The Inside Scoop on Gaming

First off, I was originally slated to review "Initiates of the Art" but a mix up somewhere along the line saw me receive "masters of the Art" instead. No big deal. I'd review it gladly. Unfortunately, I am a little biased. And before I can review it, I need to clearly define my biases.

First, I don't allow archmages in my games. I think the idea of having sphere ranks above and beyond the standard five is pretty much pointless and nothing more than a means of creating more twinkish characters to out-do someone else's power-monger character. Second, while I generally like much of Mage Revised, I hate the idea of the Avatar Storm. This book is heavily predicated on the existence of the Avatar storms.

Now, don't get me wrong. There's a hell of a lot of good stuff in this book. and I'm going to get into it. But I had to make it clear where I'm coming from. If you're pro-Avatar Storms or feel there really is a great need to have Arch-mages in your game (as players, not undefined, amorphous NPCs), then take this with an appropriate amount of rock salt.

Now, Masters of the Art is one of the first books to come out after "Mage Revised" and it purports to show you the way to ascension. The back cover even says, "Let none stand between you and the light of Ascension." So, I was thinking, "you know, this might not be too bad." However, my hopes were quickly dashed as in the first real non-fiction part of the book the standard "How to Use this Book" chapter, it clearly states that in the process of achieving the greatest heights of magical knowledge, the archmage has bypassed the steps to true enlightenment.

In essence, the book is predicated on the idea that the mage either becomes more and more enlightened (which is the true road to Ascension) or more and more powerful (which isn't). It supposes that those with great power do not know themselves, and (by logic, I would suppose) those with great enlightenment do not have great power. The plain fact is I just cannot accept this central point. In my understanding, greater knowledge leads to greater power, which has the potential to lead to greater knowledge. It need not lead there, but it is not a prohibition against future learning.

Chapter 1: Retrospect: How to become an arch-mage. Lesson one: no amount of learning earns you the title. Only other arch-mages calling you an archmage make you an arch-mage. It's an elite social club. So, don't try. There's a bit on seekings, which doesn't *really* add anything new to what's in the core book. Then the standard list of avatars and how they come to archmagedom. A really nice point made in this section was the introduction of the concept of the Infinite Avatar. Though not fleshed out or worked over, it does nicely contribute to the idea that in progressing along the path, the avatar eventually transcends its stereotype.

Then we get the obligatory list of traditions. Nothing really new here. This just goes over how the traditions (and conventions) go about gaining the political support of their brethren... It's nothing more than the basic profiles you find in the core book. You can skip this part without losing anything.

The section entitled, "Learning" does have a couple of wonderful points--and they mostly center on the retention of humanity. Losing the human perspective can doom you on your path to Ascension. This might well be the argument that the writers are really trying to make throughout the book. It's not that great power minimizes your chances at Ascension. Rather, it's that great power & knowledge for its own sake dissociates you from your roots, which might limit your potential to Ascend.

The biggest point made in section two, "Threshold" is that you can have that sixth dot in a sphere and have the power of an arch-mage, but without the recognition of others, you're not. Archmagedom is an arbitrary name and rank, nothing more. To get it, you've got to play the politics.

Section Three, "Archmastery" is heavily slanted towards association with others in the supernatural spectrum of the World of Darkness". It's for those who just have to crossover the games. I was relieved to see at least a little misinformation within the brief profiles of other species. It was nice to see Theurges listed as an equal division of werewolves as a Silent Strider.

This section has some real interesting points dealing with signs, portents, resonance and paradox. I really like the explanation of how ingrained paradox becomes to an archmage. It becomes part of him and not something that can be sloughed off whenever it gets too high... And it's this increase in paradox that makes it difficult for the archmage to return to earth... I can buy this.

The "Ascension" chapter talks about some of the lofty goals--immortality, godhood, and ascension. Thought they were one and the same. Well, apparently not. There are some convincing arguments for why Ascension is different from Immortality. There's also some good talk about the inherent limitations of godhead in relation to Ascension. Just in case you haven't had enough of how each specific group in Mage views Ascension, you get it again in this chapter. Okay, previous broad listings of all the mage groups dealt with gaining respect from your brethren, not what Ascension is, but really. This format is getting a little tired. Can we try something else?

