Redlines and Anthologies [Mage: The Awakening]

Mage: The Awakening, Open Development

Hello everyone!

I’m calling a break on the blog for the time being, as Mage has hit the point of me writing up my redlines so that the authors come back from the Holidays and start the final draft. Those of you who came to GenCon saw the first stages of the redlines, in traditional red pen on printout. Since then we’ve had all the delayed sections delivered, and a good three months of internal playtesting. In particular, while I’ve been running the game with starting characters, Eric Zawadzki and his troupe have been doing their best to break the system with a cabal of Masters. The results, and some things you’ve all brought up on this blog, have informed the next draft. When we return in the new year, we’ll continue the blog with the five Orders you haven’t seen and then go back to voting on topics.

Once the next draft nears completion, we’ll have time for a bit of External playtesting, too. I’ve been writing down email addresses of people volunteering so far, but when it’s time I’ll put a notice up here.

Fiction Anthology

One book we haven’t spoken about much so far is now out of editing, though. The Fallen World Anthology contains 8 original Awakening short stories and 4 reprints of old classics from first edition’s intro fictions. Our theme for the Anthology, like for the second edition core, is Addicted to Mystery; these are stories about mages being drawn in to the murky edges of the World of Darkness.

Here’s what you’ll find inside;

In The Hanged Woman, by Wood Ingham, we kick off with a look at the Awakening of Lucy Sulphate. (Originally published in Legacies: The Sublime.)

In Open Carry, by Matthew McFarland, a grocery-store shooting leads to a confrontation with a brutal entity. Watch out for pine needles.

In The Intruder, by Tristan Tarwater, a Sentinel searches for an unwelcome guest in the back-alleys of New York.

In Crimson Lips, by Eddy Webb, an Eleventh Question is called out of retirement for one last job in 1940s Detroit.

In Obedience, by Geoff Skellams, a Seer of the Throne obeys his Exarch’s command to hunt down a particular artifact, at great personal cost. (Originally published in Seers of the Throne.)

In The Storyteller, by Rick Chilliot, a child carries out missions for a talkative fox in a small town gone very, very wrong. (Originally published in Intruders: Encounters with the Abyss.)

In The Unmurdered Man, by Malcolm Sheppard, the Censor Khonsu (last seen having his soul stolen by a Reaper in Left Hand Path) is restored by an unlikely benefactor, and must solve a series of murders in which every victim looks exactly like him.

In The Wheel, by John Newman, an artist living off his inheritance has bad dreams, and discovers a horrific family secret. (Originally published in Summoners.)

In Imaginary Skin, by Wood Ingham, Lucy Sulphate and her friend Catesby meet a tribe of beings who aren’t supposed to exist.

In Custody Battle, by Eric Zawadzki, two mages go to war over the fate of a family central to their Obsessions.

In The Tahmanawis Stick, by Geoff Skellams, a chance car accident draws a Thyrsus into a conflict between Sleepers and the entity they’ve offended.

And finally in The Human Heart by Malcolm Sheppard, the Old Man of the Hollow has a visitor, to whom it dispenses some unwanted advice. (Originally written for, but cut for space from, Imperial Mysteries.)

As a final taster, here’s a link to Custody Battle. Enjoy, happy holidays, and we’ll be back in 2015!