The Tablelands

Playing Ars Magica without Mythic Europe

The Tablelands is a way to play Ars Magica without using the o cial Ars Magica setting. In a Tablelands
game, players cooperate before the campaign begins to generate the details of their setting, operating
within a broad high fantasy framework designed to contrast with Mythic Europe.

• The Goal: To keep as much of the rules of Ars Magica as possible, while removing the entire setting.
• What’s Out: Latin, Mythic Europe, the Order of Hermes, the 12 (or 13 depending on how you count)
Houses, the Oath, the Code, the Dominion, the covenant (replaced by the land and the court).
• What’s In: The Gift; the four Realms (with some changes to the Infernal and the Divine); magi (renamed
wizards), companions, and grogs; House-speci c mechanics, mystery cults and hedge traditions, all
reskinned for the setting.

Overview
A single large continent, referred to as the Table, with diverse geography and climate is divided into a
hundred di erent “lands” of varying sizes. Some of these lands owe allegiance to larger and more
powerful neighbors, but others have been able to remain more or less independent. Magic is common
and powerful in the Tablelands, and most lands are ruled by wizards. Human beings are the most
populous species, but many other types of people exist with cultures and settlements of their own.
Fantastic creatures—some intelligent, others no smarter than an animal—roam wild places, and some
even live in villages and towns.
NOT MYTHIC EUROPE
In many ways, especially for experienced players of Ars Magica, it is easier to describe what the
Tablelands is not.
No Order of Hermes: There is no single setting-wide organization to which all wizards belong.
Wizards might, however, belong to smaller organizations based on region, level of training, personal
interest, political alliance, and so on, as your player group sees t. There are no Quaesitors, no Redcaps,
no Hoplites, no regional Tribunals, or Tribunal meetings, though local or regional versions of all these
things—with variations—may exist.
No Houses: The twelve traditional Houses of the Order do not exist in the Tablelands. There are,
however, many magical traditions to which wizards belong, and some of them might resemble the
traditional Houses. For example, a militant tradition of warrior wizards might borrow some aspects of
House Tremere, but it is not House Tremere and your player group only has to use those elements of
House Tremere that suit your table. Likewise, you can invent brand new traditions that use elements of
non-Hermetic magic—such as hedge traditions or rival magic—or entirely new ones of your own design.
No Code of Hermes and No Oath: Wizards are not forbidden from interfering in mundane a airs,
dealing with demons, or arousing the anger of fairies. In fact, in the Tablelands, wizards rule, and they do
as they wish—su ering the consequences of their actions.
No Dominion: God, as understood by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, does not exist in the
Tablelands setting. Instead, the Tablelands are assumed to be polytheistic, an assumption you can
change or modify based on the preferences of your table. The gods exist, and take direct action in
mortal a airs, acting through avatars, divine servitors, and priests. Likewise, there is no Satan; demons
exist, but they’re the demons of fantasy and horror literature, not the demons of Mythic Europe. All this
requires some changes to the Divine and Infernal Realms; see below.

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THE FOUR REALMS
In the Tablelands, the Magic realm functions as described in the Ars Magica 5th edition core rules. The
other realms, however, must change to a greater or lesser degree.
The Divine: The realm of the Divine becomes the realm of the many gods of the Tablelands, beings
which, in Mythic Europe, would be called “pagan gods” and thus considered faeries. These gods are not
as powerful as God is in Mythic Europe, and do not have the power to trump all other power sources.
Use the following Realm Interaction Table, instead of the one on page 183 of ArM5:

Magic Divine Faerie Infernal

Power Power Power Power

Magic Aura + aura - aura + (1/2 aura) - aura

Divine Aura - aura + aura - aura - (2x aura)

