TG Deals and Steals: A Free RPG For You and Me!

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MollyMetroid: Jan 20, 2004; Trout Clan Daimyo

5th is good.

# ? Aug 23, 2017 03:22

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# ? Jun 6, 2024 16:21

Lord_Hambrose: Nov 21, 2008; *a foul hooting fills the air*

Serf posted:

Looks like a bunch of sourcebooks for Ars Magica 5E are the Bundle of Holding deal. Plus you can get the original bundle with the core book.

How is Ars Magica? I hear good things.

It is one of the most amazing games you may never play. I am willing to say it is my favorite rpg ever, but it requires a CRAZY level of buy in from your players.

Get the books regardless, they are great reads.

# ? Aug 23, 2017 03:26

shoplifter: May 23, 2001; bored before I even began

Lord_Hambrose posted:

It is one of the most amazing games you may never play. I am willing to say it is my favorite rpg ever, but it requires a CRAZY level of buy in from your players.

Get the books regardless, they are great reads.

Seconding. Regardless of whether you ever play it or not, they're worth the read if you're someone that enjoys just reading your RPG books. My friends will never have the level of buy-in required.

Drone posted:

Any run-down for those of us unfamiliar with the system, as to why it demands such a high buy-in?

It's a Tweet and Rein-Hagen game that's essentially a forerunner of Mage. Each player is responsible for playing multiple characters (apprentice/assistant/bodyguards, etc) and there are lots of latin-derived terms. Much like Mage, the magic system requires effort and imagination from players as spells aren't the D&D style Fireball/Invisibility stuff.

Wikipedia because I'm lazy posted:

Die-rolling conventions[edit]
Ars Magica's mechanics use the ten-sided die. To perform a typical action, one of eight Characteristics (Intelligence, Perception, Strength, Stamina, Presence, Communication, Dexterity or Quickness, each generally rated from -5 to +5 for humans; a Characteristic of 0 is 'average') is added to a relevant Ability, and a d10 is rolled. The total of Characteristic + Ability + die roll is compared to a target difficulty or Ease Factor; the action succeeds if the rolled total is greater than or equal to the target number.

If the action is routine or trivial and nothing in particular is at stake, the roll is read as 1-10 and simply added to the total (this is called a "Simple roll"). If there is an opportunity for exceptional success or failure, the die is read as 0-9 and is called a "Stress" roll. For Stress rolls, results of "1" and "0" have special significance. A '1' is rerolled and the result doubled (consecutive "1"s redouble the eventual "non-1" (two consecutive ones = x4, three = x8, etc.). A roll of '0' is also re-rolled (more than once in cases of especially hazardous activity) as a Botch roll. If any botch die also comes up '0', the action has been botched: failed in some disastrous way. Otherwise, the roll merely equals zero.

Magic system[edit]
The centerpiece of Ars Magica is the system of Hermetic Magic devised by Bonisagus. It consists of 15 Arts, divided into 5 Techniques and 10 Forms. This is sometimes called a "Verb/Noun" system: the Technique is the verb (what effect the magic has), and the Form is the noun (the entity, object or substance that is affected or brought forth). These 'verb-noun' combinations can be used to cast both Formulaic spells (which are recorded in texts, are learned through study and mastered through experience, and have known, fixed effects) and Spontaneous spells (which a caster improvises with no prior knowledge other than the Arts themselves, giving the potential results greater flexibility but lower potency). Every apprentice (with a few Ex Miscellanea exceptions) is "opened" in all 15 Arts before fully joining the Order; each Art begins with a Score of 0 and a mage may usually only increase one of them during a season (see below).

