Curse of the Rhine Gorge

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Game Description

Campaign Background

After the loss of the covenants of Treverorum and Rheinstein, it was deemed that the Rhine Gorge was at that time too dangerous for magi to inhabit (or rather that it would be too dangerous for the Order for magi to inhabit it). The Rhine Tribunal of 1200 AD ruled that magi were forbidden from practicing any form of magical activity there for the next twenty years. It is now 1220, and with the expiry of this ban it is considered safe for magi to return to the region.

The leadership of Durenmar covenant has decided that the founding of a new covenant in the Middle Rhine would help to reinvigorate the Tribunal and further its interests. No new covenants have been founded in the Tribunal for several decades, which has resulted in the proliferation of Fengheld’s chapter houses, adding to their power, and a number of magi moving instead to neighboring Tribunals, diminishing the power of both Durenmar and the Rhine Tribunal. With Durenmar’s sponsorship, a prospective covenant may stand a fair chance of getting past the Tribunal’s rigorous approval process.

A group of freshly Gauntleted magi are therefore recruited; some from the Rhine Tribunal already find themselves at Durenmar as they complete their apprenticeships, and others have been invited to travel there from other Tribunals. They are tasked to investigate potential covenant sites, to choose one, and to establish a covenant there, subject to the approval of the other covenants of the Tribunal.

Upon their arrival at Durenmar, the young magi find that the so-called plans laid for this new covenant are rather less detailed than had been hoped. Indeed, the Tribunal’s oldest covenant (and most of its magi) are found to be hopelessly disorganized. They will have to undertake the bulk of the research and preparation themselves, using their initiative to gather together some scant starting resources. Some moral support may be found from other magi or covenants, but precious little in the way of practical help. Traveling to the Rhine Gorge only lightly equipped, the magi are left to establish a covenant from the ground up, relying on their wits, their magic, and not a little luck.

Campaign Structure

• Alpha & Beta Storyguide format
• Low-Medium Historical Research using Tribunal books as the guidelines.
• Campaign speed objective of 1 month real time = 1 game year with the exception of the 1st game year which is expected to take 2 months.
• Activities for year will be planned out in advance, with any adventures for the year occurring concurrently in separate threads, with the exception of the 1st game year for the covenant setup which will be planned seasonally.
• Characters normally restricted to one adventure per year to meet campaign speed objective
• Players can have 1 magus and 1 companion who can be allied or related but are not to be used on the same adventure.
• Grogs and covenfolk are communal.
• Campaign will start as a Low Vis/Low Power saga but advancement to a Moderate or High Vis saga is possible via character actions
• Magic is on the decline albeit slow enough that it should not affect the magi unless many decades are passed. Characters can alter this trend via their actions.
• To add a measure of intrigue, players can optionally keep their characters, seasonal advancement and stories hidden from other players other than the Alpha Storyguide.
• If a player wishes to keep certain laboratory or story activities hidden from the Alpha Storyguide then the Alpha Storyguide will try to arrange a Beta Storyguide to adjudicate the activities but if none can be arranged then the activity will have to be adjudicated by the Alpha Storyguide. Note: All player characters must be initially vetted by the Alpha Storyguide.
• Initial Magi will start off as freshly Gauntleted.
• All Ars Magica 5 books are allowed.
• Base Covenant Resources are Nil. The Covenant will be built, populated and resourced by the initial character virtues and activities. Covenant equivalent in build points will be tracked to gauge relative growth versus the norm (within 10 years the covenant should be equivalent to approximately 300 build points with normal play however there will be no bonuses or restrictions to enforce this goal).
• Campaign intro is based upon the Guardians of the Forest Rhine Tribunal adventure however it is not an issue if players have played or read the adventure. Just keep player and character knowledge separate to not ruin the adventure for other players.