Title: Mage: The Ascension (2nd Edition)
Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio
Game Type: Roleplaying
Price: $28.00 (hardcover)
Pages: 300
Number of Players: 2+
Requirements: Paper, pencils, polyhedral dice
Designers: Phil Brucato and Stewart Wieck

This highly detailed and open-ended roleplaying game introduces players to the Mages of The World of Darkness. Four factions dominate the struggle detailed here:

• The Traditions, or mages from the game Ars Magica
• The Technocracy, or mages who ignore the mystical and alter reality using science
• The Marauders, or chaotic anarchists, and
• The Nephandi, who have "chosen to follow the absolute Path of darkness and corruption."

The game is set in a world where ordinary mortals are called "sleepers." While sleepers are at the absolute mercy of Mages, those who sleep also curb the scope of magic use, as the universe has a way of correcting for impossible events (so long as they are observed).

By necessity, this book also addresses philosophical issues concerning reality, in large part explaining how various kinds of magic work and how they should work in a Storyteller gaming session. Divided into three "Books," Mage: The Ascension contains all the information needed for a player to develop a character to play the game, as well as all the details required for a Storyteller to run a campaign.

It is an axiom of roleplaying games that the more powerful the characters in relation to the world around them the tougher it is to make a game system hang together. In this second edition of the Mage rules, Brucato and Wieck do a fair job of assuring stability in a mind-boggling gaming environment.

Note: A longer and more detailed review of Mage appears in Shadis #27.--RL

Chapter One-Ders: Mage: The Introduction

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