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Mage: The Sorcerer’s Crusade is the third installment in White Wolf’s series of historical World of Darkness games. This game takes Mage back to the Renaissance (ca. 1430-1550), to the days before the Technocracy ruled reality with an iron hand and before the Council of the Nine Mystick Traditions had fully formed. White Wolf’s choice of time period was a wise one, for the Renaissance was a truly fascinating time, in many ways a precursor to our own age and, in fact, its progenitor. Many of the traditional themes of Mage work equally well (if not better) in the time period of this book.

The book is a nice hard cover volume that is a typical example of White Wolf’s high production values. The interior art is generally good, and most of it adds to the feel of the time period. Those familiar with the usual layout of a White Wolf book will have no problem finding their way through Mage: The Sorcerer’s Crusade. The index is even fairly extensive, with no references to "page XX" to be found anywhere.

The book begins, as all White Wolf products do, with a story, this time by author Storm Constantine. The story is beautifully illustrated by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, although I must confess that I found the illustrations somewhat lacking in a Renaissance feel, but then, for that matter, so was the story. In fact, the story lacked much more than that. Aside from the usual, "Church narrow-minded and/or evil, but oppressed free-thinkers/pagans good," there wasn’t much to it. I really wish they had gotten something a little more inspired for the introductory story, since The Sorcerer’s Crusade is actually a very good game.

This volume is like its two predecessors in the historical series in that it redefines or, at least, nuances many of the standard concepts of the game setting. This is entirely appropriate, given the different time period in which it is set. For instance, The Sorcerer’s Crusade does not speak of Avatars, but rather of "Daemons." There is no "Backlash," but rather "the Scourge." Small changes like this often add a nice ring of authenticity.

The Sorcerer’s Crusade is a large book and I cannot hope to do justice to every portion of it. However, I will provide some comments on each section below.

Book I: Magick (Ah, that spelling again. . .)
Despite its title, this section mostly describes the world of the Renaissance, both magical and mundane. It’s a rather good section and a very necessary one. Many people have only a vague sense of the Renaissance as the time of Leonardo and Machiavelli. While it is this time, it’s also so much more, which is why this section is so important.

In general, White Wolf has done a good job of providing a solid background to this time period. I have lots of quibbles (2 million killed by the witch hunts? Read Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts by feminist historian Anne Llewellyn Barstow sometime to get the record straight), they are small ones and say more about my own ambivalent relationship with White Wolf’s philosophy than about the game itself. The nice thing about this section is that it provides information on not only Europe but the wider world beyond it. The Renaissance is, after all, the beginning of the Age of Conquest in the New World and in Asia. No game set during this time period can fail to take into account the exploration and depredation that followed in the wake of Columbus.

(Fans of Ars Magica will notice lots of subtle and not-so-subtle allusions to that game, its concepts, and historical background –– inevitable given the origins of the World of Darkness in that venerable game.)

This section also does a decent job of describing some of the key ideas of the period. Religion is treated more even-handedly than the opening story would have suggested. As odd as it may seem to many living in the 20th century, religion did once matter greatly in the lives of people. The same is true of art and philosophy, both of which undergo a flowering not seen in Europe for several centuries. The old order is under siege and a new one is taking shape, although few can predict what it will be. This is the main struggle of The Sorcerer’s Crusade and this section lays it out nicely.

The section is rounded out with the usual tour of the White Wolf "outer limits," the umbrae and realms of the spirits. It’s an acceptable introduction to those unfamiliar with it, but is otherwise uninspired. Interestingly, it falls especially flat in light of the much more fascinating mundane world described earlier in the section. I myself can’t imagine why anyone would waste much time on the dull umbrae when the world of Michelangelo, Luther, Copernicus, and Pizarro awaits elsewhere.

Book II: Faith
This section is the longest in the book and details character creation and the role of players and story tellers. The character creation section is not much different from other White Wolf games. Very little has changed. In some respects, this is disappointing. I have long said that the historical World of Darkness games are really "covert" third editions of the regular games. Both Vampire: The Dark Ages and Werewolf: The Wild West included things like Merits and Flaws in the character creation chapter, along with the rest of the abilities. The Sorcerer’s Crusade does not do this, unfortunately. Admittedly, the book is long enough as it is, but it’s a shame to have to go hunting through the Book of Shadows to get the information I need. I’d really have liked to see this material in the main book.