Each Technique is named by a first-person singular present tense indicative Latin verb:

Creo ("I create") brings objects and substances into existence from nothing, or makes an already-existing target a "more perfect" version of itself (e.g. healing magic, as healed bodies are nearer perfection than wounded bodies).
Intellego ("I perceive") detects or reveals, enhances a target's natural senses or conveys supernatural ones.
Muto ("I transform") alters the nature of a being, object or substance, adding unnatural traits and/or removing natural ones.
Perdo ("I destroy") decays, disintegrates or otherwise diminishes the target, making something a worse example of its kind (i.e. the opposite of Creo).
Rego ("I control") involves manipulation of the target in any way that does not alter its nature, e.g. direct a target's movement, put a creature to sleep, or force a tree to bear fruit out of season. This is the main Technique used in spells of protection or 'warding'.
Each Form is named by a singular accusative Latin noun:

Animal affects "all natural living things that are not plants or humans, doing to animals what Mentem and Corpus spells do to people" as well as "things made with animal products" such as leather, wool, cheese, silk, etc. Since bacteria were unknown in medieval times, illness (e.g.) was considered either a form of possession or an imbalance of 'bodily humors'; thus, magic dealing with disease is relegated variously to Creo, Mentem and/or Vim effects.
Auram affects lightning, wind and gaseous substances; other weather effects typically require an Aquam requisite (see below).
Aquam is used for any liquid, with the exception of blood (which requires Animal or Corpus magic to affect); non-liquid forms of water will involve requisites (see below).
Corpus (the incorrect declension Corporem was used in older editions) applies to the human body, making it crucial to longevity formulas.
Herbam primarily involves plants, but applies equally to any organic matter, living or dead, that is not of animal origin.
Ignem involves light and heat, and is heavily represented in the fire spells of House Flambeau.
Imaginem (previously Imagonem) deals with images, sounds, and other sensory stimuli (thus is involved in most illusionary effects).
Mentem deals with emotions, memories, thoughts and spirits.
Terram involves earth and minerals: mere soil is the simplest target, while stone, metal and gems require progressively greater investment of spell levels to achieve the same effect.
Vim ("power") involves magic itself, as well as demons (the overlap is not widely understood, but the fact that there is one is a significant obstacle to the Order's 'public relations', particularly concerning the Church).
A mage's skill when casting a spell is the sum of their scores in the appropriate technique and form.

Some spells involve more than one Technique, and/or more than one Form at once; each Art used in addition to the basic pair is called a requisite. All relevant Art Scores are compared: the caster's lowest Technique and lowest Form are used, reflecting the limiting of the caster's magical knowledge.

Regardless of how high one's Art Scores may rise, there are outer boundaries to the application of Hermetic Magic (whether Formulaic, Spontaneous or even Ritual). Bonisagus's theory outlines a set of inherent Limits, similar in concept to the laws of physics; the two central, 'Greater' Limits are:

Magic cannot influence a pure manifestation of the Divine; while earthly Relics (however sacred) and agents of the Divine (anything "separate from the mind of God") may be resistant to magic they are not immune, but it is impossible to (e.g.) interfere with a Miracle (which may be prayed for by an agent or supplicant, but is itself a direct intervention by Divine will).
Magic cannot permanently change a target's Essential Nature (the implications of which vary depending on the target in question).
There are also eleven 'Lesser Limits' (addressing more specific 'blind spots' such as aging, creation, time and the soul) which are generally thought either to derive from the two Greater Limits, or to be flaws in Hermetic Theory which may eventually be 'corrected'.

Additional statistics for every spell (which have been redefined in nearly every new edition of the game) are Target (what or whom the spell is directed at), Range (how far the Target may be from the caster), and Duration. For reasons of balance, some spells require the expenditure of "vis" - magical essence in physical form - which all magi and covenants tend to make a point of hoarding and/or trading. No Creo effect, for example, can be permanent unless vis is consumed during the casting. Some Formulaic Magic is so effective that it can only be achieved with vis and an elaborate, time-consuming ritual (hence, Ritual Spells). This automatically applies to any spell of a greater Level than 50, any spell with a Duration of 'Year', and any non-Imagonem spell with a range of 'Sight'.

Character development[edit]
All characters (magi, companions and grogs alike) improve their Abilities by applying experience which can be earned through Exposure, Practice, Training or Study. Magic, however, is stressed as a multifaceted discipline with a greater variety of avenues for improvement. Magi are expected to spend months at a time with books and/or laboratory equipment: inventing new spells (or learning or modifying existing ones), strengthening their Arts, enchanting items, and so forth. Ars Magica includes rules for magical research within the game's standard 'advancement' timescale of 3-month seasons.

These seasonal activities generally concern either study of a text or laboratory activity. Although participating in adventures, missions and other endeavors outside of seasonal activity gives characters Story Experience, the most substantial progress (and the raison d'etre of many in the Order) is nearly always from the seasonal activities of magi. Hence, time in an Ars Magica campaign may pass much faster than in other RPGs (if, for example, all player-characters are engaged in seasonal activity, standard "roleplaying sessions" are unnecessary for that period) but is also more 'accounted for' (since regular and exact periods of activity give highly defined benefits). To accommodate this, many magi prolong their lives with unique (to each individual) longevity formulas (generally called "longevity potions", though the form one takes is not always a potion); this only delays the aging process, however; beyond a certain point one's longevity formula will have no effect at all and must be reformulated (preferably with increased knowledge of the appropriate Arts and/or greater quantities of vis. (A prevalent attitude among members of the Order is that Companions in general (and Grogs almost invariably) will come and go - perhaps killed in action, occasionally living long enough to retire - while the Magi carry on. Magi may concoct longevity formulas for non-magi, but this is a rare consideration, less effective than devising one's own personal formula, and is an expensive prospect in time and resources in any case.)

Study is primarily achieved with texts, each designed to enhance an Ability, Art or specific Spell(s). A respectable covenant inevitably requires either a respectable library or sufficient commodities to exchange for the use of other libraries, since the dominant form of Hermetic Magic is a scholarly pursuit. Magi who are able to write useful books or teach well can use these as commodities, trading with other magi for books or training (though the Code of Hermes places limits on what its members may sell to 'mundanes').

Lab Projects concern projects to enhance one's repertoire of spells or magical artifacts. All projects have a level of effect to which the character compares their 'Lab Total': Intelligence + Magic Theory ability + sum of a Form and Technique + other bonuses (which may be from local Aura, quality and specialization of lab, assistants, special knowledge, sympathetic connections from items, and in some circumstances an additional Ability). Some merely require a Lab Total to match the Level of Effect; more extensive endeavors simply add up each Lab Total in 'points' until twice the Level of Effect are accumulated.

The following Lab Projects are the most commonly pursued:

Invent Spells. The magus invents a new magical effect from scratch. A variation of a known spell is easier to invent than a completely original one.
Enchant Device. The magus may create a magical artifact which may hold a magical effect like those of Spells. These can be used by even nonmagical individuals. Usually they cost vis to make, but the Lab Total gets a bonus based on the sympathetic Shape & Material bonus of the material used; e.g. if one is enchanting a <<link:2>>, the fact that it is a staff gives a bonus when the chosen effect is 'controlling things at a distance'. They can be made as Charged Devices (which cost no vis but have a limited number of uses), Lesser Devices (which may only hold one effect, and must have a Level of Effect that the Lab Total can reach in a single season), or Invested Devices (which require additional preparation in advance and thus must be enchanted over several seasons, and may hold several effects based on size and material).
Enchant Talisman. A Talisman is a personalized form of Invested Device with many additional features. Talismans have a much higher capacity for effects with which they may be enchanted, and are easier to enchant. However, should a Talisman fall into the wrong hands, it leaves the magus very vulnerable.
Longevity Ritual. A Creo Corpus effect that prolongs the magus' life by granting a bonus for Aging Rolls, making it more likely to avoid the deterioration of age which typically begins after 35 years. Thus may a magus live two centuries or longer, barring other mishaps. Magi often pay specialists to devise this ritual for them, to get a better effect than they can personally achieve.
Bond with Familiar. The magus may form a powerful mystical connection with another creature. Usually this will be an animal which is thematically attuned to the magus' personality and/or specialty: an Auram magus might bond with a bird, or a Herbam magus with a squirrel. The Bonding process is long and hard, but may very well be worth the effort. The animal learns to communicate with the owner, and while it does not become intelligent per se, it is almost always brighter than a normal animal of its type. One major benefit of the bond is that the Familiar can be invested with many enchantments (with restrictions as to target and activation), but the primary, unique benefits are from the Bond Scores: the Gold Cord concerns magic, and helps the magus avoid magical botches; the Silver Cord concerns the mind, helps keep the magus focused and if strong enough may permit speech and telepathy between the two; and the Bronze Cord concerns the body, making the magus more enduring and tough.

