Ars Magica Review

This Ars Magica review is part of my “Best Tabletop RPGs of All Time” article. If you want to check out more TTRPGs and see how other top-tier tabletop RPGs are ranked, visit that page.

My Review – 57 / 100

Ok, I’ll be honest. I wasn’t super thrilled with my first impressions of Ars Magica, so that probably set me up to give the game a lower review. Just remember reading through this review that Ars Magica still made it to my top list of TTRPGs. Even though its score is not impressive, the ratings I gave it are in comparison to the best tabletop RPGs of all time. So, even with a lower score, I still think Ars Magica is a great game.

Back to my overall impressions though: there really wasn’t anything in my initial read-through of the rulebook that grabbed me. The experience was also a little arduous from the immense amount of reading required to grasp the game’s core concepts, which was not a good sign. Normally, for reference, the read-through of any RPG rulebook is a pretty fun experience for me as I’m a major tabletop RPG nerd.

Ars Magica has a very long rulebook, with a lot of very intense details about what I would consider to be fairly non-important elements. As with any game, if you ignore all the rules you don’t like, you can still have a lot of fun with Ars Magica.

Why do people play Ars Magica? It may just be the most complete wizard’s roleplaying game experience in existence.

Uniqueness of Ars Magica: (3/10)

In Ars Magica, you often have the chance to play (or at least create) multiple characters, who are all spell-casters of some nature. Everything about this aspect of Ars Magica, I really like. To be honest, I’m surprised more TTRPGs don’t go for this approach. In video game RPGs, for example, it’s uncommon to have only one character. Most of the time, you have your own entire party of characters that you control, with perhaps one character – or only one character at a time – who takes the lead role.

My assumption is that the practicality of tracking Exp on multiple characters, tracking items, remembering spells and abilities… all the stuff that RPGs entail, is the real reason most tabletop RPG games don’t offer multiple characters as part of the normal gameplay experience. Which, of course, you run into playing Ars Magica, as well. But to me, it’s not that encumbering.

Other than that, the most unique part of Ars Magica is the depth of the game’s magic system. There are a massive number of spells in the game, and much of the game’s rulebook is dedicated to spell details. As I’ll discuss a little more in following sections, however, the magic system – to me – is encumbering.

Overall, I give Ars Magic a pretty low score on uniqueness because though I really like aspects of the game’s system (multiple characters, roleplaying a wizard, in-depth), there really aren’t too many unique parts of the game, when compared to other tabletop RPGs. I don’t get the feeling that Ars Magica is substantially groundbreaking for the tabletop gaming genre.

Ease of Learning Ars Magica: (4/10)

Ok, so Ars Magica – straight up – is not that easy of a game to learn. There are character templates at the beginning of the rulebook. If you’re going to play Ars Magica for the first time, you should stick with a template for your character.

To really learn the game enough to build your own character and play successfully, you need to read close to the full 237 page rulebook. There are lots of complexities in Ars Magica. And while I like games with depth, I wouldn’t say that Ars Magica is very new person friendly.

To successfully do things like cast spells (very important to the game), for example, you need to read something like 30-40 pages to really understand how spell-casting works. Each player needs to read and understand those 30-40 pages too, not just the game master. Those 30-40 pages are also just the introduction to magic, and are not the spells themselves.

Ars Magica Presentation: (5/10)

When compared to games like Dungeons and Dragons, the overall layout of chapters in Ars Magica is a little odd. For example, the rulebook starts out with an introduction to the game, followed by dice and how they’re rolled, an introduction to the game’s lore, then into a glossary.

When getting into character creation, the “hermetic house summary” (an aspect of character building) comes after an introductions into stats for each hermetic. In my mind, I was thinking, “how can I choose a hermetic until I understand what the hermetic is about? And if that’s the case, why would I need to see hermetic stats, first?” Hermetics made way more sense about 20 pages in, when I finally found an overview. Basically, the game would have been easier to understand if that order was reversed.

One thing I do really like in the rulebook, however, is how starts of chapters and major sections have a spellbook-like aesthetic. Honestly, the fonts and feel of reading a wizard’s tome make up for a lot in Ars Magica when it comes to the game’s overall presentation.

