The Magus
A downloadable game
The Magus is a solo journaling tabletop RPG that takes you on a sweeping journey for power, ambition, and arcane mastery, at great personal and interpersonal cost.
For the entirety of February, 100% of sales went directly to charity. While that period has ended, every contribution is still dearly appreciated. See update.
About
As a journaling game, you will roll dice, track stats, create spells, and write imaginary experiences from the perspective of your character: a wizard, newly embarking on their quest for power, their head filled with grand visions of mastery.
I finally mastered the Forge Chain spell. I had to create a pact with a demon -- forgive me Elia -- but it is worth it. It has to be. It's the only way to bring peace to the kingdom...and glory to me.
This RPG is crunchy. You will use several polyhedral dice to manage four traits: Focus, Power, Control, and Scars, which shape how the protagonist overcomes challenges and meets their denouement after seven, fateful events.
Perhaps they sail to the Enigmatic North in search of the final homonculus.
Perhaps they burrow deep underground to escape their eldritch overlords.
Or perhaps they go mad with power, and plunder innocent lives for M O R E
Everything comes at a cost, however: will you spend your scant remaining time to acquire more powerful spells, or nurture the few connections keeping you human?
Overcome fantastic challenges with your fledgling power, meet strange creatures along the way, and fly close to the sweet sun of omnipotence.
Featuring fifty exquisitely-designed pages, The Magus is a memorable experience about sacrifice, loneliness, and the power of magic and pathos coursing through all of us.
Sample Plays:
- A sorcerer's climb to power, and the catastrophe that follow (credit: Kin) http://willkinchlea.com/journal-the-magus/
- An ambitious mage finds friends along the way (credit: PercyPropa) https://twitter.com/PercyPropa/status/1355422185343516673
- In which the magus aims for a better world, and finds an ally they truly care for https://twitter.com/PaulCzege/status/1357800664672264192
Recognition
On November 2021, The Magus was awarded with the Giovine Italia medal from Carbonerie Ludiche in Italy.
Folks who interested in buying the physical game in Italian may purchase it from NessunDove!
A message from momatoesPurchasing this game is deeply appreciated and directly supports me. That said, free copies are also available—no questions asked—simply email me at hello@momatoes.com ───── Other tiny ways to support:
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Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $15 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- The Magus: Through the Looking GlassMay 04, 2022
- A small typo fixed with the Clear VersionMar 14, 2022
- The Magus receives the Giovine Italia recognition from Carbonerie Ludiche!Nov 23, 2021
- Nominated for indie RPG award in Italy!Sep 28, 2021
- New! One-page summary of play now available as a stand-alone PDF.Aug 13, 2021
- New: The Magus, Clear VersionAug 01, 2021
- Session Zero LaunchJan 30, 2021
Comments
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The Magus is an indescribable experience. As a writer and huge RPG fan, I was surprised by both the quality of the game and the creativity behind the prompts. In general, I had a lot of fun playing it (it took me just one day, since I was so involved with my characters and the overall experience of the game that I lost track of time).
Here’s my actual play of The Magus set in the universe of Cultist Simulator/The Book of Hours since I think it fits perfectly thematically (sadly, the actual play is in Italian).
Thank you for sharing! ^^
A play through and review of a beautiful game.
I am normally not a journaling soloist but this game is a surprise hit for me due to the little gameplay mechanics added. Recommended!
Thank you so much. I can't imagine the effort it took to edit and capture all this wonderful content. I'm glad it was a meaningful experience!
No problem and "thank you" for the great game!
I personally find video logging a nice alternative for "Journaling" as well. It captures the moment to moment feeling better than writing down a paragraph for me.
Absolutely love it! In the middle of my first playthrough, and I'm so hooked!
Just a small comprehension question (that is not troubling my play at all, it's mostly out of curiosity). In the Bonds section, there is written the following about gaining Bonds : "You only need to forego learning a SPELL every time you wish to pursue human connection."
It kind of never comes up again so I'm not sure what you meant? I understand you can forego new connections to nurture one you already have, and that you can skip one event to go to the next, but sometimes the next event after a Spell is also a Spell so I don't think that's what you meant either?
Thank you very much for this game!
Oh, no worries! I had meant it in the sense of, "you only have seven events, so if you take a bond then that uses up an event that could've gone to a spell". I hope that makes sense!
I feel like the replay value on this will be very high. I struggled a little in some places, where the prompts felt simultaneously slightly too vague and a little constricting, but I suspect that is user error rather than a fault of the writing. I'll definitely be coming back to this game, and experimenting with a different playstyle. Thank you for making this!
Thank you so much for giving it your time and attention! I hope with replay, it becomes more seamless to write. Enjoy once more!
Hey, I really liked the concept. What thought, effort, and imagination you have shared with us. Very well done and thank you!
Planning to maybe get some DND friends in on it and do some group writing.
Also this is so unnecessary, but I made a guide sheet for myself. If anyone else wants to use it please help yourself <3 Made with CSP
download image here
Your Magus character might even work as character seeds for heroes or NPCs in a future game :) I'm glad you enjoy!
I was really thinking that as well! The possibilities are endless :>
Yes thank you for making this. I was finding myself wishing for something like this after I got to my first reflection.
oh glad you like it : ) Was hoping somebody would lol! Here is the second page btw: link to image here
What a beautiful experience! I did not know solo journaling tabletops could be so immersive and and filled with dilemmas. I yearn for more.
Thank you for the kind words!
This was lovely! A really interesting conception for a game, quite enjoy it as a very meditative experience! :)
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the experience :)
Great game! do you know what is the best way to print the English version out?
Thank you, Melvinti! That's a good question, as currently the versions uploaded have dark background pages, which makes for a difficult printing experience. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer—the "one-page summary" is printable, but at the moment there's no print version that's ink-friendly for the rest of the game.
Hi Momatoes, Sorry I missed your reply. I am not too worried about ink-friendly but more on the size / layout.
Is there any version that are in more conventional size or porportion (A4 or maybe US letter)?
No, I'm afraid not at this time!
I've never seen a solo ttrpg before, this is great! Exactly what I need after repeatedly failing to start games with other people.
And the story is right up my alley too! Let's see what comes of this ~
Thank you so much! I hope your story is as magical as it is captivating.
Absolutely brilliant art, design and gameplay! Definitely going to have multiple playthroughs of this, there are so many ways a story can go with the choices provided.
Thank you so much! I always get a kick when someone shares a story and it turns out two folks had the same random roll but interpreted it so differently.
This game is everything I want to be when I grow old
It makes me cry how amazing it looks and how wonderful it is.
It's truly an inspiration.
It took me several months to decide how to response, as a part of me is still afraid you commented to troll me, but words like these are very reaffirming and I'm very glad it inspired you. I'm excited to see if it sparked more games or stories from you, too!
Oh no, I whole-heartedly commented here! But I understand! The times I've played the game everything was amazing, I'm planning to do a visual AP for it, I'll share it with you here when it is done.
Momatoes is not only a talented illustrator; she is also a talented author and layout artist. Proof of this is Magus, a single-player game laid out in PowerPoint "just because". You play as a power-craving mage, ready to make any sacrifice to acquire the absolute power, even if it means consuming the world... A game that is not very joyful and funny, but very interesting in its mechanics that leave a lot of room for randomness, which I find quite rare in the single-player games I know.
Thank you so much Côme! This is a very touching review from you, and I'm pleased you found even the touches of chaos valuable.
Currently playing this and I am enjoying every bit of it! I just wonder if it's possible to get an easy to print separate sheet for page 23 summary of play? I am struggling to select the text to print so that I can have a loose sheet to refer to. Wondering if that's a possible offering? Thank you so so much! Loving this gorgeous game.
I've added it now : )
I hope it works according to your needs!
Oh my gosh thank you!!! This indeed is perfect.
Great Game! Thank You!
Thank you so much! I hope it gives you many fantastic play memories.
Yes, I'm playing my 4th game. The Italian manual is fantastic. Here my review (in Italian) of your Magus : https://www.goblins.net/recensioni/magus-gioco-di-ruolo-di-arti-arcane-e-sacrifi...
Dear Momatoes, you rock!
Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it ^^
As it turns out, a few kind people left reviews but unfortunately Itch does not display them. I hope it is alright I share them here.
@ClaytonNotestine says:
The Magus casts serious design magic. In addition to being a phenomenal solo rpg that makes you feel like a ruminating mage, it's also a feat in visual and graphic design. Momatoes has taken ethereal, moody artwork and made it crackle on the page.
If you're looking for a reason to write and want it to linger ages after, I can't recommend this game enough
It's fantastic. I tweeted a whole thread about playing it here: https://twitter.com/PaulCzege/status/1357801443235823616@PaulCzege says:
Beautiful and impactful! Solo games are so much fun!
5 Stars!
A great solo game. The layout is immersive and brings its own kind of tone transmission. The prompts are great and the spiralling sensation of having to sacrifice something (control or bonds) in order to gain power is really well designed.
Even the world building phase is well thought and helped me build the backbone of my story.
A kinda review in french : https://www.gulix.fr/blog/2021/05/22/lecture-de-role-de-la-diversite-du-jeu/
A fantastic journaling game that balances naked ambition against the need for others. Very apt themes for people who are developing skills in our current climate.
Spell creation is a delight, as is the disconcerting art and madness layout. It's all a very tight, fun package!