The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure

When I first got this book I flipped past some of the ugliest art in recent history and skimmed over the introduction. Therein I found the following words:

"Showtime. It's you, the gang and the big purple book. Your friends want you to run a game. A Mage game. You have the rules. They're huge. They're complex. They offer more possibilities than Stephen Hawking on crack and you have a game to run.
What will you do?
Why not blow s@$t up?
I'm not kidding. Have fun!"

At that point I knew that I was going to like this book.

Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure is a book dedicated to making it not only possible but easy for the Mage Storyteller to run Mage as a game of butt kicking, double crossing, hard hitting, action in a film noire world. It is successful in this fine endeavor, and is an example of how even games with the most deeply artsy navel-gazing reputations can, in the end, be fun games.

The Book

At a slender 85 pages Tales of Magick is not one of those books that weighs you down with copious amounts of information. This actually works well in this case as the material in the book focuses on using the action-adventure genre that we are all familiar with in a game, rather than trying to tell us exactly what that genre is. The layout is the standard for a White Wolf game, with the standard Prelude, Chapter, Appendix break down. The art is also typical White Wolf, meaning that some of it is quite lovely and most of it would make the most hardened high-school art instructor vomit.

Break it Down

The Prelude: Don't bother reading it. Simply a waste of time.

The Introduction: Oddly enough White Wolf seemed to decide that in this book they actually wanted the introduction to introduce the book, in tone as well as in content and style. This section is not only a good bit of add copy for those skimming through the book at the store, it actually works to introduce some of the basics of the game. Though it is not information heavy, it does a wonderful job of letting everyone know that this will not be one of those books in which the reader is lectured to about how they must remember the deep, artistic, and mythic setting of the wonderful creation that is this game. It tells you to blow s%#t up and have fun. What more can one ask for?

Chapter One: Tick, Tick, Tick…: This chapter focuses on helping set up a Dark Adventure chronicle. It has sections on deciding how high, how dark, and how magical you want your adventures to be. Where it really shines, however, is in its suggestions for bringing characters together as a group. All to often campaigns start out with, "So you are sitting in a bar…" This section addresses that point at length, giving many good ideas on getting the characters, getting them together, getting them involved, and keeping them motivated and interested in the story. It also has a fairly good section on making the action adventures real adventures and really Mage adventures. From ideas for other worlds, alien environments, and wild locations for your camping, this section is very useful for those stuck for ideas.

Chapter Two: You Hear Something?: This section focuses on dozens of action-adventure shticks, tricks, stock characters, and directorial/storyteller tools. This section is both one of the most useful and one of the most disappointing of the book. While it does contain many useful bits on stock characters, cut scenes, keeping the action moving, and using various cinematic methods to make a good story, it does not tie them into useful game advice deeply enough or often enough. While there are examples and samples, all to often they are throw away issues rather than anything really innovative or interesting. The result is a lot of good information with a rather dull execution.

Chapter Three: Boom!: Finally there is advice given to those of us who have not been in Mage since the beginning, who do not own every book, and who are not interested in owning every book -- but who still want to use some of the Mage metaplot hooks in our home campaigns. Here we get enough information to make private games part of the larger world of mage, ideas for not just adventures and scenarios, but campaigns, and a buttload of useful background information for what is happening and will happen with the Mage universe. For me this section alone was nearly worth the price of the book, as it gave me enough information to really get a feel for the deep currents in the Mage world that had only been hinted at in other books.

Appendix: Bits and Pieces: This is the nuts and bolts and juicy bits section of the book. Here we are given stock characters, rules for action movie style stunts, general action rolls, and "Cool Stuff." The stock characters are brief numbers and stats for the various types of characters most often enountered in bit roles in the genre. The action movie stunt system gives rules for those lovely maneuvers that action heroes do (like jump-spin-firing a gun while looking really cool at the same time), and are fairly well done. Most appropriate to the section, and one of the lovely bits of the book in my eyes was the general action rolls. In these rolls you do not call out combat with the storm troopers blow by blow, you are a hero and such things are a waste of your time. Rather you make a roll to determine the whole outcome of the scene, and then play out the gratuitous butt-kicking that follows. The final section focuses on weapons, explosives, and nifty things that make you go "ouch." Had I gotten this material before the release of Mage 3, I would have loved it to bits. As it was large amounts of the information become problematic, as weapons stats will have to be rewritten to fit the new system.

