Ascension's Right Hand (4/5)

This book fits into the frame of the Vampire supplement Ghouls and the Werewolf supplement Kinfolk. Somehow, in the minds of most, it hasn't become as iconic, and people out in the wild need to constantly be reminded that it exists. I recommend it regularly, and it's a solid book, though largely superseded in ways that the others haven't been.

The sections covering mundane allies and companions for mages has been largely subsumed into Gods and Monsters, as have the sections on Familiars, though it has valuable discussions of how the various factions handle these things differently. The discussion of more aware allies sits in the Sorcerer books, which present many more varieties of Numina.

Honestly, the main problem is that the book is dated. An update to it would be essential reading for running a Mage game.

Halls of the Arcanum (4/5)

Who are the biggest nerds in the World of Darkness? The Technocracy? The Order of Hermes? None of them hold a candle to the Arcanum.

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of the 1st person style for game books: though ambiguity leaves room for creativity, often clarity is what's needed. Here, though, it worked quite well. The story is told through the notes and letter, primarily of a new member joining the Arcanum and learning about it, but also from the founders of the society. The section on the Arcanum's secrets is told from the point of view of a Hermetic mage who has been investigating them. Fitting for such an organization, it leaves everyone in the dark.

Generally well-written (though there are a few cringe moments, like when it describes people with the G-slur, as WoD often did back in the day) the book is a useful companion to Ascension's Right Hand, showing what happens to occultists who don't end up attached to a Tradition but still have a burning need to know.