Metacreator for Ars Magica: Future Supplements Poll

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Check this:

games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cw/ ... id=2890033

A poll for the next Metacreator offerings for Ars Magica.

Sign up for the MC group, and show what you want, and perhaps if you want ALL of them, what order of preference you'd like in a reply post.

Salve,

Vrylakos

2

I'm just off to vote, but my order of preference would be:

Societates
ROP: Infernal
ROP: Faerie
ROP: Magic
Hedge Magic
Ancient Magic

As much as I like the HM and AM books, it would be great to finally round out the Houses first and then give us the tools to make all the gribblies that we want to send against our troupes. HM is a good Mythic Companion book so I'd push that above AM (even though I'm currently using AM in a saga and would appreciate some MC help with that).

3

If all the houses and all the realms were available then I'd buy the whole thing but until then I'm going to stick with my Excel character sheet.

4

You might want to post that info for them to mull over.

5

The irony being that if everyone did that nothing would get made.

6

Mark I agree but the converse is to question why one should operate two separate methods of recording characters because the more automated is only half there. I suppose if all 12 houses were covered then it would be worth getting it.

I recently created an 80 year old Hermetic who had been corrupted and gained some infernal powers. Writing a back story and determining the attributes (even assuming "generous" infernal tutorials) took a long time. If a software product supported that sort of level of detail it would be well worth it, and would facilitate sharing characters between sagas (though house rules might complicate things still).

7

I like metacreator, but it really needs to have Scocietas to round it out. Then maybe either ROP: Faerie, HEdge Magic, and then ROP:Infernal. But if you are doing ROP: Infernal you may as well do ROP: Divine, the methods are similar as is the integration with hermetic magic.

8

I guess my natural urge to support Ars Magica overcomes any reservations I have about the software's current capabilities. If I had my way, I'd like to see MC updated in line with each supplement in line with its release date, say within a quarter of its release. That hasn't happened and it won't ever happen so I'll support what is out there. It's a great tool and the only things I've found myself having to make exceptions for are some faerie virtues my character picked up while in the Faerie Realm.

The current release of the software still allows me to generate and record all manner of magi, grogs, and gribblies, even those given more support in later supplements.

If you have a system that works for you then there's no obligation to buy another bit of software to clog up your hard drive, but I certainly get a lot of utility from it and I feel as though I'm supporting Alter-Ego and Ars Magica at the same time.

9

I also like supporting Ars Magica, but I still prefer the old fashioned way of making my own character sheet. I just use MS Word. I can customize it any way I want, and there is no need to wait for any updates. I have no need or desire for the automated math of Excell. I used to use pen and paper, so Word is a significant upgrade for me :slight_smile:

Having said that, Metecreator looks neat and I wouldn't mind trying it. But I don't want to spend money on it. My computer comes equipped with Word, so there is no additional expense. Granted, I am a cheep b@$+@rd. But the next time I get money that I can spend on Ars Magica, I plan on getting a copy of Hegde Magic. Maybe magi of Hermes too, as I met two of the authors who worked on that book and they seem like pretty decent fellows :wink:

10

I voted for RoP:Magic, because there is so much in that book that would be awesome in Metacreator. In particular, I'd love to use it to create magic beings, and more importantly maintain magic beings over time.

11

Did you try google docs? They have a word-like part which contain all the basic features AND you can use it from any computer with an internet connection, without bothering with flash drives or mails (and you can export/import your google documents to MS Word too).

I especially use their Excel clone to manage my campaign, having a line per season, or per NPC. I find it much handier than having to rely on a software which is only installed on my home computer.

12

Speaking of Metacreator, Bruce is looking for more info on Accelerated Abilities and Difficult Arts so they can make it into the product. I pointed him to page 104 of Societates for AA, but I don't have any of the DA books in front of me - someone want to give me a page number I can throw at him?

Thanks,
Patrick

13

hedge magic p9 for general explanation , 57 for example of difficult art (gruagachan)

14

I sure hope they'll go out. Metacreator was the first online program I ever purchased, and I never had any regrets about it :smiley:

15

Alter-Ego are prepping a new Metacreator template in support of both Societates and The Lion & The Lilly.

From their annoucement email:

For Ars Magica: Societates/Lion and the Lily cover the final four Houses of Hermes: Flambeau, Tytalus, Jerbiton, and Ex Miscellanea. Includes all Virtues, Flaws, spells, books, creatures, NPCs from Societates and The Lion and the Lily. For more details see alteregosoftware.com/Societates.html

I'm really chuffed that they managed to get two books into this one release, just the same as they did with the previous Houses books.

So that's all the Houses covered, and:

  • Contains all spells defined in both books.
  • Automatic selection of Ex Miscellanea Tradition and Flambeau School Virtues and Flaws
  • New Virtues and Flaws: contains all new Virtues and Flaws from both books
  • Characters and creatures: contains the NPCs and creatures described in both books. Characters defined only with a House and personality traits can be fleshed out as normal characters.
  • Agents (from Societates): a new character type. The Agent Resistance is automatically computed and can be adjusted manually with the addition of options.
  • Supports Accelerated Abilities.
16

Preorder sent in. Looks very good!

Hopefully this will do well and we can see some Realms of Power begin to trickle out...

Vrylakos

17

From what I've seen so far, most Ars mAgica players are besotted with details (which includes me). Using a program which reduces the time (=fun) of creating a character is like using a robot that goes on a holiday so you can go on working.

18

That's certainly one way to look at it. But I don't agree with the assessment at all. I've found that the tool helps me to work quicker and, trusting in the application, more accurately than I might do on my own. And that means I can try more things, explore more character design options, and maintain a larger rosta of characters that I would otherwise be inclined to do.

Each to their own.

19

I am with Mark here. However, we use so many house rules that I think the application is not really useful for me, since the HR include character design options. Still, I think that if you play by the RAW it is an amazing tool. I use similar tools for other game systems, and they are a wonder on their own IMO.

Cheers,
Xavi

20

Indeed they are. The RAW are challenging and programming them into Metacreator is beautiful - and my frequent miscalculations are avoided. Still I'm an old-fashioned person (writing this in the two finger system)