One of the nicest parts of this section, however, are the descriptions of the various mystic traditions. In addition to the familiar faces of Mage (reinterpreted for the Renaissance), there are some new traditions, like the Ahl-i-Batin and the Solificati. There are also a variety of Daedalean (future Technocratic) traditions to play for those so inclined, since they have no yet become the "guardians of the Paradigm" that they will later.

What I found particularly compelling about these descriptions is that many of them have a character and depth to them that they never had before, even with the various tradition books available. Most believe in something and that something distinguishes them and even separates them from others. The Renaissance was a time of great belief and passion. People lived life with a fervor and an intensity that we don’t often see today. These traditions should reflect that and they do to a great extent. For instance, the Celestial Chorus are overtly Christian mages who wish to heal the damage of Adam’s Fall with their Song. While there are still tinges of the wishy-washy "we are all children of the One" blandness that occurs later in Mage, the Choristers are a group whose beliefs genuinely motivate them. The same is true of the Chakravanti (future Euthanatoi), Akashics, and others.

The nascent Technocratic (Daedalean) traditions are very fascinating. Not only is it just enjoyable to see them at an early stage of their development, but it’s also pleasant to see that they too believe in something. In fact, I would argue that the power and depth of their belief must be that much greater than the other traditions for them to have eventually overcome them and imposed a new paradigm on reality. One of the ironies of The Sorcerer’s Crusade is that the Daedalean traditions come across as innovators and rebels seeking to overthrow the old ways that have kept humanity from his true inheritance. The Daedaleans believe that they too are on a mission from God to give to mankind the boons that God has originally intended to grant. I find this idea an interesting one that illustrates why I have always found the Technocracy to be extremely ambivalent villains at best.

Book III: Rules
The final section of The Sorcerer’s Crusade details the rules system. As I mentioned earlier, very little has changed from the usual White Wolf system. One of the things I did notice is that the system seems to be becoming more rigid and less flexible with each incarnation of the rules. That is to say, there are more "standard" trait combinations for dramatic actions than there used to be. Certainly, this doesn’t prevent a story teller from using his common sense and choosing his combinations. One of the things I always liked about this system was its open-endedness and flexibility. I see the system as becoming ossified with time (as usually happens).

The magic rules (sorry, I refuse to use their spelling) do show a few changes, however. If anything, they’ve become more openly free-form than they were in previous versions of Mage. This is saying something, since Mage magic has always been rather free-form. This, of course, is a necessary concomitant with the multiplicity of beliefs held in the Renaissance era. Unlike the 20th century, their isn’t a primary paradigm that rules over all. Whether magic works or not depends a great deal on one’s beliefs. What constitutes casual or vulgar magic varies from place to place much more so than in modern Mage. While this adds a lot color to the setting (which is a good thing), it also means more work for the story teller.

The Scourge is the Renaissance equivalent of Backlash. Unike backlash, it is sometimes beneficial. In general, though, the Scourge is a bad thing, but one that has a number of possible effects. Again, this is in keeping with the much more free-wheeling feel of the magic system in The Sorcerer’s Crusade. Any potential story teller should be aware of what he is getting into should he prepare to run this game.

Appendix
The appendix of The Sorcerer’s Crusade contains a lot of additional game information. This includes stats for all sorts of adversaries, from soldiers to animals to other magi. There isn’t much in the way of the usual coterie of supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, etc.). This will probably offend many people, but it didn’t bother me much. I would rarely use non-Mage entities anyway. Of course, White Wolf will correct this oversight in the forthcoming Bygone Bestiary. I imagine that volume will more than make up for the paucity of information in the appendix.

Overall, The Sorcerer’s Crusade is a good game and a nice addition to the World of Darkness line. To be honest, I prefer the historical games to those set in the modern day and this one is no exception. There are plenty of things I would have done differently in the game, but these are most with regard to emphasis. I think The Sorcerer’s Crusade would benefit greatly from being even more historical than it already is. The real Renaissance era has so much to offer that it’s hard to believe White Wolf felt it necessary to "mythologize." This is inevitable, I suppose, but there’s no reason for it other than consistency with previously-published products.

Fans of Mage will want to own this book, of course, if only for completeness. Other World of Darkness aficionados will probably find it less useful. For those who are curious about White Wolf’s universe, but don’t have the stomach to try one of the other settings, I would recommend The Sorcerer’s Crusade highly. It’s a good setting that, with some work, would repay the time (and money) invested in it.

