Pyramid Pick: Heirs to Merlin (for Ars Magica)

Pyramid Pick

Heirs to Merlin: the Stonehedge Tribunal (for Ars Magica)

Published by Atlas Games

Written by David Chart

168 pages + fold out map. $22.94

Heirs to Merlin provides a Storyguide with everything they need to run a saga based in the Stonehedge tribunal. . . except stats. Believe me, I was as shocked by the lack of stats as any of you, but there's a cunning method behind Atlas' apparent madness. It may seem strange for a role-playing sourcebook to be devoid of any game stats; even the NPC write-ups neglect this essential of gaming. Heirs chose to do this deliberately, citing two reasons. First, assigning stats to NPCs would lock the Saga into a specific power level, or necessitate a significant amount of work adapting the book to your saga. Second, giving NPCs stats would relegate the book to a Storyguide-only resource, and Heirs to Merlin was written specifically for both Guides and players to have access to it. The vast majority of the information in the book is setting, with actual Tribunal information occupying a scant 40+ pages. The philosophy here is that the players and Guide will enjoy learning about 1220 England and Wales as play progresses and the Saga advances. Not all guides will be comfortable with this format, as it requires them to flesh out their NPCs. If you're looking for a plug-and-play adventure compilation, this isn't it; what you will get is an in-depth examination of 13th century England with Ars Magica tacked . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: May 5, 2000

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