|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The long and short of it is, This supplement is meant to be read, not played.
If you want to play Mage the Awakening as a Storyteller, this book is not for you. You would be better served mining fiction, comics, video games, or watching movies. Listening to HP Lovecraft audiobooks on YouTube would be better. If you really want to get something 'in lore' you will get better horror and antagonist ideas from other 1st edition core books, such as Werewolf or Hunter than from this supplement.
The whole thing reads like a bunch of frustrated novelists who submitted their ideas and got picked by an editor who has never actually played a roleplaying game. The ideas are either too lethal, unworkable, or would be such a short encounter that the pages of details in the book are superfluous.
And that’s the problem here. If you read the main rulebook (Mage 1st Edition), then there’s nothing here that a reasonably competent storyteller with a passion for nerdy fiction, horror, or otherwise coul...
Rating: [2 of 5 Stars!] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortitude is a boring Discipline, by design. Windows that don't shatter in a storm are boring, foundations that remain sturdy after an earthquake are boring. That's by design. With that in mind, the only goal of a remastering of the Discipline should be to keep it boring, dependable, and reliable.
To a degree, I think this book failed.
For the positives, I enjoy that there seem to be paths for this Discipline. Some powers are focused on making you a physical tank that can shrug-off anything short of a missile detonated a few feet away. Others make you mentally resilient, shrugging off mind control, terror, and perception like other users of the Discipline could ignore bullets. Finally, there's a sort of metaphysical fortitude, focusing on countering banes and other vampiric weaknesses. This adds a lot of variety and choice to an otherwise dull discipline.
However, some of the math simply doesn't add-up. Due to the fact that so many of these powers are persistent ...
Rating: [3 of 5 Stars!] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A tricky remaster of a tricky discipline.
The powers detailed in this book are all fun, interesting, and have a good spread between a heavy combat focus, a traversal focus, or an emphasis on utlity, meaning the discipline fits right in with any Kindred and few drastically rock the boat.
However, a few powers are problematic in regards to balance (at level one, throw cheap and theoretically unlimited objects so hard they count as a firearm attack for no rouse check! . . . oof) or wording that will probably lead to a ten-minute back-and-forth between you and your Storyteller about what a specific bit of phrasing meant.
Finally, the "Discipline Bonus" that makes each one of the disciplines stand-out and better define their user is a real let-down. It's dependent on the entire table using an alternate rule for the game just for the sake of one discipline, and offers no alternative if this isn't something everybody's on board with.
Overall, I still enjoyed rea...
Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!] |
|
|
|
|
|
|