Andrew Crystall wrote:
>
> > What? Ars Magica is bad? Whew.. that IS heresy.. ;D
>
> Ars Magica is the worst system I've ever READ, let alone had the
> misfortune to play.
Well, I'll agree that its that absolute WORST book to read - I doubt
they could've obfuscated it any more without translating it into russian
and then back. =(
The system itself.. well, everyone has their tastes, but the vast
majority of people I have the pleasure of speaking with at length about
gaming systems appreciates it both for its inovative place in RPGs and
its continuing influence on the industry. I myself find it to be well
suited to the setting that it portrays - but of course, ymmv. I will
gleefully admit that its combat system is attrocious, but will, until I
see evidence to the contrary, defend its magic system as one of the best
- in terms of design and ease of use (those not in the know - it uses a
verb/noun combination to allow you to invent just about any effect).
> And it was a TOTAL disapointment, given what we were promised...
I would /really/ like to hear about it, offlist if you prefer :D (not
to defend it to you, just to find out what didn't work for you)
> > Trivia Note: The head designer for the new d20 system was also one of
> > the originators for Ars Magica, and has said on numerous occasions
> > that many of the innovations in the d20 system are directly
> > inspired/informed by his experience with AM
>
> Ya, what NOT to do :P
:P I'm not a big fan of d20, but the positive changes made to D&D from
2nd edition into 3rd edition are directly lifted from Ars - the crappy
stuff that makes up the rest of the "update" are not the fault of Ars ;D
>
> > > I don't think i've run across that- who makes it, and
> > > what is the system like?
> >
> > Is that the Dream Pod 9 stuff? I'm playing in a game using those
> > rules, and really enjoying the system.
>
> Yes, and the Sillouete (sp) system is quite nice, but not
> outstanding.
I have some issues with it - I've never found a "perfect" uber-system -
but one thing I do enjoy is the simplicity of rolling just one or two
dice, and I also am so far liking the emergency dice idea, that you
can't raise a skill level until you've spent a certain amount of "heroic
bonus points" doing it.
-jeffrey "Let's debate Deadlands now!" miller-
