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Imperial Mysteries
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/06/2016 07:57:15

A newly-Awakened mage might feel that their new-found power is limitless, but they soon learn that it is not... but can it be? This work looks at those who push the limits, treat the 'rules' as mere guidelines if not challenges. For some, this may be a step too far, it certainly is for many mages as the opening story tells. Others, though, prefer to pursue this quest. Even if you don't want to take your game that far, your cabal may encounter the odd will-worker who has - as an ally or an enemy - and here you will find the resources to make that happen.

Here we learn of the archmasters, those who have smashed through the rules and forged their own, carved their own parth through the mysteries, understood the Imperial Practices, learned to control the fundamental forces of the fallen and supernal worlds... maybe even ascended... It's not an easy road to tread, it's not just a matter of acquiring more and more knowledge and adding more spells to your grimoire. The transition to archmastery is called the Threshold Seeking, and is so shattering to one's worldview that it is rightly described as a second Awakening. The accomplished mage suddenly realises that all the knowledge they've been gathering so painstakingly since they Awakened doesn't remotely describe what's really going on... and then they set to and begin to find the truth. The theme is that there is no going back, the mood is how dangerous it is to meddle in such matters. Even more dangerous are the others of similar power that are encountered: old gods, deathlords from the underworld and beings only dimly guessed at until they burst forth in contention.

The Introduction explains all this, and comments on how you might link in material from other books in the New World of Darkness (now Chronicles of Darkness) game lines. Then Chapter 1: Threshold talks about how one makes the transition from regular mage to archmaster and provides the rules necessary for developing magic power up to a mind-blowing (and character sheet wrecking) NINE dots, complete with example spells.

Then, Chapter 2: The Invisible Road looks at the world archmasters inhabit, the strange realms open to them to explore and the alliances they might forge - or conflicts they may enter into. This is continued in Chapter 3: The Supernal Ensemble, where we meet example archmasters from a range of factions in the Ascension War that's raging unbeknownst to most ordinary spell-slingers, never mind sleepers... along with plenty of equally-powerful beings that may be their adversaries.

Finally Chapter 4: Ascension looks at what this actually means and an appendix Imperium provides a system for playing archmasters in the Supernal World... where what they get up to can affect the very nature of reality. This super-high-powered stuff isn't for everyone, but if it appeals, there's plenty of Storytelling advice to help you make it happen in your game - whether your mages seek archmastery for themselves or just encounter one - or even the ripples in reality left by one - during a more conventional chronicle.

I'm torn. The academic side of me wants to delve ever deeper, but this whole concept is a bit of a game-changer. Do I want to bend my chronicles quite this much? I'm not sure. But archmasters can make excellent plot devices...



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Imperial Mysteries
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The Abedju Cipher (Mage: The Awakening)
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/04/2016 08:08:30

Do you know whom you can trust? And are you yourself trustworthy? This adventure, which can be run as a stand-alone or woven into an ongoing chronicle, lets you explore the whole concept of trust - and what happens when it is misplaced. It could serve as the initial adventure for a new cabal but can be scaled up relatively easily to challenge more experienced will-workers.

The plot itself is quite straightforward. A powerful artefact, the Abedju Cipher, is part of a travelling exhibition due to visit a local museum and there are those who'd like to, ah, acquire it for themselves. The cabal will get caught up in the shenanigans and will have plenty of opportunity to influence the course of events... once they have decided who, if anyone, they can trust. To support this plot you get an outline of events, some well-detailed NPCs (who, if you are running this as part of an ongoing chronicle, may well prove useful contacts or determined opponents in the future), and even a rather sketchy map of the museum. You may wish to substitute a better floorplan from a real museum, most hand them out as visitor guides or even have them on their websites - particularly useful if you have set your game in a real-world town.

Whilst there's considerable background on the Abedju Cipher, what it actually is and does is left open, although one suggestion is presented - one which I'm not sure would arouse quite as much interest in magical circles as the Cipher has in this scenario, however! Be that as it may, various factions are after it, and the plot revolves around their attempts and the cabal's reactions: will they aid one of the factions or even try to purloin the artefact for themselves? And given that at least one faction has decided to stage a heist, what will the cabal do when caught up in the middle of it... and will they be able to explain their actions to mundane law enforcement afterwards?

