The Inside Scoop on Gaming

A friend of mine got the new edition of Mage yesterday, I borrowed it and read through it last night. When I heard he had already got it, I was rather jealous. Now, after reading it, I'm just glad it wasn't -my- money that got spent on the book. The new edition is a major disappointment.

The book is not well written, and, with the exception of the illustrations at the start of new chapters, most of the art is bad--most of it is silly looking. Also, there is several things that seem to be missing. Do, as it was in the First Edition, is not present. It's not a skill, and it's not covered in the combat section. The chapter that's supposed to cover the Umbra, spirit travel, and such is completely missing. In at least 10 or 12 places the writer is sure to point out that piercing the Gauntlet is much more difficult, more dangerous, and even damaging to the Mage in question.

However, nowhere in the book does it give a new Gauntlet chart, nowhere does it give mechanics for damage while traveling to the spirit world, it mentions things like avatar storms but gives no description or system for them. I suppose all of this needed to be left out so that the writer had room for the rest of the content.

Yes, about the content. Mage used to be a game about wonder and awe. Now it isn't. Now it's a game about hopelessness, fear, and survival. The great chantries are either cut off because of the new reinforced (systemless) Gauntlet, or they've been destroyed outright. The majority of Masters, and almost every last Archmagi, have either been killed, driven insane, or are in the Umbra, and dare not interact with Earth anymore. Anyone who can climb towards their level of greatness will either have to leave or worry about the increased forces of paradox and the Technocracy.

The writer feels the need to tell us, over and over and over, that the war is over, the traditions lost. Now, it is a race for survival. Apparently almost all the mages left have decided to hell with humanity. They want their personal Ascension, so they too can depart Earth, and that's it. If you want a game where the goal is to get enough power to run and flee, and spend all your time in fear, the new mage is the game for you.

Now, about mechanics, like in Vampire Revised, there are very few changes in actual game mechanics. A new trait, resonance, has been added. Unfortunately, it is barely described and reads more as a vague idea translated (barely) into some semi-functioning rules. Those who played the game well used resonance already, and those who don't will probably more or less ignore it. The combat section has been updated, following the examples in Vampire. And, paradox has been tweaked, so that mages can explode easier.

A successful vulgar effect now scores a point of paradox per level in the highest sphere, as opposed to simply one point. Plus, you can no longer bleed of paradox bit by bit, you empty your whole pool at once, and it's -always- a damage causing backlash. If you only have a little paradox, you only take soakable bashing damage, and get a minor flaw. If it's a moderate amount of paradox, you take lethal damage, which you as a human can't soak. Really high amounts score aggravated damage, which really, really hurts.

Apparently White Wolf doesn't believe players and Storytellers can police their own games anymore, and have decided to destroy any character that dares botch a roll or use a vulgar effect. If your players really can't play, get AD&D and put them back into remedial roleplaying. Don't ruin a good game.

Personally, I say this book isn't worth owning. I think the old, second edition is a much better game in pretty much all respects. The new revised edition feels and reads like it was a rush-job done to try and make Mage mesh with the new Hunter: the Reckoning game, and maybe the year of the revalations stuff they've been hinting about. H:tR was an poorly thought out, and ill-concieved game as well. Can you imagine the planning session? "Let's see, the magic is dying, magic is leaving the Earth, and the world is about to end, right? So, let's spontaneously spawn a whole new type of magically imbued supernaturals, as well as some cheesy B-movie monsters (which have no explanation or rationale) for them to fight!"

