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Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition Victorian Age
"I tell you We are Divinity.
Reality is ours to bend. To subvert. To command.
We have that power – all of us.
Not everyone knows what to do with it, or uses it well.
Most of us never realize just what it is we are or how much we can do.
Those of us who do… well, some of us are monsters.
Manipulators. Parasites. Tyrants. Fanatics.
And the rest of us never see that monster in our own mirror, only in the reflections of those folks who are not “us.”
Here’s the truth, We are ALL “us.” We are ALL gifted,
We can ALL change the world. Most of us remain asleep.
A blessed few Awaken. Fewer still use that power wisely.
And none without consequences.
And so, reality is up for grabs. Where do you stand?
And will you Fall… or Ascend?"
What’s in it?
Updated profiles of the Council of Nine Traditions, the Technocratic Union, and the Disparate Crafts... with many unexpected developments.
An epic history of magick and its factions.
A compilation and clarification of essential and optional rules, including martial arts, vehicles, hazards, cybernetics, the Otherworlds, and far more besides.
Overviews of paradigms, practices and tools - the focus of your Art.
Detailed explorations of the epic concepts involved in Mage.
Chilling looks at the Nephandi and Marauders.
The Nine Spheres, plus their Technocratic variants.
Old favorites and new faces from among the Awakened Ones.
Reality Zones, Paradox, Quiet, the "coincidental vs. vulgar magick" debate, and far, far more...
New full color original art by Michael William Kaluta, Echo Chernik, Steve Prescott, Christopher Shy, Larry MacDougall, and other classic Mage artists, as well as classic B&W pieces carefully chosen from the earlier editions.
Reality is ours to bend. To subvert. To command.
We have that power – all of us.
Not everyone knows what to do with it, or uses it well.
Most of us never realize just what it is we are or how much we can do.
Those of us who do… well, some of us are monsters.
Manipulators. Parasites. Tyrants. Fanatics.
And the rest of us never see that monster in our own mirror, only in the reflections of those folks who are not “us.”
Here’s the truth, We are ALL “us.” We are ALL gifted,
We can ALL change the world. Most of us remain asleep.
A blessed few Awaken. Fewer still use that power wisely.
And none without consequences.
And so, reality is up for grabs. Where do you stand?
And will you Fall… or Ascend?"
What’s in it?
Updated profiles of the Council of Nine Traditions, the Technocratic Union, and the Disparate Crafts... with many unexpected developments.
An epic history of magick and its factions.
A compilation and clarification of essential and optional rules, including martial arts, vehicles, hazards, cybernetics, the Otherworlds, and far more besides.
Overviews of paradigms, practices and tools - the focus of your Art.
Detailed explorations of the epic concepts involved in Mage.
Chilling looks at the Nephandi and Marauders.
The Nine Spheres, plus their Technocratic variants.
Old favorites and new faces from among the Awakened Ones.
Reality Zones, Paradox, Quiet, the "coincidental vs. vulgar magick" debate, and far, far more...
New full color original art by Michael William Kaluta, Echo Chernik, Steve Prescott, Christopher Shy, Larry MacDougall, and other classic Mage artists, as well as classic B&W pieces carefully chosen from the earlier editions.
283 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2022
20 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 18, 2016
I took my sweet, sweet time reading this. it'sa huge book—in terms of pages as well as of weight. Actually, that's the kind of book that makes me feel like breaking into a church to steal a lectern and respectfully place the latter on a pedestal in my living-room, so that I finally have an appropriate reading spot. Except that the whole act wouldn't be respectful in many other ways.
Anyway.
I discovered Mage: the Ascension in 1998. Possibly earlier than that, if you count the times I had seen it mentioned in RPG magazines. At the time, I was a representative of that rare breed of young (and incidentally female) Storytellers who intended on doing something with this game, apart from using it as a doorstopper. We used to joke about how you needed to go through a whole tube of aspirin before being able to understand what it was about. And yet, I still wanted to try my hand at it.
