Customer Reviews

Guide to the Technocracy (Mage: The Ascension)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the best aspects of M:TA, in my opinion, is the idea that there is no absolute truth. No 'right' or 'wrong'. No good guys or bad guys (well.. except for the Nephandi, of course...) This is the strong point of this book, but unfortunally also the weak point of it. It's important to undestand that the Technocrats are not 'the bad guys'. In fact, they see themselves as 'the good guys', and they have many good reasons to believe so. This is a point that the book explains well, showing the ideology and the ways the union operates. However, it fails, in my opinion, in one point: while in Mage no one view of reality is correct or incorrect, the underlying feeling of this book is that the Traditions view of reality is the correct one. When I read it I got the feeling the author said: "Well, this is how the Technocracy sees it, but we both know they're wrong, right?". If you can ignore that point, though, it's a worthwhile book to read if you play Mage (especially if you want to play a Technocract, of course).

I would have to say that this work of verbose art has taught me all that I will ever need or want to know concerning the Technocracy for White Wolf roleplaying games. This book itself would possibly persuade you into trying out the role of a Technocratic character, just by the presentation of each Convention itself.

I don't often run campaigns; most of the Mage books I purchase are resources for online gaming. This book, however, made me want to collect all my friends and run a game as soon as possible.

It has been Whitewolf's tendency in the past to present the Mages' enemies as monolithic forces; mindless incarnations of evil. Very two-dimensional. The Technos are the evil government oppressors, the nephandi are all freddy kreuger wannabes.

While this is still the case with the Nephandi, this book added a good dash of flavor and depth to the Technocrats as PCs. This book is Mage: the Ascension for X-files affictionados.

Those who read Guide to the Technocracy will find themselves wondering if.. maybe -- just maybe -- we might be better off if the black hats actually won the war..

Over all a good book that helps to clarify the aims and goals of the technocracy...Some good stuff here.

The only problem is that it fails to demonstrate clearly how the magick system operates from a technomages view point...It refers you to use the system as described in Mage: the Asscension...Nothing like giving players knowledge on their enemies capabilities now is there!

Other then that...I liked it.

The Guide to the Technocracy presents the Ascension Wars from the Techs' perspective, making them defenders of reality from the horrors of egocentric and irresponsible Reality deviants. Welcome to the "Men in Black" vision of reality, to protect the masses of humanity from the hordes of crazies.

The book is charged with much source material, history, perspectives and how to run interesting Technocracy players and games. The weaknesses are more in the game mechanisms, which do not truly give away a Technocracy feeling.

Rotes and equipement are a weak part, but the greatest failure is that Technocrat 'mages' are still described in game mechanisms as typical mages fooling themselves in using technology. As such, techies are less powerful than other mages. Moreover, the usual White Wolf left-leaning anarchist worldview remains omnipresent, and the reader can't help getting the overall feeling Technocrats (except perhaps for Void Engineers) are the bad guys after all, however just their cause. This is something weak, more emphasis should have been given to portraying Tradition mages as terrorists and roving maniacs.

I love this book. Any player for mage should at least browse through this book. It breaks down the 2nd major mage faction, and proves that at least two of the four sides aren't bad guys. The book infact makes one see the Traditions as the guys without the plan and who are wrong.

The first Chapters talk about who the Technocracy is. They aren't the monolith that the Tradition mages make them seem like. They are orginized enough to seem like a monolith but they aren't. Neither is the Technocracy people, their are people higher up in the Pyramid who are evil but most people are what would pass as normal people.

The next rules chapters are full of all types of treats. Tons of new backgrounds including Modifications (Cybernetics and Bioengineering), Patron and Requisitions. These all can lead to story ideas in themselves. Their are tons of technocratic rotes, that help a person to think of "magic" as anything but Magic. Tons of Devices, aka Talismans, are included with a wide variety of uses, and other odd "crunchy" statistical things. On the whole this book is very interesting and is almost as essential as the corebook if you want info on the other major faction of mages.

This great book makes you want to play as the traditional bad guys from Mage. In a completely different mood than classical Mage, Guide to the Technocracy lets you get in the war as a Mage full of gadgets, in the spirit of TV series such as X-Files, Nikita or Mission: Impossible.

New backgrounds, skills, merits/flaws are presented. The Spheres are given for the first time in Mage books a whole technological view, and the history part is simply excellent, giving the Techies a whole new view as the "good guys".

A great book, indeed!

When I was first introduced to Mage:TA, I wondered why everyone thought the Technocratic Union were the antagonists. After reading a few of the first convention books I could see why. As much as I loved the group from the beginning, I had to admit they weren't suitable for play.

With the release of Guide to the Technocracy, it seemed as though the whole Union had been reorganized. Not only are the Technocrats more human, their goals are geared more towards the protection of humanity from the horrors of the unknown. White Wolf did a really good job with this book. It succeeded in making a former faceless monolith into a living entity with a feel of humanity. The Technocracy tries to be the good-guys, but like with any group, there are always those who are in the gray areas. The Technocracy is not better or worse than the Traditions. They are just another group of mages who believe in science and reason.

The history of the Union was a fascinating read and the art is alright. The book has all the information you need to create a Technocratic agent along with info on a handful of procedures, cybernetics, and devices. The information on the various conventions is detailed enough so that the previous guides are not really needed, though they can still be helpful.

This book is a must for any fan of the Technocracy. It flows smoothly and really improves on the once monolithic and inhuman Union. It is perfect for players who want to play secret agents, cyborgs, deep space explorers, space marines, or any other modern or sci-fi character.

Superstitionist "tradition" mages have all but fully tried to pull the world back into the bleak depression of the Dark Ages with their hollow, misguided philo-religious rhetoric.

The Technocracy, Harbringer of Reason, fights the good fight to resuce the Masses from the clutches of disorder. Be an Enlightened (and fully equipped) soldier to battle back the Reality Deviants who live in the past, so that the Future will be secured!

Probably one of the better WoD books ive read, it makes the technocracy very playable; taking away the stereotype of them being stoic, evil and always using Star-Trek speech. Good buy.