This article originally appeared in Pyramid #12
Book of Shadows
Developed by Phil Brucato
Published by White Wolf
Price: $18.00Early adopters of Mage: The Ascension, White Wolf's modern-day magical roleplaying game, may remember times of frustration trying to figure out exactly what to do with the incredible mass of guidelines and background material crammed artfully into 300+ pages. The game held an interesting premise: magic (or, rather, magick) is merely the ability to control reality at will, to greater or lesser degrees; the greater your will, the greater your control over reality. The wonderful background that followed logically from it was scattered across the whole book, making for, shall we say, a rather challenging gaming experience. Readers were most vocal about the loose magic system and its even vaguer guidelines for play.
"Solid answers limit possibility," says the brief introduction to White Wolf's The Book of Shadows, the player's guide for Mage — a statement that perfectly embodies the game's ephemeral mechanics but fails to appreciate the fine definition that this book possesses, with enough examples and elaboration on the ambiguous rules to answer almost any rules-lawyer's questions.
The age-old argument of realism versus playability has mutated in '90s game design, with "coolness" now standing firmly on the opposite side of utility. The Book of Shadows marks a new plateau in the advancement of the Mage line, as it works toward further defining the vague world (and rules) that characters . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: March 1, 1995
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