The Good

In my eyes the best thing about this book was that it did not take itself seriously. Mage was brought down from the level of art to the realm of fun, which is a good place for any game. (Not that we cannot have meaningful games. I think, however, that the industry as a whole would be well reminded that we are making and playing games, not setting up the next Inferno or Ulysses). Ideas for action, adventure, and rousing high energy plots were given in a simple, no nonsense manner that was a good change of pace and quite helpful. Much of the thematic device was also good -- especially the notes on how a good campaign changes the world. Heroes have a hard time being heroes if they cannot change anything.

The Bad

While the writing was often quite good, the little fiction bits that introduced many of the sections (not chapters, but sections within the chapter) were gratuitous. I think that everyone who will buy this book will have seen enough action movies to be intimately familiar with the stock characters, plots, and ideas of the genre. Drawing us a picture was, in this case, unnecessary. I would rather have seen more of the limited print space given to useful and concrete ideas about using the familiar types in a game situation. All to often ideas that needed no introduction were introduced at length, and the details of actually using those ideas in the game were all to brief or sketchy. It is all well and good to have a section about the femme fatal. It would have been better, however, to give some specific examples of using a femme fatal in a game.

The Ugly

The extra K in Magic, the long lists of weapons stats that are now outdated thanks to 3^rd edition, and the fact that the writers felt that La Femme Nikita the TV series is better than the original movie all left me somewhat flat. Of course it was unavoidable that the weapons would go out with the new system, but that does not change the pages of now dead information. Nor does the fact that La Femme Nikita is a cool TV series make it better than the French original. Yes, believe it or not, but it was a French movie that did not suck.