I never came back from that experience. Even during the years I had stopped gaming, Mage had never left me, not really.
This game is full of possibilities. Full of ideas. Bursting with potential. It's all about what you do with it, about viewing the world in so many different ways. About interpreting reqlity about you. About shaping your own reality—as a much needed reminder, too, that reality is what we make of it, mages or no mages, and that at least for some things, for a lot of things, there may come a time when you have to decide: do I want changes to occur, and will I be the driving force behind those changes?
This new edition was a joy to read, from one end to the other. Even some 20 years later, it's still holding that special place in my little shrivelled black heart.
And I shall blame it henceforth for adding "why not run a Technocracy game" to my long list of "must do's"
Anyway.
I discovered Mage: the Ascension in 1998. Possibly earlier than that, if you count the times I had seen it mentioned in RPG magazines. At the time, I was a representative of that rare breed of young (and incidentally female) Storytellers who intended on doing something with this game, apart from using it as a doorstopper. We used to joke about how you needed to go through a whole tube of aspirin before being able to understand what it was about. And yet, I still wanted to try my hand at it.
I never came back from that experience. Even during the years I had stopped gaming, Mage had never left me, not really.
This game is full of possibilities. Full of ideas. Bursting with potential. It's all about what you do with it, about viewing the world in so many different ways. About interpreting reqlity about you. About shaping your own reality—as a much needed reminder, too, that reality is what we make of it, mages or no mages, and that at least for some things, for a lot of things, there may come a time when you have to decide: do I want changes to occur, and will I be the driving force behind those changes?
This new edition was a joy to read, from one end to the other. Even some 20 years later, it's still holding that special place in my little shrivelled black heart.
And I shall blame it henceforth for adding "why not run a Technocracy game" to my long list of "must do's"
May 22, 2015
Mage has always been the largest and most intensive game within the World of Darkness universe. It consistently tackles the most difficult themes and opens our eyes, Awakening us, to the broadest spectrum of thought.
At over 600 pages, the Mage 20th Anniversary edition has outdone itself. We are presented with nearly every faction conceivable, a new approach to describing "Focus" and "Paradigm" (arguably the most important concept of the game) and a new millennium view on technology, sorcery and faith.
If you have been a fan of old Mage, prepare to be blown away by the updates, clarifications and comprehensiveness. If you have never entered the world of Ascension before, your life is about to change.
At over 600 pages, the Mage 20th Anniversary edition has outdone itself. We are presented with nearly every faction conceivable, a new approach to describing "Focus" and "Paradigm" (arguably the most important concept of the game) and a new millennium view on technology, sorcery and faith.
If you have been a fan of old Mage, prepare to be blown away by the updates, clarifications and comprehensiveness. If you have never entered the world of Ascension before, your life is about to change.
September 19, 2015
A love letter for the Mage fans, indeed.
Huge. To the point. Bold. Without all the (quite necessary, after all, back in then White Wolf was trying to sell an ongoing series) ambiguitty and obscurity that oWoD books used to have.
It was akin to trying to get a sip from a firehose, but oh man, it was entirely worth it. I started playing, and then narrating/dming RPGs back in 1998, and in the early 00's I discovered MtA 2end.
My mind was blown.
So it was with this edition. As my RPG life (gaming isn't as fun as it used to be,as I grow up, family enlarges, and life tooks over) is closing to an end, this is the best farewell party I could have.
Thanks, guys. I loved every page.
Huge. To the point. Bold. Without all the (quite necessary, after all, back in then White Wolf was trying to sell an ongoing series) ambiguitty and obscurity that oWoD books used to have.
It was akin to trying to get a sip from a firehose, but oh man, it was entirely worth it. I started playing, and then narrating/dming RPGs back in 1998, and in the early 00's I discovered MtA 2end.
My mind was blown.
