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by Wes
on 5/21/2009
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Mage: the Awakening
The original Mage (Ascension) was truly a bastion of role-playing genius and literary depth that was unrivaled in comparison to the other books of the Old World, capable of critically improving the mentality and creativity of those who experienced it. Unfortunately, Mage the Awakening neither lives up to its predecessor nor even functions as a suitable replacement. The opening backstory of how Man and Magic mingled plays out like a generic fantasy tale involving Atlantis, Watchtowers over the magicked realms such as Arcadia and the lands of the dead, and a relative tidal wave of Dragons. I expected better from White Wolf: using Atlantis, perhaps THE cheapest write-out for anything mythical. And as for the realms, the book barely offers anything in regards to using them in a story; a shame, really, considering the lack of major antagonists, with the exception of rival Mages, leaves someone running a Mage game little, and I mean VERY little, to work with. Awakening offers an improved, or at the least, organized way of understanding and carrying magic out. However, the free-form and adaptable beauty of Magic is tethered by the book's overt focus on Rotes, a laundry list that fills the bulk of the book. Additionally, their moral ladder, Wisdom, is by far the most restricting to work with out of the other books in the NWoD, and growing in power as a Mage is an exponential risk that would persuade any Mage to remain low-leveled, as to not invoke Paradox, or simply be discovered. Overall, Mage the Awakening lacks the substance of conflict, originality, or anything truly "magical," and instead serves as merely a shiny book to fill out your collection. |
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by Anna T
on 3/26/2009
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Mage!
I love Awakening far better then I did Ascension. Simply because the rules in Awakening are far more comprehensible on just what you can do for the level of spheres and Arcanum.
The possibilities are still there on what you can do with magic, it just has a better structure and frame to work with. That way an ST can look at a player and go, you only have 1 dot in the sphere, you don't have the power and ability to do x effect.
Its a far different game then Ascension and very enjoyable. |
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by DMPEI19
on 3/19/2009
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Mage = Awesome
Mage is different from before, but not better or worse. It be honest, one cannot fully compare old Mage to new Mage. The concept remains the same, you can pull and shape reality to your own whims, but reality isn't a passive thing. Reality can bite back. This is one of my favored systems, second only to old changeling. This is a recommended buy for any WoD fans, for those old WoD fans enter new mage with an open mind and you will be enlightened.
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by Joe
on 3/3/2009
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Excellent
By far my favorite wod game line. Followed closely by Changeling the Lost and Werewolf the Forsaken. |