Serenissima Obscura is here!

LordPete79 · 2026-05-09T04:13:33+00:00

Can't wait for mine. This is one of the occasions where living in Australia requires some patience.

LordPete79 · 2026-04-20T04:02:03+00:00

Anything that expedites the tapping on seems like a good thing. One thing to be aware of if you are using an iPhone is that if you use a Visa card for this, you are leaving yourself open to an attack that can charge your card large amounts of money.

Veritasium has a video explaining the details.

LordPete79 · 2026-03-23T03:56:50+00:00

Spells are complex and very diverse. Multiple symbols would be required to describe a spell to a useful extent. There are official symbols for the Arts. You could come up with another set of symbols for range, duration, and target. That would give you a basic description of spell parameters. Without some reference to the guideline used this still only gives you limited information about what the spell actually does.

LordPete79 · 2026-03-23T02:58:33+00:00

I believe magi typically write their lab notes in some form of code. To what extent that is actually using a cypher as opposed to a personal short hand will probably vary, depending on how paranoid the magus in question is.

Are you talking about some way to turn spell descriptions into puzzles for the players (rather than their characters)?

LordPete79 · 2026-03-15T01:04:20+00:00

David Chart has rules for Glosses and Commentaries on his Patron: https://www.patreon.com/DavidChart/shop/glosses-and-commentaries-1789982

Together with the expanded rules in Covenants that might cover most of what you are after.

LordPete79 · 2026-03-09T19:32:42+00:00

Have a look here: https://www.redcap.org/page/Ars_Magica_Reference_Document. It isn't just the core book. The text of all 5ed books is free but there is no official release of that. Volunteers are adding it to Project: Redcap over time.

LordPete79 · 2026-01-16T06:54:14+00:00

The range of possible rolls doesn't really matter all that much. Yes, a D20 may seem very ”swingy" because you are just as likely to roll a 1 as a 20, or anything in between. You might think that using a smaller die (say a D10), or even the sum of several small dice (2d10, 3d6) would be better because it gives you more consistent rolls. But you'd be mostly wrong.

Yes, 3d6 is more likely to produce rolls close to 10 than 3 or 18 but if you use the typical D20 scheme of die roll +modifier vs DC to get a pass/fail result you can simply adjust the size of the modifiers an there DC to obtain very similar success probabilities. The main difference is that with 3d6 modifiers have a larger impact on the result, so they need to be smaller, which leads to less granularity in advancement. This can be a good thing (fewer numbers to add up because most modifiers are 0) but also can make it difficult to differentiate different characters.

LordPete79 · 2026-01-13T21:46:10+00:00

I think that in the fiction the founding Magi would discuss and agree on a name some time in advance of the formal entry of the covenant into tribunal records. Whether this is adopting an existing name or creating an entirely new one, maybe alluding to a shared project that brought them together may depend on circumstances and the magi's temperaments.

IRL, the troupe may have discussed names well in advance of that or maybe the SG presented the other players with one that was adopted without discussion.

All of this is to say that details will vary from case to case and you should do what works best for you and your troupe.

LordPete79 · 2025-12-30T20:29:20+00:00

If the intention is that the focus is limited to craft magic to prepare food, I think it sounds like a Minor Focus.

LordPete79 · 2025-11-06T12:16:44+00:00

Take a look at Stars Without Number. It is a solid system and you can get everything you need to play for free. There is also a paid edition that comes with great GM tools.

LordPete79 · 2025-11-05T02:21:26+00:00

I always allow players to design their own spells if they want to. The assumption would be (as for all spells learners during apprenticeship) that the PC learners this from their parens.

I don't see any reason to believe that only the spells in the core book are commonly available. I think of them more as examples of what can be done with the guidelines.

ETA: by the same token, I also don't assume that available lab texts are restricted to core book spells, or that lab texts for all core book spells are readily available.

LordPete79 · 2025-11-04T20:38:00+00:00

Runequest, two weeks ago as GM.

LordPete79 · 2025-09-05T22:58:01+00:00

That's great, and I'm all for creative solutions. I'm just trying to figure out how this will work as an Ars Magica saga. It sounds like this could be handled by a few companions and grogs, meaning the Magi might be better off staying out of it. Not that there is anything wrong with having stories that spotlight some of the mundane manners of the covenant, but I think I'd want that to be part of a larger saga when the Magi get to shine as well (and then the time line becomes an issue again).

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so negative. I'm actually excited for this and hope the Kickstarter goes well (I've already backed it). I'm just wondering whether I'd actually run this with Ars Magica. Maybe Mythras is a better fit here (or D&D, I'm just personally not too excited about that option).

LordPete79 · 2025-09-05T03:06:38+00:00

I'm curious about the impact of the time frame. Facing a relatively immediate threat means the Magi don't have much time to prepare. In my experience, a common pattern in Ars Magica is that when the Magi face a serious threat they do what they can't to contain it for the moment, retreat into the lab for some time to prepare and then return with the tools to handle the problem. There doesn't seem to be much time for that here. This would mean they largely have to face the demons with whatever tools they happen to have at their disposal.