So it was with this edition. As my RPG life (gaming isn't as fun as it used to be,as I grow up, family enlarges, and life tooks over) is closing to an end, this is the best farewell party I could have.
Thanks, guys. I loved every page.
March 18, 2019
I think this must be the best RPG Guide book I've read.
It's just amazing and so detailed, so colourful, which is also excellent if you've read the 3rd edition of Mage. That one was entirely black and white, which made a lot of sense if you take into consideration that by that time it seemed that all Magick was actually dead and the traditions were on the brink of extintion.
However, after that comes this colourful tome showing that the Traditions still have something to say about reality and its infinit tapestry. The Ascension war isn't over yet.
It's not about Magick vs science, it's about ascension or descent.
It's just amazing and so detailed, so colourful, which is also excellent if you've read the 3rd edition of Mage. That one was entirely black and white, which made a lot of sense if you take into consideration that by that time it seemed that all Magick was actually dead and the traditions were on the brink of extintion.
However, after that comes this colourful tome showing that the Traditions still have something to say about reality and its infinit tapestry. The Ascension war isn't over yet.
It's not about Magick vs science, it's about ascension or descent.
July 27, 2021
Este es uno de los libros de rol más completos que me he leido en cuanto a contenido, historia, mecánicas, desarrollo de facciones y en general de todo. La magia en el juego está conformada de forma muy subjetiva, según la propia mirada del mago o tecnomante, e influida por su contexto, quizás lo mejor que tiene Mago. El libro te explica con pelos y señales la forma de ver cada grupo la magia y no te limita solo a eso, te desgrana uno a uno los conceptos, te da alternativas a la historia canon de Mago, te hace ver todos los puntos de vista para que tengas una visión clara de lo que estás haciendo y te da muchas herramientas para que, o bien quieras crearte un personaje o bien dirigir una partida. Todo en un solo libro. La unica pega que le podría poner es que hay puntos en los que la lectura se pueda hacer pesada porque hay partes un poco más densas. Pese a todo es, sin duda, una lectura muy recomendada y mi setting favorito de Mundo de Tinieblas.
January 6, 2020
Sits at or near the top of my favorite RPGs ever. Still holds up 20 years later, and this updated version is especially well done.
June 22, 2015
I have a lot of thoughts, a lot on Mage. Impossible to summarise here. Mage was/is one of my favourite RPGs and I've played (and ran) it a lot over the years.
The good stuff, the rules for magick are solid (in line with Revised) with the addition of focus and practices. The rules for Quiet are neat and actually usable. The Technocracy section is brilliant, gave me so many ideas.
My big peeve though is that the Otherworlds stuff is very flat. As in, it's very complicated, with multiple layers and paths etc. but no practical examples. No horizon realms described (except for one or two mentions in Technocracy). I couldn't see how I was to use it in a game, except as something that's there and Mages are magical. It's like this massive section that should have been brimming with premises and stuff, but wasn't.
Also there wasn't enough example rotes, practices, wonders or merits and flaws at all. I really expected more of this stuff (as in the old line they always had a good selection in the core books) but I understand that the writers have moved all this into two other follow-on books, the Book of Secrets and How DO you do that? Still, to me, I would have preferred to see other things taken out (like Technocracy getting it's own book and the Otherworlds getting it's own book) and this stuff put in.
For me though, I'm a little biased. I've come to prefer Mages in mortal society as a premise, instead of where the original line went, which is Mages in a Mage society do Mage things with other Mages. I didn't like the history. Felt the new crafts were nothing more than a specialisation of the traditions and the oppressed -> oppressors stuff had gotten all tumbled up (as in the Traditions were oppressors but the Technocracy were better at it and it was the crafts that were oppressed all along). YMMV with all this but I figured it's worth laying out my biases.
I think I would have rated it higher if I had gotten more actually game-able stuff out of it. I'm planning a campaign to run and half the core book offers me little.