I say don't buy the new mage, and if you did buy it, send it back. Don't by H:tR, and don't buy anything else White Wolf puts out, unless they start putting out good products again. Maybe if we stop buying every WW product like sheep, they'll be forced to put some effort into creating good games and supplements again.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition
Author: Rachel Barth, Dierd'ei Brooks, John Chambers, Ian Dunteman, Marty Hackleman, Jason Langlois, Angel McCoy, Kevin A. Murphy, John Snead, Scott Taylor, Rachelle Udell, Lindsay Woodcok Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Games Line: World of Darkness, Mage Cost: $29.95 Page count: 309 ISBN: 1-56504-405-3 SKU: WW4600 Capsule Review by Chris Noland on 02/28/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Horror Gothic	A friend of mine got the new edition of Mage yesterday, I borrowed it and read through it last night. When I heard he had already got it, I was rather jealous. Now, after reading it, I'm just glad it wasn't -my- money that got spent on the book. The new edition is a major disappointment. The book is not well written, and, with the exception of the illustrations at the start of new chapters, most of the art is bad--most of it is silly looking. Also, there is several things that seem to be missing. Do, as it was in the First Edition, is not present. It's not a skill, and it's not covered in the combat section. The chapter that's supposed to cover the Umbra, spirit travel, and such is completely missing. In at least 10 or 12 places the writer is sure to point out that piercing the Gauntlet is much more difficult, more dangerous, and even damaging to the Mage in question. However, nowhere in the book does it give a new Gauntlet chart, nowhere does it give mechanics for damage while traveling to the spirit world, it mentions things like avatar storms but gives no description or system for them. I suppose all of this needed to be left out so that the writer had room for the rest of the content. Yes, about the content. Mage used to be a game about wonder and awe. Now it isn't. Now it's a game about hopelessness, fear, and survival. The great chantries are either cut off because of the new reinforced (systemless) Gauntlet, or they've been destroyed outright. The majority of Masters, and almost every last Archmagi, have either been killed, driven insane, or are in the Umbra, and dare not interact with Earth anymore. Anyone who can climb towards their level of greatness will either have to leave or worry about the increased forces of paradox and the Technocracy. The writer feels the need to tell us, over and over and over, that the war is over, the traditions lost. Now, it is a race for survival. Apparently almost all the mages left have decided to hell with humanity. They want their personal Ascension, so they too can depart Earth, and that's it. If you want a game where the goal is to get enough power to run and flee, and spend all your time in fear, the new mage is the game for you. Now, about mechanics, like in Vampire Revised, there are very few changes in actual game mechanics. A new trait, resonance, has been added. Unfortunately, it is barely described and reads more as a vague idea translated (barely) into some semi-functioning rules. Those who played the game well used resonance already, and those who don't will probably more or less ignore it. The combat section has been updated, following the examples in Vampire. And, paradox has been tweaked, so that mages can explode easier. A successful vulgar effect now scores a point of paradox per level in the highest sphere, as opposed to simply one point. Plus, you can no longer bleed of paradox bit by bit, you empty your whole pool at once, and it's -always- a damage causing backlash. If you only have a little paradox, you only take soakable bashing damage, and get a minor flaw. If it's a moderate amount of paradox, you take lethal damage, which you as a human can't soak. Really high amounts score aggravated damage, which really, really hurts. Apparently White Wolf doesn't believe players and Storytellers can police their own games anymore, and have decided to destroy any character that dares botch a roll or use a vulgar effect. If your players really can't play, get AD&D and put them back into remedial roleplaying. Don't ruin a good game. Personally, I say this book isn't worth owning. I think the old, second edition is a much better game in pretty much all respects. The new revised edition feels and reads like it was a rush-job done to try and make Mage mesh with the new Hunter: the Reckoning game, and maybe the year of the revalations stuff they've been hinting about. H:tR was an poorly thought out, and ill-concieved game as well. Can you imagine the planning session? "Let's see, the magic is dying, magic is leaving the Earth, and the world is about to end, right? So, let's spontaneously spawn a whole new type of magically imbued supernaturals, as well as some cheesy B-movie monsters (which have no explanation or rationale) for them to fight!" I say don't buy the new mage, and if you did buy it, send it back. Don't by H:tR, and don't buy anything else White Wolf puts out, unless they start putting out good products again. Maybe if we stop buying every WW product like sheep, they'll be forced to put some effort into creating good games and supplements again. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition