Customer Reviews

Ars Magica, Fifth Edition (Ars Magica Fantasy Roleplaying)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a long time gamer, I had seen Ars Magica come and go on the shelves through its various editions. I'd always intended to pick it up and take a look, but I didn't get around to it until its fifth edition. Being completely new to the rules and setting, I was charmed by both the setting and character creation process.

The setting is "Mythic Europe," possessing all the places and people we know from history classes, but with magic and wizards added to spice things up. The first thing I thought of was it would be great for folks who have more than a passing interest in things Medieval and Renaissance. Perhaps history teachers might use this for enrichment in their high school classes, even. Having personally slogged through the "D&D is Devil Worship" eighties, I was intrigued to see that the Church and the God worshiped by the Hebrews, Christians, and Muslims is recognized as the most powerful political and spiritual source in the setting.

Many games today have a system where you can buy extra benefits for your character at creation by taking additional faults. I understand this is one of the first systems to do so. There are some delightful ideas in this section of the book. I really enjoyed reading through them. "Difficult Underlings" and "Offensive to Animals" are two of my favorites.

From checking the fan sites before and after my purchase, I got the impression that the players generally liked this update/edition of the rules. I also understand that the drive behind the fixes and improvements in this edition came from a fellow named David Chart. Mr. Tweet gets top bill for 5E, but Mr. Chart gets the fan site love. Not having seen previous editions, I will take the fans' word that this is a nice tightening and fixing of the RAW (rules as written).

I have no problems with the production values of this book. I don't see any marking that might indicate what printing I purchased, but I do not agree with the previous reviewer that the printing was substandard. It won't lay flat like some gamers prefer; it's a nice tight binding that will hold up well to being hauled back and forth to games.

I highly recommend Ars Magica. Cool setting, lots of ideas to take to another game, and a good recent update to the rules system.

I'll keep this short. If you are already a fan of Ars Magica this is an amazing update. Combat is simplified for large groups, but there is still plenty of detail. The magic system remains the best in the RPG world, and is improved upon with better guidelines for creating new spells. Finally, the Virtues and Flaws section is presented with a handy table at the begining that makes it easy to find the ones you are looking for.

Great update for a great game.

This edition is, for me, the best edition of Ars Magica. It is more consistent, includes various developments and ideas from the fanbase and past line development, and is Well thought out and just good. If you are a fan of Ars Magica, you owe it to yourself to buy it. If you are not familiar with Ars Magica but are interested in an RPG with a mythical, historic, or political bent (all valid Ars Magica play styles, amongst others), it would be well worth your time to give this book a read.

The production is stylized but the art mostly poor and the pages thick but feel somehow chea. Regadless the book is durable and seems to endure harsh treatment with grace, and the stylized design pleasent.

I've always thought of Ars Magica as being the highest school of Role Playing Games.
5th edition simplifies things, but the system itself seems to be final. (Detailed enough to feel real, but free enough to be a game.)
I've read through, and didn't find any contradictions. We've added only a few house-rules. I hope we're going to enjoy it for long. (The rules seem to be working now, but we can be sure only after a few years of testing. ;-) )

This Design won't please you at all. Indeed I have the feeling that I am presented with a low budget copy made by an Inkjet Printer. The pictures aren't in a consistent style, medieval art is shown together with some very unprofessional draft.
The quality of the printing is low. You won't boast with this book at you next gaming session.

As for the content... as stated on atlas games homepage, some things have been simplified, and combat has become more deadly. The only way to decide if it fits your playstyle is to read it. Sorry that I won't discuss the changes in detail, my review should help those people that also want to have a well designed RPG manual - which this isn't.