Great news, Sodales! The manufacturing of Ars Magica Definitive Edition, plus things like dice and cloth maps, is complete! We have booked the ocean freight. We don't yet have the sailing details, but anticipate 45-60 days for it to get to our loading dock (subject to the usual unknowns of international shipping, customs delays, and whatnot).
When it arrives, we want to be able to turn it around ASAP. For that reason, we need to get working ahead on other deliverables that are already on hand, such as print-on-demand softcovers, so it's time to export all of the orders to our shipping software. That means we need to lock down addresses.
So one week from today, we'll be locking down addresses for final delivery. Subsequent address updates will need to be done manually. If you have an unusual situation (such as if you know you will be changing address in the time frame of August or later), please let us know with a message to [email protected] so we can set your pledge aside for special handling.
Thanks to everyone who has already filled in their surveys. If you have, please do check and confirm that the address you entered is still current. If you haven't, please don't delay!
-John Nephew Co-owner, Atlas Games
ARS MAGICA OPEN LICENSE RELEASES
There's so much excellent Ars Magica content from our fan community!
KICKSTARTER LIVE NOW for Medieval Nights: RPG Adventures from Real Medieval Stories. This anthology of adventures is based on "true stories" and stories from the Middle Ages, for Ars Magica, Mythras or D&D, by Kevin Hassall. Congrats on funding already! Ends June 20.
Of Magic Condensed Into Shapecontains 195 Vis Sources for Ars Magica, one source of each Hermetic Art for each of the 13 Tribunals. All are based on either real places, or folk tales from that area.
We're into the last weeks of mass production, which is a lot of quiet work very far away. Then it's usually a month for overseas shipping. We're getting very close!
Most recently, our printer has been finalizing arrangements with us for protective packaging. We've approved the inner box and carton markings … basically, after shrinkwrapping we're having each slipcover set pre-packed in its own double-walled corrugated box for extra protection, inside the larger carton. That also means we can more quickly ship your set to you, since it will already be boxed for local mailing, and just need a shipping label attached.
FREE GIFT!
While we're all waiting, we have a free gift to thank you! My co-producer Ben Hartfield made a set of digital wallpapers for Ars Magica Definitive Edition. We used Doug Shuler's excellent Covenants and Griffons illustrations, and Thomas Denmark's Dragon. You can download them below. Download Your Free Ars Magica Definitive Wallpapers Here!
OPEN LICENSE RELEASES
These new releases have recently come out from Ars Magica fans like you!
Shadow & Flame, a FREE Ars Magica novel, is now out from Jason Tondro. Joan of Flambeau is a newly-Gauntleted maga in search of her destiny. What she finds is a mysterious threat rising in Iberia and a prophecy of her own death. As she prepares for the regional tribunal of 1221, Joan encounters giants, demons, genies, a covenant of Tremere magi, Michael Scot, and the restless dead.
A Feast of Knights, a social adventure in the Rhine Tribunal for Ars Magica 5th Edition, has been released by Medusa Jank. In the winter of 1228, the young Graf Simon von Sponheim is coming of age. His family has organised a joust to celebrate his dubbing as a knight. In recognition of their growing fame in the region, the mages have been invited by the organisers, some participants are seeking supernatural help to their (not always) mundane problems.
The mass production samples arrived, and look so amazing! We asked for just a couple packaging changes, like upgrading to double-walled individual cardboard boxes for the Definitive sets, for safer mailing from our warehouse. Things are still on track for mid-May completion, and arrival at our warehouse in June.
Previous samples included an unprinted mockup of the deluxe options (leatherette, foil, bookmarks), and separate color copy of the printed book block. This time we got everything in one … the first TOTALLY COMPLETE copy of the Ars Magica Definitive Edition core book! I thought it deserved a special reveal, so here's my video for your enjoyment: https://youtu.be/YTP-_2HGKkM
An easy $1 pledge on our new Kickstarter gets 20% OFF in our webstore! Just look for the coupon code in Backer Update #1 immediately after you pledge, to stock up on gift copies of all your favorite Atlas Games products. The Magical Kitties campaign and the webstore discount both end Thursday at 9pm Central, so don't wait!
Magical Kitties Save the Day is the whimsical tabletop RPG where you play superpowered kitties protecting your humans from trouble. Whether you’re outsmarting a witch or encountering alien invaders, this fast-paced, beginner-friendly game is the purr-fect way to bring magic to your next family game night!
Our printer tells us they've mailed our production sample (one of the final, completed mass produced book sets), and we should be getting it by next week. Once we approve that, they'll pack them into boxes/pallets, and they'll be ready to ship! Their estimated completion date is still mid-May, and we expect it to arrive at our warehouse in Duluth MN in June. We'll send photos when we get the sample.
NEW OFFICIAL CREATIVE COMMONS RELEASE
"Forgotten Magic of Hermes" is a compendium of ALL the Ars Magica spells from all older (pre-Fifth) editions, unless they were carried forward into the Fifth Edition core rules. We've just released it under the Ars Magica Open License. You can download the PDF here, and also find it listed on the official Ars Magica Open License page (in the sidebar).
Line Developer David Chart warns that older spells in this compendium that aren't in Definitive Edition were probably excluded because they're broken, but releasing them allows our fans to do updates without violating our copyrights. Our thanks to Patrick M. Murphy for his work on compiling this!
ARS MAGICA OPEN LICENSE
These Ars Magica Open License titles are NEW from our amazing fan community …
An easy $1 pledge on our new Kickstarter gets 20% OFF in our webstore! Just look for the coupon code in Backer Update #1 immediately after you pledge, to stock up on gift copies of all your favorite Atlas Games products. The Magical Kitties campaign and the webstore discount both end next week Thursday, so don't wait!
Magical Kitties Save the Day is the whimsical tabletop RPG where you play superpowered kitties protecting your humans from trouble. Whether you’re outsmarting a witch or encountering alien invaders, this fast-paced, beginner-friendly game is the purr-fect way to bring magic to your next family game night!
We've had an update from our printing partner! You'll remember that Ars Magica Definitive Edition is in mass production, actually being printed right now. Their latest schedule has them finishing in a little over 6 weeks, putting their estimated completion date in mid-May. Following that schedule, we'd expect it to arrive at our warehouse in Duluth MN in June. It's getting close!
ARS MAGICA OPEN LICENSE
These Ars Magica Open License titles are NEW from our amazing fan community …
The Theatre of Roland adventure: A faerie quest by The Medusa's Lair, centered around the song of Roland, with a springboard into the adventure in Ingelheim.
Mythic Europe Campaign Guide:Details for 5E Dungeon Masters who want run a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in Ars Magica's Mythic Europe setting, by Erik Lee Edwards.
Character Creation:Aegen Gaming Systems compiled a summary of the Ars Magica 5th Edition rules for character creation, with handy reference of tables and flow diagrams, bringing together the rules spread over the core 40 books.
Who IS that masked kitty? YOU ARE, in the superhero setting for the Magical Kitties Save the Day RPG! Back it at atlas-games.com/backmeow
Between the attention we needed to devote to ArMD, and unpredictable US tariffs, we paused crowdfunding ever since Ars Magica Definitive Edition's amazing launch. Now that it's safely in mass production, we hope you'll help us make Meowtropolis a pawsome success, too!