The good stuff, the rules for magick are solid (in line with Revised) with the addition of focus and practices. The rules for Quiet are neat and actually usable. The Technocracy section is brilliant, gave me so many ideas.
My big peeve though is that the Otherworlds stuff is very flat. As in, it's very complicated, with multiple layers and paths etc. but no practical examples. No horizon realms described (except for one or two mentions in Technocracy). I couldn't see how I was to use it in a game, except as something that's there and Mages are magical. It's like this massive section that should have been brimming with premises and stuff, but wasn't.
Also there wasn't enough example rotes, practices, wonders or merits and flaws at all. I really expected more of this stuff (as in the old line they always had a good selection in the core books) but I understand that the writers have moved all this into two other follow-on books, the Book of Secrets and How DO you do that? Still, to me, I would have preferred to see other things taken out (like Technocracy getting it's own book and the Otherworlds getting it's own book) and this stuff put in.
For me though, I'm a little biased. I've come to prefer Mages in mortal society as a premise, instead of where the original line went, which is Mages in a Mage society do Mage things with other Mages. I didn't like the history. Felt the new crafts were nothing more than a specialisation of the traditions and the oppressed -> oppressors stuff had gotten all tumbled up (as in the Traditions were oppressors but the Technocracy were better at it and it was the crafts that were oppressed all along). YMMV with all this but I figured it's worth laying out my biases.
I think I would have rated it higher if I had gotten more actually game-able stuff out of it. I'm planning a campaign to run and half the core book offers me little.
September 13, 2015
Pronto una reseña. Por mientras, solo decir que valió la pena la espera.
March 26, 2018
Se trata de salvar al mundo; cosmovisión, paradigma, la guerra por la Realidad y jugar a ser dioses. Hace más de dos décadas nos convertimos en magos, despertamos a las verdades del universo y a través de ese fragmento de chispa divina, llamada avatar, de cada iluminado se nos dio el poder de cambiar de modo dramático esa realidad producto del consenso.
Asumía uno el rol de uno de los magos del Concilio de las Nueve Tradiciones, un conglomerado que agrupa a magos dispares que pretenden recuperar la libertad del Tellurian regresando la magia sobre la ciencia, entre los que se encuentran la Orden de Hermes, de alta magia ritual y estudio académico riguroso, los Verbena, tradición de magos primordiales afectos a la brujería y al poder de la sangre y la naturaleza, los Virtual Adepts, los Chakravanti antes llamados Euthanatos, que creen en el dharma y la reencarnación, y los Akayashana, monjes que conocen el arte marcial fundamental practicándolo en busca de la armonía entre mente, cuerpo y espíritu; estos guerreros de la libertad combatían en los inicios del juego a la Tecnocracia, científicos iluminados que controlan el status quo y de quienes se consideraba habían casi ganado la Guerra por la Ascensión, de quienes eventualmente nos daríamos cuenta no eran el mal encarnado, sino rivales con ideales igualmente válidos, afectados por el poder y la corrupción de ser el gobierno detrás de los gobiernos, fallando en alcanzar tales ideales pero convencidos de ser la mejor opción.
No, el mal encarnado eran los Nephandi, místicos corruptos fundamentalmente que trataban con dioses muertos, demonios, entidades cósmicas y buscan ya sea la perversión total de la realidad o su aniquilación, que dentro del juego hacían preciosamente de los enemigos definitivos en contra de los cuales incluso las Tradiciones y la Tecnocracia se habían unido en ocasiones para enfrentarlos, caso memorable el de la Segunda Guerra Mundial donde por supuesto los mentados Nephandi estaban con los nazis, y casi estuvieron a nada de convertir la tierra en un parque de diversiones para los horrores más allá de este mundo.
