Pre game discussion

[Bhart]

Just a reminder. If you really want to try the game but feel overwhelmed by the character creation process just PM me. Send me a description of the mage (or other class) in D&D terms and I translate that into a ready to play character for you.

I could also post a gallery of pre-gen characters for you to pick from if any of you would like that.

[Bhart]

I will be travelling on business until Saturday the 13th. My posts may be slow or non-existent until Sunday. Thanks for your patience.

[onlyme]

I will be travelling on business until Saturday the 13th. My posts may be slow or non-existent until Sunday. Thanks for your patience.

no problem... it feels like it will take me a couple months to figure out my character(s)...

[ChubbyPixie]

I will be travelling on business until Saturday the 13th. My posts may be slow or non-existent until Sunday. Thanks for your patience.

no problem... it feels like it will take me a couple months to figure out my character(s)...

No kidding, right? Glad I'm not the only one. I'm having fun figuring it out, but it's a process...

[Rodriguez]

First my formal "Hello!" as I will join you guys in the study of the magical arts.

I will be travelling on business until Satinspiration he 13th. My posts may be slow or non-existent until Sunday. Thanks for your patience.

no problem... it feels like it will take me a couple months to figure out my character(s)...

No kidding, right? Glad I'm not the only one. I'm having fun figuring it out, but it's a process...

It certainly helps to have at least some love for crunchy rules or character optimisation in your blood to tackle Ars Magica.

To ease the creation of Companions we probably should post some character ideas that fit for our magus so one of the others can either pick it up and run with it or at least get some inspiration.

[Bhart]

First my formal "Hello!" as I will join you guys in the study of the magical arts.



It certainly helps to have at least some love for crunchy rules or character optimisation in your blood to tackle Ars Magica.

To ease the creation of Companions we probably should post some character ideas that fit for our magus so one of the others can either pick it up and run with it or at least get some inspiration.

Excellent idea.

[ChubbyPixie]

Does anyone want to play Chauncy the magical catfish? I'm not sure if he'd be better as a GM or player run character. He's basically a faerie in the form of a fish that can swim through the air. I believe he would have his own magical powers...

[Rodriguez]

Tempting...

[Rodriguez]

My Crone might have (or would be looking for) an assistant or student.

[onlyme]

To ease the creation of Companions we probably should post some character ideas that fit for our magus so one of the others can either pick it up and run with it or at least get some inspiration.

I am the complete opposite. I have my companion pretty well fleshed out, being a completely political expert who has no business near a battle.
It is the magus I cannot build. I am trying to come up with the classic bumbling professor/mad scientist type, like Doc Brown in Back to the Future.

[ChubbyPixie]

Tempting...

Yes! That's him.

[Rodriguez]

I am the complete opposite. I have my companion pretty well fleshed out, being a completely political expert who has no business near a battle.

Well, its the concept I wonder about. I dont know enough about the rest of the group to get an Idea what Companion would fit to one of the Mages.

It is the magus I cannot build. I am trying to come up with the classic bumbling professor/mad scientist type, like Doc Brown in Back to the Future.

Hmm, what part are you struggling with? Selection of Flaws&Virtues? Spells? Abilities?

[ChubbyPixie]

To ease the creation of Companions we probably should post some character ideas that fit for our magus so one of the others can either pick it up and run with it or at least get some inspiration.

I am the complete opposite. I have my companion pretty well fleshed out, being a completely political expert who has no business near a battle.
It is the magus I cannot build. I am trying to come up with the classic bumbling professor/mad scientist type, like Doc Brown in Back to the Future.

I'm assuming he would be from house Verditius?

[onlyme]

To ease the creation of Companions we probably should post some character ideas that fit for our magus so one of the others can either pick it up and run with it or at least get some inspiration.

I am the complete opposite. I have my companion pretty well fleshed out, being a completely political expert who has no business near a battle.
It is the magus I cannot build. I am trying to come up with the classic bumbling professor/mad scientist type, like Doc Brown in Back to the Future.

I'm assuming he would be from house Verditius?

The problem I have is that each flaw/virtue mentions some specific art or type, etc that it affects. For a mundane companion, that is easy to grasp. For a magician, it seems that it is more important to get it right. So it becomes a situation where I need to undersand the arts and the details before I would know what virtue/flaw works.

[Rodriguez]

Just ignore the flaws/virtues that give a flat bonus to arts, techniques or attributes for now and only look for them once you say to yourself "Dang, I wish I could be better at X/Have more points for Y" and go for the Attributes next.
There you spend 75 build points for things you want to be good at and 30 ponts on stuff you think he should be somewhat capable.

[Computer +1]

Hey guys! I too am new to this system and am trying to figure out what I am doing. May be a while

[ChubbyPixie]

Hey guys! I too am new to this system and am trying to figure out what I am doing. May be a while

Good to have you. I read the whole book (not that you need to go THAT far, just because I enjoyed it) and now feel I kind of have a grasp...

[Rodriguez]

Hey onlyme, are you still struggling with the Virtues & Flaws?

[onlyme]

Hey onlyme, are you still struggling with the Virtues & Flaws?

Let's call it paralysis by analysis... Without knowing enough about what some of the items mean from a gameplay standpoint, (ie abilities, types, arts, etc) I dont know how to maximize the virtues and minimize the flaws, so to speak... So, reading each one just makes it more difficult.

I may just keep my companion, and add on the magus later, once I see how the game moves. Unless we are supposed to pair up, in which case someone else's companion would be without.

[Bhart]

Hey onlyme, are you still struggling with the Virtues & Flaws?

Let's call it paralysis by analysis... Without knowing enough about what some of the items mean from a gameplay standpoint, (ie abilities, types, arts, etc) I dont know how to maximize the virtues and minimize the flaws, so to speak... So, reading each one just makes it more difficult.

I may just keep my companion, and add on the magus later, once I see how the game moves. Unless we are supposed to pair up, in which case someone else's companion would be without.

You don't have to spend all 10 points in Flaws and Virtues. You can spend 0 and still have a perfectly functional magus. So, don't worry so much about min/maxing. When I first started playing this game (during its first edition) I played a magus that had a single virtue and flaw, yet it was still a lot of fun to play.

If you're really stuck I can offer a test drive period before we start the actual campaign(saga). If it will help everyone we can test run your characters through a couple of simple encounters. That should help you better learn the system and find the squeaks and rattles in your build, so to speak.