Customer Reviews

Mage Legacies the Ancient (Mage the Awakening)

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Long awaited since Mage: the Awakening first came out, this supplement reveals the remainder of the mysterious Legacies from the core book, along with a few others. Most of the 13 Legacies presented in this book are supposed to be ancient, as the title implies, dating back to the first civilizations that arose after the collapse of Atlantis. Their magic is primal, sometimes mirroring mortal occult practices (the Dreamspeakers draw on shamanism and indigenous beliefs, the Thrice-Great share similarities with western ritual magick, and the Thread-Cutters arose from Indo-European cultures). As you might notice, some of the Legacies are tributes to the older Mage: the Ascension game, though their Awakening incarnations are very different indeed. The book also throws some light on the Elemental Tamers, Legacies who claim to pre-date Atlantis! And there are hints of other Tamer Legacies, left intentionally vague for STs to use or ignore. As always, each Legacy gets the same basic write-up, along with the background, Attainments, plot-hooks and sample characters. In order, here are the Legacies:

* Dreamspeakers - A tribute to the old Dreamspeakers from Mage: the Ascension, these Primal Thyrsus shaman speak to the Dream-born spirits of the astral realm. Certainly one of my favorite Legacies in the book. They draw on many different cultures from American Indian traditions, Aboriginal Dreamtime lore and Siberian shamanism, to Buddhist mystics, evangelical Christians and Etruscan witchcraft (which, indeed, their signature character practices). Ironically, becuase they draw on cultural magic and generally reject the Atlantis mythos, the Legacy is strongly associated with the Free Council. I found this to be a good write-up, and an interesting take on shamanism in the Awakening setting.

* Elemental Masteries - Actually five seperate Legacies, each with their own seperate write-ups, the section starts with a very brief introudction explaining the background (and interconnectedness) between the Elemental Masteries. Despite what the corebook said about them using Atlantean symbolism, the five Elemental Legacies claim to pre-date Atlantis, and are often at odds with more traditional Orders because of it. However, they've been influencing Sleeper society for millennia, in various roles. For example, the Tamers of Rivers were involved in mystery and fertility cults, the Tamers of Winds served as priests and educated professionals, and the Tamers of Stone were the builders and sacred artisans. The Legacies were as follows:

The Tamers of Fire are a firey and passionate Obrimos Legacy whose Attainments use Forces to create, direct and even become fire! Optional use of Mind can be used to inspire and lead others as well. The Tamers of Rivers are a Thyrsus Legacy of wandering healers, mostly associated with old fertility Goddess cults (and, indeed, most are still female). Their Attainments use Matter to create and manipulate water, with optional Life use for healing. The Tamers of Stone are a Moros Legacy of builders and architects, whose Attainments use Space for finding ideal sites for building (and optional Matter use for shaping and building things). And the Tamers of Winds are an Acanthus Legacy that focus on learning, memorization and knowledge. Their Attainments use Forces for enhancing sounds, telekenitically moving things and even flying! And they have the option of using Mind to enhance their mental facilities.

Finally, there is a fifth, rare Elemental Legacy representing the element of void, ether, akasha... The Tamers of the Cave are a Mastigos Legacy that represents the "fifth element". They are noble martyrs, sacrificing themselves for the good of the all. Their Attainments are all focused around the 'etheric mirror', which they construct through the Death Arcanum. I loved the Tamer of Rivers and Tamer of Winds, but I found the Tamer of the Caves to be an especially interesting Legacy, and a novel take on the 'fifth element'. Very good stuff here.

* Forge Masters - A Moros Legacy, the Forge Master represent the master smiths and artisans of ancient civilizations, which viewed creating tools (and weapons) as a magical art. Their Attainments focus on using Prime to augment their creations, and eventually create idealized objects out of thin air! This section includes some notes on the Perfected Metals of Atlantis, and a couple of new Rotes as well. Interestingly enough, although they are a Moros Legacy, the chapter hints that in some parts of the world other Paths might follow the Legacy as well!

* Skald - As their name implies, members of this Acanthus Legacy are wandering bards, poets, musicians and story-tellers. After the fall of Atlantis, they charged themselves with memorizing the history and lore of various cultures. Once again, they draw on cultures as diverse as Nordic skalds, Homeric poets and Armenian gusan. The Legacy's Attainments use Mind (and, optionally, Spirit as well) to influence the way others think and act. The section also includes an optional Merit, Skald Cant, a secret language which helps memorize things and when dealing with spirits. Once again, I found this to be a very interesting and enjoyable Legacy that I could see myself playing.

