Fae

One of the hardest WoD books to find, and worth a hard look. Too bad other "reviews" are dragging down the rating over shipping issues rather than the content of the book.

Take a step back in time to not only the dark ages but to a time when white wolf still liked a certain group of people- namely the players. But I'll leave my private beef with whitewolf that the new world hates players out, and move onto Dark Ages Fae. The world in which you find yourself is a new level of the world of darkness with castles of frost and leaves existing in the forgotten places where humans fear to tred. The fae are in a period of decline and are split into seasonal courts. The game timeline includes the ending of a truce and the possibility of a war. This is set against the background of the church expanding its power into everything and actually harming the fae with their very words of prayer. This game can be the most fantastic fantasy tale you wish to tell or can be gritty with your fae losing themselves in human society and trying to keep the old ways and old oaths alive. Its a great chance to tell the grim faerie tells of old and have a great time. I cannot do this book justice in such a short review- so read it yourself and find out what i mean. Buy it now before the prices inflate any more and you'll have to sell your car to afford it.

Dark Ages: Fae is, without a doubt, one of the more beautiful and elegant White Wolf releases to date. By ditching the childish silliness of Changeling: The Dreaming (and everything else related to it), Fae is able to take on a much more "believable", adult view of matters within the context of the Dark Ages. All aspects of this book are extremely creative, and - unlike many of White Wolf's games - it offers a great deal of character customization straight from the start. No longer are characters molded from one of many archtype Clans or Tribes, but now rather they are seperated into the four Seasonal Courts (as well as the the Courtless), and three completely different "races", each with its own positives and negatives. There are the "True" Fae, born of chaos, the Inanimae, born of the elements, and Changlings who are half humans and half True Fae. Add onto that a plethora of fascinating story ideas from the setting material itself, Dark Ages: Fae can sell itself in a single read (as it did to me!). The thing that has stood out to me the most, however, is how "bright" this game can be. It needn't be dark and angst-wridden at all. Furthermore, with the politics of the Courts and the interaction between the different fae races, you have a whole seperate, self-contained and self-sustaining society built on life in the Dark Ages, only with all the amazing, wondorous things you can expect from any epic fantasy roleplaying game. The magic system is great. By "unleashing", a fae is able to perform literally any kind of magical feat - for a price. Other than unleashings, there are "cantrips" (spells) for use in nearly any occasion. Each Court has its own set, and there is a set for all Courts as well. The fae start out with a huge number of these. So, unlike other White Wolf games (like Mage), you feel like a purely magical being "right out of the box". Lastly, all Fae but those among the ranks of the Winter Court strive for a bright future, be it with humans or not, and the notion of hope is extremely prevelant in the text. It is this fact alone which makes Fae a wonderful, worth-while read.