Y los Marauders, magos locos inmunes a las consecuencias de violar las leyes de la realidad, atributo del que no gozan el resto de los iluminados, que eran no tanto rivales sino fuerzas de la naturaleza y recordatorio para todos los demás magos que cambiar La Realidad también te cambia a su vez, que los procesos y los tiempos son importantes y que ese gran poder de los Iluminados lleva una gran, personal e íntima responsabilidad.
Puede que otra vez estas palabras sean una prédica al coro, pero lo más importante es que es el mejor escenario de un juego de rol que haya encontrado en mi vida, incluso considerado en ocasiones por los propios jugadores de rol como demasiado cerebral y abstracto al tratar temas filosóficos y sistemas arcanos como mucho más que una lista de hechizos, planteando problemas de difícil resolución y revelando que aunque, como en la vida real hay una miríada de tonos grises, existe el bien y el mal, por lo que la relatividad de las posturas ideológicas y morales no debe ser conclusiva, hay que cuestionarlo todo, hay que revisar a cada momento nuestras decisiones, no perder de vista causa y efecto y lidiar con los múltiples resultados de nuestros actos.
Incluso aún, derivado de las más de dos décadas de trabajo en el mundo ficticio de Mage, se presentan como posibilidades de juego además de los miembros de las Tradiciones y de la Tecnocracia, los correspondiente a facciones ocultas o reducidas que no han tomado partido de un bando u otro en la guerra, como son los Ahl-i-Batin, partidarios de la unidad, los ex Solificati llamados Children of Knowledge, practicantes del arte y ciencia de la alquimia, y los Templar Knights, guerreros cristianos que ocultos combaten la corrupción de los Nephandi, entre otros.
Lo anterior no sólo ocurre en la tierra, sino en el mundo espiritual, llamado al igual que en el setting de Werewolf: The Apocalypse, el Umbra, que comprende en su parte baja el mundo de los muertos, en su parte media un reflejo de la realidad, mostrando lo estático y decadente que puede ser una torre de oficinas en contrapunto con el vibrante colorido de la vida en un templo budista en las montañas, y su parte alta, el mundo de los conceptos e ideales platónicos, donde se puede discutir directamente con los espíritus que representan conceptos y postulados científicos y metafísicos; en su parte más lejana tal Umbra contiene mundos de bolsillo o similares al nuestro, donde los magos hacen sus laboratorios, casas de estudio y refugios lejos de la realidad consensual y lo mundano, más allá del horizonte espiritual el Umbra Profundo se asemeja al espacio exterior, y al universo, permitiendo estos otros mundos escenarios diversos para la batalla por la realidad que van de la fantasía a la ciencia ficción.
Me quedo corto con esta reseña, la manera en la que se trata la historia de la humanidad desde este conflicto en las sombras es complejo e ingenioso, e incluso da la libertad al storyteller y los jugadores de elegir entre las verdades que asumirán ciertas como antecedente, ofreciendo reglas opcionales dependiendo del tipo de campaña que se quiera jugar y cuidando el balance de la misma; el planteamiento de las esferas como base del sistema mágico es elegante sin ser simplista, donde se proponen ámbitos físicos, metafísicos y espirituales de alterar la realidad, realizar milagros, conjurar hechizos y utilizar alta tecnología por los magos controlados por los jugadores, permitiendo disfrutar el poder de estos sin olvidarse del equilibrio que hará un reto de cada historia; el trabajo y la dedicación puesta en esta edición del vigésimo aniversario es leal al amor de los que jugamos Mage, enciclopédica en sus planteamientos y fiel al espíritu de maravilla e inteligencia que desde sus orígenes nos sorprendió.
Quiero terminar con una frase de uno de los desarrolladores y escritor de esta edición, Satyros Phil Brucato, que reza asi:
"Nunca dejes que tu mundo destruya el milagro que puedes ser"
Y éste libro, señoras y señores, es un milagro.
— Montag Tellarion, bani Verbena, Fianna kinfolk.
(me permito firmar con el nombre de mi personaje más querido en los tiempos de la segunda edición de Mage: The Ascension, del cual aun no pierdo la esperanza de volver a visitar)
Asumía uno el rol de uno de los magos del Concilio de las Nueve Tradiciones, un conglomerado que agrupa a magos dispares que pretenden recuperar la libertad del Tellurian regresando la magia sobre la ciencia, entre los que se encuentran la Orden de Hermes, de alta magia ritual y estudio académico riguroso, los Verbena, tradición de magos primordiales afectos a la brujería y al poder de la sangre y la naturaleza, los Virtual Adepts, los Chakravanti antes llamados Euthanatos, que creen en el dharma y la reencarnación, y los Akayashana, monjes que conocen el arte marcial fundamental practicándolo en busca de la armonía entre mente, cuerpo y espíritu; estos guerreros de la libertad combatían en los inicios del juego a la Tecnocracia, científicos iluminados que controlan el status quo y de quienes se consideraba habían casi ganado la Guerra por la Ascensión, de quienes eventualmente nos daríamos cuenta no eran el mal encarnado, sino rivales con ideales igualmente válidos, afectados por el poder y la corrupción de ser el gobierno detrás de los gobiernos, fallando en alcanzar tales ideales pero convencidos de ser la mejor opción.
No, el mal encarnado eran los Nephandi, místicos corruptos fundamentalmente que trataban con dioses muertos, demonios, entidades cósmicas y buscan ya sea la perversión total de la realidad o su aniquilación, que dentro del juego hacían preciosamente de los enemigos definitivos en contra de los cuales incluso las Tradiciones y la Tecnocracia se habían unido en ocasiones para enfrentarlos, caso memorable el de la Segunda Guerra Mundial donde por supuesto los mentados Nephandi estaban con los nazis, y casi estuvieron a nada de convertir la tierra en un parque de diversiones para los horrores más allá de este mundo.
Y los Marauders, magos locos inmunes a las consecuencias de violar las leyes de la realidad, atributo del que no gozan el resto de los iluminados, que eran no tanto rivales sino fuerzas de la naturaleza y recordatorio para todos los demás magos que cambiar La Realidad también te cambia a su vez, que los procesos y los tiempos son importantes y que ese gran poder de los Iluminados lleva una gran, personal e íntima responsabilidad.
Puede que otra vez estas palabras sean una prédica al coro, pero lo más importante es que es el mejor escenario de un juego de rol que haya encontrado en mi vida, incluso considerado en ocasiones por los propios jugadores de rol como demasiado cerebral y abstracto al tratar temas filosóficos y sistemas arcanos como mucho más que una lista de hechizos, planteando problemas de difícil resolución y revelando que aunque, como en la vida real hay una miríada de tonos grises, existe el bien y el mal, por lo que la relatividad de las posturas ideológicas y morales no debe ser conclusiva, hay que cuestionarlo todo, hay que revisar a cada momento nuestras decisiones, no perder de vista causa y efecto y lidiar con los múltiples resultados de nuestros actos.
Incluso aún, derivado de las más de dos décadas de trabajo en el mundo ficticio de Mage, se presentan como posibilidades de juego además de los miembros de las Tradiciones y de la Tecnocracia, los correspondiente a facciones ocultas o reducidas que no han tomado partido de un bando u otro en la guerra, como son los Ahl-i-Batin, partidarios de la unidad, los ex Solificati llamados Children of Knowledge, practicantes del arte y ciencia de la alquimia, y los Templar Knights, guerreros cristianos que ocultos combaten la corrupción de los Nephandi, entre otros.