shoplifter fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Aug 23, 2017

# ? Aug 23, 2017 13:54

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

Any run-down for those of us unfamiliar with the system, as to why it demands such a high buy-in?

# ? Aug 23, 2017 14:02

FMguru: Sep 10, 2003; peed on;
sexually

Drone posted:

Any run-down for those of us unfamiliar with the system, as to why it demands such a high buy-in?

You can't just show up and play Bob the Fighter every week. Each player has to:
- Help design the coven/chantry/wizard's tower that is the basic setting
- Create multiple characters (usually an Archmage, an Apprentice or two, and a bunch of Mundane Servants) to populate it
- Change the character they play every session, depending on the needs of that session's adventure (characters drawn from the pool everyone created in the above step)
- Take turns creating and running adventures (the GM seat rotates from player to player)
- Engage with the rich, detailed, and complicated setting (which really is designed to put peoples' BA degrees in Medieval Studies to use)

Oh, also, the magic system is a freeform design-your-own-spells affair. It's very well done, and one of the few such systems that works (compared to, say, Torg's), but yeah more work for the player.

It's pretty demanding, and only really works if everyone has bought in to it.

# ? Aug 23, 2017 14:15

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

Oh dude Esoterrorists is also on the Bundle. That was recommended several times for me in another thread. Sweet!

# ? Aug 23, 2017 15:24

Lord_Hambrose: Nov 21, 2008; *a foul hooting fills the air*

Drone posted:

Any run-down for those of us unfamiliar with the system, as to why it demands such a high buy-in?

There is an intimidating amount of math for some people. It is generally easy math, but Ars Magica has a billion formulas for everything. Once you have a reference sheet and have your characters made it is a breeze to play.

A big thing that wizards are SO POWERFUL compared to everyone else. Fortunately as a wizard you mostly just sit in your tower reading books and designing spells. Adventures? Sorry, I have people for that.

Also, a big thing is that you really need to be self motivated with what your characters life work is. Doing esoteric research and exploring ancient magical runes just to create an advantage that slightly breaks a rule of Hermetic Theory then writing a book about it, as all your guy does, is what your deal is. Decades of work.

Being the biggest fireball throwing man is possible (Flambeau :swoon:

) but eh. Any baby can throw fire. Show me something interesting.

# ? Aug 23, 2017 15:46

Agent Rush: Aug 30, 2008; You looked, Junker!

Does anyone know enough about BASH! to have an opinion about the bundle?

# ? Aug 24, 2017 21:21

Covok: May 27, 2013; Yet where is that woman now? Tell me, in what heave does she reside? None of them. Because no God bothered to listen or care. If that is what you think it means to be a God, then you and all your teachings are welcome to do as that poor women did. And vanish from these realms forever.

Agent Rush posted:

Does anyone know enough about BASH! to have an opinion about the bundle?

IIRC, it had a big chart in it and didn't grab my interest too hard.

Check discord. I may be able to help you out better there.

# ? Aug 24, 2017 21:27

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

Does anyone else who got the Ars Magica set from Bundle of Holding see layout problems like overlapping images? It makes some pages pretty hard to read.

# ? Aug 26, 2017 22:34

The Journey Fraternity: Nov 25, 2003; I found this on the ground!

Subjunctive posted:

Does anyone else who got the Ars Magica set from Bundle of Holding see layout problems like overlapping images? It makes some pages pretty hard to read.

