[oliof]

I am playing an ongoing campaign using the Artesia rules.

Regarding the Index: That is a major omission I fixed by adding register bookmarks to my rule book. It helps perusing the book greatly.

Also, our GM made several nice things that help us manage the data we need

a) a collection of the character creation stuff in a little booklet (which is spread ove the book - some of the tables needed are in the back of the book, since it would have been 20+ pages of tables in the middle of it else)

b) a small booklet for writing down arcana points. After a session we go through the book and players pitch for the groups' and players' arcana points. This speeds up the process immensely

c) a combat data sheet

d) a magic data sheet is in the works

All this is possible because the copyright note in the game says that all the material may be copied for personal use (we'd done it anyway, but it's not even illegal!), and because you can get the game as a pdf, which makes remixing pages and stuff easy.

At times, when looking for something spurious (like healing rules), we use the pdf for a quick full text search.

A real omission is rules for beginner's magic, but Mark Smylie offered two different ways to do so in the Artesia forum.

Regarding the categories of magic: There is a unified core mechanic for magic (in fact it's the core mechanic for everything else as well), but there are seven (or eight) traditions that are inherently incompatible - i.e., folk lore magics cannot be taught to people versed only in hermetic magic, and so on. Also, there are some various sub systems, like folk lore based charms/enchanted items, religious invocations and prayers and so on, which make the system not only breathe, but bleed and sweat the setting.

Similar unexpected layers of complexity can be found in other rules parts as well, especially if they interact (like beefing up characters before combat with magics, because not getting hurt in the first place is the best bet on survival). This can at times lead to what we call "Quest for the Modifiers", which often enough are decisive for the success or failure of certain tasks, especially magic. But on the other hand (as above), it makes the players wanting to do magic rituals dancing naked under a full moon brandishing a doll twith a lock of hair of the ritual's target affixed to… as I said, breathe, bleed and sweat.