The End

In the end I would recommend this book to new to intermediate Storytellers who want to use Mage without dwelling (or at least constantly dwelling) on the metaphysical aspects, and who could use a few pointers about running an adventure game. Well written, fun, and full of tips, hints, and hooks this book would be well worth the money. For those who are old hands at the game, for those who like the metaphysics and have no interest in blowing stuff up, or those who have Feng Shui, I would say it would be best to pick up the new ST's screen and trust your own instincts on running your game.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure
Author: Phil Brucato, Aaron Rosenberg, and Lindsay Woodcock Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Mage Cost: $14.95 Page count: 84 pages ISBN: 1-56504-404-5 Capsule Review by Brand Robins on 06/06/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern day Horror Gothic sponsored by	Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure When I first got this book I flipped past some of the ugliest art in recent history and skimmed over the introduction. Therein I found the following words: "Showtime. It's you, the gang and the big purple book. Your friends want you to run a game. A Mage game. You have the rules. They're huge. They're complex. They offer more possibilities than Stephen Hawking on crack and you have a game to run. What will you do? Why not blow s@$t up? I'm not kidding. Have fun!" At that point I knew that I was going to like this book. Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure is a book dedicated to making it not only possible but easy for the Mage Storyteller to run Mage as a game of butt kicking, double crossing, hard hitting, action in a film noire world. It is successful in this fine endeavor, and is an example of how even games with the most deeply artsy navel-gazing reputations can, in the end, be fun games. The Book At a slender 85 pages Tales of Magick is not one of those books that weighs you down with copious amounts of information. This actually works well in this case as the material in the book focuses on using the action-adventure genre that we are all familiar with in a game, rather than trying to tell us exactly what that genre is. The layout is the standard for a White Wolf game, with the standard Prelude, Chapter, Appendix break down. The art is also typical White Wolf, meaning that some of it is quite lovely and most of it would make the most hardened high-school art instructor vomit. Break it Down The Prelude: Don't bother reading it. Simply a waste of time. The Introduction: Oddly enough White Wolf seemed to decide that in this book they actually wanted the introduction to introduce the book, in tone as well as in content and style. This section is not only a good bit of add copy for those skimming through the book at the store, it actually works to introduce some of the basics of the game. Though it is not information heavy, it does a wonderful job of letting everyone know that this will not be one of those books in which the reader is lectured to about how they must remember the deep, artistic, and mythic setting of the wonderful creation that is this game. It tells you to blow s%#t up and have fun. What more can one ask for? Chapter One: Tick, Tick, Tick…: This chapter focuses on helping set up a Dark Adventure chronicle. It has sections on deciding how high, how dark, and how magical you want your adventures to be. Where it really shines, however, is in its suggestions for bringing characters together as a group. All to often campaigns start out with, "So you are sitting in a bar…" This section addresses that point at length, giving many good ideas on getting the characters, getting them together, getting them involved, and keeping them motivated and interested in the story. It also has a fairly good section on making the action adventures real adventures and really Mage adventures. From ideas for other worlds, alien environments, and wild locations for your camping, this section is very useful for those stuck for ideas. Chapter Two: You Hear Something?: This section focuses on dozens of action-adventure shticks, tricks, stock characters, and directorial/storyteller tools. This section is both one of the most useful and one of the most disappointing of the book. While it does contain many useful bits on stock characters, cut scenes, keeping the action moving, and using various cinematic methods to make a good story, it does not tie them into useful game advice deeply enough or often enough. While there are examples and samples, all to often they are throw away issues rather than anything really innovative or interesting. The result is a lot of good information with a rather dull execution. Chapter Three: Boom!: Finally there is advice given to those of us who have not been in Mage since the beginning, who do not own every book, and who are not interested in owning every book -- but who still want to use some of the Mage metaplot hooks in our home campaigns. Here we get enough information to make private games part of the larger world of mage, ideas for not just adventures and scenarios, but campaigns, and a buttload of useful background information for what is happening and will happen with the Mage universe. For me this section alone was nearly worth the price of the book, as it gave me enough information to really get a feel for the deep currents in the Mage world that had only been hinted at in other books. Appendix: Bits and Pieces: This is the nuts and bolts and juicy bits section of the book. Here we are given stock characters, rules for action movie style stunts, general action rolls, and "Cool Stuff." The stock characters are brief numbers and stats for the various types of characters most often enountered in bit roles in the genre. The action movie stunt system gives rules for those lovely maneuvers that action heroes do (like jump-spin-firing a gun while looking really cool at the same time), and are fairly well done. Most appropriate to the section, and one of the lovely bits of the book in my eyes was the general action rolls. In these rolls you do not call out combat with the storm troopers blow by blow, you are a hero and such things are a waste of your time. Rather you make a roll to determine the whole outcome of the scene, and then play out the gratuitous butt-kicking that follows. The final section focuses on weapons, explosives, and nifty things that make you go "ouch." Had I gotten this material before the release of Mage 3, I would have loved it to bits. As it was large amounts of the information become problematic, as weapons stats will have to be rewritten to fit the new system. The Good In my eyes the best thing about this book was that it did not take itself seriously. Mage was brought down from the level of art to the realm of fun, which is a good place for any game. (Not that we cannot have meaningful games. I think, however, that the industry as a whole would be well reminded that we are making and playing games, not setting up the next Inferno or Ulysses). Ideas for action, adventure, and rousing high energy plots were given in a simple, no nonsense manner that was a good change of pace and quite helpful. Much of the thematic device was also good -- especially the notes on how a good campaign changes the world. Heroes have a hard time being heroes if they cannot change anything. The Bad While the writing was often quite good, the little fiction bits that introduced many of the sections (not chapters, but sections within the chapter) were gratuitous. I think that everyone who will buy this book will have seen enough action movies to be intimately familiar with the stock characters, plots, and ideas of the genre. Drawing us a picture was, in this case, unnecessary. I would rather have seen more of the limited print space given to useful and concrete ideas about using the familiar types in a game situation. All to often ideas that needed no introduction were introduced at length, and the details of actually using those ideas in the game were all to brief or sketchy. It is all well and good to have a section about the femme fatal. It would have been better, however, to give some specific examples of using a femme fatal in a game. The Ugly The extra K in Magic, the long lists of weapons stats that are now outdated thanks to 3^rd edition, and the fact that the writers felt that La Femme Nikita the TV series is better than the original movie all left me somewhat flat. Of course it was unavoidable that the weapons would go out with the new system, but that does not change the pages of now dead information. Nor does the fact that La Femme Nikita is a cool TV series make it better than the French original. Yes, believe it or not, but it was a French movie that did not suck. The End In the end I would recommend this book to new to intermediate Storytellers who want to use Mage without dwelling (or at least constantly dwelling) on the metaphysical aspects, and who could use a few pointers about running an adventure game. Well written, fun, and full of tips, hints, and hooks this book would be well worth the money. For those who are old hands at the game, for those who like the metaphysics and have no interest in blowing stuff up, or those who have Feng Shui, I would say it would be best to pick up the new ST's screen and trust your own instincts on running your game. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)