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

Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade
Author: Phil Brucato, et al. Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Cost: $28.00 Page count: 296 ISBN: 1-56504-489-4 Playtest Review by James Maliszewski on 06/11/98. Genre tags: none	Mage: The Sorcerer’s Crusade is the third installment in White Wolf’s series of historical World of Darkness games. This game takes Mage back to the Renaissance (ca. 1430-1550), to the days before the Technocracy ruled reality with an iron hand and before the Council of the Nine Mystick Traditions had fully formed. White Wolf’s choice of time period was a wise one, for the Renaissance was a truly fascinating time, in many ways a precursor to our own age and, in fact, its progenitor. Many of the traditional themes of Mage work equally well (if not better) in the time period of this book. The book is a nice hard cover volume that is a typical example of White Wolf’s high production values. The interior art is generally good, and most of it adds to the feel of the time period. Those familiar with the usual layout of a White Wolf book will have no problem finding their way through Mage: The Sorcerer’s Crusade. The index is even fairly extensive, with no references to "page XX" to be found anywhere. The book begins, as all White Wolf products do, with a story, this time by author Storm Constantine. The story is beautifully illustrated by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, although I must confess that I found the illustrations somewhat lacking in a Renaissance feel, but then, for that matter, so was the story. In fact, the story lacked much more than that. Aside from the usual, "Church narrow-minded and/or evil, but oppressed free-thinkers/pagans good," there wasn’t much to it. I really wish they had gotten something a little more inspired for the introductory story, since The Sorcerer’s Crusade is actually a very good game. This volume is like its two predecessors in the historical series in that it redefines or, at least, nuances many of the standard concepts of the game setting. This is entirely appropriate, given the different time period in which it is set. For instance, The Sorcerer’s Crusade does not speak of Avatars, but rather of "Daemons." There is no "Backlash," but rather "the Scourge." Small changes like this often add a nice ring of authenticity. The Sorcerer’s Crusade is a large book and I cannot hope to do justice to every portion of it. However, I will provide some comments on each section below. Book I: Magick (Ah, that spelling again. . .) Despite its title, this section mostly describes the world of the Renaissance, both magical and mundane. It’s a rather good section and a very necessary one. Many people have only a vague sense of the Renaissance as the time of Leonardo and Machiavelli. While it is this time, it’s also so much more, which is why this section is so important. In general, White Wolf has done a good job of providing a solid background to this time period. I have lots of quibbles (2 million killed by the witch hunts? Read Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts by feminist historian Anne Llewellyn Barstow sometime to get the record straight), they are small ones and say more about my own ambivalent relationship with White Wolf’s philosophy than about the game itself. The nice thing about this section is that it provides information on not only Europe but the wider world beyond it. The Renaissance is, after all, the beginning of the Age of Conquest in the New World and in Asia. No game set during this time period can fail to take into account the exploration and depredation that followed in the wake of Columbus. (Fans of Ars Magica will notice lots of subtle and not-so-subtle allusions to that game, its concepts, and historical background –– inevitable given the origins of the World of Darkness in that venerable game.) This section also does a decent job of describing some of the key ideas of the period. Religion is treated more even-handedly than the opening story would have suggested. As odd as it may seem to many living in the 20th century, religion did once matter greatly in the lives of people. The same is true of art and philosophy, both of which undergo a flowering not seen in Europe for several centuries. The old order is under siege and a new one is taking shape, although few can predict what it will be. This is the main struggle of The Sorcerer’s Crusade and this section lays it out nicely. The section is rounded out with the usual tour of the White Wolf "outer limits," the umbrae and realms of the spirits. It’s an acceptable introduction to those unfamiliar with it, but is otherwise uninspired. Interestingly, it falls especially flat in light of the much more fascinating mundane world described earlier in the section. I myself can’t imagine why anyone would waste much time on the dull umbrae when the world of Michelangelo, Luther, Copernicus, and Pizarro awaits elsewhere. Book II: Faith This section is the longest in the book and details character creation and the role of players and story tellers. The character creation section is not much different from other White Wolf games. Very little has changed. In some respects, this is disappointing. I have long said that the historical World of Darkness games are really "covert" third editions of the regular games. Both Vampire: The Dark Ages and Werewolf: The Wild West included things like Merits and Flaws in the character creation chapter, along with the rest of the abilities. The Sorcerer’s Crusade does not do this, unfortunately. Admittedly, the book is long enough as it is, but it’s a shame to have to go hunting through the Book of Shadows to get the information I need. I’d