The Inside Scoop on Gaming

First of all, I would like to state simply that...I love this book. Though it borders on blasphemy, I'm afraid that I might have to say I like this book better than Vampire Revised.

First off, we have the Prologue, which many of us have seen on the White Wolf page as a d/l-able .pdf. Though, one cute thing is that in the book, the Sphere symbols are in a funky gold print that just looks cool if the light hits it just right.

Then we come to the Introduction. It's pretty much your standard White Wolf "How to use this book, here's the general scope of the game" blather. For us old pros, it is a dull read, but for a newbie, it's great. Not gonna count 'em off for that. :-)

Chapter One is "A World of Darkness," which gives a description of the World of darkness, a short idea of what's been happening with the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions, a rundown on the Council's ranks and titles, what sleepers are, a short section on the Tehcnocracy, Marauders and Nephandi, discusions of the Disparates, the Oracles and Cabals, general layout of the cosmos of Mage and other information taht must be told in a core book. All in all, good. This section also talks about what happened to the "k" in magick and why it isn't used anymore, and gives the mages a Gehenna/Armageddon/Oblivion/Winter, just like all the other games. The chapter ends with the usual lexicon of terms used in the game. A good section and a good (if long) read.

Here I'd like to take a break and discuss the art for the book. Shy's stuff is good, but looks much better in color (which it's not in the book), whereas I hate Lief Jones, who got to do a lot of art in the book (including the Tradition-template artwork..). Oh, and I absolutely HATE the Verbena picture.

Chapter Two is "The Traditions." Each Tradition is given an expanded writeup from earlier editions and includes factions, philosphy, failings and background, as well as theories and practices. All in all a really important section that could be better if they'd gotten a decent artist to do the Trads' artwork. One vast improvement over the earlier editions is that the Cult of Ecstacy are playable just from the description in the base book, whereas before they pretty much were presented as drugged out wastes of mage-flesh, and the Euthanatos are given a little better depth than they were even in 2nd edition.

Chapter Three is the "Character and Traits." Again, to those of us who are familiar with the Storyteller system, this is a little old-hat, but of indispensable use to newbies. However, some stuff is explained better than ever before and a few Archetypes that I loved from GttT were included. I'm torn between hating the new Wonder background, or loving it. I haven't decided yet. A new addition for older players is Resonance, which has more uses than you might think at first...Oh, and the Experience points section is here, which is sort of where it belongs. As a personal note, I don't like don't like the new Experience Costs.

Chapter Four is "the Spheres." This is the section that discusses the magic system. This is one of the sections the book really shines. Some of the Spheres (most notably Prime) have been expanded, all have been described better than before. The system for "spending" successes is a good one, IMHO. I really can't praise this section enough. As a Storyteller, the wickedly EVIL (as opposed to merely wicked or evil) Paradox rules made me cackle with glee. This section is a long read (about 80 pages), but worth every second. Magical style and paradigm are stressed throughout in ways that it never was in the past. I strongly recommend the book for this chapter alone.

Chapter Five is "The Rules." This gives the basics of the Storyteller system, including descriptions of how to roll the dice, how to take multiple actions, what Reflexives are, what Thresholds are, so on and so on. Standard fare, really, but well described standard fare.

Chapter Six contains "Systems and Drama." I love this Chapter, too. It gives the standard dice rolls for various things. Two VERY interesting additions here are the sections on building devices and "upgrading" devices. Now your Son of Ether can (theoretically) make a car go a bit faster without using magic. The combat section is pretty much the same as the one from Vampire Revised, but it includes a few other complications, most notably martial arts-style weapons. Also, some special ammunition is included, like flecetes, explosive shells and "ectoplasmic disruptors." We also have all the information on getting damaged and healing. Oh, and poison rules.

Chapter Seven is "A History of the Ascension War," which details..oddly enough...the Ascension War. I also get the distinct impression that the Ascension War is not 100% over....:-)

Chapter Eight is "Storytelling." This section is chock full of good information, including alternate times and places to play.

Chapter Nine, "Antagonists" is surprisingly short, detailing only Marauders, Nephandi, Sendings and Outsiders. Nope, no Technocracy. This is fine, as I have the Guide to the Technocracy, and I suspect information on both the Technocrats and the Spirits will be in the book with the Storyteller's screen. I can deal with that, if for no other reason than the other info in the book FAR makes up for it.

Then we come the Appendix, which contains Merits and Flaws, most of which rock. There are also rules for taking Flaws/Merits that are worth more than 7 points. Yeah, there's a 10 point Flaw. Fear it.

Then there's the Epilogue, which I will eventually get around to reading. :-) Wrap the book up in a useful index, and there we are!!

All in all, an incredibly good book, even tho the artwork (Lief Jones) sucks in many cases.

