Rulebook Ruminations - Mage: The Awakening

Previously, several of my Rulebook Ruminations have involved World of Darkness books.  I hesitate to call it "new", simply to differentiate it from the "old".  It's not new anymore, and the "old" books are ancient history.  So why do I ruminate on these books more than some others?

First of all, it's not secret that I enjoy the World of Darkness line over the "old" line.  It's just better.  I know there are a lot of folks who will gnash and growl at that statement, but for me it's not only true - it's a hands down win for the "new" line.  There is no contest.  I'm not even going to go into all that, as we've already done that before...I just wanted to clarify that bit for anyone who was just joining us.  I believe that almost every aspect of the new line is better...that is, production standards are higher.  The books look nicer, and reading through various titles you get the idea that this was all designed before it was broken into sale pieces such as this volume.  We'll get back to this later.

We've played a couple of chronicles with the new system...but this is the first supernatural chronicle we have embarked upon.  The others were explorations of the system as normal mortals (for the most part), and certainly no one had a supernatural template in Hunting Humans or The Rough Edge of Night.  All that malarkey about vampires or werewolves back in the day is out - and mages are in.  This will definitely color the scope of the system for us in the years to come, and I think this was the best decision.  Nobody really has been into vampires since the 90's, and werewolves went out when Twilight came in.

The new system lends itself well to this sort of play.  Some names are turned around from Mage: The Ascension and the "old" World of Darkness in general, such as Gnosis being a mage trait and the ten different arcanas names and functions.  Yet everything is very familiar if you've come from that older world, and once you have a bit of the newer lexicon committed to memory you'll be flinging spells left and right.  Virtual Adepts?  No sir, we have the Free Council instead.

The biggest part of the book are the descriptions of the actual spells you can do with the various arcana.  However, it's a huge step forward for this type of system.  There's still improvisational magic, and the system for that is beefed up as well.  Yet there are a multitude of "common" spells for each arcana, including all the ones new players might be looking for.  Even masters for whom Ascension is old hat will find these training wheels very helpful in the beginning.

It seems that a lot of the old Mage game was based on having much of the source material outside the main volume, and this line assumes much the same.  There's just too much material for one volume, so it's spread out over the line.  Tome of the Watchtowers and Sanctum & Sigil are necessary reads if you want your game to resemble the "default" World of Darkness game world.

That being said, the new world isn't as couched in metaplot as the old.  I was very excited to get my copy of Ascension back in what must have been 1996.  Yet when I began to read it, I had no idea what was going on.  I couldn't make heads or tails of what it was talking about, and as a result I never ran a game with that volume.  I wanted to, but after reading the book I was so confounded as to what was supposed to be an adventure in that system that I simply went back to being a Dungeon Master.  Which brings me to my real point.

Though the ease of approach to and the general playability of Mage: The Awakening is much higher than its predecessor, the game itself is very different from some other games we play.  Adventure design, awards and penalties, etc. are all very different from the standard "dungeon-delve" paradigm we're used to.  Yes, this is a roleplaying game, but you have to remember there are different genres of rpg.

For instance, there's the staples of Swords & Sorcery, Epic Fantasy, Space Opera, Western and all the rest.  You'll have to learn to look at the system for guidance.  What about Horror games?  I still think of the World of Darkness as a horror system, and obviously it thinks of itself that way as well.  Horror, mystery and suspense are the hallmarks of this system...even though you're wizards, Epic Fantasy Dungeon Murder this is not.

We usually play World of Darkness games, old and new, as the cliche "supers with fangs" or "supers with claws" style game.  Yet I will give you this warning, Gatekeepers:  I do not design World of Darkness games as a dungeon.  Neither do the publishers.  Don't get me wrong, I like dungeon hacking as much as the next guy, and probably more.  World of Darkness is different, and presents much different opportunities for scenario writers like myself.  Much like Dark Heresy and Call of Cthulhu, these games should be about mystery, suspense and horror.

The scenarios you face will have to be resolved without the sort of end that most barking mad dungeon murder-hobos come to.  They aren't designed for that, and the world isn't either.  Too many bloodbaths and your campaigns will come to a screaming halt - unless of course, your Storyteller is doing a "supers with magic" chronicle.

For myself, I'll take my cue from the system.  Players need to be reminded what sort of game you're running, however.  Make sure you're all on the same page before all the mages pull out guns and everyone ends up dead.

Bones II Club Fund

Last year, we were fortunate enough to get in on the original Reaper Bones Kickstarter.  This year, Reaper's giving us another go around with Bones II - a new set of minis made with the company's new material.  We liked the original package so much that this time, we've gone in for almost twice as much as we put in last year - and next fall when we get our Bones II, we'll be getting a huge package of minis for a fraction of what it would cost us in any other medium, or at any other time.

The funding period for Bones II has passed, but we're still collecting funds to add more to our package.  Already we've raised quite a bit, but everyone has their favorite pieces they want to see added to the club's miniature vault.  For that reason, I thought I'd provide a list of the sections that we're getting so far.

