Wherein Albert Reviews Sub Rosa #11:
From the Line Editor:
It's always good to hear that the the Sparkling Abomination will be entirely absent from a book that will, of necessity, deal with vampires. Granted, it ought be assumed that any gameline with an ounce of self-respect will be free of the vileness that is Meyersism, but then we must remember what happened a couple of decades back with the Riceists.
As for the rest, the long process of getting a book out? Informative, if a bit disconcerting. Perhaps more of us should volunteer as playtesters?
The Storyguide's Handbook: Outlawry, by Gerald Wylie
I have one nit to pick with this article: Gerald Wylie does not define (so far as I could discover) "chattels" within the article. I was already aware of one definition of chattel: "slave", but under common law, chattels refer to any personal, movable property.
Other than that, it is an excellent article. In addition, it is useful to the point of necessity, given how a Covenant often operates outside of ordinary society.
Conception and Pregnancy, by Richard Wiles and Cameron Weeden
Even when I have issues with an article, I try to focus on the positive.
Here's the positive: It's possible the system provided might actually work in the home system it was imported from.
Unfortunately, it doesn't fit Ars Magica.
Primus: A character's fertility, or lack thereof, ought to be a matter for Virtues and Flaws - if it's important enough to track at all. (Given the givens, the ability to create life with every ahem probably counts as a Flaw due to the potential for complications.)
Secundus: This is Ars Magica, not D&D. We don't use percentiles, d4s, or d20s, we use stress dice and ease factors. If you want to port from one system to another, make sure the end product uses the end system. For example: Make conception a matter of a Sta(f) + Sta(m)/2 stress roll, ease factor based on general frequency of intercourse.
Tertius: This is Ars Magica. There is none of this minor/medium/major nonsense. Detail how Medicine, Chirurgy, and/or Herbalism can interact with the conception roll. Give us the relevant baseline TeCorpus effects. Possibly toss in some support for other magic systems - the Folk Witches and Cunning Men are good picks for a bit of system-lovin' - and you're done.
I could go on for a bit longer, but what's the point? At best, this article offers ideas, but you'll have to do the actual conversion to Ars Magica yourself.
Training Packages for Magi, by Mark Shirley
Mark Shirley says he's been using this system for a couple of decades. Given how polished it is, both here and in Grogs, I believe him.
Honestly, there's not much to say: Read the article yourself, enjoy one of the masters at his craft, and use it. Use it a lot.
From the Journal of Vulcanis Argens
Ah, another tale from the sociopaths' table. Perhaps it's just me, but if I were Storyguiding this group I would be working on my poker face and getting ready to entrap the PCs in a web woven from their own hubris.
The Vitruvian Magus: Building the Hermetic Architect, by Mark Lawford
Mark Lawford's build of a Hermetic Archtect is as well done as his earlier build of a Hermetic Shipwright. I will only mention, once again, that CrCo and CrMe rituals to boost stats are corebook canon. Initial stats just aren't that important in a long-running saga - and a long-running saga is precisely what you need to take a Hermetic Architect from Guantlet to enchanting a castle.
Welcome to the Turb, by Ben McFarland, David Staveley, Mark Lawford, and Matt Ryan
A nice article with several story seeds detailed for easy use.
However, I would suggest altering the new Polygot virtue: Change it from Affinity to Puissant. Simply put: You have to get what would be 4 levels in a skill before Affinities are worth even +1. Make it Puissant and the character becomes passable in new languages very quickly, and that's pretty much what we want with Polygot.
The Body on the Shore, by Edward Kendrick
Given the presence of magic, the murderer does a good job of hiding - but where magic is used to break pursuit, there should be the opportunity for a magus with good Penetration to break the obscuring magic, not merely a fiat declaration of evasion.
Likewise, some {REDACTED}, such as the canon {REDACTED}, make the environmental dangers of the climax . . . less than dangerous.
Unless, that is, the troupe doesn't mind being railroaded.
As always, Mappa Mundi has all sorts of resources that an Ars Magica fan will find interesting. Remember, this is the RPG for kids who like extra homework. Here's the extra, so enjoy.
-Albert
