Hey folks. Anyone out there playing/running Ars Magica? I'm involved in a multi-GM saga and one of my players just requested a new story line. I'm looking to bounce some ideas off folks who are familiar with the newest edition.
I'm not familiar with the newest edition (4th Ed is the one I own), but from my experience at converting 2nd and 3rd Ed material, the storylines are usually fairly easy to transfer (although sometimes the basic premise of the story will not fit with the rules of different edition). It's the character/creature specifics that require the most effort to convert.
Also, you could browse through Ars Magica selection of the Paizo store for the basic plot seeds of some of the published adventures.
I'd be happy to bat around some ideas with you, as long as you don't mind that they will be ill-informed and pulled directly from my ass.
Just like all your other posts, SB?
Sorry. I could not resist.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I'd be happy to bat around some ideas with you, as long as you don't mind that they will be ill-informed and pulled directly from my ass.Just like all your other posts, SB?
Sorry. I could not resist.
I am now keeping an official enemies list in my profile.
Rest assured that you are on it, and will remain on it for the foreseeable future.
Ahem.
Here is the situation.
We have four players and are using a version of troupe play- which means two of us switch off being GM. The other GM has been a strong supporter of the story line, and never tried to center the action on himself. Recently, the principal campaign story line has reached a partial conclusion, meaning the players will have several years to further their own concerns. The player made his request for a personal story and I intend to give it to him.
His request is to have his character acquire a fire elemental as a familiar. The difficulty is that to do this he must gain a Virtue that allows it. But gaining Virtues for anything except a beginning character is difficult. For a mature mage to make such a change to his personal magic requires something unusual. Most often such a thing is done as part of advancement in a Mystery Cult, where cult rituals are undergone to alter the mage and gain power. Another way is to under go a Twilight mishap or to gain Warping- neither of which has predictable results. Even after gaining the Virtue, he will have to learn or invent several spells to summon, then control, and then to awaken the elemental before he can take it as a familiar.
The character has done some research and learned of the existence of a deceased Ex Miscellanea mage who gained such a familiar. He intends to journey to the dead mage’s Covenant and attempt to learn how it was done.
I need to decide what’s next. Do I let him join an existing Cult of elemental Magic? Do I give him the records of the dead mage and allow him to use them to become his own Mystery Cult (which requires significantly more time and resources than joining one)? Or do I steer him towards a more personal quest, where he will have to undergo a transformation of another sort (that is give him a way that doesn’t require a Cult).
Just as importantly, what sort of mage has his research sent him to? I need a Medieval group with elemental style magic and I’m blanking on ideas. All I can think of is Vulcan, which is not a good fit. So I’m looking for inspiration on elemental based magic, especially Elemental or Fire aspected. I also need to come up with some story hooks concerning what the character will have to do to accomplish his goal. (And for various reasons, I don’t want to use Faery magic in this.)
This doesn't mean I looking for something historically accurate; just for some concept with real flavor. In the past the characters have encountered minor faeries, a magical Lord of a domain of Cold, been to a Realm I based on the Redwall books, saved villagers from Mongols, hunted down werewolves, been stranded underwater in a Sargasso-like sea, etc. So we're pretty wide open. Any ideas?
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How about using the Sumerian sun god Shamash as the focus for the quest.
the notes of the dead mage lead him to beleive there are still worshippers of the old god who hold the secrets of living fire. i'd make them reluctant (or hostile) about sharing the secrets of their god. Maybe the player earns their trust, maybe he intimidates them, or maybe he steals the knowledge from them.
Have him journey into the middle east, deserts, unusual monsters, lost temples, ancient texts, the works.
I saw something on the net about Shamash helping Gilgamesh in his quest for immortality. Nothing like retelling an ancient epic in your game with the PC as the major player.
Have him go through a hero's journey, maybe replay an event or two from the epic of G. Then throw in some wicked ars magica twilight dangers, some temptations of great power (and great danger).
For conflict outside the personal quest, maybe some other mages want the lost secrets from the cultists, someone from the dead mage's covenant, or maybe someone from his covenant considers it heretical and wants to stop the PCs.
good luck, i wish i could get my group to play AM.