• Core Set
• Expansion #1
• Greater Demons
• Gelatinous Cubes
• Demon Lords
• Devils
• Dungeon Decor
• Mouselings
• Dragons Don't Share II
• Thank You
• Hill Giants

If you see a set on the Bones II page that you would like to see added to the Wargate's vault, drop me a line here and we'll get on the funding.  We're still looking at adding Expansion #3, and possibly Expansion #2 as well.  We're on our way to having most of these Bones in our set already, but take some time and go over it at least once more.

We have until near the end of December to fund everything we like, which is a long time for a collective like we have.  We'll most likely take the final sums for Bones II a little after Krampus Day this year, so we'll keep it open for at least another month.  This Bones Kickstarter is going to be as awesome as the first one...so make sure you grab what you like now!  They will be much more expensive once they hit the store shelves, and this is too great an opportunity to miss.

Let us know what you think about the new Bones II promotion, and how we've handled it for the club.  With the way we've been operating in the last two years, we're likely to see more club activities like this.  Who knows...maybe there will be a Bones III next year...

And Now, A Word From Fekul-Hoof

Today's article comes from Jerry Wargate, who recently won (again) our Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaign The Brightflow Gap.  Jerry's done well recently in our campaigns, and his armies are one of the main reasons the Wargate is such a horrible place, filled with monstrous creatures, nasty warped mutants and general vitriol.

I wanted to put down in writing any strategy, technique, or thoughts I have on this recent end to this particular Wissenland Campaign.  I send out a big shout out to Dave Bone for concocting, arranging, and documenting this event week after week, his efforts to shape and create fun campaigns and events is the life blood of our club.  Big shout to Cap’n Video who was the fuhrer minor of my campaign battles and map movements in my leave during this campaign (had to work!), this year he really came through in some tight places and made some awesome games and moves happen.  Also an Accolade goes out to all competing generals that participated… General Jake, Bone Lord Skimulah, Iron Gut Joe, General Bone, and General Greg… without friends to play there is no game.  Weekend after weekend these fellahs have shown up and taken time to enjoy the sport and share in brotherhood with friends and family. Hurrah Wargate!

Okay now to the details I want to point out. This was the build I used the most at 1000pts:

• Fekul Hoof – Lvl 4 Great Bray Shaman (Lore of the Wild) – 235pts
• Feebs – Lvl 2 Bray Shaman (Lore of Beasts) – 125pts
• Sacks the Giant – 225pts
• Gor Herd (20 Gors w/ 2 hand weps, 1 banner, 1 musician, 1 Boss Gor) – 185pts
• Gor Herd (20 Gors w/ 2 hand weps, 1 banner, 1 musician, 1 Boss Gor) – 185pts

Total:  955pts 

This is a super light detachment in its structure.  We are talking two bases of 20 Gors, who aren’t well armored at all the way I build them (no saves), a Giant, and two spell casters.  The real fist is in the spell workings.  If both casters take the same spell list, one will get the spell I want.  On average I rolled Fekul’s four spells first and feebs last for his last two.  Focusing on Fekul getting the Savage Dominion spell to summon more giants is my first priority, as Feebs  makes an excellent jack of all trades on the table.  Sometimes Feebs will get Transformation of Kadon but its still not all bad, as Fekul will switch spots and roam the table with the herds using his powers to make chaos.

Reserving one unit of Gors for Beastman Ambush is a must!  On average I come out in a bad spot on the table but when I do roll good it can sway the tide for me.  Arriving directly behind an enemy breaks more morale and makes more sad faces than almost any other play I've seen on our table top.

I make a priority to keep my Giant Summoner Caster hidden and out of sight.  This is my key piece as he summons Giants that arrive almost anywhere on the table.  This is the bread and butter.  Primal Fury is an awesome advantage when it rolls right.  To reroll misses in hand to hand is epic!  It made a few battles go down in a flash.

Giants… Okay here it is.  They are awesome havoc makers and life takers but like all things in Warhammer they have their weaknesses as well.  Other than being totally clumsy, falling down a lot, and being a complete arrow and battle magnet they are awesome pieces to field all around.

I feel the tactics I used most were the most simple.  Don’t be afraid to change plans during the battle as far as movements go.  Beastmen move 10 inches at a march and eat up distance quickly.  Reforming a spearhead movement must be done, sometimes twice in a battle before hand to hand is made.  If disreguard is made for this idea you will never get 1 Gor into Hand to Hand, their low leadership of 7 makes it an easy “Run Away” squad, so use Gors wisely!

Also the spell Viletide is an awesome warmachine breaker.  5D6 Str 1 hits!  You're gonna roll a couple 6s!
All in all I enjoyed this campaign and send out a big awesome to all who participated.  I am thrilled to have won with so much more aggressive and hostile opposition than last year.  This was no give away game.  Ill be looking forward for the next engagements.

- Jerry Wargate, October 2013