Saga seeds
So you want to start playing Ars Magica, but aren't sure what an Ars Magica campaign can be about ? Or maybe you are just brainstorming for new saga ideas ? You've come to the right place ! This page lists various saga ideas raised for the game, collected from players and from the official products. Why settle for the ideas you can come up with, when you can see the warped fruits of others' imagination ?
And if you have a cool idea of a saga that isn't listed below, you'll add, it right ? RIGHT ?
Uniting the Forest Spirit
Make an alliance with the ancient great Forest Spirit, and fight to restore it to its former might - undoing mundane encroachment, recovering lost sections that has become Faerie or Infernal forests, and even chasing off Divine Churches and holy sites, maybe even relocating a relic or two.
This saga idea is heavily supported in the Guardians of the Forests supplement, describing the Rhine Tribunal.
Dealing with Mundane Encroachment
The village's fields are eating at the forest's edge, and a monastery has been established at its heart. Vis sources are dwindling as the land comes under the Dominion. The men of the city, armed with pitchforks, are storming the wizard's castle - led by the bishop and a mysterious holy man. And the local nobleman is scheming with a bunch of local witches to get rid of the "scholars" squatting on "his" lands.
You can pick it up from here. And you might use a few antagonists from Antagonists to help you fill out this saga seed. As explained in Which Tribunal to Choose, this premise works well with the Rhine Tribunal. It is also particularly suitable for low-powered sagas.
Diedne Returns
Llewellen, the legendary leader of House Diedne, returns ! Secreted away in time-dilated regios, the Forbidden House has survived and even prospered. Now wielding powerful new magics and allies, Llewellen starts her secret and devastating plan to completely destroy the Order.
Llewellen may simply cast a very powerful spell, using Ceremony, to kill every Hermetic wizard in Europe. Or she may have Infernal powers, having made a bargain with Hell to take revenge on the Order; maybe she became a demon herself, or will if the PC magi kill her. She may use allies, perhaps unwitting allies such as the Amazons from Rival Magic, or the renegade magi from Guardians of the Forests.
Dan'vellus Returns
The Infernal wizard Dan'vellus returns. Or maybe is awakened when the PCs unwittingly poke around the British isles. He is back to his old tricks - Infernally corrupting wizards, and using demons, hedge wizards, and all manner of magical and Infernal creatures to wage war against the Order. And your PCs.
Prevent Ragnarork
The alien, powerful, magical deities of the North are finally getting ready to undo the world and umleash Ragnarork. Through their agents, the powerful Order of Odin, and with demons as their allies, they work to literally end the world. The signs of the End Times are clear, and a worried angel guides the PCs to help stave off the end of the world before the last trumpet is sounded and all of God's work is undone.
You'd want to use the Muspelli from Rival Magic to do this. Or at least read up on them for inspiration.
Unchaining the Titans
All magic flows from the great Titans, the primordial essences the world is made of. Long ago they were trapped in the Magic Realm by the Faerie gods during the Titanomachia, the war of the titans, rendering the world all but mundane. But the faerie gods are fading from this world, and the chains binding the ancient titans are weakening. This is the time to strike back for Magic ! Break the last chains holding back the titans from asserting their authority over the world, and return the world to its rightful, Magical, state !
In other words - why fight the end of the world, when you can help bring it about ?
School of Magic
Secreted in a regio that can only be accessed from a large city, hidden in plain sight, is the great School of Magic. Collecting Gifted children from all over Europe, its teachers teach them the magical Arts in this highly magical regio. You play the pupils of this school, that have to face the school politics as well as unexpected troubles that threaten it.
Yeah, we cribbed Harry Potter.
Alternatively, set up the school on an island and read up on Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea.
For an aid in running the children, consider the supplement Apprentices. A magical "pre-school" is already established in the Thebes Tribunal according to its official description in The Sundered Eagle, and you may decide to adapt this school and tribunal for the game; setting the school in Constantinople, the largest city in the world, is certainly appropriate.
You can also play the wizards setting up and running the school, instead of the children in it. See this thread on the official forums for a discussion of this option.
Time of the Founders
Why play lesser magi, when you can play the Founders ? Play through establishing the Order of Hermes. Broker an alliance with Bonisagus, convince other Founders to join, bargain over the specifics of the Code, fight-off dangerous hedge wizards, cajole others to join under your banner... Can you create a new Order, or will you die trying ?
You will need to invest a lot of work to establish the Founder's magic, which can vary greatly from the core-game's magic, but can have a lot of fun playing a diverse set of "hedge wizards" rather than similar Hermetic magi.
Roman Empire
Hermetic magic is based on the Cult of Mercury that served the Roman Emperors. Why not just change the scenary to make it that Cult ? Have fun supporting the emperor and the legions, squabbling Senate members, and generally advancing Eternal Rome.
Ars Fantasia
The Wizard's War is over. The Necromancer still reigns in the east, and the Witch Queen in the north, but the Seven Kingdoms have finally freed themselves from the tyranny of wizards (even if, mostly, due to their own mutual destruction). Magical races and mortal men, aided by the Divine spirit, have re-established the Kingdoms and kings once more reign with Divine Right.
Yet not all wizards are evil. Hidden in corners all over the Kingdoms, covenants still harbor wizards, and still train apprentices. In regios and lone towers, they still reside, they still train in their Arts, they still have great power.
You didn't want your Gift. It was a curse. A leprosy, driving away all men from the stench of magic. But your master saved you from the mob, from certain death, and taught you the Art of Magic. And now - what will you do ? How will you use your power, against those that threatened you ? Will you help them, as dark times are coming ? Or will you use your power to enslave them, making all their dark proverbs on wizards true ?
To play Ars Magica in a standard magical setting, just ramp up the number of adventures (and hence, adventure XP and rewards) and play wizards alongside Mythic Companions such as divine holy men (see Realms of Power: The Divine) and magical characters (see Realms of Power: Magic). Humanoid races, perhaps bred by the wizards, can be represented by appropriate Virtues and Flaws, such as Dwarf, Giant Blooded, Unaging, and Strong Faerie Blood. Romp around from one adventure to the next, and keep threats coming - even a paladin will unite forces with a wizard to save the land for the Necromancer - although he'll probably keep a wary eye on him, just in case.