Like many authors for the Ars Magica 5th edition line, I started off submitting articles to the various fanzines listed below. I found this a good way of refining my writing technique and it helped me set more realistic goals for what I was able to contribute given a particular deadline.
Sub Rosa, Mark 2
(Issues #6 to present, editors Mark Lawford and Ben MacFarland)
When Alex found he could no longer sustain the first incarnation of the new fanzine there was a brief hiatus but fortunately Mark and Ben stepped into the breech with gusto and IMO the fanzine is improving with every subsequent issue. I’ve actually only contributed one article to this new incarnation as I’ve been writing for official supplements – one of the drawbacks of becoming a line author is less time spent writing articles or frequenting the forums in order to make deadlines.
The Lists of Solomon (Issue #9)
This comprises some leftover bestiary material, mainly relevant to the Mythic Arabia section of The Cradle and the Crescent, which I’ve summarized briefly here. The remainder of the issue also includes Niall’s cut “A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Hijaz” (Mecca and Medina) material, some great sample characters from Jason Brennan (aka the Atlas Forum’s Gremlin44) and some other Story Seeds and geographic material such as the fragment of al-Sind material that we cut early in the first drafts when it was clear word count was an issue and India was out of bounds. If you liked The Cradle and the Crescent, I think you’ll find this issue will supplement the official book really well.
Training Packages for Redcaps (Issue #13 aka “the Diedne Issue”)
This is based on the Training Packages concept from Grogs and the derivative “Training Packages for Magi” article by Mark Shirley that appeared in Sub Rosa #11. I’ve included a placeholder under this page but linked to the main page within the “More Than Messengers” Project page here.
Sub Rosa, Mark 1
(Issues #1 to #5, editor Alex White)
When Hermes Portal closed, there was a void left behind for aspiring writers like myself. Alex White stepped into this space and produced a fanzine that not only replaced its predecessor but in my opinion exceeded it in terms of content, style and production values. I wrote two articles for this initial incarnation of the fanzine.
One was guidelines for using Jinn as player characters using a derivative of the Mythic Companion / Blood of Heroes rules from Houses of Hermes: True Lineages. This formed a basis for my later work in The Cradle and the Crescent (in fact it was the reason I got the gig to write for the line initially).
Jinn as Characters (Issue #2)
The other was a sample Dedicated Research covenant set in the northeast of the Iberian Tribunal. I’d never really played around with Original Research and I had a whole lot of astrological ideas that I thought would make interesting concepts for Hermetic magi. It also contains my somewhat left field idea for a small lineage of Islamic Flambeau magi.
Dar al-Nujum Covenant (Issue #5)
I also contributed and proofread an article by Mark Faulkner, “Societas Flambonis” (Issue #3) which contains a whole lot of apocrypha and ideas about House Flambeau, including Marko’s strongly defended alternative Spanish version of the early history of the fiery Founder based on pre-Arm5 sources. Marko is amazingly creative and talented – it was a real pleasure to read this in its early drafts and help it become forged into its final tempered form.
Perhaps someday I’ll get around to asking Marko if I can post the article here for posterity. I’ve now managed to convince Mark to let me post it here now to coincide with the release of the official version of Val-Negra in Faith and Flame: the Provençal Tribunal.
Societas Flambonis – Flambeau Apocrypha (Mark D Faulkner, Issue #3)
Hermes Portal
This was my the vehicle for my first published ArM5 article. Sadly this fanzine is no longer being published. Fortunately (thanks to my incessant badgering I suspect), the editor, Eric Kouris, agreed to post the entire content online here as free PDF downloads. As thanks, I compiled an index of all the articles which can be accessed via the Atlas Games website. I sometimes flick through the old issues – it’s interesting to see how various authors (including the ArM5 line editor, David Chart) got their start and which concepts ultimately found their way into Ars canon.
The article I wrote in Issue #13 was on Germanic Shapeshifters, the non-Hermetic tradition from which Bjornaer was exiled and who remain enemies of House Bjornaer to this day. I really like this group as a concept and plan to follow up with a revision with some ideas on expanding the existing ArM5 version found in Guardians of the Forests.
My Life as a Grog 