 Cover for Ars Magica, fifth edition | |
| Designers | Jonathan Tweet[1] and Mark Rein-Hagen |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Lion Rampant, White Wolf, Wizards of the Coast, Atlas Games |
| Publication | 1987 (1st edition) 1989 (2nd edition) 1992 (3rd edition) 1996 (4th edition) 2004 (5th edition) |
| Genres | Medieval fantasy |
| Systems | d10-based with strong magic system |
Ars Magica is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High Middle Ages are factual reality (a situation known informally as the "medieval paradigm"). The players' involvement revolves around an organization of magi and their allies and foes both mundane[2] and supernatural. The game was originally developed by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein-Hagen, with its first edition published in 1987.[3]
The current edition (the game's fifth) was written by David Chart, and published in 2004 by Atlas Games, who continue to develop new material for it.
Ars Magica was one of the first examples of a troupe system. Early editions recommended that the players collaborate to create the campaign world and story with:
- Each player having an opportunity to be Story Guide. (e.g. alternating by play session, 'chapter' of a story, or at the whim of the troupe)
- Each player having more than one character; when the primary character lacks opportunity or reason to participate in a session (typically due to laboratory or library activity), a secondary character is played.
The Story Guide scheme has been de-emphasised in recent editions; in Fifth Edition it is relegated to an optional play style described at the back of the book. Alternatively a troupe may select one player as the primary story guide responsible for the overall plot, and one or more secondary story guides who run peripheral sessions and/or stories.
To enhance the 'authenticity' of the historical setting, the game uses medieval Latin for a number of key terms, particularly in the game's most prominent feature, a system of Hermetic Magic.
- ^ Kenson, Stephen (August 2000). "ProFiles: Jonathan Tweet". Dragon (#274). Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast: 10, 12, 14.
- ^ Mundane. "In fantasy literature the term is sometimes used to apply to non-magical people or the non-magical society."
- ^ Wieck, Stewart (2007). "Ars Magica". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 13–16. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.