Covenants (Ars Magica)

Covenants is a supplement published by White Wolf Publishing in 1990 for the fantasy role-playing game Ars Magica.

Publication history

Covenants is a 64-page softcover book written by Mark Rein-Hagen and Lisa Stevens,[1] with cover art by Doug Shuler.[2]

Contents

Covenants is a supplement of rules and guidelines for the creation of a "covenant" (a group or community) of wizards. At the start of an Ars Magica campaign, the characters of all the players at the table are considered to be in the same covenant, so using this book enables the players to act together to design a covenant that best matches the community they all represent.[1]

The life cycle of a covenant (spring, summer, autumn, winter) is discussed, and four sample covenants are described.[2]

Reception

In the June 1991 edition of Dragon (Issue #170), Ken Rolston thought the book was "well written, but of doubtful utility unless you play in an Ars Magica campaign. However, the four sample covenants would make original and entertaining settings for fantasy scenarios in your own campaign."[1]

In the 2014 book Dungeons & Designers: The '80s, Shannon Appelcline commented that "Ars Magica placed a heavy emphasis on the characters' home — the covenant — and even gave rules for mechanically defining it. This would later be developed into a full book, Covenants (1990). Part of the innovation of Ars Magica's covenant system was that it was specifically designed to introduce plot hooks into the game, thereby building recurring storylines from the beginning of play."[3]:307

Reviews
  • White Wolf 20 (April/May, 1990)
  • Games Review (Volume 2, Issue 10 - Jul 1990)

References
  1. Rolston, Ken (June 1991). "Role-playing reviews". Dragon. TSR, Inc. (170): 84–86.
  2. Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 123. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
  3. Shannon Appelcline (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '80s. Evil Hat Productions. ISBN 978-1-61317-081-6.
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