The next section is an Appendix: "The Keys to the Spheres" for all the uber-munchkins out there who just have to have the power of Galactus and beyond. There area couple of really neat ones in here--I particularly like Destiny of the Species, Subjective Reality, and Time Door--but there's no way I'd allow PCs to do this. In addition, there's a particular engaging piece on spirit allies and the trouble/tribulations of maintaining a familiar over time... or trying to change one. Well worth the read for the Dream Speaker...

Finally, you get the obligatory "Creating an Archmage" section that shows you how to create your own munchkin. Granted, the book does go to some lengths to try to tie in the ideas of duty and responsibility to the arch-mage status, but let's face it. You're going to create an arch-mage to see how powerfully you can mess with reality. Because, after all, once you've ascended, what's left to the game?

I am glad that the sample characters in this book have full--shrunken character sheets. The textual description of the earlier White Wolf books was effective, but not nearly as engaging. Using the actual character sheets for the Burnout, the Exemplar in Training and the Horizon Explorer are a nice touch. I particularly liked the graphics for these characters too. While, the rest of the graphics throughout the book were kind of ho-hum, to my mind. Not bad stuff, but not exceptional, either. I like the subtle shading and detail afforded by these pieces. Everything else is harsh pen and ink...

So, overall, I've got mixed feelings about this book. In my mind, it felt a whole lot like the new line developer trying to put his spin on why the archmages aren't the way to go. I applaud the effort, but in the end, I was really offset by the placing of enlightenment and power on opposite ends of the scale. You *can* have both. In fact, you *should* have both. Having one without the other just takes away from the feeling of wholeness that Mage screams for.

But that's me, and I'm sure not everyone plays the game the way I do...

