As is becoming the tradition in Ars Magica fandom, I’m trying to do a post a day for November. These short pieces will be collected for an omnibus podcast episode each week. The posts will be a mix of Cornish folklore and short Dunsany posts. I know that as concepts go, its not nearly as…
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Dunsany: Why the Milkman Shudders When He Perceives the Dawn
A quick bonus episode: a story from Lord Dunsany to celebrate Halloween. There are no plot hooks here, but I love this shaggy dog story, and it’s a perfect little Mystery Cult. Happy Hallowe’en! *** In the Hall of the Ancient Company of Milkmen round the great fireplace at the end, when the winter logs…
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Cornwall : Fire worship
This chapter is mostly worthless: what a disappointment. Hunt does mention some places that need fleshed out for a gazeteer. The places are: Sacrificing Rock at Carn Brae Main (or Men) Rock in Constantine The altar rocks in Treen and Rokestall The Garrick Zans (“Holy Rock”) in Ecols – a local family is cursed, after…
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Nozick’s Utility Monster in Mythic Europe
Nozick’s Utility Monster is a thought experiment designed to poke a hole in the worldview of utilitarians, but it is adaptable to roleplaying games. As is becoming customary for these posts based on philosophy, I need to begin by oversimplifying a basic concept. Let’s talk about utility and cake. Imagine there is a cake. How…
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Aberffraw biscuits
The oldest variety of biscuit in Britain appears in the historical record just after the game start date. The Aberffraw biscuit comes from Anglesey, that hothouse of Druidic magic, so what uses can it be put to in Ars Magica campaigns. This biscuit was developed near the town which bears its name. In 1220, Aberffraw was the capital of one of the Welsh kingdoms. It is said that the queen was walking on the shore and found a scallop shell. The king ordered biscuits to be made that had the shape of…
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Episode 75 Special: The Adventures of Captain Shard
The Adventures of Captain Shard are three interlinked stories by Lord Dunsany. They are so hugely long that I hope you’ll accept them as a PDF, rather than a more conventional post. Thank you again to all of my supporters who have made the podcast possible. Thanks to the Patreons, and the reviewers.
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Cornwall: The Lost Cities
When researching a new work, you collect bits of trivia until eventually they click into a structure. I think this chapter is the one which draws Hunt’s work together for roleplayers. I can’t detail it here, more research is required, but this is the chapter about Lyonesse, and for us, Lyonesse is the low hanging…
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The triops plague : notes from the dispatches of Aurelia of Mercere
1228 The magi of Qus have discovered a type of mite which eat vis. They were swarming about a mummy they uncovered in a freshly opened tomb. I am carrying samples of the magicophages to the magi of Alexandria. *** 1229 Andrea of Bonisagus notes that the triops mites have several fascinating properties. She first…
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Funereal biscuits
As I was watching older seasons of the Great British Bake Off, I learned of a custom I hope magi emulate: the sending of funereal biscuits. We know little of the funerals of magi. Tremere practice cremation, then pour your ashes into a hole that leads to Twilight. Criamon magi sometimes kill themselves, or fade…
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Games From Folktales 