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

Mage: The Ascension Revised
Author: Various Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Games Line: Mage: The Asecnsion Cost: 29.95 Page count: 308 ISBN: 1-56504-405-3 SKU: WW4600 Capsule Review by Nightchilde on 02/24/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Space Gothic	First of all, I would like to state simply that...I love this book. Though it borders on blasphemy, I'm afraid that I might have to say I like this book better than Vampire Revised. First off, we have the Prologue, which many of us have seen on the White Wolf page as a d/l-able .pdf. Though, one cute thing is that in the book, the Sphere symbols are in a funky gold print that just looks cool if the light hits it just right. Then we come to the Introduction. It's pretty much your standard White Wolf "How to use this book, here's the general scope of the game" blather. For us old pros, it is a dull read, but for a newbie, it's great. Not gonna count 'em off for that. :-) Chapter One is "A World of Darkness," which gives a description of the World of darkness, a short idea of what's been happening with the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions, a rundown on the Council's ranks and titles, what sleepers are, a short section on the Tehcnocracy, Marauders and Nephandi, discusions of the Disparates, the Oracles and Cabals, general layout of the cosmos of Mage and other information taht must be told in a core book. All in all, good. This section also talks about what happened to the "k" in magick and why it isn't used anymore, and gives the mages a Gehenna/Armageddon/Oblivion/Winter, just like all the other games. The chapter ends with the usual lexicon of terms used in the game. A good section and a good (if long) read. Here I'd like to take a break and discuss the art for the book. Shy's stuff is good, but looks much better in color (which it's not in the book), whereas I hate Lief Jones, who got to do a lot of art in the book (including the Tradition-template artwork..). Oh, and I absolutely HATE the Verbena picture. Chapter Two is "The Traditions." Each Tradition is given an expanded writeup from earlier editions and includes factions, philosphy, failings and background, as well as theories and practices. All in all a really important section that could be better if they'd gotten a decent artist to do the Trads' artwork. One vast improvement over the earlier editions is that the Cult of Ecstacy are playable just from the description in the base book, whereas before they pretty much were presented as drugged out wastes of mage-flesh, and the Euthanatos are given a little better depth than they were even in 2nd edition. Chapter Three is the "Character and Traits." Again, to those of us who are familiar with the Storyteller system, this is a little old-hat, but of indispensable use to newbies. However, some stuff is explained better than ever before and a few Archetypes that I loved from GttT were included. I'm torn between hating the new Wonder background, or loving it. I haven't decided yet. A new addition for older players is Resonance, which has more uses than you might think at first...Oh, and the Experience points section is here, which is sort of where it belongs. As a personal note, I don't like don't like the new Experience Costs. Chapter Four is "the Spheres." This is the section that discusses the magic system. This is one of the sections the book really shines. Some of the Spheres (most notably Prime) have been expanded, all have been described better than before. The system for "spending" successes is a good one, IMHO. I really can't praise this section enough. As a Storyteller, the wickedly EVIL (as opposed to merely wicked or evil) Paradox rules made me cackle with glee. This section is a long read (about 80 pages), but worth every second. Magical style and paradigm are stressed throughout in ways that it never was in the past. I strongly recommend the book for this chapter alone. Chapter Five is "The Rules." This gives the basics of the Storyteller system, including descriptions of how to roll the dice, how to take multiple actions, what Reflexives are, what Thresholds are, so on and so on. Standard fare, really, but well described standard fare. Chapter Six contains "Systems and Drama." I love this Chapter, too. It gives the standard dice rolls for various things. Two VERY interesting additions here are the sections on building devices and "upgrading" devices. Now your Son of Ether can (theoretically) make a car go a bit faster without using magic. The combat section is pretty much the same as the one from Vampire Revised, but it includes a few other complications, most notably martial arts-style weapons. Also, some special ammunition is included, like flecetes, explosive shells and "ectoplasmic disruptors." We also have all the information on getting damaged and healing. Oh, and poison rules. Chapter Seven is "A History of the Ascension War," which details..oddly enough...the Ascension War. I also get the distinct impression that the Ascension War is not 100% over....:-) Chapter Eight is "Storytelling." This section is chock full of good information, including alternate times and places to play. Chapter Nine, "Antagonists" is surprisingly short, detailing only Marauders, Nephandi, Sendings and Outsiders. Nope, no Technocracy. This is fine, as I have the Guide to the Technocracy, and I suspect information on both the Technocrats and the Spirits will be in the book with the Storyteller's screen. I can deal with that, if for no other reason than the other info in the book FAR makes up for it. Then we come the Appendix, which contains Merits and Flaws, most of which rock. There are also rules for taking Flaws/Merits that are worth more than 7 points. Yeah, there's a 10 point Flaw. Fear it. Then there's the Epilogue, which I will eventually get around to reading. :-) Wrap the book up in a useful index, and there we are!! All in all, an incredibly good book, even tho the artwork (Lief Jones) sucks in many cases. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Mage: The Ascension Revised