Good use of the Storytelling Adventure System is made to ensure that the copious details provided are well-ordered and can be accessed just when you need them. Eight fully-developed scenes are provided, with just two or three being core to the plot. The rest may be used, modified or left out entirely as suits your needs. These scenes are summarised on cards you can print out and have in hand when you run the adventure. Main NPCs come along with loads of background and role-playing notes to help them to come alive, and complete character sheets for when you need to get the dice out.

Overall, it's a cracking yarn and should provide an enjoyable session or two of play. Simple on the face of it, yet the scope for development and ramifications to spill over into the rest of your chronicle are tremendous.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Abedju Cipher (Mage: The Awakening)
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Ready-Made Player Characters (Mage: The Awakening)
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/03/2016 07:54:35

Opening with an explanation of how the individual mages came together, this work presents a ready-made and fully-detailed cabal for those who want to just jump in and start playing (perhaps a one-night game is planned rather than a whole chronicle) without having to make their own characters first. Of course, they'd also make excellent NPCs if it's necessary for your mages to meet up with (or vie with) another group of will-workers.

For each character, there is detailed personal background material that gives a clear idea of personality and approach to life and magic, and TWO character sheets, one for a started character and one for a more seasoned version. Illustrations, a physical description and role-playing hints help the character come to life.

With two members of the Mysterium, two members of the Adamantite Arrow and one unaligned, the group has an interesting balance. This is reflected in the personalities: an awkward geek, a scatty girl taking on responsibilities, a couple of older more responsible individuals and a teenage tearaway who lists 'Craft: Vandalism' amongst her abilities! Most players should find at least one of the characters congenial enough to play. It's also a good introduction to how to create a balanced cabal that will be able to work together.

Although the cabal itself is good to go, you will need to put some thought into their sanctum, although it is briefly touched upon in the introductory notes. That said, this is well worth a look for an excellent example of a cohesive group or indeed, for the intended purpose - ready-made PCs!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Ready-Made Player Characters (Mage: The Awakening)
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Mage Noir
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/30/2016 07:46:20

This is a fascinating sourcebook for anyone who wants to break out of the presumed 'present day' setting of Mage: The Awakening and take it back to 1940s America, drawing on the style of 'film noir' and hard-boiled detectives like Philip Marlowe as inspriation. The idea is to create the look and feel of the times rather than an historical recreation, but there's plenty of background material to help you get a grip on this. The Introduction explains all this, then lays out the theme as being 'the price of Awakening' and the mood as one of cynicism, laying out why these are felt to be appropriate.

Chapter 1: The Party's Over is a broad sweep through 1940s America, historically and culturally, designed to support the development of the theme and mood specified. This is developed further in Chapter 2: The Power and the Glory, which looks specifically at mages in 1940s America and how this particular time period affected individual and organisational outlooks, and the ways in which the various orders operate, a theme continued in Chapter 3: Nice Guys Finish Last. This chapter also describes what is like to Awaken in the 1940s, and come to Supernal understanding at this time in history, and there's also some discussion about how having participated in World War 2 might affect both the Awakened and those whose service contributed to their Awakening... and how they might feel when they got back home.

Next, Chapter 4: Stories in the Naked City addresses the sort of chronicles you might want to run, with loads of examples, tips and tricks to help you get started. But that's not all, there is a complete adventure (using the Storyteller Adventure System) in which the mages investigate a messy murder. And if you want to drive straight in, there's the Lamppost Cabal, pre-generated characters who are products of the time and have banded together to face the future together - and hopefully make some money in the process (a key sub-theme of this setting...).

Everything is neatly bundled up to make a mage-filled version of 1940s America come to life on your tabletop. You'll note I have coupled the date and the location throughout, for this is very much America-centric as well as being set in the 1940s. There's scope for exploring the effects of global war and technological advance in the rest of the world in your game, but this book - although it might give you a few ideas - is not designed for anyone running a game set outside of America. It captures the whole film noir vibe quite well and should help you craft some vivid and memorable chronicles.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mage Noir
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Lines of Power (Mage: The Awakening)
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/17/2016 13:15:20

This is a complete ready-to-play adventure for Mage: The Awakening which can be dropped in to whatever else is going on in your chronicle with little difficulty, or used as a one-off. It uses the Storytelling Adventure System, which basically means that it's best run from the PDF as you get the advantage of extensive hyperlinking and the like.