Ars Magica Lore: (8/10)

Ars Magica is about “the order of Hermes, mages, and religion.” The lore is pretty in-depth, and cool. There’s certainly a lot to work if you want to play an entire RPG campaign.

Of every aspect of Ars Magica, the game’s lore is by far the best part. I would enjoy reading through the entire rulebook at a leisurely pace, almost as if it were part novel of some sort. It’d be fun to learn about each hermetic house, spell, and path of wizardry.

My honest thought when reviewing Ars Magica through virtually every step of the process was that I wished it was a campaign setting for DnD, rather than being its own game system. I think as a campaign setting for DnD, I would absolutely love Ars Magica. In fact, I’d probably play in a Ars Magica DnD setting quite a bit. I just think that the Ars Magica game, on the whole, is not nearly on the same level as games like DnD.

Combat in Ars Magica: (3/10)

The Ars Magica rulebook states that combat isn’t a big part of playing the game, which is fine. The rules for combat seem to reflect that idea, as well. When it comes down to it, combat in Ars Magica is basically just a hit chance, with damage-minus-defense-kind-of-game.

Ars Magica is all about magic. So, going into the game, I was sort of expecting some hardcore wizard duels like when Albus Dumbledore fought Voldemort in the the 5th Harry Potter book. Sadly, that wasn’t to be. In fact, I think it’s pretty much impossible to emulate a battle like that, in Ars Magica.

When you get down to it though, there’s nothing wrong with combat in Ars Magica. It just isn’t an important part of the game, and so doesn’t provide anything particularly special. It didn’t meet my expectations for what combat in a wizard roleplaying game might be.

Game “Flow”: (5/10)

Let me preface this section by again mentioning that Ars Magica – on the whole – is a great game. It also has a small but dedicated group of hardcore gamers. I will say though that you would have to be among the most hardcore tabletop roleplay gamers to give Ars Magica a shot for a full campaign.

The game is like living a life as an actual wizard. Cool in some ways, tedious in many others. The amount of depth provided by Ars Magica into magic and what it means to “be a wizard” is staggering. I think of Ars Magica as being on the same level of detail as Zweihander. In fact, you might say that Ars Magica is Zweihander in this regard, but for wizards.

This game intimidates me, and I’m a pretty hardcore tabletop roleplayer, myself. There are rules and situations in Ars Magica to play out virtually every aspect of magic you could possibly imagine. There are apprentices, laboratories, magical experimentation, familiars, enchantments, and so much more.

For anexample of the depth and complexity of Ars Magic, consider this excerpt from the “Creo Aquam Spells” a Level 5 spell called:

“Footsteps of Slipper Oil”

(*actual text taken from the game. Anything in [these symbols] are my sarcastic additions).

“R: Touch, D: Diam, T: Ind

From each of the next ten footsteps the caster of this spell takes, nonflammable grease spreads out, leaving a slick area 10 paces wide. Dexterity stress rolls are required to remain upright whenever a character on the oil does something more than challenging walking.

A roll of 6+ is needed for the average maneuver, with rolls of up to 15+ needed to (for example) make a right turn at full speed on a smooth, greased surface. The duration is the length of time that the oil lasts [umm… duh?].

This spell was invented by a rather good-natured magus, and the gestures associated with the most common variations of the spell are as comical as the effects themselves. You can stand first on one leg, and then the other, vigorously rubbing the bottom of each upturned foot, as if spreading on a salve. (Base 3, +1 Touch, +1 Diam)”

{Not all spells are just like this, but many are. It’s a lot of text for a spell that makes people slip and fall. Damn dude. Too much for me.

Artwork: (3/10)

There’s not a lot of art in the Ars Magica rulebook. Not really a consistent theme. It’s also simply not the best artwork I’ve ever seen.

What I will say though is that some of the artwork has a very old, medieval sort of feel to it. Like something you would see reading through an ornate religious text from that time period, which I really like.

Ease of Purchase: (10/10)

Ars Magica can be purchased on the Atlas Games site, and on Amazon. At both locations, the game is very easy to find and purchase. You would be surprised how many tabletop RPGs, even among the really great ones, are not as easy to purchase as Ars Magica.

Price & How Many Books Do You Need to Play: (10/10)

You just need one book to play Ars Magica. The price is only $35 for the hardcover rulebook, which is incredible value (hard cover books often cost publishers almost $35 to print a single full-color book).

