The Inside Scoop on Gaming

While I'm not personally a big fan of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, I have always loved Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade and I was eagerly awaiting supplements for the beautifully-done basebook. I first picked up The Artisan's Handbook, but then when I picked up The Sorcerer's Crusade Companion, I thought it best to read this first. So I did, and here is my somewhat mixed opinion of it.

The book starts off (after the adequate opening fiction) with a chapter on Life in the Renaissance. All about how to dress, what to eat, how to live, how to speak, and all the other little details that both make a game and are almost universally unknown by gamers are looked at. Currency is explained on a chart. Meals (and how they have changed recently) are described. Dress is detailed in such a way as to satisfy myself and most people, I think, but the serious fashion fanatic will likely need other resources. I think the best parts of the chapter were those focusing on society and customs and the bit on superstitions. Very interesting in itself, it helps to mold a game into something actually historical, not just some anachronistic tale. This chapter is really a must-read for people who, like me, have only the vaguest idea of the cultural and behavioral differences between the 20th and 15th centuries.

The next chapter delves into faiths of all kinds, from Catholicism to Judaism and Astrology (oddly enough). This is good for a religion chapter, and it was nice enough to clearly sketch out the differences between Protestant and Catholic, but I made the happy mistake of reading the play-test version of the religion chapter for the In Nomine Gamemaster's Book and I know how it should be done. The chapter's failings lie in that it didn't clearly lay out the major points of all the religions, as well as several minor ones. Sure, everyone knows what Catholics believe, so there's no need to mention it, right? What about Jews? And pagans? There is very little said about their tenets, and I am positive that I don't know everything about them. At least a "bullshit guide" or a cheat-sheet of some sort would have been appreciated. The chapter focused more (almost completely) on how the religions are treated and how they interact than what they actually believe in. I'm glad for that, but beliefs are also intensely important to demonstrate as well. In addition, Islam is not mentioned at all in this section. Considering that one major Tradition (the Batini) that is actually based in the general area (as opposed to the Akashics, who have travelled) is quite "fond" of the religion, it would have been nice to get equal space.

Chapter three deals with lands beyond Europe, although Europe itself could have used more coverage, I think. It starts with West Africa, moves to the Aztec Empire, then to the mythical and almost horizon realm-like Isles of the Dragon King, to Ming China, and then finishes with the Ottoman Empire. This chapter is both excellent and abysmally bad in many ways. First, the good stuff. It provides a really nice overview of some of the world during the Sorcerer's Crusade, and there is nothing boring in it. The Isles of the Dragon King are almost pure genius, I think, and I gobbled up every word. This is definitely an excellent start for looking for resources for a far-away chronicle. Sadly, the chapter also had major foibles. Religion is, for lack of space, glossed over rather quickly. Most of Aztec religion resides in a simple list of gods, as do the gods of the Songhai (in West Africa). The information on religion in China is sadly short. For Islam, we get a mention of the distinction between the Sunni and the Shiite and then a quarter-page on Islam. I would have liked more for all of those. Again, some sort of cheat sheet and guide to making it up for the game would have been nice. I'm not obsessed with making sure that every god I mention in my African setting is really from Africa, but I want to know enough to be able to pull stuff out of my butt, either when I play or when I run. The supernatural information in the chapter is good, on the whole, although again (due to space I am sure) the information on China is sad in its brevity. Huitzilopochtli, the Methuselah Cainite ruling the Aztec Empire with a bloody fist, could have gotten more room, considering his incredibly vast importance. How did he get there? How did he manage to kill all the local mages, shifters and nunnehi? The Chaos Factor has information, sure, but I like to avoid opening that book as much as I can.

The absolute worst thing about this chapter, though, lies in it's dealings with the New World. First off both the Traditions and the Order of Reason are aware of the New World more than 40 years before Columbus "discovers" it, and both are keeping it secret for one reason or another. The Council wants to "protect the Dream-Speakers" (a goal they ignore in a century's time) and the Order is bickering about just who they want to use to discover it. Sure, I know that he was not the first to visit North America even in the really real world, but this seemingly common knowledge relegates him to pathetic pawn. Even more than that, I am infuriated by one paragraph. "Conversely, because this decision has not been made, it is not impossible to "miss" the New World. Reality is still very mutable here, as the compass and sextant have not yet done their work. Sailors who expect to sail across the seas to Cathay may circumnavigate the New World and travel across deep and misty seas broken only by seaweed and the occasional oceanic creature." So the New World is just some now-you-see-me-now-you-don't dream for all of the natives? "Reality is still very mutable" sure, but I don't think that all of the Native Americans are living in some primordial soup that comes and goes. In addition, this sets a dangerous "revisionist" precedent in Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade that I thought had been excised from Mage; the Ascension. The Earth has always orbited the sun. Copernicus did not shift more mass than I can count by drawing a circle on paper. The "New World" has always been there. Just because the pale faced lovers of the steel blade and golden coin did not know about it does not make it some ephemeral and magickal place.

Phil Brucato and Jess Heinig both co-developed the book, and I hope that both were asleep when that bit went to print. The degree of subjectivity in Mage has been debated to death before and it is ultimately a matter of taste, but I cannot swallow this vision of the game myself.

Following the information on other parts of the world are some Crafts to populate the wide world with. After a brief (a few pages) look at general location history for them, we get a look at the Disparate. The Madzimbabwe - African "death magi" who focus on passageways and transitions, eventually joining the Euthanatos. The Ngoma - cosmopolitan and "urban" Dream-Speakers, in many senses, although they share some organizational and complication reminiscent of the Order of Hermes. The Taftani - unsubtle, suspicious and flamboyant masters of the djinni, these non-Islamic magi eventually fall under the weight of the Order of Reason and Scourge. The Lions of Zion - Jewish Kabbalists, the Lions keep a low profile and live to protect their communities of faithful. The Wu Lung - the incredibly ornate magi of China, obsessed with details and doing everything just right. These Disparates were quite nice, especially the African ones. This was one of the more interesting parts of the book.

Chapter five details rules and goodies for players. From new archetypes to new abilities to new merits and flaws, this is the players part of the Companion. It is fine and good, with some neat merits and flaws. The only glaring and once again infuriating thing is that Animal Speech is a simply, every-day, mundane Knowledge, as easy to learn as politics. That just does not seem right to me, but then most readers would have guessed such from my comments above about chapter three. Oh, and this chapter also sports the obligatory half-nude-woman-fighting-an-octopus-monster picture that all Mage books must have somewhere.

Chapter six is all about Scourge, or more accurately, about Scourgelings. After a short FAQ, we get several pages of very interesting Scourgelings, and tips on how and when to use them. All are interesting and all are done in a format that Mage: the Ascension would do well to adopt. I am not usually a fan of Parado.... I mean Scourgelings, I think that this chapter gave me enough ideas and possibilities that I am somewhat converted, at least in the historical setting.

The appendix containts three things, a section (rather lengthy in fact) that was much more interesting that it deserves to be, a thorough (as far as I know) list of plants, medicines, and poisons in the Renaissance, and famous people from the era. The last bit was the best (although it sported down-right abominable art) and quite educational. We get quite a range of people and families. It makes me want to read up on the notables of the era.

Overall, a worthwhile book with a few glaring problems that are large only because they are personal pet-peeves of mine. Most of the art was either good or serviceable. Vince Locke does his usual high-quality work, as do Rebecca Guay, Mark Jackson and Larry McDougal. Bob Armata (who did the cover) is fine, except for that cover, and whoever signs his work as Omar Rayyan (not listed in the credits) does generally really bad work with a few good exceptions. Nothing was really so bad as to distract from the book though. The Sorcerer's Crusade Companion is an invaluable resource for any Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade game.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Sorcerer's Crusade Companion
Author: Phil Brucato, Jackia Cassada, John and Lisa Daigle, Sian Kingstone, John and Tara Maurer, Forrest Marchinton, Wayne D. Peacock and Nicky Rea Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade Cost: $22.95 Page count: 192 ISBN: 1-56504-494-0 SKU: WW4805 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 08/04/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Historical	While I'm not personally a big fan of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, I have always loved Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade and I was eagerly awaiting supplements for the beautifully-done basebook. I first picked up The Artisan's Handbook, but then when I picked up The Sorcerer's Crusade Companion, I thought it best to read this first. So I did, and here is my somewhat mixed opinion of it. The book starts off (after the adequate opening fiction) with a chapter on Life in the Renaissance. All about how to dress, what to eat, how to live, how to speak, and all the other little details that both make a game and are almost universally unknown by gamers are looked at. Currency is explained on a chart. Meals (and how they have changed recently) are described. Dress is detailed in such a way as to satisfy myself and most people, I think, but the serious fashion fanatic will likely need other resources. I think the best parts of the chapter were those focusing on society and customs and the bit on superstitions. Very interesting in itself, it helps to mold a game into something actually historical, not just some anachronistic tale. This chapter is really a must-read for people who, like me, have only the vaguest idea of the cultural and behavioral differences between the 20th and 15th centuries. The next chapter delves into faiths of all kinds, from Catholicism to Judaism and Astrology (oddly enough). This is good for a religion chapter, and it was nice enough to clearly sketch out the differences between Protestant and Catholic, but I made the happy mistake of reading the play-test version of the religion chapter for the In Nomine Gamemaster's Book and I know how it should be done. The chapter's failings lie in that it didn't clearly lay out the major points of all the religions, as well as several minor ones. Sure, everyone knows what Catholics believe, so there's no need to mention it, right? What about Jews? And pagans? There is very little said about their tenets, and I am positive that I don't know everything about them. At least a "bullshit guide" or a cheat-sheet of some sort would have been appreciated. The chapter focused more (almost completely) on how the religions are treated and how they interact than what they actually believe in. I'm glad for that, but beliefs are also intensely important to demonstrate as well. In addition, Islam is not mentioned at all in this section. Considering that one major Tradition (the Batini) that is actually based in the general area (as opposed to the Akashics, who have travelled) is quite "fond" of the religion, it would have been nice to get equal space. Chapter three deals with lands beyond Europe, although Europe itself could have used more coverage, I think. It starts with West Africa, moves to the Aztec Empire, then to the mythical and almost horizon realm-like Isles of the Dragon King, to Ming China, and then finishes with the Ottoman Empire. This chapter is both excellent and abysmally bad in many ways. First, the good stuff. It provides a really nice overview of some of the world during the Sorcerer's Crusade, and there is nothing boring in it. The Isles of the Dragon King are almost pure genius, I think, and I gobbled up every word. This is definitely an excellent start for looking for resources for a far-away chronicle. Sadly, the chapter also had major foibles. Religion is, for lack of space, glossed over rather quickly. Most of Aztec religion resides in a simple list of gods, as do the gods of the Songhai (in West Africa). The information on religion in China is sadly short. For Islam, we get a mention of the distinction between the Sunni and the Shiite and then a quarter-page on Islam. I would have liked more for all of those. Again, some sort of cheat sheet and guide to making it up for the game would have been nice. I'm not obsessed with making sure that every god I mention in my African setting is really from Africa, but I want to know enough to be able to pull stuff out of my butt, either when I play or when I run. The supernatural information in the chapter is good, on the whole, although again (due to space I am sure) the information on China is sad in its brevity. Huitzilopochtli, the Methuselah Cainite ruling the Aztec Empire with a bloody fist, could have gotten more room, considering his incredibly vast importance. How did he get there? How did he manage to kill all the local mages, shifters and nunnehi? The Chaos Factor has information, sure, but I like to avoid opening that book as much as I can. The absolute worst thing about this chapter, though, lies in it's dealings with the New World. First off both the Traditions and the Order of Reason are aware of the New World more than 40 years before Columbus "discovers" it, and both are keeping it secret for one reason or another. The Council wants to "protect the Dream-Speakers" (a goal they ignore in a century's time) and the Order is bickering about just who they want to use to discover it. Sure, I know that he was not the first to visit North America even in the really real world, but this seemingly common knowledge relegates him to pathetic pawn. Even more than that, I am infuriated by one paragraph. "Conversely, because this decision has not been made, it is not impossible to "miss" the New World. Reality is still very mutable here, as the compass and sextant have not yet done their work. Sailors who expect to sail across the seas to Cathay may circumnavigate the New World and travel across deep and misty seas broken only by seaweed and the occasional oceanic creature." So the New World is just some now-you-see-me-now-you-don't dream for all of the natives? "Reality is still very mutable" sure, but I don't think that all of the Native Americans are living in some primordial soup that comes and goes. In addition, this sets a dangerous "revisionist" precedent in Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade that I thought had been excised from Mage; the Ascension. The Earth has always orbited the sun. Copernicus did not shift more mass than I can count by drawing a circle on paper. The "New World" has always been there. Just because the pale faced lovers of the steel blade and golden coin did not know about it does not make it some ephemeral and magickal place. Phil Brucato and Jess Heinig both co-developed the book, and I hope that both were asleep when that bit went to print. The degree of subjectivity in Mage has been debated to death before and it is ultimately a matter of taste, but I cannot swallow this vision of the game myself. Following the information on other parts of the world are some Crafts to populate the wide world with. After a brief (a few pages) look at general location history for them, we get a look at the Disparate. The Madzimbabwe - African "death magi" who focus on passageways and transitions, eventually joining the Euthanatos. The Ngoma - cosmopolitan and "urban" Dream-Speakers, in many senses, although they share some organizational and complication reminiscent of the Order of Hermes. The Taftani - unsubtle, suspicious and flamboyant masters of the djinni, these non-Islamic magi eventually fall under the weight of the Order of Reason and Scourge. The Lions of Zion - Jewish Kabbalists, the Lions keep a low profile and live to protect their communities of faithful. The Wu Lung - the incredibly ornate magi of China, obsessed with details and doing everything just right. These Disparates were quite nice, especially the African ones. This was one of the more interesting parts of the book. Chapter five details rules and goodies for players. From new archetypes to new abilities to new merits and flaws, this is the players part of the Companion. It is fine and good, with some neat merits and flaws. The only glaring and once again infuriating thing is that Animal Speech is a simply, every-day, mundane Knowledge, as easy to learn as politics. That just does not seem right to me, but then most readers would have guessed such from my comments above about chapter three. Oh, and this chapter also sports the obligatory half-nude-woman-fighting-an-octopus-monster picture that all Mage books must have somewhere. Chapter six is all about Scourge, or more accurately, about Scourgelings. After a short FAQ, we get several pages of very interesting Scourgelings, and tips on how and when to use them. All are interesting and all are done in a format that Mage: the Ascension would do well to adopt. I am not usually a fan of Parado.... I mean Scourgelings, I think that this chapter gave me enough ideas and possibilities that I am somewhat converted, at least in the historical setting. The appendix containts three things, a section (rather lengthy in fact) that was much more interesting that it deserves to be, a thorough (as far as I know) list of plants, medicines, and poisons in the Renaissance, and famous people from the era. The last bit was the best (although it sported down-right abominable art) and quite educational. We get quite a range of people and families. It makes me want to read up on the notables of the era. Overall, a worthwhile book with a few glaring problems that are large only because they are personal pet-peeves of mine. Most of the art was either good or serviceable. Vince Locke does his usual high-quality work, as do Rebecca Guay, Mark Jackson and Larry McDougal. Bob Armata (who did the cover) is fine, except for that cover, and whoever signs his work as Omar Rayyan (not listed in the credits) does generally really bad work with a few good exceptions. Nothing was really so bad as to distract from the book though. The Sorcerer's Crusade Companion is an invaluable resource for any Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade game. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)