Okay, three things.

#1: Streamlining Experience.

I'd like people to consider the possibility of having every status score(Characteristics, Abilities, Arts, even Virtues and Flaws and Confidence) in Ars Magica share a basic common value.

That common value would be the Art experience point, renamed the experience point, or XP. I recommend that Art XP be used because the knowledge training/studying rules use this already, although the student must then divide by 5 and round up.

Ability XP is already defined as being the equivalent to 5 Art XP. Conversion is simple - Abilities now require (Level + 1) * 5 XP to advance.

I would recommend junking the Confidence rules, mostly because I cannot find any other place in the rules where a similar mechanic is used. Allow Players to purchase Confidence with XP, at a cost of (Level + 1) * (10 or 15). However, I would keep the rules for temporary and permanent loss of Confidence, and a new mechanism for capping Confidence might need to be devised.

I would rate Virtues as being worth 30 XP. A modifier of up to 15 XP might be applied if the SG has control over how the XP or Virtue is spent(15 - 25 XP might buy a Virtue point if the SG has control over what it is, 1 Virtue might buy 35 - 45 XP if the SG has control over how they are spent).

As for Characteristics, I would value them at ((Absolute Value of Level) + 1) * (20 to 40, I recommend 20) XP. I would also recommend that SGs be advised to require plenty of in-game justification for raising Characteristics, especially Stamina and Intellegence.

As a final note for #1, I recommend handing out 20 XP per year of life from the ages of 1 to 20, rather than the current 10. From the ages of 21 to 30, make it 15 XP, and then 10 from then on. It seems to me that such XP is more in line with what even Grogs will be making. Note also that Speak Language 4 should no longer come free.

#2: Eliminating Classes

There are currently a number of classes in Ars Magica. Hermetic Magus is the most obvious one, with various types of lesser wizards filling out the remainder. I'd like to get rid of that.

Let us define a new Virtue. Call it, The Gift of Magic, and value it at +6. Let us also define another virtue, calling it The Lesser Gift of Magic, and value it at +3.

Now, let us assume that all magical traditions have a Virtue associated with them that acts as a Gateway of sorts, allowing further training in that tradition. The Hermetic Gateway Virtue would be a +1 Virtue that has The Gift of Magic as a prerequisite.

Then convert several Virtue Points into XP, which provides our young apprentice with lotsa XP a year(20 normal + ? from the Virtues) for almost 15 years(the rate will decrease slightly when the apprentice hits 20). Ability XP for Magi is currently 45 + Age, or presumably 60 total gained during apprenticeship. That's 4 Ability XP per year, or 20 XP. In addition 10 Spell Levels and 10 Art XP are also gained each year(on average, of course). A total of 40 XP a year.

Note that if you assume that grounding in each Art requires the equivalent of an Ability XP, you've now got a total of 45 XP a year.

20 or 25 of that yearly sum must come from Virtues. That's 300 XP or 375 XP, which works out to 10 or 13 Virtue points(the extra 15 XP works out to 3 Ability XP, which isn't unbalancing).

13 + 6 + 1 works out to 20 Virtue Points, which is a nice round number. Primary Characters, therefore, should have 20 Virtue points. Their choice if they buy a Hermetic Magus just after apprenticeship or not.

#3: Combat

Let's drop the phases of action - melee should be somewhat abstract, missile and spell combat should be blow-by-blow.

One thing I liked about brawling was that you have maneouvers you can do if you get enough successes. Let's do that with melee in general. Of course, each 5 point success can be converted to a body level of damage, but let's also have stuff like disarms and feints that you can try to do.

For missiles, if you have an Initiative of 24 for the round, and your bow has a fire rate of 8, then you fire at 16, 8, and 0. Anyone attacking you with melee weapons has a bonus of (his initiative - 16).

You might also allow for Insta-Kill missile weapons. Sufficiently heavy bows and crossbows can go right through armor within a certain range. With a good enough aiming roll(15 higher than is needed to hit the target, perhaps?) you can hit the brain or sever the spinal chord in the neck.

Okay, I'm hoping for comments/flames/job offers;)/criticism. Anyone care to fulfill those hopes?

-Albert

Edited 1/24/2003 3:11:58 AM ET by APNORMAN

IMO it seems the Ars rules penalize adventure and conflict. As a storyguide I am constantly butting heads with the system to generate worthy sagas. If you read them straight out the rules seems to focus/suggest a "simulation" experience. Like the computer game SimCity where the player spends the game creating buildings, roads, people, etc, rather than competing against an opponent or trying to accomplish some task.

In AM, players create Magi, Custos, and Grogs and build a covenant. Then they spend all their time making refinements (advancing characters, creating items in the lab, improving the covenant, etc.) The Code of Hermes and the Peripheral Code along with the season-based advancement system (rather than a role-playing award-based system) have my players fighting my campaign elements: "Let's not bother exploring the ruins this season . . . I want to get back to my lab so I can finish that Tractatus." "Sorry, can't help you. It might be considered interference with mundane affairs." "In the long run we don't need to worry about them, when it's my turn to SG I'll just make them go away."

Personally, I don't have a problem with the game mechanics (whether combat, abilities, virtues, etc). Any minor changes I need for realism or balance I can add as house rules. What I'm more interested in from a new edition is an expansion of the rules and suggestions for Troupe play. Most storyguides will need help running this style of game if they haven't done so before. Here's a few questions I'd like the next edition to answer:

Storyguide and Troupe:
* Assuming multiple troupe members want the job, how is the storyguide chosen?
* Who has the final say if the player troupe disagrees with the current storyguide?
* How does a departing storyguide prevent an incoming storyguide from manhandling key NPC's?
* What recourse is there to prevent a storyguide from granting boons to his old PC's?
* The primary setting is "historical", how much authority does the storyguide have to change that history?
* What's the best way for a player to handle multiple characters at once? How are they kept distinct and unique?

