11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
COMPLEX AND COLORFUL, February 25, 2007
This review is from: Mage Tome of the Mysteries (Hardcover)
Tome of the Mysteries is a new sourcebook for Mage the Awakening RPG, geared towards both players and Storytellers. Inside these 188 pages is a vast treasure trove of material dealing with the art of making magic. As with all White Wolf products, these are not just dull narratives about rules and what not, but carefully crafted within the framework of each game with examples to help players along the way.
Chapter one is The Way of Fire - Making Magic. Here players will learn the progression of creating magics and each spell is accompanied by its magical symbol. These begin with the lowest level or the first dot of power as its called in the book. The more dots to a spell, the more powerful. For example, a five dot spell, extremely lethal in scope, is the practice of "Unmaking", a spell which simply causes matter to cease to exist. This is perhaps the most important chapter in the book as it deals with the creation and progression of magic, its causes and effects, and is extremely detailed. I'd highly suggest that this chapter be well read before progressing on to the next chapter.
The next three chapters deal with the way of air, Water, and Earth respectively. Like the first chapter, there are dozens of progressively more difficult spells provided, each dealing with these particular elements although it's not as cut and dried as one may think looking at the chapter titles. The Air chapter features spells which deal with fate, the mind and emotion and includes diverse spells such as love spells and disguising spells. Likewise the Earth chapter has many spells dealing with life and death and features perhaps the most potent arcane arts in the book, at least through the first four chapters until...
...You get to chapter Five and the Way of the void. It is in the final chapters where players will learn of Abyssmal magic. Here mages will draw upon the forces of the Abyss, a practice which requires an extreme amount of will. And even one time usage of Abyssmal can leave the user forever tempted to use it again, a kind of magical addiction.
To say that this book is a welcomed, no required book for Mage the Awakening would be an understatement. You'll probably wonder how you got along without it. The art is up to White Wolf's usual high standards, particularly the outstanding cover by Jason Chan.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some great clarification!, January 19, 2007
This review is from: Mage Tome of the Mysteries (Hardcover)
I find Mage The Awakening very complex and sometimes overly so. I like this particular book because it helps clarify some game mechanics and role-playing flavor. It helps codify power levels and add flavor to the way Willworkers can cast magic. It also has a few pages on mage magic and how it interacts with other WoD creatures like werewolves and vampires. As someone who runs a game with both Mages and Vampires, I could read a lot more about that, but it's still a good start.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the Essential Magical supplement for Mage, July 9, 2007
This review is from: Mage Tome of the Mysteries (Hardcover)
Let me say that this is invariably the most necessary and useful supplement published for Mage the Awakening. If it is the only book you get beyond the main rule book it will be sufficient. This book provides invaluable information on creating your own spells (chapter 1). An indepth explanation and treatise on the 13 magical practices of Mage (chapter 1), how to describe magic and casting spells in role playing terms (chap. 2), interacting with other supernaturals in the world of darkness (chap 3), magical dueling (chap 3), enchanting spells and magical items (chap 4). Also, rules on abyssal magic and the fabled Archmastery are treated in chapter 5.
All in all this book is beautifully illustrated, well edited and written and has consistenty clear and readable layout. My favorite section is the clear explanation of the 13 practices of magic, something that should definitely have been included in the main Mage rulebook.
The best Mage supplement put out yet.
Get it!
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