My copy from the prior BoH had similar issues, enough to put me off from reading it.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 09:04

malkav11: Aug 7, 2009

The current BoH is Werewolf 20th Anniversary Edition, btw. I never cared that much about classic Werewolf but it's probably a great bundle if you do.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 00:36

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

The Journey Fraternity posted:

My copy from the prior BoH had similar issues, enough to put me off from reading it.

Yeah, I think I'm done too. Maybe I should complain to BoH...

# ? Aug 29, 2017 01:15

shoplifter: May 23, 2001; bored before I even began

Are they hosted on DTRPG or not? I'm too lazy to go back and check mine.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 01:23

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

No, they aren't.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 01:29

The Journey Fraternity: Nov 25, 2003; I found this on the ground!

Subjunctive posted:

Yeah, I think I'm done too. Maybe I should complain to BoH...

Too late for me to complain, but save yourself! Best case, they fix the PDF and we both win!

# ? Aug 30, 2017 05:42

malkav11: Aug 7, 2009

The latest Bundle of Holding is a terrific spread of PBTA games:
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/ApocEngine2

# ? Sep 6, 2017 00:15

Wrestlepig: Feb 25, 2011; my mum says im cool; Toilet Rascal

malkav11 posted:

The latest Bundle of Holding is a terrific spread of PBTA games:
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/ApocEngine2

the basic bundle's very good but the only decent bonus one is Masks, imo.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 00:33

inklesspen: Oct 17, 2007; Here I am coming, with the good news of me, and you hate it. You can think only of the bell and how much I have it, and you are never the goose. I will run around with my bell as much as I want and you will make despair.; Buglord

What's wrong with Night Witches?

(I actually backed it on KS and then never got around to reading it, due to the elfgame version of the Steam problem.)

# ? Sep 6, 2017 01:44

malkav11: Aug 7, 2009

I can't imagine there's anything wrong with it per se, but I can see the high level of specificity and historical emphasis giving it a fairly limited chance of getting to table.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 01:55

Bieeanshee: Aug 21, 2000; Not keen on keening.; Grimey Drawer

Someone covered Epyllion in F&F recently, and the verdict was that it was a barely functional My Little Pony reskin. The other ones are cool, but Night Witches is going to be a harder sell at the sterotypical gaming table than Uncharted Worlds.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 02:30

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

There's also a $25 Harvey relief bundle on DriveThru.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 03:01

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

inklesspen posted:

What's wrong with Night Witches?

(I actually backed it on KS and then never got around to reading it, due to the elfgame version of the Steam problem.)

I have heard (from people who were game for the concept) that it doesn't actually work very well in-play, but I can't remember the details.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 03:28

malkav11: Aug 7, 2009

Evil Mastermind posted:

There's also a $25 Harvey relief bundle on DriveThru.

Anything particularly noteworthy? I didn't recognize anything in it myself.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 03:36

RedMagus: Nov 16, 2005; Male....Female...what does it matter? Power is beautiful, and I've got the power!; Grimey Drawer

dwarf74 posted:

I have heard (from people who were game for the concept) that it doesn't actually work very well in-play, but I can't remember the details.

That's really weird, I played NW and it ran pretty fantastically. The switch between daytime antics vs night's bombing runs was pretty interesting.

# ? Sep 6, 2017 16:46

moths: Aug 25, 2004; I would also still appreciate some danger.

Already posted this in Historical thread, but Bolt Action's Tank War supplement is free from Warlord Games store this month!

E: oops, scroll down to the PDF. That's the free one.

moths fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Sep 6, 2017

# ? Sep 6, 2017 21:01

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Evil Mastermind posted:

There's also a $25 Harvey relief bundle on DriveThru.

Deep Carbon Observatory, Fever-Drinking Marlinko, and Slumbering Ursine Dunes are pretty good OSR campaign settings, and then The Petal Hack and The Zebra Hack are OSR-compatible games, but unless you're really into OSR stuff I don't consider this bundle particularly outstanding.