Fame & Availability of Supplemental Material: (6/10)

There is lots of supplemental material for Ars Magica of all kinds. You can find supplemental books on lore, and that expand on core mechanics of the game.

In 1996, Ars Magica was ranked by Arcane Magazine (now out of print) as the 19th most popular tabletop roleplaying game of all time. I think Ars Magica was very popular at one time. Nowadays though, I don’t think there are many people playing it. I’d still say that it’s probably better than most – like nearly all – tabletop RPGs out there. It’s just not as well-known.

If I had to summarize why I think Ars Magica is so complex for today’s standards, it would be that back in the early days of tabletop gaming, gamers liked very complex games. It gave them something to dig into even when they weren’t gaming with friends, almost like it doubled as a sort of novel in the in-between.

It also provided gamers with specialized information they could glean, then bring to the group and use during a gaming session, like their own secret knowledge or power. These were the days before the internet after all, when it wasn’t super easy to get any sort of information you wanted, at any time.

It was part of the mystique of those early days to play games that were highly elaborate and complex. And for that – what Ars Magica was to that generation – I love the game. I also love the mystique about it and the immense immersion into what it’s like being a wizard.

I just don’t think that today’s tabletop crowd games for quite the same reasons.

Ars Magica is Produced By:

Atlas Games

Rethinking D&D: Design Oriented Conversations to Improve the Game

By Jacob Tegtman • May 5, 2026

Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2pHaAcKDbo Transcription [00:00:00] I want to start talking more about Dungeons Dragons and game design So far on this channel it's really been a news style kind of coverage where new things are happening new books are releasing and so forth But one of the things I've experienced and probably a lot of other people have as well is that Dungeons Dragons hasn't really improved as a game over the last many editions I started playing Dungeons Dragons at 3.5e Many of you probably were around the same time Maybe there's a lot of 5e players originals out there or there's you know basic or advanced Dungeons Dragons players I love Dungeons Dragons It was my introduction to the TTRPG hobby and TTRPGs are one of the main pillars of my life in a way I've spent most of my life making games creating supplemental [00:01:00] material for Dungeons Dragons exploring some of the lesser-known TTRPGs the indie games and trying to understand why I love it so much and then bring that joy to as many people as possible in as many ways as possible I think there's a lot of ways to play this hobby But one of the disappointing things to me is that D&D 3.5 compared to say 5.5e now is there's still a lot of things I prefer in 3.5 And as I've learned about basic and advanced D&D there's a lot of things I prefer even in those games So if you're not getting what you really want out of Dungeons Dragons this is kind of the direction I wanna take things I still love D&D This channel isn't gonna become about roasting D&D or even necessarily going to a ton of other TTRPGs and reviewing them And I mean there's a million other games out there you can try and a lot of them are great Pathfinder Daggerheart I've reviewed a [00:02:00] lot of them on the Eternity website But what I wanna do is present some of the ideas that myself as a game designer I've come up with over the last Well I I've probably been designing or editing games since I was about six Uh I think I was 12 when I first made a map where people could play through and you know actually engage in a a full-fledged game that I made So Let's say twenty-four years of game design experience for myself I'm a at this point a hobbyist so I'm not a professional I've never worked for Wizards of the Coast or any other publishing company I have published my own TTRPG and I'll be sharing that more in the future But all of that aside I wanna start talking about in this channel still some of the news things that are coming out but I wanna share it from the framework of here's maybe how you can take this and make it better There's a lot of elements in [00:03:00] D&D that I wanna be talking about that I think are cool but we could make a lot better So some of those topics number one being initiative I think initiative is very uninspired There's nothing wrong with it right Like the initiative system for D&D gives you everything you need to play a combat encounter It's very simple You roll a d20 you add your modifiers If you have like the alert feat in 5E Then you get to go faster and going faster typically means that you're gonna get like one extra turn than a lot of your other friends at the table or enemies that you're facing Because say you're you're seven rounds in you're taking your seventh turn they've only had six but then all the enemies are dead um that's kind of the the value of initiative right Like so going first does matter but it's not that exciting is it Like you just roll you add your bonus and then you're locked in like a static initiative for the rest of the battle [00:04:00] And these kind of issues with D&D lead to very stagnant situations where people take their turn