Kraig Blackwelder

I liked this book better than the Exalted core-book. Along with "Exalted: Fair Folk" it is one of my two favorite books in the game line (although the two books are quite different in their subject and focus).

Autochthonians centers around magical "alchemical" cybernetic heroes, living inside the world-sized body of their dormant machine-god "Autochthon". In their struggle to survive amidst this environment their society has developed a strong emphasis on industry, innovation, and teamwork show more that would make any good communist happy.

The book is beautifully illustrated and for me richly evoked the exotic nature of this part of the setting.

It should be noted though that this book is very much a side-note to the rest of the Exalted setting. By it's nature the world described herein is cut off from the rest of the Exalted universe, and although contact between the worlds is possible it is not strictly necessary for either part of the setting to function. You do however need the Exalted corebook to play this game as some of the necessary rules are not included in this book. Also it should be noted that this book is intended for use with the 1st edition of the Exlated game and it's mechanics may not be entirely compatible with later versions of the game.

I would love to play this game at some point, if only I could find enough other interested parties.

- Peter K. show less

A more narrow, less over the top game about modern magic than its predecessor. Magic is slightly more defined, making it easier for the game master. On the other hand, it has an unworkable society and a highly rigid magical structure. Not bad, but could have been much better.

This is the main book for the newer Mage the Awakening RPG. It took me quite a while to get through it but I did find it interesting and it seems to be a very well thought out game. There is a lot to absorb and overall I'm pretty impressed with the effort that went into the revision. It stands heads above the previous version of the Mage the Ascension and has the ability to encourage a lot of nuance for the games.

They managed to improve the old Mage game. It still has hints of the things I loved most about Mage the Ascension but is much more streamlined.