It's been a while since I've played AM...and the last edition I have played was 3rd.
But weren't Cult of Mercury, one of the origins of Order of Hermes, concerned mostly with elemental magics? So perhaps the thing to research is prehistory of Order...
And of course Ex Miscellenea is always good thing to look at when you want to pull some obscure new magic.
I am now keeping an official enemies list in my profile.
Sa-wheat! I made the list three times.
Further plot assistance requested.
Recently, an enemy of the PCs (an order of hedge wizards) has approached the Covenant with an offer of peace if the PCs will act as go betweens to the Order of Hermes. The hedge wizards will end hostilities with the PCs if the PCs will orchestrate their entry into the Order. The PCs have accepted and begun training the no-longer-enemies in the Code Of Hermes, and begun teaching Hermetic Theory to a promising youth from the hedge organization.
The Galena Brotherhood (the hedge wizards) are very concerned that their order will lose its identity in the move, and wish to keep the contact with the Hermetics to a minimun. However, they have, as part of their tradition, a way of leeching fatigue off of others to fuel their own magics. As this is unknown in the Hermetic Order, when the knowledge of this gets out, minimal contact will be difficult to maintain.
The Guernicus mage in the PC group is managing the Galena's entry into the Hermetic Order. What suggestions on early complications do ya'll have? On later complications? On the legal details of having an entire hedge tradition join the Order? (The Ars Magica rules are rather vague on how hedge wizards join the Hermetic Order as a group.) These complications should not include any form of treachery on the part of the Galena mages. The obvious bit of having a Bonisagus seize their younger members as apprentices is also not going to happen. (Though it may be threatened when the Bonisagus require information on the Galena techniques.)
BTW, our players' Covenant is in the Stonehenge Tribunal, in England. It is a colony of a strong Summer Covenant. Our members are a Verditius (busy right now preparing for his House's upcoming competition), a Flambeau (preparing to quest for an elemental familiar), a Guernicus (involved in study and the above), and my character, a Bjornaer (who seeks to unlock his Inner Heartbeast).
My Ars Magica knowledge is quite rusty, and I´m only superficial familiar with 5th Ed.
I would advise against a fire worshipper cult for getting a familiar - a Flambeau has enough trouble without a cult, with the cult it might get unexplainable.
Researching old fire gods/demons from the near east sounds much better to me. If he needs some Virtue to gain this familiar, he should acquire an equal number of Flaws during his research to compensate for it. (Disfigured from flames is just one obvious idea, and if you want real trouble for him, let him smell of brimstone after acquiring the familiar).
Just a few ideas.
Stefan
What you want are the Zoroastrians in Persia. Their whole sacred flame thing is right up this guy's alley. Combine that with the latest RoP:M rules on magical spirits and elementals, and I think you'd get a lot of information for him. Plus, you'd have an established cult and you'd be able to change the setting for a while-- always good.
I also wrote an article about elementals in Sub Rosa #4 and provided a few virtues and flaws that might be interesting to consider for a cult. Issue #3 has Mythic Zoroastrians, too. You'd find it here and here.
It might be late, but there's always time to revisit. Especially as he tries to strengthen the cords.
-Ben.
My Ars Magica knowledge is quite rusty, and I´m only superficial familiar with 5th Ed.
I would advise against a fire worshipper cult for getting a familiar - a Flambeau has enough trouble without a cult, with the cult it might get unexplainable.
Researching old fire gods/demons from the near east sounds much better to me. If he needs some Virtue to gain this familiar, he should acquire an equal number of Flaws during his research to compensate for it. (Disfigured from flames is just one obvious idea, and if you want real trouble for him, let him smell of brimstone after acquiring the familiar).Just a few ideas.
Stefan
It's a bit diverse but maybe there could be a Djinn or Efreet connection from old Persia or the middle east and the moor culture. Just a thought.
After all the Djinn and Efreet are an elemental creature and often not very forgiving to mortals (see film Wishmaster 1,2 and 3, not great films but could give an angle for a storyline).