The adventure really only works if your cabal has an established Sanctum and Hallow, because the plot involves having to fight to defend it: if you want to weave this into an ongoing chronicle, make sure that they have reached this point first. It all begins when someone comes round invoking the Right of Hospitality - the bounden duty to aid a fellow mage in difficulties by letting them stay for a while - on the grounds that they are being attacked by whoever the cabal's current rivals might happen to be. From then on, things go downhill really fast.

A lot of background material is provided about the people involved and what they are trying to accomplish, which enables you to play them to good effect. The plot's deliciously devious as well, and is laid out clearly once you've been introduced to the NPCs. There are opportunites for combat and for investigation and at least one point when your mages ought to be wondering what just hit them!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Lines of Power (Mage: The Awakening)
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New Paths 9: the Priest (Pathfinder RPG)
Publisher: Kobold Press
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/17/2016 13:03:22

If you've ever had dealings with real-world ministers of religion - be it a father or a vicar, an imam or a rabbi - you know they have very little in common with the average fantasy 'cleric' apart from devotion to their deity. This priest is a bit different from the clerics you're used to playing, and wouldn't dream of picking up a weapon to further his deity's ends (spells, however, are a different matter!).

OK, so what do you get? Like any class, there's some descriptive text explaining what it's all about, the fundamental features of the class... and a rather good and dramatic drawing that suggests a spell is being cast. Then there is the usual game mechanical stuff: hit points, alignment, class skills and progression chart, then the class features are listed.

Spellcasting is a bit interesting. The priest has to prepare his spells in advance, but once he has cast a given spell it's not 'gone' - he can cast it again provided he's not cast his full allowance of spells at that level. The number of spells that can be prepared is a bit limited (and a high Wisdom doesn't help here although feats do), however the choice is wide - pretty much any cleric spell is available. The number of spells the priest can actually cast does attract a wisdom bonus. Priests also get a bonus 'cure' (if good) or 'inflict' (if evil) spell on top of the others they may learn. Neutral priests can choose which type (cure or inflict), but once made that choice is permanent. To prepare spells, the priest needs to meditate or pray for an hour, which should be at the same time every day.

Another neat feature is the Divine Gift. The priest can pray, asking his deity for a specific blessing on himself or the rest of the party - there's a list of benefits from which the priest can choose at the time of uttering the prayer. These include things like spell enhancements, the priest going invisible or being able to fly, and even calling down a divine intervention, allowing any one player to re-roll a single d20 roll with the addition of half the priest's level to the result - and still being able to choose which roll, the new one or the original one, to use!

The book rounds off with a couple of new feats and a nature-based archetype, the Chosen of Nature. They use the druid spell lists rather than the cleric ones. There's an interesting sketch of a rather punk-looking Chosen of Nature having a chat with a young fallow deer, too... although the best piece of art in the book is a white-robed fellow who really gives over the impression of having his God on his side. (Unfortunately it's not signed so I don't know which of the three artists credited is responsible.)

This makes for an interesting class, appealing to the player who enjoys getting into the role and playing a character using his powers in the service of his deity.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
New Paths 9: the Priest (Pathfinder RPG)
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Mage Chronicler's Guide
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/15/2016 07:46:25

This book presents a wealth of ideas to spark the Storyteller's imagination, emphasising just how broad the scope of this game is and the multitude of things you can do with a 'contemporary magic' game. This is exemplified by the opening fiction, which tells the tale of four children Awakening... what does happen to those who Awaken early? Did someone (or something) help them to come into their powers in advance of when they would normally develop?

Chapter 1: Genres of the Awakened World explores seven different styles of game you could run, concentrating on mood and tone and emphasis rather than game mechanics, although any new rules you might need are provided. The genres explored are action horror, pulp adventure, epic fantasy, Faustian sorcery, lucid sleepers (this is an urban fantasy approach with mages living amongst normal folks, hiding yet using their powers), punk, and noir. Masses to conjure with here!

