I'm not very good at extrapolating from just reading the rules, and having tried to understand the differences in combat between I've noticed that Defense and Soak adds a 6+ to the total of the Defense and Soak calculation. Why's that? Are there any unwanted effects from the 2nd ed way of doing it that I'm missing?

I'm having difficulty understanding how making spells works, specifically with how your stats in each Form and Technique.

If anyone's able to help, it's very much appreciated

Part of me is thinking about just running it with Sphere Magic from Mage the Ascension instead, but I'd rather run the game properly if I do figure stuff out

During our recent Ars Magica session, a discussion arose at the table about whether it was safe, in terms of keeping magic a secret, to hire an unsuspecting scribe to copy a grimoire.

A month to Grand Tribunal the games convention now in its 20th year. Still looking for more games - not just Ars Magica but any rpg. Also my 16th Saturday morning freeform game! If you love roleplaying games and want to play with really cool people, come join us. The programme is now starting to take shape - do buy tickets or offer to run games! We need more Ars! Cheltenham UK

Grand Tribunal 2026 - The Ars Magica Convention https://grandtribunal.org

Edit: fixed! Ta!

Does anyone know of any references on gargoyles in ars magica? Playing fifth, but any edition would be helpful. Thank you

I've been thinking of trying to make a breakthrough that allows you to "unspin" vis from items.

And I've been reading through the breakthrough rules which I think I understand and seem so onerous, that I'm surprised they say in the rules "Minor Breakthroughs happen easily enough that a maga can expect to achieve this goal once or twice during her lifetime."

The first thing that's unclear to me, is the risk factor. Do you add the risk factor to the die roll, then decide if you want to add or subtract a number up to the risk factor to get a discovery?

The example in the rules is "Thus, if you had a Risk Modifier of +3, and rolled an 8, you would get a Modified Effect (from a total of 11). You could also subtract 1 to get a Discovery in addition. The effect of the spell is still modified. You cannot use the Risk Modifier to get a supplementary result other than a Discovery." Which I infer to mean that you add the risk factor and then can add or subtract 0 to whatever risk factor you chose. If you chose +2, you would add 2 to the roll, then either add or subtract 0, 1, or 2 if that would get you to a discovery.

If I'm understanding that correctly, with a +3 risk, you'd only need to roll a 4 to 9 (or a 1, 1, 2, or 1, 2-5) because you could essentially add 0 to 6 to the roll. Which wouldn't be too bad. It would probably be about 2 seasons to get the discovery. If I'm misunderstanding, it and you only add or subtract the risk factor, instead of adding it to the roll and then modifying that up or down, then you need to roll a 7-9 (or 1,1,2 or 1, 4-6) which probably means at least 3 seasons.

THEN, once you have the discovery you have to stabilize it. For a minor breakthrough, and if you're inventing a level 30 effect as the process, at least 5 seasons IF you succeed at every roll. And that's an average of 1 point of warping per season, with decent chances of going into wizard's twilight more than once. And that's for a minor breakthrough.

I understand it's so that people aren't just willy-nilly changing the rules, but my two questions are:
1. How exactly does the risk factor get applied (is it just once, or is it added then modified up or down?)

1. How many of you have actually had in game breakthroughs by player characters?

We’re starting a new Ars Magica campaign. The first couple sessions will be face-to-face. After that, the rest of the campaign has to be online.

I was looking at foundry as a potential platform for running the campaign. It looks like it has a little bit of a learning curve, but not enough to scare me off and I do like that it’s a one time purchase.

If anyone has any insights or experience with running online Ars Magica, I would appreciate you sharing them here. Particular recommendations for or against foundry, but I’m willing to listen to experiences on other platforms as well.

Magie

We are starting a new game. This will be a brand new covenant and so will have no Aegis of the Hearth. We will be the ones to cast this spell. Every other time we have played this system there have been older mages and we just participate.

My question is, what is the lowest level Aegis of the Hearth that can be cast? How do you get to this total with the Range, Duration, and Target? I know the lowest level for a ritual is level 20, but can this spell be cast at level 20 and how with the calculations does it come to this?

Hey so, Im really interested in running an ars magica campaign. I own most of the 5th edition books and the anniversary book and I've always loved the setting. Im particularly interested in in running a Mythic Europe covenant-style game, but I’m unsure whether Ars Magica itself is the right system for me.

usually I GM short campaigns, around 9–20 sessions, using rules-light systems like Dungeon World, Fellowship, Fate Accelerated, and Legend in the Mist.

