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Ars Magica Definitive Edition

Created by Atlas Games

Ars Magica's deluxe edition with vastly expanded text, new art and graphic design, and luxurious upgrades. Did you miss the crowdfunding campaign? We can take pre-orders! Be sure to visit atlas-games.com/arsmagica to see the whole line of printed books, digital books, and regalia that are already available today!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Ars Magica Definitive Progress & Art Reveal!
12 months ago – Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 12:45:59 PM

Remember how I mentioned before that my co-producer Ben Hartfield is working exclusively on the Ars Magica Definitive layout, full time? His corrections/polishing pass just hit the Bestiary chapter, which is his last big hurdle at over 70 pages. So to celebrate his efforts, I thought I'd give you a sense of the mountain of comments he's tackling. This is a screenshot from our master "ARMD Chapter Fixes.gsheet". Yes, the sheet is 996 LINES LONG.



While Ben keeps on swimming through layout, I also put together process images for the amazing new art you haven't seen yet. So today I'm posting the art reveal of Doug Shuler's chapter start for Chapter 7: Hermetic Magic (for backers only, below). Enjoy!

Thank you, again, for your patience while we make Ars Magica Definitive the best it can be! 

-Michelle Nephew
  Ars Magica Definitive Co-Producer
  Atlas Games Co-Owner

Ars Magica Definitive Update
about 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 07, 2025 at 08:52:42 AM

Ars Magica Dice Mold!

Today's the day we get to show you our final design for the Ars Magica dice! Here's the mold, now in the hands of designer-engineer David Ultis, who is giving it final adjustments before sending it to our injection molding pals down in Somerset, Wisconsin. Let us know in the comments if you love the design as much as we do!



Open License Links

Ars Magica Open License has a new flood of fan-created content that we wanted to pass along. If you'd like info as announcements are posted, check out the thread on the Ars Magica forum. 
  • The Nigrasaxa covenant for Ars Magica 4th Edition has been NEWLY released by Atlas Games under the open license! It's already been converted to 5th by Mario Streflerand, also under the open license. Find it at https://www.redcap.org/page/Ni...
  • The call for submissions is open for the second issue of the new Mythic Europe Magazine. Details at https://gamesfromfolktales.com...
  • David Chart uploaded the final version of his Glosses and Commentaries at Glosses and Commentaries (DriveThruRPG) and Glosses and Commentaries (Patreon)
  • Blagdaross Ediciones, the publisher working on a Spanish edition of Ars Magica Definitive Edition, just released the teaser page of the crowdfunding project, which will start on October 1st. More info is at https://www.backerkit.com/call...
  • In The Missing Baroness adventure, a local noble lady has gone missing while out enjoying falconry and the Covenant is called to find her in a fairie-flavored chase. It's available on DriveThruRPG: https://legacy.drivethrurpg.co... and also translated into French: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/e...
  • Part II of the Joan Stories (an Ars Magica novel) has been uploaded to the Joan Vault. These five chapters cover the events of summer 1220-spring 1221. Download them here: https://drive.google.com/drive...
Enjoy all the Ars Magica Open License goodness!

-Michelle & John Nephew
 Atlas Games Co-Owners

Mythic Europe Maps
about 1 year ago – Wed, Jul 16, 2025 at 07:23:15 AM

MYTHIC EUROPE MAPS

Today we're releasing all the various versions of the Mythic Europe map! All the corrections are completed (thanks again for your comments!), and we're moving on to prototyping the cloth maps using the final files. Visit your account in Backerkit.com, and you'll find a zip file with these maps in your Downloads area:

  • "Interior" long version
  • "Poster" short version
  • "Endsheets" with borders and keys removed
  • "Hicontrast" with textures removed

The maps are all included in both a web version (screen resolution), and a 8.5x11 inch printable version. We usually release maps as 72dpi and 150dpi (since that's the best a home printer can do), but for this release I upped those to 96dpi and 192dpi, since there's so much small text on the map.