and then they pull out their phone and they know that it doesn't really matter if they're engaged at the table because for the next five ten fifteen minutes going around the table for everybody to take their turn depending on how well the dungeon master runs a combat encounter they could have literally nothing to do especially if they don't have any reactions so forth So you kinda see this with initiative number one You see this w even with basic things like hit chance and these kinda tie in a lot because players will roll saves when it's not their turn and it gives them sort of something to do at least But with AC it's just a static value it's a situation where the dungeon master may not even need the player because a lot of DMs they write down their player's AC Before the battle even starts So they know when they're rolling behind their uh little table or you know whatever however they [00:05:00] use it maybe as a DM you're just rolling out in the open so anybody can see the D20 Other people hide that number but if they roll a five and the monster's got a plus ten or whatever they just know that they hit somebody who has a fourteen or lower right So they don't even really need the player You just Dungeon Master rolls you take X amount of damage and then all the player has to do is record that on their character sheet then they can get back to their iPhone right Like that's lame There's a lot of situations like this that could be improved I also think it's really interesting looking at old school D&D and other [00:06:00] channels talk about this kind of thing a lot and I think it's something that we could bring back to modern D&D with very good results would be things like the dungeon turn or random assigning of how enemies or NPCs feel towards the party I don't think that the critical role way of playing D&D the the theatrical way of playing D&D is necessarily the best way of playing D&D And I don't have anything against that I really like narrative gameplay A lot of the dungeons um a lot of the campaigns that I have dungeon mastered for have been fairly narratively driven And I really like I I've never written a novel but I like writing the the campaign style novels and then being free to adjust that as my players make decisions But I also think it it isn't necessarily the best way sometimes I've [00:07:00] been very inspired as a dungeon master and I've come up with great narrative plots that my players are super into and it makes for an amazing twenty-five to thirty-five session campaign over the course of a year year and a half that people love and we still talk about And there's been a lot of times as well where I'm not very inspired but I'm still trying to rely on those kind of plot points that older styles of D&D don't make you use because they generate a lot of that for you Emergent storytelling is the term I'm looking for where you don't necessarily know what plot is going to come out of the story but sometimes that's much better because at those moments in my own campaign creating where I haven't been the most inspired those campaigns can die really easily Those are the campaigns that last anywhere from two to seven sessions and just like you often hear about most campaigns die after seven sessions Those are the ones that don't make it [00:08:00] So I think that there are a lot of great older ideas that for some reason the newer versions of Dungeons Dragons didn't bring forward I also think that D&D being a fairly old game and don't get me wrong I love older games I play them all the time but it's surprising the lack of innovation I think that has been in the industry over the past What I mean when did D&D come out I Is it I can't think off the top of my head Is it forty fifty years I'm surprised there isn't better stuff Um and don't get me wrong I I love the other games too I love Pathfinder I love Daggerheart I think they're all cool but I think we can do better And so I'm not necessarily saying I have all the ideas for what could make it better but over my twenty years of designing games twenty plus I've come up with some very simple ideas that I wanna share with you and I think that when you try them out for yourself give me some feedback let me know what you think um I think together we can come up with something that is [00:09:00] substantially better And so that's my goal Everything from the mechanics of initiative in combat to the way campaigns develop narratively to player agency to things like allowing dungeon masters to also play characters in their own campaigns within limited scopes perhaps sharing the roles of dungeon master I think there's a lot of things that we could do to actually truly advance the TTRPG hobby genre beyond what we've seen so far So that's the direction that I plan to take with the channel moving forward I'm looking forward to some of these first videos We're gonna talk about the initiative system We're gonna talk about the hit chance system and I can't wait to get your feedback on it But hopefully this is a turn for me away from just new style stuff and towards stuff that you can use in your campaigns [00:10:00] like tomorrow And I hope that you enjoy it and I hope to hear from you on topics that you want to see improved in your own D&D games And again I think together we can come up with some truly amazing improvements So until next time talk to you then.

