Summary[]
From the White Wolf catalog:
- Some Secrets Aren't Meant for All Eyes
- The Traditions fight a losing war against the Technocracy and an increasingly hostile world, but they aren't the only scions of magic. Disparate Crafts, unusual skills, hidden lore and the powers of the spirits and magical wonders — which of these keys open the door to victory? There's always another secret out there, and even if you don't know it, somebody does.
- Here's the Flip Side of Magic
- For Storytellers, this companion volume expounds on the history of the Ascension War and some of its major turning points. The dying Crafts are showcased, along with their fates and the forces arrayed against them. Plus, a host of additional Abilities for Mage characters, and a potent set of rules for creating magical items and spirit creatures.
Contents[]
Introduction[]
Provides an overview of this volume.
Chapter One: The Story So Far[]
Chronicles the highlights of the Ascension War from the rise of magical schools through the division between magic and science to the decisive strike used by the Technocracy in its final assault on the mages of the Traditions and Crafts. In addition, this chapter reveals little-known information about what really happened to fracture the world of true magic, and it gives some guidelines for updating your chronicle with the new information.
- Timeline
- In The Beginning: From The Legendary Age to the Christian Era
- The Ascendancy of Magic: From the Christain Era to the First Millennium
- Clash of Wills: From the First Millennium to the Renaissance
- Magic Descending: From the Renaissance to the 20th Century
- The Advance of Science
- The Retreat of Magic
- Magic's Defeat: The Modern Era
Chapter Two: The Disparates[]
Takes a look at the repercussions of the Ascension War with regard to the independent mages of the Crafts and the Disparate schools of magic. Histories and fates of the now-defunct Crafts as well as detailed write-ups on the few surviving Disparate groups offer ways for Storytellers and platers to update characters in the wake of the Ascension War.
Chapter Three: Spirits and Bygones[]
Explains the use of various sorts of spirits in a Mage chronicle, and it details a few specific examples. This section also talks about the mystical beasts that once roamed the world but now thrive only in the Umbra, except for rare appearances on Earth.
- Spirits
- Charms
- Airt Sense
- Appear
- Armor
- Blast
- Blighted Touch
- Call for Aid
- Cleanse the Blight
- Cling
- Control Electrical Systems
- Corruption
- Create Fire
- Create Wind
- Death Fertility
- Disable
- Dream Journey
- Ease Pain
- Flee
- Influence
- Insight
- Iron Will
- Materialize
- Mind Speech
- Possession
- Quake
- Re-form
- Shapeshift
- Short Out
- Solidify Reality
- Spirit Away
- Track
- Umbral Storm
- Preceptor: The Trickster
- Naturae: Ancient Tree Spirit
- Elemental: Flighty Wind Spirit
- Paradox Spirit: Judgement
- Paradox Spirit: Whisper
- Minion: The Black Demeter
- Raxnaleda, Kraken of the Deep
- Demonic Tempter: Ra't'lahti, the Walker in Shadow
- Charms
- Bygones
Chapter Four: Wonders[]
Describes in detail the various sorts of magical items that mages might run across. Here, too, you'll find complete rules for building new Wonders, using Periapts and Relics, and even binding familiars.
- Common Magic for Talismans and Unique Foci
- The Aura Adamantium (Matter 3 or 5)
- Beads on a String (Correspondence 2, Entropy 2, Matter 2, Mind 2, Spirit 2)
- Memento Mori (Mind 3, Spirit 3)
- The Foundling (Correspondence 2, Life 5, Matter 2, Mind 3, Spirit 4)
- Fits Like a Glove (Matter 3)
- The Master's Hand (Life 1, Prime 2)
- Inscribe Amulet (Entropy 1, Matter or Life 1, Time 4 other Spheres as needed)
- Pretty-Shinies (Correspondence 1, entropy 1, Matter 1, Mind 1, Prime 1, Spirit 1)
Background Information[]
- Ads at the back of the book include: Hunter: The Reckoning (To Do List), Laws of Ascension (Early 2001) and Exalted (Before the World of Darkness).
