One True Edition

The One True Edition (abbreviated OTE) is a now-outdated term for Ars Magica Revised Edition.

Before the publication of Fourth Edition, there was a minority in the fan community who disliked the tone and style of Third Edition and continued to play and praise Revised Edition. Part of this has to do with Third Edition's dark tone and its introduction of unpopular elements such as True Reason. Part of it has to do with Revised Edition's comparatively slim 160-page size and concise writing style, in contrast to the wordiness of the later Third Edition.

The term fell out of currency when Fourth Edition was released, and has been rarely mentioned except in historical context since Fifth Edition came to be.

Other Meanings

Atlas Games publishes another role-playing game, Over the Edge, which is not related to Ars Magica. In Atlas' blog posts, it sometimes refers to this game by the initials OTE. Generally, in the Ars Magica fan community, references to Over the Edge are infrequent and will be spelled out to avoid confusion.