Hi,
I suppose different opinions reign over which bovines are holy in AM.
I came across AM in the late 80s, in time for the second edition but missing the first edition (which I have never seen). For me, the essence of the game was "Play a Name Level wizard in real Europe with real European fantasy, social, economic and religious tropes." Thus, we have magi who can readily cast 3rd to 6th level magic user spells in their specialty (fireball, teleport, domination and so on) but have a much harder time healing (that's for clerics!) or casting wishes (out of scope for a human wizard, and the AM2 game mechanics did a great job of keeping level 70+ spells out of scope (longevity potions were much less effective and Art scores above 30 effectively impossible even if a character made it past 120yo), but great for stories involving genies, angels and demons). That Name Level magic user gets a tower -- remember those charts in the DMG? /2 -- and lo, we get Mistridge, and hints about how Our Wizards in Our Tower might have to deal with Those Other Name Level Wizards in Their Tower (grr, Windgraven), or that 9th level Fighter in his keep (er, that knight or baron) or the cler- Church. And sure, magic users are the best, but in Real Fantasy Europe they don't just steamroll over those lesser characters, and the game provides good reasons why, indifferently enforced by game mechanics that serve better as roleplaying reminders (the Gift, the Dominion, limited benefits to Real Power from mundane interactions, that pesky Code...)
All of this was wrapped up in a SOTA (for the late 80s) game system, with an innovative freeform magic system.
The combat rules made spellcasting slow (fast casts only mattered for defense against magic), so grogs were more important. Most mind-effecting spells needed a range of Eye so you could 'see' the mind through the windows of the target; seeing a target's body didn't really make sense. Spellcasting guidelines were present to support handwaving. Faeries were like pornography -- if it feels like a faerie, it's a faerie.
Over the years, we have come to expect different things from our game rules, and our idea of what makes "real fantasy Europe" has changed.
So this post is not a hymn to AM2; I reread that book some months ago and was struck by all that was missing or not thought through. I think they got a lot right but I wouldn't want to go back.
On the other hand, I think the essence of "Play a Name Level Wizard with Cool Magic Powers in a vaguely historical Europe of Myth and Legend" is what makes the game.
Nerf the wizards, and you get Chivalry and Sorcery (which also makes a stab at Real Fantasy Europe). Ditch Europe too and get Harn or Warhammer FRP (both of which provide almost-Europes, kind of) or even Ironclaw. Only ditch Europe and get D&D, or Anima, or Palladium FRP, or Rolemaster, or....
Ken's Holy Bovines
- It's Europe
- The game enforces tropes that feel appropriate for a fantasy version of real Europe
- You're a wizard, Harry
- You're part of a society of wizards
- Your relationships with non-wizards face challenges
- Wizards are uber
- Wizards are held in check mostly by social constraints and having better things to do
- You are all too human
By the way, I like having Houses, and I like the number. Sure, I really like the idea of having separate lineages, but a bunch of Houses with good one-liners makes character creation easy. A dozen Houses that maybe are thirteen feels just right for medieval Europe: 12 tribes that are sort of 13, 12 apostles that are sort of 13, etc. An escape hatch House for players who really want to go their own way is essential. AM5 does a great job by giving every House a virtue.
Adding another overlay couldn't hurt: Maybe Harmonist, Wilderist, Quaesitor are similar to Hoplite. Come up with 7 outlooks, give each mandatory virtues and maybe flaws, and great. Not a sacred cow though.
d10? Great for continuity but hardly essential. These exact 15 Arts? The same. Botch prevalence?
Anyway,
Ken