really have liked to see this material in the main book. One of the nicest parts of this section, however, are the descriptions of the various mystic traditions. In addition to the familiar faces of Mage (reinterpreted for the Renaissance), there are some new traditions, like the Ahl-i-Batin and the Solificati. There are also a variety of Daedalean (future Technocratic) traditions to play for those so inclined, since they have no yet become the "guardians of the Paradigm" that they will later. What I found particularly compelling about these descriptions is that many of them have a character and depth to them that they never had before, even with the various tradition books available. Most believe in something and that something distinguishes them and even separates them from others. The Renaissance was a time of great belief and passion. People lived life with a fervor and an intensity that we don’t often see today. These traditions should reflect that and they do to a great extent. For instance, the Celestial Chorus are overtly Christian mages who wish to heal the damage of Adam’s Fall with their Song. While there are still tinges of the wishy-washy "we are all children of the One" blandness that occurs later in Mage, the Choristers are a group whose beliefs genuinely motivate them. The same is true of the Chakravanti (future Euthanatoi), Akashics, and others. The nascent Technocratic (Daedalean) traditions are very fascinating. Not only is it just enjoyable to see them at an early stage of their development, but it’s also pleasant to see that they too believe in something. In fact, I would argue that the power and depth of their belief must be that much greater than the other traditions for them to have eventually overcome them and imposed a new paradigm on reality. One of the ironies of The Sorcerer’s Crusade is that the Daedalean traditions come across as innovators and rebels seeking to overthrow the old ways that have kept humanity from his true inheritance. The Daedaleans believe that they too are on a mission from God to give to mankind the boons that God has originally intended to grant. I find this idea an interesting one that illustrates why I have always found the Technocracy to be extremely ambivalent villains at best. Book III: Rules The final section of The Sorcerer’s Crusade details the rules system. As I mentioned earlier, very little has changed from the usual White Wolf system. One of the things I did notice is that the system seems to be becoming more rigid and less flexible with each incarnation of the rules. That is to say, there are more "standard" trait combinations for dramatic actions than there used to be. Certainly, this doesn’t prevent a story teller from using his common sense and choosing his combinations. One of the things I always liked about this system was its open-endedness and flexibility. I see the system as becoming ossified with time (as usually happens). The magic rules (sorry, I refuse to use their spelling) do show a few changes, however. If anything, they’ve become more openly free-form than they were in previous versions of Mage. This is saying something, since Mage magic has always been rather free-form. This, of course, is a necessary concomitant with the multiplicity of beliefs held in the Renaissance era. Unlike the 20th century, their isn’t a primary paradigm that rules over all. Whether magic works or not depends a great deal on one’s beliefs. What constitutes casual or vulgar magic varies from place to place much more so than in modern Mage. While this adds a lot color to the setting (which is a good thing), it also means more work for the story teller. The Scourge is the Renaissance equivalent of Backlash. Unike backlash, it is sometimes beneficial. In general, though, the Scourge is a bad thing, but one that has a number of possible effects. Again, this is in keeping with the much more free-wheeling feel of the magic system in The Sorcerer’s Crusade. Any potential story teller should be aware of what he is getting into should he prepare to run this game. Appendix The appendix of The Sorcerer’s Crusade contains a lot of additional game information. This includes stats for all sorts of adversaries, from soldiers to animals to other magi. There isn’t much in the way of the usual coterie of supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, etc.). This will probably offend many people, but it didn’t bother me much. I would rarely use non-Mage entities anyway. Of course, White Wolf will correct this oversight in the forthcoming Bygone Bestiary. I imagine that volume will more than make up for the paucity of information in the appendix. Overall, The Sorcerer’s Crusade is a good game and a nice addition to the World of Darkness line. To be honest, I prefer the historical games to those set in the modern day and this one is no exception. There are plenty of things I would have done differently in the game, but these are most with regard to emphasis. I think The Sorcerer’s Crusade would benefit greatly from being even more historical than it already is. The real Renaissance era has so much to offer that it’s hard to believe White Wolf felt it necessary to "mythologize." This is inevitable, I suppose, but there’s no reason for it other than consistency with previously-published products. Fans of Mage will want to own this book, of course, if only for completeness. Other World of Darkness aficionados will probably find it less useful. For those who are curious about White Wolf’s universe, but don’t have the stomach to try one of the other settings, I would recommend The Sorcerer’s Crusade highly. It’s a good setting that, with some work, would repay the time (and money) invested in it. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade