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AXIS MUNDI is one of those books that make your mouth water and your eyes black out when you see it on the shelves, and unlike many other books that do get this effect nowadays, it is worth the money it takes. How? Let me tell you.

First of all, I should note that, although it is both a Werewolf: The Apocalypse and a Mage: The Ascension book, it has no information that could be valuable in designing a Mage game session, still, even for a Mage Story Teller, it is a worthwile and enjoyable reading. On the other hand, if you are a Werewolf Story Teller, or Player, there are many nifty things beyond your wildest dreams in here...

The book details something that is pretty much left out in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse source book, was cleared a little in the Player's Guide and Umbra: The Velvet Shadow, and lays out well presented and well detailed information about the Garou's interaction with spirits of all powers and influences, from Incarnas to gafflings and jagglings, and even banes. Inside are dozens of spirits that are in the service of the tribal totems' broods, along with their stats, charms, appearances, histories, habitats, correspondences, detailed information on summoning and dealing with them, lore and taboos.

Tribal Broods are not the only spirits that got their share of detail in AXIS MUNDI however. Plant spirits make a brief, but inspiring appearance. Various mineral spirits, elemental spirits, enigma and paradox spirits are detailed and discussed. Something I found very useful in detailing characters' Past Life backgrounds was the information on creating ancestor spirits presented in AXIS MUNDI.

Yes, all of this is packed up in here, so what? Well, first of all, the book has a lot of game information on a very important aspect of the Garou culture, the spiritual interaction. Along with the spirits presented in the book, this makes it an invaluable source for designing and detailing stories that involve spirits at a much more real level than you would probably be able to do without it.

Second, this information is passed on to the reader without ever boring him with game details, but also not straying too far from what the book was intended to say, sometimes sticking to narrative text, sometimes skipping into third person, leaving the reader alone with the Garou. What makes it even more valuable is that it is a very good session sidekick book. It is laid out very neatly, and finding specific information about a spirit takes little time, making the book very useful during game sessions.

The interior art is well done on the most part, some of the pictures are amazing, while there unfortunately are some that the book would have been much better without. Still, it fits in very well with the overall mood of the book, and does a good job of keeping the reader's attention without distracting him too much from the text, a balance you don't find in many books.

Perhaps the only thing that could be called 'disappointing' is the lack of a comic in the beginning, but the 'Legends Of The Garou' story dropped in, in its place does a fair job as an introduction to cover up for it.

All in all, AXIS MUNDI is a splendid job of an absolutely necessary book.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

AXIS MUNDI: The Book Of Spirits
Author: Numerous Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Cost: $18.00 Page count: 160 ISBN: 1-56504-315-4 Capsule Review by Yalaz Ozkanli on 11/20/98. Genre tags: Modern_day Horror Gothic Live-action	AXIS MUNDI is one of those books that make your mouth water and your eyes black out when you see it on the shelves, and unlike many other books that do get this effect nowadays, it is worth the money it takes. How? Let me tell you. First of all, I should note that, although it is both a Werewolf: The Apocalypse and a Mage: The Ascension book, it has no information that could be valuable in designing a Mage game session, still, even for a Mage Story Teller, it is a worthwile and enjoyable reading. On the other hand, if you are a Werewolf Story Teller, or Player, there are many nifty things beyond your wildest dreams in here... The book details something that is pretty much left out in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse source book, was cleared a little in the Player's Guide and Umbra: The Velvet Shadow, and lays out well presented and well detailed information about the Garou's interaction with spirits of all powers and influences, from Incarnas to gafflings and jagglings, and even banes. Inside are dozens of spirits that are in the service of the tribal totems' broods, along with their stats, charms, appearances, histories, habitats, correspondences, detailed information on summoning and dealing with them, lore and taboos. Tribal Broods are not the only spirits that got their share of detail in AXIS MUNDI however. Plant spirits make a brief, but inspiring appearance. Various mineral spirits, elemental spirits, enigma and paradox spirits are detailed and discussed. Something I found very useful in detailing characters' Past Life backgrounds was the information on creating ancestor spirits presented in AXIS MUNDI. Yes, all of this is packed up in here, so what? Well, first of all, the book has a lot of game information on a very important aspect of the Garou culture, the spiritual interaction. Along with the spirits presented in the book, this makes it an invaluable source for designing and detailing stories that involve spirits at a much more real level than you would probably be able to do without it. Second, this information is passed on to the reader without ever boring him with game details, but also not straying too far from what the book was intended to say, sometimes sticking to narrative text, sometimes skipping into third person, leaving the reader alone with the Garou. What makes it even more valuable is that it is a very good session sidekick book. It is laid out very neatly, and finding specific information about a spirit takes little time, making the book very useful during game sessions. The interior art is well done on the most part, some of the pictures are amazing, while there unfortunately are some that the book would have been much better without. Still, it fits in very well with the overall mood of the book, and does a good job of keeping the reader's attention without distracting him too much from the text, a balance you don't find in many books. Perhaps the only thing that could be called 'disappointing' is the lack of a comic in the beginning, but the 'Legends Of The Garou' story dropped in, in its place does a fair job as an introduction to cover up for it. All in all, AXIS MUNDI is a splendid job of an absolutely necessary book. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

AXIS MUNDI: The Book Of Spirits