The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The Pitch

[Note: This will be a new format for me because I’m trying not to be as longwinded. Feel free to critique and advise me on whether or not this format works, but I’ll be on vacation so I won’t be able to respond for two weeks. Happy New Year.]

Ascension of the Magdalene is many things – a sourcebook describing Renaissance Prague(in limited detail) for use in Unknown Armies and the d20 system; an adventure revolving around the ascension of an archetype and the future ascension of the Naked Goddess; and conversion notes for using Mechanomancy and Avatars in d20. It can be used as the basis for an historical Dungeons and Dragons campaign, it can be placed into an existing fantasy setting, or it can be used in either an historical or modern day Unknown Armies game. Notes for all four methods are included.

The Book

Ascension of the Magdalene is a 64 page book with a beautifully rendered cover and black white illustrations in the interior. It’s got a standard two-column layout with a nice text density that still leaves a lot of room for decent illustrations and bordered writeups of specific d20 and Unknown Armies information.

Chapters One and Two present background information and notes on Renaissance Prague and the factions that might be interested in the McGuffin that the title of the adventure refers to, a painting called the Ascension of the Magdalene. Chapters Three and Four describe the adventure, which is mainly location based, and its resolution. Chapter Five describes the after-effects of the adventure and then throws a few plot hooks for further adventuring in the setting.

Those chapters make up about two-thirds of the sourcebook, the rest of which includes various appendixes. The first centers on Renaissance arms and armor in both d20 and Unknown Armies terms, while the second describes Avatars and Avatar magic, including writeups of five existing Archetypes in d20 stats. The third appendix presents two new Archetypes in Unknown Armies terms and d20 terms, with the fourth describing Mechanomancy for d20. Afterwards, there is an index of material for both systems.

Substance

I thought I’d be unsatisfied with the combination of d20 (which in this case is another word for “Dungeons and Dragons” as far as application goes) and Unknown Armies, but I wasn’t.

The adventure as a whole is rather simple – the details of the prelude and aftermath are left up to the GM based on local campaign details, which one of the presented factions exists as the players’ backer, and what the GM desires, leaving mainly a description of the “dungeon” area. The adventure’s plot revolves around the theft of a painting left over from the ascension of a famed painter into the Invisible Clergy. (For D&D players out there, that translates into ‘a powerful set of beings who manipulate existence.’) The painting itself is hidden in a syphilitic local ruler’s hidden museum of occult and clockwork oddities, making the quest less than a simple B&E job, and presenting the real conflict for a party.

Because of the vagueness of the setup and conclusion, those who are looking for an adventure with every detail solidly described may be unsatisfied. Those willing to do the work, on the other hand, will get a wonderful setpiece to tailor for themselves, which involves numerous historical figures and anyone familiar with Ken Hite’s “Suppressed Transmission” columns or “weird history” will have heard of.

As far as the source material goes for d20, I’m still on the fence. Rules-wise, it’s all very legal and good – Avatar-hood is skill-based and is very workable – in fact, I plan on using these rules in any game of Dungeons and Dragons I ever run in the future. Mechanomancy is feat-based, though, and for some reason I just can’t get over the fact that maybe it should have been linked to a class – but that’s probably just my own class-and-level baggage at work. Both Avatar-hood and Mechanomancy are written with Atlas’ previous attention to detail.

While the d20 information is solid enough, I was looking at the adventure from an Unknown Armies standpoint. It’s written to be compatible with Second Edition, as far as terminology goes – no BOHICA, for instance. There’s also lots of stuff to steal for those interested in even modern day UA campaigns – quite a few artifacts, pieces of history, ancient cabals to affect or lurk about in the modern day, and glimpses of old schools. And the advice for pulling characters back in time struck me as being very interesting indeed, reminding me a bit of the time-travel with the Marquis DeSade in Grant Morrison’s “The Invisibles.” (But maybe that’s just me.) Not to give anything away, but that particular option involves the Comte, and apparently “Bill Toge” has become a verb. Very nice, indeed.

Reviewer’s Spin

I found The Ascension of the Magdalene to be a decent adventure and a wonderful sourcebook, with plenty of applicability beyond just the adventure itself. Like most Unknown Armies and Atlas products, this book is full of ideas, and for a mere $13.95, you really can’t go wrong. The only thing I can really criticize the book for is a lack of in-depth information on Prague itself – I found myself at a loss as to how to describe exactly what the streets looked like, what the architecture resembled, etc. Given the space constraints, something may have had to give, and the information in the rest of book is admirable – but still, the “details” of Prague seem very scant, and this may be a real problem for those wanting a true historical adventure and who are used to, say, Atlas’ Ars Magica line.

As a gamemaster with experience in both Unknown Armies and d20 system games, I appreciated the d20 rules as well as the Unknown Armies information, but it is possible that those looking for information applicable to one game only may be a bit resentful – I can only say, “I don’t know what to tell you.” This product strikes the same nice balance the rest of the Coriolis line does in balancing d20 info with that from other games, and even those not interested in the adventure may wish to purchase it for the source material.

As one, final note, I have to say that I’m just pickled, no pun intended, to see the usual Unknown Armies sickness creep into a Dungeons and Dragons adventure – Rick Neal is a game-design god for giving me d20 stats for a Fetus Swarm, and it’s sure to make its way into my next d20 game, no matter the genre.

The Ascension of the Magdalene
The Ascension of the Magdalene Capsule Review by Eric Brennan on 01/01/03 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) The Ascension of the Magdalene is a marvelous addition to the Coriolis line and could find a way into any D&D or Unknown Armies game, with the right GM at the helm. Product: The Ascension of the Magdalene Author: Rick Neal Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Atlas Games Line: Coriolis (d20 & Unknown Armies) Cost: $13.95 Page count: 64 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1-58978-012-4 SKU: AG3401 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Eric Brennan on 01/01/03 Genre tags: Fantasy Modern day Historical Conspiracy	The Pitch [Note: This will be a new format for me because I’m trying not to be as longwinded. Feel free to critique and advise me on whether or not this format works, but I’ll be on vacation so I won’t be able to respond for two weeks. Happy New Year.] Ascension of the Magdalene is many things – a sourcebook describing Renaissance Prague(in limited detail) for use in Unknown Armies and the d20 system; an adventure revolving around the ascension of an archetype and the future ascension of the Naked Goddess; and conversion notes for using Mechanomancy and Avatars in d20. It can be used as the basis for an historical Dungeons and Dragons campaign, it can be placed into an existing fantasy setting, or it can be used in either an historical or modern day Unknown Armies game. Notes for all four methods are included. The Book Ascension of the Magdalene is a 64 page book with a beautifully rendered cover and black white illustrations in the interior. It’s got a standard two-column layout with a nice text density that still leaves a lot of room for decent illustrations and bordered writeups of specific d20 and Unknown Armies information. Chapters One and Two present background information and notes on Renaissance Prague and the factions that might be interested in the McGuffin that the title of the adventure refers to, a painting called the Ascension of the Magdalene. Chapters Three and Four describe the adventure, which is mainly location based, and its resolution. Chapter Five describes the after-effects of the adventure and then throws a few plot hooks for further adventuring in the setting. Those chapters make up about two-thirds of the sourcebook, the rest of which includes various appendixes. The first centers on Renaissance arms and armor in both d20 and Unknown Armies terms, while the second describes Avatars and Avatar magic, including writeups of five existing Archetypes in d20 stats. The third appendix presents two new Archetypes in Unknown Armies terms and d20 terms, with the fourth describing Mechanomancy for d20. Afterwards, there is an index of material for both systems. Substance I thought I’d be unsatisfied with the combination of d20 (which in this case is another word for “Dungeons and Dragons” as far as application goes) and Unknown Armies, but I wasn’t. The adventure as a whole is rather simple – the details of the prelude and aftermath are left up to the GM based on local campaign details, which one of the presented factions exists as the players’ backer, and what the GM desires, leaving mainly a description of the “dungeon” area. The adventure’s plot revolves around the theft of a painting left over from the ascension of a famed painter into the Invisible Clergy. (For D&D players out there, that translates into ‘a powerful set of beings who manipulate existence.’) The painting itself is hidden in a syphilitic local ruler’s hidden museum of occult and clockwork oddities, making the quest less than a simple B&E job, and presenting the real conflict for a party. Because of the vagueness of the setup and conclusion, those who are looking for an adventure with every detail solidly described may be unsatisfied. Those willing to do the work, on the other hand, will get a wonderful setpiece to tailor for themselves, which involves numerous historical figures and anyone familiar with Ken Hite’s “Suppressed Transmission” columns or “weird history” will have heard of. As far as the source material goes for d20, I’m still on the fence. Rules-wise, it’s all very legal and good – Avatar-hood is skill-based and is very workable – in fact, I plan on using these rules in any game of Dungeons and Dragons I ever run in the future. Mechanomancy is feat-based, though, and for some reason I just can’t get over the fact that maybe it should have been linked to a class – but that’s probably just my own class-and-level baggage at work. Both Avatar-hood and Mechanomancy are written with Atlas’ previous attention to detail. While the d20 information is solid enough, I was looking at the adventure from an Unknown Armies standpoint. It’s written to be compatible with Second Edition, as far as terminology goes – no BOHICA, for instance. There’s also lots of stuff to steal for those interested in even modern day UA campaigns – quite a few artifacts, pieces of history, ancient cabals to affect or lurk about in the modern day, and glimpses of old schools. And the advice for pulling characters back in time struck me as being very interesting indeed, reminding me a bit of the time-travel with the Marquis DeSade in Grant Morrison’s “The Invisibles.” (But maybe that’s just me.) Not to give anything away, but that particular option involves the Comte, and apparently “Bill Toge” has become a verb. Very nice, indeed. Reviewer’s Spin I found The Ascension of the Magdalene to be a decent adventure and a wonderful sourcebook, with plenty of applicability beyond just the adventure itself. Like most Unknown Armies and Atlas products, this book is full of ideas, and for a mere $13.95, you really can’t go wrong. The only thing I can really criticize the book for is a lack of in-depth information on Prague itself – I found myself at a loss as to how to describe exactly what the streets looked like, what the architecture resembled, etc. Given the space constraints, something may have had to give, and the information in the rest of book is admirable – but still, the “details” of Prague seem very scant, and this may be a real problem for those wanting a true historical adventure and who are used to, say, Atlas’ Ars Magica line. As a gamemaster with experience in both Unknown Armies and d20 system games, I appreciated the d20 rules as well as the Unknown Armies information, but it is possible that those looking for information applicable to one game only may be a bit resentful – I can only say, “I don’t know what to tell you.” This product strikes the same nice balance the rest of the Coriolis line does in balancing d20 info with that from other games, and even those not interested in the adventure may wish to purchase it for the source material. As one, final note, I have to say that I’m just pickled, no pun intended, to see the usual Unknown Armies sickness creep into a Dungeons and Dragons adventure – Rick Neal is a game-design god for giving me d20 stats for a Fetus Swarm, and it’s sure to make its way into my next d20 game, no matter the genre.