The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The third of the five White Wolf "World of Darkness" RPGs, MAGE: The Ascension has before anything else, a style of it's own. The extremely dark atmosphere of most of the other WoD games is not nearly as prevalent in Mage, although at times, the game does slip into the well known black mood of White Wolf games.

The artwork in Mage is very good, and keeps a consistent mood throughout the book. The artwork and poem at the beginning of the book do a good job for setting the tone of the whole book, and indeed, the rest of the book has a kind of artfulness to it.

The actual rule system presented within is more of an enigma. While the rules to Mage help keep the odd feel of the game, they are not to be treaded lightly. The game system pushes a noble concept of 'story first' and 'mechanics second'. This may be effective for some people, but the way it was implemented, it creates a game that is hard to manage for even experienced game masters (or as White Wolf titles them, Storytellers.) This is not a game made for a person who is new to GMing, as the game system is so flexible as to open it up to easy abuses by the PCs.

This book presents a lot of information, and it turns out to be a rather meaty read. Don't expect to be able to run, or play Mage after only reading the book once. Many things will not make sense the first time through, as different rules tend to depend on material both before and after them in the book. At times, it almost seems more effective to read this game entirely out of order - I would even suggest that for a few chapters (The chapter on Magick specifically.)

That brings me to the best (and worst) part about Mage, the magic system. Mage has the most open ended magic system of any game I have ever seen. Magic can be used in pretty much any way the player can imagine. This has definite bonuses, and negatives. While the magic system is very open to creativity, it is also wide open to abuse. Abuses of the system might not even be intentional, as the system is so open that it is sometimes hard to define what a certain spell's limitations are. The system is more elegant then in the first edition, but White Wolf has made no improvements to it's playability. Likely White Wolf will not do this either, because this is very intentional on their parts. Unfortunately for inexperienced players, this makes this game virtually unplayable. On the flip side, it can also be a wonderful exorcise in creativity for those who have more experience.

Bottom Line: This is a great game if you are disciplined enough to play it the way it was meant to be played, but if not, avoid Mage until you are more experienced.

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

Mage: The Ascension, 2nd Ed
Author: Phil Brucato Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Reviewed by Legolas on 08/02/97. Genre tags: none	The third of the five White Wolf "World of Darkness" RPGs, MAGE: The Ascension has before anything else, a style of it's own. The extremely dark atmosphere of most of the other WoD games is not nearly as prevalent in Mage, although at times, the game does slip into the well known black mood of White Wolf games. The artwork in Mage is very good, and keeps a consistent mood throughout the book. The artwork and poem at the beginning of the book do a good job for setting the tone of the whole book, and indeed, the rest of the book has a kind of artfulness to it. The actual rule system presented within is more of an enigma. While the rules to Mage help keep the odd feel of the game, they are not to be treaded lightly. The game system pushes a noble concept of 'story first' and 'mechanics second'. This may be effective for some people, but the way it was implemented, it creates a game that is hard to manage for even experienced game masters (or as White Wolf titles them, Storytellers.) This is not a game made for a person who is new to GMing, as the game system is so flexible as to open it up to easy abuses by the PCs. This book presents a lot of information, and it turns out to be a rather meaty read. Don't expect to be able to run, or play Mage after only reading the book once. Many things will not make sense the first time through, as different rules tend to depend on material both before and after them in the book. At times, it almost seems more effective to read this game entirely out of order - I would even suggest that for a few chapters (The chapter on Magick specifically.) That brings me to the best (and worst) part about Mage, the magic system. Mage has the most open ended magic system of any game I have ever seen. Magic can be used in pretty much any way the player can imagine. This has definite bonuses, and negatives. While the magic system is very open to creativity, it is also wide open to abuse. Abuses of the system might not even be intentional, as the system is so open that it is sometimes hard to define what a certain spell's limitations are. The system is more elegant then in the first edition, but White Wolf has made no improvements to it's playability. Likely White Wolf will not do this either, because this is very intentional on their parts. Unfortunately for inexperienced players, this makes this game virtually unplayable. On the flip side, it can also be a wonderful exorcise in creativity for those who have more experience. Bottom Line: This is a great game if you are disciplined enough to play it the way it was meant to be played, but if not, avoid Mage until you are more experienced. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Mage: The Ascension, 2nd Ed