Memorable Quotes[]
Characters[]
- Chapter One: The Story So Far
- Imhotep
- Daedalus the Great
- Orpheus
- Medea
- Moses
- Aaron - Moses' brother
- Solomon the Wise
- Plato
- Pythagoras
- Hippocrates
- Archimedes
- Aristotle
- Lu Pan
- Tau-tse - Devil Wizard, banished, Past
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Hermes Trismegistus
- Marcus Fulgurator - Roman Sorcerer
- Prophet (Mohammed)
- Al-Malek Al-Majun Ibn Iblis - Last of the Devil Kings
- Merlin
- Hazan I-Sabbah - Founder of the Taftâni
- Charlemagne
- Lorenzo Golo
- Roger Bacon
- Antonio Vello - Celestial Master
- Contessa Mariana Sabine - Celestial Master
- Le Duc Luis Tristan de Varre - Founder of the Solificati
- Joan of Arc
- Gilles de Rais - Infernalist
- General Wyngarde
- Nightshade
- Valoran
- Sh'zar
- Baldric La Salle
- Tezghul the Insane - Infernalist
- Copernicus
- Heylel Teomim
- Dr. George (Johannes) Faustus
- Charles Babbage
- Lady Ada Lovelace
- Gregor Mendel
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Lord Vargo
- Porthos Fitz-Empress
- Ravnos Antediluvian
- Choe Yo'ng - Syndicate
- Chapter Two: The Disparates
- Marie Laveau - Founder of the Bata'a
- Dr. John - Founder of the Bata'a
- Rager, "Sobk" - Deity
- Ali-beh shaar - Batini Mage
- Captain Cook
- Qin Shihuang
- Fu Xia
- Bai Beishi - Wu Lung, T'ien K'ung te Huang Ti Wu Lung
- Xi Zhuanji - Wu Lung, Feng Huang Hou Wu
- Choujingcha Yuguo - Wu Lung, Hu Kuei Tsu Wu
- Khwaja al-Akbar
- Alexander the Great
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- Sir Richard Burton
- Jacques de Molay
- King Baldwin
- Bernard of Claireaux
- Philip the Fair
- Chapter Three: Spirits and Bygones
- Chief Cornstalk
- Chapter Four: Wonders
- Wu Chi - Mage
- Lo Fang - Ancestor Spirit
- Mister Mistofelees - Familiar, Cat
- Penny Dreadful
- Jodi Blake
- Ivan Minsky - Mage
- Martika - Ivan's Familiar, Cat
- Josephine - Familiar, Plush-toy cat
Terminology[]
10,000 Djinni Plague, Ars Pracelarus, Artaxerxes' Court, Ascension War, Avalon, Avatar-Storm, Battle of Harz, Battle of Pavia, Burning Tiger War, Bygone, Canyon of Qu-Dali, Celestial Bureaucracy, Collegium Praecepti, Convention of the White Tower, Corpus Hermeticum, Crafts: Bata'a, Children of Knowledge, Hem-Ka Sobk (Kheri heb ashau, Sunu), Kopa Loei (ali'i, kahuna, Wayfinders), Wu Lung (T'ien K'ung te Huang Ti Wu Lung, Feng Huang Hou Wu, Hu Kuei Tsu Wu); Dark Ages, Dark Kingdom of Jade, Devil-King Age, Doissetep Covenant, Dome of the Golden Eye Construct, Dragon River War, Enoch, Familiars, First Cabal, First Mistridge Convocation, Gauntlet, Grand Convocation, Great Rift, Great War, Himalayan Wars, Horizon (Posht), Independents: Ahl-I-Batin (khanaqahs, shaykh, Murids, Murshids, Doctrine of Unity, Mount Qaf, Web of Faith, Handura), Sisters of Hippolyta (Themiscryan Compact, epitropi), Taftâni (Djinn), Templars (Rule, Preceptories); Inquisition, Kitab al Alacir (Manuscript), Labyrinth, Legendary Realm, Le Ictus Covenant, Lightning Scourge, The London Accord, Lyonesse, Malleus Maleficarum (Book), Massasa War, The Mercy Schism, Midsummer Night's Massacre at Harrogate, Mistridge, Mythic Age, Night of Fana, Node, Oath of Fire, Paris University Purge, Pax Hermetica, Quintessence, Resolutions & Protocols of the Nine Mystick Traditions, Resonance, Revelation of the Pure Thought of God, as Revealed by the Archangel Gabriel, His Messenger, (Document), Screaming Ghost Purge, Second Mistridge Convocation, Shaolin Temple, Siege of Diossetep, Silk Accord, Sixth Maelstrom, Spirit (Bane, Charm, Demonic Tempter, Elemental, Gnosis, Minion, Naturae, Paradox Spirit, Power, Preceptor, Rage, Slumber, Willpower), Spirit Nuke, Stonehenge, Stygia, Tass, Umbra, Underworld, War of Concordia, War of the Dust Witch, War in Heaven, War of Hermes, Wonders (Amulets, Artifact, Charms, Corona Nephandus "Hell's Crown," Devices, Fetishes, Gadgets, Gizmos, Invention, Jodi Blake's Seven-League Lappish Bitch Boots, Matrixes, Periapts, Relics, Talismans), Wu-Keng (Nung War), Year of the Great Sickness,
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