if you want to have your players at the center of advancing the mage metaplot within your story, this is a great jumpstart and set of materials. it has a lot of ideas to express about the possible future and results of decisions made in the mage setting, but it can be occassionally hard to navigate because there's so much to sift through. if you want an updated look at the world of darkness post-revised, this can help you figure out an chronicle to explore that with your players as decisive agents in the future of mage.

This product has a lot of potential, and I would love to see it expanded. It talks about some circumstances under which a new Horizon council could be formed, and what that would mean for Tradition mages, Technocrats and Disparates. It's well done, with good art (though the layout is just slightly off in a few ways) but the biggest thing it did was leave me wanting more, coming off as more of a sketch than anything else, though it never claims to be more, being a "jumpstart."

This book is a valiant attempt at advancing the metaplot post M20 in ways that provide interesting avenues for play. The book posits that after some down time, the Traditions are attempting to reform some sort of at least semi-centralized entity to coordinate activities and disseminate information. The book posits a few ways this could be done and a cast of characters that could make it possible. It's $6.00, includes art, and is a good length all things considered.

Notable:

• A novel Technocrat theory is advanced that the Traditions are necessary as a kind of escape valve for loonies lest they turn into more troublesome elements such as the Nephandi or the Marauders
• Not only do you get characters you also get organizations which can sometimes prove difficult to invent.
• There's simply a fat character. Mage seemingly has none of those.

I wish:

• I wish there were proper modules/adventures/scenes. This is more of a future-facing desire as I don't expect something this brief to have full write-ups.

A Phoenix Rising is an scenario book for use with Mage the Ascension. Set in Vegas, this book takes a look at the election of a new Horizon Council. The book serves somewhat as a sourcebook and some like an adventure chronicle. The book provides 5 suggested scenarios each taking a different prospective on politics of new council. The book even suggests numerous starting sessions for each of the 5 scenarios. The Tabletop Gaming Club took the time to play threw all the scenarios using the pregenerated characters provided, and had numerous weeks of enjoyment. The Tabletop Gaming Club recommends this book to all storytellers looking for jumping off point to a new chronicle.