Saga of Stranggore

Centuries ago, in the days before King Arthur, a wise king assembled a council of wizards to advise his court. For generations, their spells and their mystical allies -- the ravens, the ghosts of pagan knights, the spirits of wood and stream -- have watched over the land. Now, the line of kings is long since broken. The castle still stands, but its walls are crumbling, its banners hang faded and moth-eaten in a nearly empty hall. Yet the Wizards' Council of Stranggore still keeps its lonely vigil.

It is now the Year of Our Lord 1200. Good King Richard has died in battle, leaving his scheming brother John to seize the throne of England. Across the land, the people suffer under his harsh taxes and corrupt officers. If ever the realm needed the wizards' wisdom, it needs it now. The time has come for the Wizards' Council of Stranggore to rebuild its strength and reclaim its destiny. One of the aging wizards sent forth a flight of ravens from his crumbling tower, and a handful of young wizards has answered his call. Can they bring the Wizard's Council of Stranggore out of its long Winter and into a new Spring?

The Saga of Stranggore is a campaign for Ars Magica Fifth Edition. Starting in late twelfth century England, it tells the story of the ancient covenant called the Wizards' Council of Stranggore, whose rich heritage pre-dates the Order of Hermes itself. At the start of the Saga, the covenant was deep in Winter, with only two magi remaining. Will four new magi be able to reverse the Council's decline and thereby claim an honored place in its history?

Covenant

Main article: Stranggore

The covenant of Stranggore is a once-great covenant with a proud and regal heritage, now fallen into the senility and decrepitude of Winter. It is located in Somerset, England on the historical site of Maesbury Castle, along the ancient Roman road known as the Fosse Way. Some notes on Travelling from Place to Place.

Dramatis Personae

See Stranggore Characters for a list of all the characters, major and minor.

Magi

The magi of Stranggore are:

Name	House	Familiar	Player
Agnes	Ex Miscellanea	Sophia the owl	User:Batty
Argus	Jerbiton	Cedric the raven	NPC
Godwyn	Bjornaer	None	User:AndrewG
Hywel	Merinita	None	User:AndrewG
James	Flambeau	None	User:AndrewM
Merewen	Ex Miscellanea	Maggie the cat	NPC
Sandre	Tremere	None	User:Jdtibbs

Covenant Residents

The following non-magi live or work on the covenant grounds.

See also former grogs of Stranggore. There are also categories for grogs and covenfolk.

Adults

Name	Occupation	Player
Bertha	Cook	NPC
Brian the Mad	Autocrat	NPC
Catherine	Chamber Maid	NPC
Bloody Bill	Turb captain	User:AndrewM
Eustace	Sandre's shield grog	User:Jdtibbs
Ghosts of Stranggore	Ghosts	NPC
Joseph	Grog, stable hand	User:Jdtibbs
Marie LaMont	Unofficial manager	NPC
Mary the Miller's Daughter	Nurse and governess	NPC
Paul	Librarian	User:Jdtibbs
Randolph	Huntsman, Kennel Master	User:Batty
Rhys	Grog	User:Batty
Valera	Teacher	NPC
William Robert	Minstrel	User:AndrewM

Children

Name	Parents	Year Born	Player
Mary	Angus the Dragonslayer and Isabel	1196	User:JdTibbs
Matilda	Sandre and Marie	1205	NPC
Rachel	Eustace and Mary the Miller's Daughter	1208	NPC
Stella	George the Bastard and Valera	1202	NPC
Stephen	Eustace and Mary the Miller's Daughter	1205	NPC

Tenants

The following characters live on the covenant's lands, but not on within the grounds.

Name	Occupation	Residence	Player
Angus the Dragonslayer	Carpenter, militia lieutenant	Barstow	NPC
Gwendolyn	Shepherdess, Rhys's girlfriend	with the flock	NPC
Harold the Barber	Barber	Barstow	NPC
Thomas the Hunter	Hunter	Cabin in Godwyn's Chase	User:Batty

Non-Player Characters

Stories and Events

The Stranggore Events timeline places all the Saga's major events in chronological order. The Stranggore History page mentions some significant events in the covenant's history from before the young magi arrived.

The Google Map of our Saga shows some of the interesting locations around the covenant and the sites of several stories.

Some of our stories are played out in-character on the forum.

The major story arcs we've identified so far are:

See also the page of Stranggore Loose Ends for things that we've found, done, or discovered, but never followed up on in-game.

Administration

The bookkeeping page collects most of what you need to know for seasonal activities.

Seasonal activities are usually recorded and resolved on the forum.

House Rules

Style of Play

We want to emphasize the mystical, rather than the political, aspects of the Order of Hermes. The magi in our version of the Order want to perfect their arts and achieve great things with their magic, not backstab one another over resources.

We are using a full troupe style of play with multiple storyguides. Andrew G. is the alpha storyguide and is responsible for overall continuity and for one of the major plot arcs. We utilize all three character types in Ars Magica: companions, magi, and grogs. Most stories involve one or two magi with the other players playing companions or grogs. This both makes it easier for the storyguide to provide challenges (too many magi together are simply too powerful) and makes our Saga more three-dimensional by giving companions and grogs important roles in the stories. There is an informal rotation with the players taking turns in the "starring" magus role for a given story.

Stonehenge Tribunal

Main article: Stonehenge Tribunal

The Stonehenge Tribunal in this Saga is large and very loosely governed. There are a large number of covenants (about 20 in all), but they tend to be small, with most have five members or fewer. There are also a large number of magi living as eremites, outside any recognized covenant. We have a Google map showing important sites. There are additional maps on the Tribunal page.