Ars Magica, Fifth Edition (Ars Magica Fantasy Roleplaying) (Hardcover)

~ Jonathan Tweet (Author), Mark Rein-Hagen (Author), David Chart (Author) "On the day the faeries came to burn the village, Walter was repairing the thatch on his roof..." (more)
Key Phrases: penetration bonus, botch dice, casting score, Parma Magica, Order of Hermes, Arcane Connection (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ars Magica ("The Art of Magic") is the award-winning roleplaying game that focuses on wizards who are as powerful as the ones we know from legend and literature, and the land of Mythic Europe, where those legends are real. The rules encourage players to develop their characters over long periods of time, and make the covenant, the home base of the characters, as central to the stories as any individual character. Troupe-style roleplaying allows players to take on the roles of different characters in different stories, so that the players have equal access to power even though the characters do not. This new edition is rewritten to improve the rules for existing players, and to be more attractive and accessible to new audiences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Atlas Games; 5th edition (November 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589780701
• ISBN-13: 978-1589780705
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #326,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic new edition, April 10, 2005

By	Jagdcarcajou (California, USA) - See all my reviews

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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Edition of the Best Game, February 27, 2006

By	Y.R. - See all my reviews

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Old Game, Nice Update, August 29, 2009

By	Kenneth R. Austin (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.