Antagonists
Antagonists is a sourcebook for Ars Magica Fifth Edition containing ten NPCs who can be used as long-running adversaries in a Saga.
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| Product Information | |
|---|---|
| Rules Edition: | Fifth |
| Abbreviation: | none |
| Product Type: | Character sourcebook |
| Author(s): | Timothy Ferguson, Andrew Gronosky, Mark Lawford, Richard Love, Ben McFarland, Mark Shirley |
| Publisher: | Atlas Games |
| Product Number: | AG0303 |
| ISBN: | 1-58978-135-X |
| Release date: | March 2013 |
| Format: | Hardcover, 144 pages |
| Availability: | In print |
Subject and Contents
Antagonists contains ten fully-developed adversaries who can each provide multiple stories. The book contains full Fifth Edition statistics for each adversary and his or her minions, of course, but the bulk of each chapter is text describing the antagonist's motivations, schemes, and how to integrate him or her into your Saga.
The antagonists in this book are generic characters designed to oppose a single covenant. The book does not deal with major historical adversaries of the Order of Hermes such as Damhan-Allaidh and House Diedne, nor Order-wide menaces such as the Mongol hordes.
Product Page and Introduction
The official product page gives a description of the book and a PDF of the introduction. Unlike most ArM5 books, the table of contents is not available online. This is because, according to David Chart, the table of contents is so detailed as to contain spoilers.
The Ten Antagonists
There is at least one antagonist from each of the Realms of Power, plus the Order of Hermes and the mundane world.
- Baron Geoffroi D'Arques
- A mundane who seeks to learn about magic and gather magicians to his court
- Baron Giraud Le Cornu
- A mundane who tries to force the magi into joining the feudal hierarchy
- Father Joseph of Napoli
- A papal legate who proposes to turn the Order of Hermes into a religious order sanctioned by the Church of Rome
- Bishop Orris
- A bishop who is convinced that magic is evil
- Galerius of House Guernicus
- A quaesitor with an exaggerated idea of what constitutes a threat to the Order
- The Infatuated Diabolist
- A stalker in whom carnal lust and lust for a magus's power intertwine
- A Demonically Inspired Cult
- A rapidly-spreading menace
- The Divine Abbot
- A creature of the Divine Realm who seeks to strength the local Dominion
- The Queen of Gold and Glass
- A powerful faerie who challenges the magi with a series of tests while playing a subtle game
- The Waimie
- A magical serpent who sends out her brood in search of vis
The selection of antagonists is therefore somewhat weighted toward mundanes. There are:
- Two barons
- Two clergymen
- One Divine creature
- One magus, a Quaesitor
- One diabolist and one diabolic cult
- A faerie queen
- One magical beast
Opinion and Commentary
Antagonists' reception on the official forum was subdued. There was the usual amount of anticipation prior to the book's release, but once it actually came out, few comments were posted to its forum thread. Most of the discussion was reaction to the introduction, when it became clear to fans that Antagonists was a sourcebook of villains to be used in low- and medium-powered sagas, not a book of epic threats to the entire world of Mythic Europe.
- To offer a contrasting opinion, I would say that opinion on seeing the pdf of the Contents pages was subdued. The lesser threats and 'typical Divine realm stereotypes' type comments all pre-date the actual release of the book. forum thread Once the book was released I think reactions were far more favourable, and there was unlikely to be a great deal of open discussion given the fact spoilers are almost impossible to avoid when discussing the book. I personally liked the book a great deal and rate it as extremely useful, though it is fair to note I playtested in one round. CJ
Related Products
Another ArM5 sourcebook that contains fully-developed characters, usable as opponents, is Magi of Hermes.
Rival Magic describes magical organizations that can menace the entire Order of Hermes.