Any Ars Magica players out there?

[Quantumphear]

Hey! Longtime lurker here, just seeing if there are any Ars Magica players out there.

If that describes you, what edition of Ars Magica do you play? Any preferred strategy? I'd love to get in contact with people who are experienced with the game and have some neat stories to tell!

*context*
Recently introduced to Ars Magica 5th edition, it's ridiculously complicated but hella fun as well!

*more context*
Ars Magica is a D10 focussed RPG where you're all wizards in 13th century Europe. Look it up, http://www.redcap.org/page/Main_Page is a good start.

[BWR]

Haven't played in a few years. Time issues. However we played for several years just barely starting with 4e and switching to 5e the moment it came out. We had a lot of fun. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'strategy', though.

[Anonymouswizard]

Never actually played, but I picked the book up after recommendation by a friend, and I've liked what I've read (although generating spell levels still confuses me). It seems to be what D&D should have been from the start, as well as being what the game that shall not be named claimed to be.

I absolutely love how the magic system works, and that even with the standard Hermetic magic I can customise my magic to be closer to what I want (I can't wait to get books on the different traditions), and am looking for a chance to play with my group at some point.

[BWR]

(although generating spell levels still confuses me).

Take the seed effect you want. If that, plus the other casting modifiers you add, are 5 or less, that's the spell level. If the seed is 5 or higher the range/duration/target modifiers are multiplied by 5. If the seed is lower than 5, RDT modifiers that can be added to it and not exceed 5, they aren't multiplied.
E.g. You want to throw a Pilum of Fire, which is a level 20 spell. Base 10 for doing +15 damage, +2 RDT modifier for Voice range. +2 x5 = 10 for a total of 20.
If you want to heat a piece of metal to deal some damage, Heat of the Searing Forge. Level 10. Base 4, +2 Voice range. So,the one point beyond 5 is multiplied by five for a total of 10 .
Really, if you just look at the spells you can puzzle it out in a minute or so.

It seems to be what D&D should have been from the start, as well as being what the game that shall not be named claimed to be.

AM would be a terrible system for doing D&D. Think about it: do you want a system where mundane/caster disparity is not only worse than D&D but intentionally made that way? Where if you are lucky enough to survive your first fight against a goblin you'll spend half a year recovering and probably die of infected wounds in any case. Encouraging casters to stay at home rather than adventure isn't good for an adventure game.
And by "the game that should not be named" you mean FATAL, right?

[Anonymouswizard]

Take the seed effect you want. If that, plus the other casting modifiers you add, are 5 or less, that's the spell level. If the seed is 5 or higher the range/duration/target modifiers are multiplied by 5. If the seed is lower than 5, RDT modifiers that can be added to it and not exceed 5, they aren't multiplied.
E.g. You want to throw a Pilum of Fire, which is a level 20 spell. Base 10 for doing +15 damage, +2 RDT modifier for Voice range. +2 x5 = 10 for a total of 20.
If you want to heat a piece of metal to deal some damage, Heat of the Searing Forge. Level 10. Base 4, +2 Voice range. So,the one point beyond 5 is multiplied by five for a total of 10 .
Really, if you just look at the spells you can puzzle it out in a minute or so.

Okay, that makes far more sense now, and was pretty much the only part of the rules I had trouble with

AM would be a terrible system for doing D&D. Think about it: do you want a system where mundane/caster disparity is not only worse than D&D but intentionally made that way? Where if you are lucky enough to survive your first fight against a goblin you'll spend half a year recovering and probably die of infected wounds in any case. Encouraging casters to stay at home rather than adventure isn't good for an adventure game.

I meant that it was a highly research setting with magic that fits, not that the system was ideal for D&D. I personally prefer the system, and think that mundanes could be balanced with casters, but I prefer the intentional imbalance compared to the unintentional imbalance in D&D. It just seems better designed from the ground up, and I don't particularly like D&D, so I see Ars Magica as being the D&D I would want (decently design, built around the imbalance instead of ignoring it, and a well designed world).

And by "the game that should not be named" you mean FATAL, right?

Yes, Ars is the most historically accurate game I know, and fairly accurate to myths when they come up. It might not be the most complex game out there, but it has a large amount of crunch which makes me happy. If only there was some way to randomly generate every part of my character.

[Yuki Akuma]

I once played a game of Ars Magica, but considering we got hours of plot stuff thrown at us right away and never got to the part of the game I was actually interested in (the whole 'seasonal time management' thing) I got a little turned off.

I love the idea, just.

[aspekt]

I recently picked up ArM5 core and Covenants. Waiting on better cash flow to get a couple more because I really like what I am reading. Makes me wish I'd become a medievalist.

But no, I have not played it yet and doubt I will have the chance for a while. My table likes story based adventures, but they also prefer blowing things up and hacking them up to planned management.

If I can get a firm enough handle on various aspects I may attempt to adapt portions for our regular game. But we shall see.

Have any of you looked at REIGN?

[LibraryOgre]

I was in a few PBEMs years ago, but they fell apart. Enjoyable game with some good concepts.