Today is my final day as Ars Magica Line Editor (and it's already mostly over here in Japan). I said most of what I wanted to say about finishing the line back when my retirement was announced, so this will be relatively short.
First, I want to reiterate my thanks to all the authors who made ArM5 as good as it is. I couldn't have done it without you, not only because there would just have been too many words to write, but because I wouldn't have had the brilliant ideas that you all contributed. You all did a great job, and were a pleasure to work with.
Second, I must thank everyone at Atlas, and particularly John Nephew, for their enthusiastic support for the game, and for me as Line Editor. It has been a pleasure working with you, as well.
Third, I would just like to make an official ruling that all my characters get a bonus of 15 to all Study and Lab Totals.
Finally, I want to thank all the fans. We have had some disagreements, but it is your enthusiasm for the game that has kept it alive all these years, and I hope that ArM5 will live on in your sagas for many years to come.
I'm really proud of what we have created in Ars Magica Fifth Edition, and I'm very happy that we were able to share it with you. May your covenants always return to Spring.
Well, I hope we'll still see you on the boards from time to time in an unofficial capacity, but if not, I wanted to thank you for all your hard work, it was a good run!
Also, I very much appreciated the opportunity to playtest and write for the line, I feeI learned a lot about the RPG industry from you.
For what it's worth, I'm very impressed with what you've built here.
Ars Magica 5 just feels competent, in a way that RPGs usually don't. Things fit together. Just by reading it, it's obvious that the game was put together with care.
This fandom doesn't seem to have much in the way of edition wars. If there are any 4th Edition partisans, I haven't seen them. And I think that's because you (and your team) did an excellent job updating the game.
I'm glad you guys aren't planning a standard 6th edition. It's hard to imagine a game that's better at doing what ArM5 does better than ArM5.
Thanks for a great edition, from the core book to the numerous supplements. Fifth Edition wasn't only good, it was consistently good, which is very impressive.
While I like 4th edition, and there are a few things I prefer about it, overall I agree here with Sanctaphrax. AM5 is something to be proud of. Well done David and everyone else concerned.
