The Book of Worlds (Mage - the Ascension) [Paperback]

Harry Heckel (Author), Phil Brucato (Author), Chris Hind (Author), Kathleen Ryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Pass through the Gauntlet, wander past the Penumbra, and encounter an infinity of worlds floating just beyond consciousness. Heavens, hells, Paradox Realms, Chantries, Umbral reflections and mysterious zones spin in the unmappable dance of creation. Push on through the Horizon, and endless space becomes your playground. Just watch your step. Wise travelers need a guide. Between these covers, a collection of mysticks offers such assistance, based upon their own observations and discoveries. Cosmology, traveler tips and Realm descriptions fill this book to overflowing. Heed their words; they may save your soul. THE BOOK OF WORLDS is a massive sourcebook for Umbral travelers, detailing rough cosmologies, sample Realms and mystick places. Crossover compatible with WEREWOLF and the other WORLD OF DARKNESS games Details about the puzzling Worlds Beyond, including the Three Umbrae, the Hollow World and myriad Realms - Balador, Autocthonia, Victoria Station, and many others Creatures, vessels, Storyteller Hints and much more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 197 pages
• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565044347
• ISBN-13: 978-1565044340
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,238,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Gaming > Mage

More About the Author

SatyrPhil Brucato, aka Phil Brucato, Satyros, or just plain Satyr, sold his first professional story to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword & Sorceress IX anthology in 1990. During White Wolf's "classic WOD" period, he co-created the Mage, Sorcerers Crusade, Werewolf, Changeling and Vampire: Dark Ages lines, contributing to over 80 books for the Wolf. The next decade saw him author Deliria: Faerie Tales for a New Millennium, Everyday Heroes, Goblin Markets: The Glitter Trade, and popular columns for Realms of Fantasy, Witches & Pagans, and NewWitch magazine.

Satyr's fiction has appeared in Weird Tales, Steampunk Tales, a slew of collections, and the Bad-A$$ Fairies series. Recently, he co-edited the benefit collection Ravens in the Library, founded Silver Satyr Studios, and produced the webcomic series Arpeggio. An occasional hiker, avid dancer and constant reader, Satyr lives in Seattle with his partner Sandra Buskirk, two ragdoll cats, and a snake named Silk.

Check out Satyr's blog at http://satyrblade.livejournal.com, his webcomic at http://www.arpeggiothecomic.com/, and his Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=126494504028229.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just plain incredible..., June 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Worlds (Mage - the Ascension) (Paperback)

A note to players: This book is not for you. There is nothing, at all, in this book that it would benefit you to get. Unless you're a Mage storyteller, don't so much as TOUCH this book. Got it? Unless there's no chance you'll ever be involved in an Umbral campaign. Got it?

Beyond the Barriers: The Book of Worlds is an absolutely incredible Storyteller's resource for everything lying within the Umbra, for any of the WoD games, not just Mage. Unlike its partner Umbra: The Velvet Shadow for Werewolf, it actually covers the entirety of the spirit realms, not just one layer. Mages usually involve themselves most in the Astral/High Umbra and the Horizon Realm, and both these are described, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Shadowlands and Tempest of Wraith are in here (the Low Umbra), as are the Middle Worlds realms that the Garou are familiar with (but only those that mages have some business in, and from a willworker point of view; for example, the Abyss, Aetherial Realm, and the Cyberrealm are all presented, but they're known to mages as the Chasm, the Aetherian Reaches, and Dystopia), and even the Dreaming of the Changelings is put in its place among the other spirit realms. But in this book, you also find the Hollow Earth, Technocracy outposts on the moon (Darkside Moonbase), in orbit on the opposite side of the sun from earth (Autocthonia), and even a Dyson Sphere the Void Engineer's 'created' around one of the Centauri suns. Each planet in the solar system, the asteroid belt, and a bunch of moons are described, as are the Shard Realms they coexist with and the Shade Realms they reflect on earth's Horizon.

A very comprehensive, coherent, and in-depth work; absolutely fascinating material, and very useful. Between the Barriers is presented almost completely as an in-character narration from a bunch of different sources; there are two main writers (a Daughter of Ether and an Orphan Technomancer) who are compiling a traveller's guide to the Umbra, and they call in a bunch of other mages to write about topics in their specialty (a Euthanatos to talk about the Shadowlands; a Celestial Choruster<sp> about the astral Heavens and Hells; an ex-Void Engineer to blab about Technocracy realms). The bulk of the book is flavor text and descriptions with very little rules (applying too much system to the spirit realms kills the mystique and bogs down the experience), and what rules are needed are presented in an appendix in the back. An awesome, awesome book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Limitless Adventures, February 7, 2003

By 

A. Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Worlds (Mage - the Ascension) (Paperback)

This book is a must for Mage fans interested in dimensional adventures. Whether you're a Void Engineer, Son of Ether, Dreamspeaker, a sleeper etc, this book has something for you. The book is presented as a guide by a charismatic Daughter of Ether and her associates. Not only is it an entertaining book, it also provides a tremendous amount of information on various dimensions, worlds, starships, and creatures from the Void. Story possibilities are endless. Don't hesitate to obtain a copy of this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expand your worlds!, March 12, 2001

By 

Andrés Felipe Pabón L. (Bogotá, DC Colombia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Worlds (Mage - the Ascension) (Paperback)

A great book which explores the different places you can meet in the Umbra. I specially loved this book because it lets you get your Mages in whole new universes, where rules can be as twisted as you can devise. It also brings information about what Mages seem to know about more obscure subjects, such as the Dark Umbra (Shadowlands) and Maya (The Dreaming), and even information about the worlds beyond the Horizon, which can become a very interesting setting for a chronicle (a deep space etherite exploration vessel chronicle anyone?).

The style is also great, resembling a scientific article compilation made by Alexis Hastings, etherite extraordinare, with the colaboration of several of her contacts. Each section is written by an "expert" in that area.