Dark Ages: Mage is the second in a line of medieval takes on the classic World of Darkness brand, following closely behind Dark Ages: Vampire. DA:M is not a stand alone book, requiring the rules set found in Dark Ages: Vampire to play.
DA:M is based on the modern day game Mage: The Ascension, but the similarities are mostly historical. Instead of a direct port of the magic system from M:tA, we find White Wolf giving us an entirely new magic system based on the medieval paradigm. While I found this upsetting at first (as I was concerned that the developers had turned magic into another set of "disciplines,"), I soon found that the system remains flexible while adding a definitive sense of "restrictive flavor." Where M:tA *suggests* that you keep magical effects to your faction's general view on magic, DA:M forces you to do so. This will be further outlined in the review proper.
Chapter One: Magic and the Medieval
An interesting, quasi-historical look at the superstitions and views on the magical circa 1230, including talismans, numerology, and a smattering of curses. Much attention is given to rhymes, like this one:
Marry in the month of May, and you'll live to rue the day.
Marry in Lent, you'll live to repent.
Monday for health, Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday best of all,
Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses,
Saturday for no luck at all.
And so on. Kabbalism is also touched upon in a three page spread, describing the general Kabbalistic beliefs, numerolgy, and mythology. The chapter also presents small bits on Arabian and African mysticism, but the chapter explains that European thought is meant to hold sway here. This chapter was a very interesting read even when taken out of the context of a game, and that's a good thing. I've garnered a greater understanding of medieval superstition.
Chapter 2: Mystic Fellowships
The Traditions of the Dark Ages. There are six, including the oft-mentioned Ahl-i-Batin and the eternal Order of Hermes. In addition, there are the Celestial Chorus-esque Messianic Voices, the Verbana-like Old Faith, the Dreamspeaker analog Spirit-Talkers, and the nordic Valdaermen. What's interesting here is that each Fellowship, with the possible exception of the Order of Hermes, has some sort of religious connotation, further playing up the game's obvious theme of spiritual conflict. The Ahl-i-Batin are primarily Muslim, the Messianic Voices mostly Christian, the Spirit-Talkers shamanistic cultures of the Far East and Eastern Europe, the Valdaermen remants of the dead Norse faith, and the Old Faith the druidic pagans of Europe.
Each Fellowship is given an extensive six page writeup, chock full of information on each, including Background, Philosophy, and other such tidbits.
Chapter 3: Characters
A typical White Wolf Character Creation layout. Most of the modern Mage backgrounds resurface here under different monikers. Completely standard, and anyone who has ever read a White Wolf book knows what I'm talking about.
Chapter 4: Magic
The meat of the changes are here, naturally. Arete remains in the form of Foundation, and still serves much the same purpose. But the spheres are gone, instead replaced with four "Pillars" unique to each Fellowship. What this reminded me of most was the path system in Vampire's Thaumaturgy discipline, though definitely more broad. Dark Ages magic is much more focused and specific than its modern day counterpart.
To those unfamiliar with Mage or its analogs, think of Foundation as a broad representation of a character's magical knowledge, extended to that mage's philosophical faction. The Ahl-i-Batin see their magical world through the unity of Allah, while the Hermetics see it as a series of formula and a definitive method to everything. The Pillars are the application of this Foundation. Most of the Fellowships' Pillars are essentially the same, with almost all having a way to heal, a way to hurt, a way to affect chance, and general meddling with reality.
Paradox is replaced by Backlash, and is only accrued in the event of a botch. Mages may be more focused in the Dark Ages, but they can sure mess with things a lot more before they get spanked.
Once again, to those unfamiliar with mage, Backlash is what happens when reality gets pissed at you. When you really fail a roll, you'll suffer various penalties dependent on the magnitude of the failure and strength of magics involved. You can have anything from simple minor insanity to sprouting antlers to randomly having all the flesh be flayed off your body in one chunk, in the most extreme of cases. Not fun. Not fun at all.
Chapter Five: Magical Lands
Another quasi-historical summary of the mystical side of the lands we commonly know of. Attention is given to the Arthurian legend, various special sites such as Avalon and Stonehenge, and the mysticism of the British Isles. Other areas are covered afterwards, primarily European. Overall, it's a basic setting chapter- the world as it stands to a Mage, and recent happenings that would interest such a Mage.
Chapter Six: Creatures and Talismans
A bestiary of the typical World of Darkness monsters as seen from a wizardly perspective, including the usual vampires, fae, lupines, and Richard Simmons. Also, a big, big toy list of different magical trinkets your mage can play with.
Chapter Seven: Storytelling
Notes on historical accuracy and basic storytelling conventions. Nothing Earth shattering, but I liked the fact that they provided some examples of story ideas, so that you can get a grasp of what the game is all about.
Art: I couldn't qualify any of it as bad, but I couldn't qualify really any of it as particularly great, either. The Fellowship pictures are all quite good, and those of you who put up a stink about Dark Ages: Vampire's art being "too comic-y" will not have the same complaint here. Still, the art really didn't have much of an emotional effect on me, where looking at it makes me think "wow, that's cool," where some pieces in DA:V DID have me doing that. They did seem to use the same artist who worked on Vampire's Guide to the Sabbat, though- the guy who draws the weird eyes, and that sort of bugged me a little.
Style and Editing: Typical typeface, with a sort of fantasy/Middle Eastern font for the titles and subtitles. This actually surprised me a bit: while the book states several times that its primary focus is European, the general style and layout of the book suggests otherwise. The logo on the front has an Egyptian feel to it, and the inner borders (stone covered with raised runes) look like hieroglyphics. The sort of maroon-ish cover adds to this, and the Ahl-i-Batin definitely dominate the art in the book, adding even more of a Middle Eastern style. I suppose this makes sense in that Hermetic practice supposedly originated in Egypt, but you'd think that after emphasizing the importance of Europe so many times they'd give it a more Western style. Not nitpicking, just an observation.
Overall, the book is another great Mage supplement, a line that never ceases to please me. Judging by the general quality of the two Dark Ages books released so far, I'm anxious to see the next one, Dark Ages: Inquisitor. Finally, the Dark Ages line has risen to claim its own place in the World of Darkness brand with its own unique style that is definitely not "D&D Dark." The consistent attention to history and common themes is impressive- where DA: Vampire emphasized the social and political structures of medieval Europe, this book's focus is definitely on religion and spirituality, and the conflicts that arise beneath them.
The book is a great game, a great read, and a healthy dose of educational resource rolled into one. Definitely worth the money, especially if you're a fan of Dark Ages: Vampire or Mage.
-Fenrir
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