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. Of the dozen rune-carved chairs in the great hall, all but two stand empty. Yet the Wizards' Council of Stranggore still keeps its lonely vigil.
It is now the Year of Our Lord 1191. Good King Richard is crusading in the Holy Land, leaving his scheming brother John to seize the throne of England. Across the land, the people suffer hardship and strife. 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 aged magi sends forth a flight of ravens from his tower, searching the land for young wizards with the character and resolve to help heal the ailing land.
The Saga of Stranggore is a campaign for Ars Magica Fifth Edition. Set 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 is deep in Winter, with only two magi remaining. Will a pair of new magi and an apprentice be able to reverse the Council's decline and thereby claim an honored place in its history?
News and Announcements
We've created the Story Ideas (Stranggore) page for keeping some quick notes on stories that we might want to run.
We are very proud of our Google map of the Stonehenge Tribunal. Check it out!
We've set up a forum for in-character roleplaying between game sessions. We also use it for out-of-character discussions such as seasonal activities.
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.
House Rules
Dramatis Personae
We have a single page, the Character Index, for keeping track of all the characters. Initially we kept a list of player characters here on this page but it proved difficult to keep the information on two pages synchronized and up to date.
Annual Events
Certain things happen at the covenant every year.
Imbolc Feast
Mid-Winter since 1194, Hywel Mawr has been hosting an annual feast for Imbolc.
Bookkeeping
To keep all the characters developing at about the same pace, all magi should receive between approximately 4 and 8 pawns of vis per year. This breaks down as follows:
- 2/year from uncontested covenant sources
- 2/year as a reward/incentive for the player's contributions to the Saga, which can include running stories, contributing to the Wiki, or other things the troupe thinks should count
- 2/year from just keeping one's eyes open and looking around the countryside
- 2-4 from a typical story, which happens about every 2 years for a magus
So magi will get 2 pawns/year if they just stay inside all the time, and 4/year if they make a marginal effort to search for vis. That marginal effort doesn't interfere with seasonal activities but expose the magus to the outside world and all its story hooks.
The following table shows the typical schedule for seasonal events. This is meant as a guide to help players, especially when updating several seasons at once. It's not meant to be restrictive.
| Season | Grogs' Activities | Vis Collected |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Work (exposure XP only) | 1 vis/magus from foraging, up to 1 vis/magus as participation incentive |
| Summer | Free | (covenant collects 6 Vim for maintaining Aegis of the Hearth) |
| Autumn | Work (exposure XP only) | 1 vis/magus from foraging, up to 1 vis/magus as participation incentive |
| Winter | Free | 2 Rego/magus from covenant |
See the covenant's vis sources for further details on the vis.
Stories and Events
See the Stranggore Events for a timeline of stories and events since the Saga started.
Stranggore History is the page for background events.
Covenant of Stranggore
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.
- Stranggore (covenant main page)
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.