Sub Rosa #5 Review

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Hi there!

Well, long time since SR 5 was released, but I just gort it. Yesterday I read it,s o here come my impressions.

Overall, a good Ars publication. I am happy with the whole SR line so far, so no qualms here :slight_smile:

Hermetic Cocktails (WYSIWYG)
Nice idea. I thopught that the Flambeau one would be stronger, but besides that, it made me laugh a lot.

Beyond the fields we know (new faeries)
As promised in the forums, new faeries by Mr fergusson. The first spirit of dread and death is great stuff. Most of those are stat-less, but the research is cool and you can make the numbers easily anyway, so I consider it BETTER than fully fleshed characters. Nicely done

Dar al-Nujum covenant
An example of a dedicated research covenant. really nice. I am using this, even if for another covenant (Temporis) featuring in my saga. The overall covenant is centered in one hermetic breakthrough (and a reachable one, no less), but the overall feeling of the covenant is "a research covenant probably looks like this", so it can be modified slightly to accomodate other (non military) research projects with ease. The feeling of a research centre is what appeals to me the most. A nice read :slight_smile:

The Invisible World
I have to confess that this is the article that I have not read yet. Seems like a theoretical approach to the different invisible worlds. Will comment on it later. :slight_smile:

The Poppele
A curious faerie and his role in a region. As suggested, it can be relocated fairly easily, so it is a good creature if you want someone to mess with your covenant from time to time. A slightly disturbing creature, not black or white.

Tribunals at play
How to run a tribunal, and general events happening there. Nice breakout. I would have appreciated it A LOT when I was running my first tribunal. For grognards of the game it might not bring much novelty, but it centres in the overal tribuinal as a social event, not only as a court case, so it is a good read in any case. it brings forward some stuff that some of us have never considered, like the trianomae trying to do their stuff BEFORE the tribunal, and in small groups and other types of peer pressure systems. Nice :slight_smile:

The bishop's bird (adventure)
The characters have to deal with a curse, and come up against unexpected opposition. A nice adventure with political consequences. It is difficult to do it "100% right", so for me that is a boon to the adventure: someone is gonna get angry at you with 95% possibilities no matter what. :slight_smile: For me those are the best adventures. The world is full of grey.

Happy new year everyone!

Cheers,
Xavi

2

Fantastic, thanks for the review, Xavi!

-Ben.

3

Dar al-Nujum covenant
An example of a dedicated research covenant. really nice. I am using this, even if for another covenant (Temporis) featuring in my saga. The overall covenant is centered in one hermetic breakthrough (and a reachable one, no less), but the overall feeling of the covenant is "a research covenant probably looks like this", so it can be modified slightly to accomodate other (non military) research projects with ease. The feeling of a research centre is what appeals to me the most. A nice read :slight_smile:
[/quote]
As a contributor and author of this piece, it's great to get feedback from this - very glad you liked it Xavi.

Part of the intent was indeed "a research covenant probably looks like this" - sure someone (perhaps with an assistant) is doing the research but who makes sure the bills get paid, who stops the covenant being raided by supernatural threats, who represents the covenant at tribunal, who keeps the whole research project on course? It's like a good research lab - there's someone driving the research but they can't do it alone and need the right support staff and patronage.

I based the concept around Timothy's Apocrypha covenant "Shadows of the Moon" (SotM) dedicated to exceeding the Lunar Limit that was cut from Sanctuary of Ice because it was too similar to the published research covenant, Sinews of Knowledge (SoK). See here on the Wayback Machine for details of Shadows of the Moon: web.archive.org/web/200503231330 ... e_moon.htm

(As an aside: Torquetia's hinted crush is on Yrjo, the Lunarian of SotM as a deferential nod to Timothy for the inspiration & help).

The problem with research covenants is that unless you're the actual one doing the research, there's not much point living at one ("nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there") and research takes a long time, creating major disincentives to adventure. Also unless they offer something of value like the Longevity Rituals of SoK there's not a lot of point visiting them. I wanted to incorporate a breakthrough that could be achieved and actually had potential consequences that would be interesting. I also wanted to have various reasons for PC magi / companions or their minions to visit the covenant and interact with the characters, hence the large number of Story Seeds and ways to get players involved in the story.

As to the elements I was reading a lot about astrology and the Antikythera mechanism, medieval Islamic mechanics and wanted to play with a few concepts from recent supplements and attempt some writing challenges in preparation for pitching for an official product. I'd never written a covenant before, I'd never designed a Tremere magus, how did all this Breakthrough stuff really work etc.

Anyway, glad you liked it.

Cheers,

Lachie

4

So did you get the chance to re-read The Invisible World?

:smiley:

-Ben.

5

Ben, I have read SIX sub rosas in 3 weeks or so (plus checked all the published books for hedgies). Please, allow me some rest before I review the last article :wink:

Xavi

6

Good man! :slight_smile: I just spotted this today while compiling your great handiwork. No rush, we certainly appreciate all of your comments!

-Ben.

7

Do you want a medal , or a chest to pin it on? :stuck_out_tongue:
This from the guy who hates maths , extra rules and new crunch-filled books while stumbling around in the dark with undead. :slight_smile:

8

You tell me! :stuck_out_tongue:

BTW: yesterday we tested playing with 1D6 instead of 1D10 again (we had done that briefluy before). We quite liked it, but found that most of our magi did not really suffer from it since they are veterans. For knowledges and mundanes (and all mundane activities and abilities) things get quite more tricky, though.

Cheers,
Xavi