For those of you unfamiliar with Mage the Ascension, it was (and is) White Wolf’s third instalment of the popular World Of Darkness game system, allowing players to experience the first of the not ‘angst ridden monsters’ character archetypes, that of Magi. As wielders of significant powers, the Nine Spheres which encompass (in association with the players inventiveness) all of Reality, Magi are the magical heavy hitters of the WOD, but were originally presented with an over-complex set of systems and a rather lack-lustre background to play within. Many of these minor problems were set to rights with later sourcebooks and revised editions of the main rules, but Mage The Sorcerers Crusade is the most complete and unflawed take on Magic in the White Wolf universe.

Episode eight (nine if you count Hunter) of the World Of Darkness series and the third ‘historical’ re-issue, and it’s the best of the bunch in my humble opinion. Vampire Dark Ages is good, don’t get me wrong, and we’ll gloss over WereWolf Wild West quickly and instead embrace the wonder of Renaissance Mage. Set on the cusp of the Age of Reason, it presents a far more playable version of the Mage rules in a period infinitely more interesting than our own. Plus the Order of Reason (the nascent Technocracy) are presented as Player Character types, as it’s all set before they’ve gone irredeemably mad, plus intrigue, dervishes, duelling, a thousand demonic elephants, and much much more. Oh yes – and magic or science. By god, it’s a fabulous game.

Set loosely in the 15th Century (1400 – 1499) and early 16th, the choice of time period allows them to draw upon a great many real world personages and events which easily lend themselves to the Mage setting. Also, the formation of some of the big power blocks that dominate later World Of Darkness history (such as the Camarilla, Sabbat, the nascent Technocracy and Magi Council of Traditions) in this period and it’s close proximity to a major event in the Changeling timeline, (The Shattering in the 1320’s) makes it an attractive time to run adventures in.

At this time Europe is awash with new ideas and experiments in science and politics, old institutions like the Church face an uncertain future in the face of secular statesmanship, and the world is bigger than it ever was before with trade spreading right across Europe and Asia. The Americas are discovered at the end of the period, which also sees such other groundbreaking real world events such as Joan of Arc, The Reconquista of Moorish Spain, the flowering of Italian city-states and their artistic and patrician citizens and many more. It is the cross-roads between the magical and superstitious world of the Middle Ages and the rational, scientific Modern Period, and a point of relative equilibrium between the rival Wonder Workers of the two opposing world-views, the Magi and Reasonite Scientists.

Many of the modern day Traditions are presented as player-character types, but the really interesting and clever addition is the historical counterparts of the Technocratic Conventions. As earlier incarnations of fairly inhuman and malign institutions, the developers do an excellent job of making the Sorcerers Crusade period Order Of Reason morally no better or worse than their Magi contemporaries, just fundamentally different in their ideological approach to reality. The systems for magic are revised to allow Reasonite characters access to the same rules with only minor additions in methodology, and indeed the Mage The Sorcerers Crusade take on the Spheres is the most lucid and coherent yet. Gone are the clumsy Paradox mechanics, replaced by Scourge, which is regulated by an extra die rolled as part of all magical/scientific workings. If you get a 10 on the Fortune die, good things happen. If you get a 1, well, let’s just hope you weren’t a Reasonite Cannon maker with a large supply of gunpowder on you…

As a real fan of science and magic and a general history buff, it’s hard to put across my enthusiasm for this setting. The juxtaposition of Science and Magic are essential in any real world study of the period, and so it’s perfect spot to open a window on the Mage/WOD timeline. Being able to play through the volatile and incredibly varied range of cultures and political situations is a real treat for those who like that kind of thing, especially with White Wolf laying their own spin on top of real world events. With so much real background to integrate, the developers wisely present the back-plot as optional snippets you can include or ignore, meaning on the whole; the game is uncluttered from self-referencing plot points that require thorough explanation before play can begin. Although that said, this is perhaps not a system you’d expect a group of novice role-players to get right into as they’re first experience of gaming. Not unless they’re all renaissance history graduates that is.

Mage The Sorcerers Crusade has some very good sourcebooks, The Sorcerers Crusade Companion has some excellent historical information and some interesting new cultural Magi templates. The Swashbucklers Handbook also deserves mention for it’s exploration of uniquely Renaissance stuff like duelling, intrigue and courtly romance, Machiavellian politics and so on. Unlike other White Wolf games, there is little in the way of online fan resource and far less hype on the whole. Overall, this is a remarkably fine game that cannot be recommended highly enough by this gamer. At the very least, it’s an educational read for most, and at best it’s the finest ‘high magic’ game set in the most realistically wondrous age of relatively modern history. Go out and buy it now!

Reviewed By Harry Albany