Very cool setting, very interesting game system. The rules are a little rough in play, but not bad (and that could also be the fact that I haven't played it enough to really get into the groove with it.) Interesting core mechanic, amazing magic / karma system. My biggest complaint is that they hinted at this incredibly cool setting, but never came out with any additional supplements for it (and this is the kind of game that needs supplements.)

Fun game for a proactive group of innovative players, willing to define their own setting and suspend a certain amount of disbelief. Potential to get a little silly, but otherwise decent representation of this genre.

Fun game of city politics in an urban fantasy setting. Requires proactive, bought-in players, and you'll need to define the setting yourselves. But the system will support at least a few sessions of political drama.

The splats, character creation, and the basic rules are all great, an improvement over the classic game. The setting is not as cool - you've traded in being cosmic warriors raging against spirits of corruption, for... well, just being territorial supernatural gangsters. That could be kind of fun too (if less epic) if it weren't for the fact that you're at a serious disadvantage in fighting your primary enemies, spirits: they can hop between worlds anywhere, and you have to do so at special loci, which means they can always escape with minimal effort. No more running down your prey and tearing it apart; now you have to... wind silver wire around it three times?

I like this game a lot in theory. The concepts and setting are very cool, and this edition has pretty much everything you want from classic Mage in one place. The problem comes when you're trying to decide what can be done with the various spheres of magick, and what constitutes coincidental vs. vulgar magick. In practice, magick tends to turn into arguments or silliness.

Great supplement for anyone looking to hack or design their own game. The magic rules alone are worth the price of admission, even if you don't play Fate.

I like Fate in theory. Lots of really great game ideas. But when we get it to the table, it winds up feeling less like a roleplaying game than a storytelling experience moderated by Fate points ...which is fine if that's what you're looking for. I just like my games to give me a little more discovery, exploration, and surprise.

I like Fate in theory. Lots of really great game ideas. But when we get it to the table, it winds up feeling less like a roleplaying game than a storytelling experience moderated by Fate points ...which is fine if that's what you're looking for. I just like my games to give me a little more discovery, exploration, and surprise.

Good, fun game with a cool premise. A little spare on details, it left me wishing for a stack of supplements that, sadly, don't exist.

The first edition of this game was possibly the most fun I've ever had as a player. The second edition changed a few things in the setting, which maybe didn't make it better, but didn't make it worse either; it's still an awesome setting. Swordsman schools lost some of their luster, but weren't ruined. Sorcery was retooled in some very interesting ways - if possible, it's even better than it was in the first edition. Character generation is great, and I really like the way backgrounds and advantages are presented. My biggest gripe? The core mechanic is useless. I'm a veteran gamer of the crunchy and the fluffy, the trad and the indie... and I've tried to run this game multiple times, watched APs, and googled advice on how to run it. And the story falls flat on its face whenever the dice come out. It's a real shame because they had a perfectly serviceable core mechanic in the first edition - not perfect, but decent.

Super cool alternative to Fate dice, with lots of additional little tools built in, all in a beautiful design. It makes me wish I liked the Fate system better so I could use it more often.

I normally try not to review games I haven't actually played or run, but I had to say a few words about this one. The game itself, with its strings and stats and moves and agendas is amazingly elegant. Reading these rules actually changed how I GM other games, and how I think about game design. This would be a 5-star review if not for the subject matter, which is unabashedly all about horror, abuse, and underage sex.

This game was my younger kids' intro to tabletop RPGs when they were 5 and 7, and they loved it. Great game for kids, beautifully presented. If you're planning to run it, consider getting the physical box with the cards and dice and fiddly bits, which add to the overall experience. My kids still game with me today. We've moved on to more complex games, but there are elements of this game I still borrow, including PC pets and some of the GM advice.

The core rules for the new WoD game are solid. The designers cracked the code on character generation, and it's as good in this game as it's ever going to get. The game system also is solid, elegant, and works pretty well at the table. While the game may get a little wonky at higher levels or with some of the additional supernatural templates, it plays really, really well for a group of mortal investigators in a (modern) dark fantasy world.

As with Werewolf and Mage, the reimagining of Changeling made some improvements to the game mechanics and some interesting innovations in the splats (kiths and courts.) But (also as with Werewolf and Mage) it completely gutted everything I loved about the original setting, and replaced it with a world of torment, futility, and despair.