Next, Chapter 2: Mirror Magic looks at changing the very essence of what 'magic' is... mechanically, the rules stay pretty much the same, but it might be weird science or perhaps mages cast their spells by taking drugs, or maybe it's all psychic powers.

Then, Chapter 3: Building Character discusses not just characters themselves, but the things that define them: cabal, path and order; and looks at how to enhance and change them to suit your needs. It also covers magical 'style' in depth, looking at how it works and how it affects each character, complete with pertinent game mechanics.

Finally, Chapter 4: Mage Chroncles contains three artiles about running the game. One looks at a three-tier concept, the second considers that awkward fact that using magic the characters might find it too easy to gather information and thus derail your plot - find out how to make that work for you rather than against you - and the last one considers what happens when your mages get really powerful.

I said 'finally' but actually there is more: a whole fifteen chronicle ideas. These might inspire you to come up with your own ideas, or you may choose to run with them more or less 'as is'... or modify them to suit your requirements. Ideas a-plenty. This is a book to read whilst you are plotting your next game, rather than with a mind to changing the current one (unless perhaps you decide to end an otherwise conventional chronicle with all the 'mages' waking up in rehab having finally dried out from whatever they were taking!). Loads of ideas to sift through and consider, plenty of scope to help you let your imagination run riot!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mage Chronicler's Guide
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Night Horrors: The Unbidden
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/13/2016 08:20:55

Opening with a weird bit of fiction - the reflections of someone around whom terrible things happen, yet they can never quite remember - the Introduction begins by talking about the rules of magic. In, that it ought to have them, and indeed does... just that they are not always clear, even to those who study magic and make use of it. Even those who practice magic only think they know what they are doing, it can be unpredictable - a bit like herding cats. This book asks what happens when magic enters the world unbidden, just as a tornado or forest fire doesn't trouble to ask before it destroys your house. Magic doesn't care, if one can anthropomorphise for a moment, whether the mage wielding it is able to control it or not. Magic changes things, sometimes for the better and sometimes not, but always for the weirder.

So what does that mean for our game? Using magic is, for most mages, a pleasreable activity, a bit of a rush even - but it can so easily get out of hand. Mages can get carried away, drunk on their own abilities and power, becoming filled with pride at what they can do... and that's when magic turns and bites them, or escapes to cause unintended effects elsewhere in the world. This book is jam-packed with ideas for handling such events and their consequences in your game... it's time to make magic scary!

To aid you in making this happen, this tome contains a whole bunch of... well, antagonists for want of a better word. In presenting this feeling of forces bigger than the mages attempting to use them, and scary to boot, concentrate on description, on building up atmosphere - show, not tell. Each entry is designed to provide resources to make that happen, with detailed descriptions and backgrounds, secrets and rumours and above all story hooks - ideas about how to weave them into your plots and indeed build entire plots around them.

There are four sections, based on the nature of the entities therein. First up are Mages - well, that's obvious. We know what mages are. But these ones, well - the magic has got to them. Some are innocent (but no less dangerous for all that), others know exactly what they are doing and revel in it. Next is Characters and Creatures. They are not mages but have been touched by magic in some manner. Then there are Constructs and Objects. Not all artefacts were created deliberately, on purpose. Sometimes they just... happen. Then there are Conditions and Infections. States of being that can arise when magic and paradox run riot. As a bonus, there is actually a fifth section, Places. This describes three places where magic has got so far out of hand that it's affected entire locations.

If you like the idea of magic almost having a mind of its own, running amok, you will find ideas to inspire and help you make it happen in your game. Even better, if you'd like to inject some honest-to-goodness horror into your chronicle, here are some tools to freak out the most self-contained and confident will-workers. Indeed, it's when your mages are getting confident, think they know what they are doing and have everything under control, that it is a perfect time to spring something from this book upon them. But use sparingly: less is more when it comes to horror and wild magic... even a small instance will have everyone nervous about their next spell!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Night Horrors: The Unbidden
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Summoners
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/12/2016 09:13:18

Many ancient magical traditions touch on the summoning of otherworldly powers, and the Awakened too reach out to gain information, power or other favours from beings not of this world. The opening fiction tells of a strange 'prayer wheel' that is connected to some being that the protagonist's grandfather summoned and made a pact with - instead of prayers it sends forth the being's name through strange glyphs - and has, of course, an unsavoury undertone, an implied threat that means it's not really safe to meddle with such things.

