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If you believe that Spirit is a useless Sphere, you need to get this book.

If you wonder what places like Autocthonia, Copernicus Research Center or the Verbena Seasonal Realms look like then you need to get this book.

If your campaign does so much as look at any realm beyond the Gauntlet, then you need to get this book.

This is the most important Mage suppliment published. At the title implies, it focuses upon the Umbra. Like its Werewolf and Changeling counterparts (Umbra- The Velvet Shadow and Dreams and Nightmares) the book centers on those Umbral realms that often crop up in Mage Chronicles. These include the Gernsback Continuum, the Hollow World, Victoria Station and Darkside Moonbase. There is some overlap between books (and between games). This is intentional, because some Mage players may not want to get the other two Umbra books and White Wolf wisely decided to include the neccesary information from the other games should a GM want to explore realms usually reserved for other supernaturals.

The designers wisely decided to keep game mechanics and setting data separate. Most of the book consists of this data, written in the form of a travel guide to the Umbra. Each section features a different writer, using a different persona, to impart the information. These personae include a Technocrat and an Acolyte, so it's not a love-in for Tradition mages. Now and again, an ego flares up and indulges in some sort of self-gratification, which lends humanity to the persona and makes the book enjoyable to read. Other elements that makes for a good read are the multiple copies of the Library of Alexander, existing in different Umbral realms. (There's one in the Shadowlands, one in "Hell" and a third in the Hollow World.) Others include the triparate nature of the Moon, what happened to Darkside Icarus and which willworkers are excluded from the Aetherian Reaches. All of these intriguing factoids have a counterpart in the game mechanics at the back of the book. Here, th! ey expand upon the uses of portals, gates and the Spirit Sphere. (What you need to get where varies, depending on where you are and where you want to go.) They give the important rules for playing within a given realm, such as what magick is vulgar or not. They compare the given realms with those in other books. (At the time of publication, Dreams and Nightmares wasn't written. Therefore, all comparisons are with Umbra- The Velvet Shadow.) Some Middle Umbra places do allow for overlap between mages and Garou, while those going to the Dream Worlds can overlap with Kithain and wraiths can overlap with mages who go to the Low Umbra.

The book itself is pleasing to the eyes. The layout is well done, the artwork fits with the text it accompanies and the text is written clearly. The best of the bunch are those for the Gernsback Continuum and the Verbena Seasonal Realms. It's a book that's as beautiful as it is useful. If you get it, you will return to it time and again. I recommend it for all Mage players, some Werewolf and Changeling players, and anyone else who needs a couple dozen other-worlds in their campaign.

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

Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds.
Author: Various Authors. Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $22 (US) Page count: 198 pages. ISBN: I-56504-434-7 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 02/06/98. Genre tags: none	If you believe that Spirit is a useless Sphere, you need to get this book. If you wonder what places like Autocthonia, Copernicus Research Center or the Verbena Seasonal Realms look like then you need to get this book. If your campaign does so much as look at any realm beyond the Gauntlet, then you need to get this book. This is the most important Mage suppliment published. At the title implies, it focuses upon the Umbra. Like its Werewolf and Changeling counterparts (Umbra- The Velvet Shadow and Dreams and Nightmares) the book centers on those Umbral realms that often crop up in Mage Chronicles. These include the Gernsback Continuum, the Hollow World, Victoria Station and Darkside Moonbase. There is some overlap between books (and between games). This is intentional, because some Mage players may not want to get the other two Umbra books and White Wolf wisely decided to include the neccesary information from the other games should a GM want to explore realms usually reserved for other supernaturals. The designers wisely decided to keep game mechanics and setting data separate. Most of the book consists of this data, written in the form of a travel guide to the Umbra. Each section features a different writer, using a different persona, to impart the information. These personae include a Technocrat and an Acolyte, so it's not a love-in for Tradition mages. Now and again, an ego flares up and indulges in some sort of self-gratification, which lends humanity to the persona and makes the book enjoyable to read. Other elements that makes for a good read are the multiple copies of the Library of Alexander, existing in different Umbral realms. (There's one in the Shadowlands, one in "Hell" and a third in the Hollow World.) Others include the triparate nature of the Moon, what happened to Darkside Icarus and which willworkers are excluded from the Aetherian Reaches. All of these intriguing factoids have a counterpart in the game mechanics at the back of the book. Here, th! ey expand upon the uses of portals, gates and the Spirit Sphere. (What you need to get where varies, depending on where you are and where you want to go.) They give the important rules for playing within a given realm, such as what magick is vulgar or not. They compare the given realms with those in other books. (At the time of publication, Dreams and Nightmares wasn't written. Therefore, all comparisons are with Umbra- The Velvet Shadow.) Some Middle Umbra places do allow for overlap between mages and Garou, while those going to the Dream Worlds can overlap with Kithain and wraiths can overlap with mages who go to the Low Umbra. The book itself is pleasing to the eyes. The layout is well done, the artwork fits with the text it accompanies and the text is written clearly. The best of the bunch are those for the Gernsback Continuum and the Verbena Seasonal Realms. It's a book that's as beautiful as it is useful. If you get it, you will return to it time and again. I recommend it for all Mage players, some Werewolf and Changeling players, and anyone else who needs a couple dozen other-worlds in their campaign. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds.