OK, thanks. That's good to know!
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Not born until 1431, so... patience young grasshopper 
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Ha ha, I didn't know that. What is the current year in Ars Magica? Has the game ever had a metaplot?
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Recommended starting year is 1220; it used to be 1197 until 3ed. The difference is significant if you play Provence, which is often assumed to be the default location. Do you want to start before or after the Albigensian crusade?
Metaplot, as in how White Wolf tried to make Ars Magica the prequel to their modern day WoD? (Not sure if that was their outspoken intention, a hidden agenda, or just conspiracy theories, but it is a reasonable interpretation in any event.)
No, Ars Magica is designed for extensive player agency. The power level is such that PCs can alter the course of history, and I do not think I have met a player who wants a predestined saga? Hence, to be particular, if the players want to go out and kill count Dracul sr at the very start of the 15C, that's ok, and Vlad is never conceived.
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OK, thanks. With metaplot, I meant an advancing timeline in the game world as books are released. I think White Wolf was big on this back in the day.
That's good to hear there doesn't seem to be any of that and the game has strong player agency.
Well... I think it's time to start reading the core rulebook. Thanks for answering all my questions!
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Then no, all the books as far as I know are aimed at a 1220 kick off. Some of the more medieval society focused books might give further infobregarding the changes in mores and technology (development of Guilds, armours etc) but otherwise the assumption is that the game would start in 1220 (though i prefer startinv in 1221 post Tribunal).
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OK, great. Sounds perfect!
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Much as @Loki said, the default year is 1220. 3rd edition still held onto this.
4th ed moved us to a default year of 1220. AFAIK, this was mostly due to a very nice map that was in the 3rd ed core book, I think with a simplified version in the 4th edition core book. Said map was dated as 1220 AD.
This matters in several tribunals, notably (as mentioned) in Provencal, but also in others, eg in the Tribunal of the Levant, where the 'Emperor's Crusade' took Beirut.
As far as metaplot, Ars Magica is in some ways a bit different, as anyone can look up the metaplot: It's called a history book.
Now, obviously, your saga don't have to follow real world history (and probably won't), but it's as close to a metaplot as we've ever really had. As @loke mentioned, there was some ideas of integration between Ars Magica and the World of Darkness, but aside from House/Clan Tremere and and that 3rd edition abomination 'Aura of Reason', nothing much ever came of it. Or to be more precise, there are some traces in WoD, but not really in Ars Magica.
Not really. Because 'History Books', as mentioned above.
AFAICT, they stole this idea from Shadowrun. At least the first 2-3 editions of SR had a style with "user comments" that were "date marked", with a progressing date indicated. IIRC about 61 years after the book was published.
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A good video about the difference in monster thinking in Ars Majica and D&D is below. The article itself does not specifically mention Ars Majica, however, I believe it is a good example.
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I love the mapcrow channel, Kyle does abgreat job. Some of the content is more DnD focused than general RPG, but it varies from.one video to the next. His podcast, the splatbook is well worth listen to as well.
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Yes and no. The 3rd edition products all used the same fixed 1197 AD starting date, but assumed the game was the backstory of the original World of Darkness, and included a number of elements that "looked forward" from ArM to the WoD. 4th edition tried to simultaneously maintain continuity with 3rd edition materials while breaking the WoD connections, and one of the ways it did that was to advance the timeline two decades and throw in some incompatible events (like the vampires who were infiltrating House Tremere in 3rd edition products being described as having been discovered and destroyed in the 4th edition Houses of Hermes).
5th edition, instead, deliberately broke continuity with previous editions and freely rewrote many setting elements.
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Well, maybe most of them?
The Sundered Eagle also has Infernal vampires (Vrykolakas).
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Ah, yes, real history. That makes sense.
I know the mages aren’t meant to get directly involved with the mundanes, but have they pulled strings to change the course of history? If so, then the future of Mythic Earth could possibly take a divergent path to the real Earth?
It makes me wonder what an Ars Magica game set in a future Earth would be like. Has anyone attempted that?
Or does Ars Magica have the old “magic is fading” trope?
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Thanks for sharing! I’m starting to get the picture. Monsters in Ars Magica are given more loving attention to enrich the story and the world building. Also, perhaps, monsters in Ars Magica are more unique or solitary creatures - no roving packs of owlbears, orcs or goblins. Instead it’s “the” Owlbear with a carefully crafted backstory.
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Oh, that’s interesting. So the timeline did advance in the history of the game by 20 years but only to patch over the WoD stuff. Then it was left well alone after that. I think that was a good move.
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I think 3ed had, but 5ed does not, not as the canon approach at any rate. Ars Magica is designed with ambiguity, and this kind of choices may be made by the troupe, or by the SG and unknown to the characters IC. The PCs may even be debating vehemently what the actual state of affair is.
There is one poster here who play 4ed as Urban Fantasy, inspired by Joe Butcher's Dresden universe.
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Almost certainly would, in many sagas.
I believe so. I've seen a few write ups over the years.
In the 3rd edition, very much yes. this was also part of the connector to WoD. After that' it's been (mostly) discarded.
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Anything works, but most things only work once ... monsters in packs work best as the Owlbear's (or whoever's) minions.
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I personnaly prefer to interpret the ars canon as having magic and daerie fading before the encroaching of Dominion, but that is a question of personnal choice.
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IIRC, this is actually a plot point in GotF: Cf harmonist vs wilderist 