Faerie Aura + (1/2 aura) - aura + aura - aura

Infernal Aura - aura - (2 x aura) - aura + aura

The gods of the Tablelands—along with their many servitors and avatars—all possess Divine Might. Their
temples and shrines generate Divine auras and their priests often wield Divine powers.
Faerie: While the gods are not faeries, this does not prevent faeries from impersonating gods, and it
can often be hard to tell—especially for ordinary mortals—if the sun god visiting you in the elds is in
fact the sun god or a faerie who simply thinks he’s the sun god. Other than the classi cation of the gods
as Divine rather than Faerie, the Faerie realm operates more or less as described in traditional Ars
Magica games. Of course, the Tablelands are home to many new and unique faeries created by you and
your fellow players!
The Infernal: Demons exist in the Tablelands, and they come from a place called Hell. But these
creatures are not Christian demons, and there is no Satan. Demons are not constrained by a lack of all
virtue, as described on pages 44-47 of Realms of Power: the Infernal. This is to say, a demon in the
Tablelands can be cautious, plan ahead, cooperate with other demons, and bravely ght on even in the
face of overwhelming odds. It may even be possible, depending on the preferences of your players, for
mortals to “descend” into Hell and become demons themselves.
A NOTE ON THE GIFT
In the standard Tablelands setting, the social e ect of the Gift is not removed or lessened. This is for play
reasons, to ensure that most wizards still need companions to interact with mundane society.
Wizards rule in the Tablelands, but they do not do so easily, nor do they rule based on personal
loyalty or the love of their subjects; the Gift makes such loyalty and love unreliable, if not impossible.
Instead, wizards must nd other methods. Many wizards rule through power and fear. Others rely on
generosity—buying the loyalty of their followers with gold, land, or other treasures. Tradition keeps many
wizards in power, as the citizens of the Tablelands take it for granted that wizards are natural rulers.
Nearly all wizard rulers rely on a small circle of courtiers, many of whom represent the ruler among
mundane society and carry out their wishes. Citizens of the Tablelands do not expect their wizard rulers
to give public speeches or appearances, and such public acts tend to go poorly when they do occur.
Every once in a while, however, a wizard with the Gentle Gift rises to power among the Tablelands.
These rulers can be loved and command true loyalty, though that love and loyalty must still be earned.
Many rulers in the Tablelands consider Gently Gifted magi to be a political threat; it is all too easy for
such an individual to lead a revolt against the current ruler.
If you and your players prefer to play Ars Magica without the social e ects of the Gift, simple
eliminate them.

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 THE LAND OF DE FALT
There’s great diversity in the Tablelands, and every land is di erent, but it can be helpful to know what
the common assumptions of the setting are.1 The Land of De Falt is typical for the Tablelands; so typical
as to be rather boring.
De Falt is about 40 miles across; in the center of this land is a small but stout castle surrounded by a
town of between 3,000-5,000 inhabitants, mostly—but not exclusively—human. Much of De Falt is
farmland; roads connect it to two or more neighbors and encourage trade. A few villages—some of
which are dominated by non-humans, and which may have minor forti cations—sit at strategic locations
or places where food and commerce are especially reliable. The land is ruled by a wizard, who resides at
the central castle and is assisted by a court, some of whom are also wizards. This wizard ruler is
sovereign, o cially bowing to no one, though they maintain alliances of politics and trade and
sometimes nd themselves bullied or coerced by more powerful lands. De Falt has a strong enough
military to make rivals reluctant to invade, but not one large enough to pose an immediate threat to its
neighbors; this includes a garrison of a couple of hundred inexperienced soldiers, and a small personal
guard of of about fty veterans.
Player groups are encouraged to change the Land of De Falt to suit the needs and enthusiasms of
their table.

Session Zero
In the rst session of your Tablelands game, all the players—including the Story Guide—work together to
create the land that is the home for the player characters2. Each player should take a turn, beginning
with the SG, adding one detail to the land where the player characters live. This detail should be
expressed as a phrase or sentence, and the player should also create a Boon or Hook that mechanically
represents some aspect of the detail that was added. The Boon or Hooks is assigned Major or Minor
status, by the consensus of the players3. At this stage, Boons and Hooks do not need to balance.
Generate 6-10 details in this manner, giving each player one or two turns, depending on the size of your
player group.

EXAMPLES
DETAIL BOON OR HOOK

This land is really big, hundreds of miles. Large (Major Boon) A larger land will support
more diverse terrain, a larger population, and
more forti cations.

The rulers here are half-elven. Magical Blood (Minor Boon) A small group within
the land demonstrates reliable supernatural
powers.

In a ravine near the castle lies the Iron Door, a Diabolical Past (Major Hook) The ruler will have
gateway to Hell through which demons have to guard the door, and demonic cults will
invaded. occasionally try to get it open.

1 The Land of De Falt is inspired by the Pendragon RPG’s delightful and handy De Falt Clan.
2This process is inspired by the cluster generation system of the Diaspora RPG, a science ction
sandbox game using the Fate system.
3The Ars Magica way would be to develop a list of Boons and Hooks ala Covenants, complete with
characteristics that describe your land’s military, wealth, forti cations, etc, but that is beyond the scope
of this document.

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 Two rival faiths—a god of the sea and a goddess Religious Strife (Minor Hook) This rivalry is
of wisdom—compete for worship. (mostly) non-violent and both faiths are publicly
acceptable.

Every village has a wise one with modest magical Hedge Tradition (Minor Boon) Use the rules for
powers. Folk Witches for these “wise ones.”

A tribe of centaurs live in the nearby forest. Cultural Tension (Minor Hook) The humans and
centaurs have di erent values and sometimes
con ict; the centaurs demand representation at
court and expect the ruler to consider their
demands.

NEIGHBORING REGIONS
Each player should take a turn describing a geographic region that neighbors your land. This might be
another land with a ruler and population of its own, or it might be a wilderness or other signi cant
geographical feature—such as a desert, a swamp, a river. Each region should have something distinctive
or interesting about it, described as a story hook. Describe 6-10 of these regions, giving each player one
or two turns depending on the size of your group.

EXAMPLES
The Great River This wide river runs for many hundreds of miles
north to south; the player land is just one of many
that lies along its borders. This is a source for
commerce, but is also home to native cultures like
river folk and merfolk.

Former Colony This land was once conquered by the player land,
but gained independence in a rebellion about a
generation ago. Now it has its own wizard ruler.

Caves of Chaos Centuries ago a meteor crashed into the land,

gouging out a huge teardrop-sized crater. Caves
along the rim of this crater are now inhabited by
various nonhuman species.

The Witchfens This swamp is haunted by will-o-wisps, hags, and

restless spirits. Pirates, smugglers, and other
criminals hide from the law here.

Uneasy Allies A neighboring land is ruled by its own wizard

dynasty, which has ties to the player land through
marriage. Recent activity in the player land,
however, has angered or thwarted the ambitions
of these allies, who are reconsidering their
longstanding alliance.

The Oracle A major temple to one of the gods stands apart

from the lands and their wizard rulers. This small
area is heavily defended by religious soldiers and
priests, and is visited by pilgrims seeking to
consult the oracle.

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 THE STARTING SITUATION
The Story Guide, in cooperation with the players, should describe the situation your land is in at the
beginning of the game, before anyone creates characters. If none of the players have strong feelings
about what this starting situation should be, use a throne war.
Throne War4: In this starting situation, the land in which the player characters live has been ruled by
a single wizard for many years. That wizard is now on their deathbed. There is no clear heir—or, if there
is, that individual’s claim is very weak. Every player should create a wizard character who is part of the
court and could potentially claim the throne. Each player should also create a companion character who
occupies an important position at court: captain of the guard, for example, admiral of the eet,
spymaster, or treasurer.
Players are not obliged to pursue their claim to the throne; a throne war can end quickly and
bloodlessly if everyone agrees on the next ruler, or if rivals can come to an equitable arrangement. Player
character con ict is arbitrated by the Story Guide. One or more player characters may end up eeing the
land, imprisoned, in exile, or even dead! This is to be expected, and players are encouraged to join in the
spirit of the Throne War, but the SG should always remember that a dead character is much less useful
to the story than a living one. Wizards who lose the Throne War and are thrown in a dungeon or forced
out of the land are excellent recurring adversaries, and their players should create new, replacement
characters, working with the Story Guide to work these new characters into the court’s ongoing story as
quickly as possible.
As the throne war plays out, take note of grogs who appear during play; the most entertaining or
useful can reappear in subsequent stories.

Character and Map Creation

A Tablelands campaign makes one important change to character creation rules. Player characters are
not built to a speci c age, but rather to a speci c XP total. Players then assign their character a plausible
age, based on their character’s virtues, aws, and other factors. This change ensures that all the player
characters have the same opportunities, while also ensuring diversity in their age and life history.

Low Power Medium Power High Power

Wizard 600 900 1,200

Companion 450 600 750

The SG and players should agree to make wizards of low, medium, or high power; “low power”
represents wizards who, in Mythic Europe, would be only 1-2 years past their Gauntlet. “Medium power”
characters represent a wizard of about age 35, according to the usual rules, and a “high power” wizard
represents a character about 50 years old. The age of a player character, however, is not bound by these
restrictions, and can be younger or older. All that’s necessary is that the SG and player agree on the
character’s age, which should be plausible based on the character’s virtues, aws, and access to
resources.
Characters begin with total XP equal to the numbers on the table above. Virtues and aws which
add or subtract a at XP amount—such as Skilled or Weak Parens—modify this starting XP value. This
XP total is used to purchase all Arts and Abilities, including Native Language. A wizard’s formulaic spells
are also purchased from this XP total, spending 1 XP per level of the spell; at least 120 XP must be spent
in this manner. A player can sacri ce 30 XP from a wizard to give that wizard one year of laboratory
work; the details of this laboratory work are always subject to SG approval.

4 The Throne War is, of course, the default starting situation for the Amber Diceless RPG and has been
run at countless conventions for decades. Because the Tablelands are ruled by wizards, it felt
appropriate here.

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 Each wizard selects a single minor Virtue, receiving this virtue for “free”; that is, it does not need to
be balanced with a corresponding Flaw. This virtue was taught to the wizard by their former master, or
that master chose to take the character as a student because this virtue was already present. This free
virtue replaces the House Virtue of the standard rules, and players are encouraged to create new
traditions of magic that all share this single free virtue.
Example: Sonja is making a wizard for a new Tablelands campaign. She and the other players have
agreed to make “medium power” wizards, so she has 900 XP to spend. Sonja selects the Book Learner,
Elementalist, and Skilled Parens virtues; the latter gives her 60 XP and 30 more spell levels. The rst two
do not add to her XP totals, but make it more plausible that her wizard is younger than expected. If
Sonja’s wizard studied books on the elemental Arts two seasons out of every year, she’d earn an
additional 12 XP every year. Sonja’s decided her character began studying magic at the age of 10, and
she proposes to the SG that her wizard is now 28. For her free virtue, she chooses Personal Vis Source;
she’s decided her wizard belongs to a tradition that has “magic in their blood,” and every one of these
wizards generates their vis out of their own body.
USING THE HOUSES
Players and SGs should consider the Houses of Hermes, with all their House-speci c rules, to be a
toolbox for your Tablelands campaign. Mix and match virtues, aws, spells, Mastery abilities, prestige,
and other aspects of the Houses to suit your game. A player can select, as their free virtue, one that is
traditionally associated with a House—such as Puissant Ignem or Faerie Magic, but such characters are
not members of House Flambeau or House Merinita. They might belong to magical traditions of the
Tablelands which are very similar to those Houses, or they might belong to something entirely new.
DETAILING THE SETTING
While the players are creating their characters, the Story Guide lls the gaps in the land where the player
characters live, as well as the neighboring regions and how they all relate to each other. To begin, create
additional Boons and Hooks to balance those created by the players, adding additional Boons and
corresponding Hooks to support the stories you wish to tell.
Then, spend Build Points to represent the resources available to the player characters at court. You
can use the guidelines on page 71 of ArM5 for these Build Points, and you might delegate some of these
Build Points to the players to spend on the game’s behalf. The resources represented by these Build
Points should not belong to any individual player character, but instead are found in the court or the
surrounding realm; they might be owned by the ruler, but could just as easily be located in local temples
and shrines, private university libraries, or found in the local forest.
Determine the geographical relationships of the various neighboring realms to the land in which the
player characters dwell, taking into account any relationships determined when these regions were
generated. The land should connect to at least two of these regions, but to no more than half; the others
are arranged further away, forming a sort of outer ring. From this, draw a simple diagram or map that
shows these relationships.

Begin Play
When all the players have completed their wizard and companion characters, and the SG has detailed
the player land and surrounding regions, you are ready to begin play, using the starting situation as your
rst scene.

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