Ars Magica Video Game (Kickstarter)

[Tuhljin]

I don't know where the right place to put this would be, but someone pointed me to this and I wanted to (to be honest) maybe drum up some interest for it, since they need more support to be able to pull it off:

Kickstarter: Ars Magica Video Game (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackchickenstudios/ars-magica-video-game)

It's by the same people that did Academagia. (And no, I'm not affiliated with them in any way.)

On a somewhat related note (if it's not too off-topic for this subforum), I'm a fan of Ars Magica in concept but have never been able to get a group together to play it and, if I did, it'd probably be me as storyteller with a handul of others who've never played it before, agreeing only to test the waters with me. I'd certainly want to give them a good impression of the game but I don't know what the best way to do that would be. Anyone know of any resources to help with that, or with getting a group together?

[Aidan305]

While Ars Magica is a great RPG, completely different from most others, I'm finding myself wary of this kickstarter. There's too little information being given out about the game, and their goals for it. The blurb itself reads more like an advertisement for Ars Magica than giving any information about how the video game will work.

[Tuhljin]

You're looking for this part:


•Covenant gameplay is turn and map-based and allows you to do things such as collect Resources, train, research new Spells, create magical items, engage in diplomacy, go on quests and explore. In this section of the game, you have full command over all your Covenfolk, and can direct them to take whatever actions you feel are important. You can also let them choose their own tasks, if you prefer to see them get into their own types of trouble.

•Quest gameplay is turn and dialogue-based, and allows you to assemble a party to accomplish a purpose. That purpose could be a variety of things: trade, combat, diplomacy, duels, investigations...and they can all lead to battle. Like the tabletop game, you choose the characters you want to come along. Some quests also have a map portion, for those quests with dungeon explorations.

•Battle are won through a turn-based party system. It’s very old school: your foes are presented on one end, and your party on the other, and you act according to 5E Ars Magica initiative. What sets it apart, however, is the Environment. This is a pool of factors, constantly changing and refreshing, which benefit and penalize all combatants. Where you go in the Environment, and what you do there, can provide you the means of survival – only the most hardy or well protected warrior can ignore the Environment, and even then, probably not for very long. It also turns on and off Spell/Spontaneous Magic options- if an opponent is sniping from a bush, you can set it on fire. If an opponent has taken shelter in a building, you can use the furniture to attack them. Is it raining? Change it to acid. And so on.

•Magic is omnipresent in Ars Magica, and that’s true of Years of Conquest, too. Whether you are on the Covenant screen, on a quest, or in battle, you’ll find the contextually appropriate Spells available for your mages to use. If you don’t know the Spell, you can cast it Spontaneously. Which Spells you use also makes a big difference: they can provide information which can change the course of a negotiation, reveal an alternate path, or just make your tasks easier. If you have the skills to pull it off, Magic makes everything better.

•Magic also makes for eccentric, half-mad mages, and it doesn’t help that magically touched people are cursed with social stigmas, too. Covenants are full of personality, and when those personalities conflict, it can have explosive results. Making sure that your people aren’t burning your home down is part of the charm of any Ars Magica game. Depending on what you do, your Covenfolk can form lasting friendships, bitter rivalries, cooperate on magical breakthroughs, or, just as easily, tear it all apart.

•Finally, the true progression of the game is the toll of the years: at the beginning, you have nothing but a single mage, a ruined Roman villa, and the key to a deeper mystery. By the end, you will have seen four generations go by, and your Covenant will be a dominant magical power, hoarding rich treasures, and maintained by strong and loyal Covenfolk. Then again, it might still be a ruin on a blasted heath, pillaged by your enemies and brought to its end by treachery.

[Craft (Cheese)]

It's not as much information as I'd find ideal, but then again it's way more than we got with Project Eternity before people started tossing their life savings at it.

From what I see in the kickstarter pitch it sounds pretty cool: Sortof like Mount and Blade with a magic system and dungeon crawling. Which, to be honest, is something I really, really wanted when I played that game. So it sounds pretty cool, but I'm still weary about the actual results. Plenty of games have promised to be "Like X but better" and failed miserably at doing so; This is part of the reason why I'm skeptical Project Eternity will live up to anything resembling the hype around it.

EDIT: Highly informative interview (http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=8561) about the project for those who want to know more.

[warty goblin]

Why is it people insist on jamming magic everywhere? Post conquest Britain is a truly fascinating moment in history, it doesn't need fireballs, magical covenents or any of that stuff. Tell it like it was, and I'll be far more interested.

[CN the Logos]

Why is it people insist on jamming magic everywhere? Post conquest Britain is a truly fascinating moment in history, it doesn't need fireballs, magical covenents or any of that stuff. Tell it like it was, and I'll be far more interested.

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but a game called Ars Magica may not be right for you. Try Europa Universalis. I'm curious as to what you expected when you clicked on the thread title though. :smallconfused:

Unfortunately I'm terribly poor right now, so I can't fund any kickstarters, but I wish them luck, and if the game gets made I'll probably end up buying it once I have the cash. I've wanted to play or run a game of Ars Magica since I first heard of it, but it's nigh-impossible to get a gaming group together around here.

[warty goblin]

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but a game called Ars Magica may not be right for you. Try Europa Universalis. I'm curious as to what you expected when you clicked on the thread title though. :smallconfused:


I got nothing against fantasy (see: username). I don't get anything out of mixing it with history though - particularly fantasy of a very modern bent. The appeal of history is that it happened you see, while the appeal of fantasy is that it has things in it not contained in reality. The two are fundamentally somewhat incompatible in my mind.

[Tebryn]

I got nothing against fantasy (see: username). I don't get anything out of mixing it with history though - particularly fantasy of a very modern bent. The appeal of history is that it happened you see, while the appeal of fantasy is that it has things in it not contained in reality. The two are fundamentally somewhat incompatible in my mind.

Yes well, the bolded is the issue here I think. You're not looking for the same thing the people who want to play Post War Britain with Magic are. And there's nothing wrong with that, or the other side either however. Personal preference and the ever expanding fantasy genre is broad enough everyone can enjoy themselves.

[CN the Logos]

I got nothing against fantasy (see: username). I don't get anything out of mixing it with history though - particularly fantasy of a very modern bent. The appeal of history is that it happened you see, while the appeal of fantasy is that it has things in it not contained in reality. The two are fundamentally somewhat incompatible in my mind.

That makes sense, I suppose. Personally, I like having some historical (or real-world mythological) elements in my fantasy, because it provides a sort of touchstone connecting it with the reality I know. For me, starting with something real and then modifying it based on the changes that would be made by magic/highly advanced technology/alien space bats results in more verisimilitude than creating one that's totally unconnected to ours, but which happens to have humans and a lot of Earth's wildlife. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[endoperez]

The developers don't seem to be up to the task.

Warty goblin:

Ars Magica isn't modern fantasy. It draws a lot from folklore and myths. If you know King of Dragon Pass, Ars Magica feels like that game. It also takes the time period seriously. It doesn't present a single path to the future, but takes an event (e.g. mongols coming to Eastern Europe), provides few different scenarios for how that could happen, provides few different scenarios for what kind of adventures that can cause, and gives few different outcomes as examples. The DM is encouraged to research, and the game tries to encourage people to hold a medieval mindset. E.g. devils are dangerous because they try to temp you to sin, not just because of their powers.



Also, King of Dragon Pass could inspire a superb Ars Magica game. Seasons, people aging, controlling a whole community through only a few visible characters, having to allot resources between growing food, waging war, pacifying neighbours, doing magic, and making sure no hostile magic affects your community...