Mysterium (Mage)

The book has a lot of interesting information in it, describing several things about the nature of the world from the perspective of the Mysterium. It's well-written, and has a lot of useful organizational descriptions and story hooks in it.The game mechanics items were worth reading, and they did a good job of supporting the described notions of differing approaches between the Mysterium and the Free Council. (Especially look at the different mechanics they cover for skills and electronics.)Some of the rotes should either be extremely common outside the Mysterium, however, or have an explanation given as to why not. That's the biggest flaw in the book I saw. (They have a rote for copying grimoires, for example. That's something that would proliferate unless it is somehow extremely difficult to develop.)All in all, it's a good book for those playing Mage: the Awakening. Even if you deemphasize the orders in your, you may still find some value in it. The legacies and rotes give some new ideas as to mechanics for spells and systems. I simply wish they had explained a touch more about the rotes describing how they had been secured over the years.

The item arrived in a timely manor and as described.

Mage is easily my favorite of the 'big three' in NWoD(Mage, Werewolf, Vampire). I've picked up several of the sourcebooks, and this was my second 'order' book(the first being for the Guardians of the Veil).The Mysterium book is immensely comprehensive. It includes a thorough history of the faction, an elaborate breakdown of their organization and hierarchical roles, lots of unique rotes and legacies, and even a wide variety of awesome example characters, which showcase the many walks of life a Mysterium Mage can originate from.My only complaint is that the art, as in all Mage books, pales to the wonderful high-res artwork seen in the Vampire and World of Darkness books, but the close-ups for the Mysterium characters are nice.The introduction story is good stuff, too; even if it is more like what you'd expect from a Guardian tale.

As a Mage player and die-hard Mysterium fanatic, I would recommend this book. It contains many practices and philosophies of the Mysterium that aren't mentioned at all in the Mage core (the Mysterium's central tenet is nothing in the two books).Outside of it's usefulness to players wishing to play Mystagogues, or possibly for a Storyteller wanting a Mysterium basedplot-hook, the book has very few other uses. There are a handful of spells and new artifacts, but not enough alone to justify purchasing this book. I'd put it low on the priority list of useful Mage books.Also, as a minor nitpicky point, this book is the most poorly proofread of the many White Wolf books I've purchased over the years, and the clarity of the writing makes some of the chapters puzzling at best.So, if the book has limited usefulness, poor editing, and confusing content, why did I give it four stars? The White Wolf authors continue to amaze me with their sheer ingenuity. Every single book, I'm always blown away by another amazing idea that can create a dozen character concepts or spin a dozen plot hooks. This book doesn't reach the same heights as, say, Tome of the Mysteries, but I'm still quite fond of it.Bottom line: Buy if you plan on including the Mysterium in depth in your chronicle, otherwise, there are more important Mage books to add to your library first.

This splat book covers the scholarly mages of the Mage the Awakening rpg game. It also offers lots of background ideas for creating characters in the mold of Mysterium including an interesting Indiana Jones type of treasure hunter, mages who seek the lost treasures and artifacts of los Atlantis. Included are new rotes and spells and a very in-depth description of this order. A must for the Mage the Awakening fan.