Mini-Review: An Ars Magica Grimoire For the Ages

Atlas Games seem to be in the process of evergreening Ars Magica. Rather than rolling out a 6th Edition to replace the generally well-regarded 5th Edition of the game, they appear to have decided it has reached a point where they are unlikely to significantly improve upon it. They’ve largely stopped doing brand new official material (but stick a pin in “brand new” there), and they’ve declared that the entire 5th Edition line – core book and support – is Creative Commons, with an open licence set up to allow people to produce material compatible with it and make use of a stylish trademark to indicate compatibility. The declared intention is to make sure people can feel free to produce such projects, and be confident they will be able to do so even if some other company ends up owning the rights some day. I suspect Atlas aren’t planning on selling the line any time soon – indeed, a prospective buyer might look at this fait accompli and back off – but rather they are hedging their bets…