This is one of those cases where a star rating is very, very difficult to give, because it feels like Once and Future contains two different books.

One of them is a meticulously researched meditation on Arthuriana and a love letter to Welsh storytelling and culture, a beautiful fictionalized rendition of the characters of the Mabinogi, and a really quite clever reframing of Scion to accommodate the story of Arthur Pendragon within the existing mythic framework of the setting. It also contains some of the best and most useful Knacks the game has presented since release, with a lot of clever implementation of the Calling system that makes it a very good book for people with no interest in Y Plant Dôn (although you really should buy the book just for that writeup.)

The other is weak and paper-thin regurgitation of the most popular retellings of the story of King Arthur, possessing little originality and even less depth of research. An entire section is carved out for the Visitation of a character who is neither Welsh nor Arthurian, an awkward insert into the game's narrative that doesn't make the Appendix any more digestible and wastes wordcount on an unfunny con attendance bit that wears out its welcome faster than cheap running shoes. It's an Arthuriana that seems to have stopped at Geoffrey of Monmouth, leaving knights like Kay, Palamedes and Bedivere as bit characters and, in spite of citing the Green Knight as one of the sources for the pregenerated adventure, seems to have missed all the parts where Gawain is uncomfortable with a married woman flirting with him and learning his knightly virtues along the way, choosing instead to characterize him in a way closer to Mallory than any of the wealth of material treating him as a virtuous and respected knight. I feel this is a missed opportunity to diversify the Mantles available.

Ultimately, I think the really good outweights the parts I didn't enjoy enough that I still want to give the supplement its flowers, but there are definitely parts that detract from the experience as a whole that, for lack of a more granular way to express it through the star ratings, remains a part of the review that I hope will be helpful to others looking to pick up the book.

Fantastically written, wonderfully composed and masterfully presented, Once and Future is everything I could want both as a Scion player and a Storyteller. The knacks are flavourful, the Knight calling/player splat offers new ways to experience the world and the New pantheon, the Plant Don, is beutifully written. While I'm still digesting this book I an for sure say its one of the best the line has to offer. Cheer's to the people who worked on this masterpiece.

Faithful to the topic, well researched and explained, weaves the Arthurian myths well together with the system. One of my favorite Scion books so far.

What a fascinating brilliant book, My favorite sections are the ones written with playable content in mind

edit: here's more stuff about what i liked

The idea of mythical cycles is brilliant,more new ideas in scion please! more talk about mantles! more descriptions of the setting made by characters in the setting!

Love the advice on historical settings, the increased focus on mantles, and the new knacks.

The relics are a little wonkily priced and the Knight could use a bit of clarifying and maybe a slight retooling, but I’m hoping those will be fixed in errata. Otherwise, I’m a big fan of this book

An excellent supplement to Scion 2e, this book brings Arthurian Legend/the Matter of Britain and the Mabinogion to the World, and does so with an excellent blend of lore and mechanics. The new Plant Dôn Welsh Pantheon is great, and the new Knight of the Round Table Calling/Path is amazing too. We also finally get new Knacks for the eleven base Callings in Origin/Hero, mounted combat rules, and rules for taking up a fallen Mantle as a Demigod.

Once and Future is a worthwhile addition to one’s Scion Second Edition collection, and I recommend it in the highest possible terms,

Possibly the best Scion 2e book outside of the core hardbacks. Faithful to its topic and mechanically innovative at the same time.

The dots for the Relics are a bit wonky and hopefully it gets fixed in errata but this is a good product for anyone that wants to play an Arthurian Scion and the Knight calling and some of the rules for kingdoms can be used for any settings. Also props for admitting that some parts of a mythology are speculative or fabricated. It's good to admit it upfront as these things are very difficult to find records of if even complete records but it's also important not to spread fiction as historical fact or beliefs.

Very good. Looking forward to Scion: God.

Echoing what others have said, it's easily one of the best supplements so far. Amazing lore writing, cool knacks, great bestiary, the Knight path/calling, and a fascinating new pantheon.

Probably one of the best Scion supplements of this edition. Full of great worldbuilding, lots of plot ideas, a fantastic Welsh pantheon, a great bestiary, fantastic Knacks and Denizen options for the game. Definitely worth a buy.

A great antagonist focused book with updates to Scelesti, Tremere and a variety of other enemies of the Pentacle that updates them to second edition. Only reason this isn’t 5 stars is because Shunned by the Moon is just that much more amazing as another antagonist book within the Chronicles of Darkness lines.

Wonderful addition to the Mage the Awakening setting with a lot of information about the pentacle, the world within the Chronicles of Darkness and how it relates to Mages and a large New York setting.

I've jokingly referred to this book as "the GM chapters of the 3E core" among friends, and I genuinely can't think of a better summary. The section on appropriate safety tools and best practices is worth it on its own, but Crucible also includes comprehensive advice on running different styles of game, playing social scenes, and more. The chapter on optional rules is a welcome addition on top.

Overall, I'd recommend this supplement to anyone planning to run a game. It's certainly served me well in that regard!

Crucible of Legend is a Storyteller (for those unfamiliar with Exalted or the system it runs on, "Storyteller" is equivalent to Gamemaster or Dungeon Master) Guidebook for Exalted 3rd Edition. It accomplishes its goals quite well, providing advice on numerous facets of the game that weren't covered quite that well in the Core Rulebook, such as how to handle the Realm, adjudicating difficulty levels higher than 5, and numerous alternate rulesets such as simplified crafting (my personal favorite) and handling long treks.

Crucible of Legend also covers Safety Rules and the handling of sensitive content and themes, something much appreciated for a game like Exalted, which can cover a wide variety of topics, some of which might be uncomfortable or even traumatic for players, such as the horrors of war, torture, and other things not fit for polite company.

As I mentioned before, Crucible of Legend also covers alternate rulesets and "rules hacks" within. For example, the Crafting rules can be heavily simplified; don't like how you have to buy multiple crafting abilities, or find it to be too much to handle? There are rules for simply having a generic Craft ability with specialties to handle areas of particular interest to your character. There are rules for simpler stunts, alternative initiative methods, and more. Chances are good that at least one thing that bothered you in the 3rd Edition Core book is addressed here in Crucible of Legend. It even has Flat XP, which I am led to believe is something quite popular amongst the Exalted Community.

All-in-all, a good "Storyteller's Guide" for Exalted. I heartily recommend it. It does what it sets out to do, and it does so well.

Nice supplement. I didn't really like the new species, but the information about Acid Sea and everything connected with it was very interesting and useful.