Chimerical Realm

 New Year, New Character  Day 11 Mage the Ascension Mage the Ascension is a "Storytelling Game of Modern Magic." It is, in many ways, a successor game to both Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade , so we are treading fairly well worn ground when it comes to creating a character. In it, players take the roles of "awakened" Mages, seeking both to understand the true nature of reality as well as to share that understanding with a world that not only fails to understand them, but which can barely tolerate their existence. They are locked in a millennia old war against the Technocracy, a group that desires to control reality and humanity. It is a war the Traditions (the disparate groups of mages the players belong to) are losing, and reality itself rejects their feeble attempts to change or alter it.  It was the first of the White Wolf "World of Darkness" books that hadn't been released when I first started playing their games, and one I eagerly anticipa...

White Wolf  has partnered with  Asmodee Digital  to create two new mobile games, one based on  Vampire: The Masquerade   the other on  Mage: The Ascension . In a previous post , I reviewed the Vampire game, We Eat Blood . I've finally had a chance to check out the Mage one, Refuge . In short, while it falters as a game, it's a gripping and enjoyable short story, and it feels like at lease some of your decisions actually matter. It's difficult for me to review Refuge without subconsciously comparing it to We Eat Blood.  But, each deserves to stand, or fall, on their own merits. As such, this review will be divided into two parts. Part one will look at Refuge on its own terms. Part two will be a comparison of the two, for those who are interested but undecided on which, if any, to check out.  The writing  The writing in Refuge  is fantastic, and easily the strongest element of the game. I've never had a chance to read any...