[Sub Rosa] Issue #16 emerges from Twilight!

Very well:

Wow, 128 pages is a lot!

Clearly the Ars Magica community have people who'd like to give something back. But let's have a look, shall we?

From reading Under the Rose, the theme of this issue is the Order during different eras, which would be a very exciting read. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have considered playing Ars Magica during different periodes - clearly - and now here's some nice places to start. And that's not even all!

The words from the Line Editor are interesting enough, but I suppose unsurprising to anyone who obsessively reads every thread on this forum. Still, clear and well-stated.

Tobias Wheeler offers a very interesting interesting setting with his Britannia 550 AD article, though it does have one feature I must admit I strongly dislike. The setting uses standard Hermetic Magic, or at least something mechanically very close to what Bonisagus invents years later. I have always enjoyed that in Ars Magica, different magical traditions are indeed mechanically different, so this annoys me. It probably doesn't annoy everyone though, and does make adopting the setting easier.

The Glamorous Swamp is a nice little location to dump into a saga. It looks like it's inspired by the old Mythic Places. Not bad.

865 AD: Voventes Centennales is a set-up for playing in 865 AD, rather than 1220. And it is awesome. A low-research saga could just take this article and go. A high research saga could certainly use it to pick an area to play in and a place to start researching. I think I'm going to pitch this to my sodalis for our next Saga!
The Journal of Vulcanis Argens. A worthy read as always, if a tad darker than some entries. :slight_smile:

1050 AD: The Order Shaken. An article in two pieces. First a setting description, with an alternate Order, which shows off some disturbingly dispotical traits and an organization that should either please or worry house Tremere. This is followed bya story called Rest Assured, and is a nice little investigation with minor twists.

1050 AD: Strange Alliances. A fairly interesting saga set-up, with a focus on Rome and the politics surrounding the Holy See. It appears well researched and interesting, though I'll likely never use it - most members of my troupe seem like they would be utterly uninterested. Be sure to have you Church sourcebook nearby when you play!

Mythic Weapons: Presents a very clever way to use rules from RoP: M to solve what is often seen as a problem with Ars Magica - that legends are awash with magical weapons, but they are almost impossible to create under the rules. I will be [strike]stealing[/strike] adopting these I think, they're nicely solving a problem I had.

The Cursed Line. A new collection of bonisagus magi. This time with a darker theme. Some more creative than others.

1470 AD: After the Plague. I'm a bit unclear on how the increased frequency of the Blatant Gift makes magi move into the cities (the Pallium Magicum helps though), but otherwise this is a beautifully depressing alternate setting. Sagas in this setting should be significatly different from your oridinary, 'Ars Classic' sagas. Magi may well turn out weaker. Also included are a number of breakthroughs, as well as new options for range/duration/target. I like all but Container, which as always is really just a small Room.

Six Strangers: Some interesting ideas, but honestly, I don't think Ars Magica is a good convention game. The Saga is too important an element. Or perhaps I'm just old fashioned.

The Intangible Enchanter: The missing appendix to an older article. At times perhaps a little dry, but it works.

Mappa Mundi: Has its usual collection of useful links.