Ars Magica at a Glance
- Play magi and their loyal companions and grogs in the fantastical world of medieval Mythic Europe.
- Explore this benchmark roleplaying system with a focus on storytelling and troupe-style play.
- Over 40 expansions, supplements, and scenarios to explore roleplaying in Mythic Europe.
The game isn't about power, it's about the whole group telling an epic story together. Everyone gets a say in that story and the sagas that unfold over time are the most extraordinary I've experienced in role-playing. — There Will Be Games
What is Ars Magica?
Ars Magica is the award-winning roleplaying game by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein•Hagen about wizards and their allies in Mythic Europe. This flexible, deeply built world can support games that are historically accurate or fantasy-based, epic or small scale, political or personal.
Players work together to tell the story of their covenant — all of the magi, their companions, and grogs. This history can span decades. It might be heroic, tragic, or both in turn. The covenant could influence the entirety of Mythic Europe or the fates of a small corner of the world.
Spells will be cast. Duels won and lost. Houses may rise and fall. But magic is forever.
Grimoire: Gameplay Basics
Ars Magica is a troupe-style, storytelling game. This means that players will not only play a magus, but also the companions and grogs who serve them. Each of these characters contributes to the covenant they belong to, and therefore to the story itself.
The game is famous for its magic rules, which set a new standard for RPG magic systems. The system is divided into arts, each of which comes with a set of verbs and nouns (called Techniques and Forms). Players simply put them together into phrases like "Control Fire" to represent what they want to do.
This fifth edition core book contains all of the rules you need to play, and there’s an enormous library of Ars Magica supplements in our catalog to help develop your campaign. As a rule, older sourcebooks are usable with the newest edition.
Awards
2005 ENnie Gold Award Winner – Best Rules.
2005 ENnie Silver Award Winner – Best Production Values.
2005 ENnie Award Nominee – Best Game.
2005 ENnie Award Honorable Mention – Best Interior Art.
2004 Origins Award Winner – Best Role Playing Game.
2004 Out of the Box Award Winner – Best Retread.