What kind of Ars Books do we want more of?

My "Other" is Alternate Moods: High-Magic Ars Magica, a saga/setting book about playing ArM as a High-Magic game; Low-Magic High-Myth Ars Magica about playing ArM as a low-magic, gritty game; a High-Fantasy reworking; alternate time periods (Dark Ages? Renaissance?), and so on.

I'm also in favor of Megadventures, and like the idea of a "Tribunal (Session)" book.

Really like this idea! Especially the mechanics of how to let a troup decide the tribunal.

I am more interested in mechanics and its resolution. That includes spell-heavy books like MoH, spell concepts like HP, and maybe Tribunal politics (the meetings, not the zones). I think there's more than enough non-hermetic spell mechanism as it is. When things are laid out, you can disagree and toggle a few choices to invent a different Order.

An updated Grimoire would be handy

I'd like to see a saga book. An entire book describing one huge saga, something like "The Great Pendragon Campaign" for Ars. I'd even like to see it called, "The Great Ars Magica Saga." It starts in 1220 and runs for 70 . . . 100 . . . 150 (?) years. Maybe 200.

It would be limited to a single huge story arc. Everyone would moan and whine that it doesn't fit their saga and they have to do too much customization to use it. And every storyguide would buy a copy and secretly read it with a flashlight under his bed covers. (At least that would be my pitch to the Nephews.)

Matt Ryan

I think complaining about stuff is the quintessential human condition. I know I complain first (see my comments about Apprentices) and then dig deeper, complain a bit more specifically, dig deeper still complain about a really technical thing, and then I finally stfu. :smiley:

I'd be up for that.

The books I enjoy the most cover places - so the Tribunal books, the Cradle and the Crescent, and I'd also put Rival Magic in that category.

Something like this would be at the top of my list. I think some sort of Hermetic colonization (probably of the Caucuses or North Africa) would allow for a very flexible but still focused "campaign setting," and this could also work well by starting characters off in a winter covenant and having them push it into spring.

To some extent the Houses of Hermes books covers this information, but I agree with you that a general book on Hermetic culture would be nice. It would also be an opportunity to include some "basic" information that's been carried over from past editions but is scattered across a lot of books for those who started with 5th. Two minor examples would be defining the significance of a sanctum and the Age of Aries calendar system referenced in some of the Tribunal books.

Thankfully "sanctum" is mostly self-explanatory, and a quite internet search explained the AA dates, but it seems like these sorts of details should have a cohesive home.

It posted twice... weird. But I'd still be up for it.

I would buy a VANILLA saga, set in the Rhine, Stonehenge or similar settings. if it was a saga book about the colonization of Mongolia I would pass it over since it is not mythic europe. the one about the whole saga would be bought for sure. It could be called Seasons, and go from Spring (newly gauntleted magi in the world) to Winter (final twilight) of the original PC magi after solving the big issues of the saga in the last part of their Autumn season. Take in mind that this is NOT seasons of a covenant, but of a group of PC magi, so the magi might be in winter and the covenant be in the height of autumn thanks to their efforts, for example.

Or that is how I would do it.

Xavi

Seeing as nearly all of the information in the third and fourth editions of the book has already been published for fifth in some other book, what would you want in an updated Grimore?
More spells?
Magus templates?
some in character letters?

I would really enjoy two books:

Vanilla Saga
I think this is required. The scope of Ars is daunting for newbies and vets alike. The various interactions of things, tribunals, realms and all the possible characters. I think a fleshed-out saga (yay Provencal!) that provides a covenant (or range of covenants) and a campaign arc w/calendar. Let's show folks how it can be done right. I still think Mistridge is the best book for someone looking to get into Ars Magica over any of the new Tribunal books. They're awesome books with hundreds of ideas but they don't get a person started... It's almost too much detail. I still haven't made it all the way through GOTF. Mistridge was a good beginning set-up, a layout of the years to come, fully detailed covenant and so on. Triamore was the same.

You could even do a generic campaign set-up that could be plopped down in various Tribunals. Or do a book with covenant set-ups for each published Tribunal (one book all of the Tribunals get one starting covenant and adventure outline). There are a number of different ways to do it but it needs to be done.

We need a good introduction to the game, the setting and the potential. Ars Magica has evolved over the years but its moved beyond the "initiating new players" stage. We need to go back and build the base.

Grimoire
I think redcap might be all over this one but... I would pay gladly for a single book with all published guidelines for spells. Each guideline could have a spell attached to it. Or multiple spells or something. Either way, all new spells showing off the versatility of the magic system. In addition, all S&M bonuses in the same book with example device effects.

Ars Magica is getting pretty big and it needs some reference books. I know folks freak about "reused material" but I think a grimoire with all new spells, putting all of the guidelines in one place, is a great idea. The inclusion of new spells, new items and effects make it so much easier for SG's and it would also help players come up with more interesting spells/powers/devices. You hear again and again how Legends of Hermess aided someone in thinking differently about a guideline. It would be neat to have it all in one place.

I would love a Complete Saga book too (as I already said above), and agree that "vanilla" is the right way to do it. What do you think are good saga-plots for such a campaign-in-a-box book?

One such saga I once worked on creating, I called it the Theandric Saga, is about mundane encroachment and the responses to it. Set in the Rhine, it is concerned with the Order's response to the rising encroachment of the Dominion. It was divided into four stages, but these were Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, Archmage rather than the Seasons. The PCs were to choose between four radical changes to Mythic Europe - each associated with an Hermetic faction; the saga will then deal with how this faction advances by the PC's deeds, against resistance which includes the other factions and, ultimately, the Church and its Divine patrons (not God; angels. God will be unreachable during this saga, leaving things to Free Will I guess.)

I've pitched this to John Nephew several times, for the reasons you give, and he always says that it wouldn't sell. Only the storyguide buys it, and not all the storyguides do.

You say it as if most players care to buy anything in addition to the main rulebook. I celebrate it if this is the case, but I am well aware that this is not the case in my troupe. They borrow my books and Laura's (beta SG) most of the time 95% of the time.

Xavi

Then how about Sub Rosa?

Or different players buy mostly different books and then share and loan them around. Like here. I only have 3 books, but access to maybe 10 others.

I think this could be a great idea if making it as a book is not really possible. And it could boost SR's sales, which is not bad, either.

And yes, in my troupe players only bought a single rulebook for the group. All the other books they use are the SG's (i.e., mine).

I see it as being an ongoing series, and it would certainly make me more inclined to buy an issue.

What separates that book's audience from the audience for legends or ancient magic?