The Contested Isle (Ars Magica) Hardcover – September 16, 2013

Having played Ars Magica since 3rd edition I have to say this Tribunal has been one I've wanted to see a book for since the 90's when I started playing. The authors and line editor have kept the high quality consistent which I greatly appreciate.The Good: As is typical there is a great deal of information in this book that is helpful in either setting a campaign in this Tribunal or if your adventuring magi choose to travel here. It is rich in historical information as well as giving us a plethora of information on the Hermetic landscape. I was pleased to see that they spared few details in describing covenants from this Tribunal we've heard of before such as Ashenrise and Vigil. They did a good job of making this an interesting Tribunal that I would like to play in and or visit in a campaign.The Bad: I'll admit I'm being stingy with the stars. The content that is present deserves all five stars. I docked it one star as I was left with wanting more. This is perhaps more of a preference rather than a criticism of the book itself. I would love to see more detailed stats on magi in the book. I guess this is mainly as I don't want to have to do it myself (I guess I'm lazy that way). However if your more of a player/storyteller who likes to stat NPC characters out themselves my only complaint isn't likely relevant to you.Over all excellent book and worth picking up and adding to your collection.

The Contested Isle is a nice look at Mythic Ireland (Hibernia). It's very different than the rest of Mythic Europe, and I appreciate that. This would be a great place to run a game, and well written. Lots of ideas available and definitely recommend.

It's an Ars Magica location book. Actual rules are fairly thin on the ground, but if you're looking at playing Ars in 'Mythic Ireland' it's valuable.

Like the other fifth-edition Ars Magica books I've seen, this is a very good book. It consists of 13 chapters:Chapter 1 is an introduction: a page of text and a full-page map. The text describes some of the conflicts behind the book's title, _The Contested Isle_, and a summary of the state of the island of Mythic Ireland and Tribunal of Hibernia.Chapter 2 describes the history of Mythic Ireland. A lot of it is back-story that may not directly affect an Ars Magica game set in Hibernia, but will appeal to the fondness for history that attracts some players to Ars Magica. It also introduces some of the factions and other elements that are important in the rest of the book. It includes several story seeds, as do the remaining chapters.Chapter 3 describes Irish culture, the conflicts with the English, the Gaelic language, and Irish names. Gaelic spelling has rules that are quite regular, but quite alien to English-language speakers, and too complicated to describe in the single paragraph the book offers. I found a couple of good links to explain it with a web search for "old Irish spelling and pronunciation", but Amazon doesn't allow me to link the pages in a review. (I don't consider the book's lack of pronunciation rules a fault, because it's easy enough to look up the rules on the net.)Chapter 4 covers Hermetic culture of the Hibernian Tribunal. It has an extensive, unusual peripheral code, which takes a much softer view of the usual Hermetic "join or die" rules. To preserve the knowledge of non-Hermetic magic, Hibernian magi made a treaty with non-Hermetic hedge wizards who belong to an organization that is friendly to the Order of Hermes. Hibernian magi have a period between the end of apprenticeship and taking the oath of the Order. Their rules on Wizard Wars are looser. Like many tribunals, they have their own rules about covenants. Mythic Ireland is rich in vis, and has its own rules on ownership of vis sources. Some magi think Hibernian Hermetic rules disagree with those of the Order as a whole, but that disagreement hasn't been tested formally.The book includes five chapters of geography, which gets down to fairly narrow detail because Mythic Ireland is a geographically small island. Because it includes a lot of untamed territory, there's room for a lot of story seeds and mythic places.Chapter 5 describes the province of Connacht, in the west of Mythic Ireland. It includes the kingdom of Connacht, and to its north, Breifne. It is the magical preserve of the Coill Trí, the organization of hedge wizards who are at peace with the Order, and Hermetic magi are not allowed to settle there. The chapter also describes the dioceses, magical places, and other geographic elements of the province.Chapter 6 describes the province of Leinster, in the southeast of Mythic Ireland. (I haven't read the chapter, but earlier chapters indicate that it includes a lot of descendants of Vikings, assimilated into Irish culture, and is controlled by the English.)Chapter 7 describes the Liberty of Meath, a smaller region in the center of Mythic Ireland.Chapter 8 describes the province of Munster, in the southwest of Mythic Ireland.Chapter 9 describes the province of Ulster, in the north of Mythic Ireland.(I haven't read chapters 6 through 9, but experience with other Ars Magica books tells me that they're similar to Chapter 5. I will revise the review if I get around to reading those chapters.)Chapter 10 covers the Magical Landscape of Mythic Ireland. It tells the history of the druids, their conflict with Diedne and her house, and the modern successors to the name "druid". It tells more about the Coill Trí and their treaty with the Order. It describes the bards, the geasa (singular geas), the magical races of Ireland, and magical beasts of virtue. The chapter is heavy on history, culture, and story seeds, and light on rules.Chapter 11 covers the Faerie Landscape of Mythic Ireland. Faeries are very numerous in Mythic Ireland, and come in several types: pagan gods (the Tuatha Dé Danann), "social faeries" (which play out roles from folk beliefs), destructive "trooping faeries", and miscellaneous "solitary faeries". Faeries are so numerous, and demons so scarce, that faeries sometimes masquerade as demons -- or redeemers who try to save people from demons.Chapter 12 covers the Divine Landscape of Mythic Ireland, including the church. The church is divided into factions; the biggest divide is between those who are loyal only to the pope (with varying degrees of secondary allegiance to indigenous church tradition) and those who submit to English bishops. Mythic Ireland has innumerable saints, of which the book describes a dozen (and their powers). There's also an ascetic tradition peculiar to Mythic Ireland.Chapter 13 covers the Infernal Landscape of Mythic Ireland. Demons are scarce there, and subtle. They try to corrupt the powerful through temptation and obsession, and (occasionally) by possessing advisers to deliver corrupt counsel. They try to corrupt the poor through deprivation, hoping to corrupt them through despair. The book describes a few infernal places: battlefields and an island where one can find a series of infernal regiones. I'm personally not fond of infernal stories, so the book's light helping of demons is a plus by my tastes.The book doesn't have an index, but the three-page table of contents is quite solid.I bought the book at an in-person game store. I'm not even in an Ars Magica game right now, but it's a good way to encourage them to stock Ars Magica books (and to remain in business). I'm pleased that I bought it, even if I'm most likely to vote for a Theban Tribunal game (out of fondness for Greek mythology) if I get a chance.-SS

Slightly disappointed, I expected some more 'crunch'. More character statistics would have been nice. I was surprised to see less of them in this volume. Still I love the completion of the Mythic Europe.