I am not a friend of the concept of avoiding conversation, so this book isn't my cup of tea at all and am quite opposed to a lot of the logic behind this, since you basically can't discuss anything. That being said, I did notice that the checklist in the back is pretty close to listing the most common phobias, so at least there I have to give MCG that they actually put in some effort. And the layout is good, as usual for MCG.

So yeah, I'm going to give it a 2 because I think there are probably a very few people out there who'll get actual use out of this, the layout is good and the checklist makes a kind of sense to me, even if I disagree with it's use. Overall, I honestly believe that this, just like trigger warnings have been indicated to do, causes harm rather than helping anyone.

If I could I'd give it 4,5 stars. On first glance, the premise is simple, perhaps even simplistic. Don't let that fool you. If I hadn't had a chance to page through this for free, I wouldn't have given it another glance. I am glad I did get that chance, and I'd strongly suggest the author consider releasing a demo version that showcases more of the mechanics and setting than the current preview available here, which is simply not enough to convey the elegance of this game.

I usually prefer systems that have a far stronger focus on mechanics, but I can appreciate a system that is light on them without feeling like it's trying to keep them to a minimum at every turn. The rules are very good at encouraging and empowering players, which I very much like. The world feels like a familiar fantasy world that hasn't been stuck in a medieval age forever but rather advanced technologically and culturally, without becoming a bland version of our real world industrial age. If you're familiar with the Thief series or Dishonored, that's the vibe I got from the game. I was surprised I liked it, let alone how much and you might be as well.

If I hadn't gotten my hands on this pdf per a forum where someone had posted the file, I wouldn't have given it a second glance. One would've thought trying to mesh a rules-light system such as Savage Worlds and a messy rules system would end in a catastrophe... but somehow the end result is far greater than the sum of it's parts. I've never played Rifts before, because someone always simply quit during character creation. Now I've had a chance to and I have to say I'm impressed with the Savage Worlds version. That being said, it is somewhat on the short side with 146 pages.

There isn't much to add to what other reviewers have written. The only thing I hated about this product was that it wasn't five times it's size. If a second volume were to be released today, I'd buy it right away and hold off on sleeping, just to read it from cover to cover.

I'm at a loss for words. This is (so far) the best rpg book I've ever held in my hands.

The authors poured a lot of effort into this book. The charms are extremely different from anything that has been done before A lot of charms build upon previous ones, improving them. Many charms that kind of bridge the gap between sorcery and charms with a lot of them changing the character permanently. The designers have obviously learned a lot during the course of this line and if someday a new or revised edition should be released, I'm certain we'll see a lot of the lessons they've learned reimplemented.

You can pretty much play anything from a radioactive angel dispensing the righteous rage of an angry titan over a decadent and cunning governor of some far off island which you lead as a colony of Malfeas to a Paul Mua'Dib like character (your followers even gain glowing eyes = total win). And that's ignoring the fact of how easy it is to play someone who abhors his masters and seeks to make the world a better place. In the latter case you'll probably appear like a villain to many people, but damn if you don't also look awesome all the same.

For now I'm hoping that the book about the infernal hellhole of Malfeas is half as good as this book. That'd still make it a 5/5 book for me. If this book is any indication, I'm even starting to look forward to Alchemicals even more than I have before. Until then: Viva la Yozi! Let the Reclamation begin!

I loved the Daugther of Nexus, the previous adventure for Exalted. It would be easy to use in most of my campaigns with little tinkering and I'm saving it for the right moment. This on the other hand... I'm sorely disappointed so far.

The Solars are assumed to be the protagonists, in a way that renders this adventure pretty much useless to any Abyssal, Infernal, Fair Folk, Mountain Folk player that aren't part of a Solar/Lunar/whatever group. The writeup also doesn't consider dynastic Dragonblooded. Except for the opponents they face this might very well have been a scenario aimed at heroic mortals or pehaps Dragonblooded.

A very positive exception is the writeup of how Sidereals might be involved and what one would have to take into account regarding this story.

A "this is not intended for half the playable beings in the setting and only useful in part to some of the ones that are being considered" warning would have been nice. It feels like I've bought an adventure for Hunter/Vampire/Whatever to then realize that for some strange reason it's just applicable to one specific organization within that book. This is extremely bad.

Worse yet, this adventure ignores the Solar's power level. It simply states: "The characters are welcome to try out their own Charms and skills in Medicine to cure the plague, but nothing will come of it". Excuse my language, but this is bullshit. This is the opposite of the spirit of Exalted.

The writing does not feel as though the setting was as well known to the author as might be expected. Questionable explanations are given for various things or none at all. The NPC's are, despite the effort invested in the backstory for most of them, very unappealing. The system part is not exactly riveting, but appropriately fitting for an adventure obviously intended for starting characters.

All in all this has made me wary of future adventures released for exalted, sadly the exact opposite of the previous one. The artwork is nice, though with a bunch of reused images from other books (which I consider totally fine fo an adventure). The fact that there is any new artwok at all is a bonus.

Overall I'd give this a 1,5 score if I could, but having to decide between a 1 or a 2 I'm sadly going to go with a 1.

1. The mechanics are indescribably better compared to the previous edition, even though I miss the merits & flaws, but if you posess the previous edition and really enjoy that system, like my group does, you can easily adjust it's mechanics to fit this system.
2. The cosmology is logical now. Everyone still has his paradigm, and it can vary wildl. For example the Shadow (former Umbra, though far easier to understand) appears the way the most will-strong mage of a group would perceive it, which can vary wildly. But if there is a door in one version of the Shadow, it's there in every other. The last edition of mage was not particularly logical in this regard.
3. The technocracy's out. I consider this a big minus, but on the other hand, as with merits & flaws, you can simply insert them into your WoD campaign, if you wished. The technocracy wasn't particularly balanced in regards of power, if you portrayed them correctly, which the new antagonists are.
4. The artwork... abysmal doesn't begin to describe most of it. A few rare pieces are beautiful, but many motives wouldn't be fitting, even if they were drawn better. One small plus is that quite a few motives are actually beautifully fitting, though their worse-than-comic quality really drags that positive note down.

All in all, as a former mage fan, I'd vote 5 without a second thought... if it weren't for the art. It really kills the mood for me.