Review: Mage: The Awakening – Magical Traditions
Product Name: Magical Traditions
Publisher: White Wolf Publishing
Author: Justin Achilli, Jackie Cassada, Stephen Michael DiPesa, Howard Ingham, Matthew McFarland, Dean Shomshak, Travis Stout, Chuck Wendig, and Bill Bridges
Interior Artist: Peter Bergting, John Bridges, Brian LeBlanc, Peter MacEvoy, Justin Norman, and Daren Bader
Page Count:160
Price: $26.99 Hard Copy / $16.19 PDF
From the Publisher
The Fractured Prism
The higher truths of the Supernal World are constantly broadcast down into the Fallen World, distorted into a thousand different forms — such as the occult beliefs of Sleepers throughout the world. A mage versed in these traditions can see past the Sleeper’s occult trappings to the Supernal truth, like a faint light that is invisible to the blind. Privy to such culture-bound magical secrets, these mages wield power unknown to others.
• 7 magical traditions, from Santeria and Taoist sorcery to the rites of the Knights Templar and Appalachian Hoodoo hexery.
• Unique spellcasting rules and benefits for mages versed in a magical tradition
• Advice about incorporating magical traditions into chronicles and stories.
First Thoughts
I love fluff books, and I wasn’t disappointed here. While I’m not a fan of Mage in and of itself, the book promised to be an interesting read.
The Good
As with all White wolf products, you’ll find an excellently crafted product filled with wonderful artwork.
The Bad
Like many of White Wolf’s products, they are a group effort. The writing style ranges from excellent to fair throughout the book.
The Ugly
None.
It’s Time to Play The Game
Magical Traditions introduces the idea that at least some Mages draw on real world occult practices, whether out of genuine belief or sheer pragmatism. The first section of the book goes into quite a bit of detail about the hows and whys of incorporating various mythologies, occult traditions, paranormal phenomena and folklore into your Mage game.
The rest of the book is filled out with several sample Traditions, but the guidelines are easy enough that you can easily make up new ones. Each section includes not only details on the belief system (adapted for the universe of Mage) but also some new Rotes and an accompanying sample NPC as well.
While you may be slightly disappointed about the overall lack of focus in the book, you certainly will be pleased with the overall breadth of information provided.
Overall Rating