Lo anterior no sólo ocurre en la tierra, sino en el mundo espiritual, llamado al igual que en el setting de Werewolf: The Apocalypse, el Umbra, que comprende en su parte baja el mundo de los muertos, en su parte media un reflejo de la realidad, mostrando lo estático y decadente que puede ser una torre de oficinas en contrapunto con el vibrante colorido de la vida en un templo budista en las montañas, y su parte alta, el mundo de los conceptos e ideales platónicos, donde se puede discutir directamente con los espíritus que representan conceptos y postulados científicos y metafísicos; en su parte más lejana tal Umbra contiene mundos de bolsillo o similares al nuestro, donde los magos hacen sus laboratorios, casas de estudio y refugios lejos de la realidad consensual y lo mundano, más allá del horizonte espiritual el Umbra Profundo se asemeja al espacio exterior, y al universo, permitiendo estos otros mundos escenarios diversos para la batalla por la realidad que van de la fantasía a la ciencia ficción.
Me quedo corto con esta reseña, la manera en la que se trata la historia de la humanidad desde este conflicto en las sombras es complejo e ingenioso, e incluso da la libertad al storyteller y los jugadores de elegir entre las verdades que asumirán ciertas como antecedente, ofreciendo reglas opcionales dependiendo del tipo de campaña que se quiera jugar y cuidando el balance de la misma; el planteamiento de las esferas como base del sistema mágico es elegante sin ser simplista, donde se proponen ámbitos físicos, metafísicos y espirituales de alterar la realidad, realizar milagros, conjurar hechizos y utilizar alta tecnología por los magos controlados por los jugadores, permitiendo disfrutar el poder de estos sin olvidarse del equilibrio que hará un reto de cada historia; el trabajo y la dedicación puesta en esta edición del vigésimo aniversario es leal al amor de los que jugamos Mage, enciclopédica en sus planteamientos y fiel al espíritu de maravilla e inteligencia que desde sus orígenes nos sorprendió.
Quiero terminar con una frase de uno de los desarrolladores y escritor de esta edición, Satyros Phil Brucato, que reza asi:
"Nunca dejes que tu mundo destruya el milagro que puedes ser"
Y éste libro, señoras y señores, es un milagro.
— Montag Tellarion, bani Verbena, Fianna kinfolk.
(me permito firmar con el nombre de mi personaje más querido en los tiempos de la segunda edición de Mage: The Ascension, del cual aun no pierdo la esperanza de volver a visitar)
December 30, 2022
Brings a bunch of Mage material in one place and tries to get one of the game line's most distinctive voices (Phil Brucato) to make sense of it all. This makes sense as an approach for a 20th Anniversary edition, but taken all together it's hard to avoid the impression that Mage: the Ascension has dated incredibly badly and that you might as well just play Awakening instead. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
July 26, 2022
I may never have the opportunity to play Mage again; even so, Mage has shaped my perception of the world for nearly three decades, and nothing can ever take that away.
December 1, 2023
Both a love letter to previous edition and a condemnation of their antiquated views.
It succeeds in balancing the two opposing ideas while breathing new life into the game.
It succeeds in balancing the two opposing ideas while breathing new life into the game.
June 10, 2018
This was a frustrating book to read. Role playing books are always more than half technical manual, and this book really failed on that front. I have read a lot of RPG books in my day and I have more than a passing familiarity with the World of Darkness, but I found this book confusing and overwritten. Without the turgid prose, this book could have cut by 100 pages.
With that being said, there are some great ideas in here. They could just be presented much better, and I suspect they aren’t as profound as the author thinks they are.
With that being said, there are some great ideas in here. They could just be presented much better, and I suspect they aren’t as profound as the author thinks they are.
April 6, 2019
Wreszcie zasady Maga zostały ujednolicone w stosunku do pozostałych systemów starego Świata Mroku. Jako wielbiciel Maga, mogę stwierdzić, że jest to pozycja na którą dość długo czekałem od czasu kiedy po raz pierwszy zanurzyłem się w świecie Maga i Świata Mroku. Mag do dzisiaj pozostaje zresztą moim ulubionym systemem tego uniwersum.
February 5, 2017
It's the Mage you remember, clarified.
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