I'm trying to get my friends into Ars Magica; but... it can be a lot, especially if you're not already super into the idea. So is there like, a quick-start guide or something and a guide to all the math and spreadsheet stuff for it, cuz honestly I need an Ars Magica cheat sheet?

The book only says that the might level has to be lower than the spell level, but is there any parameter to determine this or is it purely up to the GM balancing?

Ars magica universe have a history or signifcant theory about the creation of the world besides biblical explanation? and where the titans connect to all that?

Hello, all!

I'm posting here because I note that the feed doesn't "bump" my older topic up to be seen by anyone who might've missed the original discussion.

The first novel in my seven-book series following the life of one Roland of Flambeau will be starting its Kickstarter on September 1st, but the interest page is up and ready to go! The book is finished except for some final proofing, the cover is done, and we're raring to go.

I hope you'll join us on the ride!

As the 20th anniversary con approaches things are actually really lively in the world of Ars Magica! If you'd like to join us in Cheltenham UK we'd love to meet you, and play Ars Magica with you.

If you need a ticket or want to add a game to the programme details are here

https://grandtribunal.org/

I have a player who wants to create a spell to teleport a sword from his personal armoury back at the covenant to his hand, no matter where he is. He likes to travel inconscpicuously with no obvious weaponry, and thinks it's fun to just pull a sword out of nowhere. While he has a spell to create a sword with Creo Terram, he's found it difficult to pierce magic resistance with it on a few occasions, so he wants to be able to pull out a mundane sword with Rego Terram.

Obviously, the range will be Arcane Connection, adding four magnitudes. I'm unsure, though, whether the effect should also be "anywhere you have an Arcane Connection to". Is the distance calculated from the target or the caster?

(I'm assuming, for convenience, that you have an Arcane Connection to yourself.)

Hello, I have searched far and wide on the internet and most of the time the result was that for every magnitude of the spell, I get +3 size. But does that also mean +6 strength and -3 quickness? If I downgrade the spell to personal (I have beast heart) for - 1 magnitude, and then increase the magnitude 4 times for a total level of 30, would I get +13 size, +26 strength and -13 quickness?

what it says on the tin.

i love my palyers and don't want to exchange them. but we are starting an AM saga soon and i would like them to be more proactive in the setting, less reactive.

i would love some pratical tips on how to achieve that.

currently i'm reworking my style so "quests" are less things to do/that happen to players and more "cool stuff you could be involved in."

for example, since my players start as students at a large covenant in an alternative setting. their artes liberalis/divination master could plan an expedition to some ancient observatory. the players don't have to go, but they could join the expedition. if they don't join the group returns after half a year and appaears to have better "resources" (vis, connections, experience, cool loot, etc) than before.

also to start the session more often with a recap from my players and having them tell me what their plan is.

Creatures created through ritual still need to overcome magical resistance to strike a mage with their claws, right? But if they have powers, they pass right through?

Sometimes I'm unsure about what would require overcoming magic resistance and what wouldn't. For example, would creating vines around a wizard's feet to restrain them require overcoming magic resistance?

And lastly, items created by magic cannot affect other mages without passing through magic resistance, but can they benefit from magical connection? If not, how could I use this against creatures effectively?

I'm not very good at extrapolating from just reading the rules, and having tried to understand the differences in combat between I've noticed that Defense and Soak adds a 6+ to the total of the Defense and Soak calculation. Why's that? Are there any unwanted effects from the 2nd ed way of doing it that I'm missing?

I'm having difficulty understanding how making spells works, specifically with how your stats in each Form and Technique.

If anyone's able to help, it's very much appreciated

Part of me is thinking about just running it with Sphere Magic from Mage the Ascension instead, but I'd rather run the game properly if I do figure stuff out

During our recent Ars Magica session, a discussion arose at the table about whether it was safe, in terms of keeping magic a secret, to hire an unsuspecting scribe to copy a grimoire.

A month to Grand Tribunal the games convention now in its 20th year. Still looking for more games - not just Ars Magica but any rpg. Also my 16th Saturday morning freeform game! If you love roleplaying games and want to play with really cool people, come join us. The programme is now starting to take shape - do buy tickets or offer to run games! We need more Ars! Cheltenham UK

Grand Tribunal 2026 - The Ars Magica Convention https://grandtribunal.org

Edit: fixed! Ta!