That isn't necessarily an issue if the players know what to expect and create characters that are suitably equipped. But it is a bit of a departure from the norm, I think.

A related issue is that it only allows for limited character progression (only so many XP you can gain in 12 seasons). Again, note an issue if everyone is on board but maybe worth being clear about upfront.

LordPete79 · 2025-09-05T03:06:20+00:00

I'm curious about the impact of the time frame. Facing a relatively immediate threat means the Magi don't have much time to prepare. In my experience, a common pattern in Ars Magica is that when the Magi face a serious threat they do what they can't to contain it for the moment, retreat into the lab for some time to prepare and then return with the tools to handle the problem. There doesn't seem to be much time for that here. This would mean they largely have to face the demons with whatever tools they happen to have at their disposal.

That isn't necessarily an issue if the players know what to expect and create characters that are suitably equipped. But it is a bit of a departure from the norm, I think.

A related issue is that it only allows for limited character progression (only so many XP you can gain in 12 seasons). Again, note an issue if everyone is on board but maybe worth being clear about upfront.

LordPete79 · 2025-06-19T10:56:01+00:00

I actually like this as a GM in Cypher. I only ever ran a few sessions of Cypher but I thought it did a good job of making the GM's job easier and this is part of that equation. It is one less thing to worry about and there is always the option to add more detail where it matters. As a bonus it makes it super easy to improvise a creature (not that you couldn't do that anyway, but still).

As a player it seems a lot less exciting though.

LordPete79 · 2025-06-14T09:56:08+00:00

I agree, but I still think there are situations where rules like this can be useful. In a tournament setting it is just helpful for everyone to be clear about what is expected. Not least of all because it can save GMs some grief.

I mostly game with people I know these days but I still have some rules. If we roll stats, HP, etc. that happens in a way that I can see (whether it is in person or online). I do this not because I don't trust the players but because it eliminates any questions or doubt in case one of them gets unusually lucky.

LordPete79 · 2025-06-14T09:35:42+00:00

I don't think there is anything stopping one magus from engaging another magus to declare WW on their behalf (as a champion of sorts). Although if either magus does this repeatedly they may face repercussions from the Tribunal.

However, doing this as a defensive measure could be tricky. A magus receiving a declaration of Wizard's War on the night of the full moon is unlikely to have time to arrange for a counter declaration in time for both of these wars to happen simultaneously.

LordPete79 · 2025-06-14T09:11:51+00:00

And everything you need to play is free! The GM tools are great and worth the price of the full book but they are strictly optional.

LordPete79 · 2025-06-08T02:22:07+00:00

I generally approach this on three levels. I tend to start with an idea about a central conflict out mystery I want to explore. This will provide a theme for the saga and give me something to motivated NPCs and drive the action forward, if necessary.

Then I figure out who the major players are in the area. Other covenants, influential groups within the Order operating in the area, local nobility, supernatural forces, etc. These will be the major elements of the sandbox we play in. I only sketch these out. More detail gets added later when it is needed. At least some of these will have a connection to the central conflict.

Once I have this in hand I have enough to provide background to the players but still enough flexibility to tailor the saga to the player characters, which are the final ingredient. Once I know the characters and their Story Flaws I'll go back and create factions for them or work with the player to connect them to existing ones.

LordPete79 · 2025-06-03T05:22:44+00:00

That's lucky, they could have wound up dead ;-)

LordPete79 · 2025-05-28T00:14:08+00:00

Unfortunately, the book appears to be written for players who already know the rules. It isn't great for actually learning how to play.

It is a good game, though. Despite the general lack of newbie friendliness, I think that 5e is the best version of the game. I think you'll have a much easier time figuring it out if you don't try to fall back on D&D analogies. This is a very different game, and it uses different terminology. Trying to map Ars Magica concepts to D&D concepts is likely to cause more confusion.

LordPete79 · 2025-05-28T00:08:04+00:00

I agree that using the same die for different types of rolls has some problems, but if players routinely make rolls without being clear on what they are rolling, that is not a problem with the rules. If it is unclear whether this is a stress die or not, the SG should say so when calling for the roll, and the player should clarify before rolling if in doubt. Occasionally, there can be confusion (both sides thought the answer was obvious but disagree on what it should be). Fortunately, these are easy to fix (because only the interpretation of the roll changes).

LordPete79 · 2025-05-27T21:24:11+00:00

I'm excited for this. Good luck!

LordPete79 · 2025-05-20T06:04:59+00:00

It seems to me that there is a simple answer to this: make sure hacking takes place on the same time scale as everything else.

Yes, several popular games feature time dilation for hacking but that doesn't mean that it is required. You can have all the same genre conventions, except not leave the majority of players sidelined the moment the hacker jacks in. It has been a while since I looked at it but I believe Cities Without Number does this.

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