Indeed the dangers and risks often outweigh the benefits, not that this stops mages from dabbling, often calling upon beings too powerful for them to control, beguiled by the possibilities, the terrifying splendours, they perceive to be on offer. This book is designed as a resource for anyone going down the summoning route, building on what's in the core rulebook and presenting a whole lot of new stuff about otherworldly entities and the ways in which mages can interact with them. No one size fits all, there are a range of options and the Storyteller is encouraged to decide which will work and which are but traps for the unwary, the incautious and the over-eager. Some summonings are easy to perform, others very complex and/or requiring exotic materials and lengthy preparation of both mage and ritual.

Chapter 1: From Distant Shores opens proceedings by discussing the nature of the beings that can be summoned. Note that there's no discussion of their home planes or worlds, the struggle between them and our mages will be fought here... mages wouldn't last an instant in the sort of places that they come from!

Next, Chapter 2: From the Five Towers looks at Supernal summoning... but beware: they have a nasty habit of turning up to test mages, seeing if they are worthy before granting any boons or conferring any powers upon them.

Then Chapter 3: From the Endless Dark delves into the Abyss to see what can be dredged up... if you dare. It doesn't sound advisable to meddle here, opening doorways to allow unspeakable horrors out... you get the picture. Some do dare, however, and if very skilled and extremely lucky may retain life, limb or sanity. Many do not.

This is followed by Chapter 4: From Stranger Spheres (as if the ones in the earlier chapters weren't strange enough), where the unknown is explored, stuff that is even outside Awakened philosophy and knowledge. Beings that sometimes attempt to slither in uninvited or beguile unwary mages into inviting them in. A few come bearing gifts, many bring death and destruction, others are just curious... but what passes for innocent curiousity may be extremely dangerous to any mortal encountering it.

Finally, Chapter 5: Otherwordly Compacts gets down to the game mechanics necessary to handle the processes of summoning. There is much of interest to any mage who might wish to dabble, let alone those who want to make summoning their life's work. The main focus is on forming pacts with whatever has been summoned, but there are Legacies, merits, and much, much more as well.

This work opens up a whole area of magical endeavour, giving plenty of scope for mages who want to explore this type of magic or even just give it a go. Certainly a good resource for groups for whom the magic itself is central to their game, it raises interesting questions for those who enjoy the dilemmas that can face their characters, there's plenty of story potential... what's not to like?



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[5 of 5 Stars!]
Summoners
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Black magic
Publisher: 0one Games
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/10/2016 13:08:36

Linking neatly in to the previous two adventures that 0one Games has produced for Dungeons & Dragons 5e, this one is also set in the former County of Boskerry, once a pleasant place but now fallen into wild and dangerous shape due to the last Count having been afflicted by vampirism. Naturally, it's fairly simple to run the adventure in a suitable swamp in a frontier area of your own game world if you prefer.

Almost as long as there's been a swamp, there have been rumours of a 'swamp witch' living there - some say she might provide useful information to those who do her bidding, but most of the rumours cast her in darker light, abducting children and other such mischief. The introduction and adventure summary lay out what is really going on (and who this swamp witch is) for the DM.

Several hooks are provided to get the party involved, and once they are there's a nice swamp to travel through to get to where the swamp witch is said to live. It's pretty foggy, and witches are not the only critters living there. When they reach the hut, there's a clear map and copious notes about what is to be found there. The map does show secret doors and other things not immediately obvious, so you'll have to come up with something of your own if your players like maps to look at.

Whilst on the face of it, this is a fairly straightforward 'deal with the wicked witch' adventure, it has sufficient twists and turns to keep even jaded adventurers interested - and challenged. There's also a useful little note on how to handle lower-level characters who decide to go to the 'wrong' place and end up here before they are ready to cope with the witch as detailed here, a nice touch especially if you like to treat your game world as an entire place your party may roam over as they please.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Black magic
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Seers of the Throne
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/09/2016 07:59:11

The Seers of the Throne are power-hungy, power-mad even, and will do literally whatever it takes to gain it, no matter the cost. And, judging by the opening fiction (nicely legible this time, at least) they tend to be fairly foul-mouthed about it too. They serve the Exarchs, and are granted great power and reward for their services... but their service is aimed at one thing: keeping humanity in its place, preventing them for attaining their potential. Yet they are human themselves, even if even more self-serving than most. They believe themselves better than the rest, perhaps wishing to right perceived wrongs done them before they Awakened, filled with arrogance and thoroughly enjoying the material largesse they receive from their masters.

The clear intent is that the Seers be used as antagonists, but the material in this book is presented in the same way as the other Order books - so if you do have a group who like the idea of vast material wealth and power with a few distasteful tasks required to get it, it might be an option to let them be the Seers. It's more likely that you will have them as enemies, however, so here are the tools to make them really come to life within your alternate reality.

Chapter 1: A History of Loyalty looks at their history as recorded through their own eyes - given their self-serving tendencies, others may beg to differ at many if not all points. It gives a good overview of both their past and present concerns, however as well as a fair bit of detail about the way that the operate.

Then Chapter 2: Serving the Exarchs gets down to the philosophy, beliefs and dogma that membership in this order entails. Complete obedience to the will of the Exarchs is central, no matter what their request, however costly at a personal level or even to your soul. This chapter also describes how they operate and are organised.

Next, Chapter 4: Heads of the Hydra delves more deeply into organisational matters... they are full of factions and sub-groups, sometimes cooperating and sometimes resulting in friction. There are plenty of examples to provide you with ready-made groups to throw at your mages - or have working away behind the scenes thwarting them covertly, often a more likely way of operating. (The Appendix: Antagonists has more fully-detailed individuals, complete with game statistics, to be used as both combatant and non-combatant NPCs.)

Finally, Chapter 5: Gifts of the Exarchs lays out the magical resources that the Seers can access. The usual collection of magical traditions, spells, artefacts and so on to play with.

This is a neat approach, giving some of the major adversaries your mages will face the same type of structure and resources as their own orders have. It certainly provides plenty of scope for machinations and devious plots, and a wealth of suggestions as to how to use the Seers to best effect in your game. For the sake of your mages' souls, though, encourage them not to enlist with the Seers!



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[5 of 5 Stars!]
Seers of the Throne
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Doctor Who - Paternoster Investigations
Publisher: Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd.
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/08/2016 08:38:52

Although Doctor Who visited Victorian England many a time, it was after the 2005 're-boot' that recurrent visits to the same place (London) and time commenced, with the development of a group of characters who remained constant visit to visit: the Paternoster Gang. This book empowers adventures that utilise this background and characters.

So who are the Paternoster Gang anyway? Basically they are a rather unlikely not to say unusual bunch who have come together in late-Victorian London to undertake Doctor-like roles in defending their patch from alien encroachment. They are led by Madame Vastra, a Silurian warrior no less, who was roused by the excavation of early parts of the London Underground and manages to conceal what she is under Victorian formal dress. She is assisted by her maid, Jenny Flint, who is rather more than a maid although presents as such to conform to the morals of the time... they've fallen for one another, you see, something the Victorians could not understand or condone, did they but know. So they live as lovers behind closed doors, presenting a different face to the world at large. She also has a Sontaran butler, Strax. All three are bound together by a complex back story in which the Doctor is heavily involved.

It starts off with An Age of Marvels. This covers the late-Victorian era and the Doctor's previous adventures there. Sweeping social and technological change, mostly steam-powered, mark it as a distinctive and pivotal time in Earth's history. The British Empire sprawls across the globe and fog swirls through the streets of London engulfing rich and poor alike - and the divide is wide indeed, with a clearly-defined class structure. There's a broad sweep of history, what 'Victorian' actually means and what went on throughout her reign, to enable you to capture the feel of the times in your game without getting bogged down in historical detail. There are notes on real historical figures, from the Royal Family to artists, scientists, explorers, writers and inventors. Then the narrative steps back to view everything through the lens of the Doctor and aliens being real, and being there. Timelines mix real-world and the Doctor and more to create an alternate history, and there are synopses of all relevant Doctor Who adventures (although if you want more detail you are best off consulting the appropriate Doctor Who Sourcebook from the series published by Cubicle 7 Entertainment.