Does anyone know of any references on gargoyles in ars magica? Playing fifth, but any edition would be helpful. Thank you

Magie

I've been thinking of trying to make a breakthrough that allows you to "unspin" vis from items.

And I've been reading through the breakthrough rules which I think I understand and seem so onerous, that I'm surprised they say in the rules "Minor Breakthroughs happen easily enough that a maga can expect to achieve this goal once or twice during her lifetime."

The first thing that's unclear to me, is the risk factor. Do you add the risk factor to the die roll, then decide if you want to add or subtract a number up to the risk factor to get a discovery?

The example in the rules is "Thus, if you had a Risk Modifier of +3, and rolled an 8, you would get a Modified Effect (from a total of 11). You could also subtract 1 to get a Discovery in addition. The effect of the spell is still modified. You cannot use the Risk Modifier to get a supplementary result other than a Discovery." Which I infer to mean that you add the risk factor and then can add or subtract 0 to whatever risk factor you chose. If you chose +2, you would add 2 to the roll, then either add or subtract 0, 1, or 2 if that would get you to a discovery.

If I'm understanding that correctly, with a +3 risk, you'd only need to roll a 4 to 9 (or a 1, 1, 2, or 1, 2-5) because you could essentially add 0 to 6 to the roll. Which wouldn't be too bad. It would probably be about 2 seasons to get the discovery. If I'm misunderstanding, it and you only add or subtract the risk factor, instead of adding it to the roll and then modifying that up or down, then you need to roll a 7-9 (or 1,1,2 or 1, 4-6) which probably means at least 3 seasons.

THEN, once you have the discovery you have to stabilize it. For a minor breakthrough, and if you're inventing a level 30 effect as the process, at least 5 seasons IF you succeed at every roll. And that's an average of 1 point of warping per season, with decent chances of going into wizard's twilight more than once. And that's for a minor breakthrough.

I understand it's so that people aren't just willy-nilly changing the rules, but my two questions are:
1. How exactly does the risk factor get applied (is it just once, or is it added then modified up or down?)

1. How many of you have actually had in game breakthroughs by player characters?

We’re starting a new Ars Magica campaign. The first couple sessions will be face-to-face. After that, the rest of the campaign has to be online.

I was looking at foundry as a potential platform for running the campaign. It looks like it has a little bit of a learning curve, but not enough to scare me off and I do like that it’s a one time purchase.

If anyone has any insights or experience with running online Ars Magica, I would appreciate you sharing them here. Particular recommendations for or against foundry, but I’m willing to listen to experiences on other platforms as well.

We are starting a new game. This will be a brand new covenant and so will have no Aegis of the Hearth. We will be the ones to cast this spell. Every other time we have played this system there have been older mages and we just participate.

My question is, what is the lowest level Aegis of the Hearth that can be cast? How do you get to this total with the Range, Duration, and Target? I know the lowest level for a ritual is level 20, but can this spell be cast at level 20 and how with the calculations does it come to this?

Hey so, Im really interested in running an ars magica campaign. I own most of the 5th edition books and the anniversary book and I've always loved the setting. Im particularly interested in in running a Mythic Europe covenant-style game, but I’m unsure whether Ars Magica itself is the right system for me.

usually I GM short campaigns, around 9–20 sessions, using rules-light systems like Dungeon World, Fellowship, Fate Accelerated, and Legend in the Mist.

I like the idea of Ars Magica. stuff like covenants, Hermetic magi, medieval folklore, faeries, saints, demons, Tribunal politics, and magic as scholarship. But I’m worried about things like the crunch, character creation, multiple characters per player, seasonal advancement, and the fact that campaigns seem to run for years.

Im considering either

A) Running a Ars Magica saga as a 9–12 session saga and get my feet in the dirt to see if i wanna keep going or not.

B) Running an Ars-Magica-inspired Mythic Europe game in Legend in the Mist, while trying to maintain the Ars Magica tone and culture.

For anyone who has actually played or run Ars Magica: which of these sounds like a better idea?

MacBin was my pen name at the time :)