Order of Hermes:
* What exactly is the Code and Peripheral Code and how strenuously is it applied?
* The Code and Peripheral Code disallow Magi to "interfere" or "enflame" such groups as faeries, the church, mundane, nobles, demons, and other Magi. It almost seems that a Magus can't do anything outside of his own covenant without breaking the Code. What can a Magus do?
* How is a House Primus chosen?
* Can new Houses be created? How?
* How do you answer players that ask, "What's the point of having this powerful mage if he can't do anything without braking the Code?" or "Why should I go out adventuring, I get more experience staying in my lab?" "If there's a threat to our covenant, can't we just send a message to the tribunal and have some Flambeau or Quesitor handle it?"

Covenants:
* How is the hierarchy of a covenant established (democracy, by age, by relative power, notoriety, etc.)?
* What are the processes for changing that hierarchy (how are new members added, how are troubled ones removed, how are non-violent disputes resolved)?
* What are the responsibilities and authorities of a magus relating to his covenant (adding to the library, gathering vis, acting in defense, speaking on behalf of, sharing resources, etc)?
* How can a magus change covenants?
* How is the covenant run (like a tiny city, as a manor house, as a slave camp)?
* Are grogs and custos paid? How much? What are their official responsibilities and authorities relating to the covenant?
* How is a turb captain chosen? What authority does he have (disbursing pay, administering punishment, using covenant equipment/supplies)?

Military:
* How much does it cost to build/train/maintain a force of soldiers? How long does it take?
* How are wars started; how do they end? What is required to defeat an army/castle/country?
* What factors other than military might and "strategy", such as weather, terrain, morale, and reputation affect a war campaign (not just a single battle).
* How are generals chosen? How are they removed? How does their fighting style (aggressive, cautious, unconventional) change the effectiveness of their troops?
* What are the mechanics of a siege? How quickly can siege engines be built, what tools are needed? What about unconventional tactics (poison, fire, espionage, bribery, etc) function in a siege situation?

-- DR

I can think of two ways to pitch ArM 5e to a wider fantasy gaming audience without sacrificing the strength of Mythic Europe as a great setting which ArM presents very nicely.

(1) The fifth edition could focus on the year 1220 as before, but give more detail for, say 850 and 1500. The detail would include customs, politics, arms & armour, the state of the Order, etc. This would reinforce players' willingness to play with other time periods (which, of course, they always could... but if the core books aid
that, so much the better to broaden the scope of the game). Detail about the wild early days of the Order (when wizards war was all the more common) and the (potentially "high fantasy") Mythic Renaissance could remain in sideboxes, without disturbing the focus on 1220. I can imagine once-off supplements to fill out these in detail: "The Hermetic Renaissance" and "Ars Magica - The Dark Ages" or somesuch... hmm, I suspect you'd need a different title for the latter one. The once-off Renaissance book could also cover a lot of the aspects found in other "high fantasy" settings, opening more of that market to ArM without actually sacrificing any of ArM's medieval/Mythic "authenticity" to cater for it.

(2) Part of the chapter dealing with Mythic Europe and the hot topic of the "medieval paradigm" should include something like a four page question & answer (disputatio) section. Twenty questions ought to do it. Each question would deal with a topic, such as "on the nature of the Fay", "on the extent of the earth", "on the nature of beasts", "on the nature of truth"... with three or four answers, each representing a different (more or less fantastical) take on the medieval paradigm.

Reading the question and seeing the different comon answers would itself be instructive, but (best of all) the troupe gets to choose which answers it likes to "set" reality for their own game. Besides being a great fantasy buzz, it seems likely to straighten out the issue for a lot of players who are worried about the intricities of
medieval/Mythic "reality". Answering the twenty questions would also set the scene for how the future pans out in the Mythic Renaissance. ("On the nature of truth" would settle the question of paradigm shift).

---
For example (the only one I've even vaguely worked out):

Q. On the Nature of the Fay

Are faeries everywhere or are they in decline in settled areas? Do iron and the cross mean the doom of faerie folk in the world?

a. (the retreat of the Fay)
In this version of medieval reality, the faerie folk are indeed being driven back from settled areas. Peasents make sure to nail horseshoes over their doors. Not for good luck, but as cold iron keeps faeries at bay! As the Dominion spreads across Mythic Europe the faeries are being scattered and weakened. As time goes by they will be harder and harder to find, as they hide in the last pieces of dying wilderness.

b. (the siege of the Fay)
The faerie folk are indeed being driven back from settled areas and concentrated in the wilderness. But far from being reduced, the more they are pushed in, the more they grow in power. Slowly iron and the cross are losing their ability to make further inroads into faerie-held areas. Some of these strongholds are ruled by faerie lords
who are in preparation for counter-attacks upon settled lands. The expansion of the Dominion gets slower and slower, as more and more incidents occur. Soon humans and faeries will be pressed tightly together and the only possible outcomes are a treaty or war!

c. (the slavery of the Fay)
Iron does not drive away faeries, it shakles them. Iron-bound mill wheels are like chains which bind river gods and water faeries to endless toil. All human industry is based on the capture and exploitation of faeries (albeit their invisibility may leave some unaware of this fact). Blacksmiths and engineers are types of magician, specialising in faerie slavery. Future technology (from steam power to hot air ballons) will likewise be based on control of the fay.
---

At any rate, I think ArM 5e needs to make the Mythic paradigm accessable to a wider audience (ideally, in nice atmospheric game terms).

Nat