PROGRESS ON EVERYTHING ELSE

We're about half way through our "polishing" pass on the Ars Magica Definitive core rulebook. We had hoped get the Storyguide Set to press ahead of that, but along the way we realized that the Storyguide Screen and Reference Guide that it includes would be much more useful with actually accurate page number references included. So that means waiting for the core rulebook layout to be absolutely, positively, completely done. 

My co-producer Ben Hartfield is working exclusively on that Ars Magica Definitive layout, full time. I'm also helping with the nitty-gritty of production where I can (like spending today prepping all the Mythic Europe maps). We're continually moving forward, while be extremely detail-oriented. Thank you for your patience while we make Ars Magica Definitive the best it can be!

-Michelle Nephew
 Ars Magica Definitive Co-Producer
 Atlas Games Co-Owner

Latest News & Status Updates
about 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 12, 2025 at 11:11:13 AM

We've been busy with all things Ars Magica! 

Definitive Edition Set

We're close to sending the Storyguide Screen and Reference Guide to press, the Mythic Europe map is getting fine detail adjustments (as well as big and blatant corrections), and the entire Definitive Edition book is being proofread by multiple staffers after integration of all the corrections from our backers. It's a long and precise process, keeping track of literally thousands of small changes. Thank you again to everyone who submitted feedback!

Softcover Print-on-Demand

The last stray source file corrections have been made, and our last round of proof copies were ordered, received, and approved. This means we now have the ENTIRE 5TH EDITION LINE of sourcebooks ready for digital print-on-demand in the US, UK, and possibly even Canada and Australia (though we need to test those production channels). When the Definitive Edition sets are ready to ship, we're now ready to ship the softcovers along with them!

Dice Progress

We've found an American supplier able to manufacture dice, including the full process of injection molding, number coloring, and polishing. Plus they're able to work with recycled material! We eagerly await an estimate from them for producing our recycled Ars Magica dice. If pricing works out, I for one am excited at the prospect of NOT having to hand-color 6,000+ individual dice with ten sides each. This new supplier also creates the possibility of full sets of 100% recycled RPG dice in the future, which is something we'd love to do in our Replay Workshop line.



Here's a photo of the sample dice the manufacturer provided from our custom Ars Magica dice file, after inking and polishing to give them their rounded edges. You can also see that our ivy design has changed a bit to facilitate manufacturing. Note that these are translucent resin dice -- basically 3D printed -- and not injection molded recycled dice, plus the colors are off. However, they do a good job of demonstrating the effectiveness of the painting/polishing process!

Serenissima Obscura

We're excited about the crowdfunding launch of Serenissima Obscura, from our friends at Vortex Verlag. I've known some of those folks since our Lion Rampant days, before Atlas was even started! The campaign has passed its funding goal and is about halfway through the duration of its campaign. I've mentioned this in past updates, but I'm intrigued by this compelling vision of Renaissance Venice not only for its own sake, but because it will include a guide for using the setting as an expansion of Ars Magica, taking advantage of the open license!

Thank you for your support as we take the time we need to make Ars Magica Definitive Edition the best it can be.

-John Nephew
Atlas Games Co-owner

Ars Magica Accessories Previews for Backers!
over 1 year ago – Fri, May 09, 2025 at 12:35:03 PM

So much progress!

We've gotten through rough layout of the ENTIRE core rulebook, which was a huge milestone, and now we're moving on to the job of polishing it. When I saw your feedback on it, I told David Chart, "I am stunned by the draft layout comments in the survey spreadsheet. They REALLY CHECKED the sheet and DIDN'T duplicate comments that were already made. No D&D fandom would do that. Really, it's amazing." Your excellent comments are making a big job so much easier on our end, so thank you!

At the same time, we're moving on to the accessories layouts. We've releasing backer previews of the rough Storyguide Screen, Memorials Page, and Mythic Europe Map (updated) today. Next up will be the Reference Guide. So check your dashboard in Backerkit.com for those downloads as they're made available!

Our NEW comments form for accessories is here: https://forms.gle/KZ4RbG9vVW2B7yoJ7 We're still taking Memorials suggestions there, as well.

Thank you, again, for your help making Ars Magica the best it can be!

-Michelle Nephew
  Atlas Games Co-Owner
  Ars Magica Definitive Co-Producer