Hi Everybody,
This week’s art preview comes from Mage the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition. This week’s art was created by Jeff Laubenstein and shows a Mage creating a talisman.
The notes for this piece:
“Although it’s technically possible to create some forms of minor magical items with lesser Prime power, most potent objects require at least an Adept’s knowledge of Prime. The mage essentially concentrates Prime energy and reweaves it into the desired Effects (using other Spheres known, or guided by special grimoires and mentors), imbuing the object with a magical Pattern in addition to its own natural qualities. The item gains certain powers, perhaps even taking on elements of the mage’s Resonance and personality.
A mage can also use this power to create a Soulgem, a special Periapt that concentrates Quintessence with her own Resonance. Such an item is tied intimately to the mage’s Avatar, and it can be used by only the mage herself.”
Stop back by next week where I’ll be posting an update for Blood and Smoke.
Mike C.
This… looks like it belongs in awakening, not ascension. Please tell me there’s more realism, more paradigms than just the purple paradigm represented by the art, and and that this isn’t representative of the entire book.
I agree
Wow, so happy to see the return of the famous Jeff Laubenstein!!! I loved his art in Sorcerers Crusade.
Mike,
I don’t agree with Necrotek. It is a good art piece and not divorced from some of the art I remember from Mage the Ascension. Frankly there were a lot of artists and not only did the style vary sometimes—they should have varied. The Mage milieu was pretty broad. Broader than some of the other cWoD games.
Sorry, I could just let this thread-dump go challenged.
Thank you Jim for saying what I was thinking. Maybe Necrotek does not remember the very iconic pieces that Laubenstein did for Mage, but we do 😉
I like the idea of a soulgem, provided it is paradigm neutral (which I am assuming it is.)
I have always enjoyed Jeff Laubenstein’s art, and I am very pleased with this one. It looks like he may have taken liberties with the sphere sigils, or have those got revamped?
Each to his own but the way I remember Mage was that magick was subtle and mysterious. This picture portray it as very overtly and flashy.
I have to agree with Necrotek, the mood of the game shifts from real to fantasy.
I can´t imagine this portrayed person to exist anywhere else but in a fantasy cartoon so it fails the lackmus test for credibility for me. Without the backdrop of realism Mage looses its grounding and becomes absurd.
Thou I like the picture, its well crafted so it would fit in another more flamboyant context.
My favorite Mage artist and the one I think should be drawing the traditions is David Leri. His work in the Order of Hermes book and in the Revised introduction is amazing. Also, I would love to see something from Christopher Shy, he’s the signature man for Revised and an amazing artist.
One of the the most appealing things about Mage: The Ascension is the sheer diversity of the artwork. It reflects the diversity of paradigms, organizations and even individual characters in the setting.
The point about subtlety and realism is well taken, but remember that the game was also very much about the wonder lurking just out of sight and the travails and perils of the magi who seek to coax, guide or drag it to the surface. That fantastic element has always been reflected in Mage’s artwork and always should be. I think Laubenstein captures pretty well what might go on in a Sanctum or simply behind Chantry doors.
I too would like to see a contribution from Christopher Shy, though not to the degree they committed to him in Revised, because that didn’t work very well at all.