The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This book sucks. As the first of Mage's Tradition Books- this game's incarnation of the cookie-cutter suppliment- this doesn't bode well for the rest of the series. Anyone who hacks or programs will find this book to be criminally insulting or laughably bad.

Part of the problem is that this book arrived during Mage's first edition. Later books in the series don't suffer like this one does- though the other Mage v1.0 Tradition books come close. Another part of the problem is the lack of research done, a lack that comes across loud and clear when shone to anyone familiar with what the Adepts are all about.

The prelude shows just how White Wolf sees the Virtual Adepts. The Adept character exists in VR, speaks like a Cyberpunk/Shadowrun PC and throws in some contemporary hacker ethics for flavor. It's not very convincing.

The introduction is a little better. It starts as a regular FAQ post by one of the Masters of the Adepts- Dante. The Usenet-like format is plenty convincing; those that catch the mistakes are few enough to not bother with. The FAQ covers Facts Every Adepts Needs to Know, and those include some fundamental questions like why Omaha, Nebraska is where HQ lies.

Chapter One covers the history of the Adepts. This chapter is bloody short, which fits the Adepts just fine. It covers the story of how the Adepts arose within the Technocracy, and their defection to the Traditions. It stops after that, save for a little speculation about their future.

Chapter Two covers Adept society. Amongst the gems here is their versions of Certamen- Flame Wars and Core Wars. We're familiar with the former, but the latter is what many Ars Magica and Mage players see as Certamen. This chapter also addresses how this fragmented and anarchistic Tradition sticks together, what they believe and why they believe. The summary given above covers the vast majority of Adepts, but there are others: Chaoticians, Sim Addicts, MIDI fans, and the occassional Revisionist. All they have in common- magicakally- is the belief that Information is the key to reality.

Chapter Three takes the form of a chat between two established Adepts and a newbie. It covers the Adept view of the rest of the World of Darkness and nothing more.

Chapter Four has the character templates. All of the Adepts major factions get represented, but I like Cyberpunk and the Revisionist Writer best.

The notable members in the appendix aren't anything to write home about. Dante's in there, and he's the biggest name amongst this group. Then there's the usual four-page character sheet.

Do you need it? Nope; if you want to play a good Adept, read the real material and find some folks who hack in real life. Emulate them and you're cooking with gas.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Tradition Book: Virtual Adepts
Author: Darren McKeemen and Harry Heckel Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $10 (US) Page count: 72 pages ISBN: 1-56504-114-3 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 06/09/98. Genre tags: none	This book sucks. As the first of Mage's Tradition Books- this game's incarnation of the cookie-cutter suppliment- this doesn't bode well for the rest of the series. Anyone who hacks or programs will find this book to be criminally insulting or laughably bad. Part of the problem is that this book arrived during Mage's first edition. Later books in the series don't suffer like this one does- though the other Mage v1.0 Tradition books come close. Another part of the problem is the lack of research done, a lack that comes across loud and clear when shone to anyone familiar with what the Adepts are all about. The prelude shows just how White Wolf sees the Virtual Adepts. The Adept character exists in VR, speaks like a Cyberpunk/Shadowrun PC and throws in some contemporary hacker ethics for flavor. It's not very convincing. The introduction is a little better. It starts as a regular FAQ post by one of the Masters of the Adepts- Dante. The Usenet-like format is plenty convincing; those that catch the mistakes are few enough to not bother with. The FAQ covers Facts Every Adepts Needs to Know, and those include some fundamental questions like why Omaha, Nebraska is where HQ lies. Chapter One covers the history of the Adepts. This chapter is bloody short, which fits the Adepts just fine. It covers the story of how the Adepts arose within the Technocracy, and their defection to the Traditions. It stops after that, save for a little speculation about their future. Chapter Two covers Adept society. Amongst the gems here is their versions of Certamen- Flame Wars and Core Wars. We're familiar with the former, but the latter is what many Ars Magica and Mage players see as Certamen. This chapter also addresses how this fragmented and anarchistic Tradition sticks together, what they believe and why they believe. The summary given above covers the vast majority of Adepts, but there are others: Chaoticians, Sim Addicts, MIDI fans, and the occassional Revisionist. All they have in common- magicakally- is the belief that Information is the key to reality. Chapter Three takes the form of a chat between two established Adepts and a newbie. It covers the Adept view of the rest of the World of Darkness and nothing more. Chapter Four has the character templates. All of the Adepts major factions get represented, but I like Cyberpunk and the Revisionist Writer best. The notable members in the appendix aren't anything to write home about. Dante's in there, and he's the biggest name amongst this group. Then there's the usual four-page character sheet. Do you need it? Nope; if you want to play a good Adept, read the real material and find some folks who hack in real life. Emulate them and you're cooking with gas. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Tradition Book: Virtual Adepts