A Vanilla Covenant: the Covenant of Sabrina’s Rest
 | This article is fan-created material that may diverge from, and may be incompatible with, Ars Magica canon. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily shared by Project: Redcap or Atlas Games. |
…is an old project developed by fans on the Atlas Games’ forum
This is a 52-page fully detailed sample covenant, settled in the Stonehenge Tribunal, created by Timothy Ferguson and other fans.
Introduction
Premise: Ars Magica needs a book of covenants.
Consequence: let’s write one.
[At that time] Ars Magica 5th edition does not have a covenant book like Mistridge (3rd ed) or Triamore: the Covenant at Lucien’s Folly (4th ed). According to feedback to the community from the Line Editor for Atlas Games’ David Chart, a covenant style books generally do not sell well, so the concept has been vetoed by Atlas Games. Many within the fan community believed in the concept, and with the blessing of Atlas Games the fan community has gathered contributions and materials to create this book.
The purpose of A Vanilla Covenant is to provide a detailed sample covenant based upon the 5th edition rules which can be used within Ars Magica stories.
The reason this book is useful is because the creation of Ars Magica covenants can be quite demanding on a troupe. The creation of a detailed covenant and immediate mundane area is quite a lot of work, so having a launching pad of pre-generated material can be useful to make an immediate start, or to provide inspiration for a troupe’s own covenant development.
The nearest thing that exists in 5th edition is the Curse of the Rhine Gorge saga seed in The Guardians of the Forests: the Rhine Tribunal tribunal book. The idea of this book is to demonstrate how to define a covenant in detail, and to provide the groundwork for play within a saga.
This book should be especially useful for a new troupe, as a new troupe is likely to be still trying to imagine all the options that magic offers and to cope with the richness of the setting. An experienced troupe may also find ideas, story hooks, and examples which spark new ideas and new stories.
1. Why the Stonehenge Tribunal?
The Stonehenge Tribunal reflects a stereotypical medieval perspective on England and Scotland in the period, so many new readers will be familiar with the geography and the flavor of the locales. Heirs to Merlin: the Stonehenge Tribunal was the last pre-5th edition tribunal to be released and is fairly standard (and has no stats, so is 100% edition-compatible). This means that the existing source material for the region can be reused, with adaptation and assistance from this book.
2. Change It As It Fits Your Saga
The author intends for the material to be used in play as well as providing the covenant as example, so the covenant description contains suggestions and options for how the covenant may be altered to suit a troupe’s specific setting.
3. Suggested Saga Arcs, Improvements, and Seasons
The saga arcs, improvements, and other box text areas in covenant description are intended as points to be altered, explored, and extrapolated by use within the troupe. They may be freely used or ignored as appropriate.
4. Power Level and Statistics
This covenant provides a summary of the build points and the covenants are generally aimed at Medium power level within the setting. The covenant statistic are developed using the rules in the core Ars Magica rulebook and the Covenants supplement. Other supplementary source books and resources should not be required to use A Vanilla Covenant in your saga.
Ironbound Tome
Contributors
Contributors to “A Vanilla Covenant” are from the fourth corners of our pretty planet…
Concept: Xavi Eldelrol aka Elmoth - Spain
Author: Timothy Ferguson - Australia
Page layout and Magi & Faeries illustrations: David Bercovici aka Mystery Man From Outerspace - France
Additional contributors:
Ironbound Tome (Fidelus of Bonisagus’s sheet, Asteria of Verditius’s sheet, introduction and back blurb) - Australia
The Fixer (Antigone of Criamon’s sheet) - France
Links
Games From Folktales: Timothy Ferguson’s Blog
Basic design notes for the Covenant of Sabrina’s Rest
The Iron-Bound Tome
La Petite boutique des erreurs… cosmiques – Download Link
PDF file may be download free from here: Covenant of Sabrina’s Rest