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I approved heartily when I heard that the M:SC line wouldn't be printing splatbooks for the Traditions and Conventions but would, instead, be doing books to highlight the major paradigms and styles of magick. Mostly because I loved that approach in the main book. Finally, Mage had grown beyond the system mechanics and was treating magick in paradigm (for the most part).

The Artistan's Handbook is the first offering and I must say that I like the concept and the execution is good, but it really needed to be half over again as long. Far, far too thin and missing the really detailed treatment of the paradigm that I was expecting.

Chapter One is a mundane history of technology which, while interesting and appropriate, for the most part rehashes stuff from the main book and the Companion. The space would have been better served on the paradigm. One of the elements which I enjoyed was the detailing of the wheel-lock as an innovation slowly introduced into the consensus paradigm and how this causes scourge to manifest differently with it.

Chapter Two gives a history of the Artisans themselves and their paradigm, which is a bit more useful. It is covered, piecemeal, in other places, but it is nice to have it gathered to have have the paradigm itself, and not the conventions involved, traced. This allows for the connections with the Hermetics and Ahl-i-Batin to be illustrated. The in-character presentation of the Artisans' views on other denizens of the Dark Fantastic world are also very well done for the format. In general, the fictional bits are actually interesting, informative, and enjoyable to read.

Chapter Three gives a good, if incomplete, treatment of Artisan sciences and techniques. While the general principles are adequately covered and the style is well presented, I would have liked some more specifics. Not just examples (there are some good ones) but details. Much is said of elemental correspondances and sacred geometry, but no more than mention is made. No real explanations of how these are applied, except for a few scattered examples, are given. The importance of creation is stressed, but, again, not applied. Also, as a pet peeve, the description of how difficult Artisans find it to explain Prime falls flat to me, particularly when a beautiful example of how it fits into their paradigm (Plato's forms) is given on the page previous. It reminds me of the half-assed way that Spirit is presented for the future Technocracy as a 'forbidden sphere'.

Chapter Four presents templates and notable figures. The former are very nicely done and include a Hermetic and a Batini artisan, much to my delight and surprise (but only one Craftmason, go figure). The notables section was interesting but, again, far too short. It did, however, manage to work some historical figures into the Order, which is usually something I dislike, but they do it without being at all cheesy, so I'm rethinking that prejudice.

Chapter Five is rules for devices and constructs. I mostly skimmed this, as mechanics make for dry reading, but I like the concept of degrees of vulgarity a lot. The actual systems, I'll have to try out before I know how well they work.

The Appendix has some more stuff on mundane weapons and devices, as well as some sample ones (I love the five-point mechanical bird that does nothing more than perch, move, and sing) and a list of resources to reference.

All in all, I was frustrated, but only somewhat. In my book, there should have been more... but, I am also a bit demanding about things like paradigm and recognize that not a lot of people want to go into as much detail as I do. So, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to play an artisan of any stripe in a M:SC game. Even if you aren't a member of the Order of Reason, the mechanics, paradigm information, and historical context are worth the price. Of course, if you aren't particularly interested in that aspect of the game, don't bother, but that goes without saying.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Artisan's Handbook
Author: Phil Masters Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Mage: Sorcerer's Crusade Cost: $14.95 Page count: 96 ISBN: 1-56504-493-2 SKU: WW4804 Capsule Review by Eric Christian Berg on 08/26/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Historical	I approved heartily when I heard that the M:SC line wouldn't be printing splatbooks for the Traditions and Conventions but would, instead, be doing books to highlight the major paradigms and styles of magick. Mostly because I loved that approach in the main book. Finally, Mage had grown beyond the system mechanics and was treating magick in paradigm (for the most part). The Artistan's Handbook is the first offering and I must say that I like the concept and the execution is good, but it really needed to be half over again as long. Far, far too thin and missing the really detailed treatment of the paradigm that I was expecting. Chapter One is a mundane history of technology which, while interesting and appropriate, for the most part rehashes stuff from the main book and the Companion. The space would have been better served on the paradigm. One of the elements which I enjoyed was the detailing of the wheel-lock as an innovation slowly introduced into the consensus paradigm and how this causes scourge to manifest differently with it. Chapter Two gives a history of the Artisans themselves and their paradigm, which is a bit more useful. It is covered, piecemeal, in other places, but it is nice to have it gathered to have have the paradigm itself, and not the conventions involved, traced. This allows for the connections with the Hermetics and Ahl-i-Batin to be illustrated. The in-character presentation of the Artisans' views on other denizens of the Dark Fantastic world are also very well done for the format. In general, the fictional bits are actually interesting, informative, and enjoyable to read. Chapter Three gives a good, if incomplete, treatment of Artisan sciences and techniques. While the general principles are adequately covered and the style is well presented, I would have liked some more specifics. Not just examples (there are some good ones) but details. Much is said of elemental correspondances and sacred geometry, but no more than mention is made. No real explanations of how these are applied, except for a few scattered examples, are given. The importance of creation is stressed, but, again, not applied. Also, as a pet peeve, the description of how difficult Artisans find it to explain Prime falls flat to me, particularly when a beautiful example of how it fits into their paradigm (Plato's forms) is given on the page previous. It reminds me of the half-assed way that Spirit is presented for the future Technocracy as a 'forbidden sphere'. Chapter Four presents templates and notable figures. The former are very nicely done and include a Hermetic and a Batini artisan, much to my delight and surprise (but only one Craftmason, go figure). The notables section was interesting but, again, far too short. It did, however, manage to work some historical figures into the Order, which is usually something I dislike, but they do it without being at all cheesy, so I'm rethinking that prejudice. Chapter Five is rules for devices and constructs. I mostly skimmed this, as mechanics make for dry reading, but I like the concept of degrees of vulgarity a lot. The actual systems, I'll have to try out before I know how well they work. The Appendix has some more stuff on mundane weapons and devices, as well as some sample ones (I love the five-point mechanical bird that does nothing more than perch, move, and sing) and a list of resources to reference. All in all, I was frustrated, but only somewhat. In my book, there should have been more... but, I am also a bit demanding about things like paradigm and recognize that not a lot of people want to go into as much detail as I do. So, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to play an artisan of any stripe in a M:SC game. Even if you aren't a member of the Order of Reason, the mechanics, paradigm information, and historical context are worth the price. Of course, if you aren't particularly interested in that aspect of the game, don't bother, but that goes without saying. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Artisan's Handbook