Let me start off by saying that I love Mage. I think it is a great game and
I have been playing it for years. One of my favorite aspects of Mage is the
Technocracy. The original Iteration X book had already came out by the time
I started playing and I had only been able to flip through it. However, I had
read the others and did not like them because of the one sided portrayal of
the Technocracy, and the fact that there was no information on playing them.
When the Guide to the Technocracy came out I was excited and pleased by their
new portrayal. Needless to say I was looking forward to the new Iteration X
Convention book and had high hopes. Unfortunately, it was something of a let
down.
The books appearance has a silver cover and a Christopher Shy painting on top.
The interior is the standard two column pages with the occasional image or watercolor
in the background. The art is mediocre at best. Lief Jones is the main interior
artist and I'm not fond of his cartoony look. The rest of the art is a little
more detailed.
The book starts with a prologue which is standard gaming fiction. It is three
incomplete stories ranging from half a page to a page and a half. The first
story is about a guy who is just applying for an Iteration X position and doesn't
know it. The second is about a woman who is in combat training. The third and
best story is about an ex-Virtual Adept who has just joined the convention.
The final part of the book (the epilogue) tells a final story about the three
previous characters testing a suit of power armor. The epilogue is one of the
best parts of the book as the characters argue whether it is ethical to release
the armor to the masses.
Next is the standard White Wolf introduction which introduces Iteration X and
describes the chapter.
The first full Chapter entitled "The Header" is the history, locations
and philosophy of Iteration X. This section introduces the narrator, William
Albacastle, who is the ex-Virtual Adept from the third story. Why they had a
Virtual Adept introduce the reader to Iteration X I am not sure but the tone
is sarcastic and after awhile annoying. The history begins in pre historic times
and it claims that our ancestors who were chipping away at rocks were It Xers.
The history then goes on to name a number of scientist/philosophers who influenced
the convention, but an actual group does not form until the Order of Reason
during the renaissance where the history should have started. The history gets
a little better here especially when you reach the 20th century, but overall
I found it boring.
The section on locations is the best part of the chapter. The narrator describes
a number of locations where you can find Iteration X including NMIT in NM, Louisiana
Technological Development Zone in LA, a military facility in Australia, L4 satellite
in orbit with Earth, and finally Autothonia, the mysterious Iteration X planet.
The section give lots of possibilities for adventures.
The final part of the chapter covers the philosophy of Iteration X which falls
flat because of the narrator. I could not figure out if the ideas where that
of the convention of the narrator because I did not feel that the ex-Virtual
Adept shared the same ideas as the rest of the convention. A lot of this section
is also what the convention thinks of "convention/tradition/supernatural."
The next chapter, entitled "Code," details the structure and organization
of the convention. It starts with the hierarchy of Iteration X, to how you join,
and what an It Xer does. This section has some good ideas and bad, such as recruiting
from Tech Support to how Iteration X is not as strict as it use to be.
Next is the Methodologies, or mini conventions, within Iteration X. I'm not
a fan of these in splat books and the ones listed in the convention book were
average including: statisticians, time motion managers, biomechanics, and macrotechnicians.
The final part of the chapter describes how Iteration X develops things such
as cybernetics. This part was short but did show how Iteration X was interested
in more than simply cyborgs and guns, but interested in technology and tools
that help people.
The third and final chapter entitled, "Modules" deals with using
Iteration X in a game. It starts with the two major controlling factors in Iteration
X who are Dr. Amanda Peal, and The Computer. It then goes into how to create
a Iteration X party and then gives an example of one called "Department
37." Next is a list of wonders that I found fairly inspirational. However,
Hit Marks are out, and Power Armor is in. There is 5 pages detailing power armor
suits and I think they mention Hit Marks once, so if you're a fan of the magic
bashing cyborgs this book is not for you. Finally, is a list of templates that
range from good to decent but each one of them can be inspirational for PCs
or used as NPCs. The templates include Intelligent Expert, Transhuman Cyborg,
Detective, Reseach Scientist, Convention Enforcer, Artificial Intelligence Expert,
Social Scientist, and Performance Artist. The art for the templates is some
of the best in the book though some of the templates seem to cross into the
realms of other conventions (such as the Social Scientist which seems like it
belongs in the NWO.)
Overall the book was average though my expectations were high. It makes a good
reference book for templates, wonders, and adds some detail to the convention
along with breaking a lot of the old stereotypes. However, it does not make
a good, enjoyable read and some of the concepts introduced are confusing.
A few final notes:
- The book makes a major effort to break a lot of the stereotypes about Iteration
X along with making them look like the "goodguys." This was well done,
and I saw the convention more as a group of mages trying to improve the world
instead of cyborg killers and military manufacturers.
-The book does cover The Computer and Autothonia. This aspect was a major complaint
of the original book. They did not remove Autothonia but decreased its importance
to Iteration X. Basically, the avatar winds make it difficult to get to Autothonia
so there is a split. Iteration X on Earth is changing and improving while the
remaining Iteration X on Autothonia are the old fashion It Xers who want to
turn everyone on Earth into cyborgs. Possibly the best adventure hook introduced
in the book.
-I would have liked to seen more on how Iteration X incorporates their technology
into the masses.
-The book has stats for both the Storyteller System, and MET.
-Finally, it does include a 4 page character sheet in the back.
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