Turn Your D&D Character into a Lich: Official Path of the Lich Feats

By Jacob Tegtman • April 29, 2026

Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an8LlwVXGns Transcription Becoming a lich in D&D has – usually – been something reserved for villains. But in one of the latest Unearthed Arcana from early April, that line gets a little blurrier. Really cool way that they approached this: there’s now a feat-based system that allows players to work toward lichdom for their characters, over time. So today, we’re going to walk through what becoming a Lich officially looks like—and whether it’s something you’d realistically use in a campaign. Because... you know... with the new D&D seasons releases, and Spring time being about the “horror genre,” nothing says “become a lich” like green trees and budding flowers. So, here we are! Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG—your go-to place for Dungeons & Dragons content, news, games, and updates. Today we’re looking at the Path of the Lich from the new Villainous Options playtest. To understand the system, it helps to start with the lore. A lich in D&D is a spellcaster who avoids death by binding their soul to an object—commonly called a phylactery, or in this case, a spirit jar. The process is intentionally grim. It involves creating that phylactery vessel, performing a ritual, and effectively dying—only to return as an undead being sustained by magic. Mechanically and narratively, liches are defined by two things: Their detachment from mortality And their dependence on that external object . Kind of like a horcrux, from Harry Potter. That phylactery is what makes a Lich difficult to destroy, and why they’ve historically been used as long-term antagonists, such as during one of my personal favorite adventures of all times: the original Tomb of Horrors. The Path of the Lich is part of a broader Unearthed Arcana release focused on “villainous” character options. Instead of a subclass, as a very interesting take on things, this is structured as a sequence of feats. Keeping the Lich path separate from any class means that no matter what you play as, you can make a Lich out of it! This means that your fighter, for example, could be a Lich, or your rogue (not that you’d ever play a rogue), and you can have that “undead character” without tying yourself to the traditional “Lich-as-a-spellcaster” archetype. The Lich progression looks like this: You begin by defining a Lich Rite , at any level, which is mostly narrative At level 4, you take Lich Initiate Between levels 5 and 11, you select at least one additional related feat, from the options of arcane restoration, transfer life, or undead grasp And then at level 12 or higher, you take Lich Ascension , to officially become a Lich So rather than a single transformation, your character goes through a gradual shift in both mechanics and tone, which is very based in D&D lore. The Lich Rite feat is worth discussing in some detail, even though it doesn’t have strict mechanical weight. This first feat in the Lich chain sets the narrative expectation for becoming a full-blown Lich, by providing the character with a sort of quest they must first complete, such as: Consuming a large number of souls Using magic to conceal yourself from the gods of death Brewing potions from slain foes Or severing your connection to any afterlife, entirely These aren’t small story beats. They really do imply a campaign where moral boundaries are actively being crossed—or at the very least, being questioned. So, before mechanics even come into play, there’s already a conversation to have at the table. Next, is the Lich Initiate feat. This is the foundation. You create your spirit jar , which functions as your anchor, the basis for your phylactery. You also gain Soul Siphon , allowing you to consume the soul of a defeated humanoid for a small damage boost. There’s also a risk component—if your spirit jar is destroyed, you suffer penalties until it’s replaced. You then choose how to build on your lich path with a third feat that improves soul siphon: Arcane Restoration lets you convert soul siphon uses into spell slot recovery Transfer Life turns soul siphon uses into temporary hit point bonuses for allies Undead Grasp adds a control option through paralysis These are fairly modular feats. They don’t radically change your role, such as by forcing you into becoming a full-fledged Lich spell caster, but they do add magical efficiency and utility depending on your build. Finally, at level 12, the transformation to Lichdom completes. You: Become Undead Gain resistance to necrotic and poison damage Get access to Fear without expending spell slots And gain a form of rejuvenation tied to your spirit jar That last point is the most significant mechanically. It introduces a conditional form of returning after death, assuming your phylactery remains intact. So, is the Path of the Lich actually worth taking? Mechanically, it’s solid. You’re getting: Incremental power increases Some resource flexibility And a strong late-game feature tied to survival But the bigger consideration isn’t mechanical—it’s contextual. This kind of progression assumes: A campaign that supports darker character arcs A group that’s comfortable with those themes And a DM willing to integrate the consequences of these morally very-dark-gray life choices In a more traditional heroic campaign, it may not fit at all. The path of the Lich feels less like a standard player option, and more like a tool for specific types of stories. If used carefully, it could support a long-term character arc focused on ambition, cost, and transformation. It allows players to experience some really interesting game mechanics that have long been reserved mainly for monsters or main campaign villains. If this feat path is used casually, it does risk feeling out of place—or undercutting the tone of the game. And let’s just remember, since it’s still Unearthed Arcana, parts of this entire path are also likely to change based on feedback. So the real question is: are you going to play a lich in your next campaign? Or do you think lichdom works better as something players confront… rather than become? Let me know in the comments. And if you want more D&D news and breakdowns like this, consider liking and subscribing. Thanks for watching!

