Empire, and the rumours from the East concerning Ghengis Khan, Bulgaria may yet become an important asset to the Order. Can the magi retain their perceived freedoms as the Order slowly focusses its attention towards this Eastern province of Christendom?

29

Finally got my campaign onto a good start, so I thought I might put in another reply on this.

The characters are currently working directly for Durenmar in the Rhine Tribunal to investigate Calabeis, which in my campaign is located near Baden, just inside the Black Forest.
Eventually, the group will establish their own covenant in the Rhine Tribunal, but some of the more ambitious of the Magi wants to settle into the upper levels of Calabeis itself.
The Magi are:
-A strange, little dwarf-like magus from House Verditius, who has managed to befriend the fire drake Igack in Calabeis. This magus dreams of someday having his lab inside an active vulcano.
-A mysterious and wierd magus from House Criamon.
-A half-Satyr from House Merinita who tried to parlay with the Hrools of Calabeis, got a well placed thrown javelin in return. They confused him with a real Satyr.
-A rather confused magus from House Jerbiton.
-And my own character, who comes and goes, because I'm the main storyguide. Lutranaxx, from House Bjornaer, with an otter heartbeast.

The campaign began in 1220 AD, and I'm giving the group the first year to decide on where and how to settle, as they must arrange for sponsors for their new covenant before the Tribunal Meeting in 1221.

E.

30

[size=150]Saga: Sic Parvis Magna[/size]

Covenant: Ianitoris Oporotheca (Gatekeepers to the Pantry (of knowledge - figuratively the fruits of knowledge))

Tribunal: Stonehenge

Location: in the Barony of Oswestry on the "border" to Wales

Setting: an unfinished castle with ajoining lands (inspired by Triamore)

Present Time: 1226 AD

Magi:
Volvulus scholae Flambonis
Galeaestus scholae Flambonis
Sarcorion scholae Jerbitonis
Virverus doctrinae Bjornaeris
Gwion Ex Miscellanea

Discipuli:
Klaudia
Megan

Non-player Magi:
Daria scholae Tremendi
Ulisterius scholae Jerbitonis
Latravius doctrinae Bjornaeris
Furion Transsanus scholae Flambonis
Cardrew Ex Miscellanea
Agnitia Scholae Bonisagi
Forba Scholae Bonisagi (deceased)

State of the Order:
We've been playing intensely for 2 years - in the campaing almost 15 years have passed. I had the players make their characters as inexperienced or newly arrived apprentices, and it cannot be exagerated how wonderfully thrilling it's been to gradually introduce them to Ars as apprentices in more than one sense. And what exiting sessions we've played (apprentices making their way in the world) - try it!

Our saga labelled Sic Parvis Magna ("great things have small beginnings" - more or less) started with one of the fresh apprentices provoking an exeedingly furious flambeau magus into a fit of rage - aggravated by a stubborn hickup the magus almost burned down the covenants prestigious library. Thus the apprentices where send into the neighbouring woods to find mente to soothe the hickups. Since then many of our stories have been spin offs of spin offs from our first session (though following a steady planned course...).

Now the former apprentices have been Gauntleted and are finally making their place in the Order. One of them even had to take one an apprentice of his own - rather early in his own carrier - but also as a way to introduce new (latecomer) players to the roles as magi.

At present the magi are exploring the ruins of a fameous old British covenant destroyed in the early skirmishes of the Schism War. This covenant - Lumen (based losely on Calebais) - apparently played an important role in the outbreak of the Schism War, yet what rests here might force the magi to reconsider what they've heard of the War... Soon the question will remain: how will the Order react to the evidence (or rather lack of evidence of the place being ambushed and destroyed by the Diedne (those who've read/played Calebais will know the true story), which in our saga became the official final reason for the Order to renounce the Diedne) and if the magi decide to go public with their knowledge, how will the Order react and will they encounter hostile opposition...?

(Homepage coming soon)