''The Stormrider'' is an adventure published by
Lion Rampant in 1989 for the fantasy role-playing game ''
Ars Magica
''Ars Magica'' is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High Mi ...
''.
Contents
''The Stormrider'' is a scenario designed to introduce new players and
gamemasters to ''Ars Magica''. The adventure, contained in 16 pages, is designed to be completed in a single session.
A further 24 pages of front-and-back half-page reference cards provide all the information needed to play the game, including staging hints for the gamemaster. The plot requires the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s to investigate the mysterious destructive force known as the Stormrider.
The ''Stormrider Jump Start Kit'' followed the first Lion Rampant supplement, ''The Bats of Mercille''. Stormrider was designed to allow a gamemaster to quickly start gameplay (within 15 minutes) with a group of players.
Publication history
Lion Rampant published the rules for ''Ars Magica'' in 1987. Two years later, they released ''The Stormrider'', written by
Mark Rein-Hagen
Mark Rein-Hagen, stylized as Mark Rein•Hagen (born 1964), is an American role-playing, card, video and board game designer best known as the creator of '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' and its associated ''World of Darkness'' games. Along with Jo ...
with
Jonathan Tweet, with illustrations by
Eric Hotz
Eric Hotz is a graphic artist and illustrator.
Early life and education
He was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada and studied at Simon Fraser University, Langara College, and Capilano College, mainly studying archaeology, art history, fine ...
, and cover art by
Doug Schuler
Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...
.
Reception
In the February–March 1990 edition of ''
Games International'' (Issue 13), Paul Mason noted that "the scenario works best of you use the pregenerated characters." He called the scenario "fairly sophisticated in that it uses a rift within the player characters in a creative manner." He concluded that this adventures was "All in all, worth a glance if you fancy a scenario that is story-orientated without being a straitjacket."
In the April 1990 edition of ''
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' (Issue #156),
Ken Rolston
Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game (pen and paper), role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series ''The Elder Scrolls''. In February 2007, he elected to join th ...
thought the idea of a special introductory look at ''Ars Magica'' was "Another original and innovative design idea from Lion Rampant." He also thought the staging hints were "well-implemented", and the adventure featured "skilled storytelling mechanics." For new players, Rolston commented that reading this would be "as instructive as watching a brilliant GM and players at work." He concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "Even
antasy role-playing gameplayers who would never play the ''Ars Magica'' game should appreciate the unique presentation and shrewd practical wisdom represented in this pack."
Stewart Wieck
Stewart Douglas Wieck (May 10, 1968 June 22, 2017) was one of the founders of the publishing company, White Wolf, Inc. He was also one of the original writers of Mage: The Ascension.
Career
Stewart Wieck was born in Freeport, Illinois in 1968. H ...
reviewed the product in a 1990 issue of
''White Wolf'', rating it at a 4 of 5 points.
[ Matthew Gabbert reviewed the product in a 1991 issue of ''White Wolf''.][ Overall, he rated it at 3 out of 5 possible points.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stormrider
Ars Magica adventures
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1989