Ars Magica

Ars Magica

Cover for Ars Magica, fifth edition
Designer(s)	Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein·Hagen
Publisher(s)	Lion Rampant, White Wolf, Wizards of the Coast, Atlas Games
Publication date	1987 (1st edition) 1989 (2nd edition) 1992 (3rd edition) 1996 (4th edition) 2004 (5th edition)
Genre(s)	Medieval fantasy
System(s)	d10-based with strong magic system

Ars Magica is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' - a historically-grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High Middle Ages are factual reality. The players' involvement revolves around an organization of magi and their allies and foes both mundane and supernatural. The game was originally developed by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein·Hagen, with its first edition published in 1987.

The current edition (the game's fifth) was written by David Chart, and published in 2004 by Atlas Games, who continue to develop new material for it.

Ars Magica was one of the first examples of a Troupe system. Early editions recommended that the players collaborate to create the campaign world and story:

To enhance the 'authenticity' of the historical setting, the game uses medieval Latin for a number of key terms, particularly in the game's most prominent feature, a system of Hermetic Magic.

The first two editions were published by Lion Rampant Games, with several modules published by Atlas Games. In 1991, Lion Rampant merged with White Wolf Magazine to form White Wolf Game Studio. White Wolf published several adventure modules for the game before adding its Third Edition rulebook, which greatly expanded the settings and peripheral rules while leaving the core system intact. White Wolf then produced at least a dozen Third Edition supplements, including the addition of Divine and Infernal mechanics, rules for shamanic magic, beginning the Tribunal series and completing the 'Four Seasons' tetralogy of stories begun by Lion Rampant.