* Sphinxes - Another fascinating Legacy, the Sphinxes are a Mastigos Legacy associated with the Mysterium. Originating in Renaissance Spain, the Sphinxes are obsessed with uncovering the mysteries of the universe. They are all about looking for patterns and hiden meaning, researching things like chaos theory and linguists. That sort of stuff. To this end, their Attainments are all about using Fate to analyze and (at higher levels) manipulate probability, with optional Mind effects to notice hidden details. Interesting stuff, and good fluff for information on the cosmology of Awakening. Their signature character, Babel, is pretty fun too.

* Thread Cutters - A Moros Legacy loosely associated with the Guardians of the Veil, the Thread-Cutters are something of a tribute to the Euthanatos Tradition from Mage: the Ascension. Again, these Mages reject alot of Atlantean tradition, instead having become strongly attached to various Indo-European traditions such as the Indians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Etruscans and Celts. They believe in serving Fate itself, whether through Creation, Preservation or Destruction, and thus are sometimes at odds with more mainstream Guardians. Indeed, some consider the Legacy Left Handed! The section includes a new Death Rote for entering the Underworld, and again, the signature character is unique and interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of this Legacy, and look forward to using it in future games.

* Thrice-Great - Drawing on Hermetic ritual, this Legacy is associated with both the Obrimos Path and the Silver Ladder. Appropriately enough, they believe in using magic to bring the spirits of the Celestial Courts under humanity's control and recreating the ladder of Atlantis! Once again, this Legacy is a tribute to the Order of Hermes from Atlantis, and draws on the same sort of stuff - astrology, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism and so forth. Their Attainments are all about using Spirit to interact with the Celestial spirits of the planets. The section also includes another new Merit, Celestial Name, which confers a bonus when interacting with Celestial spirits. Great stuff for a spirit centered chronicle!

* Echo Walkers (Left Handed) - A new Left Handed Legacy, meant for Storytellers to use as antaognists, this fanatical Obrimos Legacy believes in dissecting the human soul to get a glimpse of the primordial beings that existed before humanity! Nephilim, Fomori, whatever you want to call them. The magic they use to do so is essentially the equivalent of spiritual rape, which puts them at odds with pretty much everyone else, but the Attainments they gain from their studies allow them to enhance themselves with Life, making them quite formidible! Very creepy and thematic, and it's nice to see a Left Handed Legacy that isn't Moros or Mastigos.

* Logophages (Left Handed) - Although sometimes associated with the Guardians of the Veil, this second Left Handed Legacy can be followed by any Path or Order. As their name implies, the Logophages eat knowledge, stealing it from other Mages. These guys are great antagonists. Interestingly enough for players who remember the old World of Darkness, their chapter includes their own take on the story of Cain and Abel. And the signature character, Queen Scotch, is a great antaognist to throw at players. Very original stuff here.

All in all, the book is excellent. I especially appreciated the fact that the Legacies in the book provided so many different takes on the history and cosmology of the Mage setting, including a fair number of Mages who don't neccessarily believe in Atlantis, or accept the common beliefs of the five Orders (the Dreamspeakers, Elemental Masteries, etc). Yet also have other Legacies that expand on the history, background and culture of Atlantis, like the Skalds and Thrice-Great. In addition, it was nice to have some examples of how culture influences magic (something that the forth-coming Magical Traditions promises to show more of). As a player who remembers Mage: the Ascension, I found the new take on some of the old material especially nice. I strongly recommend this book, in addition to other supplements such as Secrets of the Ruined Temple, Tome of the Mysteries, the Shadows of... series and the forth-coming Magical Traditions, for greatly expanding the setting of Awakening. Plus, you get to see most of the Legacies from the core book (except for the Bokor and Clavicularis, which were covered elsewhere). And, do yourself a favor and read the introductory fiction, which is a good example showing two Legacies in action.

This is the only legacy book for Mage the Awakening that I have bought, principally because I wanted to see how the Threadcutters and the Thrice Great were treated (these two legacies correspond to the Euthanatos and the Order of Hermes from the old Ascencion game). I was very pleased with the write-ups and I think they are even better than their predecessors. Im glad I purchased this, not sure if I'll buy another legacy book but Im really pleased with this one (although I may buy another if they decide to do a treatment on the Cult of Ecstacy).

Great addition to the mage setting.

I have this book it was a gift. It is a very good read I enjoyed it but with so many legacies already filtering into the mage setting it feels alittle bloated and congested for my sake. There definately is alot to take from this but take and use what you will that is the best advice.