Sub Rosa welcomes contributions from the Ars Magica fan community. Please make sure you read the guidelines carefully before sending any contributions in to us.
Writer Guidelines
Articles of any length are welcomed. All articles should be for Ars Magica Fifth Edition. Please do not submit work that has appeared somewhere else (e.g. a fan website) or material submitted to Atlas Games (unless you have their permission). Regular columns are welcome.
Please contact us first via email to let us know that you intend to submit an article, its rough word count and topic. Articles should be more than 500 words and less than 3000 words. Longer articles over 3000 words are acceptable, but may be divided over several issues.
Articles should be emailed in .doc or .rft format and not use any unusual fonts (Arial or Times only).
Do not format your article (except for bold/italics). Illustrations, maps or diagrams should not be embedded in the document. Include them as separate files. Do not use footnotes, endnotes or references (a bibliography is acceptable).
Before sending your article, please make sure that all game-terms are consistent, spelled correctly and follow Ars Magica standards, and that you spell-check the article.
What we are looking for
Sample characters
Grogs, companions and magi, with game stats and backgrounds. Characters should be interesting, as historically accurate as possible (within reason), and have at least one story seed. We are also interested in monsters or mythic beasts, again with background and story seeds (we are happy to print interesting alternative takes on monsters that already been published). Please ensure that any stats are accurate.
Story locations
Covenants, mythic and historical locations. Ruined temples, mythic versions of real castles, villages or towns. Locations should also have at least one story seed.
Artifacts
Hermetic devices, ancient relics, holy icons and cursed weapons. Objects should be unique, historically accurate (if possible), and not be reproduced from an existing source (i.e., in an Ars Magica book or other roleplaying game), but be an alternative take on something already published. Make sure any artifacts are follow the rules (if appropriate, obviously the Holy Grail may not necessarily follow the rules laid out for holy relics). Of course, story seeds and background for artifacts are a must.
Adventures
We are always looking for good adventures, particularly adventures that can be slotted into existing sagas. A basic adventure without stats should be between 2,000-3,000 words (although they could be longer). Stats for characters and story-specific items (new spells, magical devices, weapons, etc) could add between 1,000-2,000 words. Long articles may be divided between one or more articles.
Historical background
We are especially interested in articles that expand or explain on an interesting aspect of medieval history. There are lots of examples that have been published in Sub Rosa already, for instance an article about courtly love and magi, or a history of the Hohenstaufen (a dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors).
Historical articles could also explain about how medieval people lived, or certain types of medieval people did things. For example, what happened in crafts guilds, the responsibilities of German knights, or how papal elections operated.
The history should include examples of how it could be used in a saga, or story seeds. Although Wikipedia is acceptable as a source, the articles should go beyond merely re-writing or summarising those articles in a gaming context. Academic sources are preferred (although not required).
Reviews
Reviews of Fifth Edition Ars Magica books, or earlier editions are welcome. Reviews should be relatively short – no longer than 2,000 words.
What we don’t want
We generally don’t publish articles not related to Ars Magica or roleplaying; articles that reproduce material that has been published elsewhere; material that is proprietary or copyrighted (e.g. Grimgroth, Doissetep or other licensed characters or terms from earlier editions); or most fiction or poetry (even Ars Magica related).
Article Formatting Guidelines
Sub Rosa has a specific format that submissions should use. Do not format your article, use fonts other than Arial or Times New Roman, or embed images in your article. Please send all articles as .doc or .rtf files.
Please format your articles using this guide:
[AH] – Article heading
[A] – First level heading
[B] – Second level heading
[C] – third level heading
[ insert ] [ /insert ] – text box
Bibliographies
If your article includes a bibliography, please use the following format.
Books: Name of Author(s), Name of Book, Publisher
Journals: Name of Authors(s), Name of Journal Article, Name of Journal, Publisher
Websites: Name of Author(s), Name of webpage, URL
Artist Guidelines
Although we accept unsolicited artwork that evokes Mythic Europe or Ars Magica, I am looking for artists and illustrators who are able to produce work for a specific article or cover art. Ability to make deadlines is essential.
Art should be clear, bold, high contrast pen-and-ink (or computer generated) drawings, showing a good knowledge of composition, anatomy, perspective and shading. Shading should be solid blacks or greys with a graphics program.
Artwork should be submitted in good quality .psd or .tiff (PC) format in 300 dpi. Electronic submission is preferred. File names should indicate the subject matter of the illustration.
Publishing Agreement
By submitting your material to Sub Rosa, you grant Sub Rosa sole publishing (including in print and online) rights for nine months. This sole publication right is from the acceptance of the content, generally a week after submission. After nine months, Sub Rosa may continue to publish and/or sell the content without further payment, but the author or artist reserves the right to publish the material elsewhere. Any material that becomes a part of an Atlas Games product is exempted from Sub Rosa’s sole publication right. The author/artist retains copy-right and ownership of the material at all times.
Payment
All authors/artists will receive payment and a complimentary copy of the issue in which their contribution appears. Payment is determined by the number of subscribers. Payments will be made within 12 months of the contribution being published. Published letter writers will not receive free copies or payment.
