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A lot of enthusiasm went into this supplement, it's a good size, there's a lot of work building up the setting for use with Hunter the Vigil. The first chapter is about the various monsters of the day, and suggests plot hooks for the assorted gamelines and how and why hunters might work on bringing them down. It includes a new group called the Old Ones, with one example one in the Healers, that seem to be the precursor to Cheiron. The second chapter has some compacts or what would be called conspiracies, considering the narrow regional aspect of the game and the lack of things like international communication, most of the groups seem to be precursors of more well-known groups in modern nights. This brings us to my sole problem with the book. The third chapter introduces the first candles, the first groups of hunters of the vigil. The Wolf Cult, followers and blessed by the Pangaean Wolf, who have a really interesting ability, and the Guardians of the Wise, who do a valuable d...
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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Oddly, this is far and away the most optimistic World of Darkness book I've read. Sure, the forces of the Wyrm are powerful, even overwhelming. But the recurring theme seems to be "they can be beaten, if people get their act together." Half of them could be solved in minutes if the Garou could work with the Awakened to deal with them, for example. It goes into detail on the Urge Wyrms and the Maeljin Incarnae (including how to destroy them), then talks about Pentex (and all of its internal strife), then there's Tribebook: Black Spiral Dancer (they're a mess, it's almost confusing how they're still around), then other stuff (again, a chaotic mess that shouldn't be able to work together), and finally toys.
Overall, it's a great book, and can be adapted to other World of Darkness games as well as Werewolf, and somehow turns out to be optimistic (we can win!) and pessimistic (but we'll never get our shit together) at the same time....
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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As with the previous 2nd editions of Chronicles of Darkness games, this is a highly polished effort with improved art direction, excellent rules for magic and by it being a self contained game. Its also notable shifted away from the Atlantis backstory emphasis of the previous edition, which is a welcome change.
Notably, this Mage game is only half the size of it's intimidatingly huge cousin, Mage: The Ascension, and will be certainly easier to play for newcomers. It manages this by missing out on much of the more gonzo, philosophical and real world culture referencing material of the former - and may feel a bit bland by comparison for the original game's fans. As a toolkit for running modern magical stories, like those you might find in a Vertigo comic, its a highly polished product, but it's still an obvioulsy fictional world with comic book tropes rather than an exploration of real occult concepts in many respects.
Regardless, it's a great addition to the Chro...
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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The Gates of Damascus breaks new ground for the Dark Ages setting, both historically and geographically.It explores medieval Syria, with two domains, Raqqa and Amman explored in detail. Unlike the essentially Eurocentric perspective of many Dark Ages supplements, it's not written in the manner of a "visitor's guide" but rather with Syria, and characters hailing from Syria, as its focus. While it can't comrehensively explore the multilayered history and culture of so ancient and turbulent a reason, it very effectively conveys a sense of how complex they are, and gives the reader the starting points to look for more information. The book also explores the genesis of the Ikhwan, better known to long-term Masquerade and Dark Ages players as the Web of Knives. For Storytellers looking to set all or part of their chronicles in Syria it contains everything needed "out of the box" - maps, a diverse range of NPCs, political, historical and cultural information...
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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