Next is The Paternoster Guide to London. It's a lot more than a sourcebook to London of the time, although it is that; there's more specific material from the game point of view such as places used by the Paternoster Gang and useful contacts... not to mention some choice villains. And it opens with a delightful picture of Strax in his butler clothes pouring a cup of tea in perfect style. There's lots of detail about places to go - some real and some not - and just reading through sparks ideas for adventure even before you get to the next chapter.

Then comes Victorian Adventurers. What about Companions who come from this time and place? Or natives of it who intend to remain there and deal with any alien menaces that come their way? Here you find out how to create them, and see how the likes of the Paternoster Gang shape up in game terms... or perhaps you'd like to create your own group in similar style with whom to run your own adventures. Or they might be friends and allies of the Paternoster Gang. The options are legion, and there's plenty of material to support whatever you and your group decide to do. Yes, you too can be an alien... and there are some delightfully steam-punk Victorian gadgets to play with as well.

The Paternoster Campaign provides a wealth of advice about devising adventures and, yes, whole campaigns in this particular setting. It has a particular emphasis on the investigative style of adventure, the sort of thing Madame Vastra herself gets up to, especially when the Doctor isn't there to interfere. Again, just dipping in to this chapter starts ideas spawning and wheels turning, whether you want to bring an existing group here, create Victorian adventures as in the previous chapter and run adventures for them, or even have them step forth into the rest of the space-time continuum... the options are many.

Finally, there's a complete adventure, A Study in Flax. It's a bit of a murder-mystery, the clues leading to time-travelling mischief and people doing bad things for good reasons. There's lots going on, and several familiar characters are involved, some of them of course being alien.

This book succeeds admirably in bringing late-Victorian London as viewed from the Doctor's side alive. It will enhance any visit your group might make, or maybe inspire an entire campaign set there... but whether you merely visit occasionally or set up shop there, now you know what it's really like!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Doctor Who - Paternoster Investigations
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Heavenring Village: Virtual Boxed Set©
Publisher: 0one Games
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/07/2016 12:12:35

Heavenring Village is a completely-mapped entire village, right down to every room in every house. Each area of the village is available separately, but if you fancy a complete village in that level of detail, this is the product that you want to purchase. Your download will contain eight separate files that comprise eleven buildings in total, along with a massive overview map and an extensive file that gives you space to write detailed notes about each individual room in the entire village.

The Referee Map file contains a vast 'poster map' version and the same spread over four pages that can be printed separately and stuck together if you don't have commercial printing facilties to hand. The usual technical wizardry (the Rule the Dungeon button) enables you to set various parameters before you print - the usual furniture and doors, and type of grid (hex, square or none) and an additional one... you can choose to see the roof rather than the floorplan of each building - nice for the party rogue!

The other file unique to this product is Templates. This presents all 101 rooms contained in the village, one per page. Each room is depicted in detail with plenty of space for you to write out your own notes - room description, who is in there and what they are doing, what's to be found if you search and so on. It's an excellent planning tool, the only drawback is that you have to print it out and scribble your notes, it's not set up so that you can type them in (although if you're good with the 'comment'tools in Adobe Acrobat you might be able to manage!).

Overall, if you have need of a very detailed small village, get this!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Heavenring Village: Virtual Boxed Set©
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Secrets of the Ruined Temple
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/06/2016 09:05:27

This chronicle book, containing the very sort of adventures I love that combine cod-archaeology with the game world, get off to a bad start - the flavour fiction at the beginning is virtually illegible, block printed on a dark, heavily-patterned background. As far as I can make out it's an account of a mage-driven expedition to South America in search of Atlantean secrets and there's something about a solar eclipes in there too, but something that should have set the scene admirably falls flat on its face through poor layout.