“New Dark D&D Subclasses: for Bard, Druid, & Warlock” Blog

D&D Unearthed Arcana: New Dark Subclasses

By Jacob Tegtman • April 28, 2026

Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_DQ3rc0Xes Transcription Wizards of the Coast has released three new subclasses in their latest Unearthed Arcana, focusing on darker themes like death magic and corruption mechanics. They’re free to access and already generating a lot of discussion in the community. Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG—your go-to source for D&D and tabletop RPG news. Let’s take a look at what’s included in this latest release, and how these classes might fit into your game. If you aren’t familiar, Unearthed Arcana is Wizards of the Coast’s official playtest material, where new subclasses, rules, or mechanics are released for public feedback before possible full publication. New Unearthed Arcana releases don’t follow a strict schedule of new subclass releases, but they tend to appear a few times a year depending on development cycles. There’s also no fixed order for which classes get new subclasses—design choices are usually driven by current design goals, themes, or upcoming products rather than a rotation system. This could in part be driven by the “D&D Seasons” that we’re now seeing from Wizards of the Coast with their planned product release schedule, this year. Getting right into things though, the subclasses this round are: College of Mourning (Bard) Circle of the Primeval (Druid) A revised Fiend Patron (Warlock) The College of Mourning focuses on death-related magic. Instead of traditional inspiration, it blends necrotic damage with support abilities, allowing bards to deal damage while also healing allies. Community reactions have noted the strong thematic direction. One Reddit user described it as a good fit for darker character concepts, though some DMs may need to consider how it fits their campaign tone. Mechanically, early impressions suggest it’s relatively balanced, with its healing and damage requiring positioning and timing. The Circle of the Primeval explores a more ancient and unfamiliar side of nature. Instead of typical beasts, their Wild Shape options include more unusual, sometimes unsettling forms—drawing on prehistoric or aberrant inspirations. At 6th level, their “Primordial Awakening” feature allows additional effects like resistance to psychic damage and abilities that can disrupt enemies mentally. Some players like the new, darker style of this subclass as a change of pace, while others worry it might not fit the tone or gameplay balance of more classic, heroic D&D campaigns. This subclass may work best in settings where the implied, dark themes of the subclass are already established and agreed upon by the group. The updated Fiend Patron introduces a more structured approach to corruption mechanics. The new “Infernal Bargain” system allows warlocks to gain temporary power in exchange for accumulating “Corruption Points.” As corruption points increase, characters gain benefits—but also drawbacks, including possible DM influence over certain decisions at higher levels. To be clear, Corruption Points are gained each time the warlock uses their Infernal Bargain feature to gain their temporary power increases. This system has sparked discussion around player agency. Some players appreciate the mechanical representation of risk and consequence, while others are cautious about how it might be implemented at the table. Overall, it adds a clearer framework for storytelling, but likely requires strong communication between players and DMs. Community discussion around these subclasses has been active, particularly among DMs considering how to integrate them. Some concerns focus on tone—especially in campaigns that already have a defined setting or theme. Others are more mechanical, particularly around balance and player agency. Wizards of the Coast has included guidance in the document, including suggestions for implementation and reminders to use session zero discussions and safety tools when introducing darker themes. If you’d like to play these subclasses at your table, You can download and learn more about them for free on D&D Beyond or through official Wizards of the Coast Unearthed Arcana posts. I’ll include links in this video’s notes, below. Quick episode today, but that about wraps things up! So, what are your thoughts on these new subclasses? Would you include them in your campaign, or do they feel too specific in tone? Let me know in the comments. And if you enjoyed this breakdown, consider liking the video and subscribing for more weekly D&D news. Until next time my friends—keep rolling those 20’s.