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The Product
The larp is sold as a 48-page softbound book, consisting of 5 pages of GM material, 6 pages of setting information for the players, and 29 pages of character sheets. The book is very clearly laid out and very readable. The artwork is mostly in the form of page borders, but there are some black and white illustrations, some of which are on the character sheets. The latter is generally a no-no for larps, as it may distract from the character information or attempt to convey a character's physical appearance.
Overall this is one of the prettiest larp adventures I've seen. Unlike some of the others I've seen recently, it has been designed by professionals, and it shows.
As a larp
The larp is set at a meeting of the Rhine Tribunal. The magi of the Covenant of Fanum have interfered with the mundanes and provoked a backlash, almost causing the destruction of a neighbouring Covenant. The magi of the Rhine have gathered at their regular tribunal meeting to try them for the crime, and to deal with various other issues that are troubling them.
If you're not an Ars Magica player, odds are that you found that difficult to understand - an example of the game's high entry barrier. In an effort to overcome this, the larp includes a fairly extensive background briefing, six pages in all, which explains all of the above (basically, its a New England Town Meeting for wizards, with everything, even criminal cases, resolved democratically). It gives a fairly complete picture, but it’s an awful lot to absorb, and certainly more than you expect them to swallow in a single pre-game read-through. This may result in some players ignoring the briefing in play, resulting in the larp not really simulating the culture of the Order of Hermes - one of its primary modes of enjoyment. It can be mitigated against by giving people the background sheets well in advance, to give time for multiple readthroughs.
A second problem is that the characters are a bit thin. Not in terms of plot - they have plenty, with at least three storylines per character, and often five - but in terms of actual character. Characters have a name, a House, and a Covenant - but not really any information on personality. And the generic way in which the plots are written (separately, then copied across to the relevant character sheets without personalisation) means that not much character shines through from them; you have information and goals, but not really much idea of what sort of a person you are. IMHO this detracts significantly from the game; I prefer my larps to involve portraying character and emotion, not just political negotiation. It also means the game supports only a single style of play (goal-oriented rather than emotion-oriented), which may narrow its audience. But these are questions of taste and preferred playing style, not fundamental flaws in the larp itself.
But those are the only real problems. Looking at other common larp issues, there is enough plot. There are enough parts for women (the characters are all genderless as written, with only their names giving any hint - and those can be changed quite easily). The GM section on running the scenario is complete, and contains a lot of good practical advice about logistics. And the rules system doesn't get in the way because there isn't one - it is assumed that the characters will not physically or magically assault one another at Tribunal. As a larp then, the game will work, at least as a straight-out political bargaining session.
As an Ars Magica supplement
Unfortunately the simplifications which make the game work as a larp make it less useful as an Ars Magica supplement. The design decision to go systemless means that players familiar with Ars Magica will find some of the expected avenues of dispute resolution - e.g. Certamen - closed to them. Likewise, there's no chance to use magical trickery to suborn votes. This means the cultural simulation is incomplete. Simplicity was the right decision to make (larp rules for Ars Magica would be hideous), but it has costs.
Another point to note is that while this is branded as an Ars Magica 5 supplement, the lack of rules means it can be used with any edition. While officially set in the Rhine, it was published before the Guardians of the Forest Tribunal book, and is inconsistent with that material. So it’s not particularly useful for any sort of campaign, except possibly as a source of plot ideas to pillage. It’s an entirely standalone product, divorced from the rest of the setting.
Overall
If you buy this solely as an Ars Magica product, you're going to be disappointed. If you buy it as an introductory Ars Magica larp, you'll be happy enough. The game will work and provide a taste of the setting and politics, while giving people a fun larp experience. It gets all the basics right. My misgivings are entirely around ways it could have been better, rather than it being a fundamentally flawed product.