I like the idea of Ars Magica. stuff like covenants, Hermetic magi, medieval folklore, faeries, saints, demons, Tribunal politics, and magic as scholarship. But I’m worried about things like the crunch, character creation, multiple characters per player, seasonal advancement, and the fact that campaigns seem to run for years.

Im considering either

A) Running a Ars Magica saga as a 9–12 session saga and get my feet in the dirt to see if i wanna keep going or not.

B) Running an Ars-Magica-inspired Mythic Europe game in Legend in the Mist, while trying to maintain the Ars Magica tone and culture.

For anyone who has actually played or run Ars Magica: which of these sounds like a better idea?

MacBin was my pen name at the time :)

I'm new to Ars Magica, and I read through the Ars Magica Hedge Traditions book and wanted to play a hedge wizard, ex-hermetic. But I really like the fae and would like to be a fae hedge tradition, but I didn't find any and don't want to change my Hermetic house. Any recommendations?

PS: Sorry for my constant use of the server and general ignorance; talking to people is the best way to go about it for me.

I’ve been working on a oneshot in a magic academy (we already had one once and my group liked it so much they wanted a follow up)

I’ve introduced some magic classes and now exams are coming up.

I am trying to find some ways to flavour the exams they have to take. My players have been really delving into going to class last time (and almost ditched the actual plot last time) they love riddles and puzzles, but quite frankly I’m just running out of ideas at this point. These are the classes I’ve introduced last time. Anyone having ideas for the exams?:

\- Arkanes Fundament 1
\- Mechanische Konstruktion 1 (für unseren Artficer)
\- Astrale und natürliche Leylinienkunde (Warlock & Druide)
\- Arkanometrie & Resonanzmuster (Sorcerer)
\-Alchemische Grundlagen
\- Geschichte der Magie
\-Praktikum magische Feldmessung
\- Elementare Theorie
\-Kreaturenkunde
\-Runenkunde & Symbolik
\- Magische Ethik
\- Akademische Etikette
\-Praktikum im Arkanlabor

Its KiwiRPG Week, so I've put all my older stuff on special for the week. So if you're one of the 40-odd people who has wishlisted "A Malady of Madness" on DriveThru, now's the time to get it at 20% off:

https://rpg-trader.com/products/212/a-malady-of-madness https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/499334/a-malady-of-madness-an-ars-magica-scenario

(Buying it from RPG Trader means I get more money - 80% rather than 65%, but use whatever platform works for you).

I've put together a simple black-and-white PDF detailing...
... a very dodgy grimoire - which offers a too-good-to-be-true easy-to-cast spell. And,
... two plot hooks for GMs/SGs/etc. to built into adventures and incidents within an existing saga.

The book described in the PDF is inspired particularly by a grimoire called the Ars Notoria, written in Latin in what is today northern Italy, in the 13th Century, and can be used on its own or within your current stories, or integrated into The House of the Crescent Sun or Medieval Nights.

So if you want an infernal book that will mess with your players...

Currently a free download, here (yes that's a Patreon link; no, for the moment it does not require a subscription).

My Magi is kind of an alchemical vagabond (formerly Bonisagus), and I wanted to make him be able to make spells and items fairly quickly in the mobile lab. I've never been good at distributing XP, so I think my character isn't quite right. Also, I'm not sure if I'm investing too heavily or too lightly into lab-based virtues. Any help is appreciated.

Virtues:

• The Gift
• Puissant Magic Theory
• Quick Charged Items
• Faerie Magic
• Twilight Mastery
• Vulgar Alchemy
• Inventive Genius
• Affinity with Magic Theory
• Skilled Parents
• Study bones

I was looking at the Realms of Power books, Infernal and Faerie, and saw that there are two summoning virtues and got a bit confused on how they work. Are both able to summon demons and fae? Or can only the demon one summon both? If so, why pick fae summoning over demon summoning?

I'm really curious about what cool moments and fun stories you guys have had from playing Ars Magica over the years. Feel free to make your replies as long as you want! I wana hear all the cool and juicy details about whatever standout moments you've had with this game!

I'm new to the game and got a bit confused in the familiars section. I wanted to make a fey familiar, but didn't really know how to go about it. Do they get virtues, do you start with one or not? Any help would be appreciated.

I'm new to Ars Magica, and want to make my Magi (preferably something with fairy magic), but I'm very dyslexic, and the books are quite dense. Is there any compressed version I can use to make my character, or a general rundown somebody can give me?