“Grandfather, may I have a story before your nap?” “Yes, of course. What would you like?” “A monster story.” “Ah, well, there is this evil little faerie who lives in the sewer system in Paris, he smells terrible but he sings…” “Eww. Gross. No. Something less gross.” “Well, there’s a giantess in Italy who is eighteen feet…
Read MoreIn Which Marco Steals A Necklace
“With you hands.” “What?” “It’s what you were going to say. You were going to say ‘I stole the necklace with my hands’ and then you were going to mention she was in the bath. I’d yell at you about my age, and you’d trick me into mentioning a moral. Story over. Nap.” “No, of…
Read MoreThe Story in Which Marco Is Saved From Death By a Lovely And Charitable Lady, For the Eighty-Second Time
“Grandpa! The Sun is low! Stories are nigh!” “Oh? Well, what kind would you like?” “Regardless of what I say, you are going to tell me the one you want and pretend it counts. Then you’ll try to trick me into ending the story early. You may also mention women in an inappropriate way, because you…
Read MoreHow Marco Destroyed The Fleet of the Fourth Crusade
“Grandfather…” “Yes, Rosa?” “It’s tomorrow. It’s time for one of your stories.” “Oh, have I told you about the time I destroyed a crusader fleet by accident?” “No…I don’t think so.” “Well, I was delivering a message to a covenant in the Alps, you know. They kept a sort of shared sanctum, for their covenant…
Read MoreHow Marco Obtained The Finest Shoes A Redcap Ever Wore
“Grandfather. It’s almost time for supper.” “Ah, that must be why I’m so tired. I need a nap.“ “Story first, naps later old man!” “Yes little miss! Now, what sort of story do you want? A spooky one like yesterday?” “I’d like a spooky one, but unlike yesterday, in the sense that I’d like it…
Read MoreHow Marco Was Almost Executed by The Tremere (The Third Time)
“Grandfather, before your nap: you promised me a story!” “Certainly. What sort?” “Spooky, please.” “Very well. So, when I was a young redcap I was stationed in Istria, which is near Italy, but in the Transylvanian Tribunal. It’s a strange and history haunted place. There was a storm, and I’d had to leave the barn…
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The First Story of Marco, Who Has Often Been Accused of Telling Lies, To His Grand-Daughter
“All right, one story, but none of your lies and obfuscations!” “Lies? Me? No! You can check with her.” “Leave me out of this, old man. I’m going to make some supper while you tell her her story.” “Really? Such cowardice. All right. How do we begin?” “I believe “Once upon a time” to be…
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The Stories of Marco the Liar
Marco the unreliable redcap was first introduced to Ars Magica in Covenants, where his role was to let us explore ideas without making them canonical in the setting. While setting up for National Gaming Design Month this year, I was asked to provide some more game fiction, so I’ve bought Marco back, with a series of short…
Read MoreStuffed crocodilles in the laboratory, a pre-Pratchettian source
While writing Covenants, and describing the laboratories of magicians, some of us wanted to include a bonus for having a stuffed crocodille hanging from the ceiling. That didn’t come through, but now I can prove it comes from a public domain source, which means you can use it in your games, and if told you…
Read MoreNew details on Soqotran Metaphysics, for Rival Magic
Normal service has been resumed, which is to say I plan to post four times a month, at minimum, from now on, until I once again run into a tight deadline. I’m up to date on my paid work, have finished all of the LibriVoxing I’m signed up for, other than my solo and a…
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Games From Folktales 