Maleficium
The Maleficium is an Ars Magica supplement about demons and the Infernal Realm.
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Rules Edition: ArM3 Author(s): Ken Cliffe and Christopher Early Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Release Date: 1992 Format: Softcover, 144 pages Availability: Out of print
Subject and Contents
The Maleficium is a sourcebook on demons and black magic. As can be expected, its tone is dark and twisted.
Availability
The Maleficium was once available as a PDF from RPGNow, but RPGNow no longer carries Atlas Games products. No electronic version is currently available. Used or collectible copies may be available from Web retailers.
Community Reviews
The following reviews were collected from the original Ars Magica FAQ site:
FAQ Rating: \*\* (23 reviews; 5 \*, 9 \*\*, 7 \*\*\*, 2 \*\*\*\*)
- An interesting read, though one wonders if the rules are really useful. The style is dry, detached, and scholarly, apparently in an effort to avoid glamorizing the material; unfortunately, it also makes it feel like a boring textbook.
- Spiritually the core book of the Third Edition, but no longer important because of its foolish insistence on Goetica.
- I did once envision running a saga with dark magi making hidden rolls to see if they could control demons. It wouldn't feel like Ars Magica, though. This is still the best selling Ars book on ebay.
- Much too thickly written for a game supplement. Not very useful, but has a few salvageable concepts.
- Over complex, actually not very useful in games that want some infernal element but aren't obsessed with it.
- Some nice ideas, but seemed to spend a lot of time giving very specific rules for how to do diabolism, which struck me as a bit odd, since NPCs can be fudged, and I can't believe most PCs would get into it. I hope.
- Interesting read.... Not as many rules as much as interesting philosophical discussions on hell in the 12th century.
- Interesting. I had a lot of fun reading it. However, I'm not sure I will ever use it. I feel the described Hell was too "bureaucratic" and organized, and I tend to associate demons with chaos, but that's my own feeling, and I can't blame it on the authors.
- Excellent Supplement of Diabolism, Summoning and the like that allows a better portrayal of the Infernal and Diabolism among Magi. Again,. the section on Dark Apprenticeship suffered from some serious cuts.
- Part 1 of the 'Official' Ars Magica cosmology, detailing the Infernal. Some interesting ideas, but not all to my liking. A fun read, though.
- To many "numbers" and not enough background , or the contrary , but alas this is a "compromise-book"!
- Great! The history of hell is really fun to read and gave me a lot of ideas. I would like to agree that it's a little to "organized" to be hell for my taste.
- Dark. Dark art, dark subjects, dark rules. Don't know how useful it is either.
- Much too complicated for use in a saga.
- Poor art, but easier to read and more useful. Maybe overpowered.
Please edit this page to add your own comments on the book.
- Has some interesting bits but is generally weak. Realms of Power Infernal is much better.
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