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Masters of the Art
Author: >Deird're Brooks, Adam McCandliss Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studios Line: Mage: The Ascension Cost: $13.95 Page count: 88 ISBN: 1-56504-427-4 SKU: WW4017 Playtest Review by Jason W. Tice on 08/21/00. Genre tags: Modern day Horror Gothic	First off, I was originally slated to review "Initiates of the Art" but a mix up somewhere along the line saw me receive "masters of the Art" instead. No big deal. I'd review it gladly. Unfortunately, I am a little biased. And before I can review it, I need to clearly define my biases. First, I don't allow archmages in my games. I think the idea of having sphere ranks above and beyond the standard five is pretty much pointless and nothing more than a means of creating more twinkish characters to out-do someone else's power-monger character. Second, while I generally like much of Mage Revised, I hate the idea of the Avatar Storm. This book is heavily predicated on the existence of the Avatar storms. Now, don't get me wrong. There's a hell of a lot of good stuff in this book. and I'm going to get into it. But I had to make it clear where I'm coming from. If you're pro-Avatar Storms or feel there really is a great need to have Arch-mages in your game (as players, not undefined, amorphous NPCs), then take this with an appropriate amount of rock salt. Now, Masters of the Art is one of the first books to come out after "Mage Revised" and it purports to show you the way to ascension. The back cover even says, "Let none stand between you and the light of Ascension." So, I was thinking, "you know, this might not be too bad." However, my hopes were quickly dashed as in the first real non-fiction part of the book the standard "How to Use this Book" chapter, it clearly states that in the process of achieving the greatest heights of magical knowledge, the archmage has bypassed the steps to true enlightenment. In essence, the book is predicated on the idea that the mage either becomes more and more enlightened (which is the true road to Ascension) or more and more powerful (which isn't). It supposes that those with great power do not know themselves, and (by logic, I would suppose) those with great enlightenment do not have great power. The plain fact is I just cannot accept this central point. In my understanding, greater knowledge leads to greater power, which has the potential to lead to greater knowledge. It need not lead there, but it is not a prohibition against future learning. Chapter 1: Retrospect: How to become an arch-mage. Lesson one: no amount of learning earns you the title. Only other arch-mages calling you an archmage make you an arch-mage. It's an elite social club. So, don't try. There's a bit on seekings, which doesn't really add anything new to what's in the core book. Then the standard list of avatars and how they come to archmagedom. A really nice point made in this section was the introduction of the concept of the Infinite Avatar. Though not fleshed out or worked over, it does nicely contribute to the idea that in progressing along the path, the avatar eventually transcends its stereotype. Then we get the obligatory list of traditions. Nothing really new here. This just goes over how the traditions (and conventions) go about gaining the political support of their brethren... It's nothing more than the basic profiles you find in the core book. You can skip this part without losing anything. The section entitled, "Learning" does have a couple of wonderful points--and they mostly center on the retention of humanity. Losing the human perspective can doom you on your path to Ascension. This might well be the argument that the writers are really trying to make throughout the book. It's not that great power minimizes your chances at Ascension. Rather, it's that great power & knowledge for its own sake dissociates you from your roots, which might limit your potential to Ascend. The biggest point made in section two, "Threshold" is that you can have that sixth dot in a sphere and have the power of an arch-mage, but without the recognition of others, you're not. Archmagedom is an arbitrary name and rank, nothing more. To get it, you've got to play the politics. Section Three, "Archmastery" is heavily slanted towards association with others in the supernatural spectrum of the World of Darkness". It's for those who just have to crossover the games. I was relieved to see at least a little misinformation within the brief profiles of other species. It was nice to see Theurges listed as an equal division of werewolves as a Silent Strider. This section has some real interesting points dealing with signs, portents, resonance and paradox. I really like the explanation of how ingrained paradox becomes to an archmage. It becomes part of him and not something that can be sloughed off whenever it gets too high... And it's this increase in paradox that makes it difficult for the archmage to return to earth... I can buy this. The "Ascension" chapter talks about some of the lofty goals--immortality, godhood, and ascension. Thought they were one and the same. Well, apparently not. There are some convincing arguments for why Ascension is different from Immortality. There's also some good talk about the inherent limitations of godhead in relation to Ascension. Just in case you haven't had enough of how each specific group in Mage views Ascension, you get it again in this chapter. Okay, previous broad listings of all the mage groups dealt with gaining respect from your brethren, not what Ascension is, but really. This format is getting a little tired. Can we try something else? The next section is an Appendix: "The Keys to the Spheres" for all the uber-munchkins out there who just have to have the power of Galactus and beyond. There area couple of really neat ones in here--I particularly like Destiny of the Species, Subjective Reality, and Time Door--but there's no way I'd allow PCs to do this. In addition, there's a particular engaging piece on spirit allies and the trouble/tribulations of maintaining a familiar over time... or trying to change one. Well worth the read for the Dream Speaker... Finally, you get the obligatory "Creating an Archmage" section that shows you how to create your own munchkin. Granted, the book does go to some lengths to try to tie in the ideas of duty and responsibility to the arch-mage status, but let's face it. You're going to create an arch-mage to see how powerfully you can mess with reality. Because, after all, once you've ascended, what's left to the game? I am glad that the sample characters in this book have full--shrunken character sheets. The textual description of the earlier White Wolf books was effective, but not nearly as engaging. Using the actual character sheets for the Burnout, the Exemplar in Training and the Horizon Explorer are a nice touch. I particularly liked the graphics for these characters too. While, the rest of the graphics throughout the book were kind of ho-hum, to my mind. Not bad stuff, but not exceptional, either. I like the subtle shading and detail afforded by these pieces. Everything else is harsh pen and ink... So, overall, I've got mixed feelings about this book. In my mind, it felt a whole lot like the new line developer trying to put his spin on why the archmages aren't the way to go. I applaud the effort, but in the end, I was really offset by the placing of enlightenment and power on opposite ends of the scale. You can have both. In fact, you should have both. Having one without the other just takes away from the feeling of wholeness that Mage screams for. But that's me, and I'm sure not everyone plays the game the way I do... Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)