I'd just donate to the Houston Food Bank FWIW

# ? Sep 7, 2017 02:59

Echophonic: Sep 16, 2005; ha;lp; Gun Saliva

rumble in the bunghole posted:

the basic bundle's very good but the only decent bonus one is Masks, imo.

I quite enjoyed running Uncharted Worlds. It's a bit more front-loaded, but you can do a lot with the ability to customize your archetype and gear.

# ? Sep 7, 2017 03:12

Alien Rope Burn: Dec 5, 2004; _{I wanna be a saikyo HERO!}

Emerald City is slid as far as superhero settings go, it was Mutants & Masterminds'/i] attempt to make a more new-hero friendly setting (compared to [i]Freedom City) without as much in the way of an established history or existing heroes.

Granted, I think writing superhero settings for RPGs is an uphill battle, but it's a good book if you're looking for that sort of thing.

# ? Sep 7, 2017 17:32

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

I'm an unashamed fan of Strange Stars, which manages to put together an interesting, evocative sci-fi setting in about 30 pages. It's very much a "stuff I found cool as a kid and I find cool as an adult" type setting. The bundle has the systemless setting book and separate Fate and OSR/Stars-Without-Number-compatible rulebooks.

# ? Sep 7, 2017 18:41

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

Huge Warhammer Fantasy 2e PDF bundle for $20 :siren:

$20 for 26 books plus WFRP 1e.

# ? Sep 13, 2017 19:41

sexpig by night: Sep 8, 2011; by Azathoth

Yea 20 bucks for basically all the WFRP worth getting is bonkers.

# ? Sep 13, 2017 21:40

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

It's worth pointing out that $20 gets you everything that was officially published for WFRP2e.

# ? Sep 13, 2017 21:42

sexpig by night: Sep 8, 2011; by Azathoth

yea if I remember right there were some neat third party/fan works that could be nice but this is literally all the official 2e books for twenty bucks and that's just fantastic.

Really even if you don't wanna play, if you like Warhammer Fantasy at all this is a fantastic deal for books that have a lot of fluff.

# ? Sep 13, 2017 21:46

Lemon-Lime: Aug 6, 2009

These are just hosted on humble's CDN, right?

# ? Sep 13, 2017 22:03

sexpig by night: Sep 8, 2011; by Azathoth

Yea no Drivethru downloads or anything it seems, but they're good quality bookmarked and all

# ? Sep 13, 2017 22:18

Lemon-Lime: Aug 6, 2009

sexpig by night posted:

Yea no Drivethru downloads or anything it seems, but they're good quality bookmarked and all

That's actually a plus, because DTRPG's servers suck. :v:

# ? Sep 13, 2017 22:20

LashLightning: Feb 20, 2010; You know you didn't have to go post that, right?
But it's fine, I guess...
You just keep being you!

Lemon-Lime posted:

These are just hosted on humble's CDN, right?

Yes, you'll just download them from HumbleBundle. They'll be attached to your account.

GnomeStew, an RPG blog, spoke highly of Renegade Crowns for its random tables. You can generate an interesting area, if you file off the obvious Warhammer bits and pieces if you're to use for hex-crawls and the like.

# ? Sep 13, 2017 22:22

Lemon-Lime: Aug 6, 2009

I got the bundle and then used the coupon to get the TOR Companion, and only then did I realise I also wanted to get the map set and could have saved �6 off that. :v:

# ? Sep 13, 2017 22:43

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# ? Jun 6, 2024 16:21

Lord_Hambrose: Nov 21, 2008; *a foul hooting fills the air*

LashLightning posted:

Yes, you'll just download them from HumbleBundle. They'll be attached to your account.

GnomeStew, an RPG blog, spoke highly of Renegade Crowns for its random tables. You can generate an interesting area, if you file off the obvious Warhammer bits and pieces if you're to use for hex-crawls and the like.

Yeah, the Border Princes stuff in Renegade Crowns is a great generator for interesting, troubled fantasy area.

These books are pretty much a must buy. I am a huge Old World fan, but these are some great RPG reads especially Tome of Corruption and the Magic one.

# ? Sep 13, 2017 23:41

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