So, moving on swiftly to the Introduction, there's a summary of the history all mages teach their pupils about the past glories of Atlantis and how only scraps remain... but maybe, just maybe, there is more out there to be discovered. This book is a guide and resource for those who want to have the search for further material as part of their on-going adventures. But it doesn't do it in a way you might expect. The Storyteller won't find complete maps and inventories of Atlantis ready for the cabal to explore. Rather, it actually makes things more mysterious, presenting multiple possibilities and even more questions, rather than answers. The idea is that you use these resources to come up with your own version of Atlantis and are then armed with appropriate clues to scatter throughtout your ongoing chronicle for the mages to pick up on. Neat, and novel, idea.

Chapter 1: Atlantean Apocrypha starts with what it says in the core rulebook, then builds on it and twists it out of all recognition with variant legends of Atlantis for you to pick through and decide which (if any) works for you. Or you may be inspired to come up with your own, of course. Don't discard the bits you don't decide are the truth, though. They might be deliberate misinformation, or erroneous information that has crept in through the generations.

Next, Chapter 2: Beneath the Sediment provides a wealth of advice about planning and running cod-archaeology adventures involving finding and exploring Atlantean ruins. It includes ways to get your mages interested (and the things that their elders might say to dissuade them) as well as hints and tips on designing the actual places they will go poking around in... and the perils they might find there, which are covered in Chapter 3: Gatekeepers and Treasures, along with ideas for the sort of loot they might possibly escape with if they are really, really lucky.

Finally Chapter 4: The Living Temple takes matters to an entirely new level... the Astral Plane. Those who dare to poke around within dream and myth may find awesome secrets... or their own undoing. To round everything off, there's an Appendix: High Speech and Atlanean Runes jam-packed with the mysteries surrounding the language and writing of the ancients, a new look at the magical words and glyphs all mages work so hard to master.

Overall, this is a fascinating tome to dip in to: there is a lot to digest, and you'll have to do a fair amount of preparatory work before you have a chronicle ready to run... but this work will give you tools and ideas to run enthralling adventures delving into the Atlantean past - so despite the opening, it's 5 stars :)



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Secrets of the Ruined Temple
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Magical Traditions
Publisher: White Wolf
by Megan R. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/05/2016 07:59:38

Opening with a tale about a city-Awakened mage learning to make use of traditional folk songs to direct her magic, this book is all about the links and correlations between the magic of this game and real-world folklore and occult traditions. It makes sense, after all: throughout history there have been people who have believed in magic, and ones who have claimed to be actually able to work it. Whether or not that is true in the real world, for the purposes of this game it's likely that at least some of these claimants have been Awakened and that their magic is real... and others may still have been touched by the Supernal even if they are not fully Awakened.

The Introduction discusses potential cross-overs between the Supernal and the fallen world mortals occupy and how these may give rise to occult traditions and folklore outwith that taught by mages drawing on Atlantean teachings. Many Awakened mages are distainful of the idea and will have nothing to do with such legends, but others seek them out and try to find meaning within them. For those who'd like to do so, this book presents a selection of established real-world occult and folklore traditions that can be woven through the magic of your game. It's an exciting thought, I'm sure I'm not the only one with a goodly collection of materials that I've tried to incorporate into the magic system of whatever game I was playing at the time!

Chapter 1: Supernal Correspondences deals with this whole concept in much greater depth, there's plenty here for the more scholarly mage to get their teeth into, then following chapters review various traditions. For each tradition, there are notes about its real-world traditions and practices, along with sample rotes that a mage might glean from them and storytelling ideas, and even thoughts on alternative forms of magic, including the necessary rules to make them work in your game. The traditions covered are Kabbalah, Taoist Sorcery, Santeria, the Templars, Theosophy, Appalacian Hoodoo and Entheogen Cults... but if your favourite one isn't there, not to worry: Chapter Five tells you how to give other traditions the same treatment!

It all makes for a fascinating read, and by incorporating traditions, stories and ideas from outside the game's own magic system you can make the whole thing more vivid and real... as players may have heard some of them long before they started to play Mage: The Awakening and will start to make their own connections. There's